Skip to main content

Kingdoms, Nations....

             Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

 

            According to the study notes, “in your midst” may also be translated “within you.” So, here’s the grammar issue. Is your singular or plural? There are some dialects of English in which there is a plural form of you that isn’t you. Did Jesus say that the kingdom of God is in me/you/her/him individually, or in the midst of all of us? This is an important question because there are people who believe that the kingdom of God is in each and every individual (or perhaps all but the most wicked, terrible monsters) whether that individual believes in God and acts according to what Scripture teaches or not. This has been referred to as Panentheism, so that God is in everything and everyone.

            According to William D. Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek, the pronoun Jesus used was plural. Jesus was standing among them and influencing them, which meant the kingdom was among them. The kingdom of God can be in our midst, without the kingdom of God being in each person present.

          That idea is old news in some ways. We’ve considered it before. We haven’t considered what Jesus says about the kingdom being something that can’t be observed. Some may argue that a kingdom that can’t be observed doesn’t exist. But if you go to the border between any two nations, or between any two states, is there really anything that isn’t man-made that differentiates the two? You can go to the capitol and watch politicians in action. There are buildings, and you’ll see flags and emblems. Government is more something that is done than something with any objective existence. Ultimately, government of any sort may be a social construct, meaning that it is a complex concept or practice shared by a society or group, not arising from any natural or innate source but built on the assumptions upheld, usually tacitly, by its members. We agree to abide by certain rules. Rules we don’t like, we can work to change. Officials, likewise.

          So what Jesus said about the kingdom of God is no different from what may be said about any other nation. The buildings, leaders, emblems, flags, and names aren’t the nation or the kingdom. The nation or kingdom involves the nature of the relationship between leaders and followers. In the case of the kingdom of God, the relationship between God and us. This may not seem like a spiritual insight, but so often when we mention something “spiritual,” people want to treat it as if it is something substantially and fundamentally different from what we experience daily. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more