The Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God is perhaps one of the most misunderstood theological concepts in all of scripture. Many people debate whether the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are the same or if they are radically different from one another (Elwell & Beitzel, 1988; Stanton, 2002). The Greek word used for the kingdom in the New Testament is basileia which has a Hebrew connection to the word malkut. This word simply means to rule, reign, or have dominion (Elwell & Beitzel, 1988). The Jewish people of Jesus's time had a false interpretation of Jesus overthrowing the current superpower of their day (i.e., Rome), and believed the Messiah would defeat this superpower and usher in the Kingdom that would be ruled by God once again (Elwell & Yarbrough, 2013). The Kingdom of God simply means God's sovereign rule which was initiated by Christ's earthly ministry and will be consummated at Jesus's second coming (Elwell & Beitzel, 1988). But Jesus’s Kingdom is dynamic and is not limited to a geographical location with boundaries (Stanton, 2002). This essay will seek to address an example of the Kingdom of God looking at one of Jesus's parables during the first century and then present a relevant application of the Kingdom of God to a person who is living in a radically different culture. In addition, one will discover the Kingdoms three stages and how it is a fully present but not fully realized reality.

Jesus on the Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God was not new teaching during Jesus’s time. The Old Testament had a heavy emphasis on God as King, God ruling over all, God being on the throne, how God’s throne is eternal and how God maintains His kingdom (1 Kings 22:19; 2 Kings 19:15; Barry et al., 2016; Hodge, 1997; Judg. 8:23; Ps. 22:8; 45:6; 93:1; 96:10; 103:19). When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God, He spoke as if the kingdom was coming (Mark 9:1 ESV), then the kingdom was near or at hand (Luke 10:9, 11; Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7; Mark 1:15), and finally; the kingdom had arrived (Bird, 2013; Berkhof, 1938; Col. 1:13; Luke 4:18-21; 11:20; 17:20-21; Matt. 12:28; 13:16-17; Stanton, 2002). For Jesus, the evidence of the Kingdom of God arriving was all around Him, and even Origen noted that the Kingdom of God was so intimately bounded up in Jesus, he called it the autobasileia meaning the Kingdom in Himself (Bird, 2013). Berkhof (1938) leans toward the Kingdom of God is present in people’s hearts today but will be fully realized in the future by Jesus’s return. He says, 

Essentially the future kingdom will consist, like that of the present, in the rule of God established and acknowledged in the hearts of men. But at the glorious coming of Jesus Christ this establishment and acknowledgment will be perfected, the hidden forces of the kingdom will stand revealed, and the spiritual rule of Christ will find its consummation in a visible and majestic reign. (p. 409)

Ladd (1993) seems to agree with Berkhof as he wrote, “if a majority of scholars have approached a consensus, it is that the Kingdom is in some real sense both present and future” (p. 56).

For Jesus, the evidence of the Kingdom of God arriving was all around Him, and He frequently used parables to describe this fact (Tame, 2005). One parable Jesus compares the Kingdom of God too is a mustard seed (Matthew 13:31). Jesus says, "it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches" (Matthew 13:23). One of the keywords to understanding this passage is to understand what the Greek word for birds [peteinon] means. This word is used earlier in this chapter symbolizing evil (Matthew 13:4, 19; McGee, 1997) and throughout scripture continues with that interpretation (Courson, 2003). If one continues using proper hermeneutics and applies the same meaning to birds here, then the interpretation can be that Jesus is saying that the Church is this new seed that Jesus has ushered into His Kingdom. Although this seed is quite small at first, it will grow into a powerful force that will overgrow into common areas (i.e., Rome) and eventually take over. Due to this impact, there will be birds that will make their nests or essentially false teachers trying to corrupt, pollute, and pervert the Church. One scholarly commentator on this passage said, "the current manifestation of God's reign within Jesus' small band of disciples seems relatively impotent; one day many will be astonished about how their movement grew and impacted the world" (Blomberg, 1992, p. 220).

Parable of the Mustard Seed

If one now shifts gears from the theological meaning and applies a cultural sense, specifically in the Palestinian agriculture of that time, one can begin to understand the meaning at a deeper level. In the Jewish time when Jesus spoke this parable, the mustard seed in Palestine was the smallest seed known at the time in their area. Even though it was the smallest seed, this seed would grow into a bush so large that some would say it was a tree reaching up to ten or twelve feet in height (Blomberg, 1992). The Jewish people of this time would have understood this since Jesus was claiming in the previous chapter of Matthew that the Kingdom of God has arrived (Matthew 12:28). The listeners should have understood that this kingdom started out small with a humble beginning with Christ, but then it would start to explode with an uncontrollable force which would later be known as the Church (MacDonald, 1995). As Christ's kingdom begins to grow though, there will be tremendous opposition externally, internally, and even from Satan himself. This parable has been interpreted many different ways but applying proper biblical hermeneutics; one should conclude that this parable only has one meaning.

