“For the Kingdom of God is not eating and
drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy
in the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 14:17

Definition:
The Kingdom of God is where God is present and rules.
According to our verse, those in the Kingdom of God are the recipients of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. In that order! This weekend and next we will examine this reality more carefully.

What the Kingdom of God is not
The Kingdom of God is not discerned by those who keep self imposed human regulations. Invariably these always get down to what we eat and drink. In fact God cares very little about what you eat and drink as long as you do it in a godly manner. When the King rule and reins in our hearts we instinctively know the boundaries that He by His presence in our lives sets for us. (Titus 2:11-13)

What the Kingdom of God is
It is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. In this sermon we will address righteousness and peace.

1.    Righteousness
Righteousness is the sum total of God’s character. It is thus perfect love.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of
God; and everyone who loves is born of God
and knows God. He who does not love does not
know God, for God is love.”
1John 4:7-8

Righteousness in the Bible has two elements: That which is imputed and that which is imparted. Both can only be had by being in Christ. That is, by exercising real repentance from sin and belief in what He did for you on the cross. When this happens your sins are all taken away and God sees you as He sees Christ; perfect. Imputed righteousness is a gift that cannot be earned and that:

•    In Christ makes you acceptable to God as if you have never sinned.
•    In Christ frees you from all guilt and condemnation. God knows everything that you have done but has dealt with all of it on the cross.
•    In Christ makes you free from feeling hopeless, lost and separated from God.
•    In Christ fills you with a real assurance that you have eternal life……….and
•    In Christ stamps your heart with a sense of personal destiny and calling.

On the other hand imparted righteousness is the righteousness that God imputes to your life as a gift but actually made visible in your life as a reality. You change dramatically, are transformed into God’s character and demonstrate this by sharing His love everywhere. (2Corinthians 5:17; 20) Those who undergo this impartation of righteousness are in the Bible called, Saints or Holy Ones! Those who share God’s love everywhere!

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God,
God abides in him and he in God. And we have
Known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and he who abides in love abides in
God, and God in him.”
1John 4:15-16

In the first century believers in Jesus were called people of “the way” and those who had turned the “world upside down.”  (Acts 9:2; Acts24:14; Acts 17:6) They lived differently and lovingly and they accomplished all of this without Bibles! The truth is they loved Jesus with all their hearts and appropriated His righteousness, imputed and imparted.

2.    Peace
The biblical concept of peace also has two parts to it. That is, peace with God and the peace of God.
Peace with God means that the conflict between you and God is over, having been settled at the cross where Jesus endured the wrath of God on your behalf (1Thessalonians 1:10). The hostility is over in Christ and now you are at peace with God. He has nothing that He wants to extract or exact from you. Paul acknowledges this when he states:

“Therefore having been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:1

Thank God that we are at peace with Him in Christ because it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31)

The second concept of peace in the Bible is; the peace of God! This is defined as: A settled state of rest and wellbeing and confidence in the faithfulness and goodness of God. This means that the recipient of this peace has a sense of being flooded with the presence of God in all circumstances and mostly adverse ones! So, the peace of God shields me from all the storms of life no matter how big or dangerous. It tells me constantly that all is well with my soul! Horatio Spafford, the Christian man who founded the first Kibbutz in Israel, lost all four of his beautiful daughters in a devastating storm at sea that sunk their ship. In response he penned one of the greatest hymns of history in 1873:

“When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when
sorrows like sea billows role, whatever my lot, Thou
has taught me to say, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
let this blessed assurance control; that Christ has
regarded my helpless estate and hath shed His own
blood for my soul.

For me, be it Christ hence to live; if Jordan above me
shall roll, no pain shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.”

This amazing peace of God not only assures you of God’s faithfulness, presence and care but it guards you and keeps you from spiritual harm. It is a sentry that marches up and down the ramparts of your heart!

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be
made known to God; and the peace of God, which 
surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7

Blessed are the people who live in the peace of God.

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries