Dallas Willard, in The Divine Conspiracy, tells us, "The reality of God's rule, and all of the instrumentalitites it involves, is present in action and available with and through the person of Jesus. That is Jesus' gospel. ... New Testament passages make plain that this kingdom is not something to be 'accepted' now and enjoyed later, but something to be entered now (Matt 5:20; 18:3; John 3:3, 5). It is something that already has flesh-and-blood citizens (John 18:36; Phil 3:20) who have been transformed into it (Col. 1:13) and are fellow workers in it (Col. 4:11)." (pg 28)
The Kingdom of God is for the reality that we now live in. This is not about someday in the future or our existence in heaven, it is about the practical stuff for our lives now.
C.H. Dodd, in The Parables of the Kingdom, said, "In what sense, then, did Jesus declare that the Kingdom of God was present? Our answer must at least begin with His own answer to John: "The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the Gospel preached to them." In the ministry of Jesus Himself the divine power is released in effective conflict with evil."
The Kingdom of God has broken into our lives, whether or not we believe (Lk 10.9-11). And whether we agree or not, it looks the same as it always did, i.e., redeeming people from the effects of the fall.
Willard writes, "Right beside and among the kingdoms that are not God's stands His kingdom, always "at hand." Is is that of Jesus and his heavenly Father. It can be ours as well. The door is open, and life in that kingdom is real. Even now "the whole earth is not yet "filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." But that too one day "shall be" (He 2.14)."
God wants to reveal Himself. He does so through His Kingdom power which stands in stark contrast to other kingdoms. One day, His shall be the only one remaining.
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