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The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom of God and the Church
Fewer works on the kingdom of God have been so helpful and yet so overlooked. Originally published in 1903, this work by Geerhardus Vos (1862-1949), Professor of Biblical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, surveys the teaching of Jesus concerning the kingdom of God. It covers the kingdom in the Old Testament, the meaning of the biblical words for kingdom and kingship, the present and future aspects of the kingdom, the essence of the kingdom, the relationship between the kingdom and the church, and finally the saving benefits of entering the kingdom. Throughout, Vos confronts certain conceptions of the kingdom that had arisen at the end of the nineteenth century, about which he was concerned. This work has been cited little in academic literature on the kingdom of God, which is unfortunate. Vos exposited an inaugurated kingdom with a future consummation long before G. E. Ladd popularized it. This new introduction by Danny E. Olinger, editor of A Geerhardus Vos Biblical and Theological Insights Alphabetically Arranged (P&R, 2015), provides critical historical background for understanding Vos as a person and as a scholar. Olinger explains the academic debate about the nature of the kingdom that lies behind Vos's polemical work and also surveys the academic reactions to Vos's ideas. For a proper understanding of Vos's theology of the kingdom of God, this reprinted work with a new introduction by Danny Olinger is indispensable.
96 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1903
49 people are currently reading
258 people want to read
About the author
Geerhardus Vos
101 books84 followersGeerhardus Johannes Vos was an American Calvinist theologian and one of the most distinguished representatives of the Princeton Theology. He is sometimes called the father of Reformed Biblical Theology.
Vos was born to a Dutch Reformed pastor in Heerenveen in Friesland in the Netherlands. In 1881, when Geerhardus was 19 years old, his father accepted a call to be the pastor of the Christian Reformed Church congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Geerhardus Vos began his education at the Christian Reformed Church's Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, before moving to Princeton Theological Seminary. He completed his studies in Germany, receiving his doctorate in Arabic Studies from the Philosophy Faculty of Strassburg University in 1888.
Herman Bavinck and Abraham Kuyper tried to convince Vos to become professor of Old Testament Theology at the Free University in Amsterdam, but Vos chose to return to America. Thus, in the Fall of 1888, Vos took up a position on the Calvin Theological Seminary faculty. In 1892, Vos moved and joined the faculty of the Princeton Theological Seminary, where he became its first Professor of Biblical Theology.
In 1894 he was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in the USA.
At Princeton, he taught alongside J. Gresham Machen and Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield and authored his most famous works, including: Pauline Eschatology (1930) and Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments (1948). Despite his opposition to the growing modernist influence at Princeton in the late 1920s, he decided to remain at Princeton Seminary after the formation of Westminster Theological Seminary by Machen, as he was close to retirement. Vos did indeed retire to California in 1932, three years after the formation of Westminster.
Vos's wife, Catherine, authored the well-known Child's Story Bible. She died in 1937, after 43 years of marriage. They had three sons and one daughter, and their son J. G. Vos studied at Princeton Theological Seminary and also became a minister.
Vos was born to a Dutch Reformed pastor in Heerenveen in Friesland in the Netherlands. In 1881, when Geerhardus was 19 years old, his father accepted a call to be the pastor of the Christian Reformed Church congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Geerhardus Vos began his education at the Christian Reformed Church's Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, before moving to Princeton Theological Seminary. He completed his studies in Germany, receiving his doctorate in Arabic Studies from the Philosophy Faculty of Strassburg University in 1888.
Herman Bavinck and Abraham Kuyper tried to convince Vos to become professor of Old Testament Theology at the Free University in Amsterdam, but Vos chose to return to America. Thus, in the Fall of 1888, Vos took up a position on the Calvin Theological Seminary faculty. In 1892, Vos moved and joined the faculty of the Princeton Theological Seminary, where he became its first Professor of Biblical Theology.
In 1894 he was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in the USA.
At Princeton, he taught alongside J. Gresham Machen and Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield and authored his most famous works, including: Pauline Eschatology (1930) and Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments (1948). Despite his opposition to the growing modernist influence at Princeton in the late 1920s, he decided to remain at Princeton Seminary after the formation of Westminster Theological Seminary by Machen, as he was close to retirement. Vos did indeed retire to California in 1932, three years after the formation of Westminster.
Vos's wife, Catherine, authored the well-known Child's Story Bible. She died in 1937, after 43 years of marriage. They had three sons and one daughter, and their son J. G. Vos studied at Princeton Theological Seminary and also became a minister.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
July 20, 2022
A masterful, and in many ways timeless, treatment of the biblical doctrine of the Kingdom of God as it finds expression in the Gospels. Vos shows the organic relation between the Old Testament and Christ’s teaching on the Kingdom, the essential nature of the Kingdom as having God’s glory and supremacy at its core, the three key aspects of the Kingdom (divine power, righteousness, and blessedness), the inaugurated eschatology of the Kingdom (in a brief treatment, expounded more in other works), and the objective and subjective facts of the Kingdom’s expression. This is what great turn of the century biblical theology looks like.
June 9, 2022
Brief, but there is many insightful thoughts.
March 10, 2025
The New Covenant is the Kingdom of God. The Church is the imperfect visible expression of the perfect invisible Kingdom Christ has established.it is both here now, but not yet fully. Christ will complete His Kingdom upon his return.
It was a great read. Incredible. Scripturally grounded. There was a little "sphere sovereignty" toward the end, I feel like this understanding of the Kingdom makes "two-kingdom-theology" obvious, but these things have been worked out progressively in the the history of the Church since. Incredible edifying.
It was a great read. Incredible. Scripturally grounded. There was a little "sphere sovereignty" toward the end, I feel like this understanding of the Kingdom makes "two-kingdom-theology" obvious, but these things have been worked out progressively in the the history of the Church since. Incredible edifying.
August 27, 2022
This was a really good & edifying little book. My only quibble with it is that it is not what I expected it to be, given the title. I thought that the main focus of the book as a whole was going to be that of explaining in detail the relationship between the Kingdom of God and the church. In fact, there was really only one brief chapter in the book that dealt directly with that question. Nevertheless, this is a really good book, and well worth reading.
November 20, 2024
big vos fan. great, balanced exegesis was the highlight and through line of the book.
February 9, 2023
Vos is a writer that takes a pencil to read; that is, his thought is intricate and each thought follows hard upon the other. Lest you be swept away, it's best to bring a pen. This book felt hard less for Vos being a foreigner writing in English, but more because he's dealing with foundational, difficult subjects with intricate arguments. I know I wouldn't be able to do better.
Fuller review below:
Vos is truly a master, but either I’m too dumb to get him the first time, or he’s a very complex writer. Probably a bit of both.
