There’s a big difference between a man who labors for the Kingdom of God, and a man who is building his own empire. Jesus and the apostles labored for the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God was their vision. It was their goal. Paul, for example, considered himself and his team to be workers for the Kingdom.

[Aristarchus, Mark, Justus are] … among my fellow workers for* the Kingdom of God (Colossians 4:11).

* The best translations (NIV, NASB, NKJV, and LEB) use the word for in this verse. Be aware that there is no reason to translate the verse as “fellow workers in the Kingdom.” Neither Jesus nor any apostle ever said that we are in the Kingdom yet. We are not in the Kingdom yet. Just as a diplomat who works in a U.S. embassy works for the U.S., but not in the U.S., so did Jesus and his apostles labor for the Kingdom—not in it.

Do not confuse the Church with the Kingdom, they are markedly different! In the handful of New Testament verses that might mistakenly be interpreted as speaking of a current Kingdom, a closer examination of the context will reveal that the topic is the Kingdom to come. Indeed, the coming Kingdom is the hope of the New Testament! God’s Kingdom is future, which is what makes it the Hope—you can’t hope in something that is already here.

Not in the Kingdom Now

Any Bible verses you interpret to say that we’re in the Kingdom now, upon closer scrutiny, will reveal a message about Kingdom citizenship. Read those verses closely, and you’ll see that they are not dealing with location, but status. We are in the World, we’re not in the Kingdom. Our location is the World. However, God has granted us citizenship in Heaven. In other words, legally we belong to Heaven—even though we’re not there now.

… the Father… has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light [we will inherit the Kingdom]. For he rescued us from the Domain of Darkness, and transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son (Colossians 1:12-13; NASB).

The passage you just read uses the word transfer which is the Greek word methístēmi defined by Thayer as “a change of situation or place.” In this case, it’s a change of situation, not of place. Remember: our status has changed, not our location. Our transfer to the Kingdom of Christ means that we are not under the Domain of Darkness, the realm of the Devil.

We are under the domain and lordship of Christ now, which means that we are under Kingdom rule. Just as a man living abroad is still legally a citizen of his country of origin, and is still obligated to abide by its laws; so are we in a foreign land. We are strangers in this World, maintaining our loyalty to the Law of Jesus’ Kingdom—love.

Pastors who Boast

There have been prosperous Christian congregations since the Church began. The fact that there are wealthy churches is not new. The presence of mega-churches today is also not new. What is new is that today the pastors of those megachurches boast about their wealth. Their boasting is not a good sign. It demonstrates that their churches have become businesses.

Jesus and the apostles steered clear of any businesslike approach to ministry. They served God in the hope of a Kingdom, and they expressed that hope by renouncing wealth, not by acquiring it. They renounced their material wealth. They gave up their businesses, homes, money, and material possessions to gain the Kingdom.

And they took this Kingdom focus one step further. Jesus and the apostles called other people to do as they did—to give away their material wealth! Is that what you hear preachers do in churches today? It’s not. On the contrary, you’re bombarded by preaching on wealth and prosperity in churches today. You’ll hear pastors say things like “Praise God, I have become rich” while they encourage their listeners to be as greedy as they are.

The ones buying them [the pastors who make a business of God’s sheep] kill them and go unpunished, and the ones selling them say, ‘Blessed be Yahweh, for I have become rich.’ Their own shepherds have no compassion for them (Zachariah 11:5; LEB).

Who is this verse talking about? It says that pastors are selling God’s sheep. Who are those pastors? Not only the ones who preach the Prosperity Gospel. The passage says that they are the sheep’s own shepherds. You know these men—they are the pastors who promote their church programs, but ignore the Kingdom of God.

These "pastors" run a business, buying and selling souls—and go unpunished. Nobody challenges their behavior because we live in such an egotistical World that even when preachers are ambitious, Christians (accustomed to ego-centric behavior) see it as normal. They don’t expect these men to follow Jesus’ example at all. You’ll hear those pastors talk about their:

• nurseries / daycare

• Sunday School programs

• youth ministries

• worship teams

• women’s Bible studies

• international missions

• radio programs

• websites

• television programs

• building programs

• men’s retreats

• Sunday gatherings

• evangelistic outreach

… but you won’t hear them preach the coming Kingdom! Isn’t that remarkable? Will we call these pastors servants of Christ? Can we call them legitimate Christian pastors if their message is so contrary to the message of Christ? Of course not.