The kingdom of God refers to “God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.”[1] It is interwoven into every systematic theology category. This short article cannot adequately treat this massive theme, but it does offer a sketch that can frame further reflections on the interaction between the kingdom of God and the central themes of systematic theology: revelation, God, humans, sin, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, salvation, the church, and the future.[2]
1. Graeme Goldsworthy, The Goldsworthy Trilogy: Gospel and Kingdom, Wisdom and Revelation (Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster, 2013), 72.
2. Robert Yarbrough notes that Lesław Daniel Chrupcala identifies over 10,000 sources published in the twentieth century on the kingdom of God in The Kingdom of God: A Bibliography of 20th Century Research (Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press, 2007). Robert W. Yarbrough, “The Kingdom of God in the New Testament: Matthew and Revelation,” in The Kingdom of God, eds. Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 95, footnote 1.
The Kingdom and God’s Revelation
God the king gives his authoritative, covenantal, and life-giving word, enabling his people to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exod. 19:6). God’s commands and precepts are good and bless those who follow them (Ps. 19:7–11; 119).Additionally,Jesus links God’s revelation to the kingdom through preaching “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23; 9:35, emphasis added). Entrance into the kingdom of God is through believing the good news that Christ is lord and king, repenting of sin, and placing faith in him for salvation. Jesus also ties people’s status in the kingdom of heaven to their obedience to Scripture and how they present its commandments to others (Matt. 5:19).[3] Furthermore, the kingdom of God is a key theme in the history of God’s relationship with people from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22.[4]
3. For more on this, see Yarbrough, “The Kingdom of God in the New Testament,” 113.
4. For more on how the biblical storyline shapes and frames the topics of theology, see Christopher W. Morgan, Christian Theology: The Biblical Story and Our Faith (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2020) 17.
The Kingdom and God
The Scriptures begin with a presentation of God as king who alone creates everything by his word (Gen. 1:1–2:3). God is the almighty king who providentially rules over all nations, rulers, and people, while extending special care to his chosen people (Ps. 33:8–19). Since he created everything, he alone has the right to rule over it. He issues commands that must be obeyed and pronounces consequences for disobedience (Gen. 3:14–23).
The Kingdom and Humans
Humans are created by God in his image and given dominion to rule as his vice-regents on earth (Gen. 1:26–28). They are to care for, cultivate, and rule over the plants and animals God created, but they are to do so from underneath the authority of God. Humans are to reflect God to the rest of creation and serve as his representatives on earth. Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum explain, “As God’s image-bearer (and son), Adam and Eve are given the mandate to rule over God’s creation, to put all things under their feet (cf. Psalm 8) for God’s glory, and to establish the pattern of God’s kingdom in this world where everything that God has made stands in right relationship to him as God intended.”[5]
5. Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum, Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 619.
The Kingdom and Sin
Sin makes its debut in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve rebel against their king by disobeying his command to eat from any tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As such, sin is cosmic treason against the king.[6] The consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin extend to all of creation, including humans, and makes the creation mandate more difficult to fulfill. Every human is now born guilty before God and starts life on earth as a citizen of the kingdom of darkness as opposed to the kingdom of the Son (Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:1–3).
6. For more on sin as rebellion against God, see Christopher W. Morgan, “Sin in the Biblical Story” in Fallen: A Theology of Sin, eds. Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 142–143.
The Kingdom and Jesus
The Gospels begin by identifying Jesus as the Messiah, the promised king. The first verse of Matthew introduces the “genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1). Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham to bless the whole world through him (Gen. 12:1–3) and to David of a descendant who will reign forever on the throne over God’s people (2 Sam. 7:8–17). Throughout Jesus’ public ministry, he teaches with authority, in contrast to the religious Jewish leaders of his day (Matt. 7:28–29). He visibly demonstrates his authority by performing miracles and commanding demons, both of which serve as evidence that the kingdom of God has arrived (Matt. 12:22–32). His kingship is revealed publicly when he enters Jerusalem on the Sunday of Holy Week (Matt 21:1–17). His death and resurrection at the conclusion of an obedient life results in the ruler of this world being cast out (John 12:31–32). God the Father seats Christ at his right hand above all power and authority when he raises him from the dead (Eph. 1:20–23), and all people will one day acknowledge Jesus is king and bow before him (Phil. 2:9–11).
The Kingdom and the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit continues Jesus’s ministry on earth after his ascension. Among other things, “he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). He testifies that the ruler of this world has been judged and no longer holds sway over God’s chosen people. He gives people a new heart and a new spirit so they can willingly submit to their king and live in right relationship with him. The Holy Spirit is given to believers as a pledge of the life they will live in the full and joyous presence of God in the future (Eph. 1:13–14). Anthony Hoekema notes: “In the possession of the Spirit we who are in Christ have a foretaste of the blessings of the age to come, and a pledge and guarantee of the resurrection of the body. Yet we have only the firstfruits. We look forward to the final consummation of the kingdom of God, when we shall enjoy these blessings to the full.”[7]
7. Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994), 67.
