The Kingdom of God is Within You

[LisaLisa]

Luke 17:20,21 says...

20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."


This scripture has always fascinated me. The Kingdom of God is within you. What do you think that means exactly? What's your interpretation of that verse?

 

[Saintscruiser]

With salvation comes the Holy Spirit which dwells within you.

 

[curiousJan]

Luke 17:20,21 says...

20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."


This scripture has always fascinated me. The Kingdom of God is within you. What do you think that means exactly? What's your interpretation of that verse?

Not a member of this group ... neither am I particularly religious. But I do consider myself to be a very spiritual person, and to me that verse means that the middle-man -- membership in a brick-and-mortar church -- is completely unnecessary. A person's relationship with the God of their understanding is between them and God. God can be found in every thing and everyone ... if only one seeks to find.

Jan

 

[5cardstud]

He is within us for sure. I like the way this verse tells it's all connected.

"Continue in me and I will continue in you. No branch can make fruit alone. It must continue in the vine. It is the same with you. You cannot make fruit alone. You must continue in me.
"I am the vine and you are the branches. If a person continues in me and I continue in that person, then that person will make much fruit. But without me that person can do nothing."
John 15:4-5

 

[LisaLisa]

Oh wow, great answers! And welcome Jan, nice to have you here!

 

[5cardstud]

Not a member of this group ... neither am I particularly religious. But I do consider myself to be a very spiritual person, and to me that verse means that the middle-man -- membership in a brick-and-mortar church -- is completely unnecessary. A person's relationship with the God of their understanding is between them and God. God can be found in every thing and everyone ... if only one seeks to find.

Jan

I kinda agree. Religion is man made but Christianity is the following of Christ. Sometimes I think churches get stuck on rituals and rules more than the word.

 

[chimney55]

With salvation comes the Holy Spirit which dwells within you.

I agree.

 

[LisaLisa]

My hobby is cutting gemstones. Opal is my favorite. I buy parcels of opal rough from the miners in Australia, then I spend hours and hours cutting them.

When you get a piece of opal rough out of the ground, most times it's a big dirty hunk of rock that looks like nothing. A typical piece looks like this:

You start by washing it, cleaning all of the dirt and debris off, then you take it to the cutting wheel and begin the cutting process.

First, you cut away all of the host rock, or what we call matrix. You have to do this very slowly, on a grinding wheel, with cool water constantly running or the heat will cause the whole thing to break apart.

You grind it down and down until all of the ugly host rock is removed and you are left with only precious opal. Then you start to shape it into the shape you want, and at this point, it still nothing great to look at.

Then you take it to the polishing wheels. There are a total of 3 polishing wheels, each wheel has a finer grit. By the time you get to the last polishing wheel, that gem is blazing, it will take your breath away.

That's what the Kingdom of God within you means to me. When you first discover it, before you fully grow in understanding and maturity in your relationship with Christ, it's a gem hidden inside you. Over time, that ugly host rock is cut away by Jesus piece by piece as you grow in Him. The refining and polishing process continues until what is left is a blazing gem that can be seen a mile away. To me, that's the Kingdom of God within you.

I always look for analogies in everything that I do, keeps it interesting

 

[eHuman]

1 Cor 13:12
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.

2 Cor 3:14-18
14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.
15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;
16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

The world cannot perceive or know God.
We, by the Holy Spirit, through Jesus have come to know the Father.

We know and see things (even though dimly and partial) that the world cannot comprehend.

We have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness (where sight is not possible) and into the glorious Kingdom of light.

Answer: Because the Kingdom is inside of us.

1 Peter 2:9-10
9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

 

[lmrasch]

I find it interesting who Jesus was speaking to when he made the statement....

Luke 17
20) Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21) nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

 

[eHuman]

He was just talking to Fred, none of us.

 

[Saintscruiser]

I find it interesting who Jesus was speaking to when he made the statement....

Luke 17
20) Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21) nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

We're all Pharisees before we get saved.

 

[Saintscruiser]

Not a member of this group ... neither am I particularly religious. But I do consider myself to be a very spiritual person, and to me that verse means that the middle-man -- membership in a brick-and-mortar church -- is completely unnecessary. A person's relationship with the God of their understanding is between them and God. God can be found in every thing and everyone ... if only one seeks to find.

Jan

Welcome to the group, Jan.

 

[LisaLisa]

I find it interesting who Jesus was speaking to when he made the statement....

Luke 17
20) Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21) nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

That is interesting! So, was Jesus basically telling them in a nice way that they (the pharisees and their jobs) were obsolete?

 

[eHuman]

Jesus was responding to the question: "When will the Kingdom come?" (Using human words to explain a truth that is discerned by the Spirit), He basically said, you wouldn't see it or notice it with your eyes when it came, or when someone else (external to you) told you it was here, because it cannt be discerned with the human eye, but from within (You don't wait for someone else to tell you that you have to go to the bathroom or are hungry becasue it is discerned from within).

The kingdom of God is inside. <This is rendered in the present tense. The Spirit of God is our link that allows us to see. If anyone does not have the Spirit then they can't see the kingdom. We can only see and know the kingdom in part (now), but in the Day of the Lord the fullness.

Isa 42:16
"I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone."

2 Cor 4:6
For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Darkness to light; turn blindness into the ability to see.