May your kingdom come, may your will be done, as in heaven so on earth. ~ JESUS (Matthew 6:10)
BEFORE WE BEGIN: Three announcements...
PASSPORT: A reminder that the Kingdom of Heaven Passport is now available on Amazon. It is an important complement to this post. You can find it here. And if you do buy a copy and read it, thank you in advance for leaving a review.
COMMENTS: Blog Post Comments are back on! Thank you for engaging with the material. I'm excited to hear your thoughts.
DANCING: Our next Toronto area Retro dance is March 29, and it should be a lot of fun. 70s Disco and 80s New Wave - who can beat that? Please purchase tickets here.
SUMMARY: Read this and skip the rest (if you want)
This prayer for God's kingdom to come is a prayer for Divine disruption, for God to interfere with the business as usual of our world.
Prayer for God's kingdom to come was a common Jewish prayer at the time of Christ, except Jesus infuses new meaning into the idea of God's kingdom.
The Kingdom of God is the way of life where God's will and God's way holds sway.
We often wonder what God's will is for our lives, but this overlooks the point that Jesus is in the middle of teaching us God's will. God's will is for us to follow Jesus, which includes living out the Sermon on the Mount.
The goal of the Gospel is not us going to heaven but heaven coming to us.
Praying for God's kingdom to come gives us a sense of purpose as citizens, soldiers, and ambassadors in this life.
Prayer is more of a wartime walkie-talkie to call in fire support than a domestic intercom to ring the butler.
The Sermon on the Mount is the Constitution for the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. It is our Charter of Rights and Freedoms for every citizen of Christ's Kingdom.
CORE
(The heart of the message)
Prayer is more of a wartime walkie-talkie to call in firepower than a domestic intercom to ask our butler to bring us another comfy cushion.
CONTEXT
(What’s going on before and after this passage)
Throughout history, different cultures and religions have viewed history differently. Some examples are history as: Meaningless, Cyclical, or Directed.
History is Meaningless. Shakespeare's Macbeth expresses this view when he says,
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time.
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
(Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5)
History is Cyclical. Many ancient Greek, Hindu, and Chinese philosophers taught that history repeats itself in endless cycles. Plato spoke about "the Great Year" when history would reach its end and then begin again. Similarly, the Stoics believed in a recurring cosmic cycle where the universe undergoes periodic destruction and rebirth. This philosophy is also represented in Battlestar Galactica, the best TV show ever, period, stamped it, no erasies.
History is Directed. The Jewish and then Christian point of view is that God is intentionally moving history toward its telos, it's goal. Like an arrow, history is headed toward the target of "the Day of the LORD" (Amos 5:18) or "the Kingdom of God" (Mark 1:15).
So praying for God's kingdom to come was a common prayer in Judaism. The Kaddish, an ancient Jewish prayer, reads:
"May he rule his kingdom in your lifetime and in your days, and in the lifetime of the entire household of Israel, swiftly and in the near future." ~ The Kaddish
The difference comes in Jesus' understanding of "kingdom". Jesus is not inventing a new concept but reinventing its meaning. Jewish ideas of God's kingdom coming were geographic, nationalistic, and militaristic, whereas Jesus inaugurates a Kingdom that is relational, inclusive, and nonviolent.
This was such a shift in thinking, even after three years of being personally mentored by Jesus, his Jewish disciples still didn't get it. Just before his Ascension, while Jesus is teaching about the coming baptism of the Holy Spirit, his disciples interrupt him to ask:
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” ~ The Disciples (Acts 1:6)
They say there are no bad questions. Except, well, umm, this is a bad question. These guys were pure MIGA (Make Israel Great Again).
Jesus responds by saying, in effect, "You still don't get it. My kingdom isn't just for Israel. It is for everybody." (See Acts 1:8.)
Jesus made this idea of God's coming Kingdom central to his Good News message (Matthew 4:17, 23; 10:7; 24:14; Mark 1:15; Luke 4:34). So this topic is worth our time and attention. To paraphrase Stanley Hauerwas, an Anabaptist theologian, this prayer for God's kingdom to come is a prayer for Divine disruption, for God to interfere with the business as usual of our world.
Our world needs this "divine disruption" like never before.
