Sunday Worship Service — August 16, 2026
The Kingdom of God
Mark 1:14–15; Luke 4:42–43
Mark 1:14–15
“After John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God. He said, ‘The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the gospel.’”
Luke 4:42–43
“At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him, and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.’”
There is a very important subject in the Bible that is also very easy to misunderstand.
That subject is the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven.
Today, I would like us to look together at what the Kingdom of God really means—the message that Jesus proclaimed more than any other when He came to this earth.
1. What Is the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven?
In the Bible, we find both the expression “the Kingdom of God” and the expression “the Kingdom of Heaven.”
In the Korean church, the word “heaven” is often understood primarily as the place we go after we die.
On the other hand, the “Kingdom of God” is sometimes understood as something that takes place here on earth.
We need to be careful with this distinction.
In Luke 23:43, Jesus said to the repentant criminal who was dying beside Him,
“Today you will be with me in paradise.”
Here, paradise refers to the blessed state in which believers are with Christ after death.
So, the Bible certainly teaches that believers have a blessed existence with Christ after death.
But when the Bible speaks about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven, it is not simply talking about a physical place called heaven.
The Kingdom of Heaven is fundamentally about God’s reign and rule.
In other words, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven refer to the same basic reality: God is the King, and God reigns.
Matthew uses the expression “Kingdom of Heaven” much more frequently than the other Gospels.
One reason for this is Matthew’s Jewish background and audience. Jewish people had a deep reverence for God’s name and were careful about using God’s name. Matthew therefore frequently used the expression “Kingdom of Heaven” where the other Gospel writers often used “Kingdom of God.”
So then, why has the Korean church come to understand “heaven” primarily as the place we go when we die?
There are several historical and cultural factors that have contributed to this understanding.
First, the influence of traditional Korean ideas about the afterlife.
Even before Christianity came to Korea, Korean society already had expressions referring to a person going to a good place after death.
The expression “going to heaven” or “going to paradise” was already familiar to people.
As Christianity spread, these familiar ideas naturally influenced the way people understood Christian language about heaven.
Second, the evangelistic slogan, “Jesus is heaven; unbelief is hell.”
In the early Korean church, the slogan “Believe in Jesus and go to heaven; reject Him and go to hell” became a very powerful evangelistic message.
There is nothing wrong with proclaiming that eternal life is found in Christ and that there is a real judgment.
But because this message was so simple and memorable, people could easily come to understand Christianity primarily in terms of where we go after death.
As a result, Jesus’ central announcement, “The kingdom of God has come near,” could become less prominent in people’s understanding of the gospel.
Third, the suffering experienced by the early Korean church.
The early Korean church lived through tremendous hardship—poverty, disease, social instability, and eventually the suffering of Japanese colonial rule.
In that context, the hope of being with God after death gave tremendous comfort and strength to believers.
And that hope is not wrong.
The problem comes when the rich biblical meaning of the Kingdom of God becomes reduced to simply “a beautiful place where we go after we die.”
Fourth, the influence of hymns and funeral services.
In the early Korean hymnals, expressions such as “heaven” and “paradise” appeared frequently.
Even today, many hymns and sermons used at funeral services speak about heaven primarily as the destination believers enter after death.
Over time, these practices have deeply shaped the imagination of Korean Christians.
As a result, many Christians have come to think: “Heaven equals the place I go when I die.” But, beloved brothers and sisters, we must remember something very important: We must not reduce heaven simply to a physical place we go after death. The biblical concept is much richer than that.
2. The Kingdom of God Is Primarily About God’s Reign
The most important key to understanding the Kingdom of God is this: God is the King, and God reigns.
The Kingdom of God does not simply refer to a particular geographical location where God happens to be present. It refers primarily to God’s royal rule and reign, and to the realm in which that reign is recognized and experienced.
That is why the very first message Jesus proclaimed was: “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the gospel.”
