Questions and Answers | Kingdom of Christ
Is the Kingdom of Christ a present or future reality?
The kingdom of Christ is both a present and a future reality. The kingdom of Christ is where the dynamic rule and reign of Jesus is experienced (Matt. 23:13). We enter this kingdom sphere of blessing through the new birth when we trust Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior (John 3:1–8). At the moment of our conversion to Christ, God placed us in the kingdom of His Son, Jesus Christ (Col. 1:13). Today, as Christians, we experience the reality of the kingdom through the power of the Spirit (Rom. 14:13).
Jesus commands us to seek first the kingdom, instead of paralyzing ourselves with anxiety and the worries of this life. We are to seek the kingdom of God, seek the rule and reign of God in our lives as our number-one priority (Matt. 6:33). Thus, the kingdom of God is a reality in the present.
The kingdom of God also has a future and eternal aspect. The future aspect of the kingdom will break into our world at the second coming of Christ to establish His thousand-year reign on earth (Rev. 19:11–21; 20:1–6). For a thousand years Jesus will reign literally on earth from Jerusalem. A number of Old Testament texts have looked forward to the glorious reign of the Messiah ((Isa. 2:1-4; 11:1-9; 35:1-10; 32:1-4; Dan. 2:36-45; Zec. 8:1-5). The thousand-year reign of Jesus will merge into the Eternal State, the Lord Jesus reigning forever in a glorified universe inhabited with redeemed, glorified, embodied human beings (Rev. 21:1–22; 22:1–5). We look forward to the future kingdom with great joy and delight (2 Peter 3:13).
BY Dr. Winfred O. Neely
Dr. Winfred Neely is Vice President and Dean of Moody Theological Seminary and Graduate School. An ordained minister, Winfred has served churches across the city of Chicago, the near west suburbs, and Senegal, West Africa. He is the author of How to Overcome Worry (Moody Publishers) and a contributor to the Moody Bible Commentary and Moody Handbook of Preaching. Winfred and his wife Stephne have been married for forty years and have four adult children and nine grandchildren.