What are the characteristics of the kingdom of God?

General characteristics

*

* Everlasting (Hebrews 1:8) Unshakeable (Hebrews 12:28)

* Superior to Satan's kingdom (Mark 16:17, Philippians 2:9-11)

* Greatness in the kingdom measured by:

1. Obedience to God (Matthew 5:19)

2. Servanthood (Matthew 20:25-28, Matthew 23:11, Mark 10:45) like Jesus.

3. Humility (Matthew 18:3-4)

So what should this righteousness look like? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus paints for us a picture of the importance of righteousness and what it should look like in the kingdom of God. "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10). The heavenly kingdom belongs to the righteous. Then He goes on to say "You are the salt of the earth. … You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:13-14). Jesus is saying here that we should let our purity and righteousness affect, influence, and impact this world. This will produce either persecution, "… when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers" (Matthew 5:11); or fruit, "… everyone will praise your heavenly Father" (Matthew 5:16). In verse 17 Jesus says that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, which means to fulfill all righteousness. And then in verse 20 He declares, "… unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). When Jesus made that comment I believe everyone's jaws dropped open as they wondered "How can I possibly live a life superior to them?" But Jesus was talking about a whole different type of righteousness. Not a righteousness put on from the outside, but a righteousness that is lived out from the inside. As we have seen, Christ's victory on the Cross has made it so that we now stand in His righteousness, for we have become the righteousness of God.

Following this in Matthew 5:21-7:12 Jesus gives us a revelation of what kingdom righteousness looks like. I would encourage you to study that, but here is a summary:

• The righteous reconcile and speak life.

• The righteous think upon what is good and abstain from sinful or enticing thoughts.

• The righteous keep their covenants.

• The righteous tell the truth and keep their Word.

• The righteous give to and serve others.

• The righteous display the perfect love of God by blessing, loving, and praying for others - even those who are hateful.

• The righteous do good and give without hypocrisy.

• The righteous pray without hypocrisy.

• The righteous forgive others.

• The righteous fast unto God and not unto man.

• The righteous give liberally to God, and keep God, not money, as their focus.

• The righteous have faith in their faithful God and do not worry.

• The righteous rightly honor spiritual things and are not judgmental.

• The righteous continually press further into the kingdom by asking, seeking, and knocking.

• The righteous treat others as they would want to be treated.

This, and nothing less, is the righteousness of Christ that has been given to us!