The Gospel of the Kingdom of God

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The Gospelofthe Kingdom of God
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The Mystery ofthe Gospel of the Kingdom
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The word musterion (moose-TER-ee-on)is found
27 times in the New Testament.
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musterion

• A mystery
• or secret doctrine

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The only wayto understand divine mysteriesis
to receivedivine revelation.
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Eph 117-19

• 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus
  Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the
  spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may
  know him better.

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18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may
be enlightened in order that you may know the
hope to which he has called you, the riches of
his glorious inheritance in the saints,19 and
his incomparably great power for us who believe.
That power is like the working of his mighty
strength,
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Matthew 1310-11

• 10 The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do
  you speak to the people in parables?"
• 11 He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets
  (musterion) of the kingdom of heaven has been
  given to you, but not to them.

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In other words,the disciples understoodthe
secrets of the kingdombecause God openedtheir
minds so they could understandthe secrets of
the kingdom.
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And the only wayyou and I will understandthe
secrets of the kingdomis if God gives
usrevelation knowledge tounderstand the kingdom.
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The Gospel of the Kingdom
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Matthew 2414

• 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.

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Quick Review
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The gospel of the kingdomwas the core and
essence of Jesus message.
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The kingdom was the first thing John the
Baptist preached.
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The kingdom was the first thing Jesus preached
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Jesus said he was sent to earth to preach the
kingdom of God
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Jesus sent out his twelve disciples to proclaim
demonstrate the kingdom of God
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Jesus sent out the 70 to proclaim
demonstratethe kingdom of God
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Jesus spent his 40 days on earth after the
resurrection speaking about the kingdom of God
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Therefore,what is the Kingdom of God?
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Part 2What is the Kingdom of God?
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I could ask 5 different Christians this
question and likely get 5 different responses.
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• Is the kingdom of God the place we go when we
  die?
• Is the kingdom of God the same thing as heaven?
• Is it the New Jerusalem that will come to the new
  earth?

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• Is it the Millennium?
• Is the kingdom of God somewhere around us now,
  and if so where is it?
• Is it the Church?

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Jesus told us to pray, Thy kingdom come.
What does that mean? What are we praying to
come how will we know if it has or hasnt
come?
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The Kingdom of GodOne KingdomTwo Ages
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Theological LingoThe already/not
yet(Here/but not yet fully here)
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The Kingdom of GodPresent? The AlreadyThe
Kingdom of GodFuture? The Not Yet
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The Already

• In this present evil age
• Galatians 13-4
• 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and
  the Lord Jesus Christ,
• 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from
  the present evil age, according to the will of
  our God and Father

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The Already

• The partial Kingdom of God
• that Jesus brought with Him
• when He came
• at His FIRST coming
• as the Savior of the world.

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Present Reality

• Matt 1228
• But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God,
  then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

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The not yet

• The Age to Come
• Mark 1029-30
• 29 "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no
  one who has left home or brothers or sisters
  or mother or father or children or fields for me
  and the gospel
• 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much
  in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters,
  mothers, children and fields-- and with them,
  persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal
  life.

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The Not Yet

• The fullness of the Kingdom of God
• that Jesus will bring with Him
• at His SECOND coming
• as the King of kings
• and Lord of Lords

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Future Coming Kingdom

• Matthew 811
• I say to you that many will come from the east
  and the west, and will take their places at the
  feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the
  kingdom of heaven.

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The gospels present the kingdom of God as
botha present realityanda future coming
kingdom.
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In the Gospel of Matthewthe kingdom is
spoken about 51 times.Present Reality? 12
timesFuture Coming? 12 timesEither? 27 times
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The Basileia(baa-sih-LAE-uh )of God
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The word basileia (kingdom) appears 119 times
in the four gospels.Therefore there is no
doubt that the kingdom is one of the most
important topics in the gospels.
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Modern Definition of Kingdom

• A kingdom is primarily
• a geographical area
• and a people
• over which a king or queen
• exercises his or her authority.

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Some Kingdoms Today

• the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia King Abdullah
• the United Kingdom
• Queen Elizabeth
• the Magic Kingdom
• Mickey Mouse (Walt Disney)

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All of these are geographical locations places
where you can go and look at castles, crowns,
royalty,and kingdom looking stuff.
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This modern definition, however, is not the
primary biblical definition of kingdom.
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Biblical Definition of KingdomRRAP

• A kingdom is primarily the
• R eign
• R ule,
• A uthority,
• P ower
• of a king

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1 Corinthians 420

• For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk
  but of power.

