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What did Jesus mean when He said, “The kingdom of God is within you?”
.
For the time being, Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. One day, the
kingdom of God will be manifest on the earth - Jesus Christ will rule a
physical kingdom from David’s throne with Jerusalem as His capital
.
The kingdom of
God was not coming in the manner the Pharisees were expecting. The kingdom
would not be inaugurated with spectacle or splendor - rather, the kingdom would
come silently and unseen. In fact, Jesus says, the kingdom had already begun,
right under the Pharisees’ noses. God was ruling in the hearts of some people,
and the King Himself was standing among them, although the Pharisees were
oblivious to that fact. Jesus was telling the Pharisees that He brought the
kingdom of God to earth. Jesus’ presence in their midst gave them a taste of
the kingdom life, as attested by the miracles that Jesus performed. Jesus was
inaugurating the kingdom as He changed the hearts of men, one at a time.
Got
Questions Ministries
“The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21, KJV)?
In Luke 17:20–21,
Jesus says, “The kingdom of God does not
come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For
indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (NKJV).
Jesus’ answer was that the kingdom of God
was not coming in the manner the Pharisees were expecting.
The kingdom would not be inaugurated with
spectacle or splendor; there would be no great and magnificent leader who
staked out a geographical claim and routed the Romans,
Rather, the kingdom would come silently and
unseen, much as leaven works in a batch of dough (see Matthew 13:33).
In fact, Jesus says, the kingdom had
already begun, right under the Pharisees’ noses.
God was ruling in the hearts of some
people, and the King Himself was standing among them, although the Pharisees
were oblivious to that fact.
Various translations render the Greek of
Luke 17:21 various ways.
The phrase translated “within you” in the KJV and NKJV is translated as
“in
your midst”
in the NIV, NASB, and NET;
“among
you”
in the NLT and HCSB; and
“in
the midst of you”
in the ESV.
Earlier versions of the NIV had “within you” with a marginal note
suggesting “among you.”
There is obviously a difference between
saying “the kingdom of God is within you”
and “the kingdom of God is among
you.”
“Within
you”
comes off as an unfavorable translation, seeing that Jesus was speaking to the
Pharisees at the time.
Jesus was surely not saying that the
kingdom of God resided within the Pharisees’ hearts.
The Pharisees opposed Jesus and had no
relationship with God.
Jesus in other places denounced them as “whitewashed tombs” and “hypocrites” (Matthew 23:27).
The better translation would be “in your midst” or “among you.”
Jesus’ presence in their midst gave them a
taste of the kingdom life, as attested by the miracles that Jesus performed.
Elsewhere, Jesus
mentions His miracles as definitive proof of the kingdom: “If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God
has come upon you” (Luke
11:20).
There are three popular interpretations of
Jesus’ words in Luke 17:21 that the kingdom of God is within you (or among
you):
1) the kingdom of
God is essentially inward, within man’s heart;
2) the kingdom is
within your reach if you make the right choices; and
3) the kingdom of
God is in your midst in the person and presence of Jesus. The best of these
interpretations, it seems, is the third: Jesus was inaugurating the kingdom as
He changed the hearts of men, one at a time.
For the time being, Christ’s kingdom is not
of this world (John
18:36).
One day, however, the kingdom of God will
be manifest on the earth (Isaiah
35:1).
Jesus Christ will rule a physical kingdom from David’s throne (Isaiah 9:7) with Jerusalem as His capital (Zechariah 8:3).
Got Questions
Ministries
seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by providing biblical, applicable, and
timely answers to spiritually related questions through an internet
presence."
GotQuestions.org is a ministry of dedicated and trained servants who have a
desire to assist others in their understanding of God, Scripture, salvation,
and other spiritual topics. We are Christian, Protestant, evangelical,
theologically conservative, and non-denominational. We view ourselves as a
para-church ministry, coming alongside the church to help people find answers
to their spiritually related questions.
https://www.gotquestions.org/kingdom-of-God-within-you.html
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