Thy Kingdom Come

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                            THY KINGDOM COME

By Mae Shurow

We pray for Thy Kingdom to come. What does that mean? What is the Kingdom?

The OT prophets foretold of the coming of a Messiah, and the establishment of an everlasting Kingdom of God:

Daniel 7:14 “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”
Isaiah 9:7 “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Daniel 7:27 “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.”

“The Jews generally gave to these prophecies a worldly or earthly meaning and expected a Messiah who should come in the clouds of heaven as king of the Jewish people. He was expected to… reign over the whole earth in peace and glory” (Zodhiates,2000, Definition of Kingdom).

There are kingdoms of the world (Matt 4:8), earthly kingdoms, and they have rulers (Eph. 6:12), and there is a prince of this world (John 12:31). But Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world…” in John 18:36. Rev. 11:15 tells us that after the 7^th trumpet, “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

“The idea of the kingdom has its basis in the prophecies of the OT where the coming of the Messiah and His triumphs are foretold. His reign is described as a golden age when true righteousness will be established, and with it the theocracy will be established bringing peace and happiness. Prior to the visible manifestation of this kingdom and its extension to the material and natural realms of the world, it exists spiritually in the hearts of men… The kingdom of heaven or God on earth consists of the community of those who receive Jesus as their Savior, and who, through the Holy Spirit, form His Church with Him as its head. This spiritual kingdom has both an internal and external form. As internal, it already exists and rules in the hearts of all Christians and is therefore present. As external, it is either embodied both in the visible and invisible Church, and thus is present and progressive; or it is to be perfected in the coming of the Son of Man to judge and reign in bliss and glory. This is the further realization of the kingdom of God in the future" (Zodhiates,2000, Definition of Kingdom).

So we can conclude that the Kingdom of God is a spiritual and eternal Kingdom, which God the Father will give to Christ the Son. It will come first spiritually in the hearts of men, and will be extended to the material and natural realms of the world. The kingdom of God on earth is made up of those who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior. “This is a Spiritual kingdom within the human heart (Luke 17:21 “…the kingdom of God is within you.”)” (Zodhiates,2000, Definition of Kingdom).

The gospel message is the message of the coming of the Kingdom into the hearts of men:
John the Baptist preached, “…saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2).

Matthew 4:17 tells us Jesus preached the nearness of the kingdom: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

And we are to preach the kingdom. When Jesus sent the disciples forth in Matthew 10:7, He said, “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

“After our Lord had given the great command, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature’ (Mark 16:15), He added His very last command: “Tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49); ‘Wait for the Promise of the Father…You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’” (Murray, 1998, pp. 153-155)

Acts 1:2-8 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 6When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

“Acts 1:3—‘To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:’ "tells us that the teaching of Jesus during the forty days after the Resurrection dealt with the kingdom of God” (Murray, 1998, pp. 153-155).

Acts 1:8 tells us that our job is to tell of the kingdom, but we must proclaim the kingdom in the power of the Spirit! “All Christians agree that the great command to preach the Gospel to every creature was not only for the disciples, but is our obligation as well. But not everyone appears to believe that Christ’s very last command—not to preach until they had received the power from on high—is as binding on us as it was on the disciples. The church seems to have lost possession of what ought to be her secret of secrets—the daily, abiding consciousness that only as she lives in the power of the Holy Spirit can she preach the Gospel with Spirit and power. Therefore, there is much preaching and working with little spiritual result” (Murray, 1998, pp. 153-155).

In 1 Cor. 4:19-20 Paul tells us, ‘But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.’

To Christ’s disciples “…He entrusted the announcement of the kingdom. The prayer He had taught them—‘Our Father in heaven…Thy kingdom come’ now had a new meaning for them. The reign of God in heaven came down in the power of the Spirit, and the disciples were full on this one thought: to preach the coming of the Spirit into the hearts of men. There were now on earth good tidings of the kingdom of God—a kingdom of God ruling and dwelling with men, even as in heaven” (Murray, 1998, pp.153-155).

Presently, “there is no external manifestation of the kingdom on earth; rather its power is seen in the lives of those in whom it rules. Christ lives and dwells and rules in their hearts…This must be our first lesson if we are to follow in the steps of the disciples…We must know that Christ, as King, dwells and rules in our hearts. We must know that we live in Him and by His power are able to accomplish all that He wants us to do. Our lives are to be entirely devoted to our King and the service of His kingdom” (Murray, 1998, pp. 153-155).

When we pray “Thy Kingdom come,” we are proclaiming that He is our King, and we are asking the Lord for the fulfillment of His promise to rule and reign in all His power. We need to ask Him to rule and reign in our hearts, our minds, our lives; to rule and reign in the hearts of our families and friends; to rule and reign in our homes and our churches!

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*All emphasis mine.

Murray, A. (1998). God’s Best Secrets. Whitaker House, PA.

Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.