CONSIDER
(Observations about the passage)
May your kingdom come. Just as in English, the Greek words for kingdom and king are intertwined. The Greek word for "kingdom" (basileia) is derived from the word "king" (basileus). To speak about a kingdom is to speak about the realm of a king, literally, a king's domain (a king-dom for short), and the qualities of the kingdom will be determined by the quality of the king. This word "kingdom" is active, like when we speak of God's "love" we are speaking about God actively loving, not a static state or abstract concept. God's kingdom, like God's love, is a thing God does, expresses, and manifests. So, we could pray "May your rule and reign come" or "May your government come" or better "May your governing come". Whatever translation we use, the Kingdom of God is the realm where God's will and God's way holds sway. Where believers live like citizens of heaven while on earth, there is the kingdom. The Kingdom of God is both present now among us and within us as well as still to come. It is already-not-yet. The fancy phrase for this idea is "inaugurated eschatology": the future finish of all things and consummation of history (eschatology) has already begun and we are invited to live into that reality (inaugurated). One day God will perfect all creation and wipe every tear from our eyes (Revelation 11:15; 21:4). At that time, every knee will bow to King Jesus and every tongue will confess that he is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). So we pray for that day to arrive, for the kingdom to come, for all other kingdoms to be brought into submission to God, for history to eventually cross that finish line and experience God's recreative perfection. And we pray for God to use us here and now to create glimpses of that kingdom reality among us. God will answer this prayer for the kingdom to come fully at the end of time, and partially every single day we honour Jesus as our Lord. This is why Jesus and the early Christians could talk about the Kingdom of Heaven as a future and a present reality (Matthew 4:17; 10:7; 11:11-12; 12:28; 16:28; Luke 7:28; 16:16; 17:20-21; Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 4:20; Colossians 1:13; 4:11). This kingdom is not static. Its borders are not fixed. It arrives dynamically through evangelism and discipleship. Yet, ultimately it is God who brings his kingdom to us, which is why we pray for his kingdom to "come" and not for us to "build" or "spread" or "grow" it. We can receive, enter, invite, and seek it (Luke 12:32), but we do not create the Kingdom. The verb here - to come - moves us both into action as well as into full dependence upon God. Ultimately, we want more and more people to immigrate into the kingdom as citizens, and we want to help more citizens become soldiers fighting against alternate kingdoms, as well as ambassadors who represent the kingdom of Christ to the people of this world. (More on this below.)
EXCURSUS: MARANATHA! The early Church prayed for the Kingdom of Christ to come daily in the Lord's Prayer but also in what appears to have been a common one word saying: Maranatha! This compound Aramaic word forms a prayer that has a double meaning: "Our Lord, come!" and/or "Our Lord has come!" We see it used in 1 Corinthians 16:22, where Paul leaves the saying in its original Aramaic without translating it for his Greek audience, suggesting it was a known phrase among all early Christians (similar to the Aramaic word Abba). So, Christ-followers pray for the Kingdom of God to come and make everything right that is wrong (1 Corinthians 15:20-28), and we declare that until that day comes, we are not alone - Jesus is already here with us now and we can see glimpses of his Kingdom in and through our lives (Matthew 18:20; 20:28; Luke 17:20-21; also see John 14:16-18 where the context suggests Jesus comes to us through the Holy Spirit). When we say "Maranatha!" we are praying for more of Jesus while we look for Jesus already with us as "the Ghost of 1820".
"The kingdom of God is the range of his effective will: that is, it is the domain where what he prefers is actually what happens." ~ Dallas Willard (Divine Conspiracy)
"For Jesus 'kingdom' would have meant the society of God's people flourishing in this world under Christ as the King."
~ Scot McKnight (Sermon on the Mount)
"The Kingdom of God is the heavenly world breaking into our earthly existence. Do not think of the kingdom as a realm to which we are going as much as a reality that is coming to us." ~ Kevin DeYoung (The Lord's Prayer)
"The Kingdom of God encroaches on Satan's domain whenever people come to faith in Jesus Christ. The Kingdom comes when Jesus' disciples grow in their relationships to God and neighbour. The Kingdom is not merely future, and the disciples' hope is not escapism - they do not look to leave the earth for an ethereal heavenly existence. Rather, they look for a concrete existence in which heaven comes to earth, and they seek heaven's interests on earth today." ~ David L. Turner (The Gospel of Matthew)
[As an aside, it occurs to me that the invading aliens in the Netflix series "Three Body Problem" are the mirror image version of the coming Kingdom of Christ. For those of you who have seen the show, I'd love to discuss. Nerd moment over.]
May your will be done. This phrase is a restating, clarifying, and expanding of "thy kingdom come". When we pray for the kingdom to come we are praying for God's will and God's way to hold sway. The will of God is not always easy or safe, but it is always "good, pleasing, and perfect" (Romans 12:2). And what is God's will for our lives? When we ask this question, we are often overlooking the obvious. In context, Jesus is in the middle of teaching us God's will for three chapters in Matthew's Gospel. Here is God's will: learn and live the Sermon on the Mount. According to theologian Frederick Dale Bruner (The Christbook), to pray "May your will be done" is to pray "May your Sermon on the Mount be done." Yes God's will for our lives may be more than this, but it will not be less than this. The teaching of Jesus in the Gospels is our place to start for discerning God's will for our lives. Now, sometimes we will realize that our own will does not align with God's will. On these occasions, when we may not want to do God's will, but at least we want to want to do God's will, we pray this prayer. We are asking God to soften our strong will and to bend it toward his own. This is at the heart of Christian discipleship. If we want God's will and God's way to hold sway in this world, we must know that this should start with us. In fact, we are saved from our sin because one night in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed this very prayer (Matthew 26:39, 42, 44). And we will be saved from downward spirals into more sin when we regularly pray this prayer from our heart. This request is also a daily reminder that there is work to be done, because not everything in this world is a reflection of God's will and God's way. This has significance for our theodicies (explanations why evil exists). Other kingdoms are in conflict with the Kingdom of God, and other wills are resisting the will of God (Luke 13:34), and so we have a war to fight. (On the flip side of this idea, see Ephesians 1:11. More on this below.)
