KINGDOM
OF
GOD
(OR
HEAVEN)
much
spiritual
penetration,
and
his
baptism
of
repent-ance
was
a
Divinely
appointed
preparation
for
the
Kingdom
of
heaven
which
he
declared
was
close
at
hand.
(2)
The
chief
source
of
the
NT
doctrine
is
the
teaching
of
Jesus
Christ
Himself.
His
preaching
and
that
of
His
first
disciples
announced
the
Kingdom
of
heaven
as
at
hand
(Mt
4",
Mk
1").
Such
a
proclamation
could
have
meant
to
the
hearers
only
that
the
reign
of
the
Messiah,
of
whom
the
prophets
had
spoken,
was
about
to
begin.
The
real
nature
of
this
Kingdom,
however.
Is
to
be
learned
only
by
a
careful
study
of
the
various
sayings
of
Jesus
upon
the
subject,
(a)
It
should
first
be
observed
that
our
Lord
gave
no
sanction
to
the
current
Jewish
expectation
of
a
temporal
prince,
who
would
fight
for
dominion
and
exercise
worldly
forms
of
power.
He
did
not
directly
oppose
the
prevalent
belief,
so
as
to
pro-voke
opposition,
but
sought
rather
to
inculcate
a
more
spiritual
and
heavenly
conception
of
the
Kingdom.
His
views
were
evidently
different
from
those
of
John,
for
while
He
extolled
him
as
His
immediate
forerunner,
'much
more
than
a
prophet,'
and
'greatest
among
them
that
are
born
of
women,'
He
declared
that
any
one
who
'
is
but
little
in
the
kingdom
of
heaven
is
greater
than
he'
(Mt
11").
With
all
his
greatness
John
was
but
a
Jewish
prophet,
and
never
passed
beyond
the
neces-sary
limitations
of
the
pre-Messianlc
age.
(fi)
The
spiritual
and
heavenly
character
of
the
Kingdom
is
indicated,
and
indeed
emphasized,
by
the
phrase
'
king-dom
of
heaven.'
This
accords
with
the
statement
that
the
Kingdom
is
not
of
this
world
(Jn
IS^*),
and
Cometh
not
with
observation
(Lk
17™).
It
belongs,
therefore,
to
the
unseen
and
the
spiritual.
It
is
the
special
boon
of
the
'poor
in
spirit,'
'persecuted
for
righteousness'
sake,'
and
whose
righteousness
shall
'exceed
that
of
the
scribes
and
Pharisees'
(Mt
5'-
'"•
™).
The
great
ones
in
this
Kingdom
are
such
as
become
like
little
children
(Mt
18'),
and
as
to
rulership
and
authority,
the
greatest
is
he
who
acts
as
the
minister
and
bond-servant
of
all
(Mk
10"-
«).
It
may
be
noticed
that
the
phrase
'
kingdom
of
heaven'
(or
'of
the
heavens')
is
peculiar
to
the
Gospel
of
Matthew,
in
which
it
occurs
about
thirty
times.
In
2
Ti
4^8
we
read
of
'his
heavenly
kingdom,'
but
elsewhere
the
term
employed
ig
'kingdom
of
God.'
There
is
no
good
reason
to
doubt
that
Jesus
Himself
made
use
of
all
these
expres-sions,
and
we
should
not
look
to
find
any
recondite
or
peculiar
significance
in
any
one
of
them.
"The
phrase
kingdom
of
God'
occurs
also
four
times
in
Mt.,
and
often
in
the
other
Gospels
and
in
the
Acts
and
Epistles.
We
may
also
compare,
for
illuatration
and
suggestion,
'my
Father's
kingdom'
(Mt
262^;,
'my
heavenly
Father'
(Mt
15"),
and
observe
in
the
parallel
texts
of
Mt
26^9,
Mk
1425,
Lk
2220,
tiie
interchangeable
use
of
'my
Father's
kingdom,'
'
my
kingdom,'
and
'
the
kingdom
of
God.'
All
these
designations
indicate
that
the
Kingdom
is
heavenly
in
its
origin
and
nature.
(c)
The
parables
of
Jesus
are
especially
important
for
learning
the
nature
and
mysteries
of
the
Kingdom
of
heaven.
They
show
in
many
ways
that
the
heavenly
Kingdom
has
to
dp
with
the
spiritual
nature
and
possi-bilities
of
man,
and
is.
In
fact,
the
dominion
of
Jesus
Christ
over
the
hearts
of
men.
They
show
also
that
the
Kingdom
has
its
necessary
collective
and
communal
relations,
for
the
same
ethical
principles
which
are
to
govern
an
individual
Mfe
have
also
their
manifold
application
to
the
life
of
a
community
and
of
all
organ-ized
societies
of
men.
Several
of
our
Lord's
parables
indicate
a
judicial
transfer
of
the
Kingdom
of
heaven
from
the
Jews
to
the
Gentiles
(Mt
21«
22'-",
Lk
14>«-").
The
parable
of
the
Two
Sons
warned
the
Jewish
priests
and
elders
that
publicans
and
harlots
might
go
into
the
Kingdom
of
God
before
them
(Mt
2128-32).
From
all
this
it
is
evident
that
the
Kingdom
of
heaven
includes
the
dispensation
of
heavenly
grace
and
redemp-tion
which
was
inaugurated
and
is
now
continuously
carried
forward
by
the
Lord
Jesus.
