A Community of Faith - part 12
The Kingdom of God
Have you ever experienced a truly wonderful place? Somewhere that makes you think, "This must be what heaven is like." There is a term that comes from our Irish brothers and sisters to describe such a place. They call it a "thin place." The phrase has origins long before Christianity, but as Christianity spread into Ireland and the Celtic lands, the monks took the phrase to describe the experience of finding a piece of heaven on earth. It could be from the experience of Creation, such as a particularly beautiful beach or mountain range. Many times, though, they attributed it to a state of mind when a person's meditation draws them closer to God's presence. Of course, modern usage has a little bit of both implied. Regardless, there are times when we realize that this life, this world, cannot be all that there is. This experience can't be measured, quantified, or trapped in a bottle, but it is real nonetheless. These experiences remind us that we live in the tension that exists between Christ's First Advent and His Second Coming. Heaven has invaded earth through Christ, but then it's not quite all the way here yet at the same time. Theologians call this the "already, not yet" tension of the kingdom of God. We are going to look at this tension today with the 9th point in the BFM.
The Tension of Reality
Christians live in a tension-filled state when it comes to discussing the Kingdom of God. This world belongs to the Lord, and yet it does not feel like it does. After all Psalms 24:1 says,
The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
Psalm 24:1
But then the same psalmist says,
The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
Psalm 14:2-3
A long time ago a man named Augustine wrote a large treatise called The City of God. He lived at the time of Rome’s great fall to the Visigoths in 410. At the time Christians lamented the fall of the great city, and many pagans believed Rome fell because it had turned its back on the old gods. And so, Augustine writes this enormous book in order to explain Rome succeeded as well as she did, for as long as she did, because God allowed it. And He will continue to allow civilizations and human traditions to exist so long as they serve the purpose He designates for them. But ultimately, our focus should not be on the earthly city, or the City of Man, but rather the City of God. He chronicles human history showing that since the beginning there existed two great cities within the world—the City of Man which is really ruled by Satan and is in conflict with the City of God which is ruled by the Lord. Ultimately, it will be the City of God that rules over the entire world after the final judgement. Rather than lament Rome’s fall, Christians should look forward to their final Home in Heaven.
Augustine’s time is very similar to other times in history where people wonder what God is doing, or even doubt whether He is actually in charge. It is a curious case of human nature that in no matter what era, anytime something horrible happens, people will ask where God is in such tragedy, or blame Him for not paying attention, but as soon as things are fine again, they return to ignoring His very existence. It was no different in 410 AD, and it is no different today. We watch as nation rises against nation. Plagues and pestilence destroy the land. People continue to fall further and further into depravity. And Christians wonder what all this will come to.
But that last one is what gets me most, because God has already told us what all this world will come to. In fact, He told us in the last days, there will be plague and pestilence. Nation will rise against nation, and the love of many will grow cold. These are all birth pangs for the new creation.
Today, as we look at the doctrine of the Kingdom of God, we remember that God has already told us that we will continue to live in this tension-filled state until the end. The earth belongs to the Lord, but the people of the earth are still in a state of rebellion against their King.
The Kingdom
The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God’s will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.
There are two facets to the Kingdom of God, His general rule over the universe and His particular rule over those who follow Him. Now, theologians have separated the two in order to help clarify how it can be said that the Kingdom of God consists of all of creation, and yet large parts of His Creation are in a state of rebellion. The true problem, of course, is simply sin.
All of Creation belongs to the Lord, but not all of Creation is surrendered to the Lord.
Thus, when Jesus begins His earthly ministry, He tells the disciples the kingdom of God is at hand.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:14-15
The Kingdom is “at hand” because Jesus has come to inaugurate the Kingdom, or perhaps a better word would be to “re-inaugurate” the Kingdom. The earth belongs to the Lord, because He made it. But an enemy came and corrupted the earth by introducing sin. Jesus tells the story through a parable in Matthew 13.
