History professor and author Michael Grant describes Jesus’ focus on the Kingdom of God like this:

Every thought and saying of Jesus was directed and subordinated to one single thing …, the realization of the Kingdom of God upon the earth.”  (Jesus: An Historian’s Review of the Gospels, pp. 10-11)

The word, “kingdom,” appears one hundred sixty-two times in the New Testament. The majority of those passages describe the Kingdom of God or contrast it with earthly kingdoms.  Matthew alone has thirty-seven references to kingdoms.

Many of Jesus’ parables were called “Kingdom Parables” because they were meant to illustrate how the Kingdom of God operates.

Jesus preached mainly about the Kingdom. (See Matthew 4:17, 23)  When asked to teach his disciples to pray, he included a prayer for the Kingdom to come to bear on the here and now.

So, the understanding the Kingdom and being a Kingdom person is not just important. It’s central to your life in Christ.

Ten Things to know about the Kingdom of God:

1. It’s invisible but more impactful than any visible earthly kingdom.

2 Corinthians 4:18 explains, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

2. The Kingdom is already present.

Luke 17:²⁰One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”  Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. ²¹You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”

The present Kingdom of God was not to overturn Rome and restore Israel’s fortunes like everyone believed it would. It is not going the plan to “Make America Great Again!” The present Kingdom of God is not a certain political agenda coming into power. It is the power of the risen Christ becoming present in real ways.

3. The Kingdom is not the church.

Jesus and his disciples were not preaching about the church when they were preaching the Kingdom. His disciples had no clue how the church would work or be organized. The local church should be a place where the Kingdom is in operation.

4. The word kingdom in Greek means “to rule and reign.”

That simply means that wherever Christ rules and reigns, there his kingdom is present.

5. When Christ rules and reigns in a heart, the Kingdom is present wherever that person goes!

We are ambassadors for the Kingdom, the conduit of his love to the world and even the “fragrance of Christ” wherever we go as Kingdom citizens. (2 Corinthians 2:15)

6. The Kingdom has a different set of values and rules.

The Kingdom of God has a surprisingly different economy.  The world puts ultimate value on wealth and physical pleasure and even rationalizes using people or abusing the planet to get what it values. The Kingdom values holiness and relationships and faith and obedience.

7. The Kingdom’s main operating principle is love.

Religion has produced some of the most selfish and hate-filled people and actions that will ever exist in our world. The Kingdom of God produces the most selfless and loving people and actions the world ever sees.

“Jesus does not call us to do what he did, but to be as he was, permeated with love. Then the doing of what he did and said becomes the natural expression of who we are in him.” – (Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God)

8. The Kingdom is where the dynamic and powerful presence of God operates visibly.

Although the Kingdom is invisible and without a palace, a court or a physical seat of power, it’s effects are visible everywhere for anyone seeking it.

9. We’re supposed to seek the Kingdom first. (Matthew 6:33)

When we do this, all the other things the world seeks first will be added to our lives in God’s time and in his way. If we love money, use people or seek our own selfish desires first, then those things that were meant to be rewards and blessings feel like burdens or even curses.

10. The Kingdom transforms the lives of its citizens.

Watching people take the Oath of Citizenship to become American citizens is a moving scene. It has the promises of individual human rights and participation in democracy. But nothing rivals the transformational moment when a person chooses Jesus as their Savior and King!

Here’s a bonus thought about the Kingdom of God:  A kingdom must have a King if it fits the definition of the word. In the Kingdom of God, you are not that king.  

(Please continue to Part Two for the practical plan for allowing the Kingdom to come in your life this year!)