The Kingdom of God is within you: Was Jesus a mystic?

Jesus once said "The Kingdom of God is within you." Or did He? This verse is often misinterpreted by gnostics and New Agers to promote mysticism. When we look at the context of this verse, we can see clearly that Jesus was not trying to teach mankind that God already dwelt within them:

http://reasonsforjesus.com/the-kingdom-of-god-is-within-you-was-jesus-a-mystic/

OLAADEGBU:


The Kingdom of God is within you: Was Jesus a mystic?

Jesus once said "The Kingdom of God is within you." Or did He? This verse is often misinterpreted by gnostics and New Agers to promote mysticism. When we look at the context of this verse, we can see clearly that Jesus was not trying to teach mankind that God already dwelt within them:

http://reasonsforjesus.com/the-kingdom-of-god-is-within-you-was-jesus-a-mystic/

The Kingdom of God is Within You: Was Jesus a Mystic?
By Steven Bancarz - June 3, 2016

In Luke 17:20-21, it reads "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: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you" (KJV).

This verse has become somewhat famous within the New Age movement and is often used to support the idea that we are intrinsically connected to God in a spiritual way, and all we have to do is tap into our inner selves where the Kingdom of God already dwells. It's something intrinsically within, not without.

But is this really what Jesus is trying to communicate here? That the Kingdom of God is a dormant state of being waiting to be realized by us through self-discovery? Was Jesus condoning pantheism here?

As it turns out, not only is this a false interpretation of this verse, but most English translations don't even say the Kingdom of God is within you. Let's look at a few major reasons why we know that Jesus as not meaning this in a mystical sense.

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OLAADEGBU:


The Kingdom of God is Within You: Was Jesus a Mystic?
By Steven Bancarz - June 3, 2016

In Luke 17:20-21, it reads "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: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you" (KJV).

This verse has become somewhat famous within the New Age movement and is often used to support the idea that we are intrinsically connected to God in a spiritual way, and all we have to do is tap into our inner selves where the Kingdom of God already dwells. It's something intrinsically within, not without.

But is this really what Jesus is trying to communicate here? That the Kingdom of God is a dormant state of being waiting to be realized by us through self-discovery? Was Jesus condoning pantheism here?

As it turns out, not only is this a false interpretation of this verse, but most English translations don't even say the Kingdom of God is within you. Let's look at a few major reasons why we know that Jesus as not meaning this in a mystical sense.

1. This is a false interpretation of this verse

This verse simply means that God's Kingdom on earth will not be seen as some physical buildings or a specific geographical location (at least not until after the second coming), it's established within the hearts and spirits of those who are born again in His Son.

When you actively believe on Jesus Christ, His Spirit bears itself inside you. So His Kingdom is here now in terms of Christians being the vessels for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which is how God's Kingdom is manifesting itself in the world right now. So God's Kingdom will be seen manifested on earth in the hearts of believers via the Holy Spirit.

There are many, many verses in the New Testament that deal with the indwelling of the Spirit of God within the born-again believer in Christ:

"IF THE SPIRIT OF HIM WHO RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD DWELLS IN YOU, HE WHO RAISED CHRIST JESUS FROM THE DEAD WILL ALSO GIVE LIFE TO YOUR MORTAL BODIES THROUGH HIS SPIRIT WHO DWELLS IN YOU." – ROMANS 8:11

2. Jesus called the Pharisees children of Satan, which means he never intended to say it was already within everyone

This verse cannot mean that God's Kingdom is something within everyone, because the people who Jesus said this to he specifically called the children of Satan. The Pharisees, whom he said this to, he also called blind guides (Matt 23:16), fools (Matt 23:17), full of dead man's bones, and all uncleaness (Matt 23:27), serpents, a generation of vibers (Matt 22:33), hypocrites (Luke 11:44).

He asked them how they could escape the damnation of Hell (Matt 22:33). He even says that their Father is the devil (John 8:44). So Jesus clearly is not saying the Kingdom of God is within the same people whom he called spiritually blind children of Satan who will be damned to Hell. He constantly rebuked the Pharisees, and they constantly tried to persecute, trap, and kill him.

Interpreting this verse to mean the Kingdom of God is already within each person wouldn't make sense because Jesus made it very clear that the Kingdom of God was not within the Pharisees, the ones whom he said this to.

3. The entire Bible is premised on the idea that the Kingdom of God is not already within us

The entire gospel story and the entire New Testament is premised on the idea that it's NOT within everybody. At least, not until we are saved through faith. That's one of the reasons Christ died, is so that we can be reconciled back to God from whom we are separated, through the atoning blood of Jesus which we have applied to us through faith (2 Cor 5:18).

