This document provides an overview of key concepts related to salvation and the Kingdom of Heaven. It defines what it means to be saved, to believe in Jesus, and to be a saint versus a sinner. It explores the two stages of the Kingdom - the present Kingdom of Preparation where one lives by God's will on earth, and the future Kingdom of Inheritance in heaven. The goal is to enter the narrow gate through sacrifice and obedience to inherit eternal life in God's presence.

1. What is the Kingdom of
Heaven?
George Shen
Jan 2018

2. The contents of this workshop is
from Dr. Timothy Lin’s Book
“What is the Kingdom of
Heaven in the Bible” and his
workshops

4. Lets understand first:
 What is ‘being saved?’
 What is ‘to believe in Jesus’
 Who are ‘sinners’ & ‘saints’
 What is a ‘Christian’?
 What is ‘heaven’
 What is the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ ?

5. What is being saved
 Who Saves whom?
 What is the mood of this verb
 Where are we saved from?
 Where are we saved to?

6. How many types of Salvation are there?
2 Cor 1:10
 Who delivered us from so great a peril of
death
 will deliver us (now)
 He on whom we have set our hope. And
He will yet deliver us

7. who delivered us from so great a peril of
death

8. will deliver us (now)

9. He on whom we have set our
hope. And He will yet deliver us
But did not say where!

10. What is ‘to believe in Jesus’?
 But as many as received Him …even to those
who believe in His name (John 1:12a)
 Receive (Aorist Indicative Active)=Believe
(Present Active Participle)
 Receive Jesus into your heart
 Since Jesus is God and God has ‘eternal
life’, if He is in you, then you have ‘eternal
life’ also

11. continue
 He gave the right to become children of God
(John 1:12b)
 What is this ‘right’ ? (Birth certificate)
 to become children of God (a child and is a
beginning)
 The Heavenly Father is eternal, so the
children also have eternal life.

12. Sinner
 Not infrequently, we hear people pray and say,
“Lord, we are sinners…”
 Did someone said in the Bible that he is a sinner?
Yes
 So, people copy cat but did not see
clearly!

13. I Tim 1:13 －15
 “Even though I was formerly a blasphemer
and a persecutor and a violent aggressor.
Yet I was shown mercy because I acted
ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of
our Lord was more than abundant, with
the faith and love which are found in
Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement,
deserving full acceptance, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
among whom I am foremost of all.

14. Please note
 This has occurred once only
 I was formerly
 I am foremost of all sinners (formerly)
 So, how are believers addressed after they
are saved?

15. They are now saints
 “To me, the very least of all saints” (Eph 3:8)
 Paul often at the end of the epistles will have:
 “All the saints greet you.” (II Cor 13:13, Phi
4:22)
 “Greet all … the saints.” (Heb 13:24)

16. Difference
 Sinner
 Before believe
 Without eternal life of
Jesus
 Saint
 After believe
 Has eternal life of
Jesus inside

17. Sinner Saint
 I have been crucified
with Christ; and it is
no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me
(Gal 2:20)

18. Therefore, saints are：
 For the love of Christ controls us, having
concluded this, that one died for all,
therefore all died; and He died for all, so
that they who live might no longer live for
themselves, but for Him who died and
rose again on their behalf. (II Cor 5:14-
15)

19.  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creature; the old things passed away;
behold, new things have come.
 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin
on our behalf, so that we might become
the righteousness (saint) of God in Him.
(II Cor 5:17, 21)

20. Does it mean that saints will never sin?
 Before believing, sinning is an ‘active’ activity.
 After believing, sinning should decrease.
 But saints live in a sinful world and Satan
sets up traps all over the place.

21. The reason saints sin
 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any
trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a
one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to
yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
(Gal 6:1)
 The verb ‘caught’ is in the ‘passive’ voice!
 It ought to be ‘infrequent’ and ‘occasional’!

22. How to avoid sinning?
 Flee Be on the alert Stand firm put on the whole
armor
 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of
evil, and some by longing for it have wandered
away from the faith and pierced themselves with
many griefs. But flee from these things, you
man of God, and pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, perseverance and
gentleness. (I Tim 6:10-11)

23.  “Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue
righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those
who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” (II
Tim2:22)
 “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like
men, be strong.” (I Cor 16:13)
 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be
able to stand firm against the schemes of the
devil. (Eph 6:11)

24. What to do if a saint sins
If a saint have sinned, the saint needs to
repent immediately to restore the
relationship with God.

25. Saints should not call themselves sinners
Because
 The Holy Spirit lives inside the believers
and that is why the believer is a saint
(holy)!

26.  If a saint calls himself a sinner, he has
committed a very serious offence to God:
 Insult the Holy Spirit inside and
 Blasphemed the Holy Spirit as a sinful
spirit!

