How Do You Explain the Kingdom of God?
Could you please explain the Kingdom of God? I keep hearing more and more about bringing the Kingdom of God to this earth. Thank you.
The kingdom of God is a broad concept in the Scriptures. Here is one of the better definitions I’ve adopted for it. The kingdom of God is manifested wherever the reign of Jesus Christ is recognized, and the benefits of His reign are enjoyed.
It sounds like you might be hearing from some people who are filled with hype, who like to get worked up about the Kingdom, and try to talk themselves into great things happening and great things being done. The kingdom of God is at work in the world today, sometimes in dramatic, wonderful ways, but oftentimes in subtle, almost boring, regular ways that we can recognize as Christians. If you are faithful, servant-minded, and walking in the love of God in your community, then God is doing the work of His kingdom through you.
The kingdom of God can’t be boiled down to any one aspect. People who try to drum up an enthusiasm or fervor for some immediate manifestation of the kingdom of God should generally be treated with suspicion. They’re trying to hype something into existence, rather than just realizing that God does the work of His kingdom in ways that are both obvious and subtle.
What does Jesus mean when He directs us to pray, “Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”? As we earlier defined, we want to see the reign of Jesus recognized and the benefits of that reign all around us. This prayer does not mean that it is God’s intention for everything on Earth right now to be as it will ultimately be one day in heaven. Some people have sort of driven that fervor, though. There are books by fellows like Bill Johnson from Bethel in Redding, California, that speak to this idea. But it’s inaccurate.
God does not intend for everything in the world right now to be exactly as it will be in heaven. For example, I’m absolutely certain that God wants me to be married and to be a faithful husband. In heaven, the people of God are neither married nor given in marriage. That’s part of the ultimate state. There is the promise of glorification in the age to come. But I’m not glorified right now.
There are aspects of what God will ultimately do in the age to come that are not yet manifest here. To pray, “May Your kingdom come, may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is to say, “God, I want Your way. I want Your kingdom to be extended throughout this world, according to Your will and Your work.” I think it’s that simple.