Outside of faith in Christ the Bible says we are children of wrath (Eph 2:3), and enemies of God (Rom 5:10). This may be offensive to some people, but proper exegesis warrants us to also consider that it calls us children of the devil (1 John 3:10) who are alienated from God (Col 1:21) before we became saved through faith. Outside of salvation through faith in the work Jesus did on the cross, we are living under the spirit of antichrist (1 John 4:3, Eph 2:2).

And this is because we are in sin and have rejected God's offer of salvation. Not only is the Kingdom of God not within unbelievers, unbelievers are said to belong to the enemy of God. This is what an honest exegesis of scripture demands we believe about the human condition. The Bible does not say that the Kingdom of God is within everyone, it says the opposite and tells us that we are separated from God (Isaiah 59:2) until we believe on the Lord.

This may be a hard pill to swallow for some readers, but this is what the Bible has to say about the idea that God is something we all have dormant within us independent of faith in Jesus.

So Jesus is clearly not saying it's within everybody already if the New Testament and the entire Bible is premised on the idea that humankind is separated from God. Thankfully, we can easily be saved by grace through faith and trusting with our hearts on the death and Resurrection of the Lord. This is the good news, that we really can enter into Heaven, and Heaven into us.

Since Jesus was Son of Man, Son of God, He was infact Everything.

4. Jesus May Have Never Said This. There Are Better Translations

Since the New Testament was originally written in Greek, it is sometimes helpful to go back to the Greek as a reference to see what the verses mean in their original language. The word for "within" in Greek is "entos."

But entos doesn't just mean "within'" it can also mean "among," or "In the midst of." So while this verse can be translated to, "The Kingdom of God is within you," it can also also be translated to "The Kingdom of God is among you" or "The Kingdom of God is in the midst of you," which would, of course, be Jesus referring to Himself and the establishment of His Kingdom which starts with him and his ministry.

In fact, the majority of English translations don't even say "The Kingdom of God is within you." Here is a list of translations that don't say "within you:"

ESV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT, RSV, CEB, CJB, CEV, ERV, AMP, HCSB, ISV, LEB, DARBY, LEB, MSG, MOUNCE, NABRE, NET, NIRV, NRSVA, NRSVACE, NRSVCE, RSVCE, TLV, VOICE 27 total).

Some of these translations, such as the ESV and NASB, are arguably the very best translations we have today. So just as well as someone could say "Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within you," one could say that he didn't say that, and they'd be just as correct (if not, more correct) if we are going to go with what most Bibles and literary scholars say about this verse.

So right off the bat, the mystic has to cherry-pick from the minority of Bible translations to interpret this verse in a way that happens to contradict the rest of the New Testament.

[Come!be his friend

  What to know before you can be his friend

1.Where his from

2.His worth

3.What he want from you

4.Your reward

     Then who is Jesus (luke3vs22)

And the holy ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him and a voice came from heaven, which said, thou art my beloved son,in thee I am well pleased. Confirmation from his Father to us on earth

    His worth(John 1vs3)

All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. He is our lord and master from the beginning of the world.

Matthew 28vs18 And Jesus came and spake unto them,saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth https://word2dworld..com/2019/06/comebe-his-friend.html

OLAADEGBU:
The Kingdom of God is within you: Was Jesus a mystic?

Jesus once said "The Kingdom of God is within you." Or did He? This verse is often misinterpreted by gnostics and New Agers to promote mysticism. When we look at the context of this verse, we can see clearly that Jesus was not trying to teach mankind that God already dwelt within them:

http://reasonsforjesus.com/the-kingdom-of-god-is-within-you-was-jesus-a-mystic/

The kingdom of God is different from the kingdom of heaven.

OLAADEGBU:


1. This is a false interpretation of this verse

This verse simply means that God's Kingdom on earth will not be seen as some physical buildings or a specific geographical location (at least not until after the second coming), it's established within the hearts and spirits of those who are born again in His Son.

When you actively believe on Jesus Christ, His Spirit bears itself inside you. So His Kingdom is here now in terms of Christians being the vessels for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which is how God's Kingdom is manifesting itself in the world right now. So God's Kingdom will be seen manifested on earth in the hearts of believers via the Holy Spirit.

There are many, many verses in the New Testament that deal with the indwelling of the Spirit of God within the born-again believer in Christ:

"IF THE SPIRIT OF HIM WHO RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD DWELLS IN YOU, HE WHO RAISED CHRIST JESUS FROM THE DEAD WILL ALSO GIVE LIFE TO YOUR MORTAL BODIES THROUGH HIS SPIRIT WHO DWELLS IN YOU." – ROMANS 8:11

This all just does really mean, The Kingdom of God is Within you from where it would enable you to produce abundant fruit. It's as true if its within an individual as it is true if it is amongst a group of people.