He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
Matthew 13:24-30
The earth was created good. The field was good. It had wheat and was prepared well to be a great harvest. But an enemy crept in and sowed weeds (or tares for the KJV folks) among the wheat and went away. The plants started to grow and the servants realized a crime has been committed. The Master tells the servants to allow both to grow in order to not destroy the wheat.
Human history is filled with stories of good and evil. Some of the best of those stories remind us how great good can come out of great tragedy. Consider how many “great kids” have horrible parents. Most of the time, the adage “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” is proven correct. But every once in awhile, you see a wonderful young person who exudes a godliness completely foreign to their parents. This state is not some cosmic accident. It is the power of God. It is the truth that the weeds must be allowed to grow in order for the wheat to not be destroyed. Of course, these aren’t gardening tips. It is a description of the reality of humanity. The shortcomings and failures of humans can be used by God to point us to salvation and to guide His people toward greater faith.
God allows the weeds of humanity to remain in order to grow the wheat of humanity.
But there is a hopeful message at the end of this parable. Look again at verse 30. The Master says, “Let both grow together.” Sometimes when we look at this old world, we tend to focus on the negative. We have pandemics, wars, corrupted governments, failing healthcare, failing education, and the long list of problems in our own little worlds, as well. These are all signs of the growing weeds. But, if we take a look at the other side, we will see the wheat growing as well. People still turn to Jesus. They are still being saved. Churches still step out in faith to build programs to care for the poor, to educate and train children, to help new moms, to guide men towards godliness, to respond to natural disasters, and to proclaim the Gospel. Jesus said the whole world will be given a chance to respond to the Gospel, and guess what, that is happening! The number of people who have not had a chance to respond to the Gospel is waning fast! The number of Christians today is higher than it has ever been, because the message of salvation is still going out into all the world.
We must not let the growing weeds distract us from the reality of the growing wheat!
And so the BFM reminds us that “Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God’s will be done on earth.” When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus gave us what we have come to call the Lord’s Prayer. Read it with me.
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Matthew 6:9-13 KJV
This model prayer reminds us God is sovereign, and His will shall be done. As we await the final consummation of the Kingdom, the time in which Heaven and Earth will co-exist, we pray for that time. But, in the mean time, we also pray for our daily bread. What is it that we need for today? Let God worry about tomorrow. What has He given you for today? We focus on forgiving those who have wronged us. Their wrongs, and those people, were allowed by God, because without them, we would not be us. And we also know that we are not without sin either. So we ask for forgiveness from the Lord, as we seek to forgive others. We ask for deliverance from evil, so that our sole focus can be on seeking the Kingdom of God. And it ends with the reminder that all the kingdom, the power, and the glory belongs to the Lord forever.
When our minds are set on the glory of God, the grace of God, and the daily life with God, then we can experience living in the Kingdom right now. Sure, it is not quite what it will be like later, but we can have glimpses of heaven here on earth. That is why Jesus taught us to pray as He did—so that we can experience the Kingdom of God now.
We can experience bits of the Kingdom of God when we are surrendered to Jesus Christ.
The Tension Ends
The last bit of the BFM reminds us the tension we feel today will one day subside. The earth will give way to heaven. The Lord Jesus will return and gather His people to Him. Then, all that is corrupted by sin will be wiped away with fire. The earth will be restored to its original design, and the new heaven and new earth will begin.
We will experience the fullness of the Kingdom of God when Christ returns.
But the good news of the Kingdom of God comes with a warning. Only those who are surrendered to the King can enter the fullness of His Kingdom. When Christ returns, it will be like a king returning to his kingdom after a long battle. While the king was away, a rebellion took place. Someone else tried to take the throne and built a following. The king returns to his city to destroy the usurper. And after reclaims his throne, all those who followed in the rebellion are gathered up and punished with the rebels. Likewise, we cannot expect to live in rebellion to God and then be welcomed in His Kingdom. Turn from your sin and follow Jesus, who gives eternal life and forgiveness. Then, one day, you will walk in the fullness of the Kingdom of God in the new heaven and new earth.