The Divine Conspiracy Continued: Fulfilling God’s Kingdom on Earth

THE KINGDOM HERE AND NOW

A significant part of our Western Christian heritage over the past few hundred years and much of the explicit practical teaching that we hear from our pulpits, which becomes routinely modeled in our Christian communities, argue that the kingdom of God is something that is not readily available or accessible in the here and now. Thankfully, this view has shown signs of changing, in fits and starts, and to very good effect. But overall there remains a sense, sometimes overt, sometimes more covert, that one fine day, far in the future, all the earthly kingdoms of our current world will eventually come under the reign, or rule, of Jesus Christ. But until then we are left to hold on by our fingernails, if we can, to our piety and faith, doing our utmost to ride out the many storms of life that threaten our sense of well-being. This has remained a very familiar strain of thought and practice for many of our Christian preachers, teachers, and spokespersons today, as it has been over the past several centuries. Such ideas and images are difficult to reform and thus tend to leave Christians with only the fading hope that in the “great by and by” Jesus will return to finish his largely failed previous attempt to jump-start his reign as king over both heaven and earth.

What is less well known, let alone appreciated, is that such a perspective is not how the early church traditionally understood the rule or reign of Jesus. Nor is it what Jesus taught. Jesus’s kingdom has not been deferred until his return or until after he is able to “clean house” at the final judgment. He will return, and there will be a settling of accounts, we can be sure of this. But until then, he is not biding his time, having been limited to changing a few minds here and there, saving individual souls at various religious services, and making a few mystical appearances now and again, until some unknown period in the future when he can get his original intentions back on track. In contrast to such a passive theology, the teachings of the church through much of its history demonstrate a consistent testimony, even if ignored at times, that Jesus’s rule began when he said it began, at the proclamation of his “Great Commission,” which, as you recall, occurred just before his ascension—after his death and resurrection, but just before he went to be with his Father in heaven, where he now is actively positioned in the seat of authority “at the right hand of the Father.” As noted biblical scholars N. T. Wright and Scot McKnight, among many others, have clearly argued, Jesus was crowned king, is now ruling, and currently maintains all authority or dominion “in heaven and on earth.” Theologian Amos Yong has also helped us better understand how the Spirit of God, as the “chief empowerer,” is now “poured out upon all flesh” (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17) and directs, leads, encourages, supports, and advocates for the reign of Jesus in and through the wills, minds, bodies, and even human institutions that serve his overarching purposes of holistic redemption.

What is important to understand here is that there is no “then” or “when” to the kingdom of God. This reign is a current, progressing, maturing reality, which means Jesus rules today. Jesus is the one who sits on the throne of the cosmos, and all authority, over all things, has been given to him (Matt. 25:31; 28:18). God is the God of all humanity (Jer. 32:27). God rules today through his Son, Jesus, the king, and he rules over everyone and everything—not just Christians or religious organizations. He is the King of Kings, the ruler of rulers (Rev. 1:5), and the dominion of his Spirit extends to every corner and crevice of the universe at this very moment—a fact even the demons appear to understand perfectly well (Mark 1:24; 5:7; James 2:19). The kingdom has come, and there is more to come. Thanks be to God.

Let’s take a moment and contemplate the implications of what all this means. A loving and omnipotent God is now ruling. Therefore, he has a holistic vision for human life that necessarily includes all the political, economic, and social realms—not just religious realms—along with the innumerable personal kingdoms that compose all human activity.

As previously stated, this is not a new vision, but one present throughout the Hebrew scriptures, revealed through the prophets, partially demonstrated in the people of Israel, made abundantly clear in the teachings of Jesus, carried forward in the first century by the apostles, and propelled through the ages until landing on the doorstep of the contemporary church. Through Christ all things, everything, everyone, is in the process of coming under the sovereign benevolence (Latin: bene, “good”; volens, “willing”) of God’s agape ethic and ethos (1 Cor. 15:28). Through Christ all things are being, and will be, made new (Rev. 21:5; 2 Cor. 5:17). Eventually, every knee will bow and every tongue will acknowledge this current reality (Phil. 2:10–11). Both believers and nonbelievers alike will be confessing an appropriate degree of both wonder and ignorance regarding the magnitude of Christ’s lordship and glorious representation of God, his Father.

