Preview
In this section we will give a brief presentation of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God:
- The abnormal phenomenon of the “Normal” Gospel: The Good News of Salvation.
- The Gospel in the New Testament is the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
- Essence of the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Presentation
The Gospel of Salvation
Today, as is happening in many quarters of Christianity, the gospel of the Kingdom of God is coming more and more to the center of our attention and emphasis. The consensus is a revelation that the “normal” gospel we have heard and preached around the world for the majority of the Church Age, even after the Reformation, has fallen short in presenting the fullness of the “Good News”. Sin, forgiveness, repentance into faith in Jesus Christ, heaven and hell, and even the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit have been the topics of teaching. These have been regarded as “sound doctrines”, but seldom have we heard the Gospel preached in the context of the Kingdom of God; nonetheless, it is preached as the true reality through His power, which comes down from heaven. Instead, what we often hear is a message of salvation, the core of which, in my humble opinion, is still centered around “the interest of man” in understanding and practice. Some would call it “half of the gospel”, and some have been bold enough to denounce it as a false gospel.
This “half or false gospel” tends to produce, within a man, the idolatry of humanistic love rather than the love of God. Because of this, he cherishes values that appeal to the morals and the well being of man and are based on a righteousness by human effort, rather than a righteousness rooted and ministered from and in the Kingdom of God. Therefore, he upholds a world view of rights and wrongs based on human experiences and human intellect. He consolidates the ideals of man rather than those based on divine revelation through a living relationship with a living God according to His plan and His pleasure. In this, man seeks to achieve a form of “godliness” through religious forms and outer appearance. He continues on in an unchanged earthly nature – Paul would call it carnal or worldly, with a life confined as a lowly created being in this world, rather than as a being that is regenerated and transformed into a new creation from glory to glory in the Spirit. None can be perfected into the very life of his Creator, by partaking of God’s divine nature which is embodied in the Man of Christ, unless he possesses such a spiritual reality and grows in such a spiritual life. Let’s translate this into biblical language. In essence, the former (gospel of salvation) is by and large for the “love of self”, “righteousness by the Law”, “wisdom from below”, “the sinful nature of man” or life as a “son of Adam”; the latter (Gospel of the Kingdom) is for the “love of God”, “righteousness in the Kingdom of God”, “wisdom from above”, “the divine nature of God” or a life as a “son of God”.
In order to further show the contrast. Let us give a brief version of the “gospel of salvation” according to the former ways, or human tradition:
Man (Adam and Eve) fell when he willfully disobeyed God, being tempted by the serpent (Satan). They ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thus sinned against God and were judged by Him. The consequence of this sin was that they would die and lose access to eternal life. God expelled them from the Garden of Eden and they had to “labor” to make a living. Moreover, everyone who is born of Adam is born in sin and will die and spend eternity in hell. So God, by His grace, sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to become a man. Jesus was born of a virgin and died on the cross, paying the penalty of our sins and made atonement for them. If we believe in Him, repent of our sins, make a good confession, receive Him as our Savior and Lord, and be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we are saved from sin and death. We will not go to hell but will be with Him in heaven and He will give us eternal life. Jesus Christ will come back from heaven and raise us up or “rapture” us when He appears. We then will have eternal life and enjoy His love as a family forever, free from pain, sorrow and illness. Some even boldly state that our beloved one will be with us in heaven and live with us forever.
To tell you the truth, this almost sounds like folklore rather than the Gospel that was preached by Jesus and His disciples. The life we are given through our faith in Christ Jesus was never intended to be, in God’s mind, an extension of our earthly life, even with its best ideals and intentions. Yes, we are saved from hell, but not necessarily reserved for heaven, at least not this present one. Yes, we will be resurrected and have a new body, but it will be a spiritual body. Yes, Christ will come and free us from pain and sorrow, but more than that, we will also enjoy His Glory and His Power as we are transformed into His very Nature. We will more than belong to God’s family; we will also reign with Him in His Kingdom, as priests and kings.
To be “saved” is only the first step of our Christian walk. To grow into maturity, or into the perfect image and likeness of God the Father, which is eternal life in Christ Jesus, is truly what He intended.
In a sense, the Gospel of Salvation really does only amount to “half of the Gospel” at best. There is so much more encompassed in the Life of God!
The Preaching of “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God” in the New Testament
If the Gospel is not merely about the salvation of human souls, then what is it about? The New Testament states it clearly: it is about the Kingdom of God. Let’s take a look at the Gospel preached by some major NT characters in order to gain a clear understanding of this.
