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The Gospel of the Kingdom 3 “The Kingdom is Today” by George E. Ladd
In our first two chapters, we have outlined the truth that the Word of God divides the course of God's redemptive purpose into two ages, this age and the age to come. These two ages are separated by the second coming of Christ and the resurrection from the dead.
The kingdom of God belongs to the age to come and will be realized in its fullness only in that age. If we had to terminate our study at this point, we would have a redemption which is exclusively one of promise.
From this point of view, salvation would be only an insurance policy. To be sure, insurance is very important, but it is only a protection for the future against the day of trouble. It has no value to me today except to give me a sense of security.
If all we had were this single division between the ages at the return of Christ, salvation would be only the promise of deliverance in the day of judgment. Indeed, the promise of eternal life in Mark chapter 10 belongs altogether to the future when the kingdom of God comes.
If this were the complete program of redemption, we would have merely a religion of promise, a gospel of hope. The fact is, however, there is a further overlapping of the two ages. There are a number of explicit statements in the New Testament as well as the basic structure of New Testament theology as a whole which compel us to conclude that the blessings of the age to come remain no longer exclusively in the future, but have become objects of present experience in this age.
Hebrews chapter 6 verse 5 speaks of those who tasted the powers of the age to come. The age to come is still future, but we may taste the powers of that age. Something has happened by virtue of which that which belongs to the future has become present.
The powers of the age to come have penetrated this age. While we still live in the present evil age, and while Satan is still the god of this age, we may taste the powers of the coming age. Now, a taste is not a seven-course banquet.
We still look forward to the glorious consummation and fulfillment of that which we have only tasted, yet a taste is real. It is more than a promise. It is a realization. It is an experience. Taste and see that the Lord is good.
We have tasted the powers of the age to come. Again, in Galatians chapter 1 verse 4, we read that Christ gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age. How can men and women who live in an evil age be delivered from its power?
This deliverance comes from the power of the age to come, which has reached back and projected itself in the person of Christ into the present evil age, so that we may, by the power of the age to come, be delivered from this present evil age.
The same truth is set forth in Romans chapter 12 verse 2. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
How can we live in the midst of the evil age and not be conformed to it? We are to experience an inner transformation, which is itself the result of the power of the age to come, reaching back into this present evil age.
While the evil age goes on, God has made it possible for us to experience a new power that we may thereby prove what is God's will. This overlapping of the two ages is fundamental to our understanding of the biblical teaching of redemption.
Such sayings lead to the conclusion that there is a present overlapping of the age to come and this age, and that we are now living between the times. We are, in fact, caught up in the conflict of the ages.
This may be illustrated by a further modification of our diagram. What does this have to do with the kingdom of God? Just this, the kingdom of God belongs to the age to come, yet the age to come has overlapped with this age.
We may taste its powers and thereby be delivered from this age and no longer live in conformity to it. The new transforming power is the power of the age to come. It is indeed the power of the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is future, but it is not only future. Like the powers of the age to come, the kingdom of God has invaded this evil age that men may know something of its blessings, even while the evil age goes on.
Perhaps the most important scripture expounding the fundamental character of the kingdom of God is 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verses 22 to 26. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
But each in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, then it is coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. In this passage Paul is describing the various stages by which God will accomplish his redemptive purpose.
The purpose has to do with the kingdom of God. The ultimate objective is the accomplishment of God's kingdom, that is the realization of God's perfect reign in all the universe. This is accomplished by the defeat of his enemies.
Christ must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. When these enemies are at last subdued, Christ will hand over the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God, therefore, is the reign of God through Christ, destroying the enemies of God's reign.
The conquest of the kingdom, according to this passage, finds its highest expression in the defeat of death. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. In verse 26, God will manifest his mighty power as the sovereign over all the things by the final destruction of the awful enemy of all God's creatures, death.