At the end of each chapter, I was incredibly encouraged; I wrote down extensive notes in the book as I read it, but I don’t think I could remember one chapter after I read the next chapter. This was certainly my own problem, but it does illustrate how difficult it is to catch where Vos is coming from on the whole. So miniscule is his exegesis sometimes – wanting to be entirely Biblical in his viewpoint – that following his overall argument can be difficult.
But, for the one who starts reading Vos, here's some help. Vos is establishing the church as a current Spiritual (Holy Spirit characterized, mainly internal) kingdom of Christ with a gradual growth toward the destruction of Sin and Satan, and the consummation (full revealing and completion) of the kingdom in full blessing, righteousness and power at his second coming. He is careful to prove this from Christ's words alone.
Chapters 1-4 establish his argument for Jesus's conception of the kingdom of God, which is a current Spirit kingdom of higher order than the Old Testament with a final consummate order at his second coming. This is the only legitimate view of the Old Testament of the kingdom and of Jesus himself. chapters 5-8 deal with misconceptions and with the kingdom, and equally important and "interpenetrating" (I hate that word) aspects of the kingdom that Jesus focuses on. 9-11 distinguishes the church and the kingdom, applying what has been learned to the church of today and a recap of the whole. In that recap, Vos says his book has established 7 things (my words):
1) The Messiah in the Old Testament is the Historical Jesus Christ
2) The Kingdom consists of actual, historical - though Holy Spirit powered - events, people, and relations until the end.
3) The Kingdom is principally for God's sake and glory alone.
4) The Kingdom is a kingdom of refugees (that is, salvation from self, Satan, and the world) coming from all the world by God's power alone.
5) The Kingdom, although invisible (veiled), is more real than the current objects of our eyes. It is Spiritual, and therefore absolutely ethical, and - in this world - requires repentence.
6) The Kingdom depends utterly upon Christ; on Jesus and his work.
7) As dependents, we are absolutely subordinate to Christ our king, our absolute sovereign. We look away from self to Him alone for blessing, life, and everything.
A summary I made of the first 4 chapters...
1. In the Intro
Vos starts to circumscribe his discourse. The Kingdom is such a vast topic in Jesus’s teachings, and in the debates of his and our age, that he has to be very specific in what he’s dealing with. In accordance with what Jesus says, the kingdom is really not his central topic, but “the kingdom of GOD.” That is, Theology is the main topic of Jesus, as a corrective to “Basileiology” (kingdom study) in the Jews of his time, who had become far too earthly, or - even more accurate to today’s terms – political in their thinking of what God can do and will do. The kingdom, however, organizes Jesus’s thought when thinking about the church (the second half of Vos’s examination here). Jesus’s presentation of the kingdom, then, is really his correction of the Jews to look to the Lord and not to themselves and their earthly good, and to rejoice that the Kingdom has come.
Vos introduces here something central to his thought – the already/not yet structure and nature to the Kingdom which Christ presented. Which he will consider more in detail later. But next he turns to the Kingdom in the Old Testament, as Vos proves his assertion that Jesus was correcting the Jewish conception of his day.
2. The Kingdom and the Old Testament
Jesus was not forming a new religion, no, he was simply stating that what the Old Testament form of religion was really just preparing for his entry, which realizes the hopes of those past people.
That is not to say that the Old Testament people were not a kingdom – no, in fact they were the kingdom of God ever since they were constituted a kingdom by God in Exodus 19. No, Israel was a true kingdom, God himself was king of this Old Testament kingdom. God alone made the Covenant and made their laws, even judging the earthly kings – like David - for their disobedience. Effectively, the human kings were “vicegerents” of their divine king, Yahweh. These kings were not sovereign kings as other kings of that time were, who made kings despots both of politics and religion; Israelite kings and priests were entirely separate, yet all underneath God’s kingship. As Vos succinctly says, “Whilst elsewhere religion was a function of the state, here the state became a function of religion.” (14)
All this being true, Jesus’s arrival is so cosmically shifting, that even John the Baptist was not said to be in the kingdom, because he was part of this prior system of God’s government. “[that past government] of God on earth seemed by comparison unworthy of the name.” (17) There was a kingdom of a kind already, but a kingdom was anticipated and yet to come. For Jesus, and even for the Jews of that kingdom, there was such an anticipation of a new kingdom that rendered the old kingdom of almost no account. The horrific exile, the backwater that Israel had become, and the messianic prophecies and promises naturally and rightly create this kind of anticipation. The true kingdom of the messiah was to come. So the Jews believed correctly and Jesus approves of this.
However, Jesus came to correct the national, temporal, man-centered hopes of his contemporaries who desired a merely human king and kingdom. They had become not centered on God, but on politics. They had not been centered upon true salvation, which only the Messiah king could bring, but upon salvation from merely earthly oppressors (sounds familiar). Yes, this would be a kingdom OF GOD, and not political, but a kingdom OF HEAVEN.
Having established his case that Jesus was legitimately novel in his presentation of the kingdom as compared to his Jewish contemporaries, and utterly consonant with the Old Testament on this topic, Vos now speaks in chapter 3 about kingship and these two terms he uses to describe God’s kingdom which are so consistent with the Old Testament.
3. Kingdom and Kingship. The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven.
The kingdom, broadly considered, is the supremacy of God in his rule and reign over all creation. It ought not to be considered as a geographic, political land-mass, but was considered as a rule – the area that the LORD reigned over being infinite. For the Old Testament, the universal supremacy of God was never in doubt when he was called “king,” the recognition of that power for the whole world (which was to be shown in a future order) was simply lacking currently until it was revealed. God is king. Period. God is sovereign. Period. God is king by right, even when it does not appear so or he does not enforce his rule in the order which is to come in the future. This future order was to be especially enforced for salvific means, just as the judges and kings who were worthy of the name over and over practiced this salvific function in the Old Covenant kingdom.
“The kingdom of heaven” was used in Matthew because this protects against God being known as a creaturely, earthly king in the sense of the nations. No, his throne is in heaven and he laughs at the kings of men and holds them in derision, so high is he above them. This is the creator-creature distinction: and with this distinction we ought always to remember that although God is infinitely above us – his kingdom is the kingdom of heaven - he has chosen to Covenant with us. That we are part of such a newly mysterious kingdom, unlike the theocratic kingdom of Israel in the past, was also part of the use of the term. Humans can be part of the kingdom of heaven! And what is heaven, but to be with the Lord, and in the closest communion possible to humans; so that heaven is a sign also of seeing God as he is in the greatest revelation of him possible.
4. The Present and the Future Kingdom
This brings Vos to cosmology – the study of how the realm of God is both set up, and how and when it will come.
