For quite a while I have been searching out what the Kingdom of God is all about. Jesus taught us to pray Thy Kingdom Come in The Lord’s Prayer, but I believe we are just scratching the surface as to completely understanding all that means.
In a general sense, a kingdom is where the king has authority and dominion. Before receiving Jesus into our lives as Lord and Savior, we were subject to the kingdom of Satan. He had stolen dominion from Adam and Eve in the garden. We (and all of creation) were subject to corruption, Satan’s evil schemes and lies, and headed for his eternal destination. But God! (My two favorite words in the whole Bible.) God sent Jesus who came, showed us how to live, bore the penalty for our sins, and took the keys of death and hell away from the enemy. Hallelujah!
When Jesus was walking the earth, He spoke of the Kingdom of God often.
From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.
(Mark 1:15)
Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34)
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)
And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. (Luke 9:2)
Paul also wrote, For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13)
Over and over again, Jesus spoke of His Kingdom. He didn’t say, “Repent for your salvation from hell is at hand.” Or, “inherit the salvation prepared for you,” or “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is salvation from hell.”
Why? What is my point?
Jesus came for so much more that just saving us from eternal punishment. He told us to pray, Thy kingdom come. What does that exactly mean? When we receive Jesus as our Savior, not only does our eternal destination change, but our citizenship changes, whether we are aware of all that means, or not. (Most likely, not!)
Changing your citizenship into a different country is huge. Not only is the location different, but also the customs, the currency, the government, the prices of goods – not to mention the laws and freedoms. In the same way, the customs, money, government, laws, and so on are different in God’s Kingdom. Not only different, but so much better!
Not only our eternal destination has changed. We no longer need bow to the authority of the enemy; we are now God’s children and citizens of His Kingdom.
There is a difference between living in a country and being a citizen of that country. Living in a country just defines location. Citizenship is defined by Brittanica as:
• Relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection.
• Citizenship implies the status of freedom with accompanying responsibilities.
• Citizens have certain rights, duties, and responsibilities that are denied or only partially extended to aliens and other noncitizens residing in a country. In general, full political rights, including the right to vote and to hold public office, are predicated upon citizenship.
• The usual responsibilities of citizenship are allegiance, taxation, and military service.
We have a relationship with Jesus. He is our brother, and His Father is our Father. We owe allegiance – loyalty, commitment, and faithfulness – to the King and others in the kingdom. And we are entitled to God’s protection. He is Jehovah Sabaoth – the Lord of angel armies! He is more than willing – and capable – to take care of us.
We have freedom with accompanying responsibilities in the kingdom. We are God’s children, not slaves. He gave us a free will and He will never take it away. But we have responsibilities, too. There is a culture of love in God’s kingdom, in how we speak and act. (Complaining is the language of hell.) Jesus said all authority has been given to Him, and we have authority in His Holy Name. That means when we are standing in for Jesus, representing Him, we can speak to the non-Kingdom things happening around us and declare God’s Truth about the situation.
And finally, we are called to military service. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, and we are to war against him and his plans. That’s why He gave us the Armor of God – and it has both defensive and offensive components.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28:18)
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Luke 9:1)
Often John 14:6 is quoted concerning Jesus. He said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. We become citizens of the Kingdom of God when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That’s how we become citizens of the Kingdom. The only way!
There are no illegal aliens in the Kingdom of God.