The expression Kingdom of God occurs nowhere in the Old Testament. Yet the New Testament reader is immediately confronted with this expression used repeatedly by Jesus, and then the apostles. To introduce the New Testament without studying this fundamental New Testament teaching will lead to assumptions being wrongfully made. For while the Old Testament doesn't project the hopes of God's people in the terms Kingdom of God, the people of the Older Covenant rightfully looked for a day when Yahweh would intervene in power and assume control of the earth. While any intervention from God recorded or promised in the Old Testament was generally referred to as the Day of the Lord, their was an expectation in the minds of the Hebrews that linked with the coming of their Messiah would come the great Day of the Lord. Thus the concept of the Kingdom of God was birthed prior to the birth of Jesus.

God is the only true King. Our impressions of what a king is are based on our experience of earthly kings. When examining God as King there is no comparison whatsoever that is anywhere near suitable to display what God's kingship is like. To emphasize this fact the Bible calls God the "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (1 Tim.6:15; Rev.17:14; 19:16). Every King has a Kingdom. The Bible begins by showing the extent of God's realm: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth . . .".

1. Based on the following Scriptures, what do you observe : Gen.1:1; 14:19; l4:22; Ex.20:11; Dt.3:24; Mtt.13:24; 5:18; 11:25; ?

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The Creator and King of the entire universe chose to establish His universal throne in Heaven. At the very instant of His command, the King majestically displayed His unlimited power by speaking the Word, to which all must obey (whether animate or not, whether existing or not yet) and Heaven was not only created but also populated with angels (Heb. 11:3). The King immediately had subjects to carry out His directions (Heb. 1:14). The Kingdom of God was first seen in Heaven. In this Kingdom there was peace and joy. It was a realm characterised by absolute righteousness because it reflected God's holiness and purity in everything (Rom. 14:17).

2. According to Romans 14:17, what is, and what is not the Kingdom of God?

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All beings in the Kingdom of God shared in the eternal bliss that was eternally the exclusive pleasure of the Godhead (Prov. 8:30-31). There was no pain, no sorrow, no tears (Rev. 7:17; 21:4). There were no needs left unmet. There was no cause for complaint. All were at peace. The Kingdom of God in heaven was rightfully called a Paradise (Lk. 23:43; 2Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7). It reflected who the King was. But why was the King creating all this?

3. Do you think that God ever get's lonely? Explain your answer-

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God is all-sufficient. This means that He needs nothing. Some might imagine that God created mankind or even angels, because He was lonely. Based on this, others may even try to entice sinners to God with a message about how much God needs them. Yet the Bible only gives one reason for God wanting fellowship with His subjects.

4. What does 1 John 4:8, 16, and Romans 5:8, tell us about God?

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God chose to create beings that He could express His love with. His Kingdom is always built upon the foundation of love. Those in His Kingdom choose to love. For no other reason than love, did God decide to create the crown of His creative work- mankind. It was from the very beginning, God had decided to create a Kingdom of special people for Himself (Mtt.25:34). It was no after-thought for God. There were no "what-if's" involved. Everything was considered and planned. God's plan of salvation as the entrance into His Kingdom was not a "Plan B", but His original purpose to further display His love:

Eph. 1:4-5, 11 (NIV)

5. Note the heart of God in Exodus 19:5-6. What did God want His people to be?

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So God decided to create beings after His very image. He called them man and created them male and female. A new expression of His Kingdom began in the Garden of Eden. At last God could express His highest love for some of His created beings. He longed to do good for them, to protect them and to have fun with them. He was to be their Heavenly Father. The King was looking forward to His new creation becoming a people almost without number. This special people would have dominion over the earth, being free to manage as they desired, God's second-home.

They were given special abilities in order to share and spread God's love. These included: power to (pro-)create; ammortality (neither mortal nor immortal); freedom to choose; ability to communicate and understand; and a host of other privileges. Yet God was still their King. They could enjoy all the previous benefits of the Kingdom experienced by those in heaven and now explore the limitless honor of having these unique ones.

Yet sadly man rebelled. Sadly, God knew they would.

This however did not hamper God's deep longing to have a special people. His plan for the redemption of man began. He was going to have a Kingdom of people. He then expressed His Kingdom through the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob); the nation of Israel; and then the Gentile nations who held Israel and Judah in captivity. Still none of these people fully met the criteria of God's Kingdom.

