Page 86 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Kingdom of God

The Apostles Proclaimed the Kingdom of God

As with Jesus, the message of the kingdom of God was a key theme
of the apostles’ preaching and teaching. This fact is demonstrated
in four ways:

• In the apostles’ preaching in the book of Acts.
• In Paul’s teaching in his epistles.
• In the teaching of the other apostles in their epistles.
• In the teaching of John in the book of Revelation.

The Kingdom of God in the Book of Acts
The kingdom of God is a key theme in the book of Acts. It is mentioned
eight times (1:3, 6; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31), and Jesus is
portrayed as the King three times (2:30; 5:13, 31). In fact, the kingdom
of God is mentioned twice in the first six verses of the book. There,
Jesus “appeared to [His disciples] over a period of forty days and spoke
about the kingdom of God” (v. 3). In verse 6, the disciples ask Jesus a
question about the Kingdom: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore
the kingdom to Israel?” He answered
them that the God would restore the
Kingdom in His own time. Acts thus
Like a picture frame, begins with a clear emphasis on the

the kingdom of God kingdom of God.

frames the entire Not only does the book of Acts

book of Acts. begin with an emphasis on the
kingdom of God, it ends with the
same emphasis. In the closing verses
of Acts Luke writes, “For two whole
years Paul...preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus
Christ” (28:30–31, compare v. 23). Like a picture frame, the kingdom of
God frames the entire book.

Look again at Acts 1:3, where Luke states that during the 40 days
between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, He spoke “about the kingdom
of God.” What were these important kingdom themes about which Jesus
spoke? During those 40 days, Jesus taught on three key kingdom themes:

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