Thy Kingdom Come (cont.)
Last time we were looking at the model prayer of Jesus, found in Matthew 6, which says in verse 10, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in Heaven.” We mentioned the fact that there are two different senses in the coming of the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven. One is that it needs to come and the other is that it has already come. I would like to quote the words of one writer, Keith Mathison, who explains this well: “When Jesus declares that the kingdom of God has come and yet that it is coming, He is saying that the prophesied last act in the drama of redemption has begun but that it has not yet reached its conclusion. In other words, Jesus is saying that we are now in the midst of the last act.
“The kingdom has already come with the coming of Jesus. He has already been given all authority in heaven and earth. But we are still to pray, “Your kingdom come.” Why? Because on earth, there are still those who do not submit to His rule. When we pray, “Your kingdom come,” we are praying for the continued extension of God’s reign on earth. We are praying for God to convert the hearts of His enemies, bringing them to confess Jesus as Lord. We are praying that He puts those who refuse to submit beneath His feet (Ps. 110). We are praying for the coming of the day when all evil, all sin, and all rebellion against God is finally eradicated.”
The kingdom of God is already here in the sense that Jesus has come, the Spirit of God has been sent and His rule is a spiritual rule in the hearts of those who surrender to His will being done in their hearts and lives. This spiritual rule is something of which we need to pray to happen in more people’s hearts.
But His rule will one day also be literal. He will come back and set up His throne. So, we see both senses here concerning the kingdom of God. They are not in contradiction to one another. As one writer put it, “Some theologians refer to the future, open manifestation of the kingdom of God as the “kingdom of glory” and the present, hidden manifestation of the kingdom of God as the “kingdom of grace.” But both manifestations are connected; Christ has set up His spiritual reign in the church on earth, and He will one day set up His physical reign in Jerusalem.”
We can thank God that we can be part of His spiritual Kingdom right now by letting Him have us completely, directing our lives according to His great will. And being part of this spiritual Kingdom guarantees that we will be part of His literal Kingdom. Amen!