First, Vos asks, “when did the new order of the kingdom begin?” The first possible answer that he gives is (#1) the new order began at the start of Jesus’s public ministry, with a – and this is key - gradual process of realization for ages thereafter of the kingdom until the consummation (the finalization) of the kingdom at the end of the world. This has been attacked by a second view, which states that (#2) Jesus was mistaken that the kingdom would come suddenly in his own day, and the kingdom begins only at the end of the world.
The point in dispute is not that the kingdom arrives, or that it arrives fully at the end of the world, but whether or not Jesus believed the kingdom came with the Spiritual, with a gradual process until the full arrival.
The second argument would have grave consequences (#2) for Jesus and his ministry. First, because he would have been a liar or mistaken (#2); Second, because if the kingdom is merely a future state, then his preaching to be righteous, to communion with God, and to repent now were only means to an end (the kingdom), and not the essence of the kingdom itself. Third, his arguing for present righteousness would be considered in (#2) only in the face of cataclysmic events, and not as that which is right and wrong. Forth, this presents Jesus as a merely passionate, excitable fellow who has no real substance.
We must, then discuss the kingdom in it’s Spiritual, gradual aspects, which is the point in question:
An accepted understanding of Old Testament prophecy is it’s “telescopic” vision; not only that it sees far off events, but – like a telescope – several events that are actually far from one another and separate, look to be quite close. Now, Jesus was not deceived by appearances, nor defined by his peers, though it is important to note that there were Jews who expected an earthly, then heavenly reign and consummation (thereby proving spiritual, gradual interpretations cannot be merely a modern imposition on the kingdom).
Still, Jesus differed greatly from his peers, in that the “preliminary” kingdom was not simply a humanly willed membership vow into a thing already existing; no, Jesus knew God in the Messiah must start this kingdom and he must act before anyone could be received into it. But he agreed with all of Scripture that the kingdom began with the arrival of the Messiah.
So, are we – 2000 years after – reading in this type of spiritual kingdom when Jesus meant a merely earthly kingdom? No, we are not. Nor were his later scriptural “copyists” adding to Scripture to make it so. Places like Matthew 11:11, 13:41 and 16:19 make it clear he believed the kingdom of God to be initiated, but not complete, therefore, there was also a future, gradual element.
But, are there exegetical grounds for disregarding these clear statements of Christ?
“If I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
[Disproving that Jesus thought the kingdom was only a cataclysmic coming in his day; it actually proves the opposite – he believed in a gradual coming of the kingdom until consummation] Jesus is saying that (because there is no third option, no neutrality) if the kingdom of Satan is destroyed, there the kingdom of God begins. Regardless, now, in this passage, of exactly when the kingdom comes in its fullness, Jesus is saying there is a type of gradation in the coming of the kingdom of God. More destruction of Satan’s kingdom, the more of the kingdom of God. So that, once Satan is fully defeated – however long it takes – so the kingdom of God will also be in full rule in the new order.
We can’t make this passage go too far, however. The kingdom is now proved to be initiated at the time of Christ, proving it to be somewhat gradual. But we do not know yet if Jesus taught it was a Spiritual kingdom, and how long it might be to the end.
Luke 17:21 “behold, the kingdom of God is entos humvn (within you, or in your midst?)
This means “in your midst” proven:
First, the context is Jesus answering the time of the coming
Second, the unbelieving Pharisees cannot to be said to have the kingdom “within them”
Jesus is teaching the kingdom is a present reality. No questions of the day or the hour make sense anymore. Now the MODE of that presence is not known yet. [To be decided about mode of presence of kingdom: Could it be through miracles? Could it be through his accomplishments?]
[establishing the Spiritual form of the kingdom] Matthew 11:12 Alongside Luke 16:16 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” Alongside “The Law and the Prophets were until John, since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.”
The looking forward of OT prophecy has ended at John. The Now is the kingdom now. Now the kingdom is a thing of gospel preaching, not prophecy.
Notice that John is not part of this kingdom. John is obviously a Christian, but since he was the last of the OT prophets, he did not (visibly) join in the benefits of the new kingdom. He had not yet partaken of the privileges of a new Covenant person.
Now, in conclusion, this shows us that the form of the kingdom’s coming was not through miracles, because John – said not to be in the kingdom – saw these miracles. The form of the kingdom must mean a “participation of inward [S]piritual blessings” (55)
The kingdom was not out of reach of the people of Jesus’s time. Did he not say, “Seek ye first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you”? The kingdom is the goal, not the seeking; to the kingdom possessed will be added the other blessings. The kingdom can be obtained in Jesus’s day.
[The Spiritual form of the kingdom taught in the Parables of Jesus proven]
Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8
Wheat and the tares and the fishnet: the kingdom a MIXED multitude
if the kingdom is final perfection only, then why represent it twice as a mixed multitude of worthless and worthy?
Mustard seed: the kingdom a GROWING reality
This proves that Jesus thought of the kingdom like a growing organism
“The Mystery of the kingdom” – the Spiritual form of the kingdom
Conclusion to chapter 4: “It is impossible to deny to our Lord the conception of an internal kingdom which as such comes not at once but in a lengthy process.” (58)
(58-65)
[Cavil] Some say this was a later addition to Jesus’s teaching, but this is impossible to even the most elementary reading, where Jesus teaches on this early. He taught a spiritual mode now, and a visible mode at the end, corresponding with his accomplishments: invisible pardon and righteousness in his humility, and visible judgement and glory on the end-time judgement throne.
Yet there was progress in Jesus’s presentation of the idea. But this is from Jesus teaching much more like an Old Testament prophet (ala telescoping) in the beginning, so as to develop it further for his listeners.
So, we will be transferred from one kingdom, to the same kingdom; our growth here is of the same kind as the flowering of that growth in the new heavens and new earth.
5. Current Misconceptions Regarding the Present and Future Kingdoms
6. The Essence of the Kingdom: The Kingdom as the Supremacy of God in the Sphere of Saving Power.
7. The Essence of the Kingdom Continued: The Kingdom in the Sphere of Righteousness
8. The Essence of the Kingdom Continued: The Kingdom as a State of Blessedness
9. The Kingdom and the Church
10. The Entrance Into the Kingdom: Repentance and Faith
11. Recapitulations
Fuller review below:
Vos is truly a master, but either I’m too dumb to get him the first time, or he’s a very complex writer. Probably a bit of both.
At the end of each chapter, I was incredibly encouraged; I wrote down extensive notes in the book as I read it, but I don’t think I could remember one chapter after I read the next chapter. This was certainly my own problem, but it does illustrate how difficult it is to catch where Vos is coming from on the whole. So miniscule is his exegesis sometimes – wanting to be entirely Biblical in his viewpoint – that following his overall argument can be difficult.
