ChnMind 2.2 The Voluntary Nature of the Kingdom

"Not By Might, Nor Power, but By My Spirit"

The Kingdom of God or the City of God has a constitutional framework derived from Scripture. As the Kingdom comes to pass—as it emerges and comes to greater presence and reality within any society—the structures of the Kingdom will become more evident, more influential, more powerful. But how does it come? How is the Kingdom propagated? How does it grow?

There are two options. Either the Kingdom comes by compulsion and force, or it comes by the will and desire of its citizens. It is either a Kingdom of compulsion or of voluntarism. The Scriptures make clear that the Kingdom of God comes (from a human perspective) by the will and desire of people, not by the imposition of human force, power or command.

We recognise, of course, that there are compulsory components and realms in every society. The civil magistrate, for example, does not make mere suggestions when punishing crime. Paying of taxes to support the civil magistrate is not voluntary—and so forth. (We will endeavour to address this in greater depth in the weeks and months ahead).

So, when we argue that the City of Jerusalem comes by the will and desire of the people, we are not saying that there are no compulsory elements to the Kingdom. However, we are arguing that the elements of compulsion within the City arise out of God's command, on the one hand, and the willing determination of the people to subject themselves to the Lord's command, on the other.

The Kingdom of God must first manifest itself in the hearts of people. Its initial beachhead, then ongoing penetration, of a pagan culture occurs through the proclamation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. As people repent of their sins, and believe on Him, having been moved to do so by the Holy Spirit regenerating them from above, their lives, wills, hearts, and desires are fundamentally changed. For the rest of their lives they will seek and attempt to live out their lives as disciples of the Lord, being taught to observe all things which the Lord has commanded. (Matthew 28: 18—20)

This conversion from being a citizen of Athens, the City of Unbelief, to the being a citizen of Jerusalem can only take place as the mind, emotions, and will of a person are changed by God from above. Once the person was blind, now they see. Once they were dead in their trespasses and sins, now they have been made alive. This change comes about because of God's sovereign, saving work in the life of the individual soul. This amazing work of divine mercy is trenchantly summarised in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, when it asks, “What is effectual calling?”

Effectual calling is a work of God's Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, He doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the Gospel
Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 31

Such a change and transformation cannot occur by the devices or engines of man. It cannot be forced upon anyone. Only God can change the heart of unbelief. Only God can cause the dead to live. On the other hand, as a result of God's sovereign work, the individual comes to love God and desire to serve Him. From a human perspective, then, the Kingdom of God comes to pass as people “volunteer willingly in the day of His power.” (Psalm 110: 3)

As a result of Christ's ascension on high, and His sitting at the right hand of God, more and more people will inevitably be converted by divine power to become willing servants. The Kingdom of God is thus fundamentally a Kingdom which comes peacefully, out of the hearts of its citizens. It is a free expression of their new life in Christ. That is why the City of Athens and the City of Jerusalem can co-exist to an extent in the same physical location. That is why Jerusalem does not take up arms against Athens. It is not entitled to do so. It is not how the Kingdom comes.

Sadly, the reverse is not true. Athens, in principle a city of hatred towards God, will always tend to counsels and policies which involve hostile force against Christ's disciples. Athens cannot change hearts and minds. In opposing Christians, it must therefore finally resort to force--which also in the end fails miserably. True, there is perpetual spiritual warfare between these two Cities. But as more and more people enter Jerusalem's gates, departing Athens to do so, the City of Athens (its influence and power, its institutions and culture) attenuates and withers away. The Kingdom is like yeast which works as a leaven throughout Athens, transforming it from the inside out.

The Kingdom of God comes not by the sword, but by the Spirit. Not by force, but by faith. Not by compulsion, but by God's effectual calling. Not by war, but by peace. That is why Jerusalem name means the City of Peace. As God's Kingdom captures more and more people, transforming them from the inside out, the cultural influence and power of Jerusalem grows. It will happen as an inevitable consequence.

In our temporarily post-Christian world less than five percent of the population appear to be genuinely Christian—that is, less than five percent not only profess faith outwardly, but show that it comes from their hearts. The percentage may have a huge margin of error—only God knows. But we acknowledge that the percentage is not large. Imagine the radical difference to our society, its institutions, its government, its schools, and its culture if over eighty percent of the population were genuinely Christian. How much crime would simply have withered away? How much joy and laughter and happiness would be on the streets? How much respect and care for the aged, the infirm, the poor, the widow, the orphan?

A story is told of a student common room in a theological college years ago where an expensive camera had been left on one of the tables. No-one knew who the owner was. It was left untouched for days, until finally its owner realised it was missing and re-claimed it. No theft. You cannot manufacture that. It has to come from the hearts of all in the community—which then manifests itself as a cultural practice. It then becomes “ordinary” or “normal”. This is what the Bible alludes to, when God promises that the day is coming when they will no longer say, “Know the Lord”: for they will all know me from the least to the greatest. (Jeremiah 31:34 & Hebrews 8:11)

From God's perspective, the Kingdom comes by forceful, irresistible power. In this sense, the City of Jerusalem is a city of divine compulsion. From our perspective, the Kingdom comes by faith, desire, and willingness. In this sense, the City is, at the same time, one of human will and choice.