The Contours of the Kingdom
By Jay Wegter
INTRODUCTION: The Jewish nation had been chosen to be channels of His redemptive work to the entire world (1 Ki 8:43, 60; 2 Chron 6:32-33; Jer 13:11). All Jews believed that this story was leading to the grand culmination when God would act decisively and accomplish the salvation for all nations for all creation. They all believed that the story of God’s redemptive acts was moving toward a climax that would have consequences for all people. The biblical story is not simply a local tale about Jewish people. It begins with the creation of all things and ends with the renewal of all things. The Old Testament tells its story as part of the ultimate universal story that will ultimately embrace the whole of creation, time, and humanity with its scope.ⁱ
The word, “Zion” itself simple means “fortification” like a citadel but it’s also another name that is used for Jerusalem or the City of David and is associated with God and is sometimes referred to as “the City of God.” The word Zion has a broad spectrum of meaning that is greater than any one single entity or identity because Zion was also known as the seat of power for the kingdom of Israel but also for the Kingdom of God. We know that it is a place that God loves and cares deeply about because the city is also associated with God’s chosen people, Israel (and the glory of God’s Name and reputation). Zion is used interchangeably with Jerusalem in many Scriptures like in Isaiah 52:1-2 so any time you see the word Zion used it, is referring to Jerusalem, the City of God, the City of David, the people or nation of Israel or the people of God and sometimes typifies God’s place of rule or where His presence resides like in Jeremiah 31:6 where he writes “Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.”
In the case of Mount Zion it is representative of the Kingdom of God where we read in Hebrews 12:22 that “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering.” That is where it is said “the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all” (Heb 12:23) will be at and it looks ahead to the New Jerusalem that will descend out of heaven (Rev 21:10-26).ⁱⁱ
Terms related to the Messianic Age to come: Kingdom of God, Mount Zion, Holy Mountain, Millennium, 1000 year reign of Christ, New Jerusalem, New Heavens and New Earth, Kingdom of Heaven.
CONTOUR ONE: The term, “Kingdom of God,” in its general sense in both O.T. and N.T. means God’s reign—His divine kingly authority, especially over those who belong to Him (see Ps 103:19; 145:13; Is 52:7; Dan 2:44; 7:14, 27). God’s reign— His rule as King of creation, will at the end of the age invade human history and establish everlasting dominion on earth. The glorious message of the Kingdom is that God will establish His kingdom on earth through His Son, Jesus Christ. God’s divine reign is given by the Father to the Son (Luke 22:29-30; 1 Cor 15:24-28; Rev 11:15).
Christ is appointed by God to take back the title deed to the earth and to reclaim God’s authority in every sphere by overthrowing and judging all hostile authority. The angelic victory cry announced during the future Tribulation period is, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:15).
To summarize contour one: God is “the great King over all the earth”—heaven rules (Ps 47:2). “His kingdom rules over all” (Ps 103:19). His kingdom is everlasting, enduring through all generations (Ps 145:13).
CONTOUR TWO: What is the message of the coming Kingdom of God: the sovereign King of creation will manifest Himself in history as King of the nations. The Apostle Paul captures the gravity of this event, “. . . that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen” (1 Tim 6:14-16).
The Kingdom belongs to Christ, it is given to Christ (Heb 1:8; 2 Tim 4:18; 2 Pet 1:11; Lu 22:29). It is the Kingdom of Christ and of God (Eph 5:5; Rev 11:15; 1 Cor 15:24). Those in the ‘Lamb-Lord’ program will inherit the eternal Kingdom—they will be triumphant in the Lion program. In the N.T. the Kingdom of God is the divine authority and rule given by the Father to the Son (Lu 22:29). Christ will exercise this rule until He has subdued all that is hostile to God. Then, He will return the Kingdom— His messianic authority—to the Father (1 Cor 15:24-28). The world is presently filled with scoffers who are willfully ignorant of this hostile takeover in which Christ shall crush all opposition to God in the coming Day of the Lord (Rev 11:15; 2 Pet 3:3-13).
