By Bum Sin Wa
I. Introduction
There is a general agreement that the kingdom of God was central to Jesus’ teaching and preaching.[1] This is a prominent theme in the Synoptic gospels as is revealed in Mark 1:15; Mathew 4:17; Luke 4:43. The kingdom therefore should continue to be a central theme in Christian mission and evangelism. According to the Bible the good news of the kingdom of God has been God’s plan from the very beginning; thus in Jewish beliefs God is king forever and his kingdom is everlasting (Psalms 47; 10:16; 145:13).
The kingdom is a present reality as the Christian community focuses on social justice, peace and prosperity, righteousness and compassionate relationships based upon the good news, the gospel. Jesus preaches the kingdom, announcing that in him the rule, reign and dominion of God were present on earth in a new way of life. In contrast, “Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God; Paul spoke of God reconciling all things through Jesus Christ (2Corinthians 5:19),”[2] the church is as the agency of the kingdom, messianic community- the community who accepted and proclaim the good news which brought by Christ Jesus.[3]
This paper will focus on Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom of God and its impact upon the mission of the church today.
II. What is the Kingdom of God
Many questions are raised by the New Testament account of Jesus’ teaching and preaching on the kingdom of God. Did he mean an actual kingdom on earth or does this kingdom exist only in heaven? Does it come about through human effort? Does it require individual conversion or structural changes? Who will get in and who will be excluded?
The Old Testament Concept
The most explicit reference to the kingdom of God in the Old Testament comes from 1 Chronicles 28:5 and is associated with the Israelite kingdoms (I Chronicles 28:5).[4] In its wider use the concept denotes God’s active and powerful presence in the world for God’s sovereignty over all creation is an axiom of Israelite and Jewish beliefs.
John Collins perceives in Daniel chapter 7 three perspectives on the kingdom:
“Firstly, for the sovereignty and rule of God, which is all the kingdoms. Secondly, there is the earthly dominion of the Jewish people, which is a kingdom set up by God. Thirdly, there is the apocalyptic kingdom of the angels, which involves the exaltation of righteous human beings and after death.”[5]
The everlasting kingdom is accessible not only for future generations but also to the righteous after death. This kingdom would be conferred by God, and the earthly Jewish kingdoms exist to invite people to righteousness.
In Daniel, the Jewish kingdoms would be destroyed by Gentile kingdoms which in turn would be replaced by the kingdom set up by God, who would rule in the hearts of those he chose (Daniel 4:32).
God himself is at the centre of the Old Testament understanding of the Kingdom of God. “God is frequently represented as the king of the universe and also the king of Israel in a special, redemptive sense (Exodus 19:4, 6; Deut 33:4, 5).”[6] In this sense God's kingdom on earth relates not only to existing relationships between his people on earth but also at a later time to an unseen eschatological kingdom. One expression of the kingdom came in the figure of the monarchy, especially the line of David. God delegated to a king, who ruled by God’s law, and a godly king was a living metaphor for God’s rule. The hopes this generated were then transferred to the future expectation of a Messianic kingdom. (Deut 4:5-9; Matt 7:23).[7]
The roots of Jesus’ teaching are present in Messianic prophecies concerning both the restoration of David’s throne and the coming of God to renew the world and restore the original kingdom of Israel (Amos 9:11-12). As a result God would rule individually and collectively in the lives of his people (Exodus19:6). Whilst the Israelites rebelled and demanded a human king (I Samuel 8:5-22), the prophetic emphasis was on the Messianic king and kingdom.[8] Jewish messianic figures from the Old Testament were linked with Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) the returning Elijah (Malachi 4:5-6) but most of all in the Son of David, a warrior king whose mission it would be to bring victory, peace and glory to Israel.
Jewish expectations
Collins also affirms that in the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha there is no fixed understanding of the kingdom as one sees in the gospels.[9] Thus, Jewish expectations could be divided between those that were more politically oriented and those which were more religiously oriented and were expressed by the different groups that existed in Palestine at the time of Jesus.
The Pharisees focused on observing the law, including the written and oral traditions and believed that the “kingdom comes through obeying the law.”[10] The Sadducees had their origins in the priests of king David’s time (2 Samuel 8:17).
