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Living in the Kingdom of God: A Biblical Theology for the Life of the Church
This brief, accessible book offers a unique approach to the theme of the kingdom of God and to biblical theology. Sigurd Grindheim explains the whole Bible's teaching on the kingdom of God, discussing its implications for the Christian, the church, and politics. Grindheim shows what it means that God rules on earth, how his rule is established through the work of Christ, and how this rule is embodied by the church today, offering a new vision for the church's role in the kingdom: putting God's gifts to work.
- GenresTheology
192 pages, Paperback
Published November 6, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 3, 2023
4.5 stars
I bought this book for either $1 or $2 during COVID, knowing nothing about the author. The book is endorsed by men like D.A. Carson and Frank Thielman, so I knew it must be good.
I started reading it in 2021 and gave up, but can’t remember why. It must have been when I had COVID. I noticed that I had underlined several passages during this first attempt at reading when I finally decided to pick up the book again.
This book aims to describe what the whole Bible teaches about the kingdom of God. Although it is published by Baker Academic, it’s really not an academic text, as in, the language is very clear and flows easily without any technical jargon. Grindheim’s writing style made this book very enjoyable for me. He explains deep truths so concisely and opened my eyes to deeper truths in many of Christ’s teachings and parables. I have a much deeper understanding of what the kingdom of God is, and, as equally important, what it isn’t.
I enjoyed the anecdotes from history. Unlike other books, they weren’t there for filler, but helped illustrate his points a lot better. The final chapter on Revelation was also helpful in dispelling common misunderstandings of the book. I already knew some of these truths (like the meaning of 666, for instance), but Grindheim’s explanations are more useful in that I can now share this truth with others.
My only criticism of the book is that it doesn’t touch enough on what the Old Testament teaches, but it has definitely been a life-changing read for me.
I bought this book for either $1 or $2 during COVID, knowing nothing about the author. The book is endorsed by men like D.A. Carson and Frank Thielman, so I knew it must be good.
I started reading it in 2021 and gave up, but can’t remember why. It must have been when I had COVID. I noticed that I had underlined several passages during this first attempt at reading when I finally decided to pick up the book again.
This book aims to describe what the whole Bible teaches about the kingdom of God. Although it is published by Baker Academic, it’s really not an academic text, as in, the language is very clear and flows easily without any technical jargon. Grindheim’s writing style made this book very enjoyable for me. He explains deep truths so concisely and opened my eyes to deeper truths in many of Christ’s teachings and parables. I have a much deeper understanding of what the kingdom of God is, and, as equally important, what it isn’t.
I enjoyed the anecdotes from history. Unlike other books, they weren’t there for filler, but helped illustrate his points a lot better. The final chapter on Revelation was also helpful in dispelling common misunderstandings of the book. I already knew some of these truths (like the meaning of 666, for instance), but Grindheim’s explanations are more useful in that I can now share this truth with others.
My only criticism of the book is that it doesn’t touch enough on what the Old Testament teaches, but it has definitely been a life-changing read for me.
February 9, 2025
This is a solid, constructive account of the kingdom of God as it's described in the Bible. With a few exceptions, I largely agree with its account, and I think it's helpful to those who are looking for a broad overview and have not really studied or thought deeply about the kingdom. For lay readers, or entry level Bible students, it does the job, and in that, it's actually quite unique: most of the books on the kingdom written in the last 20 years are either too advanced for lay readers and entry level students, or too reliant on the Hebrew Bible (for example, see TD Alexander's otherwise excellent new book on the kingdom which spends 2/3 of its page count on the Hebrew Bible, and misses a lot of the important New Testament content).
While I liked the book just fine, I also was not impressed with much here. Grindheim offers measured and reasonable views on many of the most relevant passages, and I think the book is helpfully accessible, but, when I read, I tend to underline a lot and make notes in margins. With this book, I found myself getting bored by its almost overly simple observations, and I hardly ever lifted my pen from the table. It's an odd book in that I mostly agree with Grindheim's conclusions, but I was never inspired by its account. In other words, it's rare that I agree so often with a book that left me so unexcited.
There are a few issues where I disagreed. My biggest issue is with Grindheim's agreement with a now outdated view that the phrase "kingdom of God" in the NT deals not with land or territory, but only refers to "God's reign." I think this has been disproven, by scholars such as James Hester, Mark Foreman, Jonathan Pennington, Esau McCaulley, and Daniel Daley. God's reign might be the key issue, but Jesus and the NT writers clearly had the geographic reality of the future renewed earth in mind from the very outset of their use of the phrase "kingdom of God." The nature of that geography takes on fresh eschatological dimensions, but it absolutely includes "land and territory."
Less egregious, but still problematic, on page 32, Grindheim makes an off the cuff reference to Jesus being "abandoned" by his father on the cross. Yes, this is a dominant position among many recent neo-Calvinists, but as reformed theologian Yudha Thianto once insisted, "That's not Calvin, and that's not historic reformed theology." Grindheim does not provide an exegetical defense of this statement (as I said, it was off the cuff), and I used to teach this view myself, but I've been converted. I do not think that "abandonment" was behind Jesus' cry of dereliction on the cross.
I have a few other small disagreements. Overall, I do think this is a helpful book. If someone wants to get a start on learning about the kingdom, and they do not want to wade through more complicated treatments, this is a good place to begin.
While I liked the book just fine, I also was not impressed with much here. Grindheim offers measured and reasonable views on many of the most relevant passages, and I think the book is helpfully accessible, but, when I read, I tend to underline a lot and make notes in margins. With this book, I found myself getting bored by its almost overly simple observations, and I hardly ever lifted my pen from the table. It's an odd book in that I mostly agree with Grindheim's conclusions, but I was never inspired by its account. In other words, it's rare that I agree so often with a book that left me so unexcited.
