Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of
God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not
coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or,
'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is inside you."[1]
The Greek word translated in the quote “inside” you, can
also be translated “within” you.[2]
There are arguments for both renditions. The only other place where the Greek
word is used in the New Testament, it is translated “inside”. The concept of
the kingdom of God inside the human heart is supported by prophecy.
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like
the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to
bring them out of the land of Egypt--a covenant that they broke, though I was
their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with
the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within
them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each
other, "Know the Lord," for they shall all know me, from the least of
them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and
remember their sin no more.[3]
Know,
ἐντός:
The simple meaning, to know, is its most common translation out of the
eight hundred or more uses. One of the primary uses means to know relationally
and experientially: it refers to knowing or not knowing persons (Gen 29:5;
Exo 1:8) personally or by reputation (Job 19:13).[4]
The language of prophecy indicates a future personal
relationship with God: covenant,
my law within them, written
on their hearts, I will be their God, they
shall be my people, they
shall all know me, and I
will forgive them. Everything about the future
covenant was to be personal as well as relational. God pointed out that he had
a non-reciprocal relationship with Israel and Judah, saying, he had been a
husband to them. That motif is further developed in the book of Hosea. Through
Jesus, believers are in the family of God. God is Father to the faithful. As a
result of Jesus’ sacrifice, believers are his siblings, and God is the Father.
What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the
angels. Because of God's wonderful kindness, Jesus died for everyone. And now
that Jesus has suffered and died, he is crowned with glory and honor! Everything
belongs to God, and all things were created by his power. So God did the right
thing when he made Jesus perfect by suffering, as Jesus led many of God's
children to be saved and to share in his glory. Jesus and the people he makes
holy all belong to the same family. That is why he isn't ashamed to call them
his brothers and sisters.[5]
At Moses’ first encounter with God, after Israel left Egypt,
he was told, “Now if you
will faithfully obey me, you will be my very own people. The whole world is mine,
but you will be my holy nation and serve me as priests.[6] The
people of Israel did not fully obey God, and as a result did not succeed as his
nation of priests. In the gospel of John we read, “The law indeed was given through Moses; grace
and truth came through Jesus Christ.”[7]
Through the prophet Jeremiah God said the new covenant would be different to
the one given on Sinai. John provides the most significant difference between
the covenants; the old covenant was based on works done by the people, the new
covenant is based on God’s grace. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your
own doing; it is the gift of God--not the result of works, so that no one may
boast.”[8] Peter affirmed that believers by God’s
grace are his chosen people. “…you
are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in
order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light.”[9]
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of
a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the
Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has
sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an
heir through God.[10]
Jesus used the term Abba when praying in Gethsemane[11].
In no sense was Abba used disrespectfully; by using Abba Jesus was confirming he
was the Son of God. In the New Testament Abba is only used when addressing God.
Paul used Abba in his writing to demonstrate that through Jesus we are adopted
as children into God’s family. From the time of its construction by Solomon to
its destruction, the temple represented God’s presence among his people. Since
Jesus, the temple of God is not a building, but “…you are God's temple and that God's Spirit
dwells in you?”[12] Some teach that the reference to the
body being the temple in Corinthians supports the organization of the Church;
it does not! Some suggest that the Church is the kingdom of God on earth; it is
not! Jesus said, “The
kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say,
'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is inside you.”[13]
The kingdom, the ἐκκλησία, the covenant, have no physical representation,
other than the lives and actions of believers. That is what it means to be
lights in the world; always reflecting the love and grace of God the Father.
The covenant and religion of Israel involved the temple,
sacrifices, and ceremonial festivals. The covenant ratified by Jesus focuses on
the individual because it is relational and personal. To some degree or another
all Churches reflect the religion of Israel. The new covenant foretold by
Jeremiah had God instilling his law into individual hearts. There is no place
for religious hierarchies under the new covenant. In the new kingdom we are all
God’s special people, we are all priests, and we are all holy. The word βασιλεία
translated kingdom, according to Thayer’s Greek Definitions is always used “…in the N.T. to refer to the reign
of the Messiah.” The kingdom of Israel was limited to the land promised
to Abraham, but when the New Testament speaks of the kingdom, it is the kingdom
of God on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus told Pilate that he was born to be
king, but that his rule was not earthly –his kingdom is spiritual.
The kingdom is inside us, Christ resides in us, the covenant
has been written on our hearts; and yet, we seek the comfort of belonging to
some institution, of seeking physical connection through ritual, and of having
someone interpret the covenant for us. I wonder if this was the reason for
believers going back to the Old Law, demanding male circumcision, special
foods, and various Sabbaths.
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