Whatever else the Kingdom of God is, it cannot be equal to salvation. The New Testament lists no less than 7 conditions necessary for a person to enter the Kingdom of God. Now one does not have to accomplish all seven, but the fact that one must meet more than one condition makes it impossible to associate the entrance into the kingdom of God with receiving salvation by faith. What are these conditions, and what is the significance of these conditions for New Testament believers? That is the subject of our study today.
Disciples Disciple (Reproduce)
"How to Enter the Sovereign Administration of God"
Multiple Conditionalities to Enter the Kingdom of God:
1. Suffer to Enter it - Acts 14:21-22
2. Lose it - Matthew 21:43
3. Difficult/Rich - Mark 10:23
4. Inherit it - I Corinthians 6:9
5. Worthy to Enter it - 2 Thes 1:5
6. Born of Water/Spirit - John 3:5
7. Must Seek it - Matthew 6:33
To Receive the Righteousness of God – Faith
The Kingdom of God is not Equal to Salvation
One Can: 1. Enter; 2. Receive; 3. See; 4. Cast Out
“It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the sovereign administration of God.” Acts 14:22b
εἰσελθεῖν εἰς – enter in
A. move into
B. happen
C. begin
D. begin to experience
εἰσέρχομαι: to begin to experience an event or state—‘to begin to experience, to come into an experience, to attain.’
[Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 806–807.]
Joel Marcus, Entering into the Kingly Power of God, JBL 107/4 (1988) 663-675
The plausibility of this interpretation of “entering the basileia” is increased when we observe that “to enter into an action” corresponds not only to modern English idiom but also to ancient Semitic and NT usage.