“They did not believe in angels, or the resurrection. Politically, they did not resist Rome. They were more open to Hyalinization than other groups, and were willing to ally themselves to the dominant political power; hence their expectations regarding the kingdom were far more limited.”[11]
In contrast to the Pharisees and Sadducees who sought to survive under Roman rule the Zealots (revolutionaries) sought a military victory over the Romans and rejected human intermediaries for God’s rule believing that only God could be king of the nation.[12] The Herodians were the followers of Herod’s dynasty and supported their claims.[13] Finally the common people, whom Jesus focused his ministry upon, rather than being organized and with a clear agenda were pious “and sought to survive everyday life.”[14]
The New Testament Concept
Many ideas have emerged in Christian circles concerning the kingdom of God. Some identify it with the church whilst others may believe it to be a concept that resides in the hearts of Christians. For example in the ancient Coptic Gospel of Thomas the kingdom is interpreted as being present “in one’s spirit, which itself is divine rather than physically in the world.[15] Others identify the kingdom as the collective good of humanity.
In the Old Testament, “the nature of the kingdom of God is defined by prophecy and refined in history.”[16] The New Testament continues this theme but emphasizes how the future reality may be available in the present. Jesus affirms that the kingdom of heaven is present through his own being, Jesus although having the right to be king comes as a servant to give his life for the world.[17]
Different theologians have interpreted the New Testament understanding of the kingdom in different ways. Adolf von Harnack understood it in terms of “the human spirit and its relationship to God,”[18] whereas C. Dodd pointed out how Jesus himself declared that, “the kingdom of God is at hand, which is not something in the distant future; it has already come upon people (Mathew 12:28).”[19] The renown German Theologian and New Testament Scholar Rudolf Bultmann affirmed, “As Christ is wisdom itself, righteousness itself and truth itself so is he also the kingdom itself.”[20]
Whereas Augustine sought to identify the kingdom with the church by affirming, “as the church grows, the kingdom grows and is extended in the world,”[21] the reformers stressed that the kingdom is not identical with any organization. For Luther, “it was synonymous with the realm of divine grace, whilst Calvin saw it as in part embodied in a theocratic society, in the establishment of which individuals might play an active part under God.”[22] According to Luther, where the word is, there is faith, and where faith is, there is the true church which represents the kingdom.
The final worldwide stage of the kingdom of God began with the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Both Jesus and John the Baptist announced that ‘the kingdom of heaven (the kingdom of God) is at hand, repent and belief the gospel’ (Mathew 3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:15) showing its centrality to Jesus’ mission and his messages.
According to Frank Matera Jesus goes beyond John in claiming that “the proclamation that God’s eschatological kingship, promised in the Old Testament, is already making its appearance. The time of waiting is past and the time of fulfillment has arrived.”[23]
The kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor, distressed and the suffering. Thus Jesus taught his disciples that those who were rejected by society were blessed and they were taught to give these people hope (Mathew 5:3-12).
On the other hand, the promise of the kingdom of God being at hand emphasizes work in this world and was expressed in Jesus’ passionate commitment to the Father and determination to do all he could in the power of Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18-19; 21). In the New Testament Jesus is shown to offer the possibility of eschatological salvation, which has both spiritual and physical dimensions.
The kingdom in the present
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you (Mathew 6:33).” Sayings about the present reality of the kingdom are closely associated with Jesus’ activity of preaching and performing powerful works. Jesus said, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God (by the finger of God), surely the kingdom of God has come upon you (Mathew 12:28; Luke 11:14).”
According to Robert Stein,
“The parables of the kingdom argued that Jesus proclaimed, the kingdom of God had now already arrived. Therefore not some future manifestation of the rule of God but was the present reality in the ministry of Jesus.”[24]
For Jesus the kingdom was the gentle, merciful empowerment of the weak and disabled members of society. Consequently he crushed the power of evil in his miracles, seeking to bring divine healing and release ordinary people who had been crippled by physical, psychological, social or spiritual disorders.