However, this conquest of God's reign is not accomplished in a single great act. Paul speaks of three stages in the triumph of divine power. Let us translate verse 23 literally. Christ the firstfruits.
After that, they that are Christ at his coming. After that comes the end, when he delivers up the kingdom to God. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is, in fact, the firstfruits of the first act of the resurrection itself.
The resurrection began with the resurrection of Christ. At his parousia will occur the resurrection of those who belong to Christ. This is not a general resurrection, but a resurrection only of those who have shared the life of Christ, that is, Christian believers.
Only after that comes the end, when Christ gives the kingdom to the Father. Since this third stage will witness the final conquest of death, the last enemy, we must conclude that Paul looked forward to a resurrection of the rest of the dead, similar to that pictured in Revelation chapter 20, verse 12 and following.
We have, therefore, the three stages in the conquest over death. The final resurrection, the first resurrection, and the firstfruits of the first resurrection in the resurrection of Christ. Here is something that is utterly thrilling.
The resurrection of our Lord Jesus is the beginning of the final resurrection. How do I know there will one day be a resurrection of the dead when we are to be raised in the likeness of Christ? What is my assurance of that hope?
The answer is a fact of history. The resurrection already has begun. This is the significance of Jesus's words, because I live, you will live also, in John chapter 14, verse 19. This is the meaning of the power of his resurrection and the resurrection life, which we may now share.
In Ephesians chapter 2, verse 5, Christ's resurrection is not an isolated event. It is, in fact, an eschatological occurrence which has been transplanted into the midst of history. We are living already on the heavenward side of the first stage of the resurrection.
This puts a new light on the whole human predicament. Heaven has already begun, in that the resurrection has already begun to take place. Christ, the firstfruits, then they that are Christ and his parousia.
Then comes the end. This conquest of death in the three stages of the resurrection is a threefold manifestation of the kingdom of God. The last two stages agree with the outline we have already discovered in the revelation of John.
Then after his coming comes the end, when he delivers up the kingdom to God, in verse 24. This corresponds to Revelation chapter 20, verse 10, and verse 14. And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone.
Then death and Hades, the grave, were thrown into the lake of fire. The last enemy, death, will be destroyed. This is the final result of Christ's kingly reign. Then Christ will deliver up the kingdom to God, the Father, for by his reign he has subdued all his enemies.
This is what the kingdom of God means, the defeat of the enemies of God. The kingdom of God means the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ until all his enemies are put under his feet. And who are his enemies?
Wicked men? Antichrist? Godless nations? We have already found our point of departure in the scripture. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Paul defines the kingdom of God in terms of the conquest of such enemies as death.
Whence comes death? The Word of God is clear. The wages of sin is death. In Romans chapter 6, verse 23, death comes because of sin. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Therefore, sin is also an enemy and sin must likewise be destroyed.
Whence comes sin? What is the source of evil? It is, of course, Satan. Here we have a hellish triumvirate, a trinity from the pit. Satan, sin, death. He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
This is the triumph of God's kingdom. And now we come to the crucial question of this chapter. Has anything yet been accomplished in the triumph of Christ over his enemies or is our salvation altogether a matter of promise?
Does the defeat of sin, Satan, death through the reign of Christ belong exclusively to the future or is there an initial victory which has been accomplished? The answer to this important question has already been suggested from our study of 1 Corinthians 15.
The conquest over death is in three stages and the first of them has already been accomplished. God's kingdom, the activity of God's kingly power through Christ, has already manifested itself in the history of Christ's resurrection.
The triumph over death has begun. Now, we must ask the next question. Is the defeat over sin and Satan altogether future or has God already acted in his kingly power to break the power of Satan? In other words, has the kingdom of God invaded the present evil age, the domain of Satan?
Let's take our point of departure again from an important verse in the Word of God, Hebrews 2, verse 14. Since therefore the children, that is, those whom God would make his children, share in flesh and blood, that is, since we are human beings, he, Christ, himself likewise, partook of the same nature that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.
