When Nicodemus revealed to Jesus that the religious elite knew that he was sent from God, Christ told him: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again [or 'from above'] he cannot see the kingdom of God."(John 3:3) This, of course, perplexed Nicodemus, and he asked Jesus how someone could be born a second time (verse 4). Christ replied: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (Verse 5) In other words, unless this happens, you aren't getting into God's Kingdom! Now, without getting into a theological debate about what being "born again" entails, Christ's statement makes clear that only folks who have God's Spirit even have a shot at being in God's Kingdom!
Nevertheless, still skeptical, Nicodemus asked him "How can these things be?" (Verse 9) Christ replied: "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." (Verses 10-18) So, clearly, salvation through Jesus Christ is an integral part of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God!
Next, we will look at what Christ said to Pontius Pilate when the Roman governor was going to decide his fate. In the account of that event found in the Gospel of John, we read: "So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, 'Are you the King of the Jews?' Jesus answered, 'Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?' Pilate answered, 'Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?' Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.' Then Pilate said to him, 'So you are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.' (18:33-37)
Once again, we see that Pilate was looking at this whole issue from a human perspective. Indeed, this is reflected in the charge hung over Christ's cross, "King of the Jews." Christ statement that his Kingdom is NOT of this world suggest a great deal more than it simply being from heaven. Once again, it suggests that the Kingdom of God is the antithesis of human notions about government. Notice also, Christ said that he was born and came to this world "to bear witness to the truth," and that only those who listened to him were part of the truth. In short, once again, Christ is CENTRAL to the Kingdom of God!
Finally, before we leave Christ's take on the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, there are a number of other statements that he made which are pertinent to a comprehensive (but not exhaustive) treatment of this subject. For instance, Jesus once said that "if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Matthew 12:28) Reinforcing, again, that Christ viewed himself as being synonymous with God's Kingdom. Later, in the same Gospel account, Christ told his disciples that: "only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." (19:23-24) Again, refuting the human notion that wealth equals power. Next, let's take a close look at one of Armstrong's favorite passages about Christ preaching the Good News.
In the Gospel of Mark, we read: "Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.'" (1:14-15, NKJV) Now, we will ignore that some manuscripts leave out the word "kingdom" in describing the gospel (In other words, the "Gospel of God"). Notice, that Christ instructed his audience to "REPENT, AND BELIEVE." This, obviously, reinforces the notion that the Gospel was about much more than the establishment of a literal kingdom on this earth.
Also, in the same Gospel account, we read: "And he said to them, 'Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.' And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.' For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, 'This is my beloved Son; listen to him.' And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead." (Mark 9:1-9) Notice that, in this vision of God's Kingdom, Christ is pictured conversing with Moses and Elijah, NOT sitting on a throne; and God tells his disciples to listen to his beloved Son! A little later in the account, Christ said that folks must "receive the kingdom of God like a child," or they wouldn't be permitted to enter God's Kingdom (10:15)
Now that we have a fairly comprehensive treatment of Christ's teachings about the Kingdom of God, we turn our attention to the messaging of his apostles as they are recounted in the canon of the New Testament. In his sermon to the Pentecost gathering of Christ's disciples, Peter talked about Jesus (Acts 2:22-36). When he was finished, we are told that those who had been listening to him "were cut to the heart" and asked Peter and the other apostles what they should do (verse 37). Peter responded: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Verse 38) So, once again, we can see that the message was centered on Jesus Christ and his redemptive work. In other words, the message was focused on salvation through Jesus Christ!
Later, in the same book, we read that a small crowd "believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women." (8:12) Notice that the message of the Kingdom was linked with the name of Jesus Christ and resulted in the baptism of the folks who heard it. Later, when Paul went to Rome, we read that: "From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets." (28:23) Notice, once again, that the message about the Kingdom was inextricably linked to the person of Jesus (and that Paul used Torah and the Prophets to preach about him). Moreover, this is reiterated in the final two verses of the book. We read that Paul "lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance." (28:30-31)
Likewise, in his epistle to the saints at Rome, Paul wrote: "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ." (1:1-6) In verse nine of that same chapter, he referred to his message as the Gospel of God's Son. A little further down, we read: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith.'" (Verses 16-17) So, it is clear that Paul equated the Gospel with Jesus Christ and the salvation which he made available to humankind.
Later, in the same book, Paul wrote: "Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding." (14:13-19) This passage makes plain that salvation is the goal of the message which Christ preached, and it also destroys Herbert Armstrong's contention that Christians are bound to obey the dietary laws found in Torah.
In his first epistle to the saints at Corinth, Paul wrote: "Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1:17-18) He went on to say: "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." (Verses 22-24) Later, in the same epistle, Paul said that wicked people will not inherit God's Kingdom (6:9-10, and he told the Galatians the same thing, 5:21).
Paul also summarized his message in the fifteenth chapter of the epistle. He wrote: "Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (Verses 1-4) Clearly, Paul's Gospel message was focused on Jesus Christ, and what he had done for humanity. Finally, he wrote: " I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable...For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (Verses 50, 53) Somewhat reminiscent of what Christ told Nicodemus, isn't it?
In this context, even one of Armstrong's favorite prooftexts takes on a new and completely different meaning from the one assigned to it by Herbie and his allies. Paul wrote to the saints of Galatia: "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed." (1:6-9) And, what was that Gospel? Paul continued: "For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ... But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles." (Verses 11-12, 15-16) Once again, Paul's conception of what the Gospel of the Kingdom entailed was VERY different from the one espoused by Herbert Armstrong and his followers!
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