There is a debilitating blind spot in the primary message of the evangelical world. With few exceptions, the Bible is read, studied and taught out of a mindset that filters out the centrality of the Kingdom of God. Why?
The Apostle Paul refers in II Corinthians3: 14-15 to a “veil” that lies over the hearts of the Jews.
This mental obstruction makes it extremely difficult for them to see the truth of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Conservative Bible-believing Christians seem to have a similar “veil” over their minds when they read the New Testament and encounter the Kingdom of God and the gospel of the Kingdom. They either equate the Kingdom to ancient Israel, the universal Church, or the future millennial reign of Christ. As a result, they find no compelling reason to work with the Kingdom theme, language and explanation of the Gospel.
Jesus consistently called His message, ”The Gospel of the Kingdom.” He trained His disciples in the Kingdom message and sent them out to preach the same good news He was preaching. After the cross and the resurrection, in the 40 days before His ascension, He concentrated on reviewing and amplifying His Kingdom teaching. (Acts 1: 1-3) Obediently, the disciples turned apostles, preached the Kingdom message throughout their lifetimes. The recorded history of the early church in the book of Acts makes that abundantly clear.
The Apostle Paul did not change the gospel of the Kingdom, as many have mistakenly assumed.
He was a Kingdom teacher until the day he died. (see Acts 28: 25-31) His insights on justification by faith and the manifold grace of God were expansions on the message of Jesus, not replacements!
So, why have we changed the language and the Kingdom focus of the New Testament? Why did we stop referring to the gospel Jesus taught as the gospel of the Kingdom? And, what has a Kingdom-less gospel done to us? Frankly, it has changed the definitions of essential doctrine. Sin, salvation, sanctification and strategic mission have all been drained of much of the vitality of the original content.
The result is a message that is relatively impotent. Without Kingdom definitions of basic doctrine, the incomplete truth changes us only superficially. It simply lacks the dynamic power of the original. Our deliberate or inadvertent modifications have actually originated or perpetuated our most frustrating and bewildering problems.
My friends, let’s return to the Kingdom paradigm of the Bible. Everything we believe, everything we are becoming, and everything we are doing must be informed by Kingdom revelation and realities. If indeed Jesus Christ, our great King, is coming soon in power and great glory to set up His eternal Kingdom on earth, then we must be cooperating fully with His plan and counting on His prophetic perspective. Jesus promised in Matt. 24 :14 “And the good news of the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, and then, finally, the end will come.”