What Is the Kingdom of God? Bible Meaning and Why It Matters Now

Quick Answer

What is the kingdom of God?

A kingdom is the territory ruled by a king. Jesus is King of kings, and the kings are believers. Revelation 1:6 says Jesus has made his people a kingdom. His reign starts in you, spirit, soul, and body, and you carry it into your house, your work, and your assignment. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 to seek that kingdom first, on the earth where you are.

Key Takeaways

• Believers are the kings, and Jesus is King over them. You wear that crown now.
• Seek his kingdom first. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 to seek God's kingdom. A church schedule is not what Jesus put in that sentence.
• Heaven on earth grows with your participation. God reigns in you as his temple, and worship, prayer, obedience, and love are yours to give. He will not live that part for you. From there it reaches your house, your workplace, and the people in your assignment.
• You partner with him to bring that reign now, in the assignment he has given you.

Kingdom has become a buzzword. People use it for something waiting off in the future, one day, someday. It is often referred to as being in heaven, or as belonging to the millennial reign of Christ on earth, or as arriving only at the rapture. You can pray it for years inside the Lord’s Prayer and still wonder what you asked for. The word still belongs on a Monday, in the house, the workplace, and the people in front of you.

A kingdom is the territory ruled by a king. Jesus is King of kings, and the kings are believers. He has already made you one of those kings. His reign begins where he lives, in you, and then it goes with you into your assignment, as you take part in it.

What the kingdom of God is

In Scripture the King has come near in Jesus, and he puts his reign inside his people.

Mark 1:15: The reign is at hand

and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.”

After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee preaching that reign. The time was full. What he asked for was repentance and trust. The good news is Jesus, and knowing the Father and the Son starts now.

Revelation 1:6: Made a kingdom, now

and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

He made you a kingdom to his God and Father. That is kingship now: Jesus is King of kings, and the kings are his people, on the earth you are standing on. You do not wait for heaven, the rapture, or Christ’s millennial reign before you live as a king. 4 roles we have in Christ shares more about your royal identity in Christ.

John 3:3: Salvation, then sight

Jesus answered him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.”

Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. Jesus told him that birth from above is how a person sees the kingdom. Salvation through Christ is that entrance. You come in by him, and then you can see.

Colossians 1:13: Already carried over

who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love;

The church in Colossae is told about a move that has already taken place. “Translated” means carried over, moved from one realm into another. If you belong to Jesus, you already live in the Son’s kingdom.

Ephesians 2:6, 19: A citizen of heaven now

and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,

You are a citizen of heaven now. God has already seated you with Christ in the heavenly places, and you belong to his household on the earth where you are standing.

Romans 14:17: Righteousness, peace, and joy

for God’s Kingdom is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a Person, God, present with his people. His kingdom looks like righteousness, peace, and joy in him.

Matthew often calls the same reign the kingdom of heaven. Mark and Luke call it the kingdom of God. Same King. At the opening of the Sermon on the Mount, the poor in spirit, people who feel they have nothing to offer God, are told the kingdom of heaven is already theirs. So are those persecuted for righteousness’ sake.

Where the kingdom gets misplaced

A date on the horizon. A government. A plan to start living as a king once you get to heaven. Hope in Christ the King outlasts the next name on a ballot. A term in office ends. His reign is already in his people.

Luke 17:20-21: Close enough to see his face

Being asked by the Pharisees when God’s Kingdom would come, he answered them, “God’s Kingdom doesn’t come with observation; neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you.”

The Pharisees asked when. They wanted a timetable. The men asking were close enough to see his face. The reign they wanted a schedule for was standing in front of them.

John 18:36: The King handed over

Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here.”

They thought Jesus was about to take a natural throne on earth and overthrow the Roman empire. Peter had already swung a sword in the garden as if that fight had started. Pilate asked if Jesus was the King of the Jews. Jesus said his kingdom is not from here. His reign is from heaven, from another world. His servants did not gather to take a courtyard by force. The King let himself be handed over.

Daniel 2:44: A stone cut out without hands

In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a statue: gold head, silver chest, bronze middle, iron legs, feet of iron and clay. A stone cut out without hands struck the feet, and the image became chaff on a summer threshing floor. The God of heaven sets that kingdom up first. You extend the territory with him, bringing the culture of heaven onto the earth.

Already here, and going with you

The reign Jesus announced has already started. You are on earth to bring it now, in the assignment you have.

Two kingdoms, and the unseen fight

Matthew 12:26: Satan has a kingdom too

If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

Jesus was answering men who said he drove out demons by Beelzebul. He treated Satan’s rule as a real kingdom, with territory, and with a claim on souls. Two kingdoms stand opposed: the Kingdom of the Son, and the dark rule Colossians already named. The fight is for people, and for the earth God gave to his image-bearers. You cannot see all of it with natural sight.

Ephesians 6:12: More than flesh and blood

For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Angels and demons are around you. The room has more in it than this three-dimensional world. Is spiritual warfare real? walks through that unseen battle, and through the wisdom not to call every hard day a demon.

2 Corinthians 4:18: What the eyes miss

while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

A spiritual perspective looks at the unseen first. What you can measure in a house or a workplace still matters. It sits inside a larger field, where two kingdoms are already at work.

