Thread by @Bezner

"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken."--Hebrews 12:28

Brief thoughts on "building the Kingdom," as it has appeared in a few headlines.

First: "The Kingdom" is not synonymous with where you go after you die.

If you read the New Testament, you'll see that Jesus is saying the Kingdom is "at hand." You'll see that the Kingdom is "good news for the poor." You'll see the term "Kingdom" is in the New Testament more than the term "gospel."

In short, the Kingdom is when those who choose to follow Jesus live their lives under the rule and reign of Jesus right now. They are not waiting for death. They are embracing the surprising and countercultural Way here and now.

Love of enemies, peacemaking, forgiveness, etc.

The way we sometimes shorthand it at my church:

The gospel is the message; the Kingdom is the reality.

The gospel is the message of Jesus' Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Impartation of the Spirit.

The Kingdom is choosing to live in light of that glorious message.

When Christians talk about "building the Kingdom," they mean that they want as many people as possible to embrace the Jesus Way of living. This isn't political, at least not in the traditional partisan way of thinking. This is about seeing Jesus' vision of reality coming to be.

E. Stanley Jones's book, "The Unshakable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person," helped me on this front a great deal. Highly recommended. In it, he describes what it means to live under the Way of Jesus in a world that often values the exact opposite of what he teaches.

Building the Kingdom, however, isn't something we believe can be completed this side of Heaven. It is simply an acknowledgement that we are to live in this Way and to encourage others to do the same (by faith in Jesus).

Instead, we believe that one day Jesus will complete the Kingdom when he returns and sets all things right. Therefore, the Kingdom is "now, but not yet." We live it now, as best we can, but know that it is not yet completed.

We describe it as "living Heaven now," akin to Jesus praying, "on earth as it is in Heaven." Hence, a motto at my church is, "In Houston as it is in Heaven."

Christians hear the gospel message: Jesus is God's Son; he has come to show us how to live; he has died for our sins; he has been resurrected to give us hope of eternal life; he has given us his Spirit to live with power now--and we have believed this to be true.

Then, in light of that message, we live the Kingdom: Jesus' Way of life found in the New Testament, particularly the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), but not exclusively there. We believe we could not live it by our own power, but we need the Spirit of Jesus to help us.

Consequently, Christians (should--not all do) work to "carry the Kingdom" into any number of domains in this world in order to make it more like Heaven: medicine, business, art, agriculture, politics, etc.

The goal is to our job as best we can and to do it in a Kingdom way.

So, when you hear someone talking about "building the Kingdom," they usually mean to live the Way of Jesus in their specific place in the world. Hope this helps Christians and non-Christians alike better understand the teaching of "the Kingdom."