BECOMING KINGDOM BUILDERS

It may be difficult to conceive of the effects that recognizing the full scope of Christ’s lordship today could have on both the world collectively and each person individually. In the rough and tumble realities of our contemporary world, the glorious rule and reign of God can, and often does, become far too distant and foggy for us to even imagine, much less manifest within our personal and social situations and circumstances. Yet that is exactly what Jesus wants us and has empowered us to do. We can see, hear, experience, and realize, with confident assurance, that God is most definitely with us in our work as we seek to do his good will. And if God is for us, with us, guiding and empowering our efforts, we can be appropriately confident that good will result. But losing our vision for this reality has largely cost us the hope that it could ever occur. Therefore, in this increasingly foggy mire of futile doubt about the grandeur and glory of God’s intentions for us and his creation, it is increasingly important that we endeavor to describe, as clearly as we can, what such a reality can mean for everyday life.

We face a significant problem today in our lack of awareness, interest, and critical thinking and teaching within our Christian congregations and institutions of higher learning regarding how God, through his Spirit, is to guide us personally, communally, socially, politically, and economically into direct conformity with the blessing that is within his kingdom. We simply have not thought very long or hard about how the kingdom of God could, would, or does manifest itself within ideas and images that drive the current contexts of our church, work, school, play, family, business, health, and economic activities.

This is our primary task here: to reinvigorate the conversation about the ways and means of the kingdom of God, which will cascade over the walls of our Christian institutions to inform both Christians and non-Christians alike as to the beneficial effects and wonder-working power of God’s love and goodness in every area of human existence. Yes, the kingdom of God is to be formed “within you,” but it should never be understood as limited to or confined by the human heart. The kingdom of God is as big as the range of God’s omnipotent will. Nothing can stop it. Nothing will. Not even the very gates of hell itself.

What we must begin to reconsider, given our immediate circumstances, is how to best focus our efforts and think deeply about this present and coming reality that Christ has made readily available to us. God’s reign or rule is literally within arm’s reach, at hand, near, close, right before us, in the midst of us, right where we live (e.g., Matt. 3:2; Mark 1:15; Luke 17:21). And this is exactly what people from all walks of life—our political leaders, educators, business professionals, and stay-at-home parents—are called to apply right where they live and work. We must reach out and grab this “kingdom of heaven” (Matthew’s term for the “kingdom of God”) by the throat, with gusto and vigor, and be willing to violate the established norms in order to accomplish with God his divine conspiracy to overcome evil with good (Matt. 11:12).

We so often find these kinds of violations of norms in the most unlikely of places. A few years ago the entire world was shocked by the love and forgiveness offered by a small group of disciples living in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, to a lone, troubled man who shot ten young children, killing five, before turning the gun on himself. There was no media circus, no political debate about constitutional rights versus public safety. These citizens of the kingdom didn’t follow that well-worn path. Instead, trusting and modeling their confidence in their Savior’s ways, they chose to forgive. While still mourning and comforting each other, they offered their love, grace, and even financial support to the killer’s widow and parents. As a result the world looked on in awe as a shining ray of pure goodness illuminated a very dark hour. Such goodness cannot be hidden. People have to stop and look, in wonder. Forgiving those who persecute us and loving our enemies are ideas that still deeply violate our established norms.

