When studying the Kingdom of God Bible verses we find throughout the New Testament, many Christians are left with a common question. Is the Kingdom of God something we are already experiencing now? Or, is the Kingdom of God something we won’t encounter until we’ve taken our last breath?
Before digging into today’s message, I want to take just a second to clear something up. Yes, the Kingdom of God is Heaven. Because of this, this is where followers of Christ will be after we are finished with our early lives. We are simply sojourners passing through the world as we know it on this trip we call life. I realize many Christians believe that eternity is where our focus should be because of how much longer eternity is than the few years we live.
I’m not trying to say that any of these points are invalid. Personally, I believe far too many parents are more concerned with where their children will go to college than what will happen to their souls. The point I want to make today is that following Jesus is far more than simply going to heaven. When we really take in the Kingdom of God Bible verses, looking at them in their proper context, it’s easy to see that Jesus is far more concerned with how we live our daily lives now than what happens when we die.
Kingdom of God Bible Verses
The Kingdom of God is something we have been created to experience here and now. Not later on in the future. This is clearly stated time and time again by Jesus throughout the New Testament. I want to focus on just three Kingdom of God Bible verses today to support what I’m saying.
Before getting started with these Scriptures, you must realize the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are the same. Depending on the Gospel writer and the audience they were trying to reach, they used the words their audience would have best related to.
For instance, if I were writing a blog post you could only read in the southeastern states, I would write about the city of “Boston.” Writing about the same exact city, if my audience were people in the northeast, I would use the names “Beantown” or “The City of Champions,” and they would know I was writing about Boston.
Each of these names represents the same location on a map. Depending on who I am writing to, one phrase will better resonate with the reader than the other. Let’s get started with these three Scriptures!
Mark 9:1
And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
Jesus is the “he” in this statement. When this statement is made, Jesus is talking to a small crowd of people that included the twelve disciples. The point that I want to drive home today is that if the Kingdom of God is a physical location we can only experience after our death, Jesus wouldn’t have used these words to describe what was about to happen.
The Kingdom of God isn’t just a physical location. It’s something we encounter while living a life centered around Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God Bible Verses we’re looking at today don’t point to this Kingdom as a place with streets paved with gold. The Kingdom of God is a way of life, a spiritual society, a transformed existence that Jesus wants us to experience today.
Just days later, Peter, John, and James followed Jesus up a mountain where they were to witness Jesus’ transfiguration. They weren’t going up the mountain to visit a place on a map. They were going to experience the power of God in a way you only encounter when He is the King of your life. On that mountain, God displayed His power and authority to illustrate the Kingdom of God in the daily lives of these disciples. He wants us to experience the same display, right now, today. The Kingdom of God isn’t something reserved for us after we have finished living our lives.
Matthew 4:17
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
This phrase “kingdom of heaven” is only found in Matthew’s Gospel. The phrase interchanges with the “kingdom of God.” In this verse, through the person of Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven has come to the people. While Jesus has ascended back to Heaven himself, His spirit, the Holy Spirit, dwells inside of us. This means the Kingdom of Heaven is currently among us.
Words are important, especially with Scripture. I want you to look at this verse again.
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Notice Jesus doesn’t say, “Repent, for one day you will have an opportunity to go to the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus says to repent because the Kingdom is already here.
Still today, 2,000 years later, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. That being said, if you are not serving the King, you are not going to experience His Kingdom. To believe that the Kingdom of God is somewhere you are going to go eventually sounds too much like a work-based religion to me.
“Live your life and do it just right, keep all of the rules and do exactly as I say, and I’ll let you come here when this is all said and done.”
The only problem with this statement, it’s simply not what Jesus taught. He wants to be experienced by His people here and now while we are living daily life. This is one of the ways the Kingdom of God expands. People witness our lives bearing Kingdom fruit, and they want to begin serving our King.
Matthew 13:44
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
With all of the Kingdom of God Bible verses we have, I think this is one of my favorites. It definitely supports the idea that the Kingdom of God is to be experienced now, not after our earthly lives are over. Let’s look at this for a minute.
During these times, it was common for people to bury a treasure in a field like this. They didn’t have the banking systems we have today. This man finds the treasure and sells EVERYTHING he has to afford the field the treasure is in. This means the Kingdom of Heaven is to be greater than anything else we have in life. I like to look at this another way, though.
If the Kingdom of Heaven is a location on a map we go after our life is over, this man could have spent the rest of his life saving to buy this field. He could’ve taken on a little extra work every week for the next several years. The Kingdom would have always been there, waiting for the man to make the purchase whenever he was ready. Instead, he decides to sell everything to purchase and experience the treasure right now in his daily life.
This is precisely what the Kingdom of Heaven should be to us. Something we are willing to give up everything to make sure we can live for our King, here and now.
This blog kicks off a series called Dining in the Kingdom of God. Now that you know the Kingdom of God is for you, today, let’s explore together what it’s like to eat with Jesus in the Kingdom.
Blessings, Pastor Randy