Have you ever noticed that the gospel is called the “gospel of the kingdom” in the New Testament? For instance, Matthew 4:23 says, “Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.”

The word gospel means “good news.” What does the kingdom of God stand for? In the simplest terms, the kingdom of God stands for the rule and reign of God. The word kingdom means, to reign. Robert Young, a renowned Hebrew and Greek scholar, translates the above verse as: “Jesus was going about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the reign.”

Here’s an interesting thought: the gospel is no where called “the good news of the forgiveness of sins and going to heaven.” Traditionally, we major on the forgiveness of sins and heaven when we think about the gospel, but Jesus preached the Kingdom. And if Jesus walked the earth today, He would preach the same thing –the reign of God among men. We should strive to understand the application of the kingdom to our faith in Christ. Let me make a few points for us to reflect on until we look more at the kingdom of God in the upcoming articles.

God’s reign, or His kingdom, came to earth in the beginning when He created Adam and Eve and gave them dominion over the earth. When they fell into sin, they lost their ruler-ship with God. The good news (gospel) is that Jesus came to restore man back to God, and now man, redeemed man (that’s you and I if we have received Christ!), has the awesome ability to walk with God in power on the earth. That is why Jesus repeatedly taught His disciples to deal with the circumstances of life with boldness. He taught that we can reign in life through Him.

What should our attitude be when we come up against Satan’s schemes to harm us or the work of God? We should rise up in the authority and power of Jesus’ name. When do so, we are exercising the powers of the kingdom of God, and God is glorified. Do not limit the scope of the gospel to the mere forgiveness of sins, go on to glorify God by walking with Him in the power of Christ!