Still endeavouring to keep in view the inward and essential nature of this kingdom, or reign of God among men, which Jesus came to introduce, we aie led oy the representations of the Gospels to foim such conceptions of it as the following. In what is said under these heads, the connexion of the kingdom with its Founder, and the teaching of Jesus on God, man, righteousness, salvation, will receive further illustration.
(a) The kingdom is in its beginnings, as just stated, the introduction of a new principle of divine rule into the hearts of men, through the word (Mt 13"), the truth (Jn IS^?), the Spirit (Jn 3'- "), in virtue of which, changed in disposition (Mt 18'), they become doers of the ^vill of the Father in heaven (Mt 7" etc.). It is therefore, in its principle, something inward, vital, invisible (Lk 17 "• ''). It is not the idea of Jesus, however, that this kingdom should be confined solely to the inward life. It is rather a principle working from within outwards for the renewal and transfor- mation of every department of our earthly existence (marriage, the family, the state, social life, etc., Mt 19'^, Jn 2'-", Mt 222i etc.). It is thus a growing, developing thing— as it is repre- sented in the parables (Mt 13). The kingdom is not fully come till everything in human life, and in the relations of man m society, is brought into complete harmony with the will of God (Mt 6'° ; cf. Neander, Life of Christ, p. 89, Eng. tr.). While, however, Jesus gives us many incidental indications of the true relation of His kingdom to society, it is the spiritual or directly religious and ethical aspect of the kingdom which alone is more pro- minent in His teaching. ' The whole weight is rested on the inward disposition, on the new relation to God, on the new life of the Spirit, on the new righteousness proceeding from that life, on the new hopes and privileges of the sons of God. Everything is looked at in the light of the spiritual, the eternal. We read nothing in Christ of the effects of His religion on art, on culture, on philosophy, on politics, on commerce, on education, on science, on literature, on economical or social reform ' (Christian View of God and the World, p. 406). So also with the apostles. Yet a regenerat- ing spirit has gone forth from the gospel of the kingdom in all these departments.
(6) On the other side, the kingdom of God ii viewed as a sjthere of privilege and blessing into which the disciple is admitted, in which he ruccivea the forgiveness of liis sins, attains the satisfaction of his spiritual wants, is filled with rii^hteousness, and inherits the felicity of the eternal life (Mt 5'"" 6» 19=» 25"- '«, Lk 4", Jn 6"- »»• •" 10-« etc.). It U the summum bonum for man — the good to be desired above all others, and for which everything else should be sacrificed (Mt 6'** 13'""''*, parables of Treasure and Pearl 19», Lk 10", Jn 17' etc.). Tho kingdom of God is thus emphatically with Jesus, as throughout the whole of Scripture, a kingdom of grace, the message of it ' good tidings ' (ISIt 4^, Lk 2"'' " 4''-). Its proclamation is a gospel, and it brings to man at once the fullest provision for his needs as a sinner, the highest satisfaction of his moral life, and the noblest end for his practical realization. God's royalty in His kingdom is shown not less by gift than by rule ; it is gracious, unstinted giving which is the foundation of the whole (Mt 7'-", Jn 5" 6'2» 10"- ^ etc. ). It is thus the sphere of ' salvation,' though this term [utarripla) is still seldom used (Lk 10^ Jn 4*^ ; cf. Lk l®*-'-, Mt 16=»- »» 19=», Lk 19'», Jn 3"-" 5" 12" etc.). The all-embracing expression for its good is 'eternal life'; yet in the Synoptics this term is always applied to the future consummation of that good {e.g. i\lk lO'"), whereas in Jn it is used also to denote the present possession of the life of God by believers (Jn 5"). Wendt justly points out, how- ever, that even in Jn this is done only in occasional passages {Die Lehre Jesu, ii. p. 193), and the Synoptics also recognize in fact the present re- ception and enjoyment by believers of those blessings of the kingdom which Jn designates by ' eternal life ' (Mt 5'-" etc.).
(c) The kingdom of God is inseparably associated with character in its members. The conditions of entrance into it are repentance and faith (iMk 1", Lk 7* 13'-° etc.); its blessings require for their reception such moral disposit;ions as poverty of spirit, humility, meekness, and lowliness of heart, spiritual hungering and thirsting (Mt 5'-' H'^- s* \&- S Jn 4" 65») ; as a kingdom of the truth, those only that are of the truth (Jn 18"), of an honest and good heart (Lk 8"), will receive it ; to know its doctrine, there must be a willingness to do the will of God (Jn 7") ; a desire for the honour of men is fatal to seeking the honour that comes from God (Jn 5"). These states of mind are not the product of nature, but the result of a new spiritual birth (Jn 3'- "). Within the kingdom, the rule of God takes the form of the realization of a new and spiritual righteous?iess in the hearts of the members, and in their relations with each other and with tlie world. This righteousness is of the essence of the kingdom (Mt 6^), and a great part of the teaching of Jesus relates to it (notably the Sermon on the Mount). It is at once part of the blessing of the kingdom (Mt 5*), and a moral task set before the members for their accomplishment (Mt 5'^"" 7^^). Its norm is the perfection of the Father Himself (Mt 5^)— the absolutely Good One (Mk 10'*). Like everything else in the kingdom, it is the product of a divinely given life, and develops from Avithin out- wards, from heart to conduct, as a good tiee brings forth fruit (Mt 7"). It differs from the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees in motive and in aim, — being spontaneous, where theirs was formal and mechanical ; spiritual, where theirs had regard only to the letter of the precept ; done with a sole respect to God, where theirs was man-pleasing (Mt 5"-6'*). Its supreme principle is love (Mt 7'^ Mk 12=8-«). In relation to God, it takes the form of a spirit of dependence, and trust in His fatherly providence, which relieves from