Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Understanding the Kingdom of God: Part 2 of 7

Understanding the Kingdom of God: Part 2 of 7

Last updated on: March 23, 2020 at 1:01 pm by Rob Dalrymple

Understanding the Kingdom of God: Part 2 of 7 2020-03-23T13:01:05-08:00 Rob Dalrymple

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Many wrongly assume that when the Bible refers to the kingdoms of the world it means the physical realm, and when it refers to the kingdom of God it means the spiritual realm.

What is the kingdom of God?
Simply put, the kingdom of God refers to the realm in which God reigns. In fact, it might be best in many instances to translate the phrase “the kingdom of God” as the “reign of God.”[1] This helps us to recognize that the kingdom of God exists wherever God reigns.

With the coming of Christ, God’s reign has begun.
Now, it is essential to note that the coming of Christ marks the beginning of God’s reign upon the earth![2] This is why the Gospel of Mark announces, “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14-15).

One of the reasons why many Christians have a muddled view of the kingdom of God is because we have come to view all of reality in light of two separate spheres: an upper and a lower sphere.

Allow me, in this post, to delve a bit deeper into the modern thinking in order to show how it has negatively affected our understanding of the kingdom of God.

In this line of thought (enlightenment, or Epicurean dualism), the physical realm (the lower, earthly sphere) stands in sharp contrast with spiritual realm (the upper, spiritual sphere).

Though many Christians correctly conceive of the kingdom of God in contrast to the kingdoms of the world, they, unfortunately, assume that when the Bible refers to the kingdoms of the world it means the physical realm, and when it refers to the kingdom of God it means the spiritual realm.

The problem is that in the modern thought, the physical world is considered the realm of scientific knowledge. In this realm, knowledge is gained by means of observation and experimentation. This means that the truths gained here are considered objective truths and are believed to be universally valid and binding on everyone.

In the modern thought, the spiritual world, by contrast, is the realm of private matters: such as, religion and faith. By its very nature, the spiritual world is considered to be inaccesible to science and scientific knowledge; after all, it is beyond observation and experimentation.[3] Consequently, the truths gained in this realm are considered to be purely subjective and relative to each particular individual and/or group.

Unfortunately, the incursion of enlightenment dualism on Christian thought is abundant.

It is commonplace for Christians to conceive of God as though He is “up there” and distant.[4] We often pray to God, who is up there, and we hope that He hears us. Even more so, we hope that perhaps He might come down here and answer our prayers.

One of the problems with this radical separation of the physical and the spiritual is the conviction that the physical realm is sometimes considered evil. Many Christians hold to a belief that the matters of this world are not important.

The Scriptures, however, reject such a radical distinction between the physical and the spiritual. After all, according to the NT, the New Creation entails the resurrection and restoration of the old creation. Paul notes that,

“the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption” (Rom 8:19-21).

We see that in the resurrection there is the restoration of the old. This is why Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, provides a long and detailed argument regarding the nature of our resurrection bodies and contends that it is our present bodies that will be resurrected and become glorious bodies (cf 1 Cor 15:42-44).[5]

It is important then to grasp that the kingdom of God is not radically divorced from this world. After all, it is this world, and the people in it, that God desires to redeem.

This is why it is helpful to conceive of the kingdom of God in terms of the reign of God.

If we think of it solely as the “kingdom of God” we might be led to regard it only in terms of a place. Instead, the kingdom of God is wherever God reigns.

[1] Mark Allan Powell, Fortress Introduction to the Gospels, Kindle Version, loc 1540-48.

[2] This is why I argue in my book Understanding the New Testament and the End Times that the end-times have begun! The coming of Christ and the bringing in of the kingdom of God is the beginning of the last days.

[3] Much could be said here. For now, I will simply note that claims made by scientists that God cannot brought into a laboratory are true. Science, in and of itself, cannot make any assertions about God. God is beyond science. Consequently, the claim that science has proven God does not exist simply cannot be asserted. Science cannot make any assertions about God. They cannot conclude that something did or did not happen as a result of the work of God.

[4] This is despite the clear Christian teaching that God is ominpresent! Psalm 139:7-10 “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. if I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.”

[5] Note: when Paul says they become a “spiritual body” (1 Cor 15:44), he does not mean that it is no longer physical. After all, the tenor of the argument in 1 Corinthians 15 is that our bodies will become like Christ’s, which was certainly raised physically, and that it is our present body that is raised (note the word “it” in our English Bibles, 1 Cor 15:42-44, indicates continuity between the body that died and the body that is raised).

Biblical Interpretation

Previous Post

February 5, 2020

Understanding the Kingdom of God? part 1 of 7

Next Post

February 12, 2020 Understanding the Kingdom of God: part 3 of 7

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 000 1 Cor 11:17-34 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Peter 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 10 Commandments 2 Corinthians 2 John 2 Peter 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy 3 John 666 Abortion Acts 2:42 Ahmaud Arbery AIPAC All Saints Day America antisemitism BDS Beast Betting Bible Bible study Biblical Interpretation Biden Book of Acts Boycott Campus Protests Catholicism Ceasefire Chavez Ravine Christian Nationalism Christian Zionism Christianity Today Christmas Church Colossians Communion Convict Leasing Covid-19 Craig Blaising creation Crucifixion Daoud Nassar Deception Deconstruction Democracy Devotional guide Discipleship Easter Eden Education Election End-times Ephesians Eschatology Ethnic Cleansing Evangelicalism Evangelicals Evolution Fall Famine Fascism FIFA Freedom of Speech Galatians Gary Burge Gaza Gaza; Genocide; Boycott Genesis Genocide George Floyd Global Warming God's will Gospel Gospel of John Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Government Grace Great Prostitute Hamas Harris healthcare Hebrews HeGetsUs Holy Spirit Holy Week Honor Father and Mother ICJ Immigration Indigenous peoples day Iran Israel Israel Palestine Itamar Ben Gvir James Jesus Joel Willits Jude Just war Justice Kamala Harris Kingdom Of God Kings and Queens land of Israel Law (OT) Lazarus Les Miserable LGBTQ+ Love Luke Mahmoud Khalil Man of Lawlessness Mark Mark of the Beast Marriage Martin Luther King Jr Mercy Mexican Repatriation Military-Industrial-Complex Ministry Mission Money NAFTA Nakba Netanyahu New Creation New Testament Nicaragua Nicodemus Non Violence Occupation Pacifism Palestine Parable Paul Peace Pentecost Peonage Philemon Philippians Politics Poor Power Prayer Pride Month Priests Pro-life Propaganda Prophesy Prophet Qatar Queen Elizabeth Racism Reconstruction Redemption Reformation Resurrection Revelation Roe v Wade Romans Romans 13:1-7 Rome Russia Sabbath Samaritan Seals Sermon Settlements Slavery Spiritual gifts Taxes Tent of Nations Terrorism The Beast Theology Titus Torture Trump truth Ukraine Uncategorized Veteran's Day War Warsaw Ghetto wealth Wedding Women World Cup 2022 Worldview Worship Wrath Yemen Zionism

Select a Month September 2026 May 2026 February 2026 November 2025 October 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 March 2018 September 2017 July 2017 May 2017 November 2016 October 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did Jesus do for His disciples at the Last Supper?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Fed them fish Washed their feet Sent them away Gave them money

Support this
Column