Part 1
Up to this point, we have discovered something very great.
God created man to live in relationship with Him.
Man departed from the Creator.
But God did not abandon His creation.
He opened a way back.
A promise.
A people.
Kings.
Prophets.
And the promise continued to point towards a King who would come.
Then, after all that waiting, the King came.
His name was Jesus.
And His message was:
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 4:17
But now the question that matters most to us arises:
If Jesus came to proclaim the Kingdom of God, how can I become a part of it?
How do I become a citizen?
Do I have to do many things?
Do I have to be a perfect person?
Do I have to spend years learning rules?
Do I have to earn the right to enter?
Jesus gives us an answer that, at first, might seem very simple.
But precisely therein lies its beauty.
JESUS CAME TO BRING US THE KINGDOM
From the very beginning of His ministry, Jesus proclaimed:
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 4:17
He did not say this only once.
Matthew writes:
And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching… preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Matthew 9:35
And Jesus Himself said:
I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.
Luke 4:43
So, Jesus came for one purpose:
To proclaim the Kingdom of God.
But He did not come only to speak of a Kingdom that people could see from afar.
He came to open the way for man to return to the Father.
And for this reason, everything Jesus did is part of this way.
RRUGA IS JESUS
One of the clearest statements Jesus made is this:
I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
Note carefully.
Jesus did not say:
I show you one of the ways.
He said:
I am the way.
So, if we want to return to the Father, the Way is Jesus.
There is no system of rules that can lead us to the Father.
There is no list of works that can buy entry.
It is not a matter of how good we have been until today.
The Way is a Person.
Jesus.
BUT WHAT DID JESUS DO FOR US?
Jesus did not come only to show us the way.
He opened the way.
He died on the cross.
He was buried.
And on the third day He rose again.
This is the heart of the good news.
Paul summarizes it this way:
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 15:3–4
So:
Jesus died.
Jesus rose again.
And what He did, He did for us.
Through Him the way of reconciliation with the Father is opened.
Through Him we receive a new life.
Through Him we become children.
And, as children, we also receive the inheritance.
HOW DO WE BECOME CHILDREN?
Here things start to get even simpler.
John writes:
But to all who did receive him, he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name.
John 1:12
This is the point where we must stop.
To those who received Him.
And:
To those who believe in His name.
So, we do not become children because we have been perfect.
We do not become children because we have followed every rule.
We do not become children because we have done enough good works.
We become children by receiving Jesus and believing in Him.
And precisely here the question arises:
What does it mean to receive Jesus?
Should I perform a grand ceremony?
Should I pay something?
Should I pass an exam?
No.
The Bible gives us a very direct answer.
BELIEVE WITH THE HEART AND CONFESS WITH THE MOUTH
Paul writes:
Because, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:9–10
Read it one more time.
To believe in the heart.
To confess with the mouth.
And here the question might arise:
That's it? Only that?
Yes.
But we must understand what this means.
It's not about saying some words mechanically.
It's not a formula.
It's not a magic word.
It is the moment when you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead, and you confess this belief with your mouth.
You say:
YES.
Yes, I believe in Jesus.
Yes, I receive Him.
Yes, I believe that He died and rose again for me.
And this YES is the beginning of a new life.
WHY IS IT FREE?
Because you are not buying something that God is selling to you.
You are receiving something that God is giving to you.
Jesus said:
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12:32
To give you the Kingdom.
This is the word we need to understand.
A gift is not bought.
An inheritance is not earned with points.
A son does not pay to be a son.
Therefore, the path to the Kingdom does not begin with the question:
What must I do for God to accept me?
It begins with the question:
Will I accept what God has offered me?
And He has offered it to us through Jesus.
HIS DEATH OPENED THE WAY TO INHERITANCE
Now we can understand even better why Jesus' death is so important.
In Hebrews we read:
And for this reason He is the Mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions…
Hebrews 9:15
And a little further down it says:
For where there is a testament, the death of the one who made it must be proven.
Hebrews 9:16
We can understand it with a simple example.
Imagine a father who has left an inheritance for his children.
He has specified it in his will.
The children do not buy the inheritance.
It has been left to them.
And the death of the one who made the will is connected to its coming into effect.
The Bible uses this language to help us understand what happened through Christ.
Jesus gave His life.
He became the Mediator of the New Covenant.
And through Him we receive what God has prepared for His children.
But Jesus did not remain in the tomb.
He was resurrected.
And this is just as important.
Peter writes:
…has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away…
1 Peter 1:3–4
Look at the connection Peter makes:
The resurrection of Jesus → our new birth → our inheritance.
This is why we are not just talking about the forgiveness of the past.
We are talking about a new life and a new inheritance.
WHAT DO WE RECEIVE AS SONS?
Paul explains it very clearly:
And if you are children, you are also heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.
Romans 8:17
So, now we have a very simple connection:
You accept Jesus.
You believe in Him.
You become a child of God.
And as a child:
You become an heir.
But what do you inherit?
Jesus Himself said:
It has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12:32
The Kingdom.
So, what Jesus came to proclaim was not just something we should hear about.