This is a verse which many have never read accurately. There are many who tell us that the defeat of Satan will occur only with the parousia, the second coming of Christ, and glory. They read this verse as though it said that through his parousia he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil.
But no, it is through his death that Christ has destroyed Satan. We must admit that this is a perplexing verse. How could it be that Satan has been destroyed? The perplexity is caused by our English translations.
The Greek word here used has no adequate equivalent in English. Destroy means to ruin or to annihilate completely. The Greek word katargeo literally means to put out of action, to render inoperative. This destruction of Satan was accomplished by Christ's death.
Christ, in death, did something which was a defeat for the devil in which his activity, his power, was in some real way curtailed. We find the same truth of the present conquest of evil in the Gospels.
In Matthew chapter 4, verses 23 to 24, we read of the beginning of our Lord's ministry, and he went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.
So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. Preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing every disease, is there any connection between these two phrases?
Is there any relationship between the good news about the kingdom of God and our Lord's healing ministry? We may find the answer in the first recorded miracle in Mark's gospel. Jesus came to Capernaum on the Sabbath day.
He entered into a synagogue and began to teach. People were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as having authority and not as their scribes. And immediately, there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, be silent and come out of him. And the unclean spirit came out of him, and they were all amazed. And so they questioned among themselves, saying, what is this, a new teaching?
What was new about it? The gospel of the kingdom. What was the novel element? With authority, he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him, in Mark chapter 1, verses 23 to 27. Our Lord's ministry and announcement of the good news of the kingdom were characterized by healing, and most notably, by the casting out of demons.
He proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God, and he demonstrated the good news of the kingdom of God by delivering men from the bondage of Satan. The 12th chapter of Matthew clearly sets forth the exorcism of demons as the work of the kingdom of God.
Opposition to our Lord become intense, but the Pharisees were dumbfounded by Jesus' mighty power. They had to give some explanation of his mighty works. And so they said, it is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this man cast out demons, in Matthew chapter 12, verse 24.
The Pharisees recognized the presence of supernatural power, but they attributed it to the activity of the devil himself. Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.
And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? Chapter 12, verses 25 to 26. It's ridiculous to say that Satan is casting out Satan. That would be a civil war, internal strife.
That cannot be. What is the explanation of Jesus' power? But if it is by the spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. What is the gospel of the kingdom? What means the announcement that the kingdom of God has come near?
It is this, that God is now acting among men to deliver them from bondage to Satan. It is the announcement that God, in the person of Christ, is doing something, if you please, is attacking the very kingdom of Satan himself.
The exorcism of demons is proof that the kingdom of God has come among men and is at work among them. The casting out of demons is itself a work of the kingdom of God. Let us change the idiom and go back to the structure of the two ages.
Jesus' power over demons was the disclosure that the powers of the age to come have invaded the present evil age. It was the proof that the kingdom of God, which belongs to the age of the future, when Christ comes in glory, has already penetrated this age.
Satan is not yet destroyed, as he will be when he is cast into the lake of fire, yet God's kingdom is active. God is attacking the kingdom of Satan. If it is by the spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
The casting out of demons is accomplished by the power of God's kingdom. The exorcism of demons is proof that the kingdom of God is present. Now let us look carefully at verse 29. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man?
Then indeed he may plunder his house. This is one of the most important verses in the New Testament for an understanding of the kingdom of God. Satan is the strong man and his house is this age. The strong man's goods are demon-possessed men and women.
The question is, how can anyone enter into Satan's realm and deprive him of his goods except he first bind the strong man? Then he shall spoil his goods. Now we may ask the all-important question, is Satan bound?
Is there some sense in which our Lord, in His incarnation and earthly ministry, has bound the evil one? At first thought, this may seem impossible. For the word of God says, Satan goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
However, we may ask what this teaching of the binding of Satan really means. We must remember that Satan is not a creature of flesh and blood, but being in the spirit world. What kind of chain will one use to bind an angel or a spirit?