As for ops claim about Bible verses. Here's just a few making the obvious claim.

soulpeppersoup:


The kingdom of God is different from the kingdom of heaven.

No. They are one and the same.

budaatum:


This all just does really mean, The Kingdom of God is Within you from where it would enable you to produce abundant fruit. It's as true if its within an individual as it is true if it is amongst a group of people.

As for ops claim about Bible verses. Here's just a few making the obvious claim.

See point 4 above for the answers. Thanks for posting the Bible verses.

OLAADEGBU:

But entos doesn't just mean "within'" it can also mean "among," or "In the midst of." So while this verse can be translated to, "The Kingdom of God is within you," it can also also be translated to "The Kingdom of God is among you" or "The Kingdom of God is in the midst of you," which would, of course, be Jesus referring to Himself and the establishment of His Kingdom which starts with him and his ministry.

So right off the bat, the mystic has to cherry-pick from the minority of Bible to translations to interpret this verse in a way that happens to contradict the rest of the New Testament.

It is not the mystic that "cherry-picks off the bat". Only idiots "cherry-pick of the bat". The idiot refuses to accept the cherry-picking already done by the confused Greeks and insists that entos must mean this or that. The idiot malnourishes the Word of God by going for the spirit or its letter.

The intelligent person on the other hand ponders on the Word of God and allows it, nay, forces it to flourish in its totality in letter and in spirit and according to the confused Greeks who in their wisdom limited it not to this or that and with the power of the Comforter in the intelligent person is an understanding that Jesus entos!

It is good it be within and amongst and in our midst.

budaatum:


It is not the mystic that "cherry-picks off the bat". Only idiots "cherry-pick of the bat". The idiot refuses to accept the cherry-picking already done by the confused Greeks and insists that entos must mean this or that. The idiot malnourishes the Word of God by going for the spirit or its letter.

The intelligent person on the other hand ponders on the Word of God and allows it, nay, forces it to flourish in its totality in letter and in spirit and according to the confused Greeks who in their wisdom limited it not to this or that and with the power of the Comforter in the intelligent person is an understanding that Jesus entos!

It is good it be within and amongst and in our midst.

This is where you New Agers and some unfortunate Christians miss the point. The kingdom of God cannot be within (inside) children of satan. You will have to repent and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour and Lord before the kingdom of God can come inside of you.

OLAADEGBU:


This is where you New Agers and some unfortunate Christians miss the point. The kingdom of God cannot be within (inside) children of satan. You will have to repent and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour and Lord before the kingdom of God can come inside of you.

Nobody said "the Kingdom of God is within satan", stop with the making things up please.

The "children of satan" are not seeking the Kingdom of God so how will the Kingdom of God be inside amongst or within them?

budaatum:


Nobody said "the Kingdom of God is within satan", stop with the making things up please.

The "children of satan" are not seeking the Kingdom of God so how will the Kingdom of God be inside amongst or within them?

Please refer to point 2 of the OP for clarification.

The Pharisees whom he called blind guides (Matt 23:16), fools (Matt 23:17), full of dead man's bones, and all uncleaness (Matt 23:27), serpents, a generation of vibers (Matt 22:33), hypocrites (Luke 11:44)" and who He asked "how they could escape the damnation of Hell (Matt 22:33) and said that their Father is the devil (John 8:44) are the ones Jesus clearly is saying the Kingdom of God is not within because these same people are the "spiritually blind children of Satan who will be damned to Hell". These are not the followers of Christ for they do not his will.

The followers of Christ are those who do the will of Christ because the Kingdom of God is within them.

OLAADEGBU:


2. Jesus called the Pharisees children of Satan, which means he never intended to say it was already within everyone

This verse cannot mean that God's Kingdom is something within everyone, because the people who Jesus said this to he specifically called the children of Satan. The Pharisees, whom he said this to, he also called blind guides (Matt 23:16), fools (Matt 23:17), full of dead man's bones, and all uncleaness (Matt 23:27), serpents, a generation of vibers (Matt 22:33), hypocrites (Luke 11:44).

He asked them how they could escape the damnation of Hell (Matt 22:33). He even says that their Father is the devil (John 8:44). So Jesus clearly is not saying the Kingdom of God is within the same people whom he called spiritually blind children of Satan who will be damned to Hell. He constantly rebuked the Pharisees, and they constantly tried to persecute, trap, and kill him.

