THE KINGDOM OF GOD

'How we define the kingdom will have a lot to do with whether we think it is already here and, if so, to what extent. Forgivenness of sins and the new birth are not the only things that God promised through the prophets. As we have seen, it includes a sweeping cosmic renewal, with the kingdoms of the world under the domain of Christ. It is the salvation not just of souls but of bodies, and not just of human beings but of the whole creation. Yet the New Testamnet teaches that this kingdom arrives in two phases. Like its head, the church suffers now in humiliation, under the cross, in order in order to reign in future glory with Christ (Rom.8:17). In this intermission, the kingdom is the gospel and the gospel is the kingdom. Wherever Christ is forgiving and renewing sinners by his Spirit through the ministry of the gosple, the King is present and his kingdom is expanding.

This view focuses most clearly on the character and message of the kingdom that we find in the prophets and the Gospels. In both alternatives accounts of the kingdom mentioned above, the emphasis falls on a gepolitical regime, whether it is in terms of a revived theocracy in Israel (including sacrifices) or an ever-expanding, gobal influence on nations and cultures. Both views identify the kingdom with visible power and glory, overlooking the fact that what we have now is a kingdom of grace that is present wherever the gospel is preached and the sacraments are administered. The preoccupation, in both views, seems to be analogous to the expectation of Jesus's contemporaries (even his disciples) prior to Pentecost.'

Michael Horton, The Gospel Commission, p.65.

FAITH

'It is often said that mankind needs a faith if the world is to be improved. In fact, unless the faith is vigilantly and regularly checked by a sense of man's fallibility, it is likely to make the world worse. From Torquemada to Robespierre and Hitler the men who have made mankind suffer the most have been inspired to do so by strong faith; so strong that it led them to think their crimes were acts of virtue necessary to help them achieve their aim, which was to build some kind of an ideal kingdom on earth.
But as we have been told on very good authority, the Kingdom of Heaven is not of this world. Those who think they can establish it here are more likely to create a hell on earth.'
Lord David Cecil in Susan Hill, Howards End is on the Landing, p.156.

KINGDOM OF GOD

'Kingdom of God is not merely a synonym for God's sovereignty; rather, it is a specific historical program. God is always sovereign, always King in a general way. But since the fall, he must, as King, put down opposition and bring human beings to acknowledge his kingship. The kingdom of God in the New Testament is that historical program, the series of events, by which God drives his kingship home to sinful human beings.'

John Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord, p.248.