The Kingdom of the Son (Colossians Day 58)

“The time has come,” He said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark 1:14-15 (NIV)

“¹⁰And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way…
joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
¹³For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, ¹⁴in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Colossians 1:10,11,12-14 (NIV84)

On Day 57 we contemplated our involvement as believers with the lost world, specifically our tendency to follow people who are still living in darkness. Since we have been rescued from that darkness, we are to live differently!

Today we are going to explore the latter part of Col. 1:13: “the kingdom of the Son.”

An Ever-lasting Kingdom

“All Your works praise You, Lord;
Your faithful people extol You.
¹¹They tell of the glory of Your kingdom
and speak of Your might,
¹²so that all people may know of Your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom.
¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and Your dominion endures through all generations.”
Psalm 145:10-13 (NIV)

His kingdom is everlasting,
and His dominion endures through ALL generations.
This is a kingdom of glorious splendor.

About the Kingdom

The Kingdom of the Son is a kingdom like no other.

This is a Kingdom:

of light (Col. 1:12-13) [“For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness…” (Day 57)];
of true, perfect justice (Psalm 45:6) [no “justice” perverted by sin (Lev. 19:15)];
with an established throne (Psalm 103:19) [no coups, no elections, no dictatorships];
that rules over ALL (Psalm 103:19) [over all rulers and all other kingdoms and all nations];
powered by Almighty God (I Corinthians 4:20) [no weakness at all];
that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:28-29);
not of this world (John 18:36);
with NO SIN! NO EVIL! (Matthew 13:41);
of salvation & power & Jesus’ authority (Revelation 12:10);
which will be the last kingdom standing (I Cor. 15:20-28).

Heavenly Citizen-ship

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”
Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV)

About the Citizens

The Kingdom of the Son has citizens like no other.

Wrongdoers will not enter this kingdom (I Cor. 6:9-11)… unless they have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God. Wrongdoers no more, now they are the righteousness of God in Christ!

People who seek to enter by means of social connections and favors will be turned away (Matthew 7:21). Only those who have done the will of God may call on the King and enter.

The citizens of the Kingdom of the Son are the called, chosen, faithful followers of Christ (Rev. 17:14).

These citizens are imperishable (enduring forever) and immortal (living forever, never dying or decaying) [I Cor. 15:50-58].

How can citizens of this kingdom achieve greatness?
By practicing & teaching God’s commands (Matthew 5:18-20) and serving others humbly (Matthew 23:10-12)

How can citizens of this kingdom ensure all their needs will be met? By seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33)

In this kingdom, all needs are met and citizens are completely satisfied.

Warning: Entering this kingdom does come with hardships, but enduring these hardships results in perfection and eternal rewards (Acts 14:21-27).

King of Kings

“They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers.”
Revelation 17:14 (NIV)

Christ Jesus,
the Son of God,
is Lord of lords
and King of kings,
the triumphant Lamb
who was slain
& rose again!

About the King

This Kingdom has a King like no other.

This King…

is king of the nations (Rev. 15:3);
makes the dead alive;
destroys the dominion, authority & power of earthly rulers and spiritual forces of evil [Eph. 6:12];
puts all enemies under His feet;
destroys death (I Cor. 15:20-28).

He is…

the Faithful Witness,
the Firstborn from the Dead,
the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth (Rev. 1:5).

The King of kings…

is the One who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God & Father (Rev. 1:5,6) —

TO HIM BE GLORY & POWER FOR EVER & EVER!
Amen!

Looking Forward

“The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah,
and He will reign for ever and ever.”
Revelation 11:15 (NIV)

The Future of This Kingdom

This Kingdom has a future like no other.

It’s not often that I quote an entire Bible chapter+, but this is just too good! Let’s close out our time of thinking about the Kingdom of the Son by reading about what is to come.

Revelation 21

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’
⁵He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’
⁶He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
⁷Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be My children.
⁸But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.’
⁹One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ ¹⁰And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
¹¹It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹²It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹³There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. ¹⁴The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
¹⁵The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. ¹⁶The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. ¹⁷The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick.
¹⁸The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. ¹⁹The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. ²¹The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
²²I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
²⁵On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Revelation 22

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²down the middle of the great street of the city.
On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
³No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him. ⁴They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
⁵There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.
And they will reign for ever and ever.”
Revelation 22:1-5 (NIV)

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
Revelation 22:20

The Kingdom of the Son (Day 58)