In a recent discussion with a fellow Christian about the Kingdom of God, I was repeatedly asked, "How can we live as Kingdom people now if we're not in the Kingdom?" The question confuses two entirely different biblical concepts: living according to the standards of the coming Kingdom and actually ruling in that Kingdom once it has been established on earth.
We are called to live by the Law of Messiah now, in preparation for the coming Kingdom. But that does not mean we are already reigning with him. We can be loyal subjects of the King, obeying his commands, without deluding ourselves into thinking that the promised Messianic government over the nations has already begun.
But we must first define the Kingdom as Jesus himself announced it in Mark 1:14-15: something that had drawn "near," not something already here. His preaching called people to repent and believe that Gospel in anticipation of its coming. Notice that Jesus proclaimed the Gospel, the good news about the Kingdom of God, not merely a message about his dying for our sins.
This is the same future Kingdom foretold by the OT prophets, particularly in Daniel 2 and 7, when the God of heaven will establish an indestructible Kingdom (Daniel 2:44), and the Kingdom and dominion under the whole heaven will be given to the saints of the Most High (Daniel 7:27). Neither Jesus nor his apostles abandoned this established prophetic message.
In Luke 19, Jesus specifically told the parable of the nobleman "because he was near Jerusalem and the people were thinking that the Kingdom of God was going to appear immediately" (v. 11). Instead, the nobleman "went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and to return" (v. 12). Only upon his return does he reward his faithful servants with authority over cities, pointing to their future rule over the nations in his Kingdom (compare Psalm 2). The point is not that the servants have no responsibilities during his absence, but that their time to begin ruling comes only when the nobleman returns. In the parable, that return represents the future parousia of Messiah, when he will establish his Kingdom on earth.
Accordingly, Jesus commands us to "seek first the Kingdom" (Matthew 6:33), pray "may Your Kingdom come" (Matthew 6:10), and remain faithful in anticipation of entering the Kingdom (Matthew 7:21). If the Kingdom has already arrived in the sense promised by the prophets, as some theorize, why are we still praying for its coming? And why does Jesus say in Luke 21:31 that when the predicted end-time events occur, we will know that the Kingdom of God is "near"?
Paul likewise says that through many trials and tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). James describes believers as "heirs of the Kingdom" (James 2:5), while Peter speaks of our future entrance into the coming Kingdom (2 Peter 1:11). We are therefore heirs awaiting our inheritance, not people who already possess the Kingdom in its promised fullness.
Paul also connects inheriting the Kingdom with the resurrection and transformation of believers into immortality (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). Jesus likewise promises his faithful followers authority over the nations (Revelation 2:26-27), while Revelation 20:4-6 describes their reign with Messiah following the first resurrection, for a specified period of one thousand years. The millennium marks the first stage of the coming Kingdom, followed by the final renewal of heaven and earth (Revelation 21–22).
Even more striking are Paul's repeated rebukes to the church at Corinth, whose members had received numerous spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 1:7; 12:4-11) but had apparently developed an exaggerated sense of their present spiritual status:
"You are already filled. You have already become rich. You have begun to reign as kings without us! I wish indeed that you were really reigning as kings, so we would also be reigning as kings with you!" (1 Corinthians 4:8).
Paul is plainly being ironic, even sarcastic! The Corinthians were behaving as though they had already arrived at their royal destination, while Paul and the other apostles were still suffering persecution, hardship, and humiliation (1 Corinthians 4:9-13). Instead of congratulating the church for supposedly discovering that their present Kingdom living meant they were already ruling in the Kingdom, Paul wishes they really were, because then he and the other apostles would be reigning with them!
He returns to the theme of future authority in 1 Corinthians 6:1-5, when he says:
"How dare any of you who has a dispute with another go to court before the unrighteous and not before the saints! Do you not understand that the saints are going to govern and manage the world? If you are going to manage the world, are you not able to judge less important matters? Do you not understand that we will be judging angels? Then why not matters related to this present life! So if you have such disputes, do you take them to people who have no standing in the church? I say this to shame you. Is there no one among you wise enough to decide between fellow believers?"
His rebuke exposes the fundamental problem with confusing our present Christian life in "this present evil age" (Galatians 1:4) with the promised Kingdom age to come. In 2 Timothy 2:12, he says, "If we endure, we will also reign with him." Our present suffering and endurance should not be confused with the future royal reign promised to the saints. It is therefore significant that Paul later connects "the judgment of the living and the dead" with Messiah's appearing "and his Kingdom" (2 Timothy 4:1).
Of course, we have already been rescued from the domain of darkness—Satan's world—and transferred into the Kingdom of God's beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). We have received God's spirit as the guarantee of our future inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14) and are called to display Kingdom qualities such as "living right, having peace and joy in holy spirit" (Romans 14:17).
But being rescued and receiving the guarantee is not the same as possessing the inheritance, much less already reigning with Messiah over the nations. Neither does experiencing God's power and walking in the spirit mean that the promised Kingdom has arrived in its fullness.
This distinction is often blurred by "already but not yet" theology, especially when used to justify Kingdom Now or dominion theology. Our present conversion and continued "obedience of faith" must not be confused with the future establishment of the Messianic Kingdom on earth.
The literal events associated with the coming Day of the Lord still lie ahead: the parousia of Messiah, the resurrection of dead Christians to immortality, the binding of the Devil, and the establishment of Messiah's government over the nations (Zechariah 14:4-9; Matthew 25:31-34; 1 Corinthians 15:22-23; Revelation 11:15-18; 20:1-6).
The Gospel of the Kingdom calls all converts to prepare for that momentous event, not to redefine the Kingdom as their born-again experience, let alone their church!
We practice "the obedience of faith" now because we expect to take possession of the Kingdom, which includes ruling with Messiah at his parousia. We endure suffering because the promised glory and reward have not yet been revealed (Romans 8:17-25). Christians are not called to delude themselves into thinking that the Kingdom has already come. We are called to carry out the Great Commission until the end of this present age (Matthew 28:19-20).
Jesus promised his followers a great future inheritance, not merely the blessings of their present Christian experience. When Peter asked Jesus, "Look, we have left everything and followed you. What reward will we get?"—in other words, "What's in it for us, Jesus?!"—Jesus did not say, "You already have the reward, but not yet!" Let alone, "You are already in the Kingdom, so enjoy your rewards now!"
Instead, he replied:
"I am telling you the truth: you who have followed me, when the world is reborn and the Son of Man will sit on his throne of glory, you too will sit on twelve thrones, governing the twelve tribes of Israel."
Jesus continued by promising that others who sacrificed family or property for his sake would receive the same Kingdom inheritance, namely, immortal "life of the age to come" (Matthew 19:27-30).
Note the timing!
Jesus places the Kingdom rewards and authority to govern at the rebirth or restoration of this world, when the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory. And according to Scripture, this includes the restoration of David's throne in Jerusalem (Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 1:32-33; compare 2 Samuel 7). Do you see Jesus ruling from that restored throne in Jerusalem now?
Matthew 25:31 makes the timing unmistakable: this happens when the Son of Man comes in his glory. Jesus did not promise his followers, then or now, that they were already ruling in the Kingdom simply because they had become his disciples. Their present "obedience of faith" would be rewarded at his parousia.
The simple point remains: living as Kingdom people now does not mean we are already ruling with Messiah in the promised Kingdom. Quite the opposite! It means we believe the Kingdom is coming!
And that is precisely why Paul reminds believers that "salvation is now nearer to us than when we began to be believers" (Romans 13:11b).
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