Jesus did not begin His ministry by saying, “When you die, you will go to a place called heaven.” Instead, He proclaimed, “The kingdom of God has come near.”
What does that mean?
It means that God’s rule as King was now breaking into human history in a new and decisive way.
Think about this in connection with Genesis chapter 3.
At creation, Adam and Eve lived under God’s rule. God was the Creator and the King. Human beings were His creatures, created to live under His good and righteous authority.
But what did the serpent tempt Adam and Eve with? The serpent said, in effect, “You will be like God.”
What was at the heart of that temptation? It was the desire to reject God’s rule and become their own rulers. Adam and Eve wanted to decide for themselves what was good and evil. They wanted to become their own kings. And they disobeyed God. Sin entered the world.
But did humanity actually become king?
No. Instead, humanity became enslaved. The people who wanted to become their own kings came under the dominion of sin and death. Human beings rejected God’s rule, but they did not become free. They became slaves to sin.
But praise God!
God did not leave humanity forever under the power of sin. When the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son into the world. And through Jesus Christ, God began to restore His rightful reign.
That is the good news of the Kingdom of God.
3. The Kingdom of God Began in Jesus Christ
The promise of God’s Kingdom did not begin in the New Testament. It runs throughout the Old Testament. God revealed His kingship through the line of David. And through the prophets, God promised that one day His rule would be established in a way that would extend throughout the earth. 
Then, in the fullness of time, that promise entered human history through Jesus Christ.
Look again at Mark 1:15: “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the gospel.”
The expression “has come near” does not simply mean that the Kingdom is coming soon, as though Jesus were saying, 
“Wait a little longer.” It means that the Kingdom has drawn near in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ. God’s Kingdom was beginning to break into history. God’s reign was becoming visible. And when Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the Kingdom, God’s rule was actually being demonstrated.
The sick were healed. Demons were cast out. Sinners were forgiven. Those who were living in despair received hope. People who were bound by sin experienced freedom.
These miracles were not merely demonstrations of Jesus’ supernatural power. They were signs that the Kingdom of God had arrived. They showed that the King had come.
Look at what happened in Luke chapter 4.
The people of Capernaum tried to keep Jesus from leaving them because He had healed many people.
They wanted Jesus to stay. But Jesus did not allow Himself to be controlled by their demands. Instead, He said: “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”
Think about how important these words are. Jesus did not come simply to become popular. He did not come merely to make people’s lives more comfortable. He did not come simply to perform miracles. He came to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God. His mission was to announce God’s Kingdom and to reveal Himself as the King. And as the King, Jesus came to confront and defeat the powers that had enslaved humanity: sin, Satan, and death.
The miracles of Jesus were signs of the Kingdom. His teaching proclaimed the Kingdom. His forgiveness revealed the grace of the King. His death on the cross accomplished the victory of the King. And His resurrection demonstrated that even death could not defeat the King. The Kingdom of God has come in Jesus Christ.
4. The Kingdom of God Has a People
A kingdom does not have only a king. A kingdom also has a people.
So who can become a citizen of God’s Kingdom?
God is a holy King. Therefore, sinful people cannot simply come into the presence of a holy God without dealing with their sin.
People often think, “I have lived a pretty good life. I have been better than many other people. Surely God will accept me.” But that is not what the Bible teaches. We cannot become righteous before God simply by being a little better than someone else.
The Bible tells us that all people are sinners. Therefore, our good works are not enough to satisfy the holiness and righteousness of God.
So how can we become citizens of God’s Kingdom?
Through Jesus Christ. Jesus took our sins upon Himself and died on the cross in our place. And He rose again from the dead. Therefore, when we acknowledge that we are sinners and put our faith in Jesus Christ, God declares us righteous—not because we are good enough, but because of the righteousness of Christ. This is the heart of the gospel.
