THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Christians are not the only ones who long for God’s righteous rule on earth. Similar ideas are found in other faiths. For example, Mahatma Gandhi spoke of Ram Rajya (the kingdom of the Hindu god Ram) in terms that are very similar to the Christian concept of the kingdom of God. Muslims believe in a coming kingdom of God, by which they often mean Allah’s future absolute dominion over all things, bringing in lasting peace. The Jews too looked forward to a future when the whole earth would come under the direct rule of God. Thus the psalmist prayed, “May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth” (Ps 67:4). The OT prophets spoke about God’s reign through his chosen, messianic king, the righteous ruler descended from David.

Jesus Christ is this king! The kingdom of God was central to his teaching. He began his public ministry by declaring, “The time has come ... The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). He spoke with a sense of urgency: “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent” (Luke 4:43). He sent out his disciples to proclaim the same message: “The kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt 10:7).

We cannot separate the kingdom of God from who Jesus is. He taught that the kingdom came with him. When the Pharisees asked him when the kingdom would come, Jesus answered that it was already “in their midst”, meaning that it was among them in his person (Luke 17:21). It was within their reach. (Older translations obscured this by translating his words as “the kingdom of God is within you”.) Rather than looking for some future kingdom of God, Jesus insisted that it is present where he is present. He made the same point even more clearly in Luke 11:20, where he said, “If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Jesus’ power over Satan demonstrates that the power of the kingdom of God is present wherever Jesus is present and exercises his authority.

But Jesus also spoke of the kingdom of God as something that would come in the future. For example, he speaks of the kingdom as coming with cataclysmic events that are clearly in the future (Matt 24; Mark 13; Luke 21). He associates it with his return in glory (Matt 16:27-28) and with power (Mark 9:1).

So is the kingdom of God a present or a future reality? The answer is that it is both. The present ushers in the future, and the future affects the present. Thus we are to live with both a present and a future perspective on God’s kingdom.

This perspective should affect how we live today. We must demonstrate God’s kingdom in the here and now and proclaim God’s kingdom as a present reality, even while we wait in hope for its future fulfilment. Whenever God’s people preach the good news, the kingdom is present, evil structures are challenged and people are delivered from demonic bondage.

However, this does not mean that we should expect to see miracles wherever and whenever we proclaim Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, for Jesus also tells us that when we act or preach on his behalf, we are only sowing the seeds of the kingdom. These seeds will grow into full realisation in the future. His parables about the mustard seed and yeast demonstrate that the small things we do and say today may one day produce far more significant results than we could ever imagine (Matt 13:31-33). This is an encouragement to those who labour tirelessly for God but see little apparent fruit. We are simply planting seeds of the kingdom; God will make it grow in

his time.

God has called us to be members of his kingdom, proclaiming and demonstrating truth, righteousness, love, peace and joy in our lives (Rom 14:17). Our mission is to call people to enter the kingdom here and now, but to await fulfilment in the future. Although we already live in God’s kingdom, we also pray, “Your kingdom come.” We seek to carry out God’s will on earth, while praying for the day when it “will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).

Ken Gnanakan