THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Daniel 2:37-44; Luke 2:1-14; Acts 8:27-39

In the house this morning we read in John’s gospel about a ruler of the Jews, Nicodemus (see John 3:1-10). In puzzlement he asks the Lord, in relation to being born anew, “How can these things be?” (v.9). He was a teacher, a ruler, a man of education and knowledge; and also a man who was exercised as to Christ and the signs that He did. The Lord Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about the kingdom of God, and entering into that kingdom. Nicodemus was a teacher and an educated man, but unless he was born anew he could not see the kingdom of God (v.3). The Lord goes on to say to Nicodemus that “Except any one be born of water and of Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (v.5).

In relation to the kingdom of God, I thought about this chapter in Daniel and Daniel’s prophecy. We live in a world which is in turmoil, where things seem to be turned upside down. Chaos often marks the kingdoms of men; and sometimes you get periods of particular confusion and change. Sometimes it is war, or other things: turmoil marks the world. This passage in Daniel was written six hundred years before Christ. The background was that Nebuchadnezzar’s armies had occupied Judah and Jerusalem, and the Jews, as a result of their unfaithfulness, had been transported away to Babylon out of their own land. Nebuchadnezzar, who was a heathen king and certainly the most powerful man at the time, had a dream. It puzzled him and he could not understand it. He asked all the wise men to tell him what the dream meant. HAnd he set them an impossible task, because he said, ‘not only must you tell me what the dream means, but you must tell me what the dream was’. And they said, ‘It is impossible! It cannot be done’.

He told them that if they could not do what he commanded, he was going to put them all to death. One of the wise men was a captured Hebrew, Daniel, who was an upright man. You can read the history of Daniel and his companions in this book. Daniel and his companions were under that same sentence of death, and he asks God to help him to make known what Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was and to tell the king what it meant. You can read the full story yourselves, but Daniel told the king what his dream was, and then he interprets the dream. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a great image, the head of which was gold and then there were various lesser materials in different sections, ending with the feet and the toes, which were of mixed iron and clay. Daniel reveals this to Nebuchadnezzar, and tells him that the God of the heavens had spoken to him and revealed something about the way He was going to operate, some of the secrets of God. What a wonderful thing! God revealed to Daniel how He was moving at that time. It was a tremendous time among the nations: the times of the gentiles were beginning, and God was moving sovereignly on the earth away from an unfaithful Israel and delivering them into the hands of the gentile nations. Daniel interpreted the meaning of the image: the four sections of the image were four different great empires or kingdoms. He says to Nebuchadnezzar, “thou art this head of gold”, and then he speaks about the others, the breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of brass, and then the feet of iron and clay. These represented the great empires beginning with the Babylonian empire, and then the Medo-Persian empire, and the Greek empire, and finally the Roman empire.

These were great empires in history in which God placed this thought of dominion, and they ruled over great parts of the earth. In the final stage, the feet and toes of the image were made of materials that would not hold together: iron and clay, and they would not cling to each other; it speaks of weakness. It has been so in the history of the world as it has unfolded in the hands of men, the great empires of the nations, ending in the Roman empire. When we look around at the world in which we live we see these elements today – what is partly strong and partly weak. This was the interpretation of the message given to Daniel, and he made it known. Then Daniel says, “And in the days of these kings shall the God of the heavens set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the sovereignty thereof shall not be left to another people: it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but itself shall stand for ever”. That makes us think about the ways of God, and the kingdom of God. What a wonderful thing that this prophetic utterance by Daniel foretold what would happen six hundred years later. He says that God will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed. All these other kingdoms deteriorated. Scripture tells us of the end of the Babylonish empire: it came to its end and the Medo-Persian empire took over; and then the Greek empire after that, and finally the Roman empire. The Roman empire eventually became corrupted and broke into pieces. You might say that there are still traces of the Roman empire now. Prophetic Scriptures and teaching suggest that it will revive again – but that is a subject for another time. What history teaches us is that all man’s kingdoms come to ruin through corruption and break-up. At the present time the world is in turmoil; and in contrast to that this prophecy says that God will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed. That is what I wanted to speak about.

I read in Luke’s gospel as to the coming in of the Lord Jesus, because it is something that has very much affected me. Luke’s account of the birth of the Lord Jesus is striking. He tells us that it was at a time when one of the most powerful Roman emperors, Caesar Augustus, was making a census of the whole world. He was exercising his power to show how great he was, I suppose. It appears that the population of the whole known world was commanded to register at the census – the whole habitable world! That was ambitious. Luke tells us that this first took place when Cyrenius had the government of Syria, and they all had to go to their own city, where they were born, to be inscribed in the census roll. It was in these circumstances that the Lord Jesus was born.

