Coming to Establish the Kingdom of God 

The Kingdom of God, or Kingdom of Heaven, began partially with the ministry of Jesus, entered a second phase with the establishment of the Church, and will be consummated at His return. John the Baptist came preaching, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near [at hand, KJV]” (Matt. 3:2). To every Jew that meant that the Messianic King, a descendant of David, was about to restore David’s kingdom to its former power, build the Temple, bring together the scattered tribes of Israel, reform mankind, and establish an everlasting dynasty. It meant that all the Old Testament promises of a coming Son of David were about to be fulfilled. The Greek word used here for “near,” or “at hand,” suggests proximity of place and nearness in time. So those who believed He was the Messiah expected Jesus to “come into” His Kingdom shortly. Indeed, all the disciples, even the penitent thief, expected the Kingdom to come soon.  

Matt. 20:20-21:  “Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. ‘What is it you want?’ he asked. She said, ‘Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.’” 

Luke. 23:42: “Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” 

Acts 1:7: ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”’ 

What they did not realize was that the final phase of the Kingdom, the eternal Kingdom, was not ordained for Christ’s First Coming, but for the Second. 

John 18:36-37:  “Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.’ 37 ‘You are a king, then!’ said Pilate. Jesus answered, ‘You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” 

My Kingdom is not of this world NOW, He said. However, the time will come when “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). 

After His resurrection the disciples asked Him if He would at last establish His Kingdom. 

Acts 1:4-7:  “On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 6 So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 7 He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.’” 

They still did not understand (how could they?) that the Kingdom was coming in phases. Their confusion is understandable. There are few, mostly veiled, references to the First Coming of Christ in the Old Testament. The first advent of Christ—to ransom mankind and to establish His Church—was a mystery “that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints” (Col. 1:26). So they thought that the many, many Messianic promises were about to be fulfilled. 

Jesus did not correct their Messianic expectations; only He reaffirmed what He had said before, that only the Father knew the exact time of the coming of the Kingdom. “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matt. 24:36). 

Then the Kingdom came in power on the Day of Pentecost. 

Matt.16:27-28:  “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” 

This cannot refer to the final Kingdom because it has not yet occurred, much less did it occur in the lifetime of those standing there. What did occur in a relatively short time was the coming of the Comforter on the Day of Pentecost.  A striking feature of the coming of the Holy Spirit (we could say the coming of Christ in the Holy Spirit) was a demonstration of power (Acts 2:1-2) and subsequent demonstrations of power in the life of the Church. I believe Jesus was speaking, perhaps without fully knowing it, of the Day of Pentecost. 

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This suggests that whenever and however the will of God is done the Kingdom of Heaven comes just to that extent. 

Matt. 12:26-28: “If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” 

The Kingdom of God “HAS COME!”  Whenever and wherever the Name of Jesus overcomes Satan, then and there the Kingdom of Heaven has come, albeit in a limited, partial sense. So even before the Ascension Jesus could say, “the kingdom of God has come upon you” because God’s rule was present with Jesus personally. 

Does that not imply that every time a soul is set free from Satan it is a limited coming of the Kingdom? Whenever a sinner, drug addict, convict, idolater or prostitute repents and turns to Christ, then Christ’s Kingdom, God’s rule, is present. 

The Church, then, is the present focus of the Kingdom—Church business is (ideally) Kingdom business. We Christians have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves...” (Col. 1:13).  So in a very real sense we are already in the Kingdom of Christ. 

Jesus’ statement to Peter shows the close link between the Church and the Kingdom. 

Matt. 16: 18-19:  “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be [Or will have been] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 

The Church presently has the binding and loosing authority (Kingdom authority?) in the Name of Jesus. To the whole Church, represented by the Twelve, Jesus said:

“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matt. 18: 18-20).  

There is Kingdom authority and power present in the Church today, even before Christ comes fully into His Kingdom. 

In another sense we will only come into the Kingdom after we have overcome: 

Acts 14:21-22:  “They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said. 

The Kingdom of God was present in the person and work of Christ on earth; it is present in the Church through power of the Holy Spirit; we must persevere in the face of hardships if we are to enter the eternal Kingdom. 

II Pet. 1:5-10:  “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is shortsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 

Rev. 2:26-27: “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations —27 He will rule them with an iron sceptre; he will dash them to pieces like pottery —just as I have received authority from my Father.” 

Rev. 3:21: “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.” 

So, we see that the Kingdom began to come when Christ cast out demons and overcame Satan on the cross. The Kingdom came in power on the Day of Pentecost. The Kingdom comes whenever God’s will is triumphant over Satan. We enter the Kingdom at the moment of salvation and will share with Christ in His eternal Kingdom if we hold fast until He comes.  

I will summarize in this way:  The idea of kingdom suggests an authority to rule and a realm over which the authority holds sway. In Jesus’ ministry the rule was God’s power fully present in Him; the realm was the sphere of Jesus’ influence. In the Christian era the power is the Holy Spirit and the authority is the Name of Jesus; the realm is the Church and its sphere of influence. Perhaps also the soul of each believer is a realm of God’s rule. As we are progressively sanctified, the Kingdom and rule of God comes in us. The final realm of the rule of the Kingdom will be the world and all the kingdoms of this world.  Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.