After the sobering diagnosis of our cultural moment, we want to now pivot to a hope that is not wishful thinking but theological reality.

Many of us know and are deeply grateful for Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world and more personally our sins.  However, Christ is not only the Lamb who was slain.  He is NOW the Lion who reigns.  Christ, the Warrior King, reigns in His present victory. This is not future-only eschatology. The Kingdom has come in the person of the risen Christ, and He is actively advancing His rule.

Christ’s Kingdom was instituted 2000 years ago and of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.  There is a  tension of the “already and not yet” within which we must live.  However, we can live with joyful confidence rather than anxiety or defeatism because we know that we are a part of his unshakable Kingdom now and into eternity.

The sacred/secular divide has reduced our understanding of the Gospel’s scope.  But we must now understand that Christ did not come to simply disciple individuals.  He came to ultimately disciple entire nations at the level of culture.  We must reimagine our place in history.  We are not called to get a few people saved from the coming wrath.  We are called to occupy till He comes and that means setting our sights on the shaping of entire nations, teaching them to obey all that He has commanded.

Tie to America’s 250th and the Geneva Bible Legacy

The founders believed they were establishing a nation “under God.” They understood that Christ’s Lordship had implications for civil government. This section recovers that comprehensive vision. The same Christ who saves individuals is the King of kings whose truth shapes civilizations. The Geneva Bible readers among the founders knew this. We must recover it.

Breaking the Divide

Many Christians have privatized the Kingdom to the inner life or the church building. These chapters explode that small vision. The Kingdom is public, cosmic, and cultural. To disciple a nation is to bring every sphere under the Lordship of the King who has already won.

Action Point

Meditate on the present reign of Christ this week. How does “Christ is Lord of all” change the way you approach your workplace, your child’s education, or your city council meeting? Write it down and share it with one other person.

The victory is won. Now we occupy in His strength.

Next post: Living the Proleptic Life and God’s Blueprint for Freedom.

For the Kingdom,
Darrow Miller And Friends

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