New Testament Concept of “Kingdom”

1. Universal and saving (in relation to people)
2. Already here and not yet come (in relation to time)

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1. In the consummated Kingdom all will acknowledge Jesus as the King of the Kingdom, though now his glory is hidden (21-25)

• Jesus is the lamp of God who has come to bring light and revelation.
• For the present the Kingdom of God, and Jesus’ role in it, remain largely hidden.
• Jesus is hidden in order to be manifested. Concealment intends disclosure, on the Last Day, in the consummated

2. The parable of the seed growing secretly (26-29)

• The kingdom will continue to grow inexorably, though sometimes almost invisibly.
• At the end of the age the Kingdom will have grown into all its fullness, after which comes The Judgment.

3. The parable of the mustard seed (30-32)

• God’s Kingdom begins humbly but becomes glorious!
• Remarkably small beginnings produce amazingly large results!
• The Kingdom produces ultimate consequences all out of proportion to its insignificant beginnings!