But, for the one who starts reading Vos, here's some help. Vos is establishing the church as a current Spiritual (Holy Spirit characterized, mainly internal) kingdom of Christ with a gradual growth toward the destruction of Sin and Satan, and the consummation (full revealing and completion) of the kingdom in full blessing, righteousness and power at his second coming. He is careful to prove this from Christ's words alone.
Chapters 1-4 establish his argument for Jesus's conception of the kingdom of God, which is a current Spirit kingdom of higher order than the Old Testament with a final consummate order at his second coming. This is the only legitimate view of the Old Testament of the kingdom and of Jesus himself. chapters 5-8 deal with misconceptions and with the kingdom, and equally important and "interpenetrating" (I hate that word) aspects of the kingdom that Jesus focuses on. 9-11 distinguishes the church and the kingdom, applying what has been learned to the church of today and a recap of the whole. In that recap, Vos says his book has established 7 things (my words):
1) The Messiah in the Old Testament is the Historical Jesus Christ
2) The Kingdom consists of actual, historical - though Holy Spirit powered - events, people, and relations until the end.
3) The Kingdom is principally for God's sake and glory alone.
4) The Kingdom is a kingdom of refugees (that is, salvation from self, Satan, and the world) coming from all the world by God's power alone.
5) The Kingdom, although invisible (veiled), is more real than the current objects of our eyes. It is Spiritual, and therefore absolutely ethical, and - in this world - requires repentence.
6) The Kingdom depends utterly upon Christ; on Jesus and his work.
7) As dependents, we are absolutely subordinate to Christ our king, our absolute sovereign. We look away from self to Him alone for blessing, life, and everything.
A summary I made of the first 4 chapters...
1. In the Intro
Vos starts to circumscribe his discourse. The Kingdom is such a vast topic in Jesus’s teachings, and in the debates of his and our age, that he has to be very specific in what he’s dealing with. In accordance with what Jesus says, the kingdom is really not his central topic, but “the kingdom of GOD.” That is, Theology is the main topic of Jesus, as a corrective to “Basileiology” (kingdom study) in the Jews of his time, who had become far too earthly, or - even more accurate to today’s terms – political in their thinking of what God can do and will do. The kingdom, however, organizes Jesus’s thought when thinking about the church (the second half of Vos’s examination here). Jesus’s presentation of the kingdom, then, is really his correction of the Jews to look to the Lord and not to themselves and their earthly good, and to rejoice that the Kingdom has come.
Vos introduces here something central to his thought – the already/not yet structure and nature to the Kingdom which Christ presented. Which he will consider more in detail later. But next he turns to the Kingdom in the Old Testament, as Vos proves his assertion that Jesus was correcting the Jewish conception of his day.
2. The Kingdom and the Old Testament
Jesus was not forming a new religion, no, he was simply stating that what the Old Testament form of religion was really just preparing for his entry, which realizes the hopes of those past people.
That is not to say that the Old Testament people were not a kingdom – no, in fact they were the kingdom of God ever since they were constituted a kingdom by God in Exodus 19. No, Israel was a true kingdom, God himself was king of this Old Testament kingdom. God alone made the Covenant and made their laws, even judging the earthly kings – like David - for their disobedience. Effectively, the human kings were “vicegerents” of their divine king, Yahweh. These kings were not sovereign kings as other kings of that time were, who made kings despots both of politics and religion; Israelite kings and priests were entirely separate, yet all underneath God’s kingship. As Vos succinctly says, “Whilst elsewhere religion was a function of the state, here the state became a function of religion.” (14)
All this being true, Jesus’s arrival is so cosmically shifting, that even John the Baptist was not said to be in the kingdom, because he was part of this prior system of God’s government. “[that past government] of God on earth seemed by comparison unworthy of the name.” (17) There was a kingdom of a kind already, but a kingdom was anticipated and yet to come. For Jesus, and even for the Jews of that kingdom, there was such an anticipation of a new kingdom that rendered the old kingdom of almost no account. The horrific exile, the backwater that Israel had become, and the messianic prophecies and promises naturally and rightly create this kind of anticipation. The true kingdom of the messiah was to come. So the Jews believed correctly and Jesus approves of this.
However, Jesus came to correct the national, temporal, man-centered hopes of his contemporaries who desired a merely human king and kingdom. They had become not centered on God, but on politics. They had not been centered upon true salvation, which only the Messiah king could bring, but upon salvation from merely earthly oppressors (sounds familiar). Yes, this would be a kingdom OF GOD, and not political, but a kingdom OF HEAVEN.
Having established his case that Jesus was legitimately novel in his presentation of the kingdom as compared to his Jewish contemporaries, and utterly consonant with the Old Testament on this topic, Vos now speaks in chapter 3 about kingship and these two terms he uses to describe God’s kingdom which are so consistent with the Old Testament.
3. Kingdom and Kingship. The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven.
The kingdom, broadly considered, is the supremacy of God in his rule and reign over all creation. It ought not to be considered as a geographic, political land-mass, but was considered as a rule – the area that the LORD reigned over being infinite. For the Old Testament, the universal supremacy of God was never in doubt when he was called “king,” the recognition of that power for the whole world (which was to be shown in a future order) was simply lacking currently until it was revealed. God is king. Period. God is sovereign. Period. God is king by right, even when it does not appear so or he does not enforce his rule in the order which is to come in the future. This future order was to be especially enforced for salvific means, just as the judges and kings who were worthy of the name over and over practiced this salvific function in the Old Covenant kingdom.
“The kingdom of heaven” was used in Matthew because this protects against God being known as a creaturely, earthly king in the sense of the nations. No, his throne is in heaven and he laughs at the kings of men and holds them in derision, so high is he above them. This is the creator-creature distinction: and with this distinction we ought always to remember that although God is infinitely above us – his kingdom is the kingdom of heaven - he has chosen to Covenant with us. That we are part of such a newly mysterious kingdom, unlike the theocratic kingdom of Israel in the past, was also part of the use of the term. Humans can be part of the kingdom of heaven! And what is heaven, but to be with the Lord, and in the closest communion possible to humans; so that heaven is a sign also of seeing God as he is in the greatest revelation of him possible.
4. The Present and the Future Kingdom
This brings Vos to cosmology – the study of how the realm of God is both set up, and how and when it will come.
First, Vos asks, “when did the new order of the kingdom begin?” The first possible answer that he gives is (#1) the new order began at the start of Jesus’s public ministry, with a – and this is key - gradual process of realization for ages thereafter of the kingdom until the consummation (the finalization) of the kingdom at the end of the world. This has been attacked by a second view, which states that (#2) Jesus was mistaken that the kingdom would come suddenly in his own day, and the kingdom begins only at the end of the world.
