When we discuss the kingdom of God, much seems to be theoretical and not very practical. Becau
se of our pietistic backgrounds, i.e., everything that has to do with God is “spiritual” and has nothing to do with real life. These blog postings make no sense, because Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is in your heart. Right, Robert?” Yes, it obviously begins in our hearts, but it does not end there. As we have seen in these postings, Jesus’ reign will be universal and complete, not just over “spiritual” things.
How do you now?
In Hebrews 2:8 the author begins with a quote from Psalm 8:6: “You (God the Father) have put all things in subjection under His (Jesus’) feet.” The Hebrews author continues the verse with his own words: “For in that He (God the Father) put all in subjection under him (Jesus), He (God the Father) left nothing that is not put under Him (Jesus).” He then concludes with, “But now we do not yet see all things put under Him.”
No, we obviously don’t. Why not?
Because Jesus says the job of ruling over the earth is like leaven in a new lump of dough, or a tiny mustard seed, planted and sprouting, but not yet a grown tree. Every knee has not yet bowed to the King, nor every tongue confessed that He is Lord (Philippians 2:10, 11).
However, Jesus has thoroughly defeated His enemies at the cross, been crowned King of kings and is currently ruling from His Father’s right hand (Ephesians 1:20-23), but those enemies are still mounting last-gasp resistance, as we observe in the news every day. However, the Bible says their doom is sure. “For He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet,” (1 Corinthians 15:25). As Jesus is reigning, mop-up duty is still necessary.
How will that occur?
Some say it will occur when Jesus returns to the earth, as He surely will, and everything is getting worse and worse until He comes to save us. But He is already ruling in Heaven since the ascension, as we have seen and as scripture after scripture attest. David tells us prophetically exactly how that is occurring, right now, in Psalm 110:1-3: “The LORD (God the Father) said to my Lord (Jesus), ‘Sit at My right hand, (at the ascension) Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ The LORD (God the Father) shall send the rod of Your strength (Jesus’) out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power. . . “
This passage of scripture tells us that the Head of the church, Jesus, is still seated in Heaven, not on the earth; while the Body of Christ, the church (Zion, the people of God) is still on the earth, ruling for Him “in the midst of Jesus’ enemies!” So, Jesus, the Head, is in Heaven, while we, the Body, are still on the earth. And the exciting part is that this passage tells us that we have volunteered for this task, because we want to, never because we ought to, need to or should.
There is never any compulsion. We, as sinful men, do just what is in our hearts to do as He changes our desires, and, in God’s own time and in His own way, the kingdom will be established and His rule will be complete, through us! All His enemies will have bowed their knees and confessed Jesus as Lord, as we have ruled because we eagerly wanted to!
My son-in-law, Jacob, discovered in college that he was interested in business, and majored in business marketing. After several valuable experiences in various business positions over 12 years, ranging from retail sales to real estate managing and leasing, he is currently employed by the largest cloud data management company in the country. He just received his MBA.
Some years ago he shared with me his vision for very practically bringing the law, the gospel and the kingdom into a business of his own in the future, and then ultimately teaching those ideas to young entrepreneurs on the college campus as a professor. He did not relate this to God’s kingdom directly, but he didn’t have to; His flashing eyes and the enthusiasm in his voice as he related his vision to me brought tears to my eyes. His insight into unconscious kingdom applications specific to the business world, a world that I know nothing about, was amazing to me.
Now, just three years later, his dream is coming to fruition. His interest has always been men’s fashion—specifically designing men’s wear. How in the world do you bring the rule of Jesus into the fashion world? In the mind of the average Christian, there could be nothing more bizarre! Read more to see how this is occurring for Jacob. Be sure and watch the 3-minute video. It will blow you away. The kingdom of God drips from every word, though God, Jesus or kingdom are never mentioned, yet Jacob, doing what he desires with all his heart, ruling in the kingdom over what God has given him to steward.
