Luke 17:20-21 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God comes not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
The Kingdom is within you. The statement Jesus is making, helps us understand that we are not to focus on something external but something that will influence us from the inside. The Kingdom is not a location but the acceptance of and obedience to God. It is His Lordship and rule coming to direct and guide us in a whole new way of living.
From the very beginning man was tempted to do his own thing. Think about what the enemy tells Adam and Eve in the garden. “God knows that you will be like Him knowing good and evil.” The enemy made it sound like God was holding something from them, that God was not honest in his request for them not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Remember that satan’s fall was because he wanted to do his own thing. Autonomy from God should not be a problem right? He decided by himself what was good and what was evil. He wanted autonomy from God and be a god. That is the very same thing satan offers to man, be autonomous, and decide for yourself about what is good and what is evil. Adam and Eve’s sin was also wanting control over a part of their lives without God’s guidance and support. They rejected God’s guidance and accepted the enemy’s guidance when they partook of the fruit.
God told them not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Did God not want them to know the difference? The word “knowledge” in the original language comes from the root word “Yada” in Hebrew and has a few meanings. In general, it means to know something but it also means the ability and right to decide or determine. By sinning man denied God the right to be the one determining between good and evil. God knows all things so he retains the right to decide what is good and what is evil.
The creator of a product decides what is good and what is bad for a product. The manufacturer of your phone will tell you not to drop it in the water. That would ruin your phone. If you decide that you want to see for yourself and drop your phone in the swimming pool, you will find out that the creator or manufacturer of that phone knew what he was talking about. God knew what he was talking about.
Why would God not give man the right to decide or determine? Man does not know everything. Man does not see everything. Man is not God. Man has limits and man can fail. With limited information, limited power, and limited ability, how can you trust a man to decide what is right? So God retains the right to say what is right and wrong. God knows what our decisions will produce, life or death.
Satan gives you a choice between good and evil, God gives man a different choice. You can choose between life and death.
The option God gave them was to rather eat from the Tree of Life. In scripture we see God giving man the same option over and over again. When Israel left Egypt and before they entered the Promised Land, God gave them the blessings and the curses. He tells them how He will bless them if they obey His commandments but He also tells them what will happen if they disobey and the curses that will follow. Then He commands them with these words:
Deut 30:19 I call on heaven and earth as witnesses today that I have offered you life or death, blessings or curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants will live.
The Kingdom is in you. It is closer than you think. Jesus said the Kingdom is at hand. Don’t live like God is a million miles away. He is as close as the breath in your lungs. The kingdom took up residency and we have become His property. The kingdom produces life.
