Various aspects of the kingdom are mentioned in the Word of God, and it is good to understand the difference between them. We have the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of the Father, the kingdom of the Son of Man, the kingdom of the Son of His love, and the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The Kingdom of God
We are introduced to the first in connection with the Lord Jesus on earth, when the Pharisees demanded, “When the kingdom of God should come” (Luke 17:2020And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: (Luke 17:20)). He told them, “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:2121Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21)). The kingdom of God might be described as the manifestation of the ruling power of God under any circumstances. It is a moral state that characterizes God’s kingdom. In the person of His Son, God was showing His ruling power at that time — God was there in Him.
The kingdom of God is also spoken of as existing at the present time. We read, “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 14:1717For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17)), and again, “The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20). Here the ruling power of God is again exhibited, not in the Son, but by the Spirit, who, through His presence on earth, produces practical righteousness in those who believe and gives His servants power to correct evil where needed. The kingdom was seen in Christ while He was on earth, but now it is seen by the Spirit. Until He had ascended, none but He could be in it. After His ascension, the Holy Spirit came down and opened the door for others to enter. Thus the ruling power of God is now manifested in those who have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
However, the term “the kingdom of God” is also applied in Scripture to what man has made of that which God gave at the beginning — what we know as Christendom. The “tree” and the “leaven” of Luke 13:18-2118Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? 19It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it. 20And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. (Luke 13:18‑21) give us its outward dimensions and internal condition. What was but a grain outwardly, at Pentecost, has become a great tree that shelters even the devil’s emissaries, while internal evil and corrupt doctrine have permeated that which was intended for the believers’ food. What a description of Christendom — a vast system, but rotten within!
Thus Romans 14:1717For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17) and 1 Corinthians 4:20 describe the divine aspect of the kingdom of God, while Luke 13:18-2118Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? 19It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it. 20And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. (Luke 13:18‑21) describes its external condition.
The Kingdom of Heaven
The term “the kingdom of heaven” is used only in Matthew, for here the truth is commended to Jewish consciences. In essence it is the rule of the heavens owned on earth. The Jews were familiar with this thought from the Old Testament scriptures. For example, it was prophesied to Nebuchadnezzar that his power would continue after he had known “that the heavens do rule” (Dan. 4:2626And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. (Daniel 4:26)). The Lord taught His disciples to pray that God’s will might be “done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:1010Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)). Thus, when John the Baptist came to introduce the Messiah, he announced that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:22And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:2)). So also Jesus Himself makes the same statement (Matt. 4:1717From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)) and later the twelve (Matt. 10:77And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 10:7)). However, the rightful king was rejected, and consequently the kingdom of the heavens assumes a mysterious form — that of a kingdom with an absent king. The Lord becomes a sower, and the kingdom of the heavens takes on a new character which the prophets did not contemplate — a sphere overrun with evil and with a mingled crop. Some are true subjects, while others accept the authority of Christ only nominally, as professors.
John the Baptist was not in the kingdom of heaven, for the door was not thrown open until Peter unlocked it on the day of Pentecost. Then “the violent” (Matt. 11:1212And 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)) — those really in earnest — reached the goal they had been seeking since the days of John the Baptist. As to the inward and outward forms, some similitudes are applied to both the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God — the mustard seed becoming the great tree, and the measures of meal becoming leavened.
Outwardly, then, the kingdom of heaven is like a field of tares, a tree and leaven — a mixture of the Lord’s people with those of Satan. It is the sphere of Christian profession on earth — a wide-spreading system, outwardly powerful, but internally corrupt. But to faith there is an inner or divine form, and this is seen in the “treasure” and the “pearl” (Matt. 13:44-4644Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 45Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:44‑46)). These latter are the kingdom of heaven from God’s side. Thus the kingdom of heaven is properly the rule of the heavens upon the earth. It was refused by man and thus exists today in a mysterious way. This form of the kingdom will go on until the millennium commences, when it will take its proper form. At that time it will be known partly as the kingdom of the Father and partly as the kingdom of the Son of Man.
The Kingdom of the Father and
the Kingdom of the Son of Man
These both commence simultaneously. The kingdom of the Father relates to things above, and the kingdom of the Son of Man to things below.
The heavenly saints, including those of the godly Jewish remnant, will then “shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:4343Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13:43)). Likewise the Lord, in speaking to the disciples when He instituted the remembrance of Himself, could say, “I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:2929But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. (Matthew 26:29)). The kingdom of the Father is for the heavenly people.
The Kingdom of the Son of His Love
Finally, we must notice the expressions “the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Col. 1:1313Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (Colossians 1:13) JND) and “the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:11). These are distinct from those we have already mentioned and give us the thought of position rather than display. They are each mentioned only once in Scripture and are more to be felt than described. Christ has a present kingdom, one which the Father’s love bestowed on Him, the Son of His affections, and into this we who have believed have already been translated. It is the region of blessing of which Christ is the center.
The other, the “everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,” is before us and is a blessed contrast to the things that are fading away around us. It is everlasting, and we shall share it with Him. His desire is that we should enter it, as we may say, “full sail.” May it be ours to add to our faith all these things that 2 Peter 1:57 contains, so that an abundant entrance into that kingdom may be ministered unto us.
D. T. Grimston, adapted from Words of Truth