Chances are that if you stepped into a Christian church more than 3 times, you’ve heard what’s commonly called “The Lord’s Prayer,” or as Roman Catholics call it, the “our Father.” There Jesus prays to God, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” If one misses the centrality of the Kingdom of God in the preaching and teaching of the Prophets and Apostles, much of the historical books in the OT and even the gospels become obscured.
God’s overall project of restoring creation is carried out in various stages or phases, with each phase expanding and transforming the previous one. God is working to make the earth full of his glory, just as is the heavenly throne room. His Kingdom breaks into real history in multiple stages. These stages are grounded in real history and mainly through various covenants (the Bible speaks of covenants made with Adam-though this is disputed-Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and the “New Covenant”). So, for example, God’s covenant established with Moses is broadened and transformed with the divine promise to Israel’s King David, (picture right) the promise that his family line would always be on the throne of the nation of Judah (this is known as the “Davidic” covenant).
With Adam, the pattern of God’s kingdom on earth is established. The images of God were to live their lives in obedience to and trust in His loving, guiding word. After the Fall (in Gen. 3), humanity gets worse and worse, finally causing God to judge the world by a flood (Gen. 6). But, God makes a promise (i.e. a covenant) with Noah, saying that he would never again destroy the earth in the same manner. This covenant with Noah was God’s way of stabilizing the stage for the drama of salvation-history.
If His kingdom is to come on earth, then we can’t have his images having to start from scratch every so often! Back in Gen. 3, after the God punishes humanity and the snake, God makes a veiled promise to our first parents. The “seed” of the women would crush the “seed” of the snake. Eventually, the “seed” of the woman (i.e. Eve) is passed down to Seth, the godly son of Adam.
As time progresses, we get to Abram, whom God calls out from his family and homeland. The point? God’s kingdom will come through Abram’s, now Abraham, family. From there, we move to Moses and the deliverance of the people of Israel (Abraham’s larger family) from Egypt. God then takes these former slaves and forms them into a nation, and promises them their own land. As we fast forward, we find the establishment of the Davidic kingship. Now, we see God’s plan for his kingdom expand in the direction of an empire, with David’s son of the throne. The loyalty of the nation to God is measure by a couple of things,
1) their faithfulness to the covenant made at Mount Sinai (with Moses), (picture left)
2) their faithfulness to the temple in Jerusalem (the proper meeting place with God), and
3) their allegiance to the Davidic king (God’s representative).
Unfortunately, the nation of Israel doesn’t honour their responsibilities to the covenants, so God sends them into exile. While in exile God still shows his love through the prophets. The same prophets, Like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, who condemn so much of what the nation was doing are also the ones promising that one day God would restore David’s throne and
the Kingdom would be established. This is known we the “New Covenant” spoken of in Jeremiah. This promised covenant will do what the covenant made with Moses could not, it will give the people the power to obey it. The problem is with the people, not the Law.
The Kingdom of God: (Part 2) Promises Kept
In Part 1, I noted the promise of God to Adam and Eve in the garden (Gen. 3:15). This concept of “the seed of the woman” is the beginning hope for salvation. Later, the seed is understood to be the son of David and the son of man (a human figure to which God has granted authority to judge the earth). By the time of Daniel, the seed was known as the Messiah (the specially anointed one of God). All of the promises made to Abraham, Moses and David were to be fulfilled in the Messiah. He is the one that brings ultimate unity to the purposes of God in redeeming the world. Jewish messianic expectations around the time of Jesus were varied, but a general sketch is still helpful. Here are some of the common points:
1. The Messiah is King
2. The Messiah will defeat the powers of evil
3. The Messiah will rebuild the Temple
4. The Messiah will fulfil all prophecies regarding him and bring Israel’s history to its climax
5. The Messiah will act as Israel’s representative
6. The Messiah will also represent God
In general, these expectations are exactly what you find being attributed to Jesus by the New Testament writers. The gospel of Matthew and Paul clearly speaks of Jesus being descended from King David (Matt. 1 and Rom. 1) and thus having proper kingly right and authority. Paul speaks of Jesus defeating the evil powers in the heavenlies (Eph. 3) , and Rom. 10 speak of Jesus being the goal of the Law of Moses (addressing point 4). In Galatians, Paul speaks of Jesus being the true Israel, representing them as the one faithful Israelite (point 5), and in the book of Acts, Jesus is spoken of as a prophet, one that represents God to the people (point 6).
