As we’ve explored in the previous blogs, Christ is the Victorious King who reigns over heaven and earth. He has given his church their marching orders to, among other things, disciple nations.

Obviously, in many ways Christ’s Kingdom is not like our kingdoms here on earth. What is the nature of this kingdom? How does this kingdom interact with earth? This blog will attempt to explore these questions.

 

His Kingdom Is Not of This World

In John 18:33-37 (ESV) we find Jesus standing before Pilate. Pilate asks Jesus if he is king of the Jews? Here we pick up their dialog:

Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

The first thing we must understand is that while Christ is king of both heaven and earth, his Kingdom is not of this world. In reflecting on Jesus’ conversation with Pilate, New Testament scholar, N.T. Wright makes a clear distinction:

“It’s quite clear in the text that Jesus’ kingdom doesn’t start with this world. It isn’t a worldly kingdom, but it is for this world. It’s from somewhere else, but it’s for this world.”

Christ’s Kingdom is from another place; it is the Kingdom of Heaven. However, his Kingdom is for this world. Christ’s Kingdom is already established perfectly in heaven. Now Christ wants some of the nature and culture of the Kingdom of God to invade this world, to extend from heaven to earth. It is to be noted that this will never manifest fully until Christ returns but the first fruits of the Kingdom are to be manifest in our world today. After all, Jesus’ intention was displayed when he taught us to pray what has become known as The Lord’s Prayer.

Jesus tells his disciples to pray this way: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” Note that Christ expects his Kingdom to come to earth, and this is the reason he gives us the Great Commission. What does he mean? He wants his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is clear and straightforward.

In the church today, when we speak of the Gospel, we often mean the Gospel of Salvation: the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ saving us from sin and destruction. This is indeed good news.

However, when Jesus preached the “Good News,” he was speaking of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. The phrase the Kingdom of God is used 80 times in the New Testament. Jesus came to usher in the gospel of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is the framework for our obedience. His saving work on the cross (for our salvation) is the foundation of our obedience. Nations following all Christ commanded produce the fulfillment of obedience – Jesus is King!

Nations are to make the law of Christ their order. The results are freedom, justice, social peace, and economic bounty. This is why the Great Commission is to disciple nations at the level of culture. It is the reason the nations are to be immersed in the reality of God and that nations are to be taught to obey all that Jesus has commanded.

How is the Great Commission to be carried out? We will explore this topic in the next blog.

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