We the people of God long to see that marvelous day. The world as we know it will cease to exist. God will establish His Kingdom upon this earth. Jesus will reign as King forever. And the government will be upon His shoulder.
But Jesus says, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation” (Luke 17:20, KJV). This was His response to the Pharisees who wanted to know when the Kingdom would come. Jesus used the occasion to introduce the invisible Kingdom, as opposed to the physical Kingdom . He explains: “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or lo, there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (verse 21).
If Jesus says the Kingdom of God is within us, that means the Kingdom is here already. To this end, Paul the apostle wrote, “The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20). He was putting the church on alert that when he came to them, he would not come with fancy speech but with power. In other words, the power of God in the church today is a sign that the Kingdom is here.
Eloquence has its place in the preaching of the gospel. We must be practical and speak with clarity. But we cannot get the job done with that alone. It is only through the power of God that men can be set free. Only God can command the light to shine in the darkened hearts of men. Only God can heal the sick and give sight to the blind. For those who believe, God will confirm the preaching of His Word with these signs and wonders. They in turn declare that the Kingdom is here.
The Invisible Kingdom of God
Paul also wrote, “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17). To stress this point to the church at Rome, Paul presented a scenario of two men with different views on eating meats. He reminded the congregation that in the eyes of God, it matters not whether one eats meat or not. One person, therefore, should not seek to impose his views upon the other thereby grieving him.
The broader point is that we must not get off track, wasting our time with things that have nothing to do with Kingdom-living. It’s not about meat and drink or any other petty thing. Rather, righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost are what the Kingdom is all about. When we have those, the essence of the Kingdom of God is within us.
I have only touched on the subject of the Kingdom of God that Jesus says comes without observation. The Scriptures have more to say about the subject.
This Kingdom of God exists within each of us who belong to God. Christ is the King of His Kingdom. We live under His rule from heaven. Through Him, we have power, righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost—now.
Of course, the physical Kingdom is yet to come. But for those of us who are in Christ, the essence of the Kingdom is already here and within us.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.