The Baptist Faith and Message states, “The kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King.”
One of my favorite passages about the Kingdom of God is found in the gospel of Matthew, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” (6:33)
The fulfillment of God’s kingdom will materialize at the return of Jesus Christ, as stated in Matthew 25:31, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.”
The Bible uses royal imagery for God as King in Isaiah 6:1-8 and for Jesus as King in Matthew 25:31 when Jesus told His disciples to watch for His return and sit on a glorious throne.
The kingdom of God is not like the rulers and nations of this current world. Earthly kingdoms are temporary, have limited power, and are determined by partial sovereignty. God’s kingdom is eternal, has unlimited power, and God’s rule is absolute and perfect. So perfect that His creature lives only to please, obey, and glorify Him.
The Bible has much to say about the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom is rooted in biblical history, applicable to the present, and ultimately based on the future.
In the Old Testament, biblical history recounts that God’s kingdom and His sovereignty extend to the ends of the earth and beyond, encompassing all of the cosmos. (Psalm 47:2,7; 95:3) We see God in charge of the rise and fall of nations. (2 Chronicles 20:6; Job 12:23; Psalms 99:4) The Old Testament authors understood that God would work out His will, plan, and purpose through human history as it unfolded. At the same time, all of the Old Testament points to the kingdom of God being fulfilled in the New Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus talked about the kingdom of God – even as He announced His ministry – and declared that the Kingdom of God was here! (Matthew 4:17), where Christ is present, the kingdom of God is present. It was apparent that the kingdom of God had come when Jesus performed miracles, cast out demons submitted to His commands, and the wind and the wave conformed to His voice.
The truth of God’s sovereignty over His kingdom should give the Christian comfort and assurance. God created all the world and everything in it; it is held t
ogether forever by His hand, and nothing happens without His approval. God is in absolute control over His kingdom. He sees how a Christian fits into the picture and controls and orchestrates everything that happens in a believer’s life.
Although God’s rule extends to all people in all places and at all times, the kingdom of God is identified as the Church. Believers have experienced the arrival of the kingdom of God in the person and work of Jesus Christ. They submit to His authority in their behavior and with their belongings.
We must carefully acknowledge the difference between the kingdom of God and the Church. The Church is the eternal people of God, whereas the kingdom is the eternal rule of God. God’s kingdom extends beyond the earth, even throughout the new heaven and earth, and to all orders of created beings, including angels.
However, in the meantime, the Church is the visible representation of the kingdom of God in its power and promises. Jesus instructed His followers to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10). This prayer shows confidence in God’s eventual rule and reign. Also, it shows determination to represent God’s kingdom on this earth through our lives.
