This is the fifth post in a series beginning with "The Gospel Probably Isn't What You Think." These posts will make the most sense if read in order.
Or if you have already read the above post, consider reading the one immediately prior to this one, "God's Kingdom in Jesus' Story."
This post is a continuation of the series, “What is the Gospel?” We’ve answered this question in brief, and have also explored how the content of the gospel (God’s kingdom) is present in the human story, Israel’s story, and Jesus’ story. But where does that leave us today?
We are in the “last days” (Hebrews 1:2), the period between Jesus’ first coming to earth and His future second coming. Before Jesus returned to heaven, he taught His twelve apostles many things about the kingdom of heaven (Acts 1:3) and left them with the task of preaching the gospel throughout the whole world (Mark 16:15). Through the working of these twelve men (and others like them), Jesus founded His church, which is the kingdom of God in these last days. By the end of their lives, the apostles had spread God’s kingdom on earth throughout the entire Roman Empire, and even beyond its borders to places like India and Ethiopia.
Since then, the kingdom of God has been claiming new territory. However, this has not always been a steady process. Since the church’s founding, there have been long periods of history where almost no gospel preaching was happening. The church has also failed many times to obey God’s instructions for how His people should live and spread His message. As a result, the church has grown in some areas, but in others it has declined or even vanished from existence. However, progress has been made and continues to be made. Jesus has promised that the gospel of the kingdom will be preached to all nations before He comes again!
Now it’s our turn. As of the early twenty-first century, Europe, North America, much of South and Central America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Australia have largely heard the gospel. It has also reached many places in China. Most of the people who have never heard the gospel live in the so-called “ten-forty window,” which includes Northern Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and certain Pacific islands.
However, there’s a problem with describing the church’s progress this way: When Jesus talked about preaching the gospel to all nations, He wasn’t talking about countries marked by political borders; He was talking about “people groups” (people who share a common language, culture, and group identity). One country can have many people groups. In Uganda, each of the tribes is its own “people group.” Combine this with people groups from other countries living in Uganda, and the total number of people groups in Uganda is sixty-eight. That might seem like a lot, but keep in mind that India has over two-thousand people groups! It’s estimated that the whole world has over 17,000 people groups, about 7,000 of which are considered “unreached.” That means that there are almost no Christians in these groups, and in many cases, little or no opportunity for them to hear the gospel. India has more unreached people groups than any other country. Scripture seems to indicate that all these people groups must hear the gospel before Jesus will return.
But there’s also a problem with describing the church’s progress in terms of “reached” and “unreached” people groups. Jesus said the “gospel of the kingdom” would be preached to all nations (Matthew 24:14). In many cases, a version of the gospel has been preached, but not the gospel of the kingdom (which has been described in the posts before this). Many people, even in “Christian” countries, are very confused about what the gospel is. God may still allow His kingdom to grow in places where a less-than-complete gospel has been preached, but the church in such countries will miss out on all God’s kingdom is supposed to be. As a result, they will be less useful for advancing His kingdom in the rest of the world. Churches will be full of people who falsely imagine they’re saved, and such people are more concerned with enjoying this life than doing God’s will. I’ll come out and say it—this is almost always the case in majority “Christian” countries, including both America and Uganda.
Let’s talk more about what it means for the church to be God’s kingdom on earth. We’ll describe it in terms of the four features of a kingdom we’ve used in earlier posts: a king, citizens, territory, and laws. Jesus is the King (the central claim of the gospel), but it might surprise you to know that we are also kings (and queens)! From the beginning, God’s kingdom among people had a primary King (God) with kings and queens (people) ruling under Him. Even in Israel, this pattern was present: God was the primary King, but there were also human kings under Him. God has never abandoned His plan to entrust His kingdom to people.
People are also the citizens of God’s kingdom. Presently, they are even the territory of the kingdom! Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Unlike the kingdoms of this world, His kingdom has no land area. It does not advance by expanding its geographic borders, but by winning the hearts of people. When someone decides to accept Jesus as king and make all future choices in obedience to His will, the territory of Jesus’ kingdom expands. Finally, God’s will, revealed in the commands of the New Testament, serves as the law of the kingdom.
An important idea in the Bible is that God’s kingdom is already here, but has not fully come. This affects how we see the different features of this kingdom. I said earlier that people are kings and queens in God’s kingdom. This is true even now because we are in Jesus, who reigns from heaven (Colossians 3:1-3). However, we’re not yet enjoying our full privileges as kings and queens, because we must follow the path of Jesus, who suffered before entering His glory (Romans 8:17).1 When Jesus returns, His true followers will receive their full privileges as kings and queens in His kingdom (Revelation 2:26-27).
Likewise, the kingdom’s territory has not yet reached its full extent. People are still choosing to become citizens. Every such decision increases the kingdom’s territory by a little bit, but it will not be complete until every knee bows to King Jesus (Romans 14:11). Now, Jesus’ kingdom does not include land in its territory, but when He returns, all land owned by the nations of this world will be transferred to His kingdom. Then the whole world will belong to the citizens of His kingdom (Matthew 5:5). Now, Jesus’ followers suffer from sickness, death, pain, sadness, and mistreatment from other people. But when the kingdom comes in its fullness, such things will no longer happen (Revelation 21:4).
In many ways, the kingdom of God will be a return to the garden of Eden, but even better. Instead of a garden, it will be a city—not a dirty, smelly, noisy city like the ones we’re used to, but one beautiful beyond our imagination. The new Jerusalem will be a place where God, man, city, and nature will exist in perfect peace with one another. Instead of two people, there will be many, and they will be like the angels, living forever in a beautiful state. No one will ever sin again; there will be no more rebellion to separate people from God and His kingdom.
How does one become a citizen of this kingdom? Jesus tells us in His preaching of the gospel, which we considered in the first post: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). We must change our minds and our actions to align with God’s will. We must choose, no matter what, to be loyal to King Jesus, which means doing what He says. This is how Jesus expects us to respond to the gospel, and what He expects us to teach others who ask, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). Anything short of this is not true Christianity. Other posts will discuss in detail what repentance includes.
1. See also Acts 14:22.
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