Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). This should make clear to us that, when it comes to the things of God, we must let him define his terms. The term kingdom today either means something from a fairy tale or a form of government known as “constitutional monarchy.” Neither of these help very much with understanding the kingdom of God.

Understanding the Kingdom

First, we should note that God has a kingdom because he is a King. This means that the kingdom of God is something that springs from the person of God. It represents something of what God is like. God’s kingdom represents God’s rule and authority, along with his fatherhood, provision and care for his people and his creation.

In the Old Testament, kingdoms were not defined primarily by territory but by the people and possessions that a king had authority over. Similarly, it may help us to think of the Kingdom of God being God’s kingship and the realm where his rule is realised. The natural kingdom of Israel in the Old Testament, particularly under King David, serves as a spiritual picture of the Kingdom of God. God’s kingdom was initiated on earth by Jesus through his ministry, death, resurrection and ascension. It expresses its power in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from Pentecost onwards.

The Rule of God in Action

God’s kingdom on earth today can be defined simply as the rule of God in action. The Lord’s prayer, and therefore prayer in general, is about advancing the kingdom of God. Jesus teaches us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). It is when God’s will is done that his kingdom has come. Jesus said, “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Luke 11:20).

The Nature of the Kingdom – Parables

When Jesus taught about the nature of his Kingdom he usually did so in parables. These parables build a picture of the nature of God’s kingdom. The kingdom of God starts small (the mustard seed), grows continually (the sower, the weeds, the net), influences society (the leaven), becomes dominant (the mustard seed), produces a distinct people (the net, the sower), and is of greater worth than anything else (the pearl, the lost coin).

The Nature of the Kingdom – Prophets

The Old Testament prophets also spoke about the nature of God’s kingdom that was to come. Isaiah prophesied:

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:7)

And Daniel interpreted the divine dream:

And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, (Daniel 2:44)

Jesus came to establish this kingdom, not, to begin with, in its final completed form, but in seed form so that it would grow and increase until he comes again as King over all the earth.

The Growth of the Kingdom

Turning to Isaiah again, we can find a useful illustration of the growing influence and impact of the Kingdom of God. Here we see God’s kingdom pictured as a mountain. Mountains in Scripture most often signify nations, and Isaiah foretells a time when God’s kingdom becomes the dominant force and influence on the earth: 

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Isa 2:2-3)

One thing that is clear from this passage – as well as parables like those of the weeds and the net – is that, although the kingdom of God is destined to become the largest of all forces in the earth, it will not completely replace either human institutions or the kingdom of darkness until Jesus returns. It grows at the expense of the kingdoms of the present age, and the contrast between these kingdoms will become clearer and more sharply defined through history. The weeds and the wheat will grow together until the end of the age.

The Overlap of the Ages

We have spoken about the kingdom as a present reality and also something that is still to come in its fullness. We can see then that the Kingdom of God is both “now and not yet.” The kingdom is here now, but it is not yet here in fullness. When Jesus initiated his kingdom he also initiated another age. The kingdom of God is to do with this “age to come”, but it is already here in the present age. We, then, live in an overlap of these ages.

The Coming Kingdom

The kingdom came in Jesus and continues to increase in its influence and impact. Both in the transformation of the lives of individuals as they put their faith in Jesus and come under his lordship, and in its influence upon society in seeing God’s righteousness and justice come into communities and nations. At the same time that God’s kingdom grows, we can expect increasing opposition to it, though there is no doubt as to the outcome of this conflict. God’s kingdom will continue to grow until Jesus’s return – and beyond, as according to Isaiah there will be no end to the increase of Jesus’ government.