It
is
essentially
spiritual,
and
its
holy
mysteries
of
regeneration
and
KINGDOM
OF
GOD
(OR
HEAVEN)
the
righteousness
of
faith
can
be
only
spiritually
discerned,
(d)
The
important
petitions
in
the
Lord's
prayer,
'Thy
kingdom
come;
Thy
will
be
done,
as
in
heaven,
so
on
earth,'
are
of
great
value
in
determining
the
nature
of
the
Kingdom.
This
prayer
assumes
by
its
very
terms
a
moral
and
spiritual
relationship
and
the
ideal
of
a
moral
order
in
the
universe
of
God.
As
the
word
'
kingdom
'
implies
an
organized
community,
so
the
will
of
God
implies
in
those
who
do
it
a
con-formity
to
God
in
spiritual
nature
and
action.
The
coming
Kingdom
is
not
a
material
worldly
establish-ment,
but
it
has
its
foundations
in
the
unseen
and
eternal,
and
its
power
and
growth
will
become
manifest
among
men
and
nations
according
as
the
will
of
God
is
done
on
earth
as
it
is
in
heaven.
The
performance
of
all
that
the
vrill
of
God
requires
in
moral
beings
may
vary
in
degrees
of
perfect
observance
in
heaven
and
in
earth;
we
naturally
predicate
of
heavenly
things
a
measure
of
perfection
far
above
that
of
earthly
things.
But
the
members
of
the
Kingdom
of
God,
whether
on
earth
or
in
heaven,
have
this
in
common,
that
they
all
do
the
will
of
the
heavenly
Father,
(e)
So
far
as
the
Gospel
of
John
supplies
additional
teachings
of
Jesus
concerning
the
Kingdom
of
God,
it
is
in
essential
harmony
with
what
we
find
in
the
Synoptics,
but
it
has
its
own
peculiar
methods
of
statement.
We
read
in
32-
«,
'Except
a
man
be
born
from
above,
he
cannot
see
the
kingdom
of
God.'
The
Kingdom,
then,
is
not
a
spectacle
of
worldly
vision,
but
has
to
do
first
of
all
with
the
irmer
life
of
man.
It
accords
with
this,
that
in
S^s
and
18»«-
"
Jesus
says,
'I
am
from
above;
I
am
not
of
this
world:
My
kingdom
is
not
of
this
world:
if
my
kingdom
were
of
this
world,
then
would
my
servants
fight,
that
I
should
not
be
delivered
to
the
Jews.'
To
one
of
Pilate's
questions
Jesus
answered,
'I
am
a
king:
to
this
end
have
I
been
born,
and
to
this
end
am
I
come
into
the
world,
that
I
should
bear
witness
to
the
truth.
Every
one
that
is
of
the
truth
heareth
my
voice'
(18").
So
Christ's
Kingdom
comes
not
forth
out
of
the
world,
but
is
of
heavenly
origin.
It
makes
no
display
of
military
forces
or
carnal
weapons
for
establishing
its
dominion
in
the
world.
It
is
especially
remarkable
in
being
a
Kingdom
of
truth.
This
conception
is
peculiarly
Johannine,
for
in
the
first
Epistle
also
Jesus
Christ
is
set
forth
as
the
embodiment
and
revelation
of
the
truth
of
God
(1
Jn
S"-
'=
5™;
cf.
Jn
1"
S'*
148
171;).
Jesus
Christ
is
the
heavenly
King
who
witnesses
to
the
truth,
and
whose
servants
know,
love,
and
obey
the
truth
of
God.
(3)
In
the
Pauline
Epistles'the
Kingdom
of
God
is
represented
as
the
blessed
spiritual
inheritance
of
all
who
enjoy
life
in
God
through
faith
in
Jesus
Christ.
Its
spiritual
character
is
obvious
from
Ro
14",
where,
in
discussing
questions
of
conscience
touching
meats
and
drinks,
it
is
said
that
'
the
kingdom
of
God
is
not
eating
and
drinking,
but
righteousness
and
peace
and
joy
in
the
Holy
Spirit.'
So
it
is
not
a
dominion
that
concerns
itself
about
ceremonial
pollutions;
it
grasps
rather
after
the
attairmient
of
all
spiritual
blessings.
It
is
impossible
for
the
unrighteous
and
idolaters,
and
tliieves
and
extortioners,
and
such
hke,
to
inherit
this
Kingdom
(1
Co
6'-
'»,
Gal
5^,
Eph
5').
(4)
Other
portions
of
the
NT
add
somewhat
to
this
doctrine
of
the
Kingdom,
but
offer
no
essentially
different
ideal.
In
He
12^8
mention
is
made
of
our
'receiving
a
kingdom
that
cannot
be
shaken.'
The
context
speaks
of
the
removal
of
some
things
that
were
of
a
nature
to
be
shaken,
and
the
allusion
is
to
the
old
fabric
of
defunct
Judaism,
which
was
a
cult
of
burden-some
ritual,
and
had
become
'old
and
aged
and
nigh
unto
vanishing
away'
(S").
These
temporary
things
and
their
'sanctuary
of
this
world,'
which
were
at
the
most
only
'a
copy
and
shadow
of
the
heavenly
things,'
must
needs
be
shaken
down
and
pass
away
in
order
that
the
immovable
Kingdom
of
heaven
might
be