Throughout these times the prophets were predicting a coming King and Kingdom of glorious magnitude. Hence at the time of Jesus the Jews were looking for God's King to come and once again establish the Kingdom of God.

6. Who does Deuteronomy 18:18 refer to ?

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After years of oppression from the Greeks, various outside and civil skirmishes and then eventually the mighty Roman Empire, the Jews were longing for God to send another prophet like Moses to deliver them. This deliverer was prophesied in Scripture and was to come in the power of the Lord (Dt. 18:18; Isa. 61:1). This meant that He could work miracles and would presumably use His power to topple the Roman domination of Israel. This Messiah ("expected deliverer of a country or people", Funk and Wagnals Dictionary) would be the Christ, the Anointed one of God. Even after the death and resurrection of Jesus, many Jewish Christians were still expecting this type of militant Kingdom.

While the Kingdom had been seen in groups of people, it was now fully evidenced in One Man. Jesus Christ represented the clearest example of God's Kingdom. He was the Man living in constant submission to God. But the people were looking for the Kingdom, not in a man of peace, but in a man of war.

7. What does Acts 1:6 tell us about the kind of people who held this traditional belief? (Do some of our pre-Christian ideas have any bearing on our current beliefs?)

a) The closest disciples of Christ immediately realised that the Kingdom of God involved submission to God, rather than a political power.

b) The closest disciples of Christ rejected the concept of their countrymen that the Kingdom of God was a military overthrow of Roman domination.

c) Even the closest disciples of Christ were swayed in their thinking that the Kingdom of God was what they had traditionally believed, rather than what Christ taught. This shows us that we need to take care with our belief systems as well- that we don't try to make our ideas God's ideas.

8. What does this say to you about the traditions of men and how blinding they can be? (Note Mark 7:9)

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The Kingdom of God is where God is King! Jesus came to proclaim that the kingdom of God was in their midst or "within" them (Lk.17:21). The most personal expression of the Kingdom of God is where Christ is King in the heart of an individual. When we preach 'the Kingdom', we are proclaiming to people - "Give up all rights and surrender to Jesus! Let Him conquer you!". So a Christian is one who has the Kingdom of God within them.

The Kingdom of God today is expressed through the Church. The Church is not the Kingdom, and the Kingdom is not the Church. But all those in the Kingdom of God today are in the Church. One day Jesus is going to deliver up this Kingdom to His Father where we will live and reign with Him for all eternity (1Cor.15:24-28).

Living in the Kingdom of God means a constant dying to self and living to Christ (Gal. 2:20). This means crucifying the flesh and all its desires for sin (Rom. 6:11). Not that we literally take a hammer, nails, and wood and start hitting, but we take control over our body and its passion for things that aren't pleasing to God. It would be very foolish to try and entice people into the Kingdom of God by trying to convince them that their sin wasn't pleasurable or able to make them happy. Even Moses is recorded as enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season until he decided to join God's people (Heb. 11:25). Crucifying the flesh can mean denying ourselves of things that we genuinely enjoy. For some this could be a sport, a hobby, a habit, or an attitude.

9. Are all the desires of the 'flesh' evil? (1Cor. 6:12)

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We must decrease and He must increase. One day Dwight L. Moody was having his hair cut, when the parents of small boy dropped their child off to have his hair cut at the same time. While the parents were gone, D.L. Moody spoke with the child and obviously left an impression on him. When his parents came back, he pointed to D.L. and quietly asked his parents "Is that Jesus?" D.L. Moody reflected Jesus. Our lives too should reflect Jesus. This is what the Kingdom of God is all about. Allowing God to rule our lives. All of Jesus' teaching and preaching centres around the Kingdom of God and the obligations to it. (Read Mtt.5 and examine what Christ had to say about the Kingdom of God). When Christ said if someone hit you on the right cheek, turn to them the left one and allow (almost invite!) them to hit that one as well. We're dealing with a style of living that's not natural. These obligations can not be taken lightly! Paul's letters to the churches were also instructions for living in the Kingdom. He urged believers to suffer wrong just as Christ had done, without making any effort to retaliate (1Cor. 6:7; Phil. 2:5-8).

God's purpose from eternity was to have a Kingdom of people in which He could display His Kingship. Today this people is His Church. Right now Christ is building His Father's Kingdom on earth, called the Church (Mtt. 16:18). While men may seek to destroy or corrupt it, Christ is preserving His remnant as a bride that is pure and spotless. Let us pursue with all our energy to be found in His Kingdom.

Luke 17:21