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The kingdom of God is the spreading of Christ as life into His believers to form a realm in which God rules in His life (2 Pet. 1:3-11):
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To enter into this kingdom, people need to repent of their sins and believe in the gospel so that their sins may be forgiven and so that they may be regenerated by God to have the divine life, which matches the divine nature of this kingdom (Mark 1:15; John 3:3, 5).
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All the believers in Christ can share the kingdom in the church age for their enjoyment of God in His righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).
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The kingdom of God will become the kingdom of Christ and of God for the overcoming believers to inherit and enjoy in the coming kingdom age so that they may reign with Christ for a thousand years (1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 20:4, 6).
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As the eternal kingdom, the kingdom of God will be an eternal blessing of God's eternal life for all of God's redeemed to enjoy in the new heaven and new earth for eternity (21:1-4; 22:1-5, 14, 17).
Morning Nourishment
2 Pet. 1:10-11 Therefore, brothers, be the more diligent to make your calling and selection firm, for doing these things you shall by no means ever stumble. For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly and bountifully supplied to you.We have pointed out that the kingdom of God is a kingdom of the divine life. We may use the human kingdom as an illustration. Just as mankind is a kingdom of the human life, so the kingdom of God is a kingdom of the divine life. If we were not human beings, we could not understand the kingdom of human life. Dogs, for example, cannot understand the human kingdom, because they do not have a human life. But if a dog could receive the human life, it would then be able to understand the human kingdom. In a similar way, we know the kingdom of God by the divine life because God's kingdom is a kingdom of the divine life. (Life-study of Acts, p. 28)
Today's Reading
As those who have received the divine life, we not only know what the kingdom of God is; we become parts of this kingdom. If a dog could be born of the human life and thereby become a human being, this human being would automatically become a part of the human kingdom. Do you not have the divine life? Yes, you have the divine life, and because you have this life you are part of the kingdom of God. Although we can understand these matters, it is impossible to explain them to unregenerated people.In asking the question recorded in Acts 1:6, the disciples apparently were forgetting the divine life that was within them. Their concept was related to the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. This traditional concept was in the minds of all Jews. Peter, John, James, and the other disciples had the concept that the kingdom of Israel would be restored. Day by day they were hoping for the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. However, in 1:3 we are told that the Lord spoke to them not about the kingdom of Israel but about the kingdom of God.
Knowing the kingdom of God requires spiritual perception, spiritual insight. Without spiritual insight, it is impossible for us to know the kingdom of God. Those who are lacking in spiritual perception may think that to enter into the kingdom of God is to go to heaven. In general, this is the natural concept of fallen mankind concerning God's kingdom.
The kingdom of God is the ruling, the reigning, of God with all its blessing and enjoyment. It is the goal of the gospel of God and of Jesus Christ. To enter into this kingdom people need to repent of their sins and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15) so that their sins may be forgiven and that they may be regenerated by God to have the divine life, which matches the divine nature of this kingdom (John 3:3, 5).
All the believers in Christ can share the kingdom in the church age for their enjoyment of God in His righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). It will become the kingdom of Christ and of God for the overcoming believers to inherit and enjoy in the coming kingdom age (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5), so that they may reign with Christ one thousand years (Rev. 20:4, 6). Then, as the eternal kingdom, it will be an eternal blessing of God's eternal life for all of God's redeemed to enjoy in the new heaven and new earth for eternity (Rev. 21:1-4; 22:1-5, 14, 17).
The kingdom of God is the reality of the church brought forth by the resurrection life of Christ through the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15). Regeneration is its entrance (John 3:5), and the growth of the divine life within the believers is its development (2 Pet. 1:3-11).
We have seen that the entrance into the kingdom is regeneration and that the development of the kingdom is the believer's growth in the divine life. The kingdom of God is the church life today, in which the faithful believers live (Rom. 14:17), and it will develop into the coming kingdom as an inheritance reward (Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5) to the overcoming saints in the millennium. (Life-study of Acts, pp. 28, 30, 26-28)
Further Reading: Life-study of Acts, msgs. 4-5