The opening chapters of the New Testament record both John the Baptist and Jesus in their public ministries preaching the kingdom of heaven was near (Mt. 3:2; 4:17). Jesus said it would come in the lifetimes of some who heard Him speak, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power” (Mk. 9:1). The kingdom would result in Heaven’s will being done on earth (Mt. 6:10). The phrase “kingdom of heaven” is used in Matthew, perhaps, because the Jewish audience was accustomed to having a substituted word for “God.” It was God’s kingdom that Jesus preached was near (Mk. 1:14, 15). God is in heaven, and we are on earth (Ecc. 5:2; Mt. 6:9).
The kingdom would come to earth, but it would not be an earthly, political type of kingdom (Jn. 18:36). The kingdom is a spiritual realm into which the saved are transferred (Col. 1:13). It is a spiritual kingdom in which Christ reigns in the hearts of those who submit to His will (Lk. 17:20-21). Jesus taught many parables of the kingdom in which He likened it to earthly episodes for illustrative purposes (Mt. 13; 20:1-16; 22:1-14; 25). We do not easily grasp spiritual truths. Those who heard Jesus often misunderstood Him because they had earthly/physical preconceptions about the kingdom or took His language too literally. In His preaching, Jesus was preparing people for the impending kingdom.
A dream king Nebuchadnezzar had centuries before revealed God’s kingdom would be set up in the days of the Roman kings (Dan. 2). The Roman Caesars were in power when Jesus lived as a human on the earth, died, and rose again to sit on His throne as King of Kings (Lk. 3:1; 20:25; 23:2; Jn. 19:12-15; Acts 2:30-36; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:9-14). Jesus promised to build His church and told Peter about the “keys of the kingdom” in the same brief statement (Mt. 16:17-19). The church and the kingdom are often used interchangeably. Power that Jesus said would accompany His kingdom came on Pentecost day following the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:1-4). Those who responded positively to the preaching of the apostles—particularly the inspired instructions of Peter recorded in the biblical text—through repentance and baptism were added to the church (Acts 2:38, 41, 47). The kingdom came with power. Peter, with the keys of the kingdom, opened the door for people to access this kingdom when he said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized for the remission of sins…” (Acts 2:38).
Those in the church are in the kingdom. The saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colossae (Col. 1:2) had been delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into the kingdom of God’s Son (Col. 1:13). When John wrote to persecuted Christians in the seven churches of Asia Minor, he referred to himself as their brother in the kingdom of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:9). Christians are fellow citizens (Eph. 2:19) of this holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9).
The proper response to hearing the kingdom of God preached is to be baptized (Acts 8:12). When one is baptized into Christ, a new birth occurs. In John 3:5-7, Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” This is the way to enter the kingdom of God—the church.
Christ’s kingdom has come. It was established on earth nearly two thousand years ago. It is the church of Christ. John prepared the way for its reception. Jesus preached about it, then died, and rose again to establish it. Are you in the kingdom?
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