"Here more clearly than anywhere the purpose of prayer becomes plain: not to make God do my will, but to bring my will in line with his."
~ J.I. Packer (Praying)
"The Father's will is that we live the kingdom life. The Father's will is, therefore, that we live the Sermon on the Mount." ~ Darrell Johnson (Fifty-Seven Words that Change the World)
My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. ~ JESUS (John 4:34)
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. ~ JESUS (Matthew 12:50)
As in heaven. Here we have one of the few examples in the Sermon on the Mount of the word "heaven" being used in the singular. In each example (5:18; 5:34; 6:10; 6:20; 6:26), the singular is used to emphasize heaven as a specific place (either the celestial city where God sits on his throne, or the sky where birds fly). Whereas heavens, plural, refers to all dimensions of creation and our lives where God rules. Singular: a specific place. Plural: God's immanent presence all around us. Every time the word "heaven" is partnered with "kingdom", as in "the kingdom of the heavens", it is in the plural. So far in the Lord's Prayer, Jesus has used it both ways, teaching us to pray to "Our father in the heavens" (plural) and then asking that his will be done "as in heaven" (singular) so upon the earth. This reminds us that what we see and sense around us is only one dimension of reality. There is a greater unseen reality all around us where God's name is honoured, his reign is unquestioned, and his will is done. (Think of 2 Kings 6, especially verse 17.)
"In heaven God's will is perfectly done now, for there is nothing in heaven to hinder it, and the prayer looks for a similar state of affairs here on earth." ~ Leon Morris (The Gospel According to Matthew)
So on earth. This phrase summarizes the flow of all three preceding petitions: may God's name be magnified, his kingdom come, and his will be done "on earth". These are social concepts. We do not pray for God's name to be honoured, his kingdom to come, and his will to be done "in my heart". They are also global concepts. We do not pray for God's name to be honoured, his kingdom to come, and his will to be done "in our nation" (Hebrews 13:14) or even only "in our church", but throughout the whole earth. This is our prayer for God to repair the world. May God fix what is broken, remove what is wrong, and turn every tragic tale into a redemption story. The Greek word order ("as in heaven, so on earth") has a directional flow to it, bringing God's will and God's way from up above to down below. (Most English translations reverse the Greek word order.) This is the redemptive flow of the entire biblical metanarrative. Unlike some of our Christian hymnody - like Away in a Manger's "Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care, And fit us for heaven to live with Thee there" - God's goal is not to "fit us for heaven". We are not heavenbound but Heaven is earthbound. At the end of time, the book of Revelation pictures, not us going up to heaven as disembodied spirits, but the city of heaven, called the New Jerusalem, finally coming down to earth (Revelation 3:12; 21:1-5). Spiritual and physical realities are fused into a unified whole and God makes everything new. In the meantime, we pray for more and more of the will and way of God in heaven to come to earth.
"'On earth as in heaven' girdles the globe; it reminds us again that the Lord's Prayer is cosmic." ~ Frederick Dale Bruner (The Christbook)
"Thy Kingdom Come on earth as it is in heaven. And we who pray that prayer are ourselves bits of earth, lumps of clay. If we really want God's kingdom to come to earth, we should of course expect that the earth in question will include this earth, this clay, this present physical body." ~ N.T. Wright (The Lord and His Prayer)
EXAMPLE PRAYER: Father, please expand your kingdom of heaven on earth here and now. Help me see evidence of your presence today, and help me to work with rather than against your will and your way holding sway in this world. Thank you for filling my life with meaning and purpose as a participant in and representative of your kingdom. Please help me to fully participate in church life and mutual discipleship as a good citizen, to stand up against all distracting dark forces as a brave soldier, and to share your truth as a knowledgeable ambassador. (Then pause and think of ways God might want you to participate in each kingdom role today.)
COMMENTARY
(Thoughts about meaning and application)
One of the greatest epidemics of our time (and all time) is the epidemic of isolation and loneliness. (See our last study for more about this.) Our sense of loneliness is exacerbated by our sense of purposelessness and meaninglessness. If we could just figure out why we are here and what we are called to do in this life, we could join forces with others who have realized the same calling.
The call of Christ into his Kingdom addresses these felt needs of meaninglessness and loneliness, because they are real needs and Jesus offers a real solution. Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth meets this precise need by giving us daily purpose and calling us to express that purpose together.
The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth gives us a new experience of intimacy, connection, belonging, and purpose as citizens of heaven here and now. We can wake up every morning knowing that we are not alone, but part of something larger than ourselves. And our purpose becomes clear:
Our purpose every day is to live as citizens, soldiers, and ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
CITIZENS: full participants in the communal life of God.