27. The position of a saint
 Beginning: The identity is a child of the
Eternal God.
 No longer a sinner
 is a saint

28. Christ is a Title of Jesus
 Χριστός (Greek)， Christ (English)，
Χρισ= Chris τός=t
 Μεσσίας (Greek)， Messiah，
Με=Me σί=si ας=ah
“Messiah” (which translated means Christ in John 1:41).
 Hebrew is ‫משיח‬ M Sh YH,
‫=שח‬Sh ‫=חי‬YH
 ‫משיח‬ means an annointed one

29. Then, what is a Christian
 Christian means ‘little Christ’
 ‘Little Christ’ is a ‘little Messiah’
 ‘Little Messiah’ is a ‘little annointed one’
 Annoint is to pour oil on one’s head

30. 3 office holders are annointed
 King: Nathan then said to David, “ …the
LORD God of Israel says, ‘It is I who
anointed you king over Israel’ “ (II Sam
12:7)
 Priest: “you shall anoint them and ordain
them and consecrate them, that they may
serve Me as priests.” (Ex 28:41)

31.  Prophet: The Spirit of the Lord [fn]GOD is
upon me because the LORD has anointed
me to bring good news to the afflicted
(Isa 61:1)

32. Christian=Little Christ, a ittle Anointed One
Holds 3 offices
 A Little King
 A Little Priest
 A Little Prophet (spokes person for God)

33. The work of a Little King
 A king is to rules over a country.
But what is the reign now? Oneself.
 Keep oneself holy

34. The work of a Little King
 Serve God by doing His will
 Be transformed by the renewing of the
mind to know God’s will

35. The work of a Little Priest
 Offer oneself as a living sacrifice
 Bring others to God
 Pray for others
 Manage ‘church’ activities

36. The work of a prophet (God’s spokeman)
 Understand The Biblical Teachings first
 Speak for God (His word and bear
witness)
 Teach others (Sunday School, lead Bible
Study)

37. Heaven(s)
 Go to Heaven is not in the Bible
 Hebrew heaven is ‫שמים‬ (Gen 1:1)
 Sh M Y M (English Alphabet)
the pronunciation is ShaMaYiM
 ‫ים‬ YM Its Plural, so Heavens

38. Root of ‫שמים‬
 Can be ‫שמ‬ or ‫מים‬
 Sh M or M Y M
 ‫שמ‬ Sh M means name or reputation or
Shem
 ‫מים‬ M Y M is the plural of M

39. MYM is the plural of M
 ‫מ‬ M is pronounced as Ma
 The meaning of Ma is ‘what’ (Ma nna, Ex 16:15)
 ‫מים‬ MYM is plural and pronounced as MaYim
 This plural has the meaning of water or sea
(Gen 1:2)

40. The root of ‫שמים‬ heavens
 ‫שמ‬ Sh M is a name
 ‫מים‬ M Y M is: A plural of ‘What’
 meaning ‘unknown’
 used for ‘water or sea’
 The root of heaven is ‘name’ or ‘unknown’

41. Bible verses regarding heaven
 “‘HEAVEN IS MY THRONE AND EARTH IS THE
FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET” (Acts 7:49 & Isa
66:1)
Heaven is God’s throne
It is where His royal decrees are issued
So, it is where God’s will comes from

42. Another verse
 Lord’s Prayer
 Thy kingdom come
 Thy will be done (Mat 6:10)
 Kingdom=God’s will

43. If Kingdom = God’s will or rule
 Then how can one experience God’s will?
Because if one can experience God’s will,
then one is living in the ‘Kingdom of God’.

44.  Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the
mercies of God, to present your bodies a
living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to
God, which is your spiritual service of
worship. And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, so that you may
prove what the will of God is, that which
is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom
12:1-2)

45. Method
 …present (Aorist Active)， your bodies a
living and holy sacrifice
 you may “prove’ (Present Active)
 what the will of God is”

46. Sacrifice
 When a sacrifice is offered to God
 it belongs to God
 Who then will be responsible for the
sacrifice?

47. Where is the Kingdom?
 “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”
(Mat 3:2, 4:17, 10:7 Mar 1:15) Close by
 “Thy Kingdom come (Matt 6:10)” Not here
 “the Kingdom of God is in your midst.”
(Luke 17:21) It is here

48. So
 Where is the Kingdom?
1. Close by
2. Not here
3. It is here already

49. It turned out that the
Kingdom is in 2 stages
 ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world…’ (Mat 25:34)
 Kingdom of Inheritance
 Kingdom of Preparation

50. The two stages
 The Kingdom of Inheritance is a future
one : “Thy Kingdom come” (Mat 6:10)
 The Kingdom of Preparation is here and
now: “the Kingdom of God is in your
midst.” (Luke 17:21)