To summarize contour two: What is revolutionary about the message of the Kingdom of God is that the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, invisible God of the universe will manifest Himself as King on earth.
CONTOUR THREE: The death and resurrection of Jesus was the decisive point in the coming of the Kingdom (Mt 16:21; Mk 9:31; Luke 18:31-34; 24:7). According to Colossians 2:13-15, Christ’s redemptive work disarmed the rulers and authorities (making the rescue of the elect possible). In other words, Christ’s sacrifice in the not only brought redemption to the elect; it also stripped Satan of his weapons (2:15). The Kingdom is now manifest in heaven’s spiritual rule over the hearts of believers (Luke 17:21); and one day will be established in a literal earthly kingdom (Rev 20:4-6). In one sense the kingdom is a present reality, but in its fullest sense it awaits a yet-future fulfillment.ⁱⁱⁱ The subject of the Kingdom of God contains elements which can be confusing to those who have not studied its phases, or stages of installment. Perhaps the easiest way to understand these phases or installments of the Kingdom is to recognize how they are tied to the work of Christ. First, the Kingdom is present in Christ’s earthly work and ministry—for His ‘in-breaking’ into human history was “that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8), and “give His life a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45) (the church Christ is building manifests the Kingdom; but is not equivalent to the Kingdom) (the church an ‘outpost’ of the Kingdom). Second, the Kingdom has been inaugurated spiritually in that Christ completed the work His Father gave Him to do, and has been exalted to the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:34; 5:31; Phil 2:9). In referring to His exalted state Christ could say, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Mt 28:18). Third, at His glorious return, the Kingdom of God invades human history in power and glory and judgment, signaling the beginning of the Messianic age (Mt 8:11-12; 2 Thess 2:6-10).ⁱᵛ
CONTOUR FOUR: The mystery of the Kingdom of God coming in humility instead of glory was an utterly new and amazing revelation. Yet, Jesus warns that men should not be deceived, though the Bearer of the Kingdom was put to death and condemned as a criminal—it is nevertheless the Kingdom of God. Like buried treasure, or a priceless pearl, the acquisition of the Kingdom merits any cost or sacrifice (Mt 13:44-46). The humility of the Kingdom in its Lamb form ought not lead to a misunderstanding of its true nature—for it one day will divide the good from the evil in eschatological salvation and judgment (Mt 13:47-50). To see the value of the Kingdom in its present form requires a work of divine grace—this perception is a function of faith (Acts 13:27-31).
The conquest of sin, death, and the devil at the cross established the rule of God over the church. We are in a period between the comings of Christ. The future, or eschatological dimension, penetrates the present. The truth is, with the coming of Christ, the present age died (Gal 4:4; Eph 1:10). This is a fundamental division recognized by Scripture.ᵛ “Last Days” refers to the present period established at the cross (Heb 1:1-5; Heb 9:26; 1 Tim 4:1; 2 Tim 3:1; 1 Cor 10:11).
The end of the ages has come upon us. The victory won at the cross of Christ has established this era as “the last days.” We live in a unique time period between the victory won at the cross, and the consummation of this victory at the Day of the Lord. (See Peter’s Pentecost sermon in Acts chapter two, beginning with the declaration of the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel.)
In this age the ‘sons of the Kingdom’ are called to heroism; they will experience sufferings (2 Thess 1:5), and tribulation (Acts 14:22) (a cross precedes a crown). But God will rescue them from every evil and save them for His heavenly Kingdom (2 Tim 4:18; 2 Pet 1:11; 1 Cor 6:9-10). The Lion program will be a radical new world order. We will share in perfect fellowship with Christ and will share His authority (Mt 26:29-30; Lu 20:34-36; Rev 2:26-28).
The present realm of the Kingdom in the world shows that the dynamic power of God’s reign has invaded this evil age. The Kingdom has been ‘spiritually inaugurated’ in that the saints have been delivered from the power of darkness and the tyranny of sin (Col 1:13; Rom 6:21-23), and they now enjoy the spiritual blessings of God’s reign. Jesus said that since John the Baptist the Kingdom of God has been preached and men enter it with violent determination (Mt 11:12; Lu 16:16).ᵛⁱ That is what believers do—the violent determination needed to enter the Kingdom depends upon your estimation of the infinite value of the King and His Kingdom!
