Scripture is very clear about what the nature of the good news is. We can look at the words of Christ or the early Apostles to see this. Even John the Baptist, who did not inherit, nor understand the kingdom, preached of its arrival through Jesus. However, because we’ve heard the wrong thing so often, we think it’s important to point to a few verses describing the kingdom.
In the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He made it clear why He had come:
“I must preach the good news (Gospel) of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.” (Luke 4:43)
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17)
Jesus did not change His message after His ministry grew. When He first sent out His 12 disciples, He taught them:
“As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’” (Matthew 10:7)
Jesus did not relent on His singular message even after He had been raised from the dead when He taught:
“After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3)
After Jesus Himself was gone, this kingdom advanced as it was taught by the members of this new Body. Paul’s work is related:
“Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 28:31)
And here Paul highlights the stark difference between this kingdom and that from which we came:
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,” (Colossians 1:13)
This good news will continue to be shared until the end of this age is upon us as Jesus’ revelation to John reveals:
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:14)
Of course we could site hundreds of examples of the gospel of the Kingdom being the core truth of Christ, but hopefully this is enough to get you investigating. All of scripture takes on new meaning when it is understood that Jesus came to introduce a new kingdom (a heavenly reality on earth) to this world even today. I pray that the Lord will open up more of this understanding to you and I both.
The next several posts on this subject will also reveal more and more about what the Word teaches about the kingdom life.
This is Part 4 in the series Kingdom of God. To continue with this series, click on Pt 5. To use this as a growth tool to better understand your own calling, you might start by reading Part 1, Pt 2 and Pt 3.
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