There is thus a growth of conception in the first place between the Kingly Rule of God which was declared once Jesus had been pronounced by the Father as His Son (Mark 1.11) and that which resulted when He was raised from the dead and received His crown and His throne (Matthew 28.18; Acts 2.36; Luke 19.12). This twofold stage may be illustrated by what did happen when new kings were established. First they were named by their supporters, and selected those who were to help them to the throne by winning over support, at which point they might have a coronation of sorts, but it was only after this, once their position was established, that they were officially crowned. See for an example of this Adonijah and Solomon in 1 Kings 1, where each sought to establish his kingship. In the end it was Solomon who was successful. Compare also David. He was crowned as King over Judah. But Israel clung to Ishbaal/Ishbosheth. Thus Ishbaal had to be defeated before David could consolidate his throne and become king over all Israel (2 Samuel 2-4). So in a similar way we may see that at His baptism Jesus was named as the rightful heir, and proclaimed King, (although He had also been so from birth (Matthew 2.2; Luke 2.11 compare 1.32-33)) and went about establishing the basis of His Kingly Rule, and then that at His resurrection and glorification He was officially crowned and received His throne (Daniel 7.13-14; Matthew 28.18-20; Acts 2.36). Meanwhile the establishment of His Kingship had been taking place. Then once He had received His throne the declaration of His Kingly Rule was to go out to the world which was called on to submit to Him (Acts 1.8).

1). The Kingly Rule of God Began To Be Established When the King was Acknowledged By His Father And Began To Gather His Followers.

It was promised at Jesus’ birth (Luke 1.32-33) that:

• 1). He would be called the Son of the Highest.
• 2) He would receive the throne of His Father David.
• 3). Of His Kingly Rule there would be no end.

There is a real sense in which these three phrases not only explain three aspects of what He had come to do, but also the three stages of the Kingly Rule. The Kingly Rule of God in one sense began when Jesus had received the Holy Spirit and was told, ‘You are My Son’ (Mark 1.11; compare Psalm 2.7). From then on He went out in order to proclaim that the Kingly Rule of God was ‘at hand’ or ‘had drawn near’ (Mark 1.14-15), so that those who submitted to Him and believed on Him entered under the Kingly Rule of God. They were born from above and ‘saw’ the Kingly Rule of God (John 3.3). Indeed the fact that Jesus cast out evil spirits by the Spirit or finger of God was the proof that the Kingly Rule of God had come to them (Matthew 12.28; Luke 11.20). It was present there among them, evidenced by the power that the King exercised. It had come with power, a power to be revealed in the Transfiguration, and in Christ’s resurrection and enthronement and what followed (Mark.9.1; Luke 9.27; Matthew 28.18). The sick who were healed, and those who refused to listen to His Apostles, had both come near to the Kingly Rule of God. It had been revealed to them and offered to them. They must choose whether they would submit to the King and obey Him (Luke 10.9, 11).

Those who came under that Kingly Rule were greater than John the Baptiser in his prophetic role (Matthew 11.11; Luke 7.28; 16.16), for in it he was only pointing forward as a prophet. He was pre-kingdom, the last in the line of the Torah (Law) and the Prophets (Luke 16.16). He was the preparer of the way (3.2-3). Yet even so the tax collectors and prostitutes (representing the most despised kinds of men and women) who repented for the remission of sins under his ministry (Mark 1.4; Luke 3.3), entered ‘the way of righteousness’, thus coming under ‘the Kingly Rule of God’ (Matthew 21.31-32). So John was very much involved with the introduction of the Kingly Rule of God. But his office as prophet and preparer of the way was ‘lower’ than the office of servant under the Kingly Rule of God which had now come, because it was simply preparatory, while the latter was the great reality. From now on the actual Kingly Rule was being exercised by Jesus under God. What the prophets had promised was here. Thus what Jesus brought was something greater than John could offer. (And John entered it when he deferred to Jesus, but Jesus never made any attempt to ‘take over’ until John was imprisoned. Until then He simply preached alongside John, and when He became too successful retired to Galilee ).

