The Kingdom of God

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Luke 17: 20-21

What is the Kingdom of God? You cannot point to existing specimens, saying, “Lo, here! or “Lo there!” You can only experience it. But what is it like, so that when we experience it we may recognize it? Well, it is a change, like being born again … It is secret, living power – like yeast. It is something that grows , like seed. It is precious like buried treasure, like a rich pearl, … It is a sharp division through the rich jumble of things which life presents: like fish and rubbish in a draw-net, like wheat and tears; like wisdom and folly; and it carries with it a kind of menacing finality; it is new, yet in a sense it was always there – like turning out a cupboard and finding there your own childhood as well as your present self; it is like an invitation to a royal banquet – gratifying, but not to be disregarded; … it knows no compromise between an uncalculating mercy and a terrible justice; … it was from the foundations of the world; it is come; it is here and now; it is within you. It is recorded that the multitude fail to understand.

• Adapted from Dorothy L. Sayers, “Poetry, Language and Ambiguity” as referenced in the KJV Devotional Bible, Hendrickson Publishers, 2011 Edition.

Jesus said it this way, “The wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whiter it goeth.”

The kingdom of God is the most powerful kingdom ever known to man; yet it is invisible! It has the most powerful army that has never fallen into a literal formation; yet it is always ready for the battle. It is at its strongest when it works internally without human intervention. It’s not for the intellect nor for the miser. It’s not for the fairest nor for the strongest. Paul said it this way, “for when I am weak, then I am strong.” You cannot buy it; your goodness does not earn it. You cannot work to get in … unless you are working to surrender!

The kingdom of God is obtained through faith. Through repentance and acceptance of God’s Son, He freely gives us His kingdom. It is not a physical place yet it dwells within us.

The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

Luke 16: 16