The Gospel of the Kingdom
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, Matthew 4:23.
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14
What is this Gospel of the Kingdom? Gospel means good news and kingdom has a four part definition; a king, a territory it occupies, subjects within that territory, laws, and a form of government through which the will of the ruler is exercised. So we see from the above scriptures that Jesus went about teaching the gospel of the kingdom, the good news that God’s government/rule has come to the earth.
The kingdom has two aspects, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Heaven. Since God is from the beginning, the Kingdom of God includes the Kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 4:17 Jesus preached the kingdom of heaven has come near you”. He was speaking of himself. So that helps us to understand that the Kingdom of Heaven comes from the Kingdom of God. God sent his son into this world to establish his kingdom. John the Baptist, in his preaching declares, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Jesus came from the heavens to reestablish the kingdom of God on earth, once again.
“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,” Mark 1:14 KJV. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, Romans 14:17.” This denotes that the kingdom of God is on the inside. Jesus came to give us power to change our conduct in such a way as to represent God on this earth from the inside out. When our inner spiritual condition changes, then we can show forth the spiritual conduct conducive to the rule of God in our lives; righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. How does that change happen?
The parable of the sower shows how we enter into the kingdom of heaven. “A farmer went out to sow his seed,” Matthew 13:3 NIV. The farmer is Jesus, the seed is the word of the Kingdom and the soil is the human heart. This is the first of the parables that Jesus taught and the only one that does not start with the “Kingdom of Heaven is Like…” I suspect it is because He had to come from heaven, give us an opportunity to enter into the realm of the King, by becoming sons of the King. Otherwise we would have no concept of what the kingdom of heaven means. According to the parable of the sower not all receive the message of the Kingdom because of the condition of their heart. (Matthew 3:3-23)
Another point of view about the Kingdom of God: it is the realm in which God’s reign is experienced. When we seek God’s kingdom and righteousness we seek God’s rule in our lives, Matthew 6:33. More to come …
There is a message to the overcomer,
Pastor Rosita
