If This, Then That
If it is true that
1. The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21)
2. The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed (Luke 17:20)
3. The Lord does not dwell in temples made by human hands (Acts 7:48; 17:24)
4. The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth (John 4:23)
then we ought to honestly question and answer what the nature of the kingdom of God actually is, and whether there is any validity to the teaching to the contrary; ie that there will be a visible, physical kingdom and a visible, physical temple some time in the future.
If the central lifeblood of the kingdom is faith, and if faith looks to things that are not seen and to He who is unseen (Hebrews 11:1; 3; 6), and if Christ Himself says that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), then what should be our perspective of the kingdom?
The Critical Theme
These scripture truths are not insignificant. In fact, they are critically indicative of a repeated theme found throughout the entire New Testament; namely, that the kingdom of Christ is a spiritual kingdom — not earthly and not necessarily physical or visible, at least not in origin, although one could make the argument that it’s physical and visible in manifestation in a sense. But if the kingdom is spiritual, does it not also then follow that the priesthood, sacrifices, the temple, the city, the land, and the nation are also spiritual? At the very least, we must permit the possibility.
The real question is this: what saith the scriptures?
Spiritual Priesthood
Peter says that we are a holy priesthood and a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:5; 9). John also repeats this idea in the book of Revelation saying that we have been made priests (Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6). These thoughts echo Old Testament scriptures such as Exodus 19:6 and Isaiah 61:6; 66:21. So here we have the priesthood made new in a spiritual fulfillment.
Spiritual Sacrifices
But what about the sacrifices? Paul says we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). He also says that gifts are sacrifices (Philippians 4:18). The writer to the Hebrews says that we are to offer sacrifices of praise, the fruit of lips that acknowledge God’s name, doing good to one another, and sharing what we have — all pleasing sacrifices to God (Hebrews 13:15-16). Finally, Peter confirms that we indeed, as God’s house, are being built and joined together in order to offer spiritual sacrifices to God (1 Peter 2:5).
Spiritual Temple
Five times we are told explicitly that we are God’s temple, house, building, or dwelling by the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 3:9; 16, 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Ephesians 2:19-22). The writer to the Hebrews confirms this as well, saying that we are God’s house (Hebrews 3:6). Peter also follows suit, telling us that we are living stones being built up as a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5). These are all spiritual fulfillments of God’s promises in Exodus 29:45 and Leviticus 26:12, among other places, and further explicated by John in Revelation 21:3.
Spiritual City & Nation
In his epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul explains that we are children of our mother, that is the Jerusalem above or the heavenly Jerusalem (Galatians 4:26). In Hebrews, the author supports this, saying that we have come to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God (Hebrews 12:22). Again, John corroborates this reality (Revelation 21:9-10). And, we are also told plainly, that we are a holy nation and a people for God’s own possession (1 Peter 2:9), a spiritual recapitulation of Deuteronomy 7:6.
Spiritual Land
Lastly, we are also the land, the ground, the field, or the soil — these are all synonymous terms, and again, the fulfillment is spiritual. For example, Christ says that it is the honest and good heart which hears and understands the word and produces fruit that is the good soil (Matthew 13:23, Mark 4:20, Luke 8:15). Paul says in four simple words that we are God’s field (1 Corinthians 3:9). This is repeated by the writer to the Hebrews (Hebrews 6:7). Of course we are also made from the ground, or the dust, of the earth (Genesis 2:7).
Much more could be said in regards to us being the agricultural or husbandry fulfillment of God, ie we are to bear fruit, we are the branches, we are trees, etc. Of course this all makes perfect sense when we understand that Christ is the true Adam, who tends and keeps the true garden of God, namely those whom His Father has planted (Matthew 15:13).
How Can This Be?
Perhaps you’re following me. Or maybe you think I’m nuts. But if one were to ask, how can this be? — I would answer simply: because of Christ. I follow a very simple and clear hermeneutic (or interpretive principle) extracted from the plain words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:20, in which he says, “All the promises of God find their yes in Him [Christ].”
Stop. Think about that. What are the implications of this? What is Paul saying? What promises is he talking about?
All the promises? Really? Yes. All of them. But what “all?”
