What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I ask the following question: 

What message did Jesus preach the most? 

Perhaps you thought of single-worded concepts like love, grace, mercy, or forgiveness.  Or, perhaps you thought of phrases such as the gospel, or eternal life. Or, perhaps you connected the title of this teaching to the question and thought about the correct answer: The Kingdom of God, or the market, as Jesus would have said it in His earthly language. 

Regardless of how important the above truths are, the primary purpose the Father sent Jesus was to be the conduit for the initial and ongoing release of the Kingdom of God on the earth.  This assignment was unique to Jesus himself and had never been delegated to anyone else since the creation of the universe.

Jesus proclaimed this: 

But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”- Luke 4:43.

The Kingdom of God was not only the primary focus of His teachings and parables, but it also was an overarching theme in every aspect of His life; including His ministry and prayer life (the ‘Lord’s prayer’ repeats the phrase kingdom of God more than any other topic).

Furthermore, it was the last topic He spoke of before He made His final ascension.  History doesn’t record much of exactly what Jesus said during those forty days, only the main topic: 

He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. – Acts 1:3 (ESV)

Perhaps by now I have convinced you that the central message of Jesus, both before and after the resurrection, was the Kingdom of God (Luke 4:43).

If Jesus’ core message was and is the Kingdom of God, then it should be ours as well if we are to follow in His steps.  

Moving on, the next question may be as equally as important as the first: 

What is the Kingdom of God to you? 

After interviewing many individuals with this question, the answers supplied are rarely homogenous:

The kingdom of God is love…..

The kingdom of God is healing….

The kingdom of God is forgiveness…

And the list goes on. 

Why does there appear to be so many perspectives regarding the most important message Jesus brought to us?  Perhaps it is rarely taught, or perhaps it is taught but rarely experienced.  In either case, we must understand and walk in it.

If Jesus’ core message/life purpose was and is the Kingdom of God, then it should be ours as well if we are to follow in His steps.  Let’s explore what the kingdom of God is and is not, and what our responsibilities and roles are within it.

First, the kingdom has a dualistic meaning, expressed as both current reality and future consummation.  It has arrived, and also remains in the future. Take a water hose, turn it on, and begin to pour it into a bucket.  Was the water in the bucket when the pouring started or when it finished?  Yes!  Is the Father’s kingdom on the earth now? Yes.  Will it be on the earth in the future? Yes, howbeit, in full measure.  When Jesus came on the scene, the Father turned on the spikes, Jesus was the hose (conduit) and the Holy Spirit was the water which began the process of releasing the will of the Father in the earth (For the kingdom of God is not meat or drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit).  

The Father has temporarily delegated the management and reign of the Kingdom of God to His Son Jesus.  When the last ‘molecule’ of the kingdom is poured out into the earth through King Jesus by the complete abolishment of all other earthly authorities, including death itself, then Jesus will hand it back over His Father:

..then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to God and Father when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.  For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

 – 1 Corinthians 15:26

1. What is the kingdom of God? 

First and foremost, it is an actual kingdom.  

Because the Lord chooses to use specific words to relate a specific truth, if we assign the wrong meaning to the words He uses, it can skew a proper understanding of His message.  Therefore, as it is our custom, let’s define the word ‘kingdom’. 

1. A state or government having a king (or queen) as its head. 

The kingdom has a realm that has a domain, including its subjects, over which the king has jurisdiction.  Jurisdiction relates to authority and control. The kingdom of God then is when God exerts his authority in the world so His will can be achieved.  The kingdom is moving and active (it can come upon us), therefore, it is His act of ruling and His exercise of power and dominion in our lives. 

The Kingdom of God: The rule of God facilitated thru Christ.  From beginning to end, Jesus’ entire life and ministry was the expression of God’s rule. Everything He said and did release it. Matthew 9:35. 

Bottom Line: Simply put, the kingdom of God is the sovereignty of Christ in action.  

