THE KINGDOM OF GOD- THE PRIME CONCERN OF MISSION
Rev. Shyam Raj, Dean of Admissions
The Kingdom of God is the central theme of the entire Bible and it is closely related to the idea of mission. The most important ideas used by Jesus in connection with His mission was the theme of the Kingdom of God. The Hebrew Christian faith expresses its hope in term of the Kingdom of God. The Biblical idea of the Kingdom of God is deeply rooted in the Old Testament and is grounded in the confidence that there is One Eternal, Living God who has revealed Himself to human being and who has a purpose for the human race, which He has chosen to accomplish through Israel.
The term "kingdom of the LORD" appears twice in the Hebrew Bible, in 1 Chronicles 28:5 and 2 Chronicles 13:8. "The Hebrew word malkuth refers first to a reign, dominion, or rule and only secondarily to the realm over which a reign is exercised. When malkuth is used of God, it almost always refers to his authority or to his rule as the heavenly King. The word Kingdom in Greek: βασιλεία Basileia appears 162 times in the New Testament and most of these uses relate to either Basileia tou Theou i.e. the Kingdom of God or to Basileia tōn Ouranōn i.e. Kingdom of Heaven in the Synoptic Gospels. Therefore the message and the meaning of the kingdom of God is not something only to be realized in the future, but must have its impact on the world today. The certainty of the kingdom of God in the future must be visibly demonstrated here and now in tangible expressions of the life and service in obedience to the King.
To Jesus, the Kingdom of God was of prime concern. The mission of Jesus brought not a new teaching but a new event. That event is the Kingdom of God. We see the commencement of Jesus’ ministry with Jesus proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom (Mk. 1: 14) When Jesus talked about the Kingdom he meant a reign rather than a realm. The reign of God is his lordship over all things. If the Kingdom is the rule of God, then every aspect of the Kingdom must be derived from the character and action of God. The presence of the Kingdom is to be understood from the nature of God’s present activity. God is active in the world, and that has implications for life here and now. When one accepts Jesus’ invitation to discipleship, then he or she is under the rule of the Kingdom as well as its beneficiaries. It is threefold,
1. The rule of God in the heart of man.
The Kingdom of God is within you. It is immediate and actual. As such it is moral, not nationalistic; it is spiritual, not materialistic; it is actual, not idealistic (means it is present and not totally futuristic).
2. The rule of God in the church
Neither God nor Christ is ever spoken of as the King of the Church, rather He is the Lord of the church.He is the head of the church, and the church is His body (Eph. 1:23; Rom. 12:5; Col. 1:18).As Lord He is sovereign over His church.
3. The rule of God in the world.
Though the rule of God is personal, it has strong social implications through the ministry of the individual Christian and the general impact of the gospel upon the conscience of society. The presence of the gospel in this world constitutes judgment, modification and enrichment of the order of society. It is strongly social in its general impact, regulating all relationships according to the will and purpose of God.
The mission of the people of God in the New Testament lays heavy stress on both proclamation of the fulfillment of God’s kingdom as well as its demonstration. The Church is a witness to the Kingdom in both these aspects. The Church as a worshipping and witnessing community must make the truth of the Kingdom tangibly accessible to the world. The Church must actualize the message of the Kingdom through its life and witness. Mission is not to be seen merely as an external activity related to the Kingdom, but as a demonstration of the essence of the Church in its being the community of the King to be constituted of believers from among all nations.
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