Luke 17:20 And when He was questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation; (21) Nor will they say, Behold, here it is! or, There! For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. (22) And He said to the disciples, The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. (23) And they will say to you, Behold, there! Behold, here! Do not go away, nor run after them. (24) For just as lightning flashing from one end of heaven shines to the other end of heaven, so will the Son of Man be in His day.
When the Pharisees questioned the Lord about the coming of the kingdom of God, He answered that the kingdom of God does not come with observation. This means that the kingdom of God is not visible or observable. Rather, the kingdom of God is invisible; it is something that cannot be seen with physical eyes. In the Lord's answer to the Pharisees, there is a strong indication that the kingdom of God is actually the Savior Himself. The Lord seems to be saying to them, "You cannot see the kingdom of God, but right now it is among you. Although the kingdom of God is here now, you do not have the spiritual perception to see it. You need spiritual eyes to see spiritual things, to see the kingdom of God. Actually, this kingdom is a wonderful Person. With your physical eyes you can see the material existence of this Person. But you do not have spiritual sight to perceive His spiritual reality. The spiritual reality of this Person is actually the kingdom of God. Therefore, I say that the kingdom of God is now here among you. You, however, cannot perceive this spiritual reality." Verses 22 through 24 prove that the kingdom of God is the Savior Himself, who was among the Pharisees when He was asked by them regarding the kingdom. Wherever the Savior is, there is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is with Him, and He brings it to His disciples. He is the seed of the kingdom of God to be sown into God's chosen people to develop into God's ruling realm. Since His resurrection, He is within His believers (John 14:20). Hence, the kingdom of God is within the church today (Rom. 14:17). (c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, Messages for Building Up New Believers, pp. 330-331. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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