Page 16 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Kingdom of God

The kingdom of God came in the person of Jesus Christ. Speaking of
Jesus, John said, “Our hands have touched…the Word of life” (1 John 1:1).
On another occasion Jesus told some Pharisees, “The kingdom of God
is within you” (Luke 17:21). The word within could also be translated
as among. The kingdom of God was among them because Jesus was
among them. On one occasion, after He had driven a demon out of a
man, Jesus said, “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the
kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:28, emphasis added).
We will discuss this present aspect of the kingdom of God in more detail
in Chapter 3.

The Kingdom of God is Coming
Not only does the New Testament teach that the kingdom of God has
already come in the person of Jesus, it also teaches that the kingdom of
God is coming in the future. The Kingdom will come in fullness at the
second coming of Christ. At the Last Supper, Jesus spoke to His disciples
of this future expression of the Kingdom. He said, “I tell you the truth, I
will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it
anew in the kingdom of God” (Mark 14:25; compare Matthew 26:28–29).
In the future Kingdom, Jesus will reign for all eternity. We will discuss
this aspect of the Kingdom in greater detail in Chapter 4.

The Kingdom of God and the Church

The question arises: What is the relationship between the kingdom of
God and the church? The church and
the kingdom of God are not the same,
as some have taught. The church is the
The church is the primary expression of the kingdom

primary expression of God in the present age. Someone
has rightly said that the Kingdom
of the Kingdom in creates the church and the church

the present age. bears witness to the Kingdom. The
church is the instrument and agent of
the Kingdom.

The kingdom of God is greater and more enduring than the church. The
kingdom of God stretches from eternity to eternity. It has as its subjects
all the saints of all the ages, including angels. The church, however, lasts

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