What did Christ mean when he said: “The Kingdom of God is among
you? Does this mean that the Kingdom only exists in our hearts and minds?
In answering the question of the Pharisees about when the
Kingdom of God would come, Jesus told them: “The kingdom of God will not come
with warning, nor will they say: Helo here, or be there; because, behold,
the kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 17: 20-21). The first part of
Jesus' response is relatively easy to understand. But if we do not
properly understand what the last part says, we will have an incomplete picture
of the Kingdom.
When Jesus came to earth, the Jews were waiting for the Messiah to
return to elevate the Jewish nation to a prominent place. Instead of
hearing the message of repentance, they were waiting for someone to release
them and lead them in a successful liberation of their nation. And some of
the religious authorities apparently believed that they — due to careful
investigation — would be the first to discover the return of the promised
Savior.
In the passage noted above, Jesus told the Pharisees that his
thinking was wrong. Jesus' first coming was to announce the Kingdom. Later,
he "... will appear a second time... to save those who wait for him"
(Hebrews 9:28).
¿How did Jesus say the Kingdom would come?
When Jesus returns, there will be terrifying signs that everyone
will be able to observe (Matthew 24: 5-14, 21-27; Revelation 1: 7). But in
saying: “The kingdom of God will not come with warning, nor will they say: Helo
here, or there” (Luke 17: 20-21), what Jesus was explaining to the Pharisees
was that this generation, despite All his meticulous efforts, because of his
misunderstanding, could not identify the Messiah at his first coming.
Moreover, they would not see the incredible signs of their second
coming — the signs they were looking for. As Jesus noted, that lightning
whose glow would be seen throughout the sky, which would accompany his second
coming, would occur on another "day" (v. 24), long after the
Pharisees to whom he was speaking had lived and dead.
After telling the Pharisees that they could not see the coming of
the Kingdom of God at the time they expected, He said: "For behold, the
kingdom of God is among you" (v. 21). In this sense, Jesus, the King
of the coming Kingdom of God, was among the Pharisees. The Kingdom of God
was not in the hearts of those Pharisees!
Living in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom
What about the concept of the Kingdom of God in our hearts? The
Scriptures show that this subject must be in our mind. After all, we are
supposed to pray for the Kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10), and Jesus told us to
"seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness" (v. 33).
When we repent of our sins, we are baptized and then follow the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, voluntarily submit to the laws and authority of
the Kingdom of God that will come. In describing this process, Paul, who
at that time was a prisoner in Rome, explained: "Who [God the Father]
has delivered us from the power of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of
his beloved Son" (Colossians 1: 13). So there is a symbolic sense of
being "transferred" to the Kingdom, when we submit our lives to God
and begin to live according to his instructions.
Our primary loyalty is transferred from all the kingdoms of this
world to the Kingdom of God. We are now subject to different laws (those
of God) and belong to a different community (the Church of God).
The Holy Spirit helps us obey God's laws. This spirit of
"power, love and self-control" (2 Timothy 1: 7), gives us the ability
to live by the laws of God although we are still human and weak. Those who
are led by the Spirit of God are called "sons of God"
(Romans 8:14). This same spirit empowers the Church to fulfill its
commission. In this sense, we have the opportunity to taste or experience
"the powers of the age to come" (Hebrews 6: 4-5).
How can we enter the Kingdom of God
Although the Bible mentions that after being baptized our
"citizenship" is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), to enter the Kingdom,
human beings have to be changed from flesh and blood in spirit, from mortals to
immortals, to the second coming of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15: 50-53; Hebrews
9:28). When the Kingdom of God comes to earth, it will rule over all
"the kingdoms of this world" (Revelation 11:15).
Unfortunately, by reading Jesus' phrase "the kingdom of God
is among you," many have mistakenly limited the Kingdom of God to a
philosophical perspective or a way of thinking. In reality, the coming
Kingdom of God is much more than it implies to be in the hearts and minds of
the followers of Christ. In fact, the faithful chosen of God will enter
the Kingdom when Christ returns and that Kingdom is established here on earth.
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