Since John’s day the Kingly Rule of God allowed violence and the violent took it by force (Matthew 11.12, compare Luke 16.16). That is, it could be entered by those who made a determined effort, and refused to be put off (compare Mark 9.47; Acts 14.22). For the Kingly Rule of God was being proclaimed and men were pressing into it (Luke 16.16). Humanly speaking it could not be entered easily. It required intensity of purpose and a true change of heart, ‘repentance for the forgiveness of sins’, but it was very much a present experience for many. The purpose of this saying in Matthew 11.11 is in order to represent Jesus and His followers as ‘greater’ than John the Baptiser because He and they are bringing about the new age, the new Kingly Rule, that John pointed to.

When the Pharisees asked when the Kingly Rule of God would come, Jesus replied that when it came it would not be seen by looking around, but by looking within, for ‘the Kingly Rule of God is within you’ (Luke 17.20-21). Some would here translate ‘among you’, signifying that it was present in Him, but they did not see it. Either way the thought was that it was present in Jesus and was to be responded to from the heart, while the Pharisees were missing it because they were looking for the wrong kind of Kingdom. Only through response to Jesus and the work of the Spirit could the Kingly Rule of God be known. Except a man be born of the Spirit he could not see or enter into the Kingly Rule of God (John 3.5-6).

When the disciples prayed they had to remember that this Kingly Rule of God had, even at the time when Jesus was speaking, to be sought above all else (Matthew 6.33). Once they sought this they would not need to pray for food and clothing, for everything else would be added to them. That is why when they went out to preach they were to take no extra food or clothing (Matthew 10.9-11). They had entered under the Kingly Rule of God, and would be fully provided for with regard to all their physical needs. Thus as they went out to proclaim it they were to pray for its extension daily, praying, ‘your Kingly Rule come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven’ (Matthew 6.10). The Kingly Rule consisted in men responding to Him and doing His will on earth. In other words God’s Kingly Rule was coming in that men responded to the preaching of Jesus and began to do what He taught them, and they were to pray that this might become true of more and more. Responding to the King and the teaching that He had brought would equate to entering under the Kingly Rule of God (or ‘Heaven’ - we will continue to use ‘God’ as Mark, Luke and John do, while recognising that Matthew used a circumlocution).

The Kingly Rule of God (Heaven) belonged to those who were poor in spirit, to those who were persecuted for righteousness sake (Matthew 5.3, 10; Luke 6.20). They were humble and contrite, and willing to undergo persecution precisely because they had come under God’s Kingly Rule. On the other hand it was hard for those who had riches to enter the Kingly Rule of God, because then their riches would come under His control (Mark 10.23-25; Luke 18.24-25), and they found it hard to give them up. To put the hand to the plough and then to turn back was to be not worthy of the Kingly Rule of God (the submission to the King had then ceased - Luke 9.62). And to be esteemed under the Kingly Rule of God it was necessary not to break God’s commandments, or teach men to do so (Matthew 5.19). That is why only those whose righteousness exceeded that of the Scribes and Pharisees, (who did by their teachings cause men to break the commandments), could enter it (Matthew 5.20). This clearly indicated that entry into His Kingly Rule did not come about by following the teachings of men but by responding in submission and obedience to the King. Those who listened to the teaching of Jesus and responded to it entered that Kingly Rule, which involved not only calling Him ‘Lord, Lord’, but doing His will (Matthew 7.21). Thus the Scribe who on learning of the two great commandments said, ‘Teacher, you have said the truth’, was told that he was not far from the Kingly Rule of God (Mark 12.34). All that was now required was his full response to Jesus in accordance with what he had learned.

The mystery (a hidden secret now revealed) of the Kingly Rule of God was made known to them precisely because the significance of His parables was made clear to them (Matthew 13.11; Mark 4.11; Luke 8.10). And this consisted of the fact that the word of the Kingly Rule of God was being sown, and those in whom it produced fruit were within the Kingly Rule of God (Matthew 13.19-23). In another parable the good seed which grew and flourished were the children under the Kingly Rule of God (Matthew 13.38). One day all who did not so flourish would be removed in judgment, and then the righteous would shine forth as the sun under the Kingly Rule of their Father (Matthew 13.43). There would thus initially be a time when the Kingly Rule of God co-existed in the world with those who were unresponsive to the King, even though possibly professing submission, but in the end these latter would be dealt with and then God’s Kingly Rule would be fully manifested (Matthew 13.41-43). This brings home the dual aspect of the Kingly Rule of God, the present and the future. On the one hand there are those in this present world who are within the Kingly Rule of God, and on the other there are those who are rejecting that Kingly Rule. (There are also those who are professing to be under the Kingly Rule of God, but are not in reality - Matthew 13.47; 18.34). But in the future, within God’s everlasting Kingly Rule, the righteous will shine forth within the Kingly Rule of their Father. It was this future Kingly Rule from which Israel would regret being cast out of when they saw that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets were welcomed there, while they were excluded (Luke 13.28). And to that Kingly Rule would come people from all parts of the world (Luke 13.29).

For the Kingly Rule of God is at present like a net gathering up all within it, and once they are gathered up all that is not fit for it because of lack of response to Him will be removed (Matthew 13.47). Those who are truly instructed concerning the Kingly Rule of God bring out what is old (God’s instruction in the Old Testament) and what is new (the teaching of Jesus which expands and explains that teaching). They study God’s word and eagerly hear the teaching of Jesus (Matthew 13.52). Thus the Kingly Rule of God is powerfully at work, reaching out to seize men, and then sifting them, and removing the bad from among them.

To Peter and the other Apostles were given the keys of the Kingly Rule of God so that they could ‘bind and loose’, that is open it up to all who will respond to it (which Peter does in Acts 1 to 15) and determine how it should be regulated and what manner of lives Christians must live (Matthew 16.19; 18.18). To this end they were especially endued with the Holy Spirit. They would make clear the requirements of God which bound all who followed Him.

To enter the Kingly Rule of God one must become humble, open and responsive like a little child (Matthew 18.1-4; 19.14; Mark 10.14-15; Luke 18.16-17). Those who have entered under the Kingly Rule of God are like servants to a king, and they will in the end have to give account and will be dealt with according to their behaviour (Matthew 18.23-35; 25.14-30, 31-45). They are like labourers who have hired themselves out to a master, and at the end of the day all receive the same reward, for it is within the master’s gift (Matthew 20.1-16). In Jesus’ day the many tax-collectors and prostitutes were entering the Kingly Rule of God, and this was revealed in the fact that they became obedient sons and daughters of the Father, while the more religious were delaying and in danger of missing their opportunity (Matthew 21.28-32). Thus the Kingly Rule of God would be taken away from those who professed to serve God but did not recognise their sinfulness and repent, from the old Israel (the vineyard), and would be given to a new nation of Israel who would produce the fruits required by God (Matthew 21.43) and would be a part of the new Vine (John 15.1-6).

The Kingly Rule of Heaven was like a King calling people to the wedding of His Son, Who, when many refused to come, destroyed them, and also cast out the one who refused to wear the clothing provided by the King (Matthew 22.1-14), while those whom He called in from the highways and byways, who responded to Him and wore the clothing He provided (‘the robes of righteousness, the garments of salvation’ - Isaiah 61.10), celebrated and rejoiced, for they were within His Kingly Rule. Indeed the condemnation of the Pharisees lay in the fact that they themselves did not enter under the Kingly Rule of God, while at the same time they prevented others from entering, by this means ‘shutting up the Kingly Rule of Heaven from men’ (Matthew 23.13).

Thus while there may not be agreement on the interpretation of all the passages mentioned, they are sufficient to establish that the Kingly Rule of God could be entered and experienced under the ministry of Jesus. It was not just something for the future. They could already experience ‘eternal life’, the life of the age to come (John 5.24).

2). The Kingly Rule of God Continued And Was Confirmed When Jesus Was Glorified And Received All Authority in Heaven and Earth.

