Welcome to the Kingdom of God

 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders..... Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end...” Isa 9:6-7
“..He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end!” Luke 1:33



I could offer many more scriptures concerning the Kingdom of God, the reality of which is almost totally unrealized. It is common knowledge in at least a mental assent among followers of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But conversationally, questions will abound.  Is it invisible or is it visible? Specifically, where is it? Who is welcome here? More importantly, what did Jesus of Nazareth have to say about this kingdom?

The Kingdom of God is everywhere that God is. It has visible qualities but no labeling as such. It is hidden in plain sight, and structurally sound invisibly (a Divine matrix). And it is here for the safekeeping of all creation. In people, the Holy Spirit governs it with not just love, but rules and divine protocol. Yet everyone is welcome! And there is no condemnation to future inhabitants. All are on the approach, will be conformed to accept it, enter in, and walk in it to whatever degree.
..."'As I live,' says the Lord, 'to Me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall make confession to God.'" Romans 14:11

So, there isn’t anyone who will be denied acknowledging its reality. “...And I-- if I am lifted up from the earth--will draw all men to me."  John 12:32   The words in this scripture “will draw” are from the Greek helkysō which means: to drag. If we don’t come willingly, we will be drug to the truth that there is a God and his name is Jesus. A reality check. We don’t have to like it, and many don’t. But this scripture is an assurance that the truth will be known, and acknowledged as stated in Romans 14:11 (above).

Our literal shoes may walk on earth, but the ground to walk on in the Kingdom of God is Holy. Figuratively speaking, the dusty man Adam 1 must be enlightened and enlivened to continue towards the reality of becoming a new creature. (1Cor 15:45,47) Adam’s future home (and present actually, blinded only by ignorance) is God’s kingdom. Many already reside there. I, myself, am a current resident, for we don’t have to die to get there. I happily exist under the inner rules and control of the Holy Spirit. And as I said before, all are welcome. Even those who feel uncomfortable. Even those who hate God.

Establishing a visual of the invisible, we can imagine the kingdoms of old, often expressed as a fairy tale kingdom. We see the castle as we look in the distance, up on a hill. There are people living close, right on the grounds. Some live outside the palace grounds, and there is space between them and those living not so close. Some people live so far away from the castle that they hardly even think about it. Those born in lands far away from this kingdom have no concern for it whatsoever. Some deny it even exits. And this visual is a very accurate depiction in symbolism. An allegory indeed!

"The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!" Rev 11:15
This world we live in and all of its lesser kingdoms will surely be subjected to God’s authority and sovereignty sooner or later. Some already have. The line-up is ordered.
“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn.....” 1 Cor 15:22-23

Jesus gave many examples in Matthew--in parables-- showing that God’s kingdom is hidden. In Mark, Jesus told everyone that the kingdom of God was near. Then, of course, there is Luke (17:20-21), where Jesus spoke that the kingdom of God comes without observation (you can’t see it), and that it resides within us. That speaks of a spirit/soul base of operations. And hiding it keeps men from interfering in God’s ways and means. He also doesn’t want to scare anyone, as has always been the case in spite of radical religionists's carnally-biased opinions.

But religion isn’t allowed to reign in the Kingdom. Neither are political affiliations. There are no civil rights movements, no claims of racial discrimination. No lobbyists can buy off the agendas of the throne room. No carnal agendas of any kind. The dusty first man Adam's shoes must be left back at the door, for there are no individual freedoms in this land to “be whatever I please”. The Adamic blood line that loves “self” best (and this is natural) will be in the process of a transfusion.

Carnal tendencies will already be in the process of being rejected inside the person drawn by Jesus through the Holy Spirit.  The drawing is gradual--usually. How we look isn’t the issue. It’s how we act or speak according to our thinking and believing, according to where our hearts are. It is the Comforter’s assignment (John 16:7-8) to make us UNCOMFORTABLE with any unrighteousness leading us astray. Our inner peace (that we may not have known about before) will wane if we continue on in ways that hurt us--once the drawing power of the Christ kicks in. When Jesus told the young woman brought to him for a stoning that he didn’t condemn her, he also told her to “go and sin no more”. He didn’t want her to return to her errors and continue to hurt herself.

Specifically, Paul had this to say about it: “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God “  1 Cor 6:9-10
Even though the Corinthians were followers of Jesus, they were in love with the world and living accordingly. They had become a very carnal church, and Paul was throwing ice-cold water in their faces! And don’t we see today church groups that allow any kind of sin to stay alive and well in their presence. Accepting the people is good, but unrighteous ways cannot be allowed to be raised up as a “new normal”. God’s people must show themselves to be unmoved by fads of popularity. We must stand up for and validate God's view of morality! We must walk, talk, and live the reality of God’s kingdom while loving people, letting God convict them inwardly (of error) in His time and way.

It doesn’t matter what society or the government deems ok. Television shows, movies, and “celebrities” of all kinds offer views with no spiritual insight. Their agendas are carnal. They block the approach to the invisible door of a Divine kingdom where those things will not be allowed to live. Oh, the people may come, but all Adam #1(*) baggage stays outside OR keeps you in a segregated location that will not allow advancement. All people will eventually reside in God’s kingdom, for there is no permanent life elsewhere.

Willful sinning is being addressed by Paul. While the Son of God didn’t condemn people, he did tell them to get off the road they were on. And his own death and resurrection enabled that reality to become theirs through the giving of the Holy Spirit. It’s an inside job. Tendencies in the human nature drive us around in all directions, and lead us astray. We all have sin natures (Romans 3:23), and the sin nature grows crops of same. (Sin simply means “a missing of the mark”, like not being able to hit the center of a bulls-eye.)

We can see from 1 Cor 6:9-10 that specifics were addressed. And Jesus had offered a word during his walk here as a man:  “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:25   The Lord was inspired by his encounter with a young “prince” who had just visited him. Truly, it is hard to turn our backs on being materially comfortable, and we don’t really have to. But money and the pursuit of it tends to become the driving force or “god” of a persons life. It is hard or impossible to trust another kingdom when our own is doing so well. To say the least. Much more could be said, but Jesus knew that the young man could not walk away from where he was centered, changing his focus, and learn of spiritual principles. But he was still loved.

God is totally responsible for his creation, for it came out of him. His love for us and his desire to care for us will never end.  But God will not force allegiance to himself. That very powerful soul nature came out of him when he leased it to us for our own experiences. And when its our time, God calls to it, to come back home, ever so slowly. The Kingdom of God is home. And new people will continue to move in, even though they haven’t left their literal addresses. But their perspective has changed, as the inward power of God’s love has led them to a change of mind (repentance).

Truly, just like the visions of the fairy tale castle representing a kingdom, a picture is painted.  Family and royalty live inside the castle. Those loving the King live close by. Distances increase between residences, but the territory has expanded to cover all lands. All who reside in the lands beyond the view of the castle acknowledge and know the name of the kingdom they live in, and the name of the King. They may for awhile (maybe a long while) prefer to keep their distance,  but they will be kept safe from a deteriorating condition called sin because they are a permanent citizen of the Kingdom of God.

* 1 Corin 15:45, 47