He came to open the way for us to it.
FROM ONE KINGDOM TO ANOTHER
And here the theme we have been following from the beginning also begins to become clear:
From darkness to light.
Man had fallen out of relationship with the Creator.
But God did not leave him there.
Jesus came.
Jesus died.
Jesus rose again.
And through Him, the way to return to the Father is opened.
Paul says that the Father:
he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves
Colossians 1:13
Look at this.
He delivered us from darkness.
He conveyed us into the Kingdom.
This is the transition.
It's not just a change in behavior.
It's not just starting to do some things differently.
It's a change of allegiance.
From one kingdom to another.
From darkness to light.
From alienation to restoration.
From being a stranger to a son.
From outside the Kingdom to its citizen.
AND HOW IS CITIZENSHIP OBTAINED?
Now we can say it very simply.
It is not bought.
It is not earned by merit.
It is not obtained because you have been perfect.
It is given.
And the Way is:
Jesus.
You accept Him.
You believe in your heart.
You confess Him with your mouth.
And through Him you become a child of God.
And if you are a child:
You are an heir.
And the inheritance is:
The Kingdom.
This is why the good news is truly good news.
Because what man cannot achieve by his own strength, God has made possible through Jesus.
You are not asked to buy citizenship.
You are not asked to be perfect before you approach.
You are asked to believe and accept Jesus.
CITIZENSHIP CHANGES RIGHT NOW
But when does this change happen?
When does a person become a citizen of the Kingdom of God?
Only after he dies and goes to heaven?
The Bible tells us something extraordinary.
If you have accepted Jesus and have been born again, you are already a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
The moment you believed in Jesus and called upon His name, something more powerful happened than what you could see with your eyes.
Your belonging changed.
You passed from one kingdom to another.
Paul explains it this way:
and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Ephesians 2:6
Look at the tense in which it is written.
God raised us up with Christ.
And seated us with Him in the heavenly places.
The Word does not just say that God will do this one day.
It says that He has done it.
And Paul writes again:
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
Colossians 1:13
Even here, look at the tense used.
He has delivered us.
He has conveyed us.
Not just:
He will deliver us one day.
But:
He has delivered us.
Not just:
He will convey us to the Kingdom one day.
But:
He has conveyed us into the Kingdom of His Son.
This is a present reality for everyone who is in Christ.
From the power of darkness…
into the Kingdom of the Son.
From darkness…
into light.
From being a stranger…
into a son.
From outside the Kingdom…
into its citizen.
When you accept Jesus, you don't just receive a promise for the future. God delivers you from the power of darkness and conveys you into the Kingdom of His Son. Your citizenship changes right now.
You are not waiting to become a citizen of the Kingdom one day.
If you have accepted Jesus and believed in Him, your belonging has already changed.
And, as a child of God, you are also an heir:
And if you are children, you are also heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.
Romans 8:17
This is not just a hope for the life to come.
It is the beginning of a new life right now.
But becoming a citizen is just the beginning.
Now you must learn how to live according to the Kingdom to which you belong.
To learn to think according to God's Word.
To believe what He has said.
To speak and act according to it.
And not to continue living as if you are still under the power from which God has delivered you.
Perhaps until now you have been waiting for God to do something that the Word says He has already done.
Therefore, the question is not always:
How can I persuade God to act?
The question we need to start asking is:
What has God said and how should I act in faith upon His Word?
Here begins the life of the citizen of the Kingdom.
Not by praying to God for His Word to become true.
But by believing that what He has said is true and learning to live by it.
NOW YOU HAVE THE WAY FORWARD
Perhaps until now you have thought:
I have been searching for years.
Perhaps you have searched without knowing what you were looking for.
Perhaps you thought you had to become a better person before you could approach God.
But the message we are discovering is much simpler.
Jesus is the Way.
He came to proclaim the Kingdom.
He died for us.
He was resurrected.
And through Him we can become sons of God.
Through Him we receive the inheritance.
And Jesus said:
It has pleased the Father to give you the Kingdom.
Therefore, the question is no longer:
Is there a way?
We already know.
The Way is Jesus.
The question is:
Will you accept Him?
Because the Bible says:
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
It's not a formula.
It is a YES.
A YES to Jesus.
A YES to the King.
A YES to new life.
And with that YES a great change begins:
From darkness to light.
From outside the Kingdom to the Kingdom.
From being a stranger to a son.
From a seeker to an heir.
From one who only hears about the Kingdom to its citizen.
And now another question arises:
If I have become a citizen of the Kingdom, what does it mean to live as a citizen?
What has changed within me?
How does this new life work?
How does the Holy Spirit lead me?
And what does the life of a citizen of the Kingdom begin to look like?
This is what we will discover next.
If you want to follow Jesus
You can say yes to Jesus today. He knows you, loves you, and awaits you with open arms. You don't need to be perfect — just sincere. He does the rest.
Prayer is not a magic formula. It is a simple way to tell God what is in your heart: that you believe in Jesus, that you need Him, and that you want to follow Him.
Where you can continue
Next chapter: 09 · What have we been given in the Kingdom?.