Application of The Mustard Seed Parable

Looking at a modern-day application of Jesus's teaching on the mustard seed one should first understand the type of culture American’s live in today. Presently, this generation is known as the iGeneration (Schneider, 2015). People want things instantly, whether is material possessions, love, information, or food. One example that could be used to show the incredible expanse of the mustard seed and the evil that infiltrated the Kingdom could be the rise of technology. Using the iPhone for example, one could say that the idea or thought started out small but then became a reality once the iPhone hit the market. It started out small but then exploded into a growth that was abnormal and uncontrollable (Molla, 2017). Steve Jobs and his single piece of technology changed the world in so many different ways just like Christ, and the Church did. Unfortunately, despite all the good that it was doing, many things infiltrated it and started to corrupt, pollute, and pervert its original purpose and design. Hacking, viruses, malware, pornography, addiction, social media, fake news, sexting and other harmful things could be represented as birds that have come to lay its nests in (Tossell, Kortum, Shepard, Rahmati, & Lin Zhong, 2015). Using this analogy within America fits quite well and is a good way to communicate the meaning of parables in this modern era.

The Three Stages of the Kingdom

Berkhof (1938) mentions how the Kingdom of God consists of three stages which will fully complete the salvation plan that Christ accomplished: the regnum gratiae which speaks to how Christ rules over His Church spiritually in the present, the regnum potentiae which speaks of Jesus’s rule over the entire universe, and a future Kingdom that will be consummated during the second coming or the Parousia. Bird (2013) says, “The mystery of God as Trinity will no longer be a theological exercise, but an experiential one as God dwells among his people (p. 510). The New Covenant that Jesus established with His blood will finally achieve the appointed goal, and the Church will live forever with their Lord in the consummated kingdom. To give one an understanding of the present and future Kingdom Bird (2013) summarizes this though in the form of an analogy:

The best analogy of how Christians live between the “now” and the “not yet” is that given by Oscar Cullmann. Christians stand metaphorically between “D-Day” and “VE-Day” of World War II. Jesus’ first coming was like the allied landing at Normandy (D-Day), where Jesus defeated Satan by his death and resurrection, while his second coming will be like the formal surrender of Germany to the allies (“VE-Day”), when Jesus subjugates all hostile forces to God’s reign. As Cullman put it: “The hope of the final victory is so much more vivid because of the unshakably firm conviction that the battle that decides the victory has already taken place. (p. 252)

Conclusion

Any student of the Bible should recognize “even though none of the Bible was written directly to us, all of scripture was written for us” (Hanegraaff, 2007, p. 165). The Kingdom of God is a current reality, Jesus ushered in this kingdom that was spoken of by the prophets and believers in this present time are participants in this kingdom. Although it will not be fully realized until his second coming, Christians can be sure that they are making a real difference in this kingdom. Christians today have the privilege of looking back in history and seeing the mark that Christ had on humanity. He created the church that exploded into a belief that is over two billion strong. Whether someone tries to communicate that reality of the Kingdom using a parable of Jesus like the mustard seed or gives a modern-day example of this present culture, one thing is evident, the Kingdom of God is here! 

References

Barry, J. D., Bomar, D., Brown, D. R., Klippenstein, R., Mangum, D., Sinclair Wolcott, C., … Widder, W. (Eds.). (2016). In The Lexham Bible dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Berkhof, L. (1938). Systematic theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co.

Bird, M. F. (2013). Evangelical theology: A Biblical and systematic introduction. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Blomberg, C. (1992). Matthew(Vol. 22). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson’s Application Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Elwell, W. A., & Yarbrough, R. W. (2013). Encountering the New Testament: A historical and theological survey(3rd ed.). Grand Rapids: MI. Baker Academic.

Hanegraaff, H. (2007). The apocalypse code: Find out what the Bible really says about the end times and why it matters today.Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

Hodge, C. (1997). Systematic theology. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Ladd, G. E. (1993). A Theology of the New Testament (D. A. Hagner, Ed.) (Rev. ed., p. 56). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible commentary: Old and new testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary(electronic ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Molla, R. (2017). How Apple’s iPhone changed the world: 10 years in 10 charts. Retrieved from https://www.recode.net/2017/6/26/15821652/iphone-apple-10-year-anniversary-launch-mobile-stats-smart-phone-steve-jobs

Schneider, J. (2015). How to market to the iGeneration. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2015/05/how-to-market-to-the-igeneration

Stanton, G. (2002). The Gospels and Jesus. Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=478397&site=ehost-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_255

Tame, K. (2005). And finally, … The Kingdom of God is like this …. Expository Times, 116(7), 252. doi:10.1177/0014524605052454

Tossell, C. C., Kortum, P. P., Shepard, C. C., Rahmati, A. A., & Lin Zhong, L. (2015). Exploring smartphone addiction: Insights from long-term telemetric behavioral measures. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, 9(2), 37-43.