Psalms 8:1, 16:2, and 31:1-3

My Shepherd met me in His green pastures, thinking about His kingdom. Acts 1:3 came to mind:

Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

The book of Acts begins and concludes with a focus on this subject. Compare Acts 1:3 with Acts 28:31, “Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.”

Given the focus of what we call the Gospel ministry today, one would think Jesus would have spent His last forty days with His disciples discussing the “mystery of the Gospel” (Ephesians 6:19; see Romans 6:25).

Not only does the book of Acts begin and end with a focus on “the kingdom,” but Jesus’ ministry began and concluded with the same central theme: John the Baptist, His forerunner, preached “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:1-2), and after Christ’s temptation, baptism, and John’s imprisonment, Jesus began publicly preaching the same message: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17; see 12-17.)*

Jesus told us that from the time John began preaching “the gospel of the kingdom” (The message Jesus continued: Mark 1:14), “Heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force”: “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12).

There is the intersection: the Gospel is the gospel of the kingdom.

Along the still waters, I contemplated the relationship between the Gospel and the Kingdom. Jesus said unless a man is “born again,” he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). He said to enter the kingdom, our righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5:20). He said one must be “converted, and become as little children” or else there is no entry into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3). We know that “no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God” (Ephesians 5:5). And from the Gospel we know that “all have sinned, and come short” (Romans 3:23), we know “there is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10), that even our “righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). That only the blood of Christ Jesus can “cleanse us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). We know that only by the blood of Christ can our conscience purged of our dead works to “serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14).

Jesus referred to the Gospel as “the gospel of the kingdom” in His prophecy answering the question, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” His answer? “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14).

Paul said that we are translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son now, at the point of faith in the Gospel: “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:12-14). Indeed, we are seated at the right hand of the King (Ephesians 2:6; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 12:2).

Jesus is King of the fourth kingdom now (Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:12-21; Revelation 1:5). He rules the kingdom from Heaven over all the Earth. The King of the Kingdom gives “the kingdom” to the nation that brings forth the fruit of it (Matthew 21:43).

Whatever Jesus taught His disciples about the kingdom of God, it did not contradict their expectation of the restoration of “the kingdom” to Israel (Acts 1:6). Jesus continued to extend that offer throughout the book of Acts, but the Jews rejected Christ as their King, and so the kingdom was withdrawn from them and the Gospel (of the kingdom) was sent unto the Gentiles (Acts 28:23-28). But we would pass through much tribulation to enter into the kingdom He promised to give to the nation that brings forth its fruit (Matthew 21:43; see Acts 14:2).

In the valley, shadowed by His Cross, I heard Him say, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). The Cross is the path into the kingdom in every way you consider that subject: we are translated into His Kingdom by the Gospel, the heathen rage against Christ’s rule, persecuting the beiever, but if we continue following the truth, it will make us free, and as we are filled and flowing in His Spirit, we will bring Liberty to the nation that acknowledges Christ is King.

At the table, He anointed my head with His oil and stirred His grace into my cup to the full. Goodness and mercy followed us as we went into the harvest together (Matthew 9:37; 1 Corinthians 3:9).

Praying for revival! 🙏

[*Some have attempted to separate the “kingdom of God” and the “kingdom of heaven.” But these expressions speak of the rule of God (the kingdom of God) from heaven over earth (the kingdom of heaven). They are used interchangeably. See Mark 1:14-15, where Jesus used the expression “the kingdom of God” in the exact same context that He used “the kingdom of heaven” in Matthew 4:12-17. Look at Matthew 19:23-24, where He uses “the kingdom of heaven” and “the kingdom of God” in the same lesson, clearly referring to the same Kingdom:

Matthew 19:23 ¶ Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.]