Matthew 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come....
Now we begin three weeks on the nature of the kingdom of God, or more specifically, the "gospel of the kingdom." What is the kingdom of God? What is the "gospel of the kingdom"?
The reason this is important is plain from Matthew 24:14. Jesus said that "this gospel of the kingdom" will be preached until all the nations of the world have heard it as a testimony. This means that until all the unreached nations (=peoples, not countries) have a bona fide testimony called "the gospel of the kingdom," it is the duty of every generation of Christians to press on with proclaiming it to the world. That means us, because there are still today thousands of unreached nations (peoples). And if that is our task, we must know what the "gospel of the kingdom" is. So it is tremendously important for us to study this together.
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So, what is "the gospel of the kingdom"? The gospel of the kingdom is the good news that in Jesus God's kingly power and authority is breaking into the world like never before: he is ruling in a new way to save his people from their sins and deliver them from their enemies and reveal his glory and establish peace and righteousness in the earth.
Now this could be easily misunderstood. And next week we will see that almost everyone did misunderstand it. They did not realize that the victories of the kingdom would be won by suffering and death.
But this week what we want to make clear is that "the gospel of the kingdom" is the gospel prophesied in Isaiah 52:7; and it is the gospel that Jesus preached; and it is the gospel that he told us to preach to all the nations; and it is the gospel preached by the early church.
We've seen the connection between Jesus' message and the Old Testament. Now let's see the connection between Jesus' message and the message of the early church. Did the early church proclaim the gospel of the kingdom?
There are three important summary statements in the book of Acts that show the preaching of the early church was the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. In Acts 8:12 it says that Philip was preaching in Samaria and "they believed Philip as he preached GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD and the name of Jesus Christ." "Good news about the kingdom of God" is substantially the same as "the gospel of the kingdom."
Acts 19:8 sums up Paul's preaching in Ephesus like this, "And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, arguing and pleading about THE KINGDOM OF GOD." In Acts 20:25 when Paul sums up his own ministry in Ephesus among the elders, he says, "And now, behold, I know that all you among whom I have gone PREACHING THE KINGDOM will see my face no more." His ministry was a ministry of "preaching the kingdom."
Then at the very end of the book (Acts 28:30–31) and the end of Paul's life when he was under arrest in Rome, his preaching is summed up like this: "And he lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, PREACHING THE KINGDOM OF GOD and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ quite openly and unhindered."
In his letters Paul refers to the kingdom of God 14 times. For example in Colossians 4:11 he refers to his partners in ministry as "my fellow workers for THE KINGDOM OF GOD." He refers to his own ministry in 1 Corinthians 4:20 like this, "THE KINGDOM OF GOD does not consist in talk but in power." And in Romans 14:17 he says, "THE KINGDOM GOD is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
So here is my conclusion from today. The "gospel of the kingdom" was foretold in the Old Testament, preached by Jesus—brought by Jesus!—preached by the early church, and should be preached by us until all the peoples hear it. This gospel of the kingdom is the good news that, at the coming of Jesus, God moved into this world in an unprecedented way. Since Jesus has come, God is exerting his right to rule in new and powerful ways. He is attacking his enemy the devil in new ways. He has dealt with sin in a new way. He is gathering a people in a new way. He is empowering his representatives in new ways. And in all this he is reigning as king. This is the coming and the advancement of his kingdom.
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