Kingdom of God Bible Seminars II
Part One: The Time Is Fulfilled
INTRODUCTION
We spend our lives looking for meaning and relevance. We all want success and happiness for
ourselves and families. The message of the Kingdom of God is the key to a life of success and
purpose.
You have come here today to learn about the Kingdom of God. We have prepared messages that
will turn your life around and show you how to access the power of God and His coming
Kingdom.
Our first series offered two sessions focused on 1.) Just What is the Kingdom of God? and, 2.)
Why the Kingdom of God is Needed Now In Our Present World! These sessions spoke to both the
building blocks that frame such a Kingdom and the sobering reality of the need for the intervention
of this realm spoken of by Jesus Christ in Mark 1:14-15.
Today we focus on the impact of God’s timing in dealing not only with expansive and massive
world affairs that affect masses of humanity, but our intimate personal state of affairs as well—so
as to ultimately bring all into awareness and opportunity to receive the gospel of the Kingdom of
God.
SPS
This first presentation centers on Christ’s words of “The time is fulfilled.” It will lay a framework to
fully appreciate the second presentation on “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”
BODY
To develop a scriptural foundation to begin to comprehend Christ’s words that “the time is
fulfilled,” let’s consider two basic verses.
Isaiah 46:9-10: God declares the end from the beginning. He states, “His counsel will
stand” and He will do “all His pleasure.” The great and Almighty God, who was not
created and who has life inherent, will come to the fore in this world and in our lives.
John 5:17-18: Jesus said, “My father has been working until now and so have I.” God is
not simply a first cause (some form of absentee cosmic landlord) or simply “love”
without substance, definition or outcome. His love is defined by working with a purpose,
plan, promises and provisions that usher forth His Kingdom to this dying age and to our
lives.
With this background we are prepared to understand how the gospel writer Mark introduces
Jesus’ herald-like proclamation concerning the Kingdom of God—“The time is fulfilled.”
Kingdom of God Bible Seminars II
Part One: The Time Is Fulfilled
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The words in the original Greek—kairos [pronounced KY-ross] (“time”) and pleroō [play-RAHo] (“fulfilled”)—convey “time” not in the sense of a turning of a watch hand, but more
profoundly in the sense of a fixed moment in time, opportune in nature, seasonal in nature as if
something is to be planted towards harvest. It signifies fulfillment in the sense that all was
complete (filled up) to set the stage for the entrance of God’s gift to humanity—the Messiah and
His message of the Kingdom of God. Thus we might suggest—the time was “ripe.”
What had come to fruition at this moment in time that Mark wrote about almost two thousand
years ago?
Remember God declares “the end from the beginning”! Let’s follow the path.
Genesis 3:15: When Adam and Eve rejected the essence of the value structure of the
Kingdom of God in the form of the Tree of Life, they were forcibly expelled from the
Garden. Even at that time God put into motion a “return to Eden” and those values of His
Kingdom. The seed of Eve (Christ) would be wounded, but would ultimately “crush the
head of the serpent” (Romans 16:20). The first recorded prophecy depicts ongoing
struggle dominated and concluded with hope. A seed of hope planted!
Genesis 12:1: A blessing upon the faithful pilgrim Abram from “whom all the families of
the earth would be blessed”! A seed of hope was planted.
Deuteronomy 18:15: Moses spoke of one to be raised up like Him—A Deliverer and a
Lawgiver who would grant people passage from slavery to freedom. A seed of hope was
planted!
With all this stated, expectation was in the air. Now came this herald-like entrance: The time is
fulfilled! It is ripe for these prophecies to be fulfilled.
Paul “nails it” in Galatians 4:4: “But when the fullness of time [chronos—pronounced KRAHnoss], meaning a space in time, a particular period, had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a
woman (yes, Genesis 3:15), born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that
we might receive the adoption as sons.” Paul speaks of a pin-point timing that is ripe to plant the
seed of the Kingdom and bring forth a harvest.
