Kingdom of Grace

“ That in prayer, as well as in the tenour of our lives, we must seek first the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof, by ascribing honour to his name, his holy name, and power to his government, both that of his providence in the world and that of his grace in the church. ”

“ The Church is constantly called the kingdom of God in the gospel, because in it God reigns in the faithful by faith and grace, and leads them to the heavenly kingdom, that He may reign in them by glory. ”

“ By this petition we pray, that His kingdom may be increased in this world by His grace, and in, the next by His glory. God reigns in the souls of His just, by His grace, according to the expression of the Saints in the Apocalypse, "Thou hast made us to our God a kingdom. ”

“ One thing is the institute which the king ordains through his nobles or officials, another is his own edict in his presence. The holy church is in this place called God's kingdom, that is, all christian people, who shall with force and violence earn the heavenly kingdom. {361}How can it be without violence and compulsion, that any one by chastity overcomes libidinous nature through God's grace? Or who shall still the frenzy of his mind with patience, without difficulty? or who shall exchange pride for true humility? ”

“ If we get a number of men of that kind to go, there is faith, union, power, light, truth, the revelations of Jesus Christ, and everything that is calculated to elevate, exalt, and ennoble the human mind and happify the Saints of God. These are my views in relation to the Kingdom of God. ”

“ Christians, if your Christ finds His glory here on earth in dying and sacrificing Himself for the Kingdom and then in eternity again in giving the Kingdom to God, shall not you and I come to God to do the same and count anything we have as loss, that the Kingdom of God may be made manifest, and that God may be glorified. ”

“ And I heard a loud Voice, saying in Heaven, Now is come Salvation and Strength, and the Kingdom of our God, & the Power of his Christ: All this is experienced within, when Men and Women are born again, then Truth reigns and rules in its own Kingdom, for the accuser of our Brethren is cast down ”

“ The other Evangelists have spoken to us of a kingdom of heaven, a kingdom the nature of which might be explained by parables of nature, the powers of which were manifested in acts of healing and blessing to men. It was a kingdom in the strictest sense, a kingdom set up on earth to rule over the earth. But it was not of this world. Its capacity of blessing men arose from its not being created by them, or dependent upon them. ”

“ Oh, how many Christians strive after this part and that part of the likeness of Christ, and forget the root of the whole! What is the root of all? That Christ gave Himself up utterly to God, and His Kingdom and glory. He gave His life, that God's Kingdom might be established. Do you the same to-day and give your life to God to be every moment a living sacrifice, and the Kingdom will come with power into your heart. Give yourself up to Christ. Let Christ the King reign in your heart, and the heavenly Kingdom will come there and the Presence and the Rule of God be known in power. ”

“ Believe this, and the kingdom of God is thine. By faith thou attainest the promise. "He pardoneth and absolveth all that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel." As soon as ever God hath spoken to thy heart, "Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee," his kingdom comes: Thou hast "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." ”

“ Unrestricted by these ties, it extends its kind wishes and benevolent regards to the limits of the habitable globe. Its sincere and devout prayer is:—"Thy Kingdom come: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Nor does it rest in kind feelings towards mankind. ”

“ Those who believe and obey the Gospel of the Son of God, and forsake all for its interests, belong to the kingdom of God, and all the rest belong to the other kingdom. There is a distinction, and the line must be drawn ”

“ Do you not think it would be a matter of great astonishment for Christ to say, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom to one who believes he has been in the kingdom as long as he has been in the Church”? ”

“ The coming forth of such a government, the founding of such a kingdom, is in harmony with all the hopes of all the saints, and the predictions of all the prophets who have touched upon the subject. It is the actual reign of Christ on earth with His Saints, in fulfillment of the hopes held out to them in every dispensation of the Gospel. It is to be the burden of the song of the redeemed out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, that Christ has made them unto their God kings and priests—"and we shall reign on the earth." ”

“ To the second he answers: ‘The Kingdom of God, we say, begins in men when they are regenerated; and we are said to be regenerated when, enlightened by faith in Christ, we yield entire obedience to God. ”

“ I wish the people not to lose sight of one thing: that every day's labor, every moment's toil, every prayer and exertion which they make points to the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. Let us seek daily to know that the kingdom of God is established among us, according to the pattern in the heavens. ”

“ It seemed that perhaps the Kingdom of God is nearer than we suppose, that it needs but the faith and courage of a few, and it may be that we may even live to see the dawning of his kingdom, even—who knows?—the sunrise. ”

“ And yet they wonder that the blessedness of the divine life disappears. We prove the value we attach to things by the time we devote to them. The Kingdom should be first every day, and all the day. Let the Kingdom be first every morning. Begin the day with God, and God Himself will maintain His Kingdom in your heart. ”

“ When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the Glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints, in glory everlasting.
O Lord, save thy people, and bless thine heritage.
Govern them, and lift them up for ever.
Day by day we magnify thee;
And we worship thy Name ever, world without end. ”

“ Having read the gospel of our Lord, who blessed and caressed those to whom he promised the kingdom of heaven, the last prayer of the church which throws a little earth upon the body that is to rise again, is that we, adult sinners, may one day rejoice with them in the same kingdom. ”

“ In short, God desires, and has put forth his hand, to exalt his people from their low degree, and to lift them up and make of them a peculiar people, a holy nation, a kingdom of Priests unto the Most High God and the Lamb. ”

“ God, as a king, has made laws for his church, provided for the peace and good order of it, judged for it, pleaded its cause, fought its battles, and protected it; it is his kingdom in the world, and ought to be subject to him, and to pay him tribute. ”

“ The Gospel of the Kingdom, not only as set forth here in these beautiful paragraphs, but in all its length and breadth and depth and height, in all its range and scope and application, is but an expansion of its very first proclamation: "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill to men." ”

“ Inasmuch as the divine power, from which is every power in Heaven and on earth, has committed to us, his anointed, the kingdom and the empire to be ruled over, and has ordained that the peace of the church shall be preserved by the arms of the empire,—not without extreme grief of heart are we compelled to complain to you, beloved, that, from the head of the holy church on which Christ impressed the character of his peace and love, causes of dissension, seeds of evil, the poison of a pestiferous disease seem to emanate. ”

“ I am inclined to believe that the battle cry of the Christian Church will soon be lost in the ever swelling tide of enthusiasm for the Kingdom of God. Christians will seek less to promote this or that denomination, and more and more to cause to come in power the Kingdom of Heaven. ”

“ They shall boast themselves in their glory. Whatever was the honour of the Gentiles converts before their conversion—their nobility, estates, learning, virtue, or places of trust and power—it shall all turn to the reputation of the church to which they have joined themselves; and whatever is their glory after their conversion—their holy zeal and strictness of conversation, their usefulness, their patient suffering, and all the displays of that blessed change which divine grace has made in them—shall be very much for the glory of God and therefore all good men shall glory in it. ”

“ Friends, pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified in heathen countries, even as it is in our own beloved land; and seek that ere long all the kingdoms of this world may become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. And may he in mercy grant that all of us may one day be amongst those who shall stand before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with the palms of victory in their hands. ”

“ If the distinction between the glory and the power of the kingdom of God and the false lustre of earthly power and worldly allurements is not sufficiently dwelt upon in our pulpits, none will regret it more than the earnest preachers in whom the modern Church of England abounds. ”

“ In the kingdom and government of God is every blessing that is enduring, and it will confer upon those who abide its laws all the peace, joy and happiness they can conceive of. Outside of it there is nothing worth having; all real true happiness, all that can serve our best interests comes within its purview. ”