"Kingdom" is from the Greek word basileia. It means the "sovereignty, royal power, dominion of a king, AND the territory or people over whom a king rules." The Kingdom of Heaven is ruled by the King, Jesus Christ. His kingdom is not of this world--it is above and beyond the powers of this world. John 18:36 says, "Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is from another place.'" It is a spiritual kingdom. The Kingdom of Heaven is, first, in the heart of the individual believer, the one who acknowledges the kingship and rule of Christ. Second, then, the Kingdom of Heaven is the church that Jesus established--the coming together of those individual believers who acknowledge Jesus as King, who accept His rule and authority, and who are "called out" of the "kingdom of darkness"--the world ruled by Satan--and into the Kingdom of Light--the Kingdom of Heaven, Christ being the Light in which no darkness is found. Colossians 1:12-14 says, "giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." The Kingdom of Heaven is always the Kingdom of God. The King came to establish a Kingdom that would never end, and the King will present that Kingdom to God. 1 Corinthians 15:24 says, "Then the end will come, when He [Jesus] hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power."
(See also Christian, Church / Assembly, Disciple, Holy / Holiness.)
There are several Greek words for knowledge, but we will concentrate on the noun gnosis and the verb ginosko. The noun gnosis is primarily a seeking to know, an enquiry or an investigation. It denotes, in the New Testament, knowledge, especially of spiritual Truth, also called the Word of knowledge. Knowledge added to a Christian's character, (2 Peter 1:5), is fundamental to the Christian's growth. The adding of knowledge to faith and goodness MUST be fulfilled so that one is enabled to proceed to self-control. Self-control in our spiritual lives is a guidance of all that we are in Christ by the reins of the knowledge of the Will of God. Without the knowledge of the Truths in God's Word, we are like the horse that takes the bit between its teeth, refusing the control of the reins. We end up running wild because we are without guidance.
The verb ginosko signifies to be taking in--absorbing into oneself--knowledge; to come to know, recognize, understand, or to understand completely. It is never stagnant. This verb is in constant action--constantly taking in knowledge, constantly coming to know, constantly recognizing, constantly understanding. Therefore, adding knowledge to one's Christian character is not a one-time-and-it-is-done deed. It is a continual and life-long process. When one ceases the seeking to know, or stops taking in the knowledge of God, one ceases to grow and mature. This is done in individual study as well as the message received from "the pulpit." Those who are God's children can just wither away and die in their spiritual lives when they cease to crave the meat--the solid food--the knowledge--of God's Word, which is Christ, (John 1:1-4). Sitting in a pew and listening to the preacher, or studying individually, can become a useless endeavor when the knowledge one learns is not in constant use in the Christian life. Lack of knowledge of God's Word AND lack of USE of that knowledge of God's Word are both equally dangerous to the present and eternal welfare of the soul. Hebrews 5:12-14 says, "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary Truths of God's Word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
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