The seed planted: Jesus Christ coming to earth and being planted in the form of a man. God’s
incredible plan inscribed in the name Immanuel—“God with Us” (Isaiah 7:14).
He dwelt as God in the flesh (Immanuel) for a four-fold purpose:
1. To be our Savior—A worthwhile and complete sacrifice as the Lamb of God (John 1:29)
that would offer a road of return to the values of God’s Kingdom rejected at Eden.
Remember God declares the end from the beginning! Christ the lamb slain from the
foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). But, now was the time!
Kingdom of God Bible Seminars II
Part One: The Time Is Fulfilled
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2. To destroy the works of the Devil—1 John 3:8: This second Adam or “last Adam, this life
giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15: 45-48) fully resisted the devil’s temptations, completely
thwarting the evil plans of Satan (Matthew 4), put to death the penalty of sin at Golgotha,
and will yet remove Satan altogether (Revelation 20:1-3).
3. To prepare to be our High Priest—The Word became flesh (John 1:14) so that we
might touch God and in turn God might be touched by the workings of our flesh (Heb.
4:14-16).
4. To establish His Church—Matthew 16:18: (“My church”). To develop a spiritual body
of believers (ecclesia—called out ones/not buildings) that “worship in spirit and truth”
(John 4:23-24) and become a body and structure (Ephesians 1:23) of which He is the
head.
Indeed, God’s purpose for His Son’s entrance into human history was established and the
moment was ripe!
The people of Judah were under the oppression of the occupying power of Rome. And the world
of antiquity had increasingly become aware that their pantheon of gods was bankrupt in
delivering a life of substance, meaning and purpose beyond the moment.
It’s at this precise moment, the prophecy of Isaiah 9:2 is given birth—“The people who walked in
darkness have seen a great light.” The light of God’s purpose in a darkened society dominated
by the spirit of this world (“kosmos”) is ready to burst forward.
Why is it that God’s purpose comes to the fore at this juncture of human history?
1. Roman roads and “Pax Romana”—byways and means of a secure environment in which
the gospel could travel quickly and smoothly.
2. The Greek language—a language rich in meaning and spoken throughout the Roman
Empire would not only tie people together then, but centuries later would be a means to
bring God’s word to us today during the translation period of the Reformation. Yes, God
sees ahead!
3. Jewish synagogues—The Jewish “diaspora” was dispersed throughout the Roman
Empire and the empires and trading routes of the East. Their synagogues would be
springboards for explaining what the prophets meant and that Messiah had come.
But this didn’t all occur overnight! The Jews were dispersed throughout the world during the
sixth and fifth centuries B.C. The Greek Language didn’t come to the fore till the third Century
B.C., and Rome didn’t become an empire till A.D. 31. And yet God allowed the development of
three civilizations to ultimately intertwine to a “moment in time” that would usher in the optimal
moment for the Son of God to appear on earth and perform what had been declared thousands of
years before.
Kingdom of God Bible Seminars II
Part One: The Time Is Fulfilled
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What does this have to do with you? Have you ever considered that all the events of your life are
intertwined for a purpose to bring you to a point of accepting the fullness of the gospel of Jesus
Christ and the Kingdom of God? Just like the people of old, you may have come to recognize
your old ways are bankrupt and you are tired of being conquered by a world of feelings and
doubt when God is prepared to give you purpose!
Let’s be plain: God not only is sovereign over the universe, and deals with humanity in a
“macro-sense,” but deals with each of us in a “micro”/ personal sense of invitation to
experience the fullness of what God is and what He would have us become for Him.
CONCLUSION
Perhaps a time of fulfillment is here today! Perhaps God has been leading you over a lifetime
and allowing or bringing into your life a combination of experiences that would create a pinpoint
moment in time that has ripened you to take the next step, which will be explained in the next
session titled “The Kingdom is at Hand!” As we break for a moment, just remember God is not
simply the creator of time, but “the master of timing.” And the reality is that you must
understand that God is the master of timing, and you must allow Him to be your Master.
Kingdom of God Bible Seminars II
Part One: The Time Is Fulfilled
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