Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Kingdom thinkers will speak out that Christ is head over every culture as well as King over every secular king. It engages the culture around us.
In some ways the future of society depends upon those with a kingdom mindset being involved. Kingdom thinking brings in the fact that God is working towards ‘redemption.’ Since we are His hands and feet and mouth, we too need to be working towards redemption.
However, to understand redemption we need to understand what was lost to begin with. In one sense it was “Paradise” that was lost, but what does that entail? To understand what was lost we must go back to the Word of God.
First, we see from Scripture that man lost his soul. Genesis 2:17 “….but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” Ezekiel 18:4 “For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son — both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.”
Paul said: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1) There is that part of man that is dead, an empty place within that nothing can fill. This is why we see people who have fame, money and all of the necessities we think are necessary for happiness committing suicide. Something is missing and only God can fill it.
Secondly, we see that man lost his body. Genesis 3:19 “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Isaiah goes on to say very eloquently: “A voice says, ‘Cry out.’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:6-8
No matter what we do with our bodies in trying to keep them in top condition – through exercise, face lifts etc., we are going to die and our body will go back to the dust from which it came. It is like what Boniface said: “I know that I will die, and I will die on time. But I want to make the most between here and there.”
Thirdly, man lost the earth. We lost dominion. God put man in charge, but man fell and another took it over. God’s plan is still that man is to rule and reign, but now it takes a converted man – a new man. “To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat of it,” Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.’ ” Genesis 3:17-19
If God is working towards redemption then we must work along with Him. Redemption must be our goal as well. There are three events in redemption.
First, we have conversion – the saving of the soul. We are admonished to go into all the world and preach the gospel. We must keep in mind that everything starts from the internal to external. The heart of man must be changed and the Gospel is the only thing that can do that. Paul said the Gospel is the dynamite of God for change. “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” Romans 1:16
We must equip our congregations to be able to give an answer for the hope that is within us. God has given us the office of an Evangelist just for this purpose.
Secondly, we have the resurrection – redemption of the body. Paul lays this out very nicely of how the body is sown perishable, but raised imperishable; it is sown in weakness and dishonor, but raised in power and honor and it is sown a natural body, but raised a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:42-46)
Thirdly, we have the Second Coming of Christ and redemption of the earth. It is when Christ comes and chains Satan (puts him out of the way) that we can build unhindered. I do not hold, as some do, that we can build utopia here on earth ushering in Christ. However, this does not mean that we sit back and do nothing. No! We are to occupy; we are to be busy in taking back what Satan stole from us. We are to be the salt and light in every aspect of our culture. We will never reach the ultimate goal until Christ comes and through judgment sets things right, but we will reign with Christ and it starts now with a Kingdom mind-set.