They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. (Acts 8:21-22)
It
seems as if Paul and Barnabas used “the Kingdom of God” in different way than
Jesus had. It’s basically the way we tend to use it: more of an event in the
future than a present reality. This makes sense. When Jesus spoke of the kingdom
of God, He was at the center of the range of God’s influence and creating that influence.
But Jesus was no longer walking among them. There was (and is) one degree of
separation when Paul, Barnabas, you, or I refer to the kingdom. If we made the
claims Jesus did about the kingdom, we would be claiming equality with Jesus.
On
coming under God’s influence, we enter the kingdom of God, but at the same
time, we must wait for the full measure of that kingdom. It might be said that the kingdom of God enters us on being born again, but we don’t fully enter it.
The
main thing that today’s passage tells us about the kingdom of God is that kingdom
citizenship doesn’t eliminate all difficulties. Quite the opposite. It brings them
into our lives. We’re not in charge anymore. Worse, those who
thought they were in charge of us feel their control threatened. Hardships
result.
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