This aspect of His Kingly Rule clearly follows on from the previous one and much of what is written there applies here also. But the situation is now crystallised and the proclamation of Jesus as King and Lord is more strident. A clear reference to Jesus as receiving authority and power through His resurrection is made in Matthew 28.18; Acts 2.36; Luke 19.12, and we are probably to see this as tying in with the crowning of the Son of Man in Daniel 7.13-14, which spoke of the Son of Man coming to receive His Kingly Rule, which partly lay behind Jesus referring to Himself as the Son of Man (Luke 22.69; Matthew 26.64; 16.28).

It is this Kingly Rule that Acts is seeking to present. Acts is calling men to respond to the risen and glorified Lord and Christ (Acts 2.36) and enter under the Kingly Rule of God (Acts 1.3; 8.12; 19.8; 20.25; 28.23, 31). It is a Kingly Rule into which all Christians are transferred (Colossians 1.13). And as Paul could further say, ‘The Kingly Rule of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 14.17). ‘The Kingly Rule of God is not in word but in power’ (1 Corinthians 4.20), bringing men to salvation through the preaching of the cross (1 Corinthians 1.18).

The Good News of this Kingly Rule of God had to be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations, before the end could come (Matthew 24.14; Acts 1.8). Compare Mark 13.10 where it is called ‘the Gospel’, and Luke 24.47 where it is called ‘repentance and remission of sins -- preached in His name’. These differing references stress what the content is of the preaching of the Kingly Rule of God. Then at the end those who were His would enter the everlasting Kingly Rule of Heaven (Matthew 25.34), inheriting eternal life (Matthew 25.46).

3). The Everlasting Kingly Rule Of God When His Own Have Been Made Perfect Is Yet Future For Those Who Are His.

This third aspect of the Kingly Rule of God occurs throughout the New Testament. When the Son of Man comes in His glory (Matthew 25.31) the whole world will be judged and His people will ‘inherit the Kingly Rule which was given them from the foundation of the world’ (Matthew 25.34), and ‘will go away into eternal life’ (Matthew 25.46) rather than going into everlasting punishment (Matthew 25.31-46). The coming of this Kingly Rule will be prepared for by the signs of the end (Luke 21.31). It is then that men will weep and gnash their teeth because they will see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the prophets entering it, together with people from all parts of the world, while they themselves are cast out (Luke 13.28-29; Matthew 8.11). And then will the righteous shine forth as the sun within the Kingly Rule of their Father (Matthew 13.43).

This expectation of the future Kingly Rule of God (‘His heavenly Kingdom’) is prominent in the letters of Paul. Flesh and blood will not inherit it (1 Corinthians 15.50) nor will those who live openly sinful lives. See 1 Corinthians 6.9-10; 15.24, 50; Galatians 5.21; Ephesians 5.5; 2 Thessalonians 1.5; 4.1, 18; see also James 2.5; 2 Peter 1.11. Putting all this in the words of Jesus in John, they could receive eternal life now (John 3.15; 5.24; 10.28; 1 John 5.13) and then enjoy it later to its fullest degree in Heaven (Matthew 25.46; Titus 1.2).

It should be noted that Matthew regularly uses the idea of the Kingly Rule of Heaven where Mark and Luke speak of the Kingly Rule of God. The ideas are thus almost synonymous. But Matthew also five times uses the phrase ‘the Kingly Rule of God’.

• ‘Seek first the Kingly Rule of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you’ (Matthew 6.33).
• ‘But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the Kingly Rule of God is come to you’ (Matthew 12.28).
• ‘’And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingly Rule of God (Matthew 19.24).
• ‘Which of those two did the will of his father? They say to him, The first. Jesus says to them, Truly I say to you, That the public servants and prostitutes (who believed) go into the Kingly Rule of God before you’ (Matthew 21.31).
• Therefore say I to you, The Kingly Rule of God will be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth its fruits (Matthew 21.43).

It will be noted that each time it refers to its presence among them and to the fact that men can enter it in this life (although the Kingly Rule of Heaven is used for that idea as well, e.g. Matthew 11.12 and often). The thought is thus on the present Kingly Rule of God rather than the future. The future Kingly Rule of God is, in Matthew always called the Kingly Rule of Heaven.

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The Kingdom of God in the Old Testament

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