THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MANIFEST

Obedience to the word of God causes the light of the Kingdom to shine abroad in our hearts. The term abroad refers to a distant place, usually existing on the other side of a great gulf, such as a river or an ocean, or it speaks of another country. I want to explain the term “Freedom”, but in order to do so I must take you to the place Jesus took me, That place is The Kingdom of God. Here is where the rubber meets the road in the Body of Christ.

John 3:3,5

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot SEE the kingdom of God.

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot ENTER into the kingdom of God.

In this midnight conversation, Jesus declares several things:

• There is another Kingdom that this world is not aware of. It came without observation. It exists nevertheless, and is superior in all points to the kingdom of men.
• It can only be seen through the eyes of a new creature; and the new birth is the only entrance into it.
• Furthermore, he that dwells in it is greater than any man or woman in this world..

Here is where the Body of Christ fails to wrap its spiritual understanding around the intent of the Father. We have read these Scriptures, quoted them in our sermons and coined them in our delivery. But have we really embraced the reality of which they speak?

Romans 14:17

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

John 3:6-8

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

When the wind blows, you feel it, and you hear it. However, you are sometimes not able to distinguish its origin. You may be able to discern its direction, but where did it come from? This is true of the Spirit of God. He spoke this Mystery concerning those who are born of the Spirit. In other words, Nicodemus was not aware that the Kingdom of God was standing before him. I could continue here along these lines and deal with the personage of the citizens of the Kingdom, being one with the Kingdom, which certainly is the implication here. But rather, I will use this space to deal with the existence of the Kingdom. This may seem like an elementary thought, but the Lord was very specific in His instructions regarding the need to teach the presence of another Kingdom. Now this theme is continued throughout the rest of the New Testament. However, I think Paul ministered it best in his writings to the Hebrew Church. In the passage below he speaks of the old patriarchs who roamed the earth at the commandment of God, looking for the promises.

Hebrews 11:13-14

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

Paul is being as specific as possible here. He wants us to understand that those whom God counted as faithful in the Old Covenant, were literally looking for a city in another country. This passage has a literal connotation. They knew there was to be another place, a city built by God that was to become their dwelling place. But the key here is that they looked for it on the earth. Yes, they looked for a city prepared by God, in another country.

Hebrews 11:15-16

15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

These people understood there was coming a time when heaven would be here on earth. Saints, they were not searching for the Millennial Kingdom; they were searching for a place where heaven had provided a resting place here on earth. By faith they searched and wondered. These all died not having received the promise. But when the thing they were searching for appeared unto the nation, they could not enter in because of unbelief. Jesus continued to preach, “I am the door to the Kingdom. I am the way in.” This they could not believe. “The Kingdom is here. It is at hand,” the message declared. “You almost got it right, Nicodemus.” “I can only do the miracles I do, not only because God is with me, but also because I am with God. I am in this world, but I am not of this world. I am from that other country your forefathers were searching for. I am the first citizen of that Kingdom.”

John 3:10-13

10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Jesus declares that He came from heaven, but yet He speaks to the Pharisees standing before Him. He is in heaven. How can this be? Well, basically He is saying the same thing to Nicodemus that He said to Pilot when he asked Him if He were a king.

John 18:36-37

36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

The message to Pilate and to the rest of us is, “I came into this world to bear witness of the truth. And the truth is that which was spoken of by my Father to your forefathers. He promised them a new place of rest. I came into the world to bear witness that the Kingdom my Father promised, does indeed exist. I am the first citizen of that Kingdom. I am its King. It is not of this world; therefore, you cannot see it. Even as I am not of this world and you have not discerned that.” Please don’t miss the point here. Jesus is testifying of the existence of another Kingdom; one in which His Father had promised from the days of old. He is literally saying, I came to bear witness of the words my Father has spoken through the prophets. All that He promised is real. I, Jesus am the evidence. I came working miracles and doing things that only a God could do. Well truly I am bearing witness of Him and He is bearing witness that I came from Him.” The point is the Kingdom of God is real. It is a literal dwelling place for those who believe and receive the truth. Oh, it gets even better. Paul looking into his revelation of Christ is bold towards us.

Hebrews 12:22-23

22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

We have arrived. We have found the door to the Kingdom and have indeed entered in. This is so powerful. We are the citizens of another country, and right now we are seated with our Lord Jesus in that heavenly city. The Holy Ghost is the substance of the Kingdom of God. In fact, Paul says it is the Kingdom. Remember, Romans 14:17 declares the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Galatians 5:25 states if we live in the Spirit, we should also walk in the Spirit. I want you to think about the day you received Christ; the day you were truly born again. At that moment, the first thing that was very apparent, and is at every new birth, was the ability to see the existence of two kingdoms. We realized we were indeed walking in the kingdom of darkness; but suddenly we were translated into the Kingdom of Light. The Word of God is true. Jesus was right, the Kingdom was at hand and He is the only door. The Word of the Father is a sure word; a word we can now have total confidence in. We are witnesses of that truth. We are also citizens of another country. We entered into the Spirit of God. In Him we live and move and have our being. Nevertheless, we are in this world. But why are we here? For one reason which is to bear witness of the truth; to tell the good news. The Kingdom of Heaven is within reach. We are the evidence. We are here to do the will of the Father, even as Jesus did. We are here to prove His existence, as much as the world would not like to retain Him in their knowledge. We will learn how to operate with certainty in this Kingdom as we continue in the forthcoming chapters. However, it suffices here to establish that you and I are charged with proving the existence of a Kingdom that men of this world cannot see.