CONTOUR FIVE: The Kingdom is not the church. It is impossible to substitute the church for the Kingdom in such passages as: Acts 8:12; 19:8; 28:23. Yet, there is there is an inseparable relationship between the two. The church is not the Kingdom— but the church manifests the Kingdom (as a kind of ‘outpost’ of it). For, the church is made up of the citizens of the Kingdom. Christ has called believers into His body, the church. Through faith and repentance, they have submitted to the redemptive lordship of Christ—they have believed the “gospel of the Kingdom” (Mt 24:14).
The church is a fellowship of believers who have accepted His Kingdom offer, submitted to His rule, and entered into its blessings. Thus, we may say that the Kingdom of God creates the church. The Kingdom also works through the church. The disciples preached the Kingdom of God, lived as subjects of the King, and performed signs of the Kingdom (Mt 10:7-8; Lu 10:9, 17). (See also that the church is entrusted with the ‘keys of the Kingdom’—Matthew 16:18-19; Luke 11:52).ᵛⁱⁱ
Because of the mystery of the Kingdom in its present form, and because of the humiliation of Christ in the ‘scandal’ of the cross, the natural man is offended by the gospel. Therefore, the Kingdom must be received with childlike faith. What a shock it will be when Christ returns in wrath and conquest—with the doors of mercy finally closed—all the tribes of the earth will mourn (Rev 1:7-8).
The Kingdom is soteriological—the object of divine rule is the redemption of men and their deliverance from the powers of darkness. But, Christ’s reign means ultimately, the destruction of all hostile powers (1 Cor 15:23-28). The N.T. sees the Kingdom of God standing over against the kingdom of the world which opposes divine rule (Rev 11:15, 18). The kingdoms of the world are under satanic control and must be conquered (Mt 4:8; Lu 4:5; 1 Jn 5:19. The world opposes the working of God’s Kingdom. In the coming of the Kingdom a mighty, apocalyptic in-breaking will finally put an end to all rebellion (1 Tim 1:17; Rev 15:3). This momentous culmination of history will see the merging of the Lamb program with the Lion program.
Thus, the Kingdom of God entails the redemptive rule of Christ as mediatorial King who defeats the powers of darkness and delivers men from the sway of evil. Entrance into the Kingdom (a kingdom ‘transfer’) means deliverance from the powers of darkness, and entrance into the Kingdom of the Son—this is accomplished by the new birth (Col 1:13; Jn 3:3-5).ᵛⁱⁱⁱ
The significance of Christ as Mediatorial King is profound. No other King in history has loved righteousness perfectly (Heb 1:8-9), has come as a humble servant without ego (Jn 5:30ff.), has given His own blood to make friends of His enemies (Rev 1:5-6). Those who reject the Son’s rightful rule will be revealed as avowed enemies of His Heavenly Father.
We must not miss the significance of this. The truth of the Kingdom of God that we believe and preach is all about God’s mighty in-breaking into human history. God’s in-breaking involved both saving and vanquishing. God has done for us what we had no hope of doing for ourselves—He has conquered our rebellion and our love of darkness. And He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and placed us as subjects in the kingdom of Christ (Col 1:13-14).
God’s rule has begun in the hearts of believers; and will someday soon fill the earth. As disciples and subjects of King Jesus; we receive this Kingdom—we receive the Kingdom because by His sovereign grace, God had made us subjects of Jesus Christ; the King of Kings—citizens of His kingdom. In Christ, the eternal God broke into our age in sovereign mercy. God took decisive action against sin, death, and the devil—the forces which held His people in subjugation and bondage. During His earthly ministry, the context of “The Kingdom of God,” was the means by which Jesus defined Himself, and His work. The message of the Kingdom of God is what Jesus used to set forth and reveal the purposes of God in sending His Son (Matt 12:28; 16:28).