The detail is well known: what is said of Mary as to giving birth to the child, her first-born son, and laying Him in a manger. In the midst of the whole expressed power of the Roman empire, in all its mighty power, God’s kingdom came in silently in the birth of the One who was the Son of God. There was no fanfare, no great celebrations like men hold for these things. The hymn-writer says,

‘Nor yet in triumph passing,

But human infancy!’        (Hymn 188)

God’s kingdom came in with this Child that was wrapped in swaddling clothes; that is how the kingdom of God came in. The kingdom of God is personified in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Nicodemus wanted to know about the kingdom of God. The Lord tells him that you must be born again even to see it, to even know that it exists – God’s kingdom that is coming in. It was not a rival to the Roman empire, not a rival to any of the kingdoms of men; it was not over against the things that you might see in this world. It was “in the days of these kings” spoken about by Daniel. We are still in those days, “the days of these kings”. In the midst of all that was going on in these days, in the lowliest of circumstances as described in Luke’s gospel, the kingdom of God came in silently, in a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Does that affect you, that God had come in in a kingdom that was to break in pieces all those other kingdoms and itself would last forever? Yet here it was in the person of this Babe, and the whole of heaven breaks into celebration – a wonderful thing. There is a poem that says:

‘More just those acclamations,

Than when the glorious band,

Chanted earth’s deep foundations,

Just laid by God’s right hand.’¹

 

God spoke to Job about when the earth was founded: “Where wast thou when I founded the earth? … When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”, Job 38:4,7. That poem says, and I think it is true, that the acclamation of heaven when Jesus came into this world was greater than at the foundation of the world. The acclamation for Jesus was not seen in a glorious pageant, but revealed to some shepherds in the field. God had come in in His kingdom in a blessed Man, in a lowly way in the lowest condition naturally as to birth, and in complete dependence. It says that there was no room for them in the inn. This was not like the hotels we get today: far, far from it. They found a place in a stable with the animals, and the Child was laid in a manger. That was how God’s kingdom came in, silently. The kingdom of God is not looking for territory here, not looking for anything in relation to this world. The territory where you will find the kingdom of God is in the hearts and souls of people. God has come in, in the Saviour, and the kingdom of God lies behind the glad tidings.

The four gospels bring before us the various glories of Christ, and the glories of God. The scripture says, as to the princes of this age, “for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory”, 1 Cor.2:8. The four gospels give us something of the Lord’s glory. Matthew gives us the glory of the Lord Jesus as King, which in its fulness will be seen in a day to come. One of His glories is that He is King of this kingdom. In John’s gospel, the Lord is presented as the Son of God – you can trace these things for yourself. The whole of John’s gospel is written to show the glories of Christ as the Son of God, and John wrote his gospel that you might believe that Jesus is the Son of God – a vast subject. Mark’s gospel gives us the Lord as Servant, the perfect Servant. Luke’s gospel gives us Jesus as the Son of man. You do not get this description of the birth and infancy of the Lord Jesus in any other gospel than Luke’s. He presents the Lord coming into the lowest condition of men, coming into poor conditions such that He was born in a stable and laid in a manger. He is the Lord of glory, yet that is how He came in.

Luke also gives us the fullest description we get in Scripture of the first thirty years of the life of Jesus. It is a brief but precise description, and given by Luke alone. He describes Jesus as the One who was here in subjection, as a child, a boy, who grew up amongst them, growing in favour with God and men: the preciousness of this! This is God’s King, and the One who is the Son of God. This is the One who, in His greatness, will fill the universe, and the universe will see every glory that God has given Him. Yet Luke speaks of the fact that He was in subjection to His parents, and that He “advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men”. Only in Luke’s gospel do you get this description of how He grew up in favour with God and men.

At the end of these thirty years, before the Lord’s public service began, before there was any healing, before there was any preaching, before He came out in that wonderful life of public service, God opened the heavens upon this One who was here in perfect dependence, and it says, “And it came to pass, all the people having been baptised, and Jesus having been baptised and praying, that the heaven was opened”, Luke 3:21. He took His place amongst the repenting people – not that He needed repentance, but He took His place amongst them. The people were responding to the ministry of John the baptist calling upon them in relation to their history. As He was baptised and praying, it says that “the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove upon him; and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight” (vv.21,22).

There had been no miracles undertaken by the Lord at that point, there had been no service, there had been no preaching that we know of at the point when the Holy Spirit came upon Him and the voice was heard, so the speaking relates to thirty years largely in obscurity; yet here is this One who was Himself the kingdom of God. Everything that was for God was embraced in Him, and of Him it is said, “Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight”. In the next chapter, the public history of service of the Lord Jesus begins, and by the Holy Spirit He served in that life amongst men. He was amongst them in Luke’s gospel as the Son of man, feeling all their condition, feeling all their sorrow and loss. He was brought up in Nazareth, perhaps the poorest part of Israel at that time. They used to mock and say of the place, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”, John 1:46. Yet there He was, that One who was the Son of God, and the Centre of the kingdom of God, a wonderful matter.