Accepting his command to repent and believe this message, this good news, is the first step. Jesus plays a central role as the saviour of those who would enter the Kingdom and blesses those who are hungry, poor, excluded, weeping and hated (Luke 6:20-22; Mathew 5). This is part of the meaning of referring to Jesus as the Son of Man because human beings are able to encounter God in every person they meet. For Leo Tolstoy, “To serve humanity by contributing to the establishment of the kingdom of God can be done by the knowledge and recognition, the profession and realization in life of revealed truth by every man.”[25]
The kingdom of God is still in the future
The Christian understanding that the Kingdom of God is upon us derived from Jesus’ miracles and parables, yet a future element is still retained. The Lord’s Prayer, which is Jewish in its structure and directness, instructs Christians to affirm, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).” These ideas concerning the future kingdom have their roots in Isaiah 65 and 66; Daniel chapter 2 and 7. Independent of whether this kingdom will be established in our lifetime this prayer teaches us that the coming of the kingdom is an event brought about by God and not by humans (Matthew 6:10).
Another evidence for the future dimension of the kingdom appeared in Jesus’ last supper when Jesus affirmed that he would not drink wine again until he drinks it new in the kingdom of God (Mark 14:25). Again, a similar point is made in Jesus’ saying that “many will come and eat with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (Mathew 8:11). This is a future event involve the raising of their forefathers, they can not eat and drink with them in any earthly kingdom at that time.[26]
Weiss affirmed that, “the kingdom was purely religious, not ethical; purely future, not present in any way. The kingdom would be God’s final miracle with Jesus functioning in his current ministry.”[27] The Gospels suggests that this needs to be achieved through dependency upon God. We are totally dependent upon God for our salvation, our future from the beginning to the end of our lives. Therefore, John’s Gospel affirms that “without him we can do nothing (John 15:5)” indicating our future hope. Disagreeing with Weiss, we can interpret Jesus’ teaching to mean that the kingdom is now, but not yet fulfilled (not yet fully here on earth). Therefore, we must understand that the follower of Jesus must continue his mission in this world to fulfill God’s kingdom.
Jesus’ first focus was for the Jews
The concept of the kingdom emerged in a Jewish context. The New Testament bears witness that Jesus was a Jew, born in Bethlehem and grew in the small town of Nazareth in Galilee. He preaches and teaches the good news as an eschatological prophet such as Jeremiah and Isaiah around the regions of Galilee, Zebulun and Naphtali.[28] Most of his mission fields were Jewish villages, small towns where he met with Jewish ordinary people but, “he did not visit to Sepphoris which was Hellenistic town, even just three mines far from the Nazareth.”[29]
Mathew's Gospel recorded that Jesus’ mission focused on the Jews alone. He claimed that ‘he was sent only to those lost sheep, the people of Israel’ (Mathew 10:5-6; 15:24). “Jesus sent his disciples only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and the good news was not to be spread among non-Jews.”[30] Despite Jesus’ choice of twelve disciples to represent the restoration of Israel it is unlikely that Jesus sought to be involved in a “Zealot style revolt” against Rome rather the image “Jesus as a Zealot has given way to other ideas about the revolutionary character of his movement in conditions of undoubted social unrest.”[31]
Amongst Jews Jesus observed the significant oppression that bore down upon them and sought to save people from this distress by healing, feeding and other miracles, seeking to approach everyone on an equal basis. Seeing so many poor and oppressed (Luke 4:18) Jesus gave the most attention to the poor and needy Jews in the villages who were open to receiving the kingdom of God, God’s rule as being ruled by God.
Paul’s view on the kingdom of God
Paul understands that the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). This verse indicates God’s grace in reaching out to those who have been rejected and excluded by society and bringing them a sense of joy, peace and his presence. These virtues are not only individual in their impact but affect wider society as:
“peace means primarily the opposite of war, the tranquility of social order; justice, the virtue proper to social relations; and joy, although it has an individual dimension to it, can mean a rejoicing precisely in the blessings brought by peace and justice.”[32]
In fact, beyond this verse and Romans 14:17 and 1 Corinthians 4:20 Paul’s use of the concept of the kingdom of God concentrates mainly on the future aspect. Thus Acts 28:23 affirms that Paul used the Old Testament scripture, the Law of Moses and the prophets to preach about both the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ. Indeed, “now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more” (Acts 20:25).
