Question:
Please tell what is meant in Luke 17:20, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation,” and the next verse, “The kingdom of God is within you.” Are the kingdom of God and the coming of Christ the same, or what is meant? I have been told that they are the same.
Answer:
That the believer has now everlasting life, the following propositions and Scripture texts clearly show:
The kingdom of God is revealed in different aspects. “Jehovah hath established His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all.” Ps. 103:19. That kingdom includes (1) God the King; (2) His territory, the universe; (3) His throne, or center and seat of government; (4) His law, or rule of government; (5) His subjects, those who are loyal to Him. That kingdom is now in operation, and the throne of the everlasting Father is “the throne of grace.” Heb. 4:16.
Christ has yet to take His kingdom and will do so when He returns. He now sits as priest on the Father’s throne, gathering subjects for His kingdom. Compare the following: Luke 19:11, 12; Dan. 7:13, 14; Ps. 2:7-9; Ps. 110:1; Heb. 8:1; Rev. 3:21; 11:18; Matt. 25:31.
It is evident that while the kingdom of God is literal, it is also spiritual. Before one can be a citizen of that kingdom, He must accept God’s rule; God’s law must be in the heart; and it is the work of grace to write this law in the heart.
This work is not heralded by pomp, power, or display; it “cometh not with observation.” Man opens his heart, and God, by His Spirit, comes in, and man becomes a citizen of a heavenly kingdom. The Jews did not know this; they would not discern the spiritual nature of Christ’s kingdom. “How can a man be born again?” was the language of darkness and unbelief. The King, God in Christ, was there, but they knew it not. None said to them, “Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (R.V., margin), or as the margin of the Common Version reads, “among you.” See the following, where the same word is rendered “among:” Matt. 20:26, 27; 26:5; Luke 1:28, 42; John 1:26. Vincent says: “Within. Better, in the midst of. Meyer acutely remarks that ‘you refers to the Pharisees, in whose hearts nothing certainly found a place less than did the ethical kingdom of God.’ Moreover, Jesus is not speaking of the inwardness of the kingdom, but of its presence.”–Word Studies in the New Testament.”
Christ’s kingdom is not His coming; but the ushering in of the kingdom of glory.