Do you know about the kingdom of God, beloved? The scriptures help us as to how to enter the kingdom of God. It does not involve territory or places in this world; this kingdom has its territory in the thoughts and affections of the people who are attracted to Jesus as the blessed One who is the Centre of everything for God. Yet that kingdom will break in pieces everything else; it is the only kingdom that will subsist: only what God is doing through Christ will continue, beloved.

I am affected by this kingdom, and the One of whom Luke speaks who Himself brought in the kingdom. Luke gives us these precious touches as to the Lord being amongst them, amongst the sick and the lame and the poor and the blind. Luke often refers to His compassion; He was the Saviour, too. The angels say, “for to-day a Saviour has been born to you” and then “ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes”. Think of that, “a Saviour”: that is one thing that has not been found in the kingdoms of men, neither then nor now. There is no saviour or salvation in the whole world and its system. The world’s system, in all its diversity, is being weakened like the mighty image in Daniel that was broken in pieces, and there is no salvation there, beloved.

Ecclesiastes tells us how Solomon was given wisdom, and he writes about looking at everything that was in the world in depth to experience it, and to see if there was anything substantial in it. He goes through it all – great houses, gardens and pleasures and all the things that belong to the earth, all the things in which men find their interest and life – and he concludes that there is no salvation in it because it is all vanity: at the end of the day it is all “vanity and pursuit of the wind”, Eccles.2:26. There is no fruit from it and there is no salvation. The book speaks of “A time to be born, and a time die” (chap.3:2). There was a time for all these things but there is no time listed as being for salvation. But salvation is preached today! It is not salvation in relation to man’s world but in relation to the kingdom of God, and it is centred in a glorious Man who was seen here in a life of healing and compassion; every blessing that is available to man is in Him. He “gave himself a ransom for all” (1 Tim.2:6): this is presented to you for the acceptance of faith. It is not something that belongs to this world; it has no part in it; the kingdom of God is beyond everything in this earth. Its territory, as I have said, is in the hearts and souls of men. Is God’s kingdom set up in your heart, beloved? The only salvation that is preached at the present time is in our Lord Jesus Christ. It embraces salvation from my sins, in relation to my future, and in relation to everything that is for God. God is for you in Christ.

We read in the Acts about the Ethiopian, who was a man in power. It is a long way from Ethiopia up to Jerusalem in a chariot, but he had taken that long journey because he was a man who was exercised about worship and about the Scriptures. The angel of the Lord directed Philip, who was an evangelist, to approach the chariot. Philip runs up alongside this chariot, and finds the man reading the Scriptures, that beautiful scripture taken from Isaiah 53:7: “he was led as a lamb to the slaughter”. The scripture was speaking about the One who came in as the Son of man, the Son of God, the King of Israel, all these things: such a One. In our passage it says, “as a sheep to slaughter, and as a lamb is dumb in presence of him that shears him, thus he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment has been taken away, and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth”. Then the scripture adds, “And the eunuch answering Philip said, I pray thee, concerning whom does the prophet say this? of himself or of some other?” He does not say of what does this prophet speak, but of whom. The gospel has not as its final subject the work of Christ – that is most precious, immeasurably precious – but the centre and fulness of the gospel is Christ Himself. It is “of whom”.

Do you have Christ? Remember that “He was led as a sheep to slaughter”. He took on everything for me. The scripture in Isaiah that is quoted here was written long before the coming of Christ, who was prophesied about. The eunuch says, “concerning whom does the prophet say this?”. The gospel is about the Lord Jesus Christ; He is God’s answer to everything for man. He is the answer to my sins, to my condition. Perhaps you are seeking: He is the answer to the searchings of your heart at the present time, as He was to that Ethiopian. He is the Son of man presented in Luke; He is the Christ, the Son of God in John presented for us to believe in, with a view to us having “life in his name”, John 20:31. He is the One who will appear in His glory as the King of Israel, and He will reign here in the day to come; but He is the King now in the hearts of those who love Him. His reign is a reign of peace now, as it will be when He takes up His rights publicly. These things are very wonderful. He was here as a Servant, serving; and He is the One who is appealing in love to you and to me now, beloved, in relation to your sins, to your present salvation, to your future and eternal salvation. What things these are!

These thoughts have come to me as to the kingdom of God. Perhaps we do not say a lot about the kingdom of God; it is not of this world, nor of this age, nor is it a new empire that will be built here. It is being constructed by Christ in the hearts and souls of men and women and the thousands that have come to Christ and found everything in Him. He is God’s Man, God’s answer, God’s salvation.

May it be an encouragement to us, for His name’s sake.

 

Preaching of the gospel at Colchester

6 April 2025

Ron Plant