SOLDIERS: fighting for love in a hate-filled world, and fighting against false kingdoms and meaningless distractions.
AMBASSADORS: Representing our true King and country in a foreign land, creating embassies where people can experience a taste of Heaven on Earth.
The gift of God's reign and rule does not come by armies or elections, but by the Spirit of God working through his citizens, soldiers, and ambassadors.
About being Kingdom Citizens...
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household. ~ The apostle Paul (Ephesians 2:19)
Our citizenship is in heaven. ~ The apostle Paul (Philippians 3:20)
Good citizens are positive participating contributors to a society. We start here. We give our time and attention to one another. We gather together regularly, to encourage and motivate one another in the Jesus Way.
We were made to work together to shine God's light, spread God's love, and share God's Gospel.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
This is Christ's vision of mutual discipleship, a fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). This is what "church" is all about - a gathering of people with a purpose; a society of all-embracing unconditional love.
When Jesus assembled his first disciples, he chose twelve, symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus was saying: Look here! I am founding a new nation of God's people! And he did what people thought could never be done - he brought together a tax collector alongside zealots (Matthew alongside Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot) and made them friends.
Ancient Greeks and Romans used to speak about the "body politic", a metaphor of the State as a body, with the Emperor as the head and each member doing its part for the good of the whole. The early Church saw itself the same way (1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:15; 5:23). To speak about the Church as the "body of Christ" with Jesus as the head is not just a relational or biological metaphor, it is political metaphor, declaring Jesus as king and us as his citizens.
About being Kingdom Soldiers...
Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. ~ The apostle Paul (Timothy 2:3-4)
In some Christian circles, this biblical metaphor is shied away from because it feels too violent. The key is identifying who we are fighting and how we are fighting. We are not fighting people, but the bad ideas and dark forces that manipulate and imprison people.
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretentious thought and arrogant obstacle that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ~ The apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
Every era of history has witnessed kingdoms in conflict. When Jesus preached his Sermon on the Mount, Romans VS Jews was the kingdom clash du jour that surrounded Jesus and his disciples.
Our day is no different. Think of the competing kingdoms fighting for land around the world today. And think about the internal "kingdoms" clashing within our countries through culture wars and power posses that try to force one particular understanding of reality over another. The weapons of their warfare might not be swords or guns or bombs or drones, rather they are the more "soft" weapons of media, marketing, legislation, protest, public shaming, and political power plays.
Thankfully, God has given us more powerful weapons to fight back, not against people, but against the forces of deception that hold people captive. Here is the apostle Paul's final words of instruction in one of his letters to Christians:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. ~ The apostle Paul (Ephesians 6:10-20)
Notice the central role prayer plays in Paul's thinking about spiritual warfare. We pray, in partnership with the Holy Spirit, for boldness and courage in advancing the gospel.
That is what we are saying when we pray "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done".
Theologian John Piper uses the analogy of a walkie-talkie versus an intercom. He says prayer is more like a wartime walkie-talkie used to call in firepower on the battlefield and not a domestic intercom for ringing up the butler to bring us whatever we want at the moment. Prayer is less about us getting stuff to make our lives better and more about working with God on the mission he has given us.
"The kingdom of God is locked in a cosmic conflict with the transient and fleeting kingdoms of this world. This world is at war, and one of our greatest weapons in this warfare is prayer. And a battle prayer that we should daily radio to our Father in heaven is, 'Your kingdom come.'"~ Daniel L. Akin (Exalting Jesus in The Sermon on the Mount)
"Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke?" ~ Annie Dillard (Teaching a Stone to Talk)
About being Kingdom Ambassadors...
Within this understanding, evangelism is a matter of representing our king and kingdom to the citizens of a foreign land.
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ~ The apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 5:20; also see Ephesians 6:20)
This means that church communities should function as embassies of the Kingdom of Heaven within whatever earthly nation they are situated. An embassy exists, not to promote the interests of the land in which it is placed, but to promote a foreign nation's interests, culture, and policy. The churches of Canada, for instance, do not exist to help Canada become a great nation. They exist to represent, educate, and promote the interests of the Jesus Nation to Canadians.
Churches then are meant to be kingdom outposts; places where people can come and experience the kingdom culture of Christ, a taste of heaven on earth. Whenever someone walks into a circle of believers-in-fellowship, they are walking into a relational embassy that represents our King and our Kingdom.
Where we go further than any earthly ambassador is that we represent our Kingdom not just for relational, educational, and diplomatic reasons, but also for the cause of evangelism. We want more and more people to immigrate, that is, naturalize into full citizenship in the Jesus Nation (Matthew 28:18-20).
(For more about this, order your copy of the Kingdom of Heaven Passport, now available on Amazon.)
The law and the prophets were in force until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it. ~ JESUS (Luke 16:16)
Every time we choose the way of Christ over the ways of culture, habitual criticism, self-indulgence, or divisive judgmentalism, we are becoming the answer to our own prayers. Every time we choose love over hate, forgiveness over judgement, and reconciliation over division, the kingdom comes.