CONTOUR SIX: The cross marked the decisive turning point in the destiny of all men and women, fallen angels, and the entire creation itself. Thus, the scope of the coming Kingdom is cosmic—extending to the entire creation. To preach the Kingdom of God is to proclaim the eschatological reality that God will manifest Himself as King—invading human history in a series of climatic events which will set up the final form of world order. When Jesus was proclaiming the Kingdom, He was announcing the imminent end of the world and the arrival of a violent, militant, apocalyptic upheaval of the present world order (Heb 12:25-29; Mt 24:29-35).
Here is where our weakness in theology and our failure in Scripture meditation are revealed. Our concept of heaven is far too ethereal, like floating spirits without bodily form, wispy clouds and harps. This is far from the truth. For the scope of Christ’s eschatological rule will be cosmic. In other words, the extent of His realm will reach to the entire creation. This is where so many in our churches today are blind to the reality of the Kingdom of God and the new heavens and earth (2 Pet 3:10-13). All things in every place will be subject to Christ—the exalted Christ is “head over everything for the church” (Eph 1:22).ⁱˣ
The Kingdom of God involves the restoration of creation. The Bible promises that we may expect a glorious renewal of life on earth – the age to come will be endlessly thrilling in its adventure of living with God on the new earth. His presence will pervade every act and we shall be more fully human than we have ever been liberated from sin, death and all that hurts or harms. The Kingdom of God will be restorative and comprehensive. All of human life and all of creation will be restored to serve the Lord as they were meant to do. This is the goal of the biblical story. The Church today has left this out of its Christian worldview. As a consequence, they have seen God’s ultimate plan for us as being heavenly and spiritual, and that view leads us to imagine that spiritual things are God’s chief concern. Thus, it is common today to believe that a spiritual heaven is God’s greatest good for us and a renewed earth and our physical existence on it must somehow be second best.ˣ
The world was oblivious, and still is, to the scope of the triumph which Christ accomplished by His death and resurrection. Paul proclaims in Colossians, All the fullness of salvation dwells in Christ. “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him I say, whether things on earth, or things in heaven” (Col 1:19-20).
The Father was pleased to have all redemptive power dwell in Christ who is the Agent for and goal for reconciliation (Col 1:20). To reconcile in its redemptive sense means to exchange hostility for friendship. God’s reconciling of man to Himself is necessary because of the enmity of sinners toward God in their natural mind (Rom 5:8-11; 8:5-7). Man’s corruption is an effrontery to God; the fact and existence of corruption requires reconciliation before relations can be restored.
At present, heaven and earth are not now united. Kingdoms are in conflict; sin brought the universe into a state of corruption, decay, and deterioration. Sin destroyed harmony. Through the blood of His cross the sin principle is conquered—the curse is borne; the law satisfied; peace is made and restored. Through Christ and His cross the universe is brought back to its proper relation to God (see also Eph 1:9-10). As a just reward for His obedience, Christ is exalted to God’s right hand—from this position of exaltation, glory, and power—He rules the universe.
What He accomplished at the cross; He will consummate at the Second Advent when He formally and militantly takes back the title deed to the earth. Through Christ, all intelligent beings—both obedient and disobedient, and both human and angelic will acknowledge the sovereignty of God manifest in the Lordship of Christ who is over all. The vastness of Christ’s Person is seen in His cosmic Kingship (He is Head of the Church; all things are under His feet; He is Lord of all creation). Thus, His cross affects not only mankind; but the entire cosmos.
APPLICATION: The church today tends to neglect the message of the Kingdom.
Christ is often depicted merely as friend, a ‘co-pilot’ in one’s spiritual journey, rather than majestic Lord who inspires reverential fear and awe. If a professing believer has but a ‘cultural concept’ of Jesus, then he won’t ‘see’ the expansive, all-consuming theme of the Kingdom of God in its fullness. One cannot ‘see’ the Kingdom unless he really knows Christ as Logos, Lamb-Lord, and Lion.
