Introduction

"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We pray that the kingdom of God may be expanded from heaven to earth, that his will be done here just as it is done there.

The kingdom of God was central to the teaching and mission of Jesus. It is mentioned dozens of times throughout the gospels. But the concept is a hard one to understand. Jesus didn't give us a bullet point summary of the kingdom. Instead, he told stories and used metaphors and similes in order to expand our understanding of the kingdom of God.

Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a banquet and a great wedding feast; the door will be closed on some. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field; you would be wise to sell everything you own to buy that field to get the treasure. The kingdom of heaven is like a net cast wide; it pulls in all sorts of fish, and the good fish must be separated from the bad. The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who hired laborers to work in the fields. He hired them at different times of day, but at the end of the day, he paid them all equally. (The kingdom has a funny economy, doesn't it?) The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed; from a small beginning comes a great tree. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast; it permeates all, silently and pervasively.

Besides using parables, Jesus also dropped comments here and there about the kingdom. He said that the kingdom of heaven is hard for the rich to enter (Mark 10:23-25). He said the kingdom must be received as a child (Mark 10:15). Not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21). We should seek the kingdom first, and then worldly needs such as food and clothing will be given to us (Matthew 6:33). Before his crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples he would not drink or eat again with them until he does so in kingdom (Mark 14:25). He said that if your eye or hand prevents you from entering the kingdom, pluck it out or cut it off (Mark 9:47). Jesus said that a great reversal is coming: harlots and tax collectors will enter the kingdom before the Pharisees (Matthew 21:31). He said that the Pharisees shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces (Matthew 23:13).

What are we to make of this collage of teachings? What does the phrase "kingdom of heaven" mean? If we are to pray the Lord's Prayer, by all means let us understand what he is saying. What does kingdom mean?

A kingdom is one's sphere of control.

A kingdom is the place you have arranged to suit your purposes and your values. It is an environment arranged according to how you like it. My car is my kingdom. I arrange it to suit me. I have my seat set just right for me. I have my mirrors adjusted for my height. I tune my radio to the stations I like. It drives me crazy when my teenage son sits in the passenger seat and starts punching buttons, resetting my stations and messing with my treble and bass. My car is my kingdom! Hands off!

When I travel, I try to make my hotel room my kingdom for a night. You know how chaotic travel can be, so when I arrive at my hotel, I like to impose order. I place a hand towel on the counter in the bathroom. I lay out my razor, my tooth brush, and my comb in perfect symmetry. That's the way I like it; it suits my personality, and besides, it's such a righteous way to live! I arrange my environment the way I like it.

So a kingdom is one's sphere of control. So what is God's sphere of authority?

God's kingdom is called "heaven."

God's kingdom is the place that perfectly reflects his character and values. It is the place where things operate the way he likes them. It is a place of joy, truth, grace, health, light, and shalom. God's kingdom is a good place because he is good; it reflects him. People don't lie in the Kingdom; they love the truth because he is there and he is truth. People don't use each other in God's kingdom; no, they honor each other. They don't cheat; they love. That's how God likes it.

No wonder the hymn writer said, "I love thy kingdom, Lord, the house of thine abode." No wonder another writer said, "His kingdom is glorious; he rules over all." And another said, "Within the kingdom of his might, lo, all is just and all is right. To God all praise and glory."

The Kingdom of God is called heaven. It's a beautiful place.

God is also King of this earth.

Psalm 47:2 says, "How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth!" Psalm 74:12 says, "But you, O God, are my king from of old; you bring salvation upon the earth." And David says in 1 Chronicles 29:11-12, "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all."

God's kingdom is heaven and earth. However, tension lurks in that statement, doesn't it? We have no trouble accepting the teaching that the kingdom of God is called heaven, but what about earth? In what sense is this earth the kingdom of God?

Turn on the news. Bump along with the camera down the street of that city in the Middle East. You can almost smell the lingering, acrid smell of explosives. Is this the kingdom of God?

Walk into the tent of that medical clinic in Africa. Let your eyes adjust to the sudden darkness from the glaring sun. Look at the child over there in the corner on a cot. Is that a child or is it a stick figure? In what sense is the kingdom of God a kingdom of AIDS orphans?