We are experiencing the coming of the kingdom in every attitude and action that aligns with our Kingdom Constitution - the Sermon on the Mount.
"To pray the second petition of the Lord's Prayer, Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven,' is one of, if not the most radical things a human being can do, for it turns out that in this petition we are asking God to bring about the most massive revolution imaginable." ~ Darrell Johnson (Fifty-Seven Words that Change the World)
CONFESSION
(Personal reflection)
I confess that I am politically disengaged. And I am fine with that. I'd like to think this is a matter of principle for me. But maybe I'm just lazy and really good at excuse-making. Either way, here is my rationale...
For me, political engagement feels like bad stewardship of my time, attention, and energies. I have dear friends who strongly disagree with me and tell me that, at bare minimum, voting from an informed perspective is one important way we can help advance the cause of Christ in our country. Except, I know that these two friends vote for opposite parties, believing that the party they vote for is the one closest to representing the values of Jesus. So after all their study, thoughtfulness, discussion, and debate, their votes cancel each other out.
Moreso, I feel like investing large amounts of time (and it would take that for me) in politics would be time that I am not investing in my own country, the Jesus Nation. I feel like investing that much time into politics would be an act of placing faith in the wrong kingdom to bring about God's will.
I keep up with current politics a bit because I want to understand my world around me to the extent that an ambassador for one nation needs to understand the basic cultural conditions of the country to which he or she is posted. I want to know enough about Canadian culture and politics and art and entertainment to help me be an effective ambassador on behalf of the King and Kingdom I represent.
I don't really relate to Canada as my country, but the country to which I am posted by God as an ambassador of my true country - the Kingdom of Christ, the Jesus Nation, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Although the apostle Paul could emphasize his Roman citizenship for specific purposes (Acts 16:37; 22:25), theologically the early Christians saw themselves as "foreigners and exiles" in their own country (1 Peter 2:11).
I have embraced a classically Anabaptist point of view on this topic. And I'd like to take a moment to help make the case for it. I do so knowing that this is a minority position in the Church today and that most of us have not grown up learning this point of view. I also have many dear friends and close Christian sisters and brothers who hold to the more common Christian perspective (described below as "Dominion Theology"). These good and godly people see politics as one more means at our disposal to make a difference on behalf of the Kingdom of Christ, either from within the system as a politician or other political worker, or from the perspective of an engaged, informed, involved, and voting citizen of our earthly nation.
I'd like to take a few words here to help us all consider the Anabaptist perspective a little more because 1) it's my perspective and this is my blog, 2) as the minority perspective we are probably less aware of this tradition of thinking in the Christian Church, even though 3) I think this view most accurately represents the view of the first generations of Christians until the Constantinian Shift (see this study for more on that).
Anabaptism embraces a "Kingdom Theology" instead of what scholars call a "Dominion Theology".
Kingdom theology believes, prays, and acts for God's kingdom to come and God's will to be done through the means of Jesus: foot-washing, servant-posture, cheek-turning, second-mile-walking, enemy-embracing, unconditional love. Kingdom theology works for change "from the bottom up" and avoids involvement in all institutions of potentially coercive power, like politics, policing, and law-making. Beyond paying taxes (taught by Jesus and Paul as the place to draw the line), government is respected and prayed for, but not sought after for positions of power. (Voting is a matter of conscience within this community.) An extreme version of this view is expressed through traditional Anabaptists, including Amish, Hutterites, and Old Order Mennonites.
Dominion theology believes God can use Christians to help his kingdom come "from the top down", through political power and legal changes. They take inspiration from Bible characters like Joseph, Daniel, Deborah, and David. Getting the right person in power and the right laws passed is an important expression of Dominion theology. In America, working to elect a "Christian" president, mandating prayer in schools, and displaying the Ten Commandments in courthouses fall into this way of thinking. Some version of Dominion theology is the unquestioned view within most Christian circles today and throughout Church history and usually partners with Just War theology (the view that Christians can and should participate in war and other forms of righteous violence in some circumstances). An extreme version of this view is expressed through Christian Nationalism.
While both perspectives desire to see the influence of God's kingdom on earth, kingdom theology focuses on transformation through service and love, whereas dominion theology, while including the means of Kingdom theology, also works to establish Christian governance through societal structures associated with power.
As stated, I am team Kingdom Theology all the way.
Remember Jesus' teaching to his disciples when they were fixated on power:
You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. ~ JESUS (Mark 10:42-45)
Not so with you. Let those words ring.
Jesus' kingdom teaching leads me to believe his kingdom is meant to come through heart-change and not through visible institutions (Luke 17:20-21), through invitation rather than coercion (Matthew 13:3-9; 22:1-14), and it will expand slowly and softly, like a seed growing into a tree or yeast working its way through dough (Matthew 13:31-33).
