Kingdom of God

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The kingdom of God cannot be studied with microscopes and calipers. The only way to know about this kingdom is by God’s own revelation.

Program Transcript

As children, many of us played a
game called 20 Questions, and usually the first question would be, “Is it
animal, vegetable or mineral?”

That was because, in days long
ago, the natural world was classified as animal, vegetable, or mineral. As
research and microscopic technology advanced, of course, this simple
classification changed.

In the 1960s a five-kingdom
classification was proposed for living organisms alone. This classification
placed most single celled organisms into two kingdoms, either the prokaryotic
Monera or the eukaryotic Protista. The third kingdom was Fungi, the fourth–Plantae.
The fifth kingdom was Animalia.

These are the classifications of
biological kingdoms on planet earth.

But there is also another
kingdom, not of this world. It is the kingdom of God. It is not a kingdom that
can be studied with microscopes and calipers. The only way to know about this kingdom
is by God’s own revelation.

Jesus, who is the perfect
revelation of the Father, is the king of this kingdom. And he is like no king
of this world. He freely gave himself for the salvation of the world. He was
the Creator of all, and he is the Redeemer of all he created. Through
the humiliation of suffering and death, he conquered not mere territories and
lands, which all belong to him anyway, but he conquered all sin and death.

His kingdom is not defined by
lands and laws; it is defined by a relationship – union with Jesus Christ. In
Jesus, humanity has been drawn into Jesus’ own relationship with the Father.

The apostle Paul tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor 5:17).

In Galatians 6:15 he wrote, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision
means anything; what counts is a new
creation.”

In Jesus, all things have been
made new. All the pain and sorrow of life: dashed hopes, wrecked relationships,
sudden tragedy, injustice, missed opportunities, ruined lives: everything will
be made right in the fullness of his kingdom, in the new creation rooted in
God’s love – a new creation that is waiting for every one of us.

The kingdom of God is about a new
you, a new me, and a new world – remade in Jesus Christ by
the grace of God through the Holy Spirit. Salvation is not about us finding a
way to enter this kingdom, but about trusting the One who has already done
everything necessary to secure a place for us in it.

I’m Joseph Tkach, speaking of
LIFE.

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Program Transcript

As children, many of us played a
game called 20 Questions, and usually the first question would be, “Is it
animal, vegetable or mineral?”

That was because, in days long
ago, the natural world was classified as animal, vegetable, or mineral. As
research and microscopic technology advanced, of course, this simple
classification changed.

In the 1960s a five-kingdom
classification was proposed for living organisms alone. This classification
placed most single celled organisms into two kingdoms, either the prokaryotic
Monera or the eukaryotic Protista. The third kingdom was Fungi, the fourth–Plantae.
The fifth kingdom was Animalia.

These are the classifications of
biological kingdoms on planet earth.

But there is also another
kingdom, not of this world. It is the kingdom of God. It is not a kingdom that
can be studied with microscopes and calipers. The only way to know about this kingdom
is by God’s own revelation.

Jesus, who is the perfect
revelation of the Father, is the king of this kingdom. And he is like no king
of this world. He freely gave himself for the salvation of the world. He was
the Creator of all, and he is the Redeemer of all he created. Through
the humiliation of suffering and death, he conquered not mere territories and
lands, which all belong to him anyway, but he conquered all sin and death.

His kingdom is not defined by
lands and laws; it is defined by a relationship – union with Jesus Christ. In
Jesus, humanity has been drawn into Jesus’ own relationship with the Father.

The apostle Paul tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor 5:17).

In Galatians 6:15 he wrote, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision
means anything; what counts is a new
creation.”

In Jesus, all things have been
made new. All the pain and sorrow of life: dashed hopes, wrecked relationships,
sudden tragedy, injustice, missed opportunities, ruined lives: everything will
be made right in the fullness of his kingdom, in the new creation rooted in
God’s love – a new creation that is waiting for every one of us.

The kingdom of God is about a new
you, a new me, and a new world – remade in Jesus Christ by
the grace of God through the Holy Spirit. Salvation is not about us finding a
way to enter this kingdom, but about trusting the One who has already done
everything necessary to secure a place for us in it.

I’m Joseph Tkach, speaking of
LIFE.

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