The point in dispute is not that the kingdom arrives, or that it arrives fully at the end of the world, but whether or not Jesus believed the kingdom came with the Spiritual, with a gradual process until the full arrival.
The second argument would have grave consequences (#2) for Jesus and his ministry. First, because he would have been a liar or mistaken (#2); Second, because if the kingdom is merely a future state, then his preaching to be righteous, to communion with God, and to repent now were only means to an end (the kingdom), and not the essence of the kingdom itself. Third, his arguing for present righteousness would be considered in (#2) only in the face of cataclysmic events, and not as that which is right and wrong. Forth, this presents Jesus as a merely passionate, excitable fellow who has no real substance.
We must, then discuss the kingdom in it’s Spiritual, gradual aspects, which is the point in question:
An accepted understanding of Old Testament prophecy is it’s “telescopic” vision; not only that it sees far off events, but – like a telescope – several events that are actually far from one another and separate, look to be quite close. Now, Jesus was not deceived by appearances, nor defined by his peers, though it is important to note that there were Jews who expected an earthly, then heavenly reign and consummation (thereby proving spiritual, gradual interpretations cannot be merely a modern imposition on the kingdom).
Still, Jesus differed greatly from his peers, in that the “preliminary” kingdom was not simply a humanly willed membership vow into a thing already existing; no, Jesus knew God in the Messiah must start this kingdom and he must act before anyone could be received into it. But he agreed with all of Scripture that the kingdom began with the arrival of the Messiah.
So, are we – 2000 years after – reading in this type of spiritual kingdom when Jesus meant a merely earthly kingdom? No, we are not. Nor were his later scriptural “copyists” adding to Scripture to make it so. Places like Matthew 11:11, 13:41 and 16:19 make it clear he believed the kingdom of God to be initiated, but not complete, therefore, there was also a future, gradual element.
But, are there exegetical grounds for disregarding these clear statements of Christ?
“If I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
[Disproving that Jesus thought the kingdom was only a cataclysmic coming in his day; it actually proves the opposite – he believed in a gradual coming of the kingdom until consummation] Jesus is saying that (because there is no third option, no neutrality) if the kingdom of Satan is destroyed, there the kingdom of God begins. Regardless, now, in this passage, of exactly when the kingdom comes in its fullness, Jesus is saying there is a type of gradation in the coming of the kingdom of God. More destruction of Satan’s kingdom, the more of the kingdom of God. So that, once Satan is fully defeated – however long it takes – so the kingdom of God will also be in full rule in the new order.
We can’t make this passage go too far, however. The kingdom is now proved to be initiated at the time of Christ, proving it to be somewhat gradual. But we do not know yet if Jesus taught it was a Spiritual kingdom, and how long it might be to the end.
Luke 17:21 “behold, the kingdom of God is entos humvn (within you, or in your midst?)
This means “in your midst” proven:
First, the context is Jesus answering the time of the coming
Second, the unbelieving Pharisees cannot to be said to have the kingdom “within them”
Jesus is teaching the kingdom is a present reality. No questions of the day or the hour make sense anymore. Now the MODE of that presence is not known yet. [To be decided about mode of presence of kingdom: Could it be through miracles? Could it be through his accomplishments?]
[establishing the Spiritual form of the kingdom] Matthew 11:12 Alongside Luke 16:16 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” Alongside “The Law and the Prophets were until John, since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.”
The looking forward of OT prophecy has ended at John. The Now is the kingdom now. Now the kingdom is a thing of gospel preaching, not prophecy.
Notice that John is not part of this kingdom. John is obviously a Christian, but since he was the last of the OT prophets, he did not (visibly) join in the benefits of the new kingdom. He had not yet partaken of the privileges of a new Covenant person.
Now, in conclusion, this shows us that the form of the kingdom’s coming was not through miracles, because John – said not to be in the kingdom – saw these miracles. The form of the kingdom must mean a “participation of inward [S]piritual blessings” (55)
The kingdom was not out of reach of the people of Jesus’s time. Did he not say, “Seek ye first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you”? The kingdom is the goal, not the seeking; to the kingdom possessed will be added the other blessings. The kingdom can be obtained in Jesus’s day.
[The Spiritual form of the kingdom taught in the Parables of Jesus proven]
Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8
Wheat and the tares and the fishnet: the kingdom a MIXED multitude
if the kingdom is final perfection only, then why represent it twice as a mixed multitude of worthless and worthy?
Mustard seed: the kingdom a GROWING reality
This proves that Jesus thought of the kingdom like a growing organism
“The Mystery of the kingdom” – the Spiritual form of the kingdom
Conclusion to chapter 4: “It is impossible to deny to our Lord the conception of an internal kingdom which as such comes not at once but in a lengthy process.” (58)
(58-65)
[Cavil] Some say this was a later addition to Jesus’s teaching, but this is impossible to even the most elementary reading, where Jesus teaches on this early. He taught a spiritual mode now, and a visible mode at the end, corresponding with his accomplishments: invisible pardon and righteousness in his humility, and visible judgement and glory on the end-time judgement throne.
Yet there was progress in Jesus’s presentation of the idea. But this is from Jesus teaching much more like an Old Testament prophet (ala telescoping) in the beginning, so as to develop it further for his listeners.
So, we will be transferred from one kingdom, to the same kingdom; our growth here is of the same kind as the flowering of that growth in the new heavens and new earth.
5. Current Misconceptions Regarding the Present and Future Kingdoms
6. The Essence of the Kingdom: The Kingdom as the Supremacy of God in the Sphere of Saving Power.
7. The Essence of the Kingdom Continued: The Kingdom in the Sphere of Righteousness
8. The Essence of the Kingdom Continued: The Kingdom as a State of Blessedness
9. The Kingdom and the Church
10. The Entrance Into the Kingdom: Repentance and Faith
11. Recapitulations
November 30, 2016
Great to read a theology from another era...always something to learn.
