The Kingdom of God: Now and Not Yet

Posted in Kingdom of God by Jeff Goins on 5/20/2009

The kingdom of God is something that Jesus spoke about a lot. It was, perhaps, his favorite topic. At times, he said, "The kingdom is here," while at other times, he proclaimed, "The kingdom is coming."

So, which was it? Which is it?

Theologians call this conundrum the "now and not yet" kingdom; in other words, it's a paradox. It's both. The kingdom has come with the birth of the church, but at the same time, Jesus is returning to reign supremely as King.

As Christians (especially in the developed world), many of us tend to emphasize the "not yet" part. Why is that?

Could it be that in our hyper-rationalistic worldview, we just don't have enough room for the fact that the kingdom is now? Could it be that this belief would radically alter how we live our daily lives? Could it be that we we'd rather sit around and wait for Jesus to return, singing "I'll fly away"?

Maybe the Christian life is more than "just a few more weary days..." Maybe abundant life is here and available now through Christ. Maybe the cessationists were wrong, and we can do "even greater things" than Jesus.

Maybe.

Which kingdom are you living in - the now or the not yet?

This post is part of a synchroblog on the theme of The Kingdom of God. You may see other posts on this theme at (just copy and paste this list into your blog entry if you'd like to join in the conversation):

Susan Barnes (Christian currently attending a Baptist church) of Abooklook on My kingdom goes

Timothy Victor (Christian) of Tim Victor's Musings on The reign of Godde

Ronald van der Bergh (Dutch Reformed) of Ronalds Footnotes on Notes on "the Kingdom of God" in the New Testament

Nic Paton (fundamentalist, charismatic, liberationist, apophatic, heterodox) of soundandsilence on The "Kingdom": of God?

Beth Patterson (Non churched follower of Christ) of Virtual Tea House on What it's like rather than what it is

Jeff Goins (Non-denominational Christian) of Pilgrimage of the Heart on The Kingdom of God: Now and Not Yet

Phil Wyman (Non-denominational Christian) of Square No More on Jesus as the Archetype Shaman (Part 2): A Nostalgia for Paradise

Stephen Hayes (Orthodox Christian) of Khanya on Kingdom, power and glory

Andrew Hendrikse (Fake expression of the Unknown) of fakeexpressionoftheunknown photographs John Caputo's words deconstructing who the hell knows what on The Kingdom of God is like.

Matt Stone (Christian) of Glocal Christianity on The only Christian nation is the Kingdom of God

K.W. Leslie (Christian/Pentecostal/Assemblies of God) of The Evening
of Kent on Politics and the Kingdom of God.

Bryan Riley (follower of Jesus) of Charis Shalom on Multiple Bloggers on the Kingdom of God

Liz Dyer (follower of Jesus Christ) of Grace Rules on The Kingdom of God is at Hand

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Reader Comments on "The Kingdom of God: Now and Not Yet"

1 Posted by Beth Patterson on 5/19/2009 11:50:44 PM

No doubt about it...'now'! I think the 'kingdom' is here, surrounding us, but we need new eyes to see it, new hearts to open to it. We need to be resurrected right now from our long sleep.

Thanks for this!

2 Posted by Steve Hayes on 5/20/2009 1:35:41 AM

Perhaps one difference is expressed in the words of John Cennick's 18th-century hymn:

Every eye shall now behold Him
Robed in dreadful majesty;
Those who set at naught and sold Him,
Pierced and nailed Him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
Shall the true Messiah see.

NOW, the kingdom is seen by the eyes of faith; THEN it will be visible to all.

NOW it is like a grain of mustard seed, easily missed; THEN it will be like a full-grown tree, obvious to all.

3 Posted by Liz on 5/20/2009 2:56:14 AM

I live in the now and the not yet. I live in the now when I care for the sick, stand up for the oppressed, feed the hungry. I live in the not yet when I witness prejudice, oppression, and injustice. The Kingdom of God is here but it isn't there.

4 Posted by Tim Victor on 5/20/2009 4:53:41 AM

I wholeheartedly agree with you.

Scripture is full of people hearing from and experiencing Godde. Biblical spirituality is full of experience.

5 Posted by nic paton on 5/20/2009 5:56:42 AM

Definately now. God is here. Although, I don't always apprehend that, so at times not yet. Or rather, mostly now but occasionally not yet. Hmm, actually, we're so far from that reality, so to be honest, not yet. Definately not yet.

6 Posted by John on 5/20/2009 9:49:18 PM

This image tells us in no uncertain terms of the relation between the church and the Western drive to total power and control altogether-and how many people throughout the world were thus introduced to the "kingdom".

1. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~spanmod/mural/panel13.html

Plus this reference fills in the details as to how and why.

2. http://www.jesusneverexisted.com

The conquest continues.

7 Posted by Tim Victor on 5/21/2009 2:40:52 AM

Steve,

I like the way you've put the already/not yet in terms of NOW and THEN.

I reckon the other component is the 'when you preach the message of the kingdom also heal the sick, drive out demons, and forgive people their sins.' If we've been given the keys to the kingdom - for the NOW - then we've lost them somewhere along the way.

8 Posted by Matt Stone on 5/21/2009 6:17:43 AM

I think of it in terms of the future breaking into the present, the not yet breaking into the now. They're dynamically related.

9 Posted by Jeff on 5/21/2009 12:57:52 PM

good thoughts, guys. I like the "now and then" too.

10 Posted by Ellen Haroutunian on 5/26/2009 3:05:47 PM

Greater things - I believe it. Thanks!

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