Luke 17:20-21
“Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, `Look, here it is!’ or, `There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Luke 17:20-21 raises the frequently asked question: Did Jesus really mean “within you”? Or did He mean “among you”? Whichever one of these options Jesus meant does not negate the facts that:
- The Kingdom of God certainly did reside in the Person of the human Jesus Christ.
- God’s Kingdom certainly does reside today in His brothers and sisters—the members of His church—by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit.
- The fullness of God’s Kingdom must come, completely, at “the fullness of times,” which will be at some time in the future. (Ephesians 1:10).
We know that the Kingdom of God was inherent within the human Jesus. Therefore, if we are now in Him by His Spirit dwelling in us, then the Kingdom is inherent within us too.
Actually, the “within you or among you” argument is something of a moot point. Because God’s Kingdom certainly did not originate with the conception or birth of the human Jesus. Rather, it was actually originated and prepared millennia prior to Jesus’ human lifetime. As the Logos, He and God the Father began preparing their Kingdom, at the time God’s Word calls “the foundation of the world.” Jesus says in Matthew 25:34: “Then the King [Jesus Christ] will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Hebrews 4:3 also shows that God’s Kingdom was planned “from the foundation of the world” (“For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: ‘So I swore in My wrath, “They shall not enter My rest,”‘ although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.”)
God the Father and Jesus had completed the major part of their preparation work for their Kingdom long ago!
