The Signs of the Kingdom
A Sermon on Luke 17:20-21
Originally preached May 12, 1963
Scripture
20¶ And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Sermon Description
From the time Jesus Christ went around Palestine preaching until the present century, there is a misunderstanding of the arrival the kingdom of God. There is a common fallacy shared by the Pharisees, Pilate, and the disciples long ago that also is shared today by the Roman Catholic church and liberal Protestant advocates of the social gospel. In this sermon on Luke 17:20–21 titled “The Signs of the Kingdom,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones states that they all believe the kingdom of God comes visibly and through social participation. In this passage, Jesus issues a strong warning to the contemporary church concerning the danger of believing the kingdom is brought about through legislation, social reform, or military conquest. Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that the forms of the kingdom of God are quite clear from Scripture. In the past, the kingdom of God came in the power and presence of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Presently, the kingdom of God is manifested in the body of Christ—the church—as He reigns in their hearts. In the future, the kingdom of God will be fully visible when Christ returns at His second advent. Listen to Dr. Lloyd-Jones’s teaching on the kingdom, avoid errors common to the modern church, embrace the truths given here, and learn how to belong to the realm in which Christ reigns.
Sermon Breakdown
- The kingdom of God is misunderstood. People expect it to come visibly and externally.
- The Pharisees and others expected the Messiah to come as a military and political leader to free Israel from Rome.
- Even John the Baptist, the disciples, and Jesus' own brothers misunderstood and expected a visible kingdom.
- The kingdom of God comes in three forms:
- In Jesus' presence and power during His earthly ministry. His miracles showed the kingdom of God had come.
- In the church, the body of believers who have submitted to Jesus as Lord.
- In the future, visible return of Christ to judge, purge evil, and set up an eternal kingdom.
- The kingdom of God comes within us and among us when we recognize Jesus as the Son of God and submit to His rule.
- We must accept Jesus' teaching and diagnosis of us as lost sinners in need of salvation.
- We must surrender to Jesus as the only way of salvation through faith in His atoning death.
- When Jesus is our everything, and we desire only Him, the kingdom of God is within us.
Sermons on the Kingdom of God
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.