John the Baptist
Matt. 3:1-2 [NIV]
1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
In the OT prophecies (Mal. 3:1, Isa. 40:3-5), a forerunner of the Messiah is mentioned and is designated as the messenger who will proclaim the coming of the Messianic Kingdom.
In Matthew chapter 3 and John chapters 1 and 3, we can see that John the Baptist intentionally preached a message of repentance and baptized people so that they would be prepared to receive the King; a King who was coming with His Kingdom. When the dazzled rulers and scholars of the day sent messengers to ask John who he was, he plainly denied their imagination to treat him as the Prophet mentioned by Moses.
However, he pointed people to Jesus, declaring that He was both the Lamb of God and the Son of God, or the Messiah. He testified about Jesus and deemed himself unworthy to even be His servant – to untie Jesus’ sandals. He encouraged others to follow the Messiah by saying that he took great joy in being a friend of the Groom and giving them over to marry Jesus as His Bride, that is to become His disciples. He said that his own ministry must decrease and that Jesus’ (His ministry and Kingdom) must increase.
Surely the Kingdom of God as foreseen and longed for in the ages past had now come and was to increase and overcome all things that had not been subdued by it. As the greatest of all prophets, John knew that he was not to compare himself to even the least of those who belong to the Kingdom of His Son, “His little ones”-he would call them.
For John, his whole life and ministry was given for this sole purpose, that is to testify about Jesus and prepare others to receive His Teaching and His Kingdom that comes with Him. Evidently, John, being a godly man as he was, in his earthly life, was not granted the privilege to be included as a citizen of the Kingdom of the Son of God, or as a member of the Household of God, the Father; the kind of privilege clearly illustrated by our Lord Jesus and His Disciples that those before them were not granted by the grace God to hear or see, not mention to enter. He wouldn’t dare to misrepresent the true intention of His God by sending His Only begotten Son to mankind as a sacrificial lamb to take away their sins, so that they can be restored to something dear to His heart and holy in His sight. He was happy to confess that Jesus, a unknown, lowly and common Israelites, as the Savior and the King, even of his own soul. He had longed for the Day of the Lord and counted the greatest honor to serve him as His messenger.
Jesus Christ
Luk. 4:43 [NIV]
“43 I must preach the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.”
After being baptized by John, endowed with the power of the Holy Spirit, and tempted by the Devil in the wildness for 40 days, Jesus first preached the Gospel at the synagogue of His home town where he was brought up. While reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, he declared that He fulfilled the scripture that he was reading (Isaiah 61), implying that He was the Messiah (the Anointed One after David). Because of such bold and unconventional preaching, the people, who knew His family and His upbringing, refused to accept His testimony. They actually ended up trying to stone Him and push Him off a cliff. What a sad start! From there, He went to the region of Zebulun and Naphtali to fulfill another portion of scripture recorded in Isaiah 9:1-2.
Matt. 4:17 [NIV]
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ ”
He would now call his disciples and begin to teach them about the Kingdom of God. This fulfilled
Isa. 52:7 [NIV]
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”
He did many miracles, signs, and wonders which accompanied His preaching. Even so, not many believed Him, even His own mother and brothers refused to do so. Jesus was often distressed and sorrowful because of the blindness of His own people. Due to the nature of His teaching, many had a hard time to believe His testimony and embrace His life.
Now we can see it is evident that Jesus instructed others about His Kingdom. There are a few characteristics that marked out His teachings as unconventional and these characteristics go far beyond the manner in which He delivered them. Let us take a look:
First, He preached and taught with authority and power.
Demons were silenced and men of evil intent were greatly stirred. Among these, Jesus’ disposition was not as friendly and agreeable as many would like to make Him out to be. Today, sadly, many circles of Christianity, have, for the most part, degraded the teachings of Jesus into nothing more than a social or moral appeal within the shell of a religious system. We know Jesus would have none of it. Jesus adamantly criticized the religious teachings and practices of the day to the extent that He openly asserted that it was of the devil, not of God. He made no comprise with the ways of man or with the traditions of their forefathers, even with their flesh or their carnal mind. He strictly applied the same standard to those chosen to be His disciples, which in many startling ways ran in contrast and conflict with the kind of discipleship practiced by Pharisees, Sadducees, and even John the Baptist. Even those who wanted to be taught by Him were constantly upset with Him or upset Him. He made Himself many enemies because of the absolute sanctity of His message and His stern criticism of the wickedness of mankind. This was especially true with His relationship with the religious leaders of the day, whom He often agitated when He spoke sternly of them as liars and hypocrites.
Secondly, He was more than a teacher of the Kingdom, He was practitioner of it.