We do not become citizens of God’s Kingdom because we are good. We become God’s people because we trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our citizenship in God’s Kingdom is not earned. It is received by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
5. The Kingdom Has Already Come, But It Has Not Yet Been Fully Completed
The Kingdom of God began when Jesus Christ came into this world.
Through His death on the cross and His resurrection, Jesus decisively defeated the power of sin and death. After His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven and was seated at the right hand of God, where He reigns as King. And because the Holy Spirit dwells within God’s people, we are now able to live under the rule and reign of God. Furthermore, as the church proclaims the gospel, the good news of the Kingdom of God continues to spread throughout the world.
But there is still sin in our world. There is still sickness. There is still injustice. There is still suffering. And there is still death.
So we naturally ask, “If the Kingdom of God has already come, why do these things still exist?”
The answer is this: The Kingdom of God has already begun, but it has not yet reached its final completion. Jesus has decisively defeated Satan, sin, and death through His death and resurrection. But the final judgment and complete removal of these powers have not yet taken place. Therefore, we are living between the Kingdom that has already come and the Kingdom that is still to come in its fullness.
We have already been saved. But sin and death have not yet been completely removed. We already live under the authority of Christ our King. But creation itself has not yet been completely restored under His rule. This is sometimes described as the “already and not yet” of God’s Kingdom. And this gives us great hope. Because Jesus Christ will come again. And when He comes, the Kingdom of God will be brought to its complete fulfillment.
On that day, there will be no more sickness. No more death. No more tears. No more suffering. No more sin. God will dwell with His people forever. We will see His glory, and we will be filled with joy and praise forever.
*****A Right Understanding of the Second Coming and the Rapture
At this point, I would like to say something about the Second Coming of Christ and the rapture.
I believe this is important because our understanding of the Kingdom of God also affects how we understand the end times.
One common misunderstanding about the end times concerns the rapture. Many Christians have been taught that the rapture means that, before Jesus comes to earth, all Christians will suddenly disappear from the earth and be taken up to heaven, while those left behind will experience a period of great tribulation.
There are Christians who hold this view sincerely. But we should recognize that this is not the only possible interpretation of the biblical teaching about the rapture, nor should we treat every detail of this particular interpretation as though it were explicitly stated in Scripture.
Listen to what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17:
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. The dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
Notice something very important. The purpose of the rapture is not presented here as Christians permanently leaving the earth to live in heaven.
When Christ returns, those who have died in Christ will be raised. Those believers who are still alive will be transformed. And together, God’s people will meet the returning Lord.
The phrase “caught up … to meet the Lord in the air” can be understood in light of the ancient practice of going out to meet a king or an important ruler who was arriving at a city. The people would go outside the city to welcome the king and then accompany him as he entered the city. Whether or not we accept every detail of that historical analogy, the central biblical point is clear: The focus of the rapture is not escape from the earth. The focus is meeting the returning King. Therefore, we should be careful about reducing the rapture to the idea that Christians simply escape from the earth and go to heaven forever. That understanding does not fit well with the larger biblical picture of God’s Kingdom. The final hope of Christians is not simply that our souls will live somewhere in heaven forever.
The Bible’s ultimate hope is resurrection. God will bring about the resurrection of His people and the renewal of creation. The Bible speaks of a new heaven and a new earth, where God will dwell with His people forever. That is the final fulfillment of God’s Kingdom.
That is where the story is heading.
The King will return.
The dead will be raised.
God’s people will be with Christ forever. 
Creation will be renewed. 
And God’s Kingdom will be fully established.
That is our hope.
6. The People of God’s Kingdom Must Live as God’s People
So how should the people of God’s Kingdom live?
We are called to look to Jesus our King and follow Him. Jesus was the very image of the glory of God. Yet He came into this world and lived as a servant. He did not live to make His own name great. He lived to accomplish the will of His Father. When people wanted Jesus to stay with them because of the miracles He performed, He did not stay simply to maintain His popularity. Instead, He continued to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Jesus spent time with the sick, the poor, and the marginalized. He healed the broken. He comforted those who were hurting. And finally, He gave His own life for sinners.