III. The Church and the Kingdom
Beyond the many denominational differences and schisms over doctrine and theology there are millions of people who profess to be Christians and claim to be members of the church Jesus founded. Many accept that the Church’s mission is to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God and make disciples as Jesus taught. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19-20). The church and the kingdom are closely related in that Israel was created by God’s kingly rule; and the church was created by the new dynamic of God’s rule in Christ.[33] Even so, the church may not be the kingdom itself.
Augustine taught that, “the kingdom of God was the church, while the world outside of the church was the kingdom of Satan.”[34] Eldon Ladd also affirms that, “there can be no kingdom without the church but they remain two distinguishable concepts, the kingdom is the rule of God; and the church is a society of God’s men and women.”[35] This community has been built by Christ to prevent Hades (Mathew 16:18). We understand this as the rule of God in a society of men and women whom he has redeemed and controls.
Apart from Matthew the other gospels do not use the word church but the kingdom. In Matthew we can find teaching on the church in Matthew 16:18, which can be seen as the universal church established through Peter.
Comparing the kingdom and the church
There can be no kingdom without the church as suggested in Matthew 16:18, although this is better understood as referring to a group of people who follow Christ than to a building. Key aspects in comparing the church and the kingdom are:
1) “The church as Christ’s body and bride, consists of the redeemed and is manifested in the community of believers; [however], Christ’s kingdom authority is not limited to his church but extends over all areas of life; and … the church is the focal point of Christ’s kingdom life here on earth (Psalm 110:1-3).”[36]
2) The visible church is established by the preaching of the word of God. God’s word cannot be without God’s people, and if there is God’s person, the church would be seen. John Calvin marks that, “where the word of God should be preached, there is the true church. The reformer Martin Luther; where the word is, there is faith; and where faith is, there is the true church.”[37]
3) Although there is only one kingdom, New Testament churches displayed a rich diversity of practices. This can be seen in post-Pauline communities in which the Pastoral Epistles were written, “which emphasises teaching, structure, pastoral care and the survival of the Christian community.”[38]
Yet the development of the kingdom in the present remains invisible, ‘the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’ Paul describes in Roman 14:17. “The beautiful thing about the invisible kingdom is that it can become visible at any time. Peace and joy can be manifested in our lives even in the most difficult of circumstances for our focus is on the invisible kingdom.”[39]
The Mission of the Church in the Light of the Kingdom
In the early days, “faith was grounded upon Jesus’ resurrection, not only upon Jesus’ earthly ministry and discipleship. Their distinctive features were separation from the world, unconditional love and childlike obedience.”[40] The church has been defined as a community of believers joining together seeking to live in love and peace.[41]
How is the mission of the church shaped by our understanding of the kingdom? The church is to be the witness to the kingdom by the compassionate sharing of love in a small community. The church is the vessel through which the powerful redeeming act of Jesus is proclaimed as can be seen in the sending of the twelve and of the seventy (Mathew 10; Luke 10). The church acts as a light reflecting Jesus’ mission (Ephesians 5:8; 2Coritians 4:4). Samuel Jayakumar takes this further to express that “to let one’s light shine is to live in such away as to manifest the presence of the kingdom.”[42]
However, God’s kingdom acts are performed through the church, Jesus’ disciples (Mathew 10:8; Luke 10:17). The danger comes when the church becomes too inward focused and does not engage in activities linked to the kingdom such as healing, exorcism and proclamation in word and deeds.[43] It is important for the church to develop “holistic mission to promote church members’ health, bringing the whole of life under the Lordship of Jesus Christ in economic, health, hunger, and relief.”[44]
Discipleship and kingdom values
Jesus invested a considerable effort in promoting discipleship so as to keep the values of the kingdom alive. Discipleship involves becoming engaged in Jesus’ ministry which can be interpreted as being chosen and called to become a citizen of the kingdom. Dwight Smith affirms that, “apart from a historical relationship with Jesus of Nazareth, discipleship and the church are quite unconceivable.”[45] This requires that legitimate leadership roles be expressed in service to the world. Discipleship is not only following Jesus but the following of Jesus in community,[46] so as to love and serve one another in learning a new way of life.
