Page 90 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Kingdom of God

What shall we conclude from our study thus far in this chapter? We
conclude that the theme of the kingdom of God is an important teaching,
not just in the Synoptic Gospels, but also throughout the New Testament.
We also conclude that the idea of the kingdom of God is the same in Acts,
in the Epistles, and in Revelation as it is in the Gospels.

A Change in Terminology

Although John, Luke, and Paul taught much about the kingdom of God,
there is an interesting fact about their teaching on the subject. A close
examination of their writings reveals how a subtle change in Kingdom
terminology takes place. The apostles begin to use serveral synonyms
(different words or phrases with the same meaning) in place of the phrase
“kingdom of God.” Jesus signaled the change in the story of the rich young
ruler. Read the following passage carefully noting how the terms in italic
type are used interchangeably:

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing
must I do to get eternal life?”

“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There
is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the
commandments”.… When the young man heard this, he went
away sad, because he had great wealth.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a
rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and
asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but
with God all things are possible.”

Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What
then will there be for us?”

Jesus said to them, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers
or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will
receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But

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