November 24, 2023
Vos wrote this as a popular-level work that drew upon his earlier scholarly works on the biblical theology of the kingdom of God. Much of the biblical and theological synthesis in this work can be found in more in-depth exegesis and elaborations in Vos' other academic writings, such as "The Eschatology of the Old Testament", "Pauline Eschatology" and his other scholarly essays. Though a popular-level work, in our context, it might still not be an easy read but it is still much more accessible than his other academic writings. Since this was originally published in 1903, many of the biblical-theological syntheses that Vos contends for in his works are not groundbreaking in today's context, but read in its own historical context, Vos was already explicating the eschatological, "already-not yet" nature of God's kingdom through the person and work of Jesus between the late 1800s and early 1900s, decades before the Canadian New Testament scholar George Ladd and French Lutheran theologian Oscar Cullman popularized their development of "inaugurated eschatology." The sense that this book, read in today's context, is not altogether too "paradigm-shifting" speaks rather to its groundbreaking influence on biblical theology, where biblical theologians today consciously or subconsciously develop their scholarly work by building upon the contributions of Vos' eschatological kingdom. Ned Stonehouse, the New Testament founding faculty of Westminster, held this work in such high esteem that he"declared more than once in the classroom that every minister of the gospel should read Vos’s Kingdom of God and the Church annually."
November 18, 2024
A dense read, not for the feint of heart. It helps if you’re a theologian of some kind, as I was essentially a layperson and had trouble deciphering every other word that was 5+ syllables long. Consider an excerpt and tell me whether you understand it (and please explain it to me if so!)
“In condescension to Israel, Jesus took up the thread of revelation where the OT had left it: to give a new and richer development to it soon after His epoch-making parabolic deliverances.”
Still though, I was able to extract certain key nuggets from it. The author writes beautifully when he’s not confounding me. And he writes in such a convincingly Socratic matter that I felt compelled to his point of view. Consider:
[[Jesus’s appearance and the coming of the Kingdom were intertwined in the New Testament. Jesus’ ministry was devoted to the Kingdom of God and His training the disciples made it their chief pursuit as well.
The imperative of Jesus‘s kingdom work is represented in all four gospels, even the gospel of John, though not referenced directly:
“Salvation—according to the discourses preserved in this gospel—is made up of those primal elements into which the being of Christ can be resolved, such as light, life, grace, truth. What the Savior does is the outcome of what He is.”]]
Definitely a novel worth re-reading, sentence by sentence.
“In condescension to Israel, Jesus took up the thread of revelation where the OT had left it: to give a new and richer development to it soon after His epoch-making parabolic deliverances.”
Still though, I was able to extract certain key nuggets from it. The author writes beautifully when he’s not confounding me. And he writes in such a convincingly Socratic matter that I felt compelled to his point of view. Consider:
[[Jesus’s appearance and the coming of the Kingdom were intertwined in the New Testament. Jesus’ ministry was devoted to the Kingdom of God and His training the disciples made it their chief pursuit as well.
The imperative of Jesus‘s kingdom work is represented in all four gospels, even the gospel of John, though not referenced directly:
“Salvation—according to the discourses preserved in this gospel—is made up of those primal elements into which the being of Christ can be resolved, such as light, life, grace, truth. What the Savior does is the outcome of what He is.”]]
Definitely a novel worth re-reading, sentence by sentence.
January 18, 2021
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post to catch up--emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.
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This work "surveys the teaching of Jesus concerning the kingdom of God. It covers the kingdom in the Old Testament, the meaning of the biblical words for kingdom and kingship, the present and future aspects of the kingdom, the essence of the kingdom, the relationship between the kingdom and the church, and finally the saving benefits of entering the kingdom...Vos exposited an inaugurated kingdom with a future consummation long before G. E. Ladd popularized it."
This is a slim, dense volume. Vos demands care and close attention to his work—but it's so worth it (and after a while, you don't notice how much you're working to read). Fascinating and still helpful a century later.
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This work "surveys the teaching of Jesus concerning the kingdom of God. It covers the kingdom in the Old Testament, the meaning of the biblical words for kingdom and kingship, the present and future aspects of the kingdom, the essence of the kingdom, the relationship between the kingdom and the church, and finally the saving benefits of entering the kingdom...Vos exposited an inaugurated kingdom with a future consummation long before G. E. Ladd popularized it."
This is a slim, dense volume. Vos demands care and close attention to his work—but it's so worth it (and after a while, you don't notice how much you're working to read). Fascinating and still helpful a century later.
May 23, 2018
This survey of the teaching of Jesus concerning the kingdom of God works its way through the key themes and ideas that are present in Jesus' teaching of the kingdom. Written with a clarity and insight that enables the reader to get a solid grasp of these themes and ideas, I found this to be very helpful before moving on to exploring each of Jesus' teaching themselves, such as His parables and sermons, such as The Sermon on the Mount, allowing me to have a much better understanding of what I had now gone on to explore.
November 5, 2020
One of the foundational thinkers in formulating already, but not yet ideas from Jesus' teachings. This breakdown of what Jesus means when he speaks of the kingdom of God is incredibly informative and dovetails nicely with thinkers such as Kuyper, who understood, and began applying outward the idea that the kingdom of God is primarily inward and spiritual, but as people are transformed, that everything they touch is transformed to better reflect God's reign, rule, grace, goodness, justice, and character.
December 30, 2017
This work is over one hundred years old, but it is brilliant. In fact, it preempts many of the scholarly developments on the concept of the Kingdom of God in the mid- and latter parts of the 20th century. Vos is incisive and intellectually profound. And, best of all, his representation and expression of biblical doctrine is accurate and clear. A truly great work.
May 29, 2022
4+; at times Vos blends together separate theological loci on the mediatorial kingdom of Christ and the general sovereignty of God which is also at times termed as his kingdom (eg Psalm 47:7). At times this seems to lead to ambiguities.
Certainly executed on the title, detailing Christ’s own words and teaching on the kingdom.
High likelihood I’ll read again.
Certainly executed on the title, detailing Christ’s own words and teaching on the kingdom.
High likelihood I’ll read again.
September 16, 2022
Very pedestrian outline of the kingdom of heaven. Not sure what precipitated this work, but it doesn't seem to add much (if anything) to the conversation. It would serve as a great introductory text, but not sure why Vos would pitch something to that audience.
June 20, 2023
Great exposition about the spiritual and present reality of God's kingdom, while also including an interesting precursor to modern preteristic interpretations. I think he nailed it when he destroyed full futurism as making Jesus a liar about His promises.
August 31, 2025
"In the body of our Lord's teaching as recorded in the Gospels the references to the kingdom of God occupy a prominent place. According to the common testimony of the Synoptical Gospels Jesus opened his public ministry in Galilee with the announcement that the kingdom was at hand."
June 30, 2022
Great book. Chapter called "Repentance and Faith" is phenomenal.
March 22, 2023
Classic Vos: insightful, exegesis, significant theological background, and somewhat pedantic, inelegant writing style.
March 25, 2024
Very worthwhile introduction to a key component of Jesus’ teaching in the gospels. If you’ve never read Vos before, this is a good place you start (as are his sermons in Grace and Glory).
August 10, 2025
The best book on the subject that I have had the privilege to read. Highly recommended.