Walk down the hallway of the nursing home. Each of us has an appointment with death. For some, those appointments with death come too early; but for others, it seems that Death has misplaced his address book. Does God reign here?

Pick up the phone and listen to the conversation, if you can call it a conversation, between parents and their hardened teenager. She's not coming home. She hates her parents. Where is the shalom of God in that family?

Take a stroll through Subic Bay, the U. S. naval station in the Philippines. Ask yourself if the sex trade is part of the kingdom of God.

We're not the only ones who are confused about the kingdom. John the Baptist was confused when they threw him into prison. He had preached that the kingdom of God was at hand and that the Christ would "baptize with unquenchable fire." Messiah was on the horizon! He was going to knock some heads together! But then John was thrown into prison, and he asks: "Are you the one, or should we look for another?" (Matthew 11:3).

You feel the tension, don't you? In what sense can we say what the Bible says, that God rules over heaven and earth? Theologians have a phrase to describe this tension in which we live.

The kingdom of God is already, but not yet.

The kingdom is already, but not yet. Jesus has come, and God has established a beachhead. The kingdom is founded.

We see in Scripture how the kingdom is "already." "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). "If I drive out demons, the kingdom has come" (Matthew 12:28; Luke 12:31). The Kingdom was inaugurated with Christ coming to earth, was extended when Jesus defeated Satan on the cross, and was ratified with the Resurrection. Jesus is the "first fruits" of the great, coming resurrection. But …

The kingdom of God is "not yet." Satan is also called the "ruler of this earth." He is the "god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4). He is the "Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2). "The whole creation is groaning in the pains of childbirth …. We ourselves groan as we await the redemption of our bodies" (Romans 8:22).

So the kingdom of God is here, but it is not yet what it shall be. It is already, but not yet. That's why Jesus taught us to pray that the kingdom would come to earth just as it is in heaven. I like the way pastor John Ortberg puts it: "May up there come down here." In other words, we pray, "May your sphere of authority, O God, be extended to this earth. Please arrange things down here just as you do up there. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. May up there come down here."

This is what I'd like all of us to pray. When you walk the streets of the Middle Eastern city and smell the acrid smell of explosives: May up there come down here. May the peace of Jerusalem be more than a phrase. When you walk into the tent of the medical clinic in Africa and see the see the five-year-old child: May up there come down here. When you listen to that phone conversation, maybe it's your own conversation: May up there come down here.

In my neighborhood, in my country, in my family, in my office, in my church, in my club, in my small group, in my shop, in my staff, in my heart, in my attitude, in my beliefs, may God be king. May he set up things the way he likes them. May up there come down here.

Only God can bring in the kingdom.

Notice what we imply when we pray this prayer: only God can bring in the kingdom. I'm not preaching a self help, social gospel message. No, this is a job for God alone. That's because Satan is the real enemy—not ignorance, viruses, tectonic plates, or even persecutors. We battle a personality who is far beyond any of us. God must bare his arm. So we pray the earliest prayer of the Christian Church: "Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus." Make things right. May up there come down here.

But also notice that when we pray this prayer, we imply that we work, we partner, with God. The Lord's Prayer is a request, yes, but it is also a declaration, an affirmation. If our hearts long for the glory of God to cover the earth as water covers the sea, then we also work to bring that about. We use our money to partner with God in establishing the kingdom. Some of you have a stewardship of money. Use it to make a difference! And as you steward God's money, pray: May up there come down here. Some of you have the gift of extra time; use it to partner with God. Become a small group leader, put on some hot water for tea and listen to a teenager's struggles, take a short term trip to New Orleans to help rebuild the ruins that remain. And pray: May up there come down here. All of you have spiritual gifts: wisdom, leadership, mercy, teaching, faith, hospitality. Use them! Invest them! While waiting for the kingdom to be consummated, partner with God, and always pray: May up there come down here.

Conclusion

Dear Lord, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. May up there come down here—speedily! And in the meantime, help us partner with you as we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jeffrey Arthur is professor of preaching and communication at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.