Therefore the church should be shaped so that each disciple acts as a servant. The official ministry of the church does not express what a church is, rather it is the enabling of its members to act as servants.[47] Thus missions and evangelism should be an expression of the values of the kingdom and act as concrete expressions of love for others.
Fellowship with Church
The spiritual transformations linked to postmodernism have encouraged many Christians to abandon any close association with local churches but still choose to name themselves as Christians. Faith is increasingly regarded as a private matter, so that many may believes that their Christian faith may be expressed in an individualistic manner and not require regular fellowship with other believers.
The contemporary experience of church in Britain is very complex. In many churches, especially independent, Charismatic and Pentecostal churches people still choose to become married according to church tradition and raise their children within the faith. Nonetheless, the trend is that whilst “in Britain today 2 in 10 consider themselves regular attendees at religious services… 5 in 10 no longer do so.”[48] This indicates that fellowship with a church has become much less organized in Britain than at other times in history. Although this points to the decline of the church it may also offer opportunity for the development of “reproductive fellowships that reflect the kingdom of God in the world.”[49]
Nonetheless, the presence of the church and of Christians is essential for the continuous presence of the kingdom in the world. This point to the continuing value of evangelism and the bringing of new disciples to faith in the mission of the church is to be carried out generation to generation by the people of God.
Contemporary lessons
Current Christian mission needs to be wide in focus. It involves saving people from sin, poverty, hunger, sorrow, hatred, exclusion and neglect. It involves saving them for fellowship with God, joy, peace, inclusion and dignity so that they are able to praise God, receive the Holy Spirit and themselves contribute to the growth of the Kingdom in the world.
Kingdom-focused mission involves reviving existing church bodies with kingdom values. One example would be David Wilkerson who “established the drug rehabilitation programs of teens and young men as the pattern of Pentecostal social ministry care for the poor and saved the lives from danger.”[50]
Holistic mission is also proclaiming and demonstrating the gospels. This is expressed in the values of the Micah Network which are:
“If we ignore the world we betray the word of God which sends us out to serve the world. If we ignore the word of God we have nothing to bring to the world. Justice and justification by faith, worship and political action, the spiritual and the material, personal change and structural change belong together.”[51]
Thus this impacts not just issues to do with human life, but also wider issues such as our care for creation in the face of various environmental challenges.
Holistic mission thus seeks to hold in balance a focus on evangelism with genuine concern for the “satisfaction of basic human needs, including the need of God, food, love, housing, clothes and physical and mental health and a sense of human dignity.”[52] People are seen as bodily, spiritual and social beings, who are called to live in a healthy relationship with God, other people and creation.[53]
The life and work of Jesus thus provide a model for contemporary church mission.[54] The basic principles are redemption, proclamation and liberation from oppression, yet there is the need for wisdom in demonstrating these principles according to the different geographical, regional and cultural contexts the church might find itself in.
Small Groups and Cell Churches are often an effective means through which these kingdom principles may be put into practice, especially where Cell Churches are also linked to one another in some type of structured network. Often this network is linked to a larger church. Thus, for example, one church in South Korea functions as a network of 50,000 individual cells.[55]
Today, cell church models are particularly effective in developing missional and evangelistic strategies for the Church in the twenty first century. This involves creativity in developing new perspectives concerning the conduct of mission. This is something to be enhanced through intercontinental and multi denominational collaboration initiatives that focus on the importance of unity and cooperation in worldwide mission.
Missions in the contemporary environment lead to various challenges which missionaries and churches should be able to engage with differently in different regions of the world. This involves the challenge of pluralism in religious beliefs and practices, and the emergence of different ethical principles in the world of information technology. Across the world different themes such as post-colonialism and internationalism may be seen as more significant at different times and places. Missionaries and churches should seek to engage in these different developments in different regions on the world.
The Towards 2010 mission for the twenty first century, meeting in Edinburgh affirmed that the values of the Kingdom should lead the mission of the evangelical church to challenge various forms of power and focus on significant themes at many levels such as “Spiritual, political, military, financial and international; raising issues of culture change, human rights, ecological sustainability and inequalities in the production, distribution and consumption of resources”[56] exploring how these effect the message of the gospel and its application in life. I have mentioned above that when Jesus started preaching, he saw many poor people who were sick, suffering from various of diseases and disorders: people with demons, and epileptics, and paralytics and Jesus healed them and said ‘the kingdom of God is at hand, repent, and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15; Mathew 5:12). After that Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount to bring hope for the kingdom of God for those of common people.