In Luke 11:20, Jesus, after making a demonstration of both His power and kindness said, “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” God has kept His promises, even when the fulfillment doesn’t look like what we’d expect!
The Kingdom of God: (Part 3) Living it out
We’ve now taken a very quick look at the theme of the kingdom of God as the unifying perspective of the Bible. But here we are, more than 2,000 years after I’ve said Christ ushered in the Kingdom of God. What’s wrong with this picture? Currently the church is living during the overlap of two ages. We’re living during a time when God is spreading His truth through people like you and me. We know that Jesus has won the final battle, so we work with confidence.
God’s big picture is much bigger than the salvation of my soul. God is renewing everything, as far as the curse is found. Christ had come to fulfil the message of the prophets and to usher in the olam haba, the great age to come. In this age to come, God’s love and justice would be brought to bear upon creation. God is out not only to restore His fallen images (though surely He is doing that!), but also to restore the world to rights, as N. T. Wright would say. This doesn’t just fit with the teaching that all authority belongs to Jesus, but actually gives it legs. As an example, my passion is teaching. Seeing the Kingdom as God’s rulership fully acknowledged on earth as it is in heaven nearly kills any thought of elitism a budding Christian educator might have.
One day Jesus will return to bring all that he started to a final, and dramatic climax. (picture left) In the meantime, God’s people are to work toward the renewal of creation. This happens this the spreading of the gospel, acts of mercy, and justice. Whether it’s the study of theology or trigonometry, Bible or biology, preaching or painting, our goal as God’s royal image bearers is to spread the rule of God, both for his glory and our good. Ordained ministry isn’t necessarily more important to the Kingdom than is being a good and just tire mechanic. The point is that if you are fair and just in your pricing, if you seek to serve God’s images, then as a tire mechanic you are reflecting God’s reign in your sphere of work. This is the type of thing young Christian people need to hear. Too often they are lead to believe that only in ministry can they truly work for the kingdom, and that is nonsense.
Closing observations. Kingdom theology gives us with large enough “thought boxes” to make much sense out of various Christian ministries. We strive for social justice. Why? Because the kingdom is more, not less, than the salvation of the individual. It’s about displaying the mercy of God toward the downtrodden and his justice for those who have been wronged (as Christ indicated in Luke 4 and James). We paint and make music as Christians. Why? Because God created the world to display the splendour of His beauty and we, as created in his image, are to cultivate the world and beautify it. We study science because we are stewards over God’s world and must understand the world and it’s details if we are to subdue it to the glory of God and the good of his people. The list could go on and on indefinitely, but the point is that
ordained ministry and common labour are enlivened when every endeavour is seen as a channel through which God’s kingdom is manifest in his creation. And surely one day, the earth and God’s throne room will appear identical.
1) their faithfulness to the covenant made at Mount Sinai (with Moses), (picture left) 
of “the seed of the woman” is the beginning hope for salvation. Later, the seed is understood to be the son of David and the son of man (a human figure to which God has granted authority to judge the earth). By the time of Daniel, the seed was known as the Messiah (the specially anointed one of God). All of the promises made to Abraham, Moses and David were to be fulfilled in the Messiah. He is the one that brings ultimate unity to the purposes of God in redeeming the world. Jewish messianic expectations around the time of Jesus were varied, but a general sketch is still helpful. Here are some of the common points:
One day Jesus will return to bring all that he started to a final, and dramatic climax. (picture left) In the meantime, God’s people are to work toward the renewal of creation. This happens this the spreading of the gospel, acts of mercy, and justice. Whether it’s the study of theology or trigonometry, Bible or biology, preaching or painting, our goal as God’s royal image bearers is to spread the rule of God, both for his glory and our good. Ordained ministry isn’t necessarily more important to the Kingdom than is being a good and just tire mechanic. The point is that if you are fair and just in your pricing, if you seek to serve God’s images, then as a tire mechanic you are reflecting God’s reign in your sphere of work. This is the type of thing young Christian people need to hear. Too often they are lead to believe that only in ministry can they truly work for the kingdom, and that is nonsense.
