What is the Kingdom of God Like?

November 12, 2023 Preacher: John Bell Series: The Gospel According to Mark

Passage: Mark 4:21–34

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

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. 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!