Missions and the Kingdom of God
May
18
Written by:
5/18/2009 2:52 PM
Even after eight years of biblical and theological training, plus accurate and redundant explanation in the seminary classroom, plus five years of parish ministry in Minnesota and Michigan, plus numerous sermons on the parables … I still did not 'get it'…the Kingdom of God, I mean.
By Michael R. Ruhl
It was a moment that was more than embarrassing.
Even after eight years of biblical and theological training, plus accurate and redundant explanation in the seminary classroom, plus five years of parish ministry in Minnesota and Michigan, plus numerous sermons on the parables … I still did not 'get it'…the Kingdom of God, I mean.
Like many people, I understood the Kingdom of God as something 'other-worldly'…perhaps even a term that described eternal life in heaven. It was not until reading the book The Kingdom of God by John Bright while in training for The Bethel Bible Series many years ago that this central Scriptural concept came to light. The expression Basileia tou Theou is better translated kingship (reign, rule) of God in the hearts and lives of people on earth today. At conversion, people are ushered into the Kingdom of God by the Holy Spirit. Justified by grace and through faith, Jesus establishes his reign and rule (kingship) in the hearts of true believers. This Kingdom of God is subject to the tension of the 'already and the not yet'. Salvation begins on earth at conversion, but it is not perfected until after the saints are joined with Jesus in heaven. Some refer to this dynamic tension as 'inaugurated eschatology'.
At the recent North American Mission Executives Conference in St. Louis, speaker Ed Stetzer reminded us that the Kingdom of God is mentioned 80 times by Jesus in the synoptic gospels, along with numerous other 'kingdom insights'. How sad that the Kingdom of God has been marginalized and obscured by many in the church, even though it was Jesus' obsession!
So what does all this have to do with missions and church planting? I am delighted that you asked (presumably) that question.
Our Triune God is a sending God. God sent Jesus in the incarnation to reconcile the sinful world to himself. God sent the Holy Spirit to create the church and to energize the church to accomplish the purpose of God in the world. And finally, God sends the church as an instrument of the Kingdom of God. God establishes his kingdom through the witness to Christ by the church, as men, women, and children enter and live under the kingship (reign and rule) of Jesus Christ, starting at conversion and perfected in eternity.
By grace, my embarrassment is over and in the past tense. The Holy Spirit has given and restored proper missional perspective. The church is not about imperialistic empire-building. The church is a means something much bigger and more significant than its own cultural continuity and expansion. The church is an instrument of the Kingdom of God.
Rev. Michael R. Ruhl is the Executive Director of Training for the Center for U.S. Missions.
Questions for Reflection
- Explore Jesus' 80 synoptic references to the Kingdom of God in your favorite concordance. What insights can your glean from Scripture?
- How clearly do your constituents and colleagues grasp the Kingdom of God?
- What are some explanations for marginalized understanding of the Kingdom?
- How would you illustrate the connection of missions to the Kingdom of God?
- What actions steps can you take to help people grasp the power of Kingdom-theology?
- If you were preaching on missions and the Kingdom of God, what would be a preferred text and exegetical outline?
- Do Christians plant church in order to make disciples or are churches planted because disciples are being made already?
- What is one thing you will do to be a faithful 'herald of the Kingdom?’