Getting the right political leaders or judges or police to legislate and enforce Kingdom principles seems more akin to Old Testament rather than New Testament tactics.
The Anabaptist ideal of "separation of Church and State" is not so much a way of saying "hands off" to the State, "don't you dare tell us what to do". No, the ideal of "separation of Church and State" is primarily a way of saying "hands off" to the Church. Don't be tempted to use the way of coercive power to bring about the Kingdom ideals of Jesus. Put down the sword. Stay separate, because sisters and brothers, we have a different job to do and a different way to do it.
My take is that, as a citizen of a different nation, the Jesus Nation, and an ambassador of that nation to the earthly country I reside in, I do not participate in some of the country's activities that are reserved for citizens of that country. For instance, I do not enlist in the army and I do not vote. I am not disengaged from the people or the culture, but my scope of involvement is more like an ambassador within that country rather than a citizen of that country.
And what about paying taxes? Don't we even indirectly support a system of coercive power when we pay taxes to our earthly governments? Asking this question shows we're on the right track, since this became the question asked by people in Jesus' day who wrestled with his apolitical teaching. It's true that in an imperfect world, there will be no perfect way to draw a perfect line that will keep us engaged with the world yet free from any indirect entanglements. So paying taxes is where Jesus and the early Church draw the line. This seems to me to be the thinking of the early church.
After pointing out that Caesar's image is on a coin, Jesus says:
So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. ~ JESUS (Matthew 22:21)
And after an extended discussion about the different roles of the Church and the State in Romans 12 and 13, the apostle Paul concludes with one practical word of direction:
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. ~ The apostle Paul (Romans 13:6-7)
So here is where we draw the line of our involvement in earthly governments: we pay our taxes, we offer respect, and we pray for our leaders.
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. ~ The apostle Paul (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
Notice we pray for peace because, among other things, times of peace allow the Gospel to go forward better than times of war. That's where Paul's mind goes on this topic. He is thinking like a strategic citizen, soldier, and ambassador of the Kingdom of Christ.
When being questioned by Pilate, Jesus says:
My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place. ~ JESUS (John 18:36)
Christ's Kingdom is not of and from this world. It is not produced by this world and does not take its cues from this world. But it is lived out in this world and we pray every day that God's kingdom continues to come. Jesus rejected the way of coercive power, even when it was offered to him (Matthew 4:8-10; John 6:15). And when asked about political allegiance (Mark 12:17), Jesus didn’t align with any political faction but reframed the issue to draw their attention back to God.
In the end, this view should offer us more peace no matter who is in charge, who is elected, who rules the world around us. We know what our role is, and we know who is ultimately in charge.
When Pilate tried to intimidate Jesus with his power, Jesus said:
You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. ~ JESUS (John 19:11)
In other words, God is taking care of things regarding secular governments and using their leaders, even the bad ones, to bring about his will in history. In his amazing sermon to the Areopagus in Athens, the apostle Paul says:
From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ~ The apostle Paul (Acts 17:26-27)
What relief! God is working out political history so that people are maximally encouraged to seek God. We can leave the governance of earthly kingdoms in God's hands and focus on our role as citizens, soldiers, and ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
For me at least, this perspective brings a fulsome sense of inner peace and overall lack of fluster concerning the whirlwind of political panic that is often presented on the nightly news.
This view certainly has its detractors. (Including many of you reading this right now, I know I know.) Let's look at a few common objections. I will not respond to them here but invite us all to think/talk about how an Anabaptist (and I think, an early Christian) would respond.
The Bible is full of examples of godly men and women participating in coercive power to bring about God's righteous will. Think of Joseph, Daniel, David, and Deborah. We need to follow all of the Bible.
Our country was founded on Christian principles (or, "We live in a Christian nation"), so Christians should be a part of maintaining those principles politically.
If good people don't get involved in politics, it leaves the whole enterprise in the hands of bad people.
Sure, early Christians did not get involved in politics, but that is because they were not in a democracy (they were in occupied Israel). Our situation is different and we should act accordingly.
If you don't vote, you can't complain about who gets elected or the policies they enact.
Jesus told Pilate that he could not hold power unless it was given to him "from above" (John 19:11), and the apostle Paul wrote that God works through government to bring about his justice. So God wants us involved! It's all right there in Romans 13.
Didn't Jesus tell his followers to buy swords? (See Luke 22:36.) He must have intended them to be used. Coercive power is not a bad thing when used for the cause of righteousness.
Even if believers didn't vote in Bible times (Israel was a monarchy), they certainly did participate in political leadership and the military. I mean, have you read the Old Testament?
If we don't get involved in politics, policing, and war, we are being too passive and allowing evil to spread. It is not loving to just sit there and do nothing.
[Insert your best argument here. Feel free to use the comments.]
(I have pasted my brief responses to the above objections at the end of this article.)
