In the Gospel of Matthew, the writer refers to "The Kingdom of Heaven" frequently, yet also writes about "The Kingdom of God."
In the three other Gospels, there is no mention of "Kingdom of Heaven", but frequent references to "Kingdom of God".
In Paul's Epistles, there are no references to "Kingdom of Heaven", but Kingdom of God.
The Gospel of Matthew was written to the Jewish People. The Gospel writer makes no references to unclean animals when discussing the birds of the air. The genealogy provided establishes Jesus' kingship as a descendant of Abraham and the Kings of Israel, including Solomon.
The genealogy in the Gospel of Luke follows through another son of David, not Solomon, yet the two different lines establish that Jesus is the Son of God, the Son of Man, and a direct kingly descendant of David. Jesus: the Root and Branch of David!
At any rate, most pastors will assert that the Gospel of Matthew refers to God's reign in our lives as "The Kingdom of Heaven."
Many assert, and I agree with them, that since Matthew was writing to a Jewish audience, he recognized their misguidance reverence for the name of God, and therefore He records "Kingdom of Heaven" for His reign and His rule.
Yet there are five instances in the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus refers to His reign as "The Kingdom of God".
Why did Jesus refer to His kingdom as ""The Kingdom of God" in these five instances?
Let us submit right now, that since the Scripture cannot be broken, and that there are no insignificant details in the Bible, and the most of all the Holy Spirit inspired Matthew to write with the Jewish reverence in mind as well as a direct reason for referencing the Kingdom so directly, let us allow the Holy Spirit to minister to us more about Jesus and what He has done for us!
In the next five posts, let us take a look at the five verses in Matthew where Jesus says "The Kingdom of God".
Five verses about "The Kingdom of God": five speaks of grace in the Bible.
Matthew was writing to a specific community which defined itself, which identified with God's law, with Moses. Matthew was writing to people who were acting under the Old Covenant, who were proud of their ethnic status as Israelites, which they therefore believed to establish them as righteous.
Yet from the Book of Genesis to Jesus' death on the Cross, man is dead in his trespasses and needs a Savior — Jesus the Messiah! Man needs to be cleansed of his sins and given life to restore him to righteous standing before God.
So, Jesus came to His own, who did not receive Him, preaching the fullness of the Old Covenant and the incoming New and eternal Kingdom.
I submit, therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven references God's holy rule and power through the Holy Spirit as based on law, merit, and works. When Jesus speaks of "The Kingdom of God", He is affirming the grace of God, that the Kingdom of Heaven, which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14: 17), is not something that we reach for or enter by our efforts, but is a gift which receive by grace through faith.