Beginnings

God's Business

We have often remarked that the Kingdom of God is exceedingly thick: it addresses and covers everything.  When folk turn their attention to the coming of the Kingdom and what it might look like, oftentimes they naively compare the Kingdom to the kingdoms of this world: all pomp, circumstance, trappings, and a lust for power.  But the Kingdom of God, whilst coming in the world, is definitely not of this world.  It is of another order entirely.


It is helpful to consider the impact and outcome of the Kingdom when it takes captive a soul who comes to faith in Christ and becomes increasingly discipled to Christ.  In other words, we should focus upon an individual who has fallen subject to our Lord in terms of the Great Commission.  This is an individual who has had the Gospel preached to him, who has repented of his sin and believed upon King Jesus, and has been successively taught all that Christ has commanded.  What does that person look like?  How would we describe him?  What difference has the Kingdom made in this person's life?

The Bible would have us understand that for that person everything has changed or is changing.  All things have become new.  (II Corinthians 5:17).  One way to consider this is to point out that every human action, whether in thought, word, or deed, manifests a distinct goal, a distinct motive, and a distinct standard.  This represents the trinity of human action, of ethics.  When a person becomes a Christian his goals, motives and standards change radically and increasingly comprehensively. 

In general terms, the Christian's distinct goal in all that he does is to bring glory and honour to the Name of Christ Himself.  The conclusion to the Lord's Prayer aptly expresses this: "thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever, Amen"  The overall purposive goal towards which the Christian aims  is the glory and honour of God and His Son Jesus Christ. 

Similarly, in general terms the motive which is to govern our thoughts, our words, and our deeds is love for God and man.  Finally, again in general terms, the standard to which all actions are to subject is the law of God.

When a community of people arise who are living for the glory of God, motivated by love of God and their neighbour, and are ruled by the law of God, the Kingdom of God becomes tangible and visible to others. It becomes societal.  

A moment's reflection will confirm that such a community will bear witness to the fact that the Kingdom of God touches everything.  The Kingdom of God is totalitarian in that sense, for the King of the Kingdom is literally a totalitarian king: all power and authority in heaven and upon earth has been given to him.  (All earthly totalitarian tyrants are diabolical perversions of the one, true totalitarian Ruler.)  The Kingdom of God is exceedingly thick.  But, unlike all other kingdoms of this world, the most important manifestation of its power and authority is self-government. The Kingdom of God is from within.  From there it reaches out and touches everything.

Someone will ask, Can it be possible that so many people will eventually become converted to Christ and be discipled that such a Kingdom will actually come to pass?  The right way to answer such a question is to ask another: how big, how powerful, how great is our God?  Or, how perfect and complete was the atoning work of Christ?  Obviously so complete, so perfect, so glorious that it resulted in Him being raised to sit at the right hand of God to command the universe.  Therein lies the answer to the question.

The Kingdom's coming into the world has only just begun.  We have seen so far just the fringes of His garment.  How apt then that the first petition of the Lord's Prayer is, "Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  The coming of the Kingdom is God's business.  Ours is to be true servants and ambassadors of the King and His Kingdom.