Is the Kingdom of God Within You?

[Darris McNeely] Are you one of those who thinks that the kingdom of God is within you? Rather than being something that is going to come with Jesus Christ at His second coming to earth, it’s in your heart right now. Think again about that. Many people turn to a verse in the Bible, in Luke chapter 17 and beginning in verse 20 to 21 – Luke 17:20-21. Jesus was talking to a group of Pharisees, the Jewish leaders of His day. He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come. He answered them and He said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation, nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’, for indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” This is the way the typical King James or New King James translation puts this particular scripture. And out of this one verse people draw the assumption that Jesus was saying that the kingdom of God is only in the hearts of the believers now, and this is an incorrect teaching. Really, it is one of those of many types of teachings where people focus on one verse, one translation, one misunderstanding, and they build a whole idea and concept out of that.

This verse, when properly translated, actually is saying that the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. In the midst of you. This is what the reputable lexicons of the Greek New Testament actually show this verse should be explained. Christ was saying the kingdom of God is in the midst of you, not in you. Now, what did He mean by being in the midst of you? This: Jesus Christ was the Son of God, come in the flesh. He’s the King of the coming kingdom. And to these Pharisees, Jesus was saying the kingdom of God is in the midst of you right now, in My person, in My life, in My teaching. I represent that kingdom. The problem was, the Pharisees couldn’t recognize that. And Jesus was taking them to task as a result of it. In fact, the Pharisees were those who, countless times as the Gospels show – they were trying to destroy Jesus. They were plotting against Him and they, along with others, eventually engineered His death and His crucifixion. They couldn’t understand who He was. And this is what Jesus was talking about. Can we see that? Can we understand that’s exactly what it means?

The kingdom of God, throughout the scriptures, from both the Old Testament and the New Testament, is something that Christ will bring with Him at his coming. It is a literal government and kingdom that He will set up on this earth. He came as a forerunner of that. He came announcing the gospel of the kingdom of God and preaching so much about that in His life and ministry and so did the church as they carried on that work. But to misinterpret this idea, this teaching, and say that the kingdom of God is within us in our heart right now, and that’s what Jesus was saying, is a mistake. God’s kingdom is coming. The question really is, can we discern that and understand it, and are we getting prepared for it?

That’s BT Daily. Join us next time.