preacherman

Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Kingdom of God

What is the kingom about? Are we missing the point? Is the Kingdom only here on earth? Is it about heaven only? Or both? What is the kingdom about?

What do you think?
Share your thoughts.

17 Comments:

Blogger Frank Bellizzi said...

"The Kingdom is the rule of God, and the realm of his blessings; the Church is the people of the Kingdom, who have received it, who witness it, and who will inherit it" --George Eldon Ladd in his book, The Kingdom of God.

Preachers in the Churches of Christ have frequently identified the church with the kingdom. Although the church cannot exist with the kingdom of God, the two are not the same as many passage will attest.

12:39 PM  
Blogger Frank Bellizzi said...

Oops. Should read: "Although the church cannot exist without the kingdom . . . "

A Freudian slip there? Hmmm.

12:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

4:35 PM  
Blogger Keith Brenton said...

I think - from the lack of comments / answers this excellent question is getting - that everyone else must be as clueless as I am how to answer. (Thank goodness Frank knows his Ladd book!)

It's really hard for me to fathom living in a monarchy. I've always lived in a democracy; grew up being taught that - really, admit it - a democracy is superior to a monarchy.

Of course, that presumes that an ordinary human would be the monarch, and we know what losers they are. Only when we get a bunch of us together to agree on something do we govern well. (At least, that's the theory.)

I wrassled with this five years ago in a series of blog posts (Kingdom Christianity), and I'm still pretty sure that I'm missing "the big picture."

6:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good web site!

Nearly everyone wants to obtain insurance at one time or another, whether it is
auto insurance, life insurance, health insurance, or homeowners insurance.
These times it is more simplified than ever to obtain complimentary insurance quotes from several
businesses in order to find the foremost bargain. You can also determine how to save
a good deal of money in free petrol when you acquire your insurance price quotations.

[url=http://freeinsurancequoteshq.com]Insurance price quotes[/url]
http://freeinsurancequoteshq.com

[url=http://freeinsurancequoteshq.com/home/compare-house-insurance-for-free.html]Compare house insurance[/url]

http://www.idea2result.com/

12:07 AM  
Blogger Paul G said...

A short explanation of my understanding of the kingdom of God!

There are two kingdoms; the first is that of Jesus Christ our Lord, the other that of Satan, which is called the kingdom of darkness.
Both are spiritual kingdoms (in the realm of the spirit) and manifested on this earth.
Every person in this world belongs to one of those kingdoms, and their deeds and whom they worship will determine to which kingdom they belong to.

God's kingdom is the kingdom of Jesus Christ and He alone is their King, the sovereign ruler, head, Lord and Father over His children.

From the beginning; God's children had been held in captivity in the kingdom of darkness (Satan's kingdom) to do his will (2 Tim. 2:26), that is because of the sin of Eve.
Jesus therefore had to redeem His children from the power and the control of Satan back to Himself into His kingdom by a new birth (born again).
They were born again not by their will, or the will of man (John 1:12-13), or their choice and doing etc. but by His doing alone (1 Cor. 1:29-30).

In contrast;
Satan is the king and god of his kingdom (2 Cor.4:4), and all his children worship him and practice unrighteousness of which they learn from their father the devil (John 8:44). He has deceived the whole world to worship another identity other than Jesus Christ and holds the whole world under his power (1 John 1:19).
Paul

9:43 AM  
Blogger Paul G said...

Interesting;
The kingdom of God is unlike an earthly kingdom.
It's possible for us to join or become a member of an earthly kingdom if we meet its condition.
But the kingdom of God no one can join or become a member of it by his own will, in fact he cannot see it (John 3:3) or enter into His kingdom unless he is born again (John 3:5).

Everyone who is born again is a new creation and is born into the kingdom of God, old things have passed away and all things are new (2 Cor. 5:7).
In other words a person must have died with Christ (2 Tim. 2:11) to live with Him in the kingdom of God by the new birth, not by the will of man or the will of the flesh but the will of God (John 1:13). It is not theoretical but experiential; it is the work of God.
Salvation by grace and not by works lest any man should boast.
Paul

9:07 AM  
Blogger Arlene Kasselman said...

Yes we have missed the point. One of the best reads in a long time has been Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Smay.

11:31 PM  
Blogger Paul G said...

Ok; I have a question for everyone.

Why is it impossible for a Jehovah Witness or a Muslim to enter into the kingdom of God?
And why is it impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God?

5:19 AM  
Blogger preacherman said...

I believe the Kingdom of God on earth, believers, should be about social justice. Jesus was about taking care of the poor, sick, dying, feeding the hungry, meeting physical needs before he met spiritual needs. See Luke 4:14-21; Luk 11:1-13; Matt 25:34-46...The kingdom took care of each other see Acts 2:42-47; Acts 4:23-37. Are we as the Kingdom practicing true Kingdom work on earth? Caring for the poor, sick, oppressed? Is the church and christians meeting the needs of those who are in need?

