The first recorded words that Jesus spoke when He began His
ministry was, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." He also preached the
kingdom of God wherever He went, "And he said unto them, I must
preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I
sent." The historian, Luke, said of Jesus, "And it came to pass
afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and
shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God . . . ." The last
recorded words of Jesus just before He ascended into heaven were
"things pertaining to the kingdom of God.".
This kingdom of God has as its domain a realm beyond the earthly, beyond
the physical, beyond that which can be touched, tasted, smelled, seen, or
heard. Although it is experienced in the world, it is not of this world.
The kingdom of God is the heavenly realm encountered on the earthly
sphere.
For example, during the early days of Jesus’ ministry, a Jewish scribe
came to Jesus stating, "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou
goest." It is a simple statement that this particular scribe desired
to be near Jesus. To be near Jesus, however, would not require being near
a physical location. Jesus said to the scribe, "The foxes have holes,
and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to
lay his head" (Matt. 8:19-20).
Jesus is not stating that He would never lay down to sleep. Or, that He
would never dwell in houses. Although He would sleep and experience life
in dwellings, Jesus is profoundly stating that the essence of life is not
in things of this earthly sphere. His life was of a different realm. He
lived, He loved, He played, He moved and had His being in the domain of
the kingdom of God.
While addressing a crowd of people of which some were His disciples, Jesus
said, "Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand
here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of
God come with power." He admonished His disciples to ". . . seek
ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things
shall be added unto you." When He was ask of His disciples to teach
them how to pray, He responded with, "When ye pray, say, Our Father
which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come . . ."
(Luke 11:2).
Jesus preached so much about the kingdom of God that finally the religious
people, who always attempt to experience God in, by, and through the
physical realm, insisted when the kingdom of God should come. When Jesus
responded to this demand of the Pharisees, He gave perhaps the most
precise explanation of the kingdom of God in His teachings. He said,
"The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they
say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within
you." It is experienced in the among the people, but not by or of the
people.
Jesus simply proclaimed that the kingdom of God is not by the physical
senses. Although man has continuously attempted to make the kingdom of God
visible with tangible objects that are apparent to the senses of man, the
kingdom of God cannot be observed by sensory perception. It will never be
visible to the eye of man.
Jesus stated that the working of the kingdom of God is like the wind:
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is
every one that is born of the Spirit." He had previously stated,
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born
again." Although the results of the kingdom of God are visible, the
kingdom of God, the realm that is from above, can never be seen by the
physical eye. Although the physical senses can enjoy the fruit of the
kingdom of God, they cannot produce the seed or the harvest of the life of
God.
This is the message of Micah. His message of present judgment, Chapters
1-3, and future blessing, Chapters 4-5, for the nation of Israel, contains
the secret and mystery of life itself. He concludes with that which all
men must experience if they are to enjoy the blessings of the kingdom of
God — there must be a new way of thinking developed in the mind of man.
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