IV. Conclusion
The concept of the kingdom of God is should fundamentally structure church mission practice according to the New Testament’s description of Jesus ministry. Churches are catching the vision of new forms of mission in their neighborhoods in the context of its environment.
The church is not the kingdom but bears symbolic witness to the kingdom through word and praxis anticipating by doing for men and women here and now, in new situations that are different from those in Jesus' time, therefore, “by concretizing, in the church’s own life justice, peace, freedom and respect for human rights and spiritual.”[57]
On the other hand, the Bible emphasizes the kingdom as the mean by which God’s purpose for his creation is achieved. “The mission of the church is the movement into the new future of God and God’s people whose identity is found in the narrative towards the coming of God’s kingdom.”[58] To do this, the church needs to be both a herald of good news and signs. Christians need to form strong community of believers that engage as stewards in all areas in the name of Christ and church base that God has created. Leo Tolstoy proved that, “kingdom of God is within you and Christianity is not a system of rules, but a new conception or theory of life.”[59]
V. Bibliography
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[1] See for example, Michael James Myclymond, Familiar Strangers, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004). P. 67, and Robert H Stein, The Method and Message of Jesus’ Teaching, (Loisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 1995), p.60
[4] See Robert C Linthicium, City of God, City of Satan, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991), p.82
[5] John Joseph Collins, Seers, Sybils and Sages in Hellenistic-Roman Judaism, (BRILL: Collins, 1997),p.102
[6] Geerhardus Vos, “The Kingdom of God” Biblical Theology Homepage, available online at: http://www.biblicaltheology.org/kg.pdf, (Accessed February 26, 2009)
[8] James Fowler, ‘Kingdom of God’ Christ in You Ministries Homepage available online at: http://www.christinyou.net/pages/kingdom.html, (Accessed February 26,2009)
[10] David Alexander, Pat Alexander, The Lion Handbook to the Bible, (Oxford: Lion, 2002), p.529
[11] Alexander, Lion, p.529.
[12] Alexander, Lion, p.530.
[13] J. Forbes, ‘Jesus teaching on the kingdom of God’, The Student’s Desk That We May Know Christ, WordpressHomepage, Available online at: http://thestudentsdesk.com/2007/10/24/jesus-teaching-on-the-kingdom-of-god/, (Accessed January 19 2008).
[14] D. Clark, the Kingdom of God, unpublished, pdf file, (Southall, 2007)
[15] Bart D. Ehrman, Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene, ‘The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend’, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006),p. 241.
[16] Dave Andrews, ‘Integral Mission, Relief and Development’ Dave Andrews Homepage Available online at : http://www.daveandrews.com.au/articles/Integral%20Mission%20in%20Relief%20and%20Development.pdf, (Accessed February 18 2009).
[17] See Andrews, ‘Integral Mission, Relief and Development’
(Birmingham: TIM, 2005), p.12
[19] Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology, (Fourth Ed)., ‘An Introduction’, (Blackwell: Oxford, 2006), p. 473
[21] George Eldon Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God, (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1959), p.15
[23] Frank J. Matera, New Testament Ethics, ‘The Legacies of Jesus and Paul’, (Westminster: John Knox, 2002), p.19
[24] Robert H. Stein, The Method and Message of Jesus’ Teachings, (London: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994), p. 69
[25] Leo Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God Is Within You, ( USA: Kessinger , 2004),p.276
[26] See Stein, The Message and Method of Jesus’ Teaching, p. 75
[27] Darrell L. Bock, the Kingdom of God in New Testament Theology: The Battle, The Christ, The Spirit-Bearer, and Returning Son of Man, bible.orghomepage, Available online at: http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=2211, (Accessed January 27 2008)
[28] On Jesus as an eschatological prophet see NT Wright, ‘The Historical Jesus and Christian Theology’, Sewanee Theological Review 39, 1996 Available online at http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Historical_Jesus.htm, (Accessed in March 2008).
