Mark 1:14 and 15 indicate that the kingdom of God is the gospel. In verse 14 the Lord Jesus preached the gospel of God. In verse 15 He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Repent and believe in the gospel!” Hence, the gospel the Lord preached is the kingdom of God that has drawn near, and the kingdom of God that is near is the gospel. Furthermore, to repent and believe in the gospel is actually to repent and believe in the kingdom of God. Therefore, it is correct to say that the kingdom of God is the gospel.
We have pointed out emphatically that, according to Mark, to preach the gospel is to sow the seed. Mark 1:15 says that the kingdom of God has drawn near. But how does the kingdom of God draw near? The kingdom of God draws near through sowing. Apart from the sowing, there is no drawing near of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God drew near by Jesus’ sowing, and His sowing was His preaching.
I doubt that many evangelists realize that their preaching of the gospel should be a sowing. To preach the gospel is to sow Jesus Christ as a seed into human hearts.
In Mark 1 we have preaching, and in Mark 4 we have sowing. The sowing in chapter four is equal to the preaching in chapter one. Sowing is preaching, and preaching is sowing. Furthermore, the kingdom of God in chapter four is equal to the gospel of God in chapter one. This means that to preach the gospel of God is to sow the seed of the kingdom of God.
The Lord Jesus not only preached the gospel by sowing, but He is also the seed sown. This means that He Himself is the seed of the kingdom. After this seed is sown into us, it develops into a kingdom. If we read the entire fourth chapter of Mark carefully, we shall see that the seed of the kingdom is Jesus and that the development of the seed in the aggregate of the believers is the kingdom. According to Paul’s Epistles, this aggregate is the church.
Paul’s word in Romans 14:17 indicates that the kingdom of God is the church: “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” If we read carefully chapters twelve through fourteen of the book of Romans, we shall see that the kingdom of God in these chapters is actually the church life. In chapter fourteen Paul speaks concerning the receiving of the saints, a matter related to the church life. This indicates that the church life today is the kingdom of God. This kingdom is the development in the believers of the Lord Jesus as the kingdom seed.
Because of the influence of culture and the religion of Judaism in that day, many people cared for religion, ethics, morality, and the improvement of character. Suddenly there appeared the One who came forth to sow Himself into God’s chosen people. As He was about to begin His ministry of sowing, the first thing the Lord Jesus did was to have Himself baptized. When He was baptized, the things of culture and religion were buried with Him. This means that the Lord Jesus terminated culture and religion. After He came out of the waters of baptism, He began to sow Himself into God’s people.
The Lord Jesus sowed Himself as the seed into the “soil” of God’s chosen people. The Lord’s intention was that He as the real wheat would grow in this soil. We may say that the things of culture and religion are “weeds” that are also growing in the soil. Have you ever thought of religion as a weed, as something that grows in competition with Christ as the wheat? Culture, religion, ethics, morality, philosophy, improvement of character—all these are weeds that are competing with the wheat.
Although we may have been Christians for years, we still may not be clear concerning our situation. We need to see that many things other than Christ as the wheat are still growing within us. All these things are weeds, replacements of Christ, and need to be uprooted. Included among these weeds are the ten matters mentioned in the foregoing messages: culture, religion, ethics, morality, human philosophy, improvement of character, and the effort to be spiritual, scriptural, holy, and victorious. These things should not be allowed to replace Christ; instead, they all should be replaced by Christ. As we have pointed out, Christ is the entire, universal replacement. Nevertheless, in our actual living these ten items may become a replacement of Christ within us.
In this message we have seen that the things of culture and religion were terminated when the Lord Jesus was baptized. We have also seen that in His ministry He sowed Himself into God’s people for the development of the kingdom of God. This kingdom fulfills God’s eternal purpose, which is to build up the church for the eternal expression of the Triune God. The kingdom of God is also for our enjoyment. Therefore, the kingdom of God fulfills God’s purpose and also satisfies us with the divine enjoyment. According to the Gospel of Mark, the Lord Jesus came to the center of the inhabited earth to sow Himself into God’s chosen people in order to develop into a kingdom for God’s purpose and our enjoyment.