11:52 AM  
Blogger Paul G said...

If the kingdom of God would be social justice and good works, then everybody would be able to see the kingdom of God even those who are not in the kingdom contrary to (John 3:3).

And everyone who practices social justice and does good works would be automatically in God's kingdom.
Imagine; the Buddhists, Mormons, JWs, Muslims and Catholics, all would be like a happy family in the kingdom of God.:-)

I am not saying that good works and social justice is not practiced in the kingdom, but that does not signify the Kingdom.
Again there must be a distinction between the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God.

In my understanding, the only distinction is the KING!
Whosoever has not received KING JESUS and does not worship HIM alone, does not belong to His kingdom, he is an outsider regardless of his good works etc. and he is in desperate need of salvation.
"But as many as received Him (King Jesus), to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God" (John 1:12-13).
Regards
Paul

5:55 PM  
Blogger Josh said...

It is my belief that the kingdom of God is a past, present and future reality. I base my thoughts on the gospels and what Jesus said about the kingdom. THe patriarchs are or will be in the kingdom (Luke 13:24-30). The kingdom of God is here (Luke 17:20-21), yet in the model prayer of Matthew 6, we are still instructed to ask for the kingdom to come. How is this possible? Well, in my opinion, the key comes in that model prayer. The phrase that follows "your kingdom come" tells us what that kingdom consists of. It is the realm where God's will is done. When God's will is done on earth, his kingdom is there. It explains how it can be a past present and future reality. WE can still ask for his kingdom to come because God's will is still not done perfectly on earth like it is in heaven.

8:49 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

valium 5mg who makes generic valium - cheap valium online no prescription

10:31 PM  
Blogger oakleyses said...

gucci outlet, louboutin outlet, longchamp handbags, tory burch outlet, longchamp outlet, true religion jeans, louis vuitton outlet, air max, oakley sunglasses, louis vuitton outlet, louis vuitton, jordan shoes, burberry outlet, tiffany and co, louis vuitton handbags, michael kors outlet, kate spade handbags, ray ban sunglasses, air max, oakley sunglasses, michael kors outlet, louboutin, tiffany and co, oakley sunglasses cheap, kate spade outlet, michael kors outlet, prada outlet, burberry outlet, michael kors outlet, nike shoes, coach factory outlet, nike free, louboutin, polo ralph lauren outlet, louis vuitton outlet stores, chanel handbags, christian louboutin shoes, prada handbags, michael kors outlet, polo ralph lauren outlet, coach purses, michael kors outlet, coach outlet store online, true religion jeans, ray ban sunglasses, longchamp handbags, coach outlet

8:55 PM  
Blogger oakleyses said...

insanity workout, north face jackets, giuseppe zanotti, chi flat iron, ugg boots, p90x, birkin bag, longchamp, ferragamo shoes, rolex watches, herve leger, hollister, canada goose, babyliss pro, ugg australia, canada goose, canada goose jackets, reebok outlet, ghd, soccer shoes, ugg, nfl jerseys, nike roshe run, north face outlet, valentino shoes, mont blanc, celine handbags, nike huarache, new balance shoes, canada goose outlet, ugg boots, canada goose, mcm handbags, beats by dre, bottega veneta, wedding dresses, soccer jerseys, marc jacobs, canada goose uk, mac cosmetics, ugg pas cher, vans shoes, jimmy choo outlet, instyler, uggs outlet, asics running shoes, lululemon outlet, abercrombie and fitch

9:07 PM  
Blogger oakleyses said...

lancel, canada goose, timberland boots, pandora charms, thomas sabo, moncler outlet, hollister, canada goose, moncler, hollister clothing store, converse, ray ban, louis vuitton, rolex watches, iphone 6 cases, oakley, juicy couture outlet, vans, karen millen, pandora jewelry, ugg, moncler, air max, supra shoes, swarovski crystal, swarovski, pandora charms, moncler, moncler, converse shoes, gucci, ugg, louboutin, montre homme, air max, hollister, coach outlet store online, links of london, baseball bats, juicy couture outlet, ralph lauren, parajumpers, moncler, toms shoes, wedding dresses, moncler

9:19 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

sac guess, coach factory outlet, new balance pas cher, air force, kate spade handbags, nike roshe run, hogan, michael kors, kate spade outlet, oakley pas cher, ray ban pas cher, true religion jeans, burberry, coach purses, vans pas cher, michael kors, north face, longchamp pas cher, air jordan pas cher, chanel handbags, coach outlet, north face, hollister, true religion jeans, louboutin pas cher, ralph lauren pas cher, tn pas cher, michael kors, nike blazer, coach outlet, sac longchamp, true religion outlet, nike free, michael kors, lacoste pas cher, air max, hollister pas cher, converse pas cher, lululemon, timberland, nike air max, true religion jeans, vanessa bruno, ray ban uk, hermes

3:47 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home