1) Introduction
Throughout
the New Testament, especially the Synoptic Gospels * The Gospels
of Matthew, Mark and Luke, there are numerous references to the Kingdom of
God or the Kingdom of Heaven, which *1 “ is generally considered to be the
central theme of Jesus’ Teaching.
“ Although spoken to mainly Jewish Audience, some 2,000 years ago, in a province of the Roman Empire, it is still the same Life Changing and Revolutionary message today as it was then. *2 “ Jesus preached the Kingdom of God. We preach Jesus. In Him and through the power of His Message the Kingdom *1 is available to us, but can we preach Jesus or even understand Him, without understanding God’s Kingly Rule, the central note in all His Teaching.”
“ Although spoken to mainly Jewish Audience, some 2,000 years ago, in a province of the Roman Empire, it is still the same Life Changing and Revolutionary message today as it was then. *2 “ Jesus preached the Kingdom of God. We preach Jesus. In Him and through the power of His Message the Kingdom *1 is available to us, but can we preach Jesus or even understand Him, without understanding God’s Kingly Rule, the central note in all His Teaching.”
*1
Encyclopaedia Britannica Article The Kingdom of God.
*2
Understanding the Kingdom of God, by Georgina Harkness, Chapter 1, Where We
Stand
It
is my objective, through my own personal study of the above Scriptures and with
reading
through the New Testament, especially the Synoptic Gospels, prayer
and
reading through relevant articles, books such as Matthew Henry’s commentary ,
and
using various translations of the Bible, to gain an understanding of the Lord’s
teaching
of the Kingdom of God, and applying that teaching to myself and it’s
relevance
for us today in the early part of the 21st Century.
The
Kingdom of God/Heaven is the central theme and the essence of Jesus’ message
,
when we read through the Gospels, we see how important this message is, there
are
so
many references to the Kingdom of God throughout the Gospels, (although there
several
references to the Kingdom of God in the Old Testament, for example
in
Psalm 145:13 Nlt “For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule
throughout
all generations, “ although the Old Testament saints, only saw a
glimmer
of what was to come, Matt.13:17), we can only come to the conclusion
that
if the Kingdom of God is mentioned so many times it must be important.
Indeed
in Matthew 6:33, The Lord’s commends us to seek, the Kingdom above all
else,
or in some versions “,make the Kingdom of God, your primary concern. “ If
the
Kingdom of God was central to our Lord’s Teaching, it must be central to
our
Christian Walk, Witness and Lifestyle.
Indeed
the Kingdom of God is the Life force of Jesus’ Message, in Matthew Henry’s
Commentary
on Matthew 13, it states that “ the word of the Gospel is the word of the
Kingdom.
“ Our Message must be the same as Jesus’ Message. In Matt. 13:1-23
,
it describes how a farmer when to sow some seed, (the word of God) and the
responses
to that word, although Jesus spoke a message that everyone could
relate
to, and hopefully understand, he used phrases, terms and illustrations that
people
would know, I believe that the four times of soil, can relate to 4 times of
people
that hear the Gospel, a) some seed fell on the path, some people hear the
message
of the Kingdom, but don’t understand it, b) other seed fell on shallow
ground,
some people hear the message gladly, but because of various problems
etc,
turn away, c) other seed fell among thorns, some people hear the word, but
their
lives become full of other things, turn away and don’t produce a crop,
and
finally d) some seed fell on good soil, and produced a huge harvest, speaks of
those
who truly accept God’s message, and see other lives transformed by the
Gospel.
In
Matt. 13:9 Jesus says “ Anyone who is willing to hear, should listen and
understand!
“ I believe that although, the message of the Kingdom of God
can
be easy to understand, not everything who hears it, will accept it .
The
Lord only reveals a greater understanding of the Kingdom to those
,
who truly accept the message ( I’m not speaking of a type of
special
knowledge or revelation that is only available to some sort of
initiate
of a secret society or an elite band of people, because that would be
a
form of Gnosticism) , in Matthew 13:11f. Jesus tells the Disciples, “That you
have
been
permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, to those who are
open
to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an
abundance
of knowledge. “ although Jesus was speaking to the 12 here, he also
speaks
to us, we can’t understand the Kingdom, unless we have a relationship
with
the King, I believe because of our relationship with the King, we will have a
fuller
understanding of Kingdom, the more time we spend with Him, and as we show
others
the truth that we have learned from Him. See Matt 13:52. “, He can bring out
old
treasures as well as new treasures from his storehouse.”
I
believe that as Jesus was sent by God, to reveal the message of the Kingdom of
God
,
today we’re sent by Him, to reveal to others the Gospel of the Kingdom, see
Romans
10:14, Mark 3:14 & Matt 9:37-38
The
Kingdom of God is not of this world, see John 18:36, although it can be
,
seen in the lives of His followers who express every day both the fullness and
revelation
of His Kingdom. Indeed, there’s nothing quite like knowing the King and
being
part of His Kingdom, see Matt 13:44-46.
In
Matthew 5-7, we see practical and everyday Kingdom Teaching, that reaches
,
through the pages of our Bibles into our lives, situations and personalities.
IVP
Commentary, Matthew 5-7 Introduction “ The Ethics of God’s Kingdom”
“Jesus
summons those who would be his followers to radical devotion and radical
dependence
on God. His followers must be meek, must not retaliate, must go beyond
the
letter's law to its spirit, must do what is right when only God is looking,
must
depend
on God for their needs and pursue his interests rather than their own, and must
leave
spiritual measurements of others' hearts to God. In short, true people of the
kingdom
live for God, not for themselves, “
This
Kingdom teaching, starts with what’s commonly referred to as the Beatitudes in
Matt
5:3 Nlt. “ God blesses those who realise their need for Him, for the
Kingdom
of Heaven belongs to them, “ we also see the types of people
,
that God will bless in Matt 5:4f and basically it includes everyone. Amen
We’re
called to be both salt and light in Society, salt purifies and light shows
people
,
the way to go, see Matt 5:13- 16
In
Matthew 6:9f, we see the Lord’s Prayer,
“9
Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
10
May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth,
as
it is in heaven. 11 Give us today the food we need, 12 and forgive us our sins,
as
we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to
temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.”
There
are so many examples of the nature of Kingdom Living, found in
,
these Chapters, Matt 5-7, but what summarises this teaching for me, can be
found in
Matt
7:24-27” 24 Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them
into
practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came
down,
the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did
not
fall,
because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these
words
of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his
house
on sand.”
James
1:22 “ But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says, “
Matt
24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a
testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
Blair
Humphreys
July
13th 2013
Bibliography
1)
Encyclopaedia Britannica Article The Kingdom of God
2)
Understanding the Kingdom of God, by Georgina Harkness
3)
Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Matthew 13
4)
IVP Commentary on Matthew 5-7
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