Kingdom of God

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.  Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:10

This simple petition carries a lot of meaning.  We have already seen in our meditations on the Beatitudes that Jesus often spoke of “the Kingdom of Heaven,” or “the Kingdom of God.”  For him, as for many Jews at that time, it was a future expectation, something to look forward to, a day when the reign of God would be complete, absolute, and apparent to every sentient creature on Earth.  It was a time when oppressed Jews would no longer be downtrodden, but be free to worship God whenever and wherever they pleased.  Their oppressors would be vanquished, and there would be a restoration of some form of theocratic government.  From this perspective, it makes sense that this petition would be coupled with the previous, “May [or “let”] Your name be held sacred.”

However, on the lips of Jesus, this petition means a lot more than just a change of governments. When Jesus teaches us to eagerly anticipate the coming of God’s Kingdom, He appears to mean this on varying levels which we deduce from His teaching elsewhere.

For Jesus, the Kingdom was something that will come at a future time (e.g., Matthew 5:19-20; Luke 21:31; 22:16) but also something that was a present reality.  He proclaimed that the Kingdom has “come near” (e.g., Matthew 3:2 and 4:17) and indeed was the present possession of some (e.g., Matthew 5:3 and 10).  Jesus taught what the Kingdom of Heaven is like—present tense (e.g., Matthew 13:24-53), and who may or may not enter it—again, present tense (e.g., Matthew 19:14, 23; 23:13).

From all that Jesus tells us, I think it’s fair to say that God’s Kingdom is not some kind of hoped for military take-over, as with previous revolts and theocratic kingdoms. Rather, God’s Kingdom arrived with the coming of the Messiah, and the proclamation of the Gospel. Those who are Christians—for whom Christ is Lord and Savior—are citizens in the Kingdom of God, while being residents in this world (1 Peter 1:1 describes us as “resident aliens”–a perfect description of Christians at present). But this is just a deposit—a promissory note anticipating the full payment of the Kingdom in the end times.

At some time in the future, God will call all men to final judgment and the events predicted in the Book of Revelation will come to pass, with Satan and his minions, along with hell, being cast into the lake of fire.  Then God’s dominion will be established totally, with all people under His loving and gracious authority.

You might ask: if God is sovereign, doesn’t He already have absolute power and authority…so what are we asking for here?  I would respond by saying, yes, God is sovereign, and He has absolute power and authority.  He can do as He pleases whenever it pleases Him.  Which means that the state of affairs as they are right now, with the name of God slandered throughout society, and Christians being demeaned and, to varying degrees, persecuted, is part of His plan and is in accord with His timing.  When we pray this prayer, we are not asking for God to establish something that is not currently His, or to gain authority by conquest.  Rather, we are asking the Lord to hasten the day when He executes the final stage of His plan of redemption, when all His elect are called to Him, the present godless age is brought to an end, and He establishes His rule throughout the universe, with Satan, sin, and all that oppose Him set aside permanently.

This means that when we pray for the salvation of our non-Christian friends and family members, we are asking God to extend His kingdom on Earth in this present age.  But we also pray that God will, indeed, shorten the time we have to endure this godless age, and bring about what we so long and hope for.

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Father, we thank You for who You are in us and us in You!  And for Your unconditional love for us in Jesus’ name, we say ‘thank You!’ Amen!

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