Your kingdom come (11:2d)

Ever since the fall the human race has been in rebellion against God. Most people from earliest childhood mistakenly believe that they can set the direction for their lives, determine their own destiny, decide their own future, and chart their own life course. That is especially true in today’s narcissistic, self-exalting, ego-mad culture. The nineteenth-century English poet William Ernest Henley captured the essence of this defiant, man-centered view in his famous poem “Invictus”:

Even Israel frequently chose to defy God’s authority and the Old Testament chronicles the nation’s long history of rebellion. “You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day I knew you,” Moses told the people (Deut. 9:24). Later he added, “I know your rebellion and your stubbornness; behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against the Lord; how much more, then, after my death?” (Deut. 31:27). Israel’s subsequent history showed that Moses’ fear was justified. Looking back at the cause of Israel’s exile to Babylon, Nehemiah acknowledged to God that Israel “became disobedient and rebelled against You, and cast Your law behind their backs” (Neh. 9:26). The Psalms frequently lament Israel’s rebellion against God, especially Psalm 78. Verse 8 describes the exodus generation as “a stubborn and rebellious generation”; despite all of God’s provision for them in the wilderness (vv. 11–16) “they still continued to sin against Him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert” (v. 17; cf. vv. 40, 56; 106:7). Psalms 5:10 and 107:11 also describe those who rebelled against God. Isaiah denounced Israel as “a rebellious people, false sons, sons who refuse to listen to the instruction of the Lord (Isa. 30:9; cf. 3:8; 65:2). Israel’s rebellion had devastating consequences. Because “they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them” (Isa. 63:10). Through the prophet Jeremiah, God Himself declared of Israel, “This people has a stubborn and rebellious heart” (Jer. 5:23). He told Ezekiel, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day” (Ezek. 2:3; cf. 5:6; 20:13; Hos. 7:13; 8:1). Repeatedly in Ezekiel God referred to Israel as a “rebellious house” (2:5, 6, 8; 3:26, 27; 12:3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3). In his passionate intercessory prayer for his people, Daniel also acknowledged that Israel had consistently revolted against God (Dan. 9:5, 9).

Revolt is inherent in the very definition of sin, the essence of which, the apostle John wrote, is “lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Paul paired lawlessness with rebellