> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://amemamem.com.br/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Kingdom of Heaven Is Taken by Force - URL: https://amemamem.com.br/en/kingdom-of-heaven-taken-by-force/ - Published: 2026-11-11T16:54:04.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-11T17:00:28.000Z - Description: The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. A reflection on our weaknesses, the transformation of our desires and the freedom of resting in the one who does the work. - Author: Airton Humber - Tags: #en, #de-o-reino-dos-ceus-e-tomado-a-forca *The effort to enter into rest* “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take hold of it.” This declaration of Jesus deserves our attention. After all, what is this force? Who are those who take hold of the Kingdom of Heaven? And how do we understand these words in light of Jesus' invitation to find rest in him? The original Greek text allows for different interpretations. The Kingdom may be described as the target of violence or as a reality that advances with force. There is also the interpretation that people try to enter it with great determination. Perhaps it is better not to close this question too hastily. But we can examine what other passages of Scripture reveal about the Kingdom of God and about our part in it. ## The Kingdom of God and the Holy Spirit Jesus taught that whoever asks receives, whoever seeks finds, and to whoever knocks the door will be opened. And he added something extraordinary: “If you, though you are evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more will the Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to whoever asks him!” On another occasion, Jesus said: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it was the Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” The Father gives the Holy Spirit. The Father gives the Kingdom. And Paul makes it clear: “For the Kingdom of God is not food or drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” These passages allow us to understand the Kingdom of God as the government of God, manifested in us by the presence and action of the Holy Spirit. It is not only a future reality, but a life we can already experience. ## The conflict within us There is, however, a difficulty. We want to govern our own lives. We trust in our understanding, our convictions, our choices and our ability to tell good from evil. And even when we recognize what is good, we are not always able to practice it. Paul confessed this reality: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing.” And he explained: “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.” Perhaps our greatest resistance to the Kingdom of God lies precisely in this insistence on trusting our own understanding. We want to be led by the Spirit, but we keep wanting to take over the government. ## Kill the desire or let it die? Let us think of a very common situation. We are in front of a delicious plate of food. We like that food very much, we feel a huge desire to eat it, but we know it is not good for us. We can kill the desire by eating. The desire disappears for a moment because it has been satisfied. But when another opportunity comes, it will probably return. There is, however, another possibility. We can let the desire pass without satisfying it. In that case, we are not killing the desire by satisfying it, but allowing it to lose its strength for lack of food. It is a subtle difference, but an important one. And this image helps us reflect on Paul's words: “But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” **Notice: by the Spirit.** It is not simply a matter of repressing our desires by willpower. After all, we can resist outwardly and remain entirely dominated inwardly. The deepest transformation happens when what once dominated us begins to lose its power over us. And this is not necessarily immediate. Sometimes we recognize our weakness. Sometimes we make concessions we know are not good. Sometimes we discover that we still do not have the strength to resist. But over time we may notice that certain desires no longer have the same hold on us. Not because we have become extraordinarily strong. But because the Spirit is transforming our very wanting. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do, according to his good pleasure.” ## The effort to enter into rest Here we find an apparently contradictory expression: “Let us, then, strive to enter that rest...” How can we strive to rest? The very context of Hebrews offers a clue: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” The effort would not be to earn what God offers, but not to harden our hearts before his voice. To listen. To give ear. To trust. To give up the insistence on making our own understanding prevail. It is not the effort of someone who intends to accomplish God's work with his own strength. It is the perseverance of someone who recognizes his weakness and desires to be led by the Spirit. And here we can return to Jesus' declaration about the Kingdom of Heaven. Although we cannot claim that this is the only interpretation of Jesus' words about those who take hold of the Kingdom, there is an important spiritual connection. **The effort to enter the Kingdom can be understood, in our experience, as the willingness to give up the government of the flesh in order to welcome the government of the Spirit.** And, paradoxically, this path leads us to rest. ## Now there is no condemnation After recognizing his inability to do the good he wanted, Paul asks: “Who will deliver me from this body subject to death?” Notice that he does not ask how he will manage to free himself. He asks who will free him. And then he declares: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The absence of condemnation is not a reward for our ability to defeat the flesh. It is grounded in Christ Jesus. And Paul explains that what the Law could not do, because of the weakness of the flesh, God did. What extraordinary freedom! We can acknowledge our weaknesses without having to hide them, justify them or pretend we have already overcome them. We can acknowledge that we are still being transformed. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” And, in the next verse, Paul describes this progressive transformation, carried out by the Lord, who is the Spirit. ## Come to me, and I will give you rest There is something especially significant in the very chapter in which Jesus speaks about the Kingdom of Heaven. After speaking about the Kingdom and those who take hold of it, Jesus closes his teaching with an invitation: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” The same chapter that mentions force and violence presents the rest offered by Jesus. Perhaps our greatest weariness comes precisely from insisting on governing our own lives, trusting our understanding and trying to overcome our weaknesses by our own strength. And perhaps the deepest effort is to give up this resistance. Not to remain given over to our desires, but to be transformed by the one who can set us free from them. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. **The effort is to enter into rest.** **Rest is trusting in the one who does the work.** “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”