The Great Advance
The Kingdom of God can be a nebulous concept. It’s one of those phrases that occurs frequently in Christian circles that we may find difficult to articulate if pressed for a definition. The word kingdom implies a jurisdiction and one who holds the authority to rule. Jesus speaks often about the Kingdom of God throughout the gospels. It’s a major theme of His preaching and teaching. He heralds the kingdom’s arrival (Luke 4:43), explains what it entails (Matthew 6:33), how we enter it (Luke 14:15-24), and what its full consummation will be like (Luke 22:27-30).
The great commission, on the heels of Jesus’s resurrection, is essentially a call to take hold of the kingdom and advance it under His authority. “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
God the Father has given all authority to the Son within the jurisdiction of heaven and earth. The combination of heaven and earth is intended to signify all the created order. Nothing falls beyond the purview of the Son, not the joys of life, the sorrows of death, the mundane of work, or the wars of man. Nothing slips away from under the authority of the Son.
The difficulty and irony of the Kingdom of God is that it doesn’t operate like we expect a kingdom to do. It’s more like a mustard seed or treasure that is buried in the ground. The value isn’t always seen or measured correctly. Its power is found in weakness; it advances by relentless love. It brings reconciliation to both the oppressed and the oppressor.
The Kingdom of God is intricately connected to His righteousness. Righteousness and justice come from the same Greek word and drive toward the idea of reconciliation. The inauguration of God’s Kingdom brought forth reconciliation between God and man. It was the cross that demonstrated the restorative justice of God and the authority to make right what was broken. Not by might or force, but sacrifice. Jesus was lifted up and in so doing has restored us to God (John 12:32).
Jesus is King although His kingdom isn’t observable like human kingdoms. His kingdom advances within the human heart (Luke 17:20-21). We are ministers of reconciliation in as much as we bring forth the justice of God. Not retributive justice but restorative justice. The justice of God displayed on the cross aimed at making right that which was broken.
Jesus sends us out by His authority to extend His kingdom in the same way that the Father has sent Him (John 20:21). To display the gospel power of reconciliation, first to God, then to fellow man. Anything less than the gospel will prove woefully insufficient for our commission. Why? Because we are both the oppressor and oppressed. We need justice to take root in our own heart. Justice that makes right that which is broken.
It's essential that we take hold of the Kingdom of God. To do so we must pursue the righteousness of God which cannot be easily separated from His justice. Justice that makes right that which is wrong beginning deep within the recesses of our own heart. We’ve been commissioned to the ministry of reconciliation, extending the authority of God to bring forth his will on earth as it is in heaven in anticipation of the kingdom’s consummation. A consummation resulting in new creation, both heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1).