The concept of the Kingdom of God must become the highest priority in the life of the believer. The most said concerning Jesus is, “Jesus came to die on a cross”. This is a shortsighted view, void of any understanding of what it is Jesus truly came to accomplish in the earth. The message of Jesus crucified, by no means constitutes the whole gospel. It is part of a bigger truth.
By looking at the life of Jesus, it is clear in all He said and done, that He was expressing the ways of His Kingdom. He wants us to acknowledge that the nature and character of those who belongs to His Kingdom are unlike that of those who do not. Citizens of His Kingdom are vastly different in nature, character, speech, thought and conduct. Jesus’ teachings, and the message of the Kingdom, are at great odds with the present culture of this world, as it was in the time of Jesus. The Kingdom of God is at odds, both with the religious world, and the natural world.
Jesus came to establish a different order in the world. This order was according to a Kingdom which is from Heaven. John 18:36-37, 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.”
The Upside-Down Kingdom Concept.
Jesus began His ministry with the instruction to “repent, for the Kingdom is near”. He came, literally telling man to turn from the way he was going, and go the opposite direction. The previous article stated, that even though the Kingdom of God was “similar” in the understanding of what a kingdom is characteristically, it is in stark contrast to any kingdom of this world. In fact, in such contrast, the concept of how this kingdom functions is usually hard to perceive.
One of the most challenging concepts of the Kingdom of God is, that what we as people celebrate on earth is often of little value in the Kingdom, and vice-versa. Jesus’ establishment of His Kingdom through death rather than human strength is a foolish stumbling block to this world.
The nature of the Kingdom of God is radically unlike any worldly kingdom. All human attributes that are valued in this world are of little account in the Kingdom of God. And the attributes valued in the Kingdom are typically discounted in this world.
Luke 17:20-21 (NKJV).
Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
The Jews in ancient Israel had an expectation of the coming and establishing of the Kingdom of God. Their expectation was of a kingdom which would be a world dominating kingdom that would overthrow the Roman empire, and every other kingdom which ruled over them. Jesus did indeed come to establish the promised kingdom, but it was not the kingdom they expected. Jesus’ concept of the Kingdom of God was broader than their understanding of a kingdom. This Kingdom is unlike any kingdom of the world.
The Sermon on the Mount.
When we look at Jesus’ teaching on the mount, we see the revealing to this ‘upside-down’ nature of the Kingdom. In the Beatitudes, Jesus describes several different types of people as being “Blessed”. They are; the poor in spirit; those who mourn; the gentle; those who hunger and thirst; the merciful; the pure in heart; the peacemakers; the persecuted and the insulted.
In present society, these people would be considered undesirable and insignificant. Yet, Jesus says of them, that theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven, the inheritors of the earth, sons of God, those who will see God and who has a great reward.
When we study the teachings of Jesus, it’s hard not to recognize that it is in complete contrast to what the world, and the church at large, teaches. The world teaches a false humility, do not be weak, do not take insults, show no mercy. The meek, weak, and foolish are not counted among the accepted in this world.
1 Corinthians 1:27-28 (AMP).
“But God has selected [for His purpose] the foolish things of the world to shame the wise [revealing their ignorance], and God has selected [for His purpose] the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong [revealing their frailty]. God has selected [for His purpose] the insignificant (base) things of the world, and the things that are despised and treated with contempt, [even] the things that are nothing, so that He might reduce to nothing the things that are”.
Many in the church, same as the world, view people contrary to the way God views them. Those looked “down on” are usually the valued and treasured in the Kingdom of God.
So much of the world has “snuck” into the church. We confuse worldly applications for spiritual truths. Like the world, we applaud and celebrate those with great achievements. Too often do we place on a pedestal, those who seem strong, wise, successful and prosperous. We commit ourselves to church leaders who seem ‘wealthy and successful’, at least according to worldly standards. We follow blindly, hoping to achieve the same. The desire for biblical truth and the character of Christ are not the motivational factors of our criteria.
We are not measured by our achievements, abilities, or success, in the Kingdom of God. That is to measure according to a ‘worldly standard’. These things carry absolutely no weight in the Kingdom of God. This is because the church really doesn’t have the ‘MIND OF CHRIST’. Our minds are yet still carnal. That’s due to the fact that the church doesn’t have an understanding of its true identity. It seeks acceptance, and every opportunity to establish itself among the systems of this world.
Understanding the concept of the Kingdom of God brings us into the realization that there’s no need for the “church” to seek relevance in the world. The ‘true’ church is not part of the religious systems of this world. Believers are citizens of a Heavenly Kingdom, meant to display this kingdom and its authority and power in this world, which ultimately draws men to it. The church does not need to be “relevant” in accordance to this worlds standards!
How can we reasonably expect all families of the earth to experience God’s blessing through us (the people of Abraham through faith in Christ), if we ourselves ignore God’s instructions about how to live and do our work? As Christopher Wright has noted, “The people of God in both testaments are called to be a light to the nations. But there can be no light to the nations, if it is not already shining in the transformed lives of a holy people.”
There has been such an abandonment of righteousness, uprightness and holiness among the so-called “church/people of God”. There is NO compromising on holiness, and still expecting the power of God to be present!
The concept of the Kingdom of God can only be perceived and understood by the Spirit of God. That’s why Jesus said in John 3, “you cannot see, neither can you enter the Kingdom unless you are born of water and of Spirit, unless you are born from above. What is born of flesh is flesh, and what is born of Spirit is Spirit”. It is only by being born from above, changed and made new by the Spirit, that we are able to perceive and know what this Kingdom is.
Through submitting to the workings of the Spirit in our lives, are we able to live out of the realm of this Heavenly Kingdom. Our minds renewed, our characters changed, our natures transformed; and we walk in this world, as citizens of the Kingdom of God. Jesus came to show us how to be that “new creation”. We must conduct our lives as Kingdom citizens, not as citizens of this world.