April 10, 2025
The book, first published in 1903, is not easy reading. The suggestion of Ned Stonehouse to his seminary classes that every minister of the Gospel should re-read it annually does not apply to mere laymen like me.
However, the new 25-page introduction by Danny Olinger is easily accessible and a worthy read. I did plod through the text but did not benefit from the exercise. Olinger adequately summarizes Vos’ life and the takeaway from Vos’ arguments and critiques of theologians of a hundred twenty years ago.
However, the new 25-page introduction by Danny Olinger is easily accessible and a worthy read. I did plod through the text but did not benefit from the exercise. Olinger adequately summarizes Vos’ life and the takeaway from Vos’ arguments and critiques of theologians of a hundred twenty years ago.
March 19, 2019
The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom of God and the Church by Geerhardus Vos, A Review by Victor Bobdelí García
Vos engages here in a concentrated discussion of how Jesus conceived and delineated the kingdom of God according to the gospels. With his characteristic scriptural erudition Vos clarifies complex ideas about the kingdom. Even though, at times, the structure of his sentences and his line of thought is demanding, a careful reading is a rewarding effort.
From the outset he anticipates objections and explains that the different perspective of the kingdom shown in John in regard to the synoptics obeys to his emphasis on the person of Jesus rather than on His work. He explains “after all… [it] amounts to a different mode of viewing the same things” (3-4). Speaking of the history of the kingdom, Vos depicts it as “the great one scheme” that began in the Old Testament (12) to which Jesus submitted to become at once “the goal of history and the servant of history” (12). As for its nature, he says that unlike the Jews who conceived the kingdom as a national entity—the kingdom of Israel, Jesus portrayed it as “a kingdom of grace as well as of law”—the Kingdom of God (23). He explains that Jesus used “the kingdom of Heaven” in no different sense that “the kingdom of God” except in so far as to emphasize the glory of God, the King (35). In his discussion of the immanent conception (present) and eschatological conception (future) of the kingdom, Vos speaks of its “two-sidedness,” displayed in the kingdom-parables of Matthew 13 where Jesus illustrates its gradual and invisible character. This two-sidedness witnesses to the Lord’s subordination of the physical to the spiritual and to the principle that the physical is not to be despised but appreciated in its regenerated form (65).
In regard to the essence of the kingdom, Vos highlights three characteristics: first, it consists in the supremacy of God in the sphere of saving power: “it is a God-centered conception to the very core” (84). Second, it is in the sphere of righteousness—the imputed righteousness of God to sinners, the blessing of a life of righteousness to His people, the reward for righteousness (103-104). Third, it is as a state of blessedness, which includes the deliverance from all evil through the forgiveness of sins, and the blessings of sonship and of eternal life (129-130). About the kingdom and the church Vos asserts that the church “is that new congregation taking the place of the old congregation of Israel…formed by Jesus and under His Messianic rule” (144); or elsewhere: “the church is a form which the kingdom assumes in result of the new stage upon which the Messiahship of Jesus enters with His death and resurrection (158-159). Finally, Vos underlines the need of repentance and faith as the condition to enter the kingdom. He posits that “repentance and faith are simply the two main aspects of the kingdom, righteousness and the saving grace of God, translated into terms of subjective human experience” (169).
I find it insightful that while stressing the prominence of the kingdom Vos submits that it is not the Lord’s teaching about it what must be given the highest place but His teaching on God (7). Also, even though he does not say it explicitly, his conception of the kingdom amounts to a Christian worldview, or at least it provides the foundation for a robust Christian worldview. In fact, this is the sense of his words when he says, “the thought of the kingdom of God implies the subjection of the entire range of human life in all its forms and spheres to the ends of religion. The kingdom reminds us of the absoluteness, the pervasiveness, the unrestricted dominion, which of right belong to all true religion” (194).
Vos engages here in a concentrated discussion of how Jesus conceived and delineated the kingdom of God according to the gospels. With his characteristic scriptural erudition Vos clarifies complex ideas about the kingdom. Even though, at times, the structure of his sentences and his line of thought is demanding, a careful reading is a rewarding effort.
From the outset he anticipates objections and explains that the different perspective of the kingdom shown in John in regard to the synoptics obeys to his emphasis on the person of Jesus rather than on His work. He explains “after all… [it] amounts to a different mode of viewing the same things” (3-4). Speaking of the history of the kingdom, Vos depicts it as “the great one scheme” that began in the Old Testament (12) to which Jesus submitted to become at once “the goal of history and the servant of history” (12). As for its nature, he says that unlike the Jews who conceived the kingdom as a national entity—the kingdom of Israel, Jesus portrayed it as “a kingdom of grace as well as of law”—the Kingdom of God (23). He explains that Jesus used “the kingdom of Heaven” in no different sense that “the kingdom of God” except in so far as to emphasize the glory of God, the King (35). In his discussion of the immanent conception (present) and eschatological conception (future) of the kingdom, Vos speaks of its “two-sidedness,” displayed in the kingdom-parables of Matthew 13 where Jesus illustrates its gradual and invisible character. This two-sidedness witnesses to the Lord’s subordination of the physical to the spiritual and to the principle that the physical is not to be despised but appreciated in its regenerated form (65).
In regard to the essence of the kingdom, Vos highlights three characteristics: first, it consists in the supremacy of God in the sphere of saving power: “it is a God-centered conception to the very core” (84). Second, it is in the sphere of righteousness—the imputed righteousness of God to sinners, the blessing of a life of righteousness to His people, the reward for righteousness (103-104). Third, it is as a state of blessedness, which includes the deliverance from all evil through the forgiveness of sins, and the blessings of sonship and of eternal life (129-130). About the kingdom and the church Vos asserts that the church “is that new congregation taking the place of the old congregation of Israel…formed by Jesus and under His Messianic rule” (144); or elsewhere: “the church is a form which the kingdom assumes in result of the new stage upon which the Messiahship of Jesus enters with His death and resurrection (158-159). Finally, Vos underlines the need of repentance and faith as the condition to enter the kingdom. He posits that “repentance and faith are simply the two main aspects of the kingdom, righteousness and the saving grace of God, translated into terms of subjective human experience” (169).
I find it insightful that while stressing the prominence of the kingdom Vos submits that it is not the Lord’s teaching about it what must be given the highest place but His teaching on God (7). Also, even though he does not say it explicitly, his conception of the kingdom amounts to a Christian worldview, or at least it provides the foundation for a robust Christian worldview. In fact, this is the sense of his words when he says, “the thought of the kingdom of God implies the subjection of the entire range of human life in all its forms and spheres to the ends of religion. The kingdom reminds us of the absoluteness, the pervasiveness, the unrestricted dominion, which of right belong to all true religion” (194).