During His humiliation/passion, His enemies imagine that they have gained ultimate authority over Him and have defeated Him. This is the ‘Lamb plan’—Christ comes meek and lowly (Is 53)—but God has made Him Lord (Acts 2:34-36; Heb 1:3-8). In the present age, the saint is called to suffer with Christ, bearing His reproach and rejection by the world (Heb 13:13; Rom 8:16-18; Jn 15:18-20). Believers are called to radical identification with Christ—they are called to heroism as His disciples.
There can be no neutrality in this matter of following Christ versus loving the world (1 Jn 2:3-6, 15-17). Only those who are mortifying sin are ‘overcomers’ and “friends of the cross” (Phil 3:17-19). Christians are called to radically identify with Christ, as His servants, slaves, disciples BEFORE Christ is publicly manifested in His global triumph. At the end of the age, the tribulation period and the glorious return will remove all imagined middle ground. All those who are not disciples of Christ will be exposed and condemned—their actual loyalty to Satan, the imposter king, revealed.
A warning goes with this message today, for if these realities leave you cold, then it is very likely you are not an heir of heaven. For, Kingdom consciousness is the mark of a true disciple of Christ. Those who have seen the infinite value of the Kingdom willingly take up their cross daily, denying themselves (Lu 9:23; Jn 12:24-26). The true children of the King are always entering into the Kingdom daily. Those who are born again are taken up with Christ and His Kingdom. They have an enthralling vision of God’s redemptive plan. They have been granted eyes to see the treasure of Christ and His Kingdom.
The reality that Christ has authority over all things; is cosmic King; Redeemer, Ruler, Judge and Restorer, must radically affect how a Christian thinks about life. Since, all creation is made by God; belongs to Him; derives its meaning from Him—and must only be used in accordance with God’s will. The purpose of God’s redemptive work toward us is that we might take our proper place in His created order, and that we might bow before Christ as our Creator and Redeemer. The news of the gospel of the Kingdom is that through Christ, believing/repentant sinners have been fitted by God to do His will, and to live as Christ’s subjects.
All things have been delivered to Christ by His Father (Matt 11:27; Jn 3:35; Eph 1:22; Heb 1:8). Christ is Lord of all (Phil 3:21; Acts 10:36)—but His reign is currently contested by many enemies of the glory of God (Col 2:15). God through Christ will make a public object lesson of rebellion and evil. Wickedness will be taken to the scaffold and held up to public ridicule (Rom 9:22-24). God will demonstrate His wrath—the subjugation of all rule, authority, and power will be witnessed by the holy rational universe (1 Cor 15:24-25). Error and rebellion are headed for the gallows. They will be displayed there in all their horror and repugnancy.
The saint animated by kingdom consciousness will excel in ‘spiritual seeing’. He will view the cost of discipleship (self-denial, taking up his cross daily) as the expression of his loyalty and devotion to Christ, the King. As a result, he understands that as a faithful follower of Christ, the cost of discipleship is a small price to pay for usefulness in the Kingdom. For, the dictates of true discipleship (self-denial, and taking up one’s cross daily) are part and parcel of being radically identified with Christ. Only those radically identified with Christ are controlled by Kingdom consciousness—for the Kingdom is about the King!
If you’ve forsaken your sins and turned away from them, and have placed your trust in Christ, you will be in the New Jerusalem and have a part in Mount Zion’s Kingdom of God, but if not, know this, “nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev 21:27).
Endnotes:
i Michael W. Goheen and Craig G. Bartholomew, Living at the Crossroads, p. 3
ii Jack Wellman, “What is the meaning of Zion and Mount Zion?”
iii MacArthur Study Bible, p. 1396
iv R. B. Gaffin Jr., “The Kingdom of God,” New Dictionary of Theology, IVP, 1988, p. 368
v David Wells, Above All Earthly Powers, pp. 205-210
vi G. E. Ladd, “The Kingdom of God,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Walter Elwell. Ed., Baker, 1984, p. 610
vii Ibid., p. 611
viii Ibid., p. 608
ix Gaffin, p. 369
x Goheen and Bartholomew, p. 65