A Christian Guidebook: What Is the Kingdom of God? (2)

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” John 18.36

The spiritual world
Jesus explained to Pilate that He is indeed a King, but not one such as Pilate might have imagined.

Of course, to help us understand the great beauty and power of the Kingdom of God, and to give us some sense of its workings, Jesus frequently used material and temporal terms to explain it: sown seeds, growing trees, kings and realms, armies and vineyards, and more. All these metaphors and images show us what the Kingdom of God is like, and we should nurture our understanding of the Kingdom by meditating often on the Kingdom parables of our Lord.

But Jesus also wanted us to know that His Kingdom is “not of this world.” That is, His Kingdom is of another world, the spiritual world, which, together with the world we live in is part of the total, overall creation of God. God does not live in our worlds, either the temporal/material or the spiritual. He is beyond all and above all and over all and in all and through them all. In Him we—and the angels and departed saints—live and move and have our being.

The Kingdom of God is first and most fully realized and expressed as a spiritual domain. Yet it does not exist beyond the world we know, but rather intersects with it, expands throughout it, works transforming power within it, and one day will completely pervade, transform, and reconstitute it. The Kingdom of God is spiritual in nature. It operates on earth from within the soul of every believer, where the Spirit of God works to advance the Kingdom from within unto righteousness, peace, and joy.

Since the Kingdom of God is spiritual and dwells in and advances from the spiritual component of believers’ lives, the means whereby the Kingdom operates and accomplishes its ends must also be spiritual. Not political and not cultural, but spiritual.

But what are those means?

Spirit and Word
First in the means Jesus used to bring and advance His Kingdom are the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. These are the primary and indispensable means whereby Jesus achieves His goal of making us like Himself (2 Cor. 3.12-18), so that His Presence and power overflow from us like living water to refresh our world (Jn. 7.37-39; Ps. 110).

The implications of this are clear: First, we must understand what the Spirit is trying to achieve in us. I will mention three primary things: Teach us the Law of God (Ezek. 36.26, 27); bring forth in us the fruit of holiness (Gal. 5.22, 23), and empower us for service in the Kingdom, first by using the gifts He bestows on us (1 Cor. 12.7-11) and second by empowering us as witnesses for Jesus (Acts 1.8). We will realize the presence, promise and power of the Kingdom of God as we devote ourselves to the Spirit’s agenda and submit to the Word of God that He might thereby outfit us for our calling.

Hence, it is important that we walk in the Spirit, and not in the flesh, and that we are filled with the Spirit daily and continually.

The Scriptures are spiritually alive and powerful to three ends: To show us Jesus in all His wisdom and might (Jn. 5.39); to equip us to be and live like Jesus (2 Tim. 3.15-17); to engage the Holy Spirit within us for the work of making all things new and overflowing in our lives (Rev. 21.5; Jn. 7.37-39). We cannot know, love, and serve Jesus as citizens of His Kingdom apart from continuous, constant, and careful reading, study, and obedience to the Word of God.

The Holy Spirit and the Scriptures are the primary and indispensable spiritual means whereby the Kingdom works within our spirit to equip and engage us for advancing the Kingdom of God. If we neglect these resources, we cannot expect any other spiritual resources to be of much effect, for these—prayer, preaching, and teaching—require solid footing in the Word and Spirit if they are to be of value in realizing more of the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God. I repeat: If you’re counting on preaching, a Sunday school class or Bible study group, or some favorite Christian author to increase your Kingdom experience, you are barking up the wrong tree. Without the Holy Spirit and Scripture as your daily fare, you will never realize the fullness of God’s Kingdom salvation.

Additional resources
All of which, of course, is not to say that preaching, teaching, fellowship, and reading good authors cannot help us realize more of the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God. They can, when we are depending on this in the fullness of the Spirit and on the foundation of Scripture. Read all you can. Pay attention to good preaching and teaching. Learn Jesus by every available means, for this is what disciples do and it’s what brings us into more of the true spiritual life of the Kingdom of God.

And prayer. Oh yes, prayer. In all, during all, throughout all, for all, and unto all the fullness of the Kingdom of God. We must pray always, seeking the Kingdom’s coming on earth as it is in heaven and beseeching our Father in heaven to bring us more deeply into the depths of its spiritual character and mission. Let prayers for the Kingdom guide all your prayers, so that earnest and holy spiritual seeking of the Kingdom pervades all you do all day long.

The Kingdom of Jesus is not of this world. And if we want out-of-this-world experiences and an out-of-this-world way of life, they’re ready to hand. But we must appeal to the proper means to realize them. Only through the Word and Spirit, prayer and the resources of the Church will we become the Kingdom citizens and ambassadors we have been called to be.

Search the Scriptures
1. Review Matthew 6.10, 33. In what ways are you using your spiritual resources for these purposes?

2. How would you explain the not-of-this-world Kingdom of Jesus to a new believer? Where would you turn in Scripture?

3. Summarize Moses’ advice in Psalm 90.12, 16, 17 about bringing more spiritual power to our daily work.

Next steps—Preparation: Review the spiritual means by which you are presently seeking the Kingdom of God. Where could you improve in the use of each of these?

Additional Resources
If you have found this study helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

Additional Resources
For a more detailed explanation of the Kingdom of God and what it means for us, order a copy of The Kingdom Turn (click here) or as a free PDF download (click here).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.