Why did He do this?
Because He came to establish and reveal the reign of God in this world. Therefore, the people of God’s Kingdom are called to live under the rule of their King.
We are called to follow Jesus. Jesus taught us what the life of a citizen of God’s Kingdom should look like.
He said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
What does it mean to deny ourselves?
It does not mean that we deny our value or that we hate ourselves. It means that we give up the idea that I am the king of my own life. It means that we recognize Jesus as our King. I am no longer the ultimate authority over my life. Jesus is my King. 
And what does it mean to take up our cross? 
It means that every day we choose God’s will over our own will. It means that we surrender our desires, our plans, and our ambitions to God. It means that we say, “Lord, not my will, but Your will be done.”
Therefore, if we refuse to serve others, if we refuse to love others, if we refuse to forgive others, and if we live only for our own name, our own comfort, and our own interests, then we are not living according to the rule of our King.
The people of God’s Kingdom are called to follow Jesus in a life of: service,
love,
forgiveness,
humility,
and obedience.
7. The Kingdom of God Flows into the World Through the Church
Finally, there is one more important truth we need to understand.
The church and the Kingdom of God are not exactly the same thing.
The church is not the Kingdom in its entirety.
But the church is the community of people who belong to God’s Kingdom.
Therefore, the church should be an important visible demonstration to the world of what God’s Kingdom looks like.
So how can the church demonstrate the Kingdom of God?
First, we must clearly proclaim that people enter God’s Kingdom only through Jesus Christ.
The center of the church is not a person. The center of the church is Jesus Christ.
We become God’s people only through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The church must never replace the gospel of Christ with human wisdom, personality, tradition, or achievement.
Christ must remain at the center.
Second, we must show the world that we are one family in Christ.
Jesus Christ redeemed us with His own blood on the cross. Through Christ, we have become members of God’s family.
Therefore, the church is not simply a group of individuals who happen to gather in the same building. We are a family because we belong to Christ.
Third, we must not discriminate according to the standards of the world.
A person is not more important because he or she has a higher social position. A person is not more valuable because he or she has more money. And a person is not less valuable because he or she has a lower social position or fewer material possessions. In Christ, every believer has equal dignity and worth. 
We are called to serve one another. When the church loves and serves one another as one family, the world begins to see a picture of what God’s Kingdom looks like.
Finally, the church must demonstrate God’s Kingdom outside the church.
When the church cares for the vulnerable, when we embrace those who are hurting, when we help restore sinners through the gospel, when we show mercy and grace, when we forgive, when we serve those who cannot repay us, then the world begins to see what God’s reign looks like.
The Kingdom of God is not merely something we talk about.
It is something we are called to live. When God’s people live under the rule of their King, the character of the King becomes visible through their lives.
Conclusion
Beloved brothers and sisters,
The Kingdom of God is the central message Jesus proclaimed.
The Kingdom is not simply a place we go after we die.
The Kingdom is the reign of God.
The King has come.
His name is Jesus Christ.
Through His cross and resurrection, He has defeated sin and death.
Through the Holy Spirit, He now reigns in His people.
And one day, He will return.
When He returns, the Kingdom will be fully completed.
Until that day, we are called to live as citizens of His Kingdom.
So let us ask ourselves:
Who is the king of my life?
Am I still trying to be the king of my own life?
Or have I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ?
Are we living according to the values of this world?
Or are we living according to the values of God’s Kingdom?
Are we seeking our own name?
Or are we seeking the name of our King?
May our church proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom.
May our church demonstrate the love of the King.
May our church serve those who are hurting.
May our church welcome those who are rejected.
May our church live under the authority of Christ.
And may our church become a community through which the Kingdom of God is increasingly made visible in this world.
May God make our church a church that extends and demonstrates the Kingdom of God throughout the world.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our King, I bless you all.
Let us pray.