The Kingdom of God

This is Section 2 of 2 of Lesson 5: The Wonder of His Works. Click here to go back to the introduction of this lesson.

Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:14,15 (NKJV)

Jesus’ saying above shows that He was establishing the kingdom of God right there and then. As we quoted in the introduction to this lesson, Jesus’ works were pivotal in setting up this kingdom:

But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Matthew 12:28 (NKJV)

But the real power of the kingdom of God was not merely through outward acts of power, but in the transformation it was having with the hearts of people:

The works of Christ not only declared Him to be the Messiah, but showed in what manner His kingdom was to be established. . . . It comes through the gentleness of the inspiration of His word, through the inward working of His Spirit, the fellowship of the soul with Him who is its life. The greatest manifestation of its power is seen in human nature brought to the perfection of the character of Christ. . . . Ellen White, God’s Amazing Grace p16

So there is a real application of the kingdom of God working in the here and now. This is sometimes referred to as the ‘kingdom of grace’. But the kingdom here and now is not our ‘end state’. This is  succinctly shown by the the Lord’s prayer in which Jesus taught us to say ‘Thy kingdom come…’.

“The year of the Lord’s favor,” harking back as it does to the ancient jubilee, was an announcement of the inauguration of the kingdom of God, beginning with the coming of the Messiah and reaching all the way down to the final consummation, when all prisoners will have been set free, all sight restored, all oppression removed, and when joy will pervade the entire cosmos. ABSG-t p62.

The clearest link between Christ’s works while on earth and the Kingdom of Glory that will come when He returns again, is His power over death:

‘I am the Living One,’ ” says the resurrected Christ in John’s apocalyptic vision, “ ‘I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever . . . ! And I hold the keys of death and Hades’ ” (Rev. 1:18, NIV). ABSG-t p62.

It is sometimes hard to understand why there is an apparent lack of ‘mighty’ miracles in our modern world. However here is a challenging prediction from Ellen White. The study guide says:

“…the great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening.” She spoke of a vigorous, worldwide thrust as the end approaches and said that “miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers.”—The Great Controversy, pp. 611, 612.

A last question for this week:

How crucial is the hope of the resurrection? What do we have without it? What reasons do you have for trusting in God’s promise to one day destroy, forever, death? ABSG-t p62.

See you all next week.