The Gospel of the Kingdom

What is the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven, whichever way you may prefer to say it? This is an all important question, because the Gospel of Christ, according to John the Baptist, Jesus, his twelve apostles, and the apostle Paul; IS the Gospel of the kingdom of God (Mat. 3:2; Mat. 4:17; Mat. 10:7; Mat. 24:14; Rom. 1:16; I Cor. 4:20). Well, as it is with any truth, we must see what the scriptures say about the topic. And here is the one statement in the Bible that clearly defines to us exactly what the kingdom of God is, as well as what it is not: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 14:17). So the kingdom of God has nothing to do with any earthly thing, meat and drink being used as an example in the quoted verse. But rather it consists of the divine virtues of God's nature, as the scripture says. The apostle Paul enlightened us about a very integral aspect of the kingdom of God as well: “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (I Cor. 4:20). That certainly makes sense, seeing that the Bible also tells us, “For there is no power but of God” (Rom. 13:1). And since “the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power,” and the Gospel is the Gospel of the kingdom of God, it only serves to reason that the apostle Paul would also say; “For I am not ashamed of the GOSPEL of Christ: for it IS the POWER of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom. 1:16). So just exactly what is it that makes up this power that we’re talking about here? Well, that is an easy answer as well, that is if we are relying on the scriptures to tell us: “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence… But ye shall receive POWER, after that the HOLY GHOST is come upon you” (Acts 1:4,5,8). Okay, so like I said, this is really easy as long as we stay in the scriptures. And by the way, that is the ONLY way Jesus and the apostles preached; by STAYING IN THE SCRIPTURES! This is what we have clearly and irrefutably seen from the scriptures so far: The baptism of the holy Ghost, which is always evidenced initially by speaking with other tongues, is THE EXPERIENCE of the Gospel of Christ. Oh yeah, and let’s go ahead and note that the baptism of the Spirit also is the only way to get into the one body of Christ, or into Christ; whichever way you prefer to say that: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (I Cor. 12:13). It is also clearly evident by the scriptures that getting into Christ is the new birth experience: “Therefore if any man be IN CHRIST, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (II Cor. 5:17).

And Jesus made it clear in another place that the new birth is all about having the Spirit of God (Jn. 3:5). He also said in the same place that there is a ‘sound’ present with “everyone who is born of the Spirit,” like unto a wind that blows through a tree (Jn. 3:8). That sound is the God-given sign of speaking with other tongues, as it was with ALL who first received the Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:3,4). Not only so, but the apostle Paul stated that it is the holy Ghost that washes away our sins, thereby sanctifying us and justifying us before God (I Cor. 6:11). He even went a step further by emphatically stating; “Now if any man HAVE NOT the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Rom. 8:9). And to be sure, there is no such scriptural thing as RECEIVING or HAVING the holy Ghost before or apart from being baptized with the Spirit with the accompanying sign of speaking in tongues. Jesus assured his disciples that they could not receive the Spirit until after he went away, and just before ascending back to heaven he commanded them to wait for the promise of the Spirit, which they received on the day of Pentecost (Jn. 16:7; Acts 1:4,5; Acts 2:4; Acts 2:33; Gal. 3:14). So the moral of the story is this my friend: There is NO GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST apart from the experience of the baptism of the holy Ghost with the sign of speaking in other tongues. NOT IN THE BIBLE, and not in the ministry of anyone who is truly anointed and sent by God to preach HIS gospel. There is no power apart from the holy Ghost, and there is no love of God apart from the holy Ghost either (Rom. 5:5). Not to mention there is no righteousness, peace, or joy apart from the holy Ghost (Rom. 14:17). Oh yeah, there is no truth or understanding apart from the holy Ghost either, or at least that is what Jesus and the apostles told us (Jn. 14:26; Jn. 16:13; I Cor. 2:11; I Jn. 2:27). So according to what we have seen set forth to us very, very clearly from the Bible, there simply is no Kingdom of God, or Gospel thereof apart from the baptism that Jesus died for, and the one that he personally administers to those who TRULY believe (Jn. 7:38,39; I Pet. 3:21). So it only makes perfect sense to end this article with the simplistic message that God gave to the ONLY man that he sent to introduce Jesus to his people: “And [John the Baptist] preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost” (Mk. 1:7,8). And just one more note from Jesus: “And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and THEN shall the end come” (Mat. 24:14). And you may have noticed that Jesus did not say that the message of the holy Ghost baptism, which we have seen to BE the Gospel, would be mixed with any traditions and doctrines of men, or any religious fiction. And by these things my friend, you should be able to see why the end has not yet come. “THIS Gospel of the kingdom” has NOT been preached. But it will be, rest assured of that. Amen.