The Word of God - as might be expected - abounds with references to this important point, so that we find the subject most prominently set forth, directly and indirectly, throughout the whole of the Scriptures.
The rule of God is part of God’s counsels and purposes with regard to this world, and holy men of God were inspired at various times to proclaim its design and purpose, and to propound its righteous and holy principles, which we have abundantly recorded in the sacred Word.
But as it is quite beyond the scope of this little work to enter fully into so large a subject in its entirety, we shall simply confine our quotations and remarks to those passages that directly refer to the constitution of the kingdom.
1. Its Constitutional Principles
The sermon on the mount presents the fullest and most perfect exposition of the moral and spiritual principles and requirements of the Kingdom of God which has been given to us.
It begins with a direct reference to the kingdom in Matthew 5:33Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3), “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” and eight times more the kingdom is thus directly mentioned in the sermon.
In this sublime discourse of our blessed Lord we have the grand foundation stones of truth, righteousness and holiness presented to us, upon which the everlasting Kingdom of God is reared.
The law given by God to the children of Israel through Moses was, to a certain extent, an embodiment of the same principles, but our Lord in His discourse not only fulfills or endorses the law, but expands and raises it to a yet higher level (higher than the Jews could bear in the days of Moses, because of the hardness of their hearts; Matt. 19:88He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. (Matthew 19:8)), and He therefore says, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matt. 5:17, 1817Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:17‑18)), and in verse 19, He adds, “But whosoever shall do and teach them [the commandments], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
So also in the sermon on the mount we have the everlasting and unchangeable standards of divine truth and holiness, by which everything in the Kingdom of God is ever to be measured and tested throughout every dispensation. But there have been some differences of opinion as to their application.
If it be allowed that the teaching of this sublime sermon is not directly applicable to Christians as their rule of life and conduct, yet it must be obvious that the holy and divine principles it unfolds permeate all Christian teaching more or less; so that these principles ever remain as God’s holy standards of truth and righteousness to all believers for all time.
But the Christian is on wholly new and different ground from that on which the Jew stood. The Jews were placed under law and accepted the responsibility of keeping it as a duty to God, while Christians are introduced into the liberty of “the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:22For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)), whereby the heaven-born principle of love, begotten in their hearts by the Holy Spirit, becomes the motive-spring of all their actions, leading them to delight in keeping the words, the sayings and the commandments of their Lord Jesus Christ, whom they love. “We love Him, because He first loved us.” And this principle of love (vastly stronger than a mere sense of duty) answers to all the demands of practical godliness and keeping of commandments. “Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:1010Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:10)). Our Lord bases the whole keeping of His commandments on this principle of love. “If ye love Me, keep My commandments,” and, “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me” (John 14:15, 2115If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)
21He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. (John 14:21)).
2. Those Who Enter the Kingdom and Those Who Do Not
“Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting” (Luke 18:29, 3029And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, 30Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. (Luke 18:29‑30)).
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? ... Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9, 109Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9‑10)).
3. the Way of Entrance Into the Kingdom
There is but one way of entrance, and that is through faith in Christ, for He is the door by which all must enter.
“Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. ... I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:7, 97Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. (John 10:7)
9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)).
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh” (Heb. 10:19, 2019Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; (Hebrews 10:19‑20)).
This has ever been, and ever will be, the only way of coming under the rule of God or into His kingdom, for Jews and Gentiles alike, for Christians now as for saints in the millennium, though not so clearly apprehended in former ages as it is in these days. And though the manner of entering in, and the circumstances connected with it, are variously set forth at different times, the door of entrance ever remains the same for all throughout every dispensation.
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ... Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, 53Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
5Jesus 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. (John 3:5)).
“Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting” (Luke 18:29,3029And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, 30Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. (Luke 18:29‑30)).
4. the Blessings and Privileges to Be Enjoyed in the Kingdom
All the blessings and privileges now enjoyed under the present or Christian phase of the spiritual rule of God in the hearts of believers, such as forgiveness of sins, peace with God, eternal life, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, might be enumerated under this heading as the present though invisible blessings to be enjoyed. But to quote all the references to these spiritual blessings would involve a very large citation from all the Gospels and Epistles, such as would be beyond my present purpose. I have therefore in the following quotations only given the passages (with the exception of the first text, which probably relates to the present phase of the kingdom) that directly refer to the blessings to be enjoyed by the saints under the reign of Christ in the millennium, which I have designated the third or future phase of the kingdom.
When the Lord returns after “having received the kingdom,” He will give rewards to His faithful servants, and authority to rule over certain cities (Luke 19:15-1915And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 17And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. 18And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 19And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. (Luke 19:15‑19)).
In concluding these brief notes on this branch of the subject, I would again remark that the foregoing references to the Constitution of the kingdom, and the principles on which it is founded, evidently bear a distinct application to one or another, and in some cases to all, of the three Phases of the kingdom, while this application in each case may be determined by a consideration of the specific meaning of the passages themselves.