3. I experience the Kingdom of God as a spiritual space.

(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.) 

Can you remember a spiritual experience that had a significant impact on you? How did you experience God in that time?

Do you find it difficult to be aware of spiritual things?

Do you believe that God has given you a “spiritual sense,” an ability to notice spiritual things?

What would you like to experience with God in this spiritual space, the Kingdom of God?

What do you deeply long for? Is it possible you could find it in this space with God?

The Kingdom of God is where we meet God and connect with Him. It is not a physical place, however. The material world we live in is an important part of our life on earth and should not be disregarded, but it is not the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God does not have material features; rather, it is a spiritual “space.” Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is spiritual: we cannot feel it with our hands or see it with our eyes.

This is important for us to remember. We tend to expect things to have a material existence. We are mistaken, though, if we think that our religious buildings or institutions are God’s Kingdom (churches, cathedrals, ministries, etc.). We talk about “building God’s Kingdom,” but

the Kingdom is not something that can be constructed with our hands, money, or strategies. Even religious movements: missionary efforts, church planting, evangelism, or social action initiatives are not synonymous with the Kingdom of God. All of these can be evidence of people living in God’s Kingdom, but they are not the Kingdom.

When we join God’s family, we live simultaneously in both the world of material things and the spiritual Kingdom of God. The question is, “which one do we favor or consider our home?” It has been said that, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

It is important to know that when we look to experience the Kingdom of God, that experience will essentially be a spiritual experience. It is this spiritual Kingdom of God that we are most suited for.