The Kingdom and Salvation
The kingdom relates to many aspects of salvation.[8]
8. For more on the relationship of the kingdom of God to the following ten aspects of salvation, see Christopher W. Morgan and Thomas R. Schreiner, Salvation (Brentwood, TN: B&H Academic, 2024) 386–397.
- Election: When God elects people to salvation, he elects them to enter the kingdom (2 Pet. 1:10–11) and to be heirs of it (Jas. 2:5).
- Union with Christ: God transfers people who are redeemed in Christ from the “domain of darkness” to the “kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13–14).
- Regeneration: John tells Nicodemus that he needs to be “born again” in order to “enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, 5).
- Calling: God calls believers “into his own kingdom and glory” (1 Thess. 2:12).
- Conversion: People are converted when they respond positively to the message of the kingdom of God (Acts 28:23–24).
- Justification: Kingdom language is employed to contrast the consequences of Adam’s disobedience with those of Christ’s obedience. Sin previously reigned in death, but as a result of Christ’s obedience unto death, “grace . . . might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21).
- Adoption: Believers inherit eternal life, because God adopts them as his children (Rev. 21:6–7).
- Sanctification: God sanctifies believers by the blood of Jesus, allowing them to reside in the kingdom of God (Rev. 22:10–15).
- Preservation: In Jesus’s last meal with his disciples before his crucifixion, he promises that they will eat and drink with him in his kingdom (Luke 22:28–30).
- Glorification: In the future, believers will share in the glory of their king as they rule with him in his kingdom (1 Thess. 2:12; Rev. 3:21).
The Kingdom and the Church
The church is “the community of citizens of the kingdom of God.”[9] Together they are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God’s] own possession” (1 Pet. 2:9). “Jesus’ kingdom community is . . . characterized by repentance unto God’s rule, discipleship under Jesus’ teachings and way of life, and participation in Jesus’ mission.”[10] Jesus promises to build his church upon the testimony of Peter and the other apostles, granting them “the keys of the kingdom” (Matt. 16:18–19). Jesus expounds kingdom values (Matthew 5–7). Before his ascension, he commissions his disciples to spread the message of the kingdom, make disciples, and baptize new believers (Matt. 28:18–20; Acts 1:1–8). The Lord’s Supper is the kingdom feast that looks back to what Christ has done and looks forward to this king’s return (Matt. 26:26-29).
9. Gregg R. Allison, Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 101. See also Eph 2:11–22.
10. Anthony L. Chute and Christopher W. Morgan, “Missional Spirituality as Congregational,” in Spirituality for the Soul: Casting a New Vision for the Missional Church, eds. Nathan A. Finn and Keith S. Whitfield (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2017), 78.
The Kingdom and the Future
Jesus will return as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” to deliver the final blow to sin, death, and Satan (Rev. 17:14; 19:6). He will sit as judge upon his throne, assigning people to their eternal destinies. People who fail to repent of their sin will be banished from the kingdom to endure “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). Believers will be welcomed into the kingdom where they will rule with God. The biblical storyline begins with the king creating humans in his image in part to rule on God’s behalf (Gen. 1:26–28), and it ends with God the king being worshipped and served by his image bearers, who rule with God forever and ever (Rev. 22:1–5).[11] And all this will bring glory to the eternal king who will rule on his throne in full authority and power.
11. For more on how ruling with God in the future exceeds Adam and Eve’s experience of ruling on God’s behalf, see Stephen G. Dempster, The Return of the Kingdom: A Biblical Theology of God’s Reign (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2024), 8–10.
Conclusion
In sum, the grand narrative of redemptive history can be sung to a kingdom melody. One learns of the kingdom through the gospel of God’s revelation, and one enters into the kingdom through these same means. The kingdom is ruled by God, the high King over all. Humanity was created to serve as lesser kings and queens under God, exercising dominion over the earth as his vice-regents. But because of their sin, humanity is ejected out of God’s kingdom into the kingdom of darkness and death. The kingdom is barred to humanity . . .
. . . until Jesus, the promised Davidic king, conquers sin, Satan, and death through his dying on the cross and being raised and exalted to God’s right hand. The Holy Spirit enables redeemed humanity to obey the true king as his subjects, and gives them a foretaste of the kingdom life to come. In salvation, God’s people are brought into and kept in the kingdom through the gracious gifts of election, union with Christ, regeneration, calling, conversion, justification, adoption, sanctification, preservation, and glorification. Kingdom citizens are part of the church, and their mission is to spread the kingdom message and disciple people into this kingdom through baptism while they feast on the Lord’s Supper. One day Jesus will return in glory, judge people to their eternal destinies, and reward his kingdom citizens with eternal blessedness in the new heavens and new earth—to the glory of the triune God. This is the story that fuels every Christian’s obedience and worship from now until God’s kingdom come. Maranatha!
