What Is the Kingdom of God? A Simple Bible Answer

The short answer: The kingdom of God is any place where Jesus is ruling, because He is the King. Today that kingdom is in the hearts of believers who have crowned Him King. One day Jesus will return and rule over the whole earth.

Why does it matter what the kingdom is?

Because Jesus told us to seek it first (Matthew 6:33), and you can't seek something you can't define. Our April 21, 2024 sermon asked the question plainly: "If we're supposed to seek something, we've got to know what it is."

How does a person enter the kingdom of God?

By being saved. Before salvation, every person lives under "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." (Ephesians 2:2) At salvation, Jesus rescues us and moves us into His kingdom:

"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." (Colossians 1:13)

The sermon pictured it as being adrift on the ocean in a boat with no oars, until the Lord Jesus came to the rescue.

What does the kingdom look like in a believer's life today?

It looks like Jesus on the throne. Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) He showed us how in Gethsemane: "not my will, but thine, be done." (Luke 22:42)

When Jesus is ruling your decisions, your money and your time, the kingdom of God is present in your life. The sermon's challenge was to make that a daily decision: "Daily, we need to put Him on the throne in our life."

Will there be a kingdom on earth?

Yes. The sermon explained that Jesus will come back first for His people, and then, at the end of the tribulation period, He will return and set up the millennial kingdom. He will rule from Jerusalem, and "He's going to rule with a rod of iron." Then the whole world will be under the King.

Why does God have the right to rule us?

Because He is God. He created us, He provides for us, and He meets our needs. As the sermon said, "He has the right, because of who and what He is." Living life our own way, without Him, is headed for disaster.