Another simple example of such violation of norms and extension of grace is now routinely demonstrated in the innovative arena of microfinance. These are financial services for poor and low-income clients, including loans to unsalaried borrowers who have little or no collateral. The brainchild of Nobel Peace Prize–winner Muhammad Yunus, microfinance development has been utilized for over three decades by dozens of organizations, such as Opportunity International and World Vision. It has become so popular that both religious and secular organizations now offer small loans (the average loan is less than $400) to the world’s poorest populations. When lenders focus on both “nurturing the profitability of borrowers’ businesses—and, in turn, their clients’ overarching economic and social well-being,” the practice is so effective, it has now become the darling of poverty-fighting relief agencies all across the globe. In an age when institutional lenders seem to expect borrowers to demonstrate their lack of financial need before a loan is even considered, the concept of lending money to those with little to no resources but with an abundance of character has shown the potential for increasing not only income but also health care, housing, nutrition, and education. Client-centered microfinance is yet another idea that rattles the economic norms of our societies.1

We need to learn some very important lessons from our brothers and sisters in Nickel Mines and those creative innovators in microfinance. The people of God are to be ambassadors of good in our world, demonstrating, personally and through its systems and institutions, the ways of God for the benefit of all people. Just as John, writing Revelation, saw a vision of reality that needed to be revealed and understood by the struggling early churches scattered around the ancient world, we also must endeavor to recapture God’s vision of our current world under the rule of King Jesus.

Part of our difficulty comes from a view that the world is on a countdown timer, which we sense is coming close to ringing. For so many believers, such an impending sense of doom creates a slow-burning fear that drains energy, optimism, and expectations of God’s blessings in our lives and the lives of others. We can be assured God is worried about neither the present nor the future, and thus we need not worry about, or be distracted by, any doomsday scenarios that tend to cycle through our religious institutions. Yet just saying we shouldn’t worry is very different from actually not worrying. Much of our preaching and teaching today that centers on fear of an imminent apocalypse and the unstoppable moral decay of our societies actually leads people to surmise that in fact Jesus is not in control at all. John’s message was just the opposite. The risen Christ is very much in control, despite what we read and see on the evening news. All is well in his church.

TRUE BLESSINGS

A second difficulty is found in the rise of what has been termed the “prosperity gospel,” which has created a sense that God is ready, willing, and able to provide for every consumerist desire or creature comfort vaguely connected to the American dream. Some have even argued that such God-ordained prosperity has become some sort of right or privilege we are entitled to, and believers are therefore righteously justified in demanding God’s favor. Again, this appears to be a historically recurring twisting of the teachings of scripture. The Sadducees maintained a similar theology, to ill effect.2 Today the same tendency is seen in the fact that our fascination with and confidence in materialism are working their way back into our interpretations of scripture.

Still, as is often the case, such “twisting” comes from a core truth of the gospel. The castle built on the rock is an undeniable blessing; it is strong, well developed, and withstands the storm. All kinds of people living in a state of confident assurance of God’s love and care are blessed—not because of their condition, but despite any condition. The conditions we face are temporary. The blessings remain eternal. The people of Nickel Mines were richly blessed despite their situation by their willingness to let go of the bitter feelings of hatred and revenge. Those living in the most marginalized and impoverished cultures in our world who are learning to sustain their families with an incredibly small investment in a new business are also blessed through the intentional service and sharing of those with the gifts of education, planning, wisdom, leadership, and discipline. As he did with the boy’s small lunch of fish and bread, Jesus is able to multiply our seemingly insignificant efforts in phenomenal ways. Such is the nature of the kingdom of God.

These applications of both the spiritual and material gifts of grace, service, and stewardship are just a few living testimonies that demonstrate that nothing can separate anyone from the love of God (Rom. 8:39) and that Jesus is with us, ruling in all things, even through our worst fears and largest problems, through the end of this age (Matt. 28:20). This king suffers violators, and the violators are forging dramatic new paths into the world. With this king, nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37).

The chapters that follow sketch out some new paths to consider as we follow God’s calling to reflect his kingdom light in our world. We will explore a variety of social structures God wants us to change. We do not presume to offer a complete plan. Such a grand unfolding of God’s intentions will require engagement with and contribution from the entire body of Christ. Here we simply seek to add to and further what is already occurring. This requires very explicit thinking in order to cast a vision or paint a portrait as grand as we can imagine in order to merely highlight some of the qualities and features of abundant living that mark the essence and beauty of the kingdom of God.

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