Most believers today think that entering the kingdom of the heavens means to be saved, that is, to obtain eternal life. According to the Bible, however, this view is not accurate. We need to see the scriptural meaning of entering the kingdom of the heavens.
1. “Believes...has eternal life” (John 3:36; 5:24; see also 3:16; 6:47; 20:31); compare with “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens” (Matt. 5:20; see also 7:21; 18:3).
All the verses from the Gospel of John speak of eternal life being obtained through faith. Obtaining eternal life is totally a matter of faith alone. If one wants eternal life, he does not need to do anything but believe, because faith is the only requirement for obtaining eternal life. If a person believes, he obtains eternal life; if he does not believe, he will not obtain eternal life.
Entering the kingdom of the heavens, however, is different. The verses from the Gospel of Matthew speak of entering the kingdom of the heavens based on righteous acts, doing the will of God, and having a changed living. This shows that entering the kingdom of the heavens is a matter of works, righteousness, and a change in living. In order for a person to enter the kingdom of the heavens, his righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and the Pharisees; he must also do the will of God and have a changed living. It is not enough to merely believe but have no works.
The difference between obtaining eternal life and entering into the kingdom of the heavens can be seen from the different emphasis in John and Matthew. John speaks of believing in order to receive eternal life. Matthew speaks of having a surpassing righteousness in order to enter into the kingdom of the heavens. John says that we obtain eternal life by faith, and Matthew says that we must do God’s will to enter into the kingdom of the heavens. John says that he who believes has passed out of death into life, and Matthew says that we must turn and become as little children in order to enter into the kingdom of the heavens. John says that Jesus is the Son of God, the Lord of life, that life is in Him, and that He came that men may have life, which is received by faith. Thus, John repeatedly speaks of believing in order to obtain life. Matthew says that Jesus is the King of the kingdom of the heavens who came to the earth to establish a heavenly kingdom and who needs people to follow Him so that they may enter into the kingdom of the heavens. Matthew repeatedly speaks of following Him, of taking up the cross to follow Him, and of leaving everything to follow Him. John shows that we only need to receive the Lord of life by faith in order to obtain eternal life. Matthew shows that we must faithfully follow the King of the kingdom of the heavens in order to enter the kingdom of the heavens. Eternal life is obtained by receiving the Lord through faith; the kingdom of the heavens is entered into by faithfully following the Lord.
In order to obtain eternal life, we only need to believe, but in order to enter the kingdom of the heavens, we must have righteous acts and a changed living. Every time the Bible speaks of the matter of eternal life, it speaks of believing rather than doing, but whenever the Bible speaks of entering the kingdom of the heavens, it does not speak of faith. Rather, it speaks of righteousness, doing the will of God, or of something related to our living. Therefore, according to the Bible, we should realize that obtaining eternal life and entering the kingdom of the heavens are two different things.
2. “Children of God” (John 1:12); compare with “Reign” (2 Tim. 2:12).
John 1:12 speaks of being children in the household of God, whereas 2 Timothy 2:12 speaks of reigning in God’s kingdom. Being children is a matter of receiving eternal life; reigning as kings is a matter of entering the kingdom of the heavens. If we want to have eternal life and be children of God, we only need to receive the Lord by believing into Him. But to enter the kingdom of the heavens and be kings, we need to endure and overcome. Thus, these two verses in the Bible also prove that obtaining eternal life and entering the kingdom of the heavens are two different matters.