[29] Richard A. Batey, Jesus and the Forgotten City, joyfulministryhomepage, Available online at: http://joyfulministry.com/sepp.htm , (Accessed October 23 2008). Available book, New Light on Sepphoris and the Urban World of’Jesus,(Grand Rapids: Baker,1999).
[30] Geza Vermes, The Authentic Gospel of Jesus, (London: Penguin, 2004), p.267
[31] Sean Freyne, Jesus, a Jewish Galilean: A New Reading of the Jesus Story, (UK: Continuum, 2004), p.135-136
[32] Viviano, Kingdom, p.18
[33] See Fred Herron, Expanding God’s Kingdom through Church Planting, (Lincoln: iUniverse, 2003), p. 28
[34] D. Bock, ‘The Kingdom’, http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=2211, (Accessed January 20 2008)
[35] George Eldon Ladd, Donald A. Hagner, A Theology of the New Testament, ‘The kingdom and the Church’, (Grand Rapids: Eeerdmans, 1993), p. 109, 117
[36] Jay Grimstead & Calvin Beisner, ‘Articles of Affirmation and Denial on the Kingdom of God’, The Coalition of Revival available online at: http://65.175.91.69/Reformation_net/COR_Docs/Christian_Worldview_Kingdom_God.pdf.(Accessed May 2008)
[38] McGrath, Christian, p.469.
[39] Kansas Bob, ‘Living in the Invisible Kingdom, Eye for Redemption Homepage available online at: http://redeemed.kansasbob.com/2007_05_01_archive.html, (Accessed April 2008)
[40] History of early church, Available online at www.earlychurch.com, (Visited January 13 2008).
[41] Michael Keene, This is Christianity, (Oxford: Lion, 2002)
[42] Samuel Jayakumar, Mission Reader: Historical Models for Holistic Mission in the Indian Context, (Delhi: OCMS, 2002), p.20
[43] Winn Griffin, The church is not the kingdom, week 3, SBLMinistryhomeage, Available online at: http://www.sbl.org/wbs/kingdom/Week3/kgw3.shtml, (Accessed October 24 2008).
[44] David Claydon, Ed., A New Vision, a New Heart, a Renewed Call, (William Carey Library, 2006), p. 214-246
[45] Dwight Moody Smith, The Theology of the Gospel of John,( New York: Cambridge University,1995),
p.139
[47] Craig Van Gelder, Confident Witness--changing World: Rediscovering the Gospel in North America, (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans 1999), p. 122 - 123
[48]Archbishops Council, ‘Research Towards Fresh Expressions of Church’, Church of England Hompeage, Available online at www.cofe.anglican.org, (Accessed February 13 2008)
[49] Gailyn Van Rheenen, Mission Missions: Biblical Foundations and Contemporary Strategies,
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan,1996),p.150
[50] Wonsuk Ma, “The role of Pneumatology in Pentecostal Charismatic Mission”, Cyberjournal for Pentecostal Charismatic Research,(January 2008), Available online at www.pctii.org/cyberj/ ,(Accessed April 2008).
[51] Micah Challenge International, ‘Micah Declaration on Integral Mission’, Micahchallengehomepage, Available online at: http://www.micahchallenge.org/english/think/aim1/declaration/, (Accessed January 17 2008)
[52] David Claydon (ed.), A New Vision, A New Heart, A Renewed Call, (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2006), p. 221
[53] Claydon, A New Vision, p. 221
[55] David Garrison, ‘Church Planting Movements’ “cell or house church” International biblesocietyhomepage, Available online at http://www.cellchurch.info, (Accessed January 27 2008)
[56] Edinburgh 2010, ‘Missiona for the 21st century’,pdf, towards2010homepage, available online at: http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:-vq7V0fD328J:www.towards2010.org.uk/downloads_int/Summary_English.pdf+Spiritual,+political,+military,+financial+and+international%3B+raising+issues+of+culture+change,+human+rights,+ecological+.&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2, (Accessed March 26 2008).
[57] Fr. John Fuellerbach, ‘Kingdom of God as Pprinciple of action in the church’, Available online at: http://www.sedos.org/english/fuellenbach.htm, (Accessed on March 24 2008).
[58] Richard Bauckham, Bible and Mission: Christian Witness in a Postmodern World, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004)
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