What does the Bible have to say about the kingdom of God? Quite a bit it seems. And many of us have not heard the complete story. I am going to tell you something that, as I think about it, is a pretty sad commentary on the churches that I have attended for most of my life. If you consider yourself a Christian, you may have experienced something similar. I gave my heart to Jesus, or at least I thought I did, when I was eight years old. Honestly, I did it because I was offered a choice between heaven and hell. And who wouldn’t chose paradise over punishment?

From then until I was middle aged, I believed God’s kingdom was only heaven and there was a distinct difference between here and heaven. Heaven was where God ruled and one day I would go there. That was the message I received and believed. Was that your experience, too? Were you taught that following Jesus was all about going to heaven when you die?

In Simply Good News: Why the Gospel is News and What Makes it Good, N.T. Wright asserts the word supernatural as it pertained to Christianity fell into disuse and what was intended by God to be a unified whole was split in two by man. “But with the big split that came about through eighteenth-century thought (where we humans decided we would run the world and that God, if there was a God, could be safely packed off upstairs to heaven, where people could go and visit him if they wished), the word supernatural was also sent upstairs.” (p. 79) It went so far that Thomas Jefferson’s Bible contained none of the supernatural events recorded in other Bible versions and translations. For many, heaven was where God belonged, not here on earth.

So, what is the Kingdom of God? It is the culmination of God’s plan for his creation. In The Kingdom of God: A Biblical Theology, by Nicholas Perrin, the author concludes “the kingdom of God is a liturgical reality rooted in creation, given expression in human history through the successive covenants, and decisively actualized through John the Baptizer and then Jesus.” (p. 33) In ordinary words, it is the promised reign of David’s offspring on earth forever.

When the Pharisees asked him about it, Jesus said, “There is no use saying, ‘Look! Here it is’ or ‘Look! There it is.’ God’s kingdom is here with you.” (Luke 17:21 | CEV) The king was standing in their presence and would soon fill the hearts of his followers. Since Abraham, the Jews had waited for their messiah to arrive, but when he finally did, they rejected him saying, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” (John 19:15 | ESV) 

God began a new thing with the Incarnation. In his book, How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels, N.T. Wright, asserts, “The ‘kingdom of heaven’ is not about people going to heaven. It is about the rule of heaven coming to earth.” (p. 43) Jesus’s ministry taught his followers how to live his way in the world he created. Some describe the kingdom as “already and not yet;” beginning with Christ’s ministry, crucifixion and resurrection and will conclude when he returns to rule on earth.

Wright asserts, “the early Christians all believed that with Jesus’s death and resurrection the kingdom had indeed come in power, even if it didn’t look at all like they imagined it would.” (p. 173) After his Ascension, Jesus sent his Spirit to lead believers into all truth. “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13 | NIV)  

Followers of Jesus today have the same Spirit living in them that the disciples did who walked with Jesus. As we share the gospel and live by the Spirit, God’s kingdom on earth grows. We are doing our part by doing God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand–new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now!  1 Peter:3-4 | MSG

The Holy Spirit leads us to emulate Jesus’s character. For now, he reigns from heaven, and communicates through his Spirit, but one day he will return to reign and rule right here. “For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.” Matthew 16:27 | NLT

What I experienced is the rule, rather than the exception. In fact, Wright contends the real gospel story has been lost. “The story the gospels tell, of a Jesus who embodied the living God of Israel and whose cross and resurrection really did inaugurate the kingdom of that God, remained not only incomprehensible, but unheard.” (p. 161) He ultimately concludes, “The main theme is that, in and through Jesus the Messiah, Israel’s God reclaims his sovereign rule over Israel and the world.” (p. 240)

If we claim to be Christians, we are living in God’s Kingdom and, as his followers, we are expected to look and act like Jesus. “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:40 | ESV) We are expected to live our lives in such a way Jesus can be seen in us. Finally, if we are kingdom citizens, we must exercise care that our political involvement does not overshadow our kingdom responsibilities or loyalties. (See A Kingdom Choice)