Hi Chris,
If we look up the definitions of the Word kingdom we find that it refers to the Kingdom of God that had been set up since the beginning of time. When Jesus walked this earth He told them that the Kingdom was in their midst. I believe it was because He was operating in direct connection with The Father, or in other Words The Father was operating through Him because he was fully submitted to His will and never acted on His own (John 14:10).
If we think about and meditate upon the Kingdom being inside of us (Luke 17:21), one can gather from all of the Scriptures pertaining to the Kingdom...that it encompasses all of the attributes of the Father (trinity). The Holy Spirit (Whom lives inside of us) is the key to His attributes being within us. If we don't accept Jesus as Lord and Savior then The Holy Spirit is not within us. And in my opinion if we don't submit our flesh to all of Jesus commands and ways of being righteous, then He is not really our Lord, and the fruits of The Spirit will not be flowing or evident in our lives. It's something that has to be done on a moment by moment basis.
As I pray and ask the Holy Spirit's guidance on all of this, I thought I would share what He gave me, how He led me.
As you have already established.... the gospel is everlasting because it started from the beginning and will also be involved in our life in heaven. It never passes away, because it's God's ways of doing things and He never changes.
Let's look first at grace. Grace is God's overwhelming desire to treat us all as if sin had never happened. The garden of eden that God created to put man in, had no curse in it. Adam and Eve enjoyed a life of no sickness, disease, poverty, calamity, etc... for the curse was never present. God provided for everything that they ever needed. They never experienced any lack. If we look at grace...God is desiring to get us back to that place. To give us what we don't deserve.
Eph 2:8 — Eph 2:9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Romans 4:16
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
Now let's look at Luke 4:18-19
The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound]. [Isa. 61:1, 2.]
Luke 4:18-19 AMPC
http://bible.com/8/luk.4.18-19.AMPC
Do we deserve any of this? Jesus proclaims the day when the free favors of God profusely abound. And then in vs. 21 says "today, this verse has been fulfilled while you are present and hearing" ampc. Is this good news? Does this compare to heaven? In heaven we are told there is no sickness or disease or death. No curse or sorrow. No one is downtrodden, oppressed, crushed or broken down (Rev 22:3). So it resembles heaven completely. All are fully whole in spirit, soul (mind, will and emotions) and body.
Salvation by definition in the Greek (G4991) and Hebrew (H3444) is
(
yeshû‛âh) BDB......salvation, deliverance
- welfare, prosperity
- deliverance
- salvation (by God)
- victory
- Strong's Definition: Feminine passive participle of H3467; something saved, that is, (abstractly) deliverance ; hence aid, victory, prosperity: - deliverance, health, help (-ing), salvation, save, saving (health), welfare.
(Soteria) Thayer.....deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation
- deliverance from the molestation of enemies
- Strong's Definition: Feminine of a derivative of G4990 as (properly abstract) noun; rescue or safety (physically or morally): - deliver, health, salvation, save, saving.
These two definitions also are identical to how heaven is and the definition of the gospel as in Luke 4:18-19.
In both 2 Corinthians 4:4 and 1 Timothy 1:11, they refer or point to the gospel that Christ (Messiah) preached. What was the reason why Jesus came? According to 1 Jn 3:8 it was to destroy the works of the devil. And according to John 10:10 He came to steal, kill and destroy. And looking at Genesis, we know that there was no curse in the earth until Adam and Eve turned the lordship of it over to the devil (satan). And is why the devil is still called the god of this world. So in his ways are poverty, oppression, lack, death, etc.
As we look at the Word kingdom.... its royal power, authority to rule, kingship, and domain. So the gospel of the kingdom is the good news where God reigns. The believer whom is submitted to God's dominion over them, or they have given God authority to rule over their lives. And God's royal power is at work in that believer, and for that believer (John 14:21).
Can we on our own power achieve total wholeness, wealth, healing, deliverance, victory, or preservation, and still be able to have eternal salvation? The worldly wealthy can achieve prosperity...but not the rest, and at what cost do they obtain it? They have to either toil to get it, or they gain it by dishonest methods. But in Christ as explained in Luke 4:18-19, Jesus (and The ways of Him and the Father, by inter leading of the Holy Spirit) is the one we can rely on to cause us to gain without toil (working incessently, exhausting physical labor... proverbs 10:22)
Gospel of God... encompasses the trinity. All three have a part to play in making the good news of the gospel (Luke 4:18-19) come to pass, along with the committed believer. For the believer has to have faith in Gods ability to bring all this to pass.
In Thayer's definition of God (G2316) # 3 a and b refers to the things of God, His counsels and interests...and #4 says whatever can in any respect be likened unto God or resemble Him. And Jesus and all of us were made in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26).
Blessings to you