What sort of bond will hold him? Will a rope do? Is a straitjacket adequate? Is iron strong enough? Or forged steel? Or perhaps titanium? It is obvious that the teaching of the binding of Satan is a metaphor.
A metaphor is a truth, but it is not a literal, that is, physical truth. Because a literal chain or a literal rope cannot bind a spiritual being. The binding of Satan means the coming of Christ, his presence on earth, the exercise of his power among men, has accomplished a defeat of Satan so that his power is broken.
Satan is bound. Matthew chapter 12 verse 28 clearly says that the kingdom of God has entered into the present evil age. The power of Satan has been broken because in some sense Satan has been bound and men and women may now be delivered from bondage to satanic power.
Satan is a defeated enemy. And because of the work of Christ, I may be delivered from the power of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God's dear son. This same truth of the defeat of Satan through the earthly ministry of our Lord is set forth in the tenth chapter of Luke.
The Lord had sent 70 disciples on a preaching tour just before his final journey to Jerusalem. In his instructions for their mission, he said, heal the sick and say to them, the kingdom of God has come near you, in Luke chapter 10 verse 9.
In the person of our Lord's emissaries, the kingdom of God came to the cities they visited. And what if they were not received? But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you.
Nevertheless, know this, that the kingdom of God has come near. I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that town. Woe to you, Chorazin. Woe to you, Bethsaida. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
But it shall be more tolerable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you, in Luke chapter 10, verses 10 to 14. Why did our Lord pronounce such a fearful judgment on those cities? Because the kingdom of God had come to them.
The evidence of the presence of the kingdom of God was the healing of the sick. The signs of the kingdom were manifest. Its power was at work in cities like Chorazin and Bethsaida. Rejection of the disciples and their mission meant rejection of the kingdom of God.
And this could result only in fearful judgment. The 70 returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name, in verse 17. We healed the sick, yes, and as we went out announcing the kingdom of God has come near, even the demons were subject to us, and we cast them out.
And he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven, in verse 18. While you were preaching the kingdom and casting out demons, I was watching Satan fall from heaven. In your ministry of delivering men and women from bondage of Satan, I saw his fall.
Are we to try to construct some kind of cosmological drama from this verse and imagine that Satan, who was up there, is now down here? I do not think so. Rather, this verse means that Satan has been thrust down from the pinnacle of his power.
This is the same truth we have found in Matthew chapter 12, verse 28. Satan has been bound. Satan has fallen like lightning from heaven. His power has come tumbling down. And here is the evidence. The kingdom of God has come upon you.
Demons are cast out. Men and women are delivered from the power of Satan, that they may enter into the power and the life and the blessing of the kingdom of God. God's kingdom means the divine conquest over his enemies.
The power of the kingdom of God has invaded the realm of Satan, the present evil age. The activity of this power to deliver men from satanic rule was evidenced by the exorcism of demons. Thereby, Satan was bound.
He was cast down from his position of power. His power was destroyed. The blessings of the messianic age are now available to those who embrace the kingdom of God. We may already enjoy the blessings resulting from this initial defeat of Satan.
Yes, the kingdom of God has come near. It is already present. This does not mean that we now enjoy the fullness of God's blessings or that all that is meant by the kingdom of God has come to us. As we said in the previous chapter, the second coming of Christ is absolutely essential for the fulfillment and the consummation of God's redemptive work, yet God has already accomplished the first great stage in his work of redemption.
Satan is the god of this age. Yet the power of Satan has been broken that men may know the rule of God in.
Their lives.
The evil age goes on. Yet the powers of the age to come have been made available to men. To the human eye, the world appears little changed. The kingdom of Satan seems, perhaps, unshaken. Yet the kingdom of God has come among men, and those who receive it will be prepared to enter into the kingdom of glory when Christ comes to finish the good work he has already begun.
This is the gospel of the kingdom.
