Matthew 5:3-12 - Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
When we study the "Kingdom of God" the best place to start is Gen 1:1. We see that God the King of everything that exist.
1. The realm (scope of this rule) is the heavens and the earth.
2. The Reign (the power by which He rules) is exercised by His will, His word and His works. By His own will He decides and designs. By His own word He speaks creation into being. By His own works His Spirit displays His unlimited power.
3. His authority to rule is His persistence and holiness. All kingdom power and authority flow from Him.
Gen 1:26-28 - Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
In this scripture God delegate to man "dominion on the earth". God created man in His image and likeness. Thus He created man, a king, to rule over earth. Man's power and authority for exercising this rule originate in God's intent to make man a king. Man's ability to rule earth as a king depends on his obedience to God's rule as a king of all. Man's power to reign will extend only as far as his faithfulness to God and His law.
Gen 1:31 - Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
In this scripture we see that every thing God had made was very good. This is how God intended earth to be with a king, man to rule over earth. Our present world does not reflect the kingdom of God originally intended for man's enjoyment on earth. It was disobedience that brought the fall of man. And then with the fall the presence of death, disease, discord and disaster came to mankind.
The impact of the fall is clearly seen in Gen 3:16-24 - To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you." Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': " Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever", therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Man lost dominion. The domain or realm where man ruled came under curse. This happened because of the broken relationship with God.
Not only did man loose his authority to rule, but he lost it to the serpent Satan. What God intended for man to have became Satan's. Satan became king of the planet earth by the authority handed to him by man himself. But we also see most wonderful plan of God starting to unfold. God begins to move redemptively and promised the recovering of man's authority to rule and reign as king on earth.
Matthew 22:36-40 - "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
Mark 12:29-31 - Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
Luke 10:27 - So he answered and said, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 - Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 10:12 - And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.