The Kingdom and the "Already/Not Yet"

This is part 2 of a 3-part blog series.

In our first post, we defined the “kingdom of God/heaven”. In this post, we will see how/when this kingdom is initiated and consummated.

Inaugurated But Not Fully Realized

To review, the kingdom (basileia) of God is at the same time the ruler, the realm and the reign of Christ – as He fulfills His promise to Israel and subjugates His enemies. The ruler is Jesus Christ, the Eternal-Anointed-Servant-King who commences a “reinstatement of the originally intended divine order for the earth, with man properly situated as God’s vice-regent”[1]. The realm is Christ’s cosmic, visible new creation jurisdiction, whereas the reign is His personal, spiritual rule over individuals who have become born-again citizens through childlike repentance and faith. Jesus, the son of Abraham and son of David, Israel’s King, came as the Anointed One with the authority to restore creation as Isaiah predicted and initiate His loving jurisdiction. He was simultaneously rejected by Israel even as He was coronated on the Roman cross. At Calvary, Christ’s kingdom was inaugurated though not fully realized – the new creation begun but not fully completed – a day which yet stands in the future millennial reign as He vanquishes all of His enemies and fully makes all things new (Revelation 21:5). Though postmodern culture seeks a ‘kingdom without the King’[2], we understand that God reigns not only “over all of his creatures, but he also reigns through his image-bearing servant-kings”[3]. Since no kingdom divided against itself can stand (Mark 3:24), the people of God (the kingdom’s citizens) have a charge – as well as a high priestly prayer – to pursue unity as we boldly advance the realm and reign of the Ruler. Our focus is to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added”[4] to us. 

Three Ditches

The kingdom determines our beliefs, our message, and our methodologies. In short, we either minimize the Ruler (the Eternal-Anointed-Servant-King), the realm (the cosmic, visible new creation jurisdiction) or the reign (the personal, spiritual rule) of Christ. Christians usually land in a ditch on one of these dynamics of the kingdom definition.

Overemphasizing the Reign

When evangelicals speak about God’s kingdom, we often truncate the fullness of the realm and overemphasize the spiritual and personal reign that begins at conversion and is to be fully experienced in the afterlife. Or, evangelicals perceive the kingdom to only be a future event – relegated to the eschaton. Thus, the message of the modern church has been, “Receive Christ and go to heaven”. As true as that may be, it is a truncated truth, or as N.T. Wright reminds us, “Such a position simply won’t do” [5]. By default, most Christians reduce the Gospel of the cosmic realm of the King of kings down to a personal, private decision that may or may not bear any lasting significance in the world we live in today. Thus, in our methodology, any current manifestation of Christ’s realm upon the earth affecting anything tangible is shaken off or dismissed. The church forms clean categories like “secular” and “sacred”, crafting and fortifying these border walls to ensure no stray action or thought takes refuge across the border. Some argue that the pulpit shouldn’t be political and that the Gospel message is mostly eschatological in orientation.

Overrealizing the Realm

On the other extreme there are some who, like Peter (Matthew 26:52), employ a vastly over-realized sense of a political kingdom, taking up a literal and physical sword to advance the realm of Christ through their cause, using the very same means as Caesar. They diminish the spiritual, personal reign of Christ, emphasizing social change and civic duty. Whether for race, gender/sexuality, fitness, finance, or even diet, many people assume ‘the kingdom’ means advocating for whatever social agenda is current and meaningful in the world, simply inserting a token Jesus for good measure as the champion of their cause. They overemphasize the realm of Christ and reduce the reign and Ruler as costume jewelry. The pulpit becomes a platform to advance this message – thus silence about current cultural issues becomes anathema. Even the vegans assert that today Jesus would pass over the lamb (pun intended) in preference for vegan cheesecake[6].

Erasing the Future

Others still, like the Kingdom Now movement and those who espouse Dominion theology, pull the Ruler,realm, and reign of Christ forward completely to the present, dismissing all of the vast biblical “already/not yet” distinctions. These people find the need to pray for ‘God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven’ – translating Jesus’ prayer to mean the church should be experiencing prosperity, health, happiness, harmony and social influence in the here-and-now. The future, eschatological ideas espoused throughout the gospels are left on the shelf. This view has found traction in the ‘New Apostolic Reformation’ groups such as Bethel and in other mainstream denominations like the Vineyard movement. As true as some of their kingdom claims may be, their baseline premise is still a reductionist concept of kingdom with confusion over eschatology.

Christ is King

The doctrine, message, and methodology of the church must continue to be that Christ Jesus is King over all creation and is Lord of all – both now and forevermore. Paul’s early doxology in his first letter to Timothy captures it best: “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen”[7].

 -Pilgrim Benham

[1] McCartney, Dan. (1994). Ecce Homo: The Coming of the Kingdom as the Restoration of Human Vicegerency, Westminster Theological Journal 56.1, 2.

[2] Sayers, M. (2016). Disappearing church: From cultural relevance to gospel resilience. Chicago, IL: Moody.

[3] Treat, J. R., & Horton, M. (2014). The crucified king: Atonement and kingdom in biblical and systematic theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[4] Matthew 6:33, ESV

[5] Wright, N. T. (2016). How God Became King: the Forgotten Story of the Gospels. New York, NY: HarperOne, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

[6] ‘Veganrecipeshowcase’

[7] 1 Timothy 1:17, ESV