One afternoon while I was at the Newtown Playing Field, a pastor asked me a question. He said, “Brother Carl, can you tell me what the Kingdom of God is? But before you answer that question…what is a kingdom?”
I replied, “A kingdom is a country, a state or a territory ruled by a king or queen or, as taught in orthodoxy, the spiritual reign of God.”
I told him that there are four things which are necessary to constitute a kingdom: (1)The territory, with its specific location and definite boundary lines, (2) a king, queen or supreme ruler or governing agent ruling over, (3) subjects of citizens within that territorial jurisdiction, with (4) laws and a form of government.
I further told him if we leave out any of these vital requisites, we do not have a kingdom and cannot believe the gospel of the Kingdom of God for this time. We must know whether the Kingdom of God is here now, or coming later; whether its territory is the earth, or up in heaven; whether it is a literal kingdom of human mortals, or a kingdom of immortals; whether it is literal or figurative, real or unreal. And on many of these things, many people are all mix up!
The pastor answered, “You are so right Brother Greaux!” I then said to him, “Later pastor, I’m going home! He replied, “Once you are saved you’re born into the Kingdom.”
I did not quiet understood what he meant. So, when I got home I read the gospel of John, chapters 3 and 4, which I am encouraging all to read in order to get a greater understanding of this article.
Notice, when Nicodemus went secretly to Jesus, as recorded in John chapter 3, Jesus said to him: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Here Jesus is proclaiming the Kingdom of God by explaining the most important phase of it.
As Paul wrote to the Church at Corinth in I Corinthians 15, flesh and blood, that is, a mortal human cannot enter the Kingdom of God. The Church then cannot be the Kingdom of God, for it is composed of flesh and blood of mortals. The Kingdom is not, either, an ethereal something “set up in the hearts of men”.
Jesus went on to show Nicodemus that we who are born of flesh are flesh that is just mortal flesh and blood. We were born that way as humans. Yes mortal! But it is possible for us to be Born Again that is next time, not as a mortal flesh and blood baby, but born of the Spirit. Then we shall be spirit that is composed of spirit!
Now in the 4th chapter of John we read that God is a Spirit. The Kingdom of God is composed of those who are Born of God. God is not a single person, but the Hebrew word for God, Elohim, portrays God as a Family of persons that is a single family, or Kingdom, but composed of more than one person. Here on earth, we have the mineral kingdom, the plant kingdom and the animal kingdom. The Bible reveals an angel kingdom, created by God and composed of spirit, not matter.
And then, high above all is the very Creating Kingdom that is the God Kingdom, or, in other words, the Kingdom of God! God is reproducing Himself! God created man in God’s image so that man may become impregnated, begotten and, by resurrection, be born as an immortal, spirit-composed person in the Kingdom of God.
The Apostle Paul made it very plain to the Corinthians that while mortal flesh and blood cannot inherit, or enter into, the Kingdom of God, that through the resurrection of those begotten by the Holy Spirit of God during this mortal life, this mortal then puts on immortality and, we, like the very God Himself, become immortal, incorruptible, actually, literally, born of God’s spirit into the very God family.
Now, I asked myself the question: How do we enter into that glorious kingdom? Jesus came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying “repent” and “believe the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15). Just two things we do – repent and believe.
We must believe the Gospel, and that means also believing in JESUS CHRIST, the King of the Kingdom of God, and coming King of kings over all the families of the earth. It means believing in Him as Personal Saviour, as High Priest and as coming King.
But to repent is to completely change the mind in respect to sin, and “sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4) – the Law of God by which God rules the Kingdom. It means a total, complete change of mind and of life. It means we repent of transgressing the rule, the will, the laws of God. What did Jesus say to the young man who asked him how to inherit eternal life?
He said, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the Commandments” (Matt. 19:17). He went on to show that He referred to the Ten Commandments, God’s great Spiritual Law, summing up, in principle, the whole duty of righteous living…it is a way of life and customs of this world.
I believe it is the basic spiritual law and way of life of the Kingdom of God, the way to peace of mind, to world peace, to happiness, prosperity and joy. The way to eternal life is the Kingdom of God.
