Description
Matthew 6:10
Let your kingdom come:
Let your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.
The phrase the kingdom of God is characteristic of the whole New Testament. No phrase is used more often in prayer and in preaching and in Christian literature. It is, therefore, of primary importance that we should be clear as to what it means.
It is evident that the kingdom of God was central to the message of Jesus. The first emergence of Jesus on the scene of history was when he came into Galilee preaching the good news of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14). Jesus himself described the preaching of the kingdom as an obligation laid upon him: ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose’ (Luke 4:43; Mark 1:38). Luke’s description of Jesus’ activity is that he went through every city and village preaching and showing the good news of the kingdom of God (Luke 8:1). Clearly the meaning of the kingdom of God is something which we are bound to try to understand.
When we do try to understand the meaning of this phrase, we meet with certain puzzling facts. We find that Jesus spoke of the kingdom in three different ways. He spoke of the kingdom as existing in the past. He said that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets were in the kingdom (Luke 13:28; Matthew 8:11). Clearly, therefore, the kingdom goes far back into history. He spoke of the kingdom as present. ‘The kingdom of God’, he said, ‘is among you’ (Luke 17:21). The kingdom of God is therefore a present reality here and now. He spoke of the kingdom of God as future, for he taught the disciples to pray for the coming of the kingdom in this his own prayer. How then can the kingdom be past, present and future all at the one time? How can the kingdom be at one and the same time something which existed, which exists, and for whose coming it is our duty to pray?
We find the key in this double petition of the Lord’s Prayer. One of the most common characteristics of Hebrew style is what is technically known as parallelism. The Hebrew language tends to say everything twice. A thing is said in one way, and then in another way which repeats or amplifies or explains the first way. Almost any verse of the Psalms will show this parallelism in action. Almost every verse of the Psalms divides in two in the middle, and the second half repeats or amplifies or explains the first half. Let us take some examples, and the point will become clear:
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
(Psalm 46:1)
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
(Psalm 46:7)
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters.
(Psalm 23:1–2)
Let us apply this principle to these two petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. Let us set them down side by side:
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
Let us assume that the second petition explains and amplifies and defines the first. We then have the perfect definition of the kingdom of God – The kingdom of God is a society upon earth where God’s will is as perfectly done as it is in heaven. Here we have the explanation of how the kingdom can be past, present and future all at the one time. Anyone who at any time in history perfectly did God’s will was within the kingdom; anyone who perfectly does God’s will is within the kingdom; but since the world is very far from being a place where God’s will is perfectly and universally done, the consummation of the kingdom is still in the future and is still something for which we must pray.
To be in the kingdom is to obey the will of God. Immediately we see that the kingdom is not something which primarily has to do with nations and peoples and countries. It is something which has to do with each one of us. The kingdom is in fact the most personal thing in the world. The kingdom demands the submission of my will, my heart, my life. It is only when each one of us makes a personal decision and submission that the kingdom comes.
The Chinese Christian prayed the well‑known prayer: ‘Lord, revive your Church, beginning with me’ – and we might well paraphrase that and say: ‘Lord, bring in your kingdom, beginning with me.’ To pray for the kingdom of heaven is to pray that we may submit our wills entirely to the will of God.
Other titles in the Insights series
Insights: Easter
Insights: Christmas
What the Bible Really Tells Us About the Lord's Prayer
William Barclay
Foreword by Richard Harries
Learned by rote from childhood, the Lord's Prayer is central to our worship of God. But how much do we really know about the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples? These insights reveal its deep and essential meaning.
- Short, simple and deeply insightful
- The story of the Lord's Prayer placed in context by William Barclay
- Insight into the place, people and time — transforming well-worn words into thrilling insights
- Author's commentary gives new meaning and shines new light on the words of the Lord's Prayer
- Introduction by the Rt Revd and Rt Hon. Richard Harries, one of today's most respected writers
- Ideal for individuals and for Bible study Groups
EXTRACT
God’s kingdom and God’s will