Not of this World: Elements of the Kingdom
Our exploration of the kingdom of heaven continues in today’s post on four elements of the kingdom. If you have not read the first part of the series please check it out to help put this whole discussion into context. Here are the first two points, the other two will be posted in a separate post later on (for easier reading).
1. The kingdom is not of this world, but influences the world around us
An easy misconception to make about the kingdom of God and one that many do make, is the idea that the kingdom of God is somehow of this world. With this view people would push themselves to perform, attain and exalt themselves within our worldly context, their attention and purpose would be based on what they can achieve here and now based on the standards of achievement set by the world. The disciples and other followers during Jesus’ time made that mistake as well, when they expected him to come and reign as king, thus liberating them from the system of government then. However, the bible makes a clear distinction between the kingdom of God and the world. The main distinction being that the kingdom, it’s standards, purpose and royal subjects, are not of this world. Actually, the world is in direct opposition to the kingdom based on scripture.
So if the world is antagonistic towards the kingdom and its ways and you are a part of this kingdom what do you think that means for you?
John 15:19 says ‘If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.’
Yup, that seems to capture it. As a member of the kingdom of God living in this world, you will experience instances of not fitting in, not being accepted, not being liked… because of what you stand for, what you believe and who you represent. This is a crucial aspect of what it means to be royalty.
Further I want to draw your attention to other passages of scripture that highlights this distinction.
John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (ESV)
Hebrews 11:16 ‘If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.’ (NLT)
The kingdom is not of this world, rather it is distinct from it. It stands apart by its standards, its purpose and its ways. It therefore follows that its citizens should reflect these standards and ways. It also means that oftentimes what is valued and celebrated by the world will contradict what is valued by the kingdom. This may be hard, but this is what hit home for me, you cannot try to meld the ways of God’s kingdom with the ways of the world. You cannot attempt to please the two and expect to please either one. We cannot expect to find pleasure in what displeases God and have His approval as our king. Our arguments may be sound by all earthly standards, but it will never suffice if it contradicts the standards of the kingdom. What might that look like? How about promoting music, performances, slangs that goes against God’s standards or thinking its okay to be a Jab-Jab and prance around mimicking a devil once a year and still claiming to be a Christian because you go to church. We have to retain our distinctness, not in a way that looks down at others, but in a way that honours God, because we have claimed him as our own. But there’s more to being a citizen of the kingdom than standing apart from the world. This was demonstrated in everything that Jesus did for us. He showed us how to influence the world we live in not just by standing apart, but by sitting among them, boldly holding out the torch of truth, love and mercy.
2. Kingdom citizenship is attained through transformation
When Jesus started His earthly ministry the message He preached was that the kingdom of God is near. We understand that the kingdom is not of this world, so we do not expect to find a map to a grand castle, in which there is a throne upon which our God sits anywhere on this earth. So obviously, the whole concept of becoming a citizen of a kingdom we cannot see will be baffling without someone showing us the way. This is what Jesus came to do, this is the beautiful message that He brought to us, the message that we call the gospel. The message that the kingdom is near to you and me, and there is a way to become a part of it and for it to be a part of you.
Jesus humbly presented himself as the way, allowing the prophecies, His miracles and the revelation of the spirit of God to confirm to men and women of that time that He was the one sent to save them from a pattern of life that would ultimately leave them empty. Why? Because mankind was made for more, you were made for more than what this world has to offer.
Without the supernatural work of God in our lives it is impossible to turn our eyes away from this world and towards the kingdom. Jesus understood this, hence He said of the rich young ruler, “with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Through the work of the spirit you can be cleansed and transformed from your worldliness, from that cruel unforgiving way of life that is slowly passing away. Every day we see evidence of the degradation of this world we fight so hard to cling to.
This transformation and cleansing is what we call rebirth.
John 3:3 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
(Check out John 3:1-21, to read the whole conversation Jesus had about being reborn)
To be a part of this kingdom you have to submit yourself to the cleansing changing work of the spirit of God. You cannot be a citizen without a changed mind or else you will find yourself looking for any opportunity to return to the kingdom you claimed to have left. To be a citizen, you need to turn away from how you once lived and what you once believed about God. This you can only do when you encounter the life changing truth about the kingdom. So you need to be in a place where you can hear the word of God and trust God to do a good work in your heart.
So I leave you with these two points to think about, are you living as one who is truly not of this world? Are you positioning yourself to be cleansed and transformed through the word of God?
To be continued…
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Kelly is the founder of Royalty Press United. Author of the Gemstone Royals fantasy series, Twist of Faith and Crossroads. Counseling psychologist, proud Grenadian and devoted follower of Christ.
