by Jim Gordon

Many of us who went to church have been told about the Kingdom of God. Mostly, we think it is a place somewhere in the sky, far, far away from us at this point. We think that one day, after we die, we will go to live with God in the Kingdom.

This way of thinking not only teaches the Kingdom of God is far away, but also God is far away. I remember the pastor saying that we needed to be at a certain service because God is going to show up and we do not want to miss it, or the Spirit is going to fall and we need to be there. The Spirit was given and fell many years ago after Jesus ascended back to the Spirit world. The Spirit, or the spiritual presence of God within us, was given so we would not be left comfortless or without a guide.

I personally think the church has greatly missed a very important aspect about God and the Kingdom. Most churches do not emphasize that God and the Kingdom are here right now. Jesus said in John 14:23 “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them”. To me, if God has made his home with us, then we are certainly Living in the Kingdom of God.

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of God is within us. That means right now, God’s Spirit lives within us and we are living in the Kingdom of God. We are still also living in the kingdom of the world and in an earthly body, so we are not living in a perfect, spiritual state yet. I have come to believe more and more that the Kingdom of God is not necessarily a coming heavenly kingdom, but it is our life with God right here and now. Our old, earthly man was renewed through Christ and a new man was raised up with Christ. Jesus is our king, and we are currently living with him in his Kingdom every day.

Jim Gordon and his wife left the institutional church after spending over fifty years within the system. Jim wanted a way to express his thoughts and concerns about the religious system and why he and his wife decided to leave the institution but not their faith in God. Jim can be contacted by email at: [email protected]