“For the kingdom of God is not food and drink,
but righteousness and peace and joy in the holy Spirit.”
Romans 14:17
The holy Spirit was not available to humans before the Son of God paid the price for it. The apostle John said it this way: “The holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified” (Jn. 7:39b).
If the kingdom of God is in the Spirit, and if the Spirit was not given until after the sacrifice of Christ, then the kingdom of God was not in the Old Testament. None of the ancient righteous men – Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets – received the holy Spirit, and so, none of them were in the kingdom of God. How blessed are we to be living in the time when we can enter into God’s kingdom with Jesus!
Jesus said that no one who had ever been born, no matter how holy and wise he may have been, was greater than John the Baptist, and yet, the very least in the kingdom of God is greater than even John. That is how blessed you are if you have received the Spirit of God!