51. Root of the word ‘Kingdom’
 ‫ממלכת‬ MMLKH
 Pronunciation MaM La KaH
 Root ：‫מלכ‬ MLK means King, Queen,
Messenger (angel, Malachi)
 So, there are kings and queens in the
kingdom

52. Promise the Lord gave to believers
 He who overcomes, I will grant to him to
sit down with Me on My throne, as I also
overcame and sat down with My Father on
His throne. (Rev 3:21)
 Condition: Overcome (νικάω)
 Receive: sit down with Me on My throne
(Co-regent)

53. Was this known by others in the Bible?
 Yes
 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came
to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and
making a request of Him. And He said to her,
“What do you wish?” She said to Him,
“Command that in Your kingdom these two sons
of mine may sit one on Your right and one on
Your left.” (Mat 20:20-21)

54. The believer’s identity on earth
 In the beginning: Child of God by receiving
Jesus
 Then becomes a Saint and enters into the
Kingdom of Preparation, no longer a sinner.
 The next step: offer oneself as a living sacrifice
to prove God’s will.
 Become a little king
 Become a little priest
 Become a little prophet

55. The Kingdom of Inheritance =
Entrance into the Narrow & Small Gate
 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the
gate is wide and the way is broad that
leads to destruction, and there are many
who enter through it.
 For the gate is small and the way is
narrow that leads to life, and there are
few who find it. (Mat 7:13-14)

56. Few who find it
 Now the sons of Israel … about six hundred thousand
men.., aside from children. (Exo 12:37)
 Only 2 born in Egypt entered into the ‘Promised Land’!
(1) Joshua (Hebrew Name of Jesus, meaning ‘Johavah
saves’))
(2) Calib (‫כלב‬ root: ‫כל‬ whole； ‫לב‬ love. Meaning is ‘all
love’
Dog in Hebrew is the same word but pronounced as
KoLove )

57. The Kingdom of Inheritance =
Narrow & Small Gate
 And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being
saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow
door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you
begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open
up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where
you are from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your
presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you,
I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you
evildoers.’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth
when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in
the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. And they will
come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline
at the table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who
will be first and some are first who will be last.” (Luk 13:23-30)

58. The Kingdom of Inheritance
 “… I say to you that many will come from
east and west, and recline at the table
with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the
kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the
kingdom will be cast out into the outer
darkness; in that place there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Mat
8:11-12)

59. The Kingdom of Inheritance
 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a
wedding feast for his son. 3 And he sent out his slaves to call those
who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling
to come…But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and
destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 Then he said
to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited
were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main highways, and as many
as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ Those slaves went
out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil
and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. “But
when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a
man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to
him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’
And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants,
‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in
that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many
are called, but few are chosen.” (Mat 22:2-14)

60. The Kingdom of Inheritance
 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put
in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper
time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when
he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all
his possessions.
 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a
long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink
with drunkards; 50 the master of that slave will come on a day
when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not
know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the
hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. (Mat 24:45-51)

61. Conditions to inherit the Kingdom
 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who
called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to
them… His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and
faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will
put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of
your master.’
 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked,
lazy slave, …Throw out the worthless slave into the
outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. (Mat 25:14-30)

62. Conditions to inherit the Kingdom: Life style
 Live as a servant/slave of the Lord (i.e. do
God’s will)
 Be good (do one’s best) and faithful in
doing everything

63. Conditions to inherit the Kingdom:
Life style
 be faithful and also sensible (wise)
whom his master put in charge of his
household

64. God’s Original intent on creating us
 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness; and let them rule
over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the
sky and over the cattle and over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creeps on the
earth.”
 This is God’s will and it will be fulfilled at the
Kingdom of Inheritance!

65. The Kingdom of Inheritance is
 It is God’s government center (West wing of White
House)
 It is where one co-reigns with Christ over His Creation
(Rev 3:21)
 So, it requires someone who has been trained, tested
and passed (overcomes and does His will) (Rev 3:21)
 It is not ‘heaven’, a place where one sings all day long!

66. The Kingdom of Inheritance Needs
 (1) Authority: from God since God made it
 (2) Place: from God since God made it
 (3) Rulers: from people (overcomers)

67. The Kingdom of Inheritance Needs you

68. Who decides on the overcomers?
 Jesus said, “…but to sit on My right and
on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it
is for those for whom it has been prepared
by My Father.” (Mat 20:23b)
 Heavenly Father

69. End of Workshop, but also a beginning!
 This is a brief review and the details are in
Dr. Timothy Lin’s book: “What is the
Kingdom of Heaven in the Bible.”

70.  Offer yourself as a living sacrifice … to prove God’s will.
 Then in all things you do, do your best and be faithful at it.
 But also be faithful and sensible (wise) to manage God’s household.
 Live out a small king, small priest and small prophet, overcomer!
 Then, there is the hope of sitting next to Jesus on His throne to reign over
all His creation. (2 Cor 1:10c)