January 28, 2013
While this is a solid tome, and I know saying anything less than glowing about Geerhardus Vos might get me lynched, I found this book on a whole rather disappointing.
For one, I think I'm of the more radical wing of presbyterian/reformed-ness that see much more continuity than discontinuity between the Hebrew and Greek epochs. Vos seems to want to have his cake and eat it too. In the chapters, he stresses the radically new nature of Christ's Kingdom, yet in the summary, he says they have a historic unity.
Second, the book is too much in his time and not broad enough. The universal Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man may have been a hallmark of unbelieving liberal scholarship in his day, but it is not the problem today. I wouldn't mind that, except Vos never moves on to more timeless truths. The dated nature of this book is also visible in how he talks about the progressive nature of the Kingdom. Today, we expect to hear advocates of Optimistic Post-millenialism speak this way, but Vos is avowedly amill. Without bringing this up, the volume is confusing and non-specific.
I also felt like Vos equivocated on whether the Kingdom is the Church. This has been debated better and more fully in later volumes by Neibuhr and others. I suggest staying away from this dense, tiny book unless you are a Vos-aholic.
For one, I think I'm of the more radical wing of presbyterian/reformed-ness that see much more continuity than discontinuity between the Hebrew and Greek epochs. Vos seems to want to have his cake and eat it too. In the chapters, he stresses the radically new nature of Christ's Kingdom, yet in the summary, he says they have a historic unity.
Second, the book is too much in his time and not broad enough. The universal Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man may have been a hallmark of unbelieving liberal scholarship in his day, but it is not the problem today. I wouldn't mind that, except Vos never moves on to more timeless truths. The dated nature of this book is also visible in how he talks about the progressive nature of the Kingdom. Today, we expect to hear advocates of Optimistic Post-millenialism speak this way, but Vos is avowedly amill. Without bringing this up, the volume is confusing and non-specific.
I also felt like Vos equivocated on whether the Kingdom is the Church. This has been debated better and more fully in later volumes by Neibuhr and others. I suggest staying away from this dense, tiny book unless you are a Vos-aholic.
June 11, 2021
Short book on the defense that the Kingdom of God is biblically rooted in the person and work of Christ, and that the Kingdom is an already and not yet reality that is both eschatologically future and present for the visible and invisible church today. Defense from the Old Testament, the Church, and the moral nature of God’s Kingdom are all discussed here.
This book is classic Vos, in the sense that it is unapologetically dense; mining some of the great wisdom here is going to take some deep dives into the spirals that Vos brings you down. Vos expects you to keep pace with him, so be ready to be undistracted while reading. If you’re patient to take the time to ponder his arguments(this is 100 pg. book, but think of it as a 200 pager to keep up); there is a robustness there that can serve the church well in foundational theological truth. Real life application isn’t Vos’ goal, but the broad principles here forces the reader to assume their own application of Vos’ arguments. A good day read.
This book is classic Vos, in the sense that it is unapologetically dense; mining some of the great wisdom here is going to take some deep dives into the spirals that Vos brings you down. Vos expects you to keep pace with him, so be ready to be undistracted while reading. If you’re patient to take the time to ponder his arguments(this is 100 pg. book, but think of it as a 200 pager to keep up); there is a robustness there that can serve the church well in foundational theological truth. Real life application isn’t Vos’ goal, but the broad principles here forces the reader to assume their own application of Vos’ arguments. A good day read.
May 5, 2020
Dr. Vos is always phenomenal. He is an excellent exegete with penetrating insights and application; it’s as if he thinks on another plane from so many other theologians. His treatment here of the Kingdom of God is brief but excellent. Van Til, John Murray, and Ned Stonehouse all recommended it highly as a accessible treatment of the subject. I think his identification of the church as the visible manifestation of the Kingdom of God inaugurated without full consummation is excellent and accurate (Matt 16 and 18). His development of the Kingdom of God theme from the OT into the new was insightful. He points out Christ uses many OT themes but almost always changes their reality and implications to comport with his Messiahship and purposes. I recommend this to any Christian looking for a deeper Protestant conception of the KoG.
April 19, 2024
First read - 3 stars. It felt like a rehash of the last section of his book Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments
Second read - 5 stars. I reread this with a measure of distance between myself and Biblical Theology Old and New Testaments. On my second reading, I discovered that this little book packs a bigger punch than I initially thought. Vos was able to do more justice to the biblical nature of the Kingdom of God as in a short book than many can do in a life time.
If you haven't read Vos drop what you are doing, buy a work, go slow, and with an open Bible because he wants to direct you to our Lord and not his own insights.
Second read - 5 stars. I reread this with a measure of distance between myself and Biblical Theology Old and New Testaments. On my second reading, I discovered that this little book packs a bigger punch than I initially thought. Vos was able to do more justice to the biblical nature of the Kingdom of God as in a short book than many can do in a life time.
If you haven't read Vos drop what you are doing, buy a work, go slow, and with an open Bible because he wants to direct you to our Lord and not his own insights.
December 6, 2024
Purchase a copy of this book here! (affiliate link) : https://amzn.to/3OM3KUJ
*Critical* work on the nature of the Kingdom of God and its relation to the Church. This is vital as an answer to many modern scholarly works on Jesus' eschatological teachings on the Kingdom. It also, surprisingly, provides a robust answer to a number of debated topics--from Roman Catholic exegesis to contemporary and post-modern exegesis. Vos could not have known that this work would be such a long-lasting aid to the Church.
*Critical* work on the nature of the Kingdom of God and its relation to the Church. This is vital as an answer to many modern scholarly works on Jesus' eschatological teachings on the Kingdom. It also, surprisingly, provides a robust answer to a number of debated topics--from Roman Catholic exegesis to contemporary and post-modern exegesis. Vos could not have known that this work would be such a long-lasting aid to the Church.
May 19, 2012
Geerhardus Vos' early work on the 'now' and 'then' double reality of the kingdom of God in Jesus' teaching, almost two decades earlier than Ridderbos' The Coming of the Kingdom. The exegeses works were still unsatisfactory during the time of his writing. But he had showed the great possibility of biblical-theological interpretation of the Scripture.
December 27, 2022
My fourth read through of this book. A fantastic short work on the Kingdom of God. Vos’ two age eschatology is evident in his early academic years. It’s a worthwhile book to read again and again.
//5th read through. I’ve tried to follow Ned Stonehouse’s recommendation of reading this book yearly. It’s been worth the read every time.
//5th read through. I’ve tried to follow Ned Stonehouse’s recommendation of reading this book yearly. It’s been worth the read every time.
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