The Kingdom of God
Written by David W. Hegg | Senior Pastor
Ask anyone “what is the Kingdom of God?” and you’re likely to get responses ranging from “what do you mean by ‘Kingdom?” to any of a number of wide-ranging options presented and defended by professional theologians and preachers. Given that the subject is complex, hotly debated, and often controversial, my hope here is to simply present a broad understanding of God’s sovereign rule overall and suggest that there are several expressions of that Kingdom which testify to his power and grace.
The Kingdom of God is Eternal, Universal, and Sovereign
“If we start in the Old Testament, we are already finding that God’s eternality means his sovereign rule has always existed.”
When Moses wrote “In the beginning God created …” we are made aware that, even before creation, God was all-powerful, unrestricted, and fully in charge. Moses states this truth poetically in Psalm 90:2:
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
And, when King Nebuchadnezzar came face to face with almighty God, he exclaimed
“How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation” (Daniel 4:3).
And David summarizes the truth that God, having established his throne, has been, is, and forever will be ruling as King in Psalm 103:19:
“The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules overall.”
The Kingdom of God is Experienced through Different Expressions
It is important to understand that, while the universal and sovereign Kingdom of God exists as the natural outcome of God’s eternal existence, it is experienced by us through several different expressions.
For example, we recognize God’s sovereign Kingdom rule in the presence and maintenance of natural law. God’s kingdom rule is what keeps all the laws of nature, which he brought into being, operating consistently. God’s rule as expressed in the laws of physics, mathematics, chemistry, planetary movements, music, and a host of other natural phenomena is experienced by us daily.
Consider this. E=MC2 was true even before Albert Einstein was born. Why? The Apostle Paul gives us the answer in Colossians 1:15-17 when he describes God the Son:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (emphasis added) 2
All of the principles and laws governing the natural created world were in place the moment God created them. And he has continued to exercise his powerful Kingdom rule to maintain them perfectly since then.
When you wake up in the morning and the sun is shining, it is a wonderful reminder that God has kept the planets in their traces, continued providing oxygen for your lungs, and as you slept, kept the earth spinning on its axis so that night turned into day. How? Through his Kingdom rule expressed in the precise maintenance of natural law.
We also recognize God’s Kingdom rule through providence. The providence of God is wonderfully summed up, again by the Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 1:11:
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will …
When God exercises his sovereignty so that all things end up accomplishing his purpose, decree, and will, we understand this as God’s providence. Wayne Grudem defines providence as God’s continual involvement with his creation so that he
“1) keeps all things existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; 2) cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and 3) directs them to fulfill his purposes.” (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, pg. 315).
Or, to put it more simply, God’s providence is an expression of his eternal Kingdom rule by which, when all is said and done, God’s eternal decree and plan will have been perfectly accomplished, right on time! Grudem goes on to explain that it is the providence of God that allows us to understand
“events in creation are not determined by chance or karma or randomness or impersonal fate, but by God who is the personal, yet infinitely powerful Creator and Lord of heaven and earth.’” (Grudem, pg. 315).
So, we see that God’s providence is yet another expression of his Kingdom rule that we experience and celebrate as our eyes are enlightened by God the Spirit to see God’s hand in all things.
But, when we turn to the biblical story told from Genesis to Revelation the most prominent expression of God’s universal, sovereign Kingdom is his redemptive activity. This redemptive expression of the Kingdom of God is at the core of God’s self-revelation in the Bible.
“The redemptive expression of God’s Kingdom rule is the greatest story ever told, and God himself has been telling it, and progressively revealing its powerful plotline since Moses was moved by God the Spirit to declare ‘in the beginning, God created …’”
In the first 3 chapters of the Bible, we already see God’s Kingdom rule. He creates, and he also commands that Adam and Eve obey his command. Obedience to God is the first and highest form of worship. But, as we know, Adam and Eve rebelled against God, sought to be their own standard of good and evil, and through their sin brought death and decay into God’s creative masterpiece. And in a micro-picture of God’s entire redemptive expression, we see both judgment 3 and redemption. God judges their sin by forcing them away from personal fellowship with him, but not before he also demonstrates his kindness by covering their nakedness. In these simple first acts, God sets for the essential elements of his redemptive expression. There is God’s command, man’s self-centered rebellion, God’s provision of covering, and judgment of sin.
From there the redemptive expression of God’s eternal Kingdom is carefully revealed through the Old Testament. In each of the three sections of the Old Testament – The Law, The Prophets, and The Wisdom Literature – God the Spirit, superintending the human authors, progressively unveils important truths about the promised One, the King who will one day reveal himself to mankind. All along the way, the redemptive expression of the Kingdom becomes more visible, more clarified, and more comforting to those who have placed their hope in the promises of God.
And then, in the fields outside Bethlehem, the promise of Emmanuel – God with us! – becomes a physical reality as the King, God the Son Incarnate, is born. And as Jesus grows, his miraculous works display his Kingdom power over creation, over the demonic realm, and most of all, over sin, and the death and decay it has brought. Even more, his triumph over sin and death through the cross and empty tomb catapults the redemptive expression of God’s Kingdom forward into the worldwide mission of the Gospel.
Today we live in the grand tension of the already and the not yet. Already we are citizens of the Kingdom. Already we have learned who the Promised Messiah is, and just how he “saves his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Already we have been “delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of God’s beloved son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13,14). Already we have been blessed to participate in the church, Christ’s Kingdom embassy. And already “the God and Father of Jesus Christ has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). We have so many of the Kingdom assets now … but this is only the beginning.
There is also a most blessed “not yet” of the Kingdom of God. In fact, the Apostle Peter commands us to “set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). Our blessed hope is grounded in the fact that our God has proven to be 100% faithful in fulfilling all his promises to date, and certainly can be trusted to keep doing so. Our Lord promised to return and return he will. And when he does, the redemptive expression of the Kingdom of God will experience an epic expansion as the King comes in power and might to settle all the accounts handing down either eternal reward or eternal judgment.
And finally, at the end of history, as the various expressions of the Kingdom of God join together, the earth and heavens will be made new, and all who have been rescued and redeemed will live in eternal love and joy, quite apart from even the possibility of sin and its effects. And then it will be true that the fullness of the Kingdom of God will be known.