Preaching the Kingdom of God
"For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." - Acts 28:30-31
I ran across this verse at the end of Acts the other day and I've been thinking about it ever since. Paul, while under house arrest, preached the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. What does it mean to "preach the Kingdom of God?" We know what teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ is pretty much, but, the Kingdom of God? Not so much, I'm afraid. I don't what to separate Jesus from the Kingdom, but it seems that more is meant here than that they are the very same thing. Of course, everywhere Jesus goes, His Kingdom is manifest, but what does that really mean?
The Kingdom seemed to be a pretty big deal to Jesus. Matthew 4:23 says, "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people." He taught his followers to pray, "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 5:10). He sent the Twelve out and told them "As you go, preach this message: 'The Kingdom of Heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:7-8). So many of Jesus' parables were about the Kingdom, as well. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed . . . yeast . . . a treasure. Jesus preached it. Paul preached it. We are told to preach it ("And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole word as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" - Matt. 24:14).
So, if it was that big of a deal, then what is it? How much teaching do we hear on the Kingdom of God? How many of us really know what it is? A simple definition would be that a Kingdom is wherever the King reigns and rules. When Jesus said "the Kingdom of God is within you" (Lk. 17:21), He was speaking of the place where His Spirit would reside and where He would reign and rule. When the gospel of the Kingdom is preached, it is meant to bring people and all creation under the reign and rule of the King, Jesus Christ. We are not to just preach, teach, and obey a gospel that allows us to be unchanged within and that just gets us into heaven. The gospel of the Kingdom is to be all encompassing. It is to touch every aspect of our lives and bring redemption to dead places within us, our families, communities, culture, and world. We are to literally pray that God's Kingdom would come and that His will would be done on earth, just like it is in Heaven! Do we really pray that way? Do we live that way? Do we preach that way?
I think that what Jesus and Paul meant by the gospel of the Kingdom is a whole lot bigger than what we hear in our churches. What do you think the gospel of the Kingdom is, and how can we see it in our lives and the world around us?
Several years ago our Bible study leader recommended this book. It's a good one:
http://www.amazon.com/Follow-Me-Experience-Loving-Leadership/dp/0891099824
Posted by: Beth | February 23, 2007 at 11:54 AM
Great thoughts Alan! This is something we have talked alot about on our team. We try and preach the Kingdom as commanded. The Kingdom of God is wherever the reign of God is. We are about proclaiming His reign in our lives and that means that for who we are talking to the 'Kingdom of God has come near'.
I pray everyday for God to reign in me, on our team, and throughout the Country of Gondor where I have been called to proclaim His coming Kingdom.
The implications of this are of course, profound. It does not matter what you believe so much as HOW you believe. What you know in His Kingdom is not the issue. The issue is what you obey. In His Kingdom He is Lord and He is obeyed. Obedience, not knowledge becomes the defining principle by which His servants are judged. Knowledge is important in as much as we must know who and what we must obey but the crux of the matter is obedience not knowledge. Obedience to the King is what makes one a part of His Kingdom or an enemy of it.
Keep serving- and writing good post- until the kingdom of this world becomes the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Posted by: Strider | February 23, 2007 at 12:29 PM
Alan:
Great post!
You said, "I think that what Jesus and Paul meant by the gospel of the Kingdom is a whole lot bigger than what we hear in our churches."
I think you are right. Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom. Do we? If not, then do we preach what Jesus preached?
I think we preach (mostly) the "good news" of the forgiveness of sins. And that is "good news!" But I think we do a disservice to the gospel that Jesus preached, when we do not preach "the kingdom."
Posted by: Keith Price | February 23, 2007 at 05:48 PM