Page 156 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Kingdom of God

In the Old Testament, God was viewed as both the King of Israel and
the King of the nations. The Hebrew prophets predicted a day when God’s
eternal kingdom would be set up in the earth. In that day, the Messiah,
the son of David, would rule over all nations.

When Jesus came, He boldly announced that the kingdom of God had
come. This is the present aspect of the Kingdom. Jesus also announced
that the Kingdom would soon come in power. That happened on the Day
of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church. Now,
the Kingdom manifests itself in demonstrations of the presence and
power of the Holy Spirit.

The kingdom of God exists to carry out the mission of God, also known
as the missio Dei. The church, as the present-day agent of the Kingdom,
exists for the same reason. God’s mission is to redeem and call unto
himself a people out of every nation, tribe, and tongue on earth. Jesus has
therefore commanded the church to preach the gospel of the Kingdom
to all nations before His soon return. When Christ does return, He will
set up the eternal kingdom of David, and He will reign forever and ever.

We have the wonderful privilege of cooperating with God in fulfilling
His mission in the earth. He has given us His Spirit to empower us to
accomplish the task. As his sent ones we must pray, “Your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). We must
work with the Spirit to see that prayer fulfilled.

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