2. What do the scriptures mean when they say the Kingdom of God is at hand? 

John the Baptist preached that the kingdom of God was at hand, meaning God’s rule was about to break through into the earth through the Messiah.

3. Is there a kingdom of darkness?

Just as the kingdom of God exists on the earth, so does the kingdom of darkness (Matthew 12:26). Satan’s domain was established when he fell from Heaven to earth. He is called the prince of the power of the air and our struggle isn’t against flesh and blood, but against the domain of the kingdom of darkness in spiritual places.  The Lord has allowed the kingdom of darkness to remain to test and grow His sons and daughters for preparation to rule and reign with Him in the coming age.  It is only those who endure that will reign with Him.

God’s kingdom is being restored in the earth through the life and ministry of Christ who defeated Satan, death, and sin.   Below is a table showing the differences between the two kingdoms:

Kingdom of God	Kingdom of Darkness
Christ is God	Satan is god
Eternal	Temporary
Rises to glory	Will fall to ruin
Authority	No authority in a believer
Opens our eyes to see reality	Blinds eyes to see reality
Ruled by humility and submission	Ruled by rebellion
Ruled by the Gospel	Ruled by lies
God is Father	satan his father

4. Our first experience with it:

Sin cannot remain or enter into the kingdom (as evidenced by the fall of Lucifer) since sin is the opposite of righteousness, which is what the kingdom is ruled by. 

5. How do we enter it? 

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the key to the kingdom that opens the door to our entrance into it.  

The blood of Christ shed on the cross is the only instrument in heaven that can remove our sin to enable us to enter in.  Jesus said to Nicodemus unless a man is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom.  

6. What all is in the kingdom of God? 

As various fish are to the sea, when we enter into the kingdom, we become a part of a diverse collection of others who are also under God’s rule.  

But you have come to 1Mount Zion and the 2city of the living God, the 3heavenly Jerusalem, and 4myriads of angels, to the 5general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and 6to God, the Judge of all, and to the 7spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to 8Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and 9to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel………(v28)Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;

-Hebrews 12:22-24, 28

As stated above, the kingdom of God includes the church but much more.  What then are the major differences between the Church of Christ and the Kingdom of God?  I’ve compiled this in the following table: 

Kingdom of God	Church
Workers	Sons and daughters
Citizens	Family
Inheritance	Only includes those that will be resurrected to life
Occupation	Marriage
Includes the Body of Christ and more.

What does it look like on earth?

The kingdom of God is in our midst.  Luke 17:20-21.

God’s kingdom is being restored in the earth through the life and ministry of Christ.   When we are transferred from Satan’s domain into the kingdom of Christ, it means that when we surrendered to the authority of Christ, He sets up His rule in our lives and by doing so delivered us from the power of Satan, death, and sin. Matthew 12:28-29. The removal of demonic activity is an indicator of the presence of the kingdom of God.  Healing in our bodies is an indicator of the kingdom of God.

What are we to do now regarding the Kingdom of God?

1. We are to pray for it: Matthew 6:10.
2. We are to seek it: Matthew 6:33.
3. We are to be a disciple of it: Matthew 13:52
4. We are to use the keys in it: Matthew 16:19
5. It is to be preached and taught: Matthew 24:14. Acts 28:31
6. We are privileged to understand the mysteries of it: Luke 8:10
7. We have the privilege to see it manifested: Matthew 9:35. Luke 10:9
8. We experience it intrinsically not extrinsically (Romans 14:17)
9. We are workers for it (Col. 4:11).
10. It is to be the core message of our lives, as it was Christ’s.

10. What is the single greatest thing we can do to see it expressed in our lives? 

Matthew 5:3, Matthew 18:4: Humble ourselves and surrender to Christ.  Being poor in spirit means trusting God for all things.  The kingdom is not merely in word (as in the words contained in this teaching) but is expressed in power and the movement of God in our lives. It is not something that can be observed with the eye but can be experienced. God resists the prideful but gives grace to the lowly.