While I am not politically engaged (and don't care to be), I do want to be culturally engaged. Culture is a soul-shaping power that moves mysteriously around us and through us. We receive it and we pass it on, for good or for ill. The great philosopher Dallas Willard writes about culture:
"Culture is seen in what people do unthinkingly, what is "natural" to them and therefore requires no explanation or justification. Everyone has a culture – or really, multidimensional cultures of various levels. These cultures structure their lives. And of course by far the most of everyone's culture is right and good and essential. But not all. For culture is the place where wickedness takes on group form, just as the flesh, good and right in itself, is the place where individual wickedness dwells. We therefore pray for our Father to break up these higher-level patterns of evil. And, among other things, we ask him to help us see the patterns we are involved in. We ask him to help us not cooperate with them, to cast light on them and act effectively to remove them." ~ Dallas Willard (Divine Conspiracy)
Like all kingdoms, all countries, all nations, all societies, and all people groups, the Kingdom of Christ has a culture. This kingdom culture is rooted in grace, mercy, and peace. These three values summed up the ethos of the first century kingdom movement.
A common way of greeting or saying goodbye for first century Christians was "Grace, Mercy, and Peace" (1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; 2 John 1:3). This was sometimes shortened to just "Grace and Peace", where mercy is assumed to be embedded in grace, but however it was expressed, these three values summarized what was central to the early kingdom movement of Christ.
Grace: getting (and giving) what we don't deserve. This is generosity.
Mercy: not getting (and not giving) what we do deserve. This is forgiveness.
Peace: the reconciliation, restoration, and wholeness that results when a community practices grace and mercy. This is shalom.
The way of grace, mercy, and peace is the Jesus Way; this is our "brand"; this is our kingdom culture.
For more on the kingdom culture of Christ, see the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, as well as Paul's description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, and James' description of heavenly wisdom in James 3:17-18. (A more detailed list of kingdom culture qualities and scripture references is given in the Kingdom Passport.)
I have one more confession I'd like to make. I confess, I can't wait to reign with Christ. That sure sounds like a power grab eh? But hear me out.
The Bible does talk about believers someday ruling and reigning with Christ. And for most of my life this idea puzzled me. What or who would we reign over? Wouldn't that imply unnecessary power structures in the after life? If Christians rule forever, who are the poor schmucks who just get ruled over forever? And why should power be such a big motivator for the followers of the one who laid down his power in self-sacrificial love?
But more recently I have started to see some of the pieces of the puzzle come together and now I'm very excited to one day reign with Christ.
In the Book of Revelation, the apostle John has a vision of heaven where spiritual beings surround the Lamb of God and sing:
You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” ~ The apostle John (Revelation 5:9-10)
Then, in the final chapter of the Bible, the apostle John records:
There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. ~ The apostle John (Revelation 22:5; also see 2 Timothy 2:12)
This promise completes the Bible! Remember how Genesis began our human story: we were made in God's image and likeness to "rule" over creation (Genesis 1:26-27). This reference to ruling is not to be understood in worldly terms, as exploitative power, but as Jesus modelled, by serving and stewarding creation. We are the earth's caretakers, created to "serve and protect" all of creation (see Genesis 2:15). And that includes taking care of one another.
We rule over creation and we are part of that creation.
Imagine what it means to have actual sovereignty over your own self, as redeemed and purified by God. This self-governance is more than "my body, my choice" because we all make terrible choices about our own bodies all the time. We sin by what we do and what we fail to do, even when we know and want better. But what if we knew the right choice and wanted to make the right choice and actually made the right choice all the freakin' time?!
What if our will and our ways were always aligned with love? I am imagining the fulfillment of Jesus' promise in my own life. And I can't wait.
What will it be like on the day that we decide to love someone practically, faithfully, loyally, and we do it. Laziness, lustfulness, and cowardice will not get in the way. Or we decide to eat right and exercise more, and we do it. Time crunch excuses will not get in the way. Or we decide to think only gracious and uplifting thoughts toward others, and we do it. Or we decide that positive feelings are all we will make room for, and we do it. Stinking thinking and bad attitudes will not get in the way. What a glorious day! On that day, we will rule and reign over creation, starting with our own will, thoughts, and emotions.
When we pray "May your kingdom come, may your will be done, as in heaven so on earth" we are leaning into our own future. We are anticipating and embracing our future selves and partnering with God to pull all of that from our future into our present.
And that is who we are. You and I are not defined by our past - not our greatest failures or our greatest successes. We are not failures. And we are not victims. We are defined by Jesus and who he is making us to be. The only thing about our past that matters is what Jesus did for us about 2,000 years ago, taking away our sins and offering us the cleansing and recreative power of the Holy Spirit.
Kingdom citizens are not products of our past but products of our future. We are living into our future. We are taking our cues, not from how the world is, but from where the world is going under God's rule. And this future focus makes us alive to the present in new, creative, and loving ways.
Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ~ The apostle Paul (Philippians 3:13-14)
CONCLUSION
(One last thought)
The Sermon on the Mount is often thought of as the Constitution for the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. It is our Charter of Rights and Freedoms for every citizen of Christ's Kingdom.
