I've been reading yet another book by one of my favorite authors, T Austin-Sparks. This one is called "The Gospel of the Kingdom." In it he begins with defining the "kingdom" as the sovereign rule of God. He uses this definition as the explanation or the reason that all of the parables on the kingdom of God work together.
Of which I agree with the reasoning yet find it incomplete. And it is incomplete because all of scripture functions on multiple levels simultaneously, and to limit the message based on such a confined definition is in my opinion ungodly. After all, all scripture points to Christ. It functions in the past, present, and future. The Spirit of God can use all of it to prophesy into the life of the individual, the community, the nation, and/or the globe. Additionally, scripture describes not only the world around us, but the world inside us. Namely the world and interaction of the spirit, and soul housed in the body.
So with that in mind I must argue by the Holy Spirit that included in the definition of the kingdom of God, the most preached message of Jesus while on this earth, is the inclusion of territory. Just as a photon of light is both energy and particle, the kingdom of God is both the sovereign rule of God, and the territory where that rule operates.
Jesus spends a lot of time discussing who would be "in" the kingdom of God. If sovereign rule were the exclusive definition then at least one of the numerous references should say "under" the kingdom of God. But it is territory that brings understanding to how the kingdom of God can suffer violence. (Matt 11:12) Because on the border of the kingdom, where the territory of God's sovereign rule meets the resistance of Satan there is a battle. And this battle rages not only in a physical realm, but inside us.
Jesus commands us to love God with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole mind. In that there is a whole, then there also is a part. Therefore this "territory" of the kingdom of God is in part what portion of the whole is under the sovereign rule of God. Have we brought our whole heart under His authority, or only a portion. It is this process of taking over the whole heart, whole soul, and whole mind, where we begin to see the territory represented by the kingdom of God.
Jesus said the kingdom is in you. It is in our heart, mind, and soul. He said that the kingdom is leaven. As such, it is alive and growing inside us. Our heart, mind, and soul is the flour, it is the territory, where the kingdom of God is expanding. Just like the kingdom of heaven is the man that sows good seeds in the same area the enemy sows the tares. The territory where seeds of good and evil are constantly sown is the heart, mind and soul. The kingdom of heaven is stumbled upon sometimes like a treasure in a field and sought by others like a merchant looking for a pearl. But in all cases it is a priceless discovery when found. The kingdom even has a life of it's own, and is neither stumbled upon or sought, but sometimes finds us like a dragnet pulled through the oceans catching all manner of mankind.
In the end, the kingdom of God is a territory. If nothing else it is a territory within us. And once inside us, once the seed is planted, it is ever growing, every changing, and ever opening of our eyes.
Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you. (Matt 6:33) That kingdom is just how much of our heart, mind, and soul we allow for God to have His sovereign rule in. It is a battle and a violent act that allows His territory to overtake ours. It is death as the cross of Christ come to bear on the self. It is the resurrection that permanently establishes His kingdom where it once was unwelcome.
Open up your hearts and let him in.
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