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Definitions of kingdom

• Reigna royal authority a period during which
  someone is dominant or powerful
• Rulethe exercise of authority or control a
  period during which a specified ruler or
  government exercises control
• Authoritya power to influence or command
  thought, opinion or behavior
• Powerpossession of control, authority, or
  influence over others

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The primary biblical definition of a kingdom is
not a place or a geographical location, but a
RRAP (reign, rule, authority and power)bestowed
upon someone giving them the right to govern.
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There are some exceptions, but this is the
primary biblical definition of the word
kingdom.
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Kingdom in theNew Testamentbasileia
(baa-sih-LAE-uh )
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Note carefully,a basileia was not a place, but
a RRAP giving them the right to govern.
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Jesus told a parable about "a certain nobleman"
who "went to a distant country to receive a
kingdom (basileia) for himself, and then return."
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Luke 1911-12 (NAS)

• 11 And while they were listening to these things,
  He went on to tell a parable, because He was near
  Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom
  (basiliea) of God was going to appear
  immediately.
• 12 He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went to
  a distant country to receive a kingdom (basileia)
  for himself, and then return

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The nobleman did not go to a distant country to
find a land/place to rule.He already had that.
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He went to a distant country to have himself
appointed king to have himself appointed
sovereign ruler authorityover the land he was
going back to.
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He already had the land/place to rule.He went
to a far countryto obtain the basileia,the
RRAPthat he needed togovern that land.
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Illustration

• King Jerry gives
• the Kingdom of HOP
• to Bill Honaker

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Therefore, a kingdom, in the primary biblical
definition, is not something external or outside
oneself that the king rules over, but it is the
RRAP in the king that gives him the right to
govern or be king.
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A basileia may indeed be a realm over which a
sovereign exercises his RRAP and it may be the
people who belong to that realm and over whom
RRAP is exercised but these are secondary and
derived meanings.
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First of all, a kingdom is the authority to
rule, the sovereignty of the king.The Gospel
of the Kingdom, George Eldon Ladd
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So, the biblical definition of kingdom is not
primarily a place or things that you can see,
but rather the RRAP that one has in order to
govern.
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• Kingdom of God RRAP of God
• Kingdom of Heaven RRAP of Heaven
• Kingdom of Christ RRAP of Christ

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The kingdom(basileia) is the RRAPthat one
hasto govern or be king.
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So, the biblical definition of kingdom is NOT
primarilya place or things that you can see, but
rather the RRAP that one has to govern.
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Review? Kingdom

• The RRAP of a king.
• Not to be confused with
• a geographical land or place,
• but rather the RRAP
• to govern that land or place

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The Kingdomof What?
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The following all mean the same thing

• Kingdom of God
• Kingdom of heaven
• Kingdom of Christ

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• Kingdom of God RRAP of God
• Kingdom of Heaven RRAP of Heaven
• Kingdom of Christ RRAP of Christ

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Matthew 1111

• I tell you the truth Among those born of women
  there has not risen anyone greater than John the
  Baptist yet he who is least in the kingdom of
  heaven is greater than he.

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Luke 728

• I tell you, among those born
• of women there is no one greater than John yet
  the one who is least in the kingdom
• of God is greater than he.

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Matthew 53

• Blessed are
• the poor in spirit,
• for theirs is
• the kingdom of heaven.

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Luke 620

• Looking at his disciples,
• he said "Blessed
• are you who are poor,
• for yours is
• the kingdom of God.

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Matthew 1923-24

• 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you
  the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the
  kingdom of heaven.
• 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to
  go through the eye of a needle than for a rich
  man to enter the kingdom of God."

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Revelation 1115

• The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there
  were loud voices in heaven, which said "The
  kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of
  our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for
  ever and ever."

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basileia kingdom RRAPAll threemean the
same thing
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Therefore there is no difference between the
kingdom, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of
Heaven, and the kingdom of Christ.
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They are all one and the same kingdom.
Speaking of one is simply speaking of all the
others.
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So, then.What isthe Gospel?What isthe Good
News?
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This isthe Gospel,the Good ?News

• The
• Kingdom
• of God
• is at hand

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• The RRAP
• of God is at hand

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What does it mean that the kingdom of God is at
hand or near?