Christ’s Kingdom
Contrary to popular belief, Christ’s kingdom exists today. Paul writes to “the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colossae” (Col. 1:2), and mentions the Heavenly Father “who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us unto the kingdom of his dear Son” (Col. 1:13). According to Paul, this process of translation (defined in the Greek as “to transfer, to remove from one place to another”) has happened in the past. They were already members of the kingdom of Christ. This is very important, since some teach today that the kingdom of Christ has not come and will not come until Christ returns. Those who hold this doctrine (called premillennialism) also advocate that the future kingdom will be an earthly kingdom, but the Bible simply does not teach this. When Jesus and His disciples preached, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17; 10:7), they were speaking of that kingdom which would come relatively soon. In fact, Jesus told an audience on one occasion that some of them would actually see the kingdom come with power during their lifetime (Mark 9:1). The final question that the apostles of Christ would ask before He ascended into heaven was, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). They still had completely misunderstood the nature of His kingdom. However, His answer included the fact that they would receive power after the Holy Ghost came upon them (Acts 1:7-8), which happened in the very next chapter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). Since they received power on the day of the Pentecost, and the kingdom was to come with power (cf. Matt. 16:28), then we can conclude that the kingdom of Christ came on the day of Pentecost. Thus, the church is not an afterthought or some “Plan B,” but it was “according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3:11). The kingdom of Christ exists today. As Jesus told Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see (defined in the Greek as “to experience, i.e. to partake of salvation in the kingdom of God,” Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon, p. 1492) the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).
Christ’s kingdom is universal. Its worship is not limited to a certain area (John 4:21). In His kingdom, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Its gates are open to all of every nation who believe and obey the gospel (Mark 16:15; Matt. 28:19).
Christ’s kingdom is mobile. Its citizens are considered nothing more than “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Heb. 11:13; 1 Pet. 2:11), looking “for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10). “For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come” (Heb. 13:14).
If you are not in Christ’s kingdom today, please contact us, and we will be happy to assist you on your journey to the kingdom of Christ!