What is the Kingdom?
This is part 1 of a 3-part blog on Christ as King.
Nietzsche was attributed with the saying, “The devil is in the details”[1]. The truth is, as we open our Bibles and begin to search through the New Testament (specifically from Acts to Revelation), we start to see the kingdom is in the details. It may not stand out explicitly in any “tag clouds” in the same way “faith”, “hope”, or “love” would, but there are traces throughout. Gordon Fee made the audacious claim: “You cannot know anything about Jesus, anything, if you miss the kingdom of God”[2]. If we believe that the New Testament is primarily about Jesus – who is written in the “volume of the book” (Hebrews 10:7) and who said, “the Scriptures testify about Me” (John 5:39) – then we must survey this critical theme throughout the Greek Scriptures.
“Life in the kingdom is something like jazz. With jazz, everyone knows it when they hear it; the problem is, no one can really define it”.[3] A good definition of the kingdom (basileia) of God is threefold: the ruler (the Eternal-Anointed-Servant-King), the realm (the cosmic, visible new creation jurisdiction) and the reign(the personal, spiritual rule) of Christ – as He fulfills His promise to Israel and subjugates His enemies, commencing a “reinstatement of the originally intended divine order for the earth, with man properly situated as God’s vice-regent”[4]. Jesus, the son of Abraham and son of David, Israel’s King, was simultaneously rejected by her even as He was coronated on the 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).
There are only two cosmic kingdoms - the true kingdom we call the kingdom of God, which is the rule, reign, and realm of Christ the King. He is the King of Kings, and He is the Lord of Lords, and He created all things in heaven and on earth. He is distinct from creation and has complete authority and dominion over all. This King was eternal but entered time, space, race, and place and became a man, incarnated as a child. He taught about His kingdom, demonstrated His kingdom, revealed His kingdom, and suffered and died to be crowned as the True King who vanquished His foes through His own crucifixion. But He rose again triumphantly and conquered the final enemy - death - who had plagued all of creation since the Fall.
However, there is a second kingdom - a corrupted, diabolical kingdom in absolute opposition to the kingdom of Christ. It can go by different names - Rome, Babylon, self, Satan - but the agenda is still the same: resist, defy, and war against the kingdom of heaven. Pursue selfish desires, in hubris and vanity exalt yourself to the throne, or engage the flesh and the world's system to achieve your own greatness and glory. The battle in the mountain garden of Eden was seemingly won by this lesser kingdom, but even in the curse there was a promise that a serpent crusher would come from the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15). The diabolical kingdom suffered a devastating defeat in the battle in the Garden of Gethsemane and on Mount Calvary.
We are all born by nature as citizens of the diabolical kingdom. When we repent of our sin and trust Christ, we become a citizen of God's kingdom and are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, being born again from above and made right with the King. His citizens, born in this kingdom spiritually, now have all the blessings and benefits of by being heirs - a new people who are advancing His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Though postmodern culture seeks a ‘kingdom without the King’[5], we understand that God reigns not only “over all of his creatures, but he also reigns through his image-bearing servant-kings”[6]. 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” to us (Matthew 6:33).
Even so, come King Jesus!
[1] Idiomation Blog. (Jan 13, 2014). The devil is in the details. Historically Speaking. https://idiomation.wordpress.com/2014/01/22/the-devil-is-in-the-details/.
[2] Schreiner, P. (2018). Introduction. In The kingdom of God and the glory of the cross (p. 14). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
[3] Perrin, Nicholas (2019-02-25T22:58:59). The Kingdom of God (Biblical Theology for Life). Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.
[4] McCartney, Dan. (1994). Ecce Homo: The Coming of the Kingdom as the Restoration of Human Vicegerency, Westminster Theological Journal 56.1, 2.
[5] Sayers, M. (2016). Disappearing church: From Cultural Relevance to Gospel Resilience. Chicago, IL: Moody.
[6] Treat, J. R., & Horton, M. (2014). The Crucified King: Atonement and kingdom in biblical and systematic theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