With the great power of the Holy Spirit, He was able to heal the sick and cast out demons and to perform many miracles. He went far beyond just doing that on His own. At the direction of His Heavenly Father, He selected 12 men and imparted to them spiritual authority and power as well; He then sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God. This is recorded in the Matt 10 and Luke 9. After this, Jesus sent out His 72 disciples as recorded in Luke 10 with the same task. He wanted them to experience the power of the Holy Spirit themselves and to be strengthened in their faith in the truths He had taught them about the authority and power of the Kingdom of God, so that the teachings and the ministry of eternal life in God could become their conviction and their passion also.
Something to worth to notice. Today, many people get confused with the purpose and the work of the power of the Holy Spirit, treating it as an end in itself, rather than as a means to an end. This is a very sad and misleading way to treat the Holy Spirit. Jesus actually offered severe warnings against it, as recorded in Luke 10:17-23.
Third, He constantly had to deal with man’s flesh in order to open up their spiritual eyes and ears to receive His teachings.
Such teachings can only be appropriated as spiritual wisdom and understanding. Often, lack of awareness of the spiritual nature of His teachings on their part made the disciples oblivious to a reality that they were on the forefront of a merciless and forceful war, waging between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Darkness. The Devil would seize every opportunity to oppose their advancement as the Son of God and the course of the Kingdom of God. Often this is done through the instrumentality of man’s flesh, even amongst the disciples. It proved to be a very laborious endeavor on our Lord’s part, as the disciples were slow to comprehend their life in such a context, and were reluctant to engage with Him in this way of discipleship. With the preaching of the Gospel, the advancement of the Kingdom stirred up great conflicts in heaven and on earth. Yet the disciples, as recorded by their testimony in the four gospels, were often clueless about it. Sometimes they were even used by the evil one to hinder the work of the Lord. Jesus declared openly that His work is do the will of His Father, and to undo the work of the Devil. The battle field of this great conflict, the very field of a harvest He labors on, is the mind and heart of a man, as much as it is raging in the heavenly and the spiritual realms. Thus, Jesus was facing resistance not only from outside of His camp, but also from within. Later, even among His disciples, those whom He called friends and brothers, one (Judas Iscariot) betrayed Him; and the others either abandoned Him or denied Him. This fulfilled what was prophesied in Psalm 69:19-28, only in His case, Jesus prayed for those who persecuted Him: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Our Lord chose to fulfill the will of His Father and the truth of His Message to the uttermost, even to the point of death on the cross, as one being cursed by God Himself. This is completely the opposite of what man had perceived or assumed the Messiah (the Anointed One) would be. And the disciples at that time had hard time to embrace it, if one had’t shaken their head and turned away from it.
Jesus taught His disciples about the Kingdom of God. After His resurrection, He also commissioned them to preach this Gospel of the Kingdom and to make disciples in all nations in the same way that He had discipled them. After tarrying in Jerusalem for a while, they were “clothed with power from on high” as He promised them,
Acts 1:3 [NIV]
3After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
Luk. 24:45-49 [NIV]
45Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Matt. 28:16-20 [NIV]
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The Apostles
Recorded in book of Acts as well as in the epistles written by the Apostles, we can easily recognize that the message they preached was also the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
As they waited in Jerusalem, following the specific instruction from the Lord, they received the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The church was thus born and the Kingdom came to be true upon the hearts of man. On that meaningful day, in the very face of many false accusations and the great commotion of a confused crowd, Peter, endowed with the power of the Holy Spirit, preached the Gospel (Acts 2). It was delivered with such passion, insight and conviction that all who were present felt his words like a sharp sword, cut into their heart. (Heb. 4:12). They were undone. The core of Peter’s message is that the Jews had just crucified their Messiah because they were not able to perceive the nature of the Kingdom of God. Three-thousand in Jerusalem were convicted and believed in the Name of the Lord Jesus that day.
Peter and other apostles worked many miracles as they continued to preach their Lord and His Kingdom in face of many oppositions from the religious establishments of the day. They never shrank back. The power of God changed their whole being, from one like any other mortal man of the world, as pious as he can be, to one truly like the son of God, living in the power of a new life. They feared no death or opposition as the conviction of the Truth of the Kingdom of God and the Power of the Holy Spirit really enabled them to be “not of this world even though they are in the world.”