Interpreting this verse to mean the Kingdom of God is already within each person wouldn't make sense because Jesus made it very clear that the Kingdom of God was not within the Pharisees, the ones whom he said this to.

budaatum:


The Pharisees whom he called blind guides (Matt 23:16), fools (Matt 23:17), full of dead man's bones, and all uncleaness (Matt 23:27), serpents, a generation of vibers (Matt 22:33), hypocrites (Luke 11:44)" and who He asked "how they could escape the damnation of Hell (Matt 22:33) and said that their Father is the devil (John 8:44) are the ones Jesus clearly is saying the Kingdom of God is not within because these same people are the "spiritually blind children of Satan who will be damned to Hell". These are not the followers of Christ for they do not his will.

The followers of Christ are those who do the will of Christ because the Kingdom of God is within them.

Read the second post to the OP for better understanding. Here is an excerpt:

In Luke 17:20-21, it reads "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: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you" (KJV).

The bolded there infers that Jesus directed His answer to the Pharisees who asked Him in the first place. Jesus couldn't have meant that those children of satan had the Kingdom of God within (inside) them as New Agers and Gnostics would want to believe. Jesus Christ Himself was the Kingdom of God standing in their midst, if they received the doctrines of Christ they received the Kingdom of God within (inside them) but since they didn't they had no part of the Kingdom of heaven.

"But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name" (John 1:12).

OLAADEGBU:

Jesus couldn't have meant that those children of satan had the Kingdom of God within (inside) them as New Agers and Gnostics would want to believe.

I repeat, the Kingdom of God is not inside the children of satan because the children of satan have not sought the Kingdom of God and only idiots and fools and those who chose to believe otherwise.

OLAADEGBU:


4. Jesus May Have Never Said This. There Are Better Translations

Since the New Testament was originally written in Greek, it is sometimes helpful to go back to the Greek as a reference to see what the verses mean in their original language. The word for "within" in Greek is "entos."

But entos doesn't just mean "within'" it can also mean "among," or "In the midst of." So while this verse can be translated to, "The Kingdom of God is within you," it can also also be translated to "The Kingdom of God is among you" or "The Kingdom of God is in the midst of you," which would, of course, be Jesus referring to Himself and the establishment of His Kingdom which starts with him and his ministry.

In fact, the majority of English translations don't even say "The Kingdom of God is within you." Here is a list of translations that don't say "within you:"

ESV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT, RSV, CEB, CJB, CEV, ERV, AMP, HCSB, ISV, LEB, DARBY, LEB, MSG, MOUNCE, NABRE, NET, NIRV, NRSVA, NRSVACE, NRSVCE, RSVCE, TLV, VOICE 27 total).

Some of these translations, such as the ESV and NASB, are arguably the very best translations we have today. So just as well as someone could say "Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within you," one could say that he didn't say that, and they'd be just as correct (if not, more correct) if we are going to go with what most Bibles and literary scholars say about this verse.

So right off the bat, the mystic has to cherry-pick from the minority of Bible translations to interpret this verse in a way that happens to contradict the rest of the New Testament.

Video
We could look at another 3 major points, ranging from warnings against different Gospels by the apostles themselves, and the obvious fact that Jesus was a Jewish monotheist who claimed to be sent by Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament. But I think these reasons are enough to help provide a more clear understanding of what Jesus really meant.

Here is a more robust study on this verse and the reason why this is not a reference to mysticism or pantheism:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9FoEXbqHOk

So while it may seem appealing or attractive to interpret Jesus in a mystical sense, the truth is that Jesus was a Jew who claimed His Father was the God of the Old Testament, and everything He taught, said, and did is opposed to mysticism.

As a matter of just basic history and proper exegesis of these ancient texts, it is far from justified to claim that Jesus intended to say that God was already inside us waiting to be known. God is certainly waiting to be known by us, but like Jesus says, nobody comes to the Father unless it is through believing on Him.

OLAADEGBU:
The Kingdom of God is within you: Was Jesus a mystic?

Jesus once said "The Kingdom of God is within you." Or did He? This verse is often misinterpreted by gnostics and New Agers to promote mysticism. When we look at the context of this verse, we can see clearly that Jesus was not trying to teach mankind that God already dwelt within them:

http://reasonsforjesus.com/the-kingdom-of-god-is-within-you-was-jesus-a-mystic/

lllll

OnPointMan:


Why did you post the picture of Saturn while talking about Jesus?

How do you know what 'Saturn' looks like?

OLAADEGBU:


How do you know what 'Saturn' looks like?

Hmmm. Many christians have been deceived. Do your findings. This picture is brought out by the occult.

OnPointMan:


Hmmm. Many christians have been deceived. Do your findings. This picture is brought out by the occult.

Forget about the picture, no one knows what Jesus looked like during his earthly ministry. Address the points the OP made if you have any contributions.