The Coming Of The Kingdom

When Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you,” that word within can be translated “among you.” And some people think that Jesus was saying, “The king is with you. He’s among you right now. I’m the king and you’re not even recognizing me.” And that’s true.

But many biblical statements have a dual meaning. Additionally, I think Jesus is saying, “The kingdom of God for you as an individual begins in your heart.” It begins with a change within. That’s why we personally pray, “Your Kingdom come.” We are asking God to give us a Kingdom heart. It is as if Jesus saying, “You’re focusing on physical power and you need to give attention to, first, inner transformation.”

In his book, Kingdoms in Conflict, Charles Colson wrote, “Where there is hope it is in the fact that the kingdom of God has come to earth. It’s a kingdom that comes not in a temporary takeover of political structures, but it is a lasting takeover of the human heart by the rule of a holy God.”

Oftentimes, when people speak about the kingdom of God, they’re referencing things in the future and the return of Christ. But the Kingdom is not just about a future hope. The Kingdom has already begun. So one prime principle when we talk about the kingdom of God is that what happens in the kingdom of God within our hearts should receive more attention than what is going to happen in the kingdom of God in the future.

We need this particular reminder because the study of biblical prophecy is of over-arching importance for a lot of people. Studying biblical prophecy is not a bad thing. But we can get so caught up in predictions about the Second Coming that we lose our spiritual balance.

Then there are those who are extremely dogmatic about their particular views concerning Bible prophecy. They’ve got charts and diagrams outlining exactly what is going to transpire. They’re so caught up in the rightness of their own views, they get angry at people who disagree with them and cause divisions among the Body of Christ.

We need to understand that every generation of Christians in history has believed that Christ was coming back in their lifetime. And that’s good because Jesus may come back at any time. And then again, it’s possible that Jesus may delay His coming for another hundred or even a thousand years.

Jesus is saying, “Keep things in perspective. The kingdom of God is here now. It’s taking place in your hearts. And you’re much better changing your heart and doing what you can today to honor God rather than focusing all the time on My Second Coming.”

It’s also important for us to understand that the kingdom of God has begun but it has not yet been fully realized. Many theologians, when talking about the kingdom of God, talk about the already but not yet. The kingdom is in process but it’s not in its completed state. To understand that concept a little clearer, imagine that your team is up 36 to 0 in the Super Bowl so victory is yours but there are still downs to be played in the mean time. So the kingdom of God begins in this life and is ultimately fulfilled upon the Second Coming of Jesus.