However, in the early stages, the ministry of the apostles was confined mainly among the Jews. They were yet to embrace and launch into the Lord’s mission for them to evangelize and disciple all peoples of the world. They were still dubious about God’s intention. That is, even the gentiles, the defiled ones in the eyes of the Jews, were now equally qualified by their faith in Christ Jesus to receive such a great salvation. In order to break this mode, God raised a very unique personality to preach of the Gospel of the Kingdom to the gentile world. Saul was a devout Jew and well educated as a Pharisee. He was very zealous of the traditions of his forefathers, so much so that he volunteered to persecute the followers of Jesus. The Lord “ambushed” him on his way to Damascus on the peak of his ruthless pursuit, as he had determined to carry out the persecution there as well. He became a disciple of Jesus after a dramatic encounter. The Lord called him to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. From that day on, Paul never turned back. With every fabric of his passion and will, he labored amongst the gentles for the Kingdom of God. Preaching and teaching the Gospel wherever he was sent, only within 10 years, he laid the foundation of 10 churches in the major cities of the Roman world, especially in the area of Asia Minor.
The faithful servants of God spurred a movement of great magnitude and fundamentally Roman world, the most powerful and civilized empire up to date. In about 300 years, it endorsed Christianity officially. What an amazing God! And how wonderful His ways!
Essence of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God
To sum up, let’s give a brief version of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
In the beginning, God created man in His own image and likeness. His intention was and is that He would have many sons to be His Family, with whom He would share His Glory. It was for this reason that He created all the heavens and the earth and everything in it. He gave Adam and Eve, the first couple created, the right to rule the creation on His behalf, to multiply after their own kind and to subdue everything. He walked with them and instructed them in His wisdom, in hope that they would learn His ways and mature into His nature as they fellowship together. But man rebelled and was deceived by the serpent, the Devil, to seek their own interest and wisdom. They fell into temptation and partook of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thereby seeking the likeness of God in a way that He had spoken against. As the result of their sin, they were expelled from God’s presence and were not able to eat from the Tree of Life. Thus, sin entered the world through Adam, and with it, death. The two (sin and death) became the ruling powers that the Devil used to rule the whole world. Man, being subjected by this kingdom of darkness and its depravity, became a lost race, without God, and without hope.At just the right time, God, by His foreknowledge, sent His only Begotten Son, born of a woman. He became a man of flesh and blood, even the last Adam. He tasted our pain and sorrow-the result of sin and death, as a man. More than that, He willingly died as sin (or as a right sacrifice for sin), on our behalf. He took our sin upon Himself and was crucified on a cross, through the hands of His own kind, the Jews, Gentiles, and the Romans. In essence, He took on Himself the wrath that is due to us. Because He did this, He can forgive the sins of those who repent and believe in Him. He is indeed the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world.
After He died, He went to the Deep, and took the keys of Hades and death. By this, He restored once for all the hope of eternal life to those who put their faith in Him. Moreover, He also ascended to God’s throne in Heaven and sat down at God’s right hand as the rightful heir and King of Kings. From this place He can grant authority and power, even as it was given to Him by the Father, to those who will become His church that they might subdue everything under Him by overcoming the opposition of the Evil One and his agents. Whoever believes Him and in His Kingdom, will be given the gift the Holy Spirit, and thereby eternal life. They will be included as citizens of His Kingdom and members of the Family of God.
Through His church, which is the embodiment of His Kingdom as well as the Family of His Father on earth and in heaven, He will subdue everything under His feet. When He has done this, He will hand His kingdom back to the Father, who will fill Himself all in all.
We will expound on this more in the following chapters.
Scriptures
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God
Matt. 4:17 [NIV]
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
— In the Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry.
Matt. 10:7 [NIV]
As you (the disciples) go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’
—When Jesus first sent out His 12 disciples.
Acts 28:31 [NIV]
Boldly and without hindrance he (Paul) preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.
—In the midst of the first wave of Christianity.
Matt. 24:14 [NIV]
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
—In the End Time.
The Essence of the Gospel
Eph. 1:3-14 [NIV]
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
1 Cor. 15:20-28 [NIV]
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
Questions for Reviews
- What stands out to you when you read this session’s presentation?
- What kind of Gospel you have heard before? Have you ever heard anyone concentrate on the Kingdom of God in their presenting the Gospel to you?
- What Gospel Jesus Christ and His disciples preached? Can you give a brief presentation of it yourself here?
Questions for Mediation and Application
- You surely have learned the basic questions of every world view, religious or philosophical. What are your answers to these “tough” questions?
- Where are you from?
- Who are you?
- Why are you here?
- Where are you going?
Now read this verse:
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”Gen. 1:28 [NIV]
Can you give a brief explanation of what God means when He talking about subduing and ruling?
- Continue to pounder on the above verse. Now, do you think man as in general enjoy the position and power to do what God commanded in this present age?
- Now you have briefly dived into the concept of the Kingdom of God. Please give some contemplation on how it will impact your life in these areas:
- My Spiritual Life
- My Life in the World
- My life in the Body of Christ