THE KINGDOM WITHIN

Monday 3 March

Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He replied to them by saying, The kingdom of God does not come with signs to be observed or with visible display, Nor will people say, Look! Here [it is]! or, See, [it is] there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]. Luke 17:20-21 (AMPC)

When it comes to the kingdom of God, there are people who are sceptical and demand to ‘see’ it. This was the same in Jesus’ time. One of the major misinterpretations the Jews had with Jesus is they thought He was going to overthrow the Roman Empire and establish His throne on the earth.

This was one of the reasons Jesus would get away from the crowd.

‘When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.’ John 6:15

Now don’t think that it would be an illegitimate claim as Jesus was from the Davidic lineage and was in fact royalty. This was not His purpose for coming into this world.

The Jews knew what the prophet Daniel had said regarding the Messiah.

‘In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.’ Daniel 2:44

The Jews thought that this event was going to happen in their time.

Even in his discourse with Pilate as the Sanhedrin and religious leaders were stirring up dissension in order to have Him crucified, In John 18:36 He made it clear about the nature of His kingdom not being on locatable on earth.

‘Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

Even the disciples after Jesus appeared to them during the forty after the resurrection were asking the same question in Acts 1:6-7.

‘So when they came together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” / Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.’

You may have heard the phrase we are ‘building the kingdom’ or we are serving God for the expansion of His kingdom. This is the mentality of many Christians today. The question ultimately is what is the kingdom of God? Is it buildings or structures? Is it denominations? Is it Christian institutions? Although there is nothing wrong with most of these things; none of them are the kingdom of God.

Why? Because the kingdom of God is the king’s domain in the hearts of men. That is where He has set up His kingdom: In the believer. Think about it. Jesus brought the kingdom to earth when He was made manifest and received the indwelling of the Spirit. Romans 8:11 tells us that the same Spirit that was in Jesus and raised Him from the dead now dwells in us.

When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost, that was the day that God’s kingdom building project started and it will never stop as long as we are living in the grace age or the era of the Church.

Remember when Satan said to Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth I will give to you if you bow down and worship me? What did Jesus see? It wasn’t the seven wonders of the world or the magnificent buildings etc. He saw the hearts of men that He could indwell by His Spirit.

No wonder Jesus said you can’t see the kingdom of God because it is a spiritual and therefore invisible kingdom made up of the hearts of people that have come into salvation through Christ.

So what is the most important treasure to God? Mankind. What therefore is the authentic expansion of His kingdom on earth? More souls being added to the kingdom so the Creator can be one with His creation.

In Luke 17 Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven being within you. A better rendering is ‘among you’ because Jesus had brought the kingdom but it was not yet in the hearts of any other man.

This took place at the point of salvation. The reason it was among them is because John 1:14a says ‘and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.’ Jesus was the embodiment of the kingdom.

Jesus said the same thing regarding the Holy Spirit. ‘He will be with you and shall be in you not many days from now’. Why was He with them? Because Jesus was with them and He carried the Holy Spirit in Him. Notice in all these examples there is nothing you can observe with your physical eyes or perceive with your physical senses when it comes to the kingdom of God.

Don’t forget this amazing truth. If you’re in Christ and Christ is in you, YOU are a carrier of the kingdom within.

APPLICATION

As an expression of His unseen kingdom of heaven, take time to discover all of your salvation rights and privileges that pertain to the spiritual kingdom to which you belong.