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The Master Key To The Kingdom
Author : John Telman
When did the Kingdom of God begin? Was it with the first missionary journeys? Was it at the day of Pentecost? Jesus himself gives us an important clue. The NIV appears to be the clearest interpretation from the original Greek here:
“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” (Matthew 11:12)
“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.” (Luke 16:16)
But wait! The church was not yet formed when John the Baptist was preaching. So, what exactly IS this Kingdom? It must have already been in existence in order for it to begin to “forcefully advance”. But was God King in the Old Testament? It does not appear that he was King as he desired to be because, sadly, God had been “rejected” as King of the Nation of Israel. (I Samuel 8:7). Yet, although the Old Testament says very little about an experience of God as King, King David recognized that he was under God’s authority and that God was, in fact, king of Israel. (1 Chronicles 29:10-13) Even so, the split in power between his human kingship and God’s ultimate kingship were at odds a number of times. What was the answer to this? God initiated a change.
As we saw in Matthew 11, through John the Baptist, the time came for God to advance his kingship, his kingdom, forcefully. God was determined that he would have a people as subjects under his benevolent rule. It was his plan, his time, his way.
The distinguishing characteristic of a kingdom is that it has a King, setting it apart from a nation, a people, an organization, etc. This is the master key to understanding the Bible’s teachings about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven. Otherwise, some of the parables could be very disheartening. For instance, it is described as a mixture of receptive and unreceptive or unfertile soil; of wheat and tares; of good and bad fish. According to the parables, it is often inflated like bread with yeast and infested with seed-devouring birds like the mustard plant. How can this be good? It’s not. However, the combined message of these particular parables is this: God, the King, sees the mess and he will sort it out in the end. (Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 13)
Therefore, let’s see what the other passages about the Kingdom tell us about this King:
• The King is holy (1 Cr 6:9,10; Ga 5:21; Ep 5:5; 1 Th 2:12) but will show mercy to those who repent of their sins (Mt 3:2; Mk 1:14-15), and admit their need of Him (Mt 5:3; Mk 6:20)
• The King rewards those who are persecuted for His name sake. (Mt 5:10-12; 2 Th 1:5)
• The King is a father to His subjects. (Mt 5:17-48; 18:1-4; 19:14; Mk 10:13-14; Lk 18:15-17; 1 Th 2:11-12) He is perfect and desires us to reflect his character. (Mt 5:17-48; 1 Th 2:11-12)
• The King is benevolent and will take care of His subjects. (Mt. 6:28-34; Lk 12:22-34; 18:28-30)
• The King is a personal God who looks for true relationship with his subjects (Mt 7:21-23; 25:1-13; Mk 12:28-34)
• The King is no respecter-of-persons (Mt 8:11-12; 21:33-46; 22:1-14; Lk 13:22-30; 14:15-24; Jm 2:5)
• The King empowers his subjects to overcome (Mt 12:28; 16:19; 11:20; 1 Cr 4:20; Hb 12:28)
• The King decides which of his subjects will receive what rewards (Mt 20:1-16; 25:14-30; 18:28-30) and positions (Mt 20:20-28; 25:31-46; Mk 7:28; Lk 19:11-27; Lk 22:24-30)
• The King does not share his rule with anyone or anything. (Mt 23:8-14; Mk 10:23; Lk 9:57-62; 18:18-27; Lk 19:11-27)
• The King’s rule is one of righteousness, peace, joy, and stability, via the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of his subjects (Rm 14:17; Cl 1:13; Hb 12:28; 2 Pt 1:3-11)
Many have reached out to “lay hold of” this kingdom “by force”, as it were. (Matthew 11:12) Jesus called it an invisible kingdom, a kingdom that lives in the hearts of those who joyfully and gratefully submit to God’s rule. (Luke 17:20-21; Luke 19:11-27; John 3:1-7, 18:36) No matter what state the kingdom appears to be in, the King is the one in control of it all.
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