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Essay on Kingdom of God

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“The Kingdom of God is basically the rule of God. It is God’s reign, the divine sovereignty in action. God’s reign, however, is manifested in several realms and the Gospels speak of entering into the Kingdom of God both today and tomorrow. God’s reign manifests itself both in the future and in the present and thereby creates both a future realm and a present realm in which man may experience the blessings of His reign” (24). The Gospel of the Kingdom by George Eldon Ladd explains what the Kingdom of God means and is. There are two parts to this kingdom; the present and the future. Each chapter has a specific point about the Kingdom of God that is key to the understand of the full meaning of the phrase.The First chapter is an in depth …show more content…

Ladd uses this verse to explain this particular righteousness of God's kingdom. The Pharisees and scribes wanted an answer to every question about what is right and what is wrong. But if you are living in terms of law and must have dictum from God's law that you may know when you are within the will of God. Simply, you must and should know what is right and what is wrong. The answer of what is greater righteousness of the kingdom can be found in particular illustrations that Jesus gives us that ultimately embodies principles and “laws.” The law of anger, law of purity, law of honesty and the law of love are some of the laws that are greater righteousness if we follow them and understand them in the kingdom of God. We are righteous by our experience of God's rule and reign in our lives.
The last chapter Ladd connects the life of the Kingdom to the demand of the Kingdom which is denial of self. He makes an important nuance, “Self-denial is self-centered; denial of self is Christ-centered. Denial of self means death, nothing less” (104). This distinction is crucial. The cross is considered an instrument of death. This is not saying that every Christian must suffer a physical death but we must be ready to die. We must be cross bearers and must be ready to die with and for Christ. The demand of the kingdom is to repent, receive the good news and surrender to its rule even through

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