Is there a present reign of Christ? (part 1)

by Peter Phillips

Introduction

The grand theme of the Scriptures is without a doubt the Kingdom of God as revealed through the Messiah, Jesus Christ.[1] From the opening verses of Genesis to the closing lines of Revelation, God’s Kingdom is being proclaimed. He is the Sovereign King of the universe, who rules over the cosmos, and yet, there is a specific Kingdom program being worked out in history. The biblical portrait is so clear that systematic theologian Robert Saucy says, “The establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth is, in fact, the ultimate goal of biblical history.”[2] However, many questions arise when thinking about a topic as broad as the Kingdom of God. For the purposes of this paper, I would like to focus on the present realities of the Kingdom, but not so as to downplay the significance of the yet future consummation of God’s Kingdom program. Specifically, I would like to argue that Christ is reigning now in some sense, but the fuller consummation of that reign has yet to be realized. My paper will take the following structure. Briefly, I would like to sketch the meaning of the Kingdom of God, illustrate the already/not yet portrait that the Scriptures give of the Kingdom, and then argue for the present reign of Christ in some sense. Lastly, I would like to discuss the practical relevance of my thesis to the life of the believer.

The Meaning of the Kingdom of God

Certain difficulties arise when discussing the nature of the Kingdom of God. To start with, Jesus never defines the Kingdom of God explicitly, although he discusses the Kingdom more than any other subject.[3] New Testament scholar George Eldon Ladd underlines this difficulty stating, “The critical problem arises from the fact that Jesus nowhere defined what he meant by the phrase. We must therefore assume either that the content of the phrase was so commonly understood by the people as to need no definition or that the meaning of Jesus’ proclamation is to be interpreted in terms of his total mission and conduct.”[4] In light of the lack of explicit definitions in the gospels, it is helpful to consult the biblical data as a whole to illuminate the meaning of the Kingdom. There are two words the Bible primarily uses to speak of the Kingdom: malkuth (Old Testament Hebrew) and basileia (New Testament Greek).[5] Ladd notes, “The primary meaning of both the Hebrew word malkuth in the Old Testament and of the Greek word basileia in the New Testament is the rank, authority and sovereignty exercised by a king.”[6] With respect to the Kingdom of God, then, it is clear that the main way in which the Bible uses the phrase is to speak of the reign or sovereign rule of God. Whether it is God’s reign over creation, His reign over His people or the subjection of His enemies, the Scriptural phrase means the reign of God as King. As the Psalmist says, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His Kingdom rules over all” (Ps. 103:19).

Although it is clear that the primary meaning of the Kingdom of God is the “reign of God,” one cannot escape the idea that the Kingdom involves a realm as well.[7] After all, a king needs a realm in which his rule is being worked out. Therefore, any discussion of Kingdom is incomplete without acknowledging the fact that God’s rule implies a reign over a realm of some sort—whether it is cosmic, nationalistic, or in the heart of believers. Reformed theologian Anthony Hoekema is helpful in this vein, as he notes, “The Kingdom of God, therefore, is to be understood as the reign of God dynamically active in human history through Jesus Christ, the purpose of which is the redemption of his people from sin and from demonic powers, and the final establishment of the new heavens and the new earth.”[8] Hoekema rightly points out that the temporal sphere in which the Kingdom of God is being worked out is human history, and Jesus is the Messiah King who was brought forth by God through the Israelite nation to redeem his people and conquer his enemies, the last of which is death. Therefore, in the Scriptures one can clearly see the ultimate cosmic reign of God in His restoration of a new heaven and earth (Rev. 20-21; Rom. 8:18-25), the nationalistic reign in and through His people (2 Sam. 7; Isa. 60), and the individual reign of God in the hearts of believers (Jer. 31:31-34).

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[1] Robert Saucy, The Case for Progressive Dispensationalism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993), 81.

[2] Saucy, The Case for Progressive Dispensationalism, 81.

[3] Anthony Hoekema, The Bible and the Future (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979), 44.

[4] George Eldon Ladd, The Presence of the Future (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 122.

[5] George Eldon Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God (Eerdmans. 1959) 19.

[6] Ibid, 19. However, basileia can mean sphere or realm in the NT, but this is a secondary usage of the term.

[7] Saucy, The Case for Progressive Dispensationalism, 83

[8] Hoekema, The Bible and the Future,45.