A Present and Future Kingdom - Psalm 145:11-13

"They will speak of the glory of Your kingdom and will declare Your might, informing all people of Your mighty acts and of the glorious splendor of Your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; Your rule is for all generations" (Psalm 145:11-13,HCSB).

The creative and redemptive activity of God in His universe is so inexplicable that we have to rely on figures of speech to communicate it. One of the figures of speech used to describe the reality of God’s rule and reign over the universe is to describe it as a "kingdom."

A kingdom is a form of government. In the kingdom metaphor God is portrayed as a merciful monarch who loves the subjects of His Kingdom and solicits them to come under His loving care and righteous government. In God's Kingdom He is both a Sovereign King and a Benevolent King.

In the Bible the Kingdom of God became an objective reality through the incarnation of Jesus. When God became human in the person of Jesus Christ, he became the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of God.

His sovereign duty was the establishment of the Kingdom of God in this world. Jesus prayed for, preached about, and died for His Kingdom. With his resurrection He ascended to the throne as King over the Kingdom of God.

The gospel of Jesus is a message of an everlasting Kingdom—a spiritual nation that extends from the creation of the universe to this present age and into the ages to come.

His message is a message of reclamation and recovery—recapturing a Kingdom that had been usurped from its lawful owners.

His mission is a search and rescue operation—finding the lost citizens of the Kingdom and giving them charge over its interests.

The primary message of the Kingdom is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the King over a magnificent, eternal kingdom! And to believe in the message of His Kingdom is to swear allegiance to its King!

In the Bible the Kingdom of God is sometimes portrayed as a present reality, sometimes as a future event.
This passage from Psalms uses this present/future tension to describe God's Kingdom.

Although the Kingdom of God finds its ultimate fulfillment in the future, its formation began with the ministry of Jesus drawing its citizens to this new government He is establishing. This new era is defined by the dispensing of the Spirit, which is the mark of incorporation into God's Kingdom, the redeemed community of God.

The anticipated future Kingdom is even now breaking into the present age and its redemptive power demonstrates the comprehensive deliverance and reconciliation that will one day extend across the entire creation!

So, Jesus came to this world not only to die for our sins, but also to teach us how to live for the future in the present.

(Excerpted from The Kingdom Order: Living for the Future in the Present by Steven C. Mills)

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