The study we are doing here is more important than we may realize. Whenever the Church has strayed from the centrality of the Sermon on the Mount, it has succumbed to the influence of cultural power dynamics and become an ugly and violent parody of God's Kingdom.
So be encouraged. The time we are all investing in this series of studies is not just a good thing; it is a God thing, it is a Gospel thing, and it holds the keys to the Kingdom.
Just remember, following Jesus is life-giving, but it isn't easy. Some people will mock us, accuse us, and try to shame us. This includes religious people, fellow Christians even, and people we would have considered friends. This was the experience of the early Christians. Those who espouse religious legalism and institutional power will always be threatened by anyone who tries to follow Jesus without compromise. It will take courage and mutual encouragement to walk in the Way of Jesus. In the words of the early apostles:
We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. ~ Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:22)
CONTEMPLATE
(Scripture passages that relate to and deepen our understanding of this topic)
Psalm 40 (esp v. 8); Ephesians 2:19; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; 10:3-5; 2 Timothy 2:3-4
CONVERSATION
(Talk together, learn together, grow together)
What is God revealing to you about himself through this passage?
What is God showing you about yourself through this passage?
In the musical Hadestown the cast makes a toast "To the world we dream about, and the one we live in now." How does this capture our kingdom prayer?
What is one thing you can think, believe, or do differently in light of what you are learning?
What questions are you still processing about this topic?
CODA
(An Epilogue or Afterthought)
Jesus told a story about doing God's will that has me thinking about the possibility of non-Christians sometimes manifesting God's Kingdom more than Christians. Here it is:
What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father's will?” ~ JESUS (Matthew 21:28-31)
Notice that according to their words, the first son was in alignment with the Father and the second was disobedient. But the reverse is true according to their actions. Jesus is warning us: self-identifying as a follower of the Father's will is not enough. He is also encouraging us: we should be on the lookout for those who are already following Jesus, even if they would never verbalize it that way.
I want to keep my eyes open for the ways I can be inspired to greater obedience, greater generosity, and greater love by everyone around me and not just those who identify as Christian. The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth may be more inclusive than we realize.
BRIEF RESPONSES TO OBJECTIONS...
The Bible is full of examples of godly men and women participating in coercive power to bring about God's righteous will. Think of Joseph, Daniel, David, and Deborah. We need to follow all of the Bible.
No. We need to cherish and study the Bible to lead us to Jesus, but Christians follow Christ. We dare not reduce Jesus to just one more character in the Bible. Jesus is the telos, the goal of the whole thing.
Our country was founded on Christian principles (or, "We live in a Christian nation"), so Christians should be a part of maintaining those principles politically.
No. There is no such thing as a Christian country, only Christian people. Most countries we think of as "Christian" were founded through war, rebellion, and sometimes cultural genocide. These are not Christian principles.
If good people don't get involved in politics, it leaves the whole enterprise in the hands of bad people.
No. Who are we to judge who is a "good person" and who has a heart pure enough to lead?
Sure, early Christians did not get involved in politics, but that is because they were not in a democracy (they were in occupied Israel). Our situation is different and we should act accordingly.
No. Jesus and the early Christians believed avoiding top-down power was an important value for the Church. They eschewed politics not just because they couldn't get involved, but because they were part of a Kingdom that worked on different principles.
If you don't vote, you can't complain about who gets elected or the policies they enact.
I won't. My focus is elsewhere.
The apostle Paul wrote that God works through government to bring about his justice. So God wants us involved! It's all right there in Romans 13.
Pro tip: read Romans 12 first.
Didn't Jesus tell his followers to buy swords? (See Luke 22:36.) He must have intended them to be used. Coercive power is not a bad thing when used for the cause of righteousness.
And what was Jesus' reaction when one of his followers used one of those swords? There must be something else going on here eh? I think you can figure it out. (If not, feel free to ask me.)
Even if believers didn't vote in Bible times (Israel was a monarchy), they certainly did participate in the military. I mean, have you read the Old Testament?
The Old Covenant is not our covenant. (And if we are not Jewish, it never was.) We have been adopted into God's family of faith under the New Covenant, which has new and better ways of making a difference in this world.
If we don't get involved in politics, policing, and war, we are being too passive and allowing evil to spread. It is not loving to just sit there and do nothing.
This one really burns my biscuits. I also wonder if this kind of question reveals just how enmeshed most Christians' thinking is with the world of secular politics, redemptive violence, and coercive power. They simply can't conceive of making a meaningful difference in this world if it doesn't include political engagement. But this withdrawal from political pontificating, plotting, partnering, and protesting, as well as all the anxiety that comes with all of that, should not leave those who hold this view in a state of disengaged passivity. We still have a job to do. I hope that is clear. (If not, please re-read the Commentary section above.)
[Insert your best argument here. Feel free to use the comments. This could be fun.]
Thy Kingdom Come’ is truly inspiring! It reminds me how strategy and patience are key—just like in TeenPatti Boss, where smart moves lead to victory. Great read!