Well, exegesis demands that Paul is immediately referring to Old Testament promises, not New Testament promises (although that could certainly be an extrapolation) because the New Testament has not been compiled, canonized, and dispensed at the time of the original writing. So then, what does this mean? I’ll tell you what I think it means. I think it means that all of the promises made by God to individuals and ethnic Israel are fulfilled in Christ — ultimately and finally and fully contextualized in Him, and thus in the hearts of those who are united to Him by faith, for we are co-heirs with Him and in fact children of promise (Galatians 3:29; 4:28, Romans 8:16-17).
That’s a big leap!
Maybe. Maybe not.
One thing that has been central to my understanding of this is to couple the hermeneutic with two other guiding principles — the principle of the one and the many, and the principle of continuing recapitulation (or new expression). These are patterns and pictures that are evidenced throughout scripture and realized fully in Christ and the Church. Let me explain what I mean and then attempt to tie all of these things together.
The One and the Many
Starting in the very beginning of Scripture, there is a continued pattern of God working first through one and then many. Through the sin of one, Adam, the many are made sinners, all mankind. Through the obedience of one, Noah, the many are saved, beginning first with his family and then the whole of humankind which hail from his family. Through the calling out of one, Abraham, the Lord made the nation of many, Israel. Through the one man, Moses, God delivered the many in the Exodus. Through the one Christ, God has purchased and redeemed the many sons and daughters in Him for His glory. This is the principle of the one and the many. God first works through one and then many. This pattern is undeniable.
Continued Recapitulation
The principle of continued recapitulation is present in the principle of the one and the many. But it is most fully expressed first and primarily in Christ and secondly in the Church. When I say recapitulation, I simply mean a new expression or form of something or someone previous. When we examine Christ closely in the Gospel accounts, it becomes clear that he, as an individual man, is recapitulating the history of Israel, and in fact much of Old Testament narrative. For brevity’s sake, I’ll only state a few points to confirm this.
- Christ, as the son, is called out of Egypt just as Israel was (Matthew 2:15).
- Christ passed through the waters and entered the wilderness for forty days and nights to be tempted by Satan, just as Israel passed through the waters of the Red Sea and entered the wilderness for forty years and was tested by God (Matthew 3:16-4:1).
- Christ was the living, breathing tabernacle of God in the midst of the people, just as the tabernacle or tent of meeting was in the midst of the people in the wilderness (John 1:14).
- Christ was the bread that came down from heaven to eternally feed the souls of His people, just as Israel received the manna from heaven in the wilderness (John 6:48-50) to fill their stomachs.
- Christ was the true Joshua who, upon entering the land, drove out the enemies of God in the form of the demonic spirits, just as Israel was to do when they entered the land of Canaan.
This continued recapitulation is also manifested in the church, following the pattern of the one and the many, for the principles go together. For example:
- Christians are called and purchased out of spiritual Egypt, which is slavery to sin, by Christ who has gone before them (John 8:34; 36).
- Christians pass through the spiritual waters of regeneration and the world becomes a desolate wilderness to them in their journey as pilgrims and strangers to reach the promised land of heaven (Ezekiel 36:24-28, 1 Peter 2:11, Hebrews 11:8-10).
- Christians are now the tabernacle or temple of God, wherein He manifests His presence in the midst of His people through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:9; 16; 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Ephesians 2:19-22).
- Christians feast upon Christ, the bread of life, and His Word, as their spiritual sustenance (John 6:48-50, Matthew 4:4, John 4:34, Job 23:12).
- Christians are to wage war upon and drive out the enemies of God in the land of their hearts, such as immorality, sensuality, greediness, gossip, malice, and everything against the obedience of Christ, for their weapons are not carnal but spiritual (Colossians 3:5, Romans 8:13, Galatians 5:24, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6).
What does this mean?
So what? How does this apply, and why should we care?
Because of Christ’s work, we now can draw near to God in faith (Hebrews 7:19, 25; 11:26). In this way, we now worship Him, the living God, in our living temples, that is, our bodies. And we do this in spirit and in truth. All by the Holy Spirit. Not by the mosaic law and its ordinances and requirements.
In other words, we don’t have to wander in a literal wilderness or setup a literal tabernacle or bring literal animal sacrifices or fly over to literal Jerusalem in a literal land or go through literal rituals in a literal priesthood. We don’t seek a physical kingdom to come; we live in a spiritual kingdom that is.
the lord jesus christ (Luke 17:20-21)
The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is within you.