The Kingdom Of God
The Word Of God - Lesson III C
The Kingdom Of God
The moment we, by faith, receive the life of Christ, we enter the Kingdom of God through a born again experience. This takes place when:
a. We recognise that we are sinners who deserve to be eternally separated from God and we cannot save ourselves, as we can read in:
Ephesians 2:12
Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
b. We pray to God confessing our sinfulness, asking for His forgiveness as we can read in:
I John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
c. By faith we then receive His forgiveness because 2000 years Jesus took upon Himself our sins when He died on the cross as we can read in:
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us on the cross.
d. By faith we believe God has heard our prayer and has forgiven us the moment we ask Him to as we can read in:
Acts 10:43
All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of their sins through His Name.
e. At that moment we have become a child of God and are part of God’s family and we have become citizens of the Kingdom of God as we can read in:
I Thessalonians 2:12
Encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His Kingdom and glory.
f. The Holy Spirit of God has come to life within us to help us live in a way that is pleasing to God as we can read in:
Romans 8:5-6
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.
The Apostle John writes about the need to be born again in order for us to enter the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven as we can read in:
John 1:12
Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
John 3:5-8
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no-one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at My saying, You must be born again. The winds blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
John 3:14-18
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned but whoever does not believe stand condemned already because he has not believed in the Name of God’s one and only Son.
Jesus taught much on the Kingdom of God as we can read in the Gospels. Some examples are:
Matthew 4:23
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 24:14
And the gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Luke 17:20-21
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, Here it is, or, There it is, because the Kingdom of God is within (or among) you.”
John 18:36
Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My Kingdom is from another place.”
The Apostles continued to preach on the Kingdom of God as we can read in:
Romans 14:17
For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
I Corinthians 4:20
For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
I Corinthians 6:9a
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of God?...
I Corinthians 15:50
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, not does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Galatians 5:21
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, first of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Ephesians 5:5
For this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person – such a man is an idolater – has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.
Hebrews 12:28
Therefore, since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
Kingdom Of Darkness
We have come out of the Kingdom of Darkness the moment we have entered the Kingdom of God as we can read in:
Ephesians 2:1-2
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the Kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
Colossians 1:13
For He has rescued us from the Dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves.
The God Of This World
We are no longer controlled by the god of this world, satan as we can read in:
II Corinthians 4:3-4
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
No More In Bondage
We should not allow ourselves to be in bondage any longer as we can read in:
Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery
Colossians 2:6-8
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no-one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run the race with perseverance.
We will briefly deal with the subjects of justification, sanctification and glorification in our next study.