The gospel of the kingdom, and the signs Jesus named

Jesus preached the kingdom, and he showed what it looked like when it drew near.

Matthew 4:23: The Good News of the Kingdom

Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.

The gospel of the kingdom is the good news that the King has come near, and that his rule heals, teaches, and calls people to trust him. The message and the mercy traveled the same road.

Matthew 10:7-8: The signs as they went

As you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. Freely you received, so freely give.

Jesus sent them to preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the signs he named are three, done in the Holy Spirit: heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons.

Matthew 12:28: Deliverance as a sign

But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you.

Deliverance is a sign of God’s kingdom, as much as healing is. Unclean spirits are displaced, and the Holy Spirit fills what they leave. By the Spirit of God, the kingdom has come upon you.

Revelation 11:15: The trumpet still ahead

The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!”

A trumpet still waits. When it sounds, loud voices in heaven answer a prayer the church has been saying for years. That day the world’s kingdom becomes his in full. Your kingship is the life you are living under Jesus before that trumpet. When someone parks the kingdom on the millennium, they walk past Galilee, and they walk past Monday.

How you live under his reign

His reign starts in you. Then it goes where you go.

Matthew 6:10: The decree in the Lord's Prayer

Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.

A king speaks, and the words are meant to stand. Jesus put this decree at the head of the prayer, before daily bread. Heaven is where his will is already done. You speak the same line over a kitchen, a night shift, a city, a sickroom, asking for that will here.

1 Corinthians 6:19: God reigning in his temple

Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

You carry God. Spirit, soul, and body are the first rooms of that reign, and heaven on earth asks for your yes: worship, prayer, obedience, love. He will not do those in your place. From that participation it reaches the house, the workplace, and the person the assignment puts in front of you. When you need the next step in that assignment, start with Discovering God’s Purpose for Your Life.

Matthew 5:14-16: A lamp on a stand

You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

The places that count are ordinary: a kitchen, a shift at work, a group chat, the school pickup line. The glory goes to the Father, and the good works are public enough to be seen. Love of neighbor gives the light a face: the person who will never write back, the one in the pickup line, the argument you could win and leave alone.

Matthew 6:33: Seek first the kingdom

But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.

Worry about food, drink, and clothing has already run through this sermon, with birds and lilies as witnesses. On a morning when the inbox is already loud, Friend, prayer can come before the list, and one decision can sit under Jesus’ reign before you make it. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 to seek first God’s kingdom, and Jesus did not say seek the church first. The Father adds what you need.

1 Peter 2:9: Royalty received

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

The royalty is received. Then it carries a job: proclaim the excellence of the one who called you, in the places you are sent. The Kings and Queens interview with Dominic F. Puglese walks through that identity in Christ.

Making disciples, the charge in Matthew 28:18-20, is how you live inside a reign Jesus already holds. All authority in heaven and on earth is his before anyone is sent. God set the kingdom up first. You extend its territory with him, bringing heaven’s culture onto the earth. You are already a citizen of heaven, so the assignment you live here is how you build real estate there, and that life continues when you leave here. What you do here affects eternity.

A Prayer for the Kingdom

Father, your kingdom come. Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Thank you for making us a kingdom, and for reigning in us. Send us into the assignment you have given, the house, the work, the people near us, carrying your reign now. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scripture quotations in this article are from the World English Bible Protestant Edition (WEBP), a public-domain translation.

Study This Topic Further

These pages stay with the same reign.

• Kings and Queens interview with Dominic F. Puglese
• 4 Roles We Have in Christ
• Is Spiritual Warfare Real?
• Discovering God's Purpose for Your Life

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the kingdom of God?

A kingdom is the territory ruled by a king. Jesus is King of kings, and the kings are believers. Revelation 1:6 says Jesus has made his people a kingdom. His reign begins in you, then moves into your house, your work, and your assignment.

Is the kingdom of God here now?

Yes. Matthew 12:28 says the kingdom had already come upon the people watching Jesus. You are a king on this earth, in your assignment. Heaven, the rapture, and Christ's millennial reign are still in the story. Your kingship has already started.

Kingdom of God vs kingdom of heaven?

Matthew's 'kingdom of heaven' and the 'kingdom of God' in Mark and Luke name the same King. Matthew 5:3 gives the kingdom of heaven to the poor in spirit now. Heaven is where his will is already done. Matthew 6:10 asks for that will on the earth you are standing on.

Does seeking the kingdom mean politics is our hope?

Hope belongs with Christ the King. A term in office ends. Seeking the kingdom means his reign in you and through you: prayer, obedience, and light where you are assigned. A ballot cannot hold what only he holds.

What does seek first the kingdom mean?

Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 to seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness, ahead of food, drink, and clothes. Jesus did not say seek the church first. The Father adds what you need as you let Jesus reign in the ordinary day and carry that reign into your assignment.

Do Christians "build" the kingdom or does God set it up?

Yes. Christians build it, and God set it up first, as Daniel 2:44 says. You extend the territory through participation and partnership with God, bringing the culture of heaven onto the earth. You are already a citizen of heaven, so the assignment you live here is how you build real estate there, and that life continues when you leave this earth. What you do here affects eternity.