There are a few issues where I disagreed. My biggest issue is with Grindheim's agreement with a now outdated view that the phrase "kingdom of God" in the NT deals not with land or territory, but only refers to "God's reign." I think this has been disproven, by scholars such as James Hester, Mark Foreman, Jonathan Pennington, Esau McCaulley, and Daniel Daley. God's reign might be the key issue, but Jesus and the NT writers clearly had the geographic reality of the future renewed earth in mind from the very outset of their use of the phrase "kingdom of God." The nature of that geography takes on fresh eschatological dimensions, but it absolutely includes "land and territory."
Less egregious, but still problematic, on page 32, Grindheim makes an off the cuff reference to Jesus being "abandoned" by his father on the cross. Yes, this is a dominant position among many recent neo-Calvinists, but as reformed theologian Yudha Thianto once insisted, "That's not Calvin, and that's not historic reformed theology." Grindheim does not provide an exegetical defense of this statement (as I said, it was off the cuff), and I used to teach this view myself, but I've been converted. I do not think that "abandonment" was behind Jesus' cry of dereliction on the cross.
I have a few other small disagreements. Overall, I do think this is a helpful book. If someone wants to get a start on learning about the kingdom, and they do not want to wade through more complicated treatments, this is a good place to begin.
March 4, 2019
About five years ago, my Christian worldview underwent a massive change after reading Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw. Since then, I have naturally gravitated towards books on this topic so that I can understand Jesus’ favorite topic better and better. That being said, when I saw that Sigurd Grindheim—a New Testament professor from Norway—had written a book called, Living in the Kingdom of God, I couldn’t help but buy it and jump in.
My copy is filled with highlights. Time and time again the author illuminates the Scriptures in a light that can’t help but catch your attention. Grindheim covers the topic beautifully and makes it come alive with illustrations from his own life and comparisons with the modern day world. He also brings the ancient Scriptures to life by detailing the meaning of them within the culture in which they were written, giving them fresh meaning that we couldn’t otherwise discern just by reading the Scriptures.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see Grindheim cover the topic on such a wide scale that he took it all the way into the book of Revelation. This shouldn’t be surprising since Revelation is about the full coming of the Kingdom, but unlike other authors, he takes an entire chapter to explain the importance of many confusing things in Revelation and how they relate to the Kingdom, painting the Bible in a light that many don’t hear it in because of all of the confusion and conspiracies revolving around Revelation. That is a well-needed chapter for many.
Whether you are new to the conversation of the Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven or you’re quite acquainted with it, this book is well-worth a read. It’s written on a level that everyone can understand, but it’s also not dumbed down as to not be beneficial to the academic. Even if it just ends up being review for you, it’s a well-needed review.
If anyone comes to me down the road looking to grow in their understanding of the Kingdom of God (again, one of Jesus’ favorite themes and therefore a crucial theme for us to understand), this will be one of my constant suggestions.
My copy is filled with highlights. Time and time again the author illuminates the Scriptures in a light that can’t help but catch your attention. Grindheim covers the topic beautifully and makes it come alive with illustrations from his own life and comparisons with the modern day world. He also brings the ancient Scriptures to life by detailing the meaning of them within the culture in which they were written, giving them fresh meaning that we couldn’t otherwise discern just by reading the Scriptures.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see Grindheim cover the topic on such a wide scale that he took it all the way into the book of Revelation. This shouldn’t be surprising since Revelation is about the full coming of the Kingdom, but unlike other authors, he takes an entire chapter to explain the importance of many confusing things in Revelation and how they relate to the Kingdom, painting the Bible in a light that many don’t hear it in because of all of the confusion and conspiracies revolving around Revelation. That is a well-needed chapter for many.
Whether you are new to the conversation of the Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven or you’re quite acquainted with it, this book is well-worth a read. It’s written on a level that everyone can understand, but it’s also not dumbed down as to not be beneficial to the academic. Even if it just ends up being review for you, it’s a well-needed review.
If anyone comes to me down the road looking to grow in their understanding of the Kingdom of God (again, one of Jesus’ favorite themes and therefore a crucial theme for us to understand), this will be one of my constant suggestions.
October 9, 2024
This book had some really good parts, and some parts I just skimmed through. The first half was really good on acknowledging that the kingdom of God has come into our midst. We are living in the kingdom, and that comes with many blessings. The reason for the three star is that there were a few statements and even chapters I didn’t agree with or think he made a good case. For example, he says we don’t “build” or “advance” the kingdom of God, we simply preach it, and people receive it, but I don’t think I agree with that. The great commission involves the advancement of God’s rule into the lives of others.
Overall, there are better books of the topic, though this has some good stuff.
Overall, there are better books of the topic, though this has some good stuff.
February 15, 2021
Loved it. Want to buy a copy for my personal library, which is the highest recommendation I can give.
I loved the content but also want to mention the helpful endnotes at the end of each chapter where Grindheim highlights views and authors that both agree and disagree with his interpretations.
I loved the content but also want to mention the helpful endnotes at the end of each chapter where Grindheim highlights views and authors that both agree and disagree with his interpretations.
May 1, 2019
A good, Biblical look at the Kingdom of God.
December 23, 2023
Spændende og letlæst bog med mange interessante perspektiver på Guds rige. Dog har Grindheim en lidt spøjs skrivestil med mange korte sætninger, som aldrig helt bed på mig - men det er detaljer.
February 14, 2025
Mostly solid. It gives depth in one's thinking of the concept of the Kingdom of God. Some language seems a little like BLM/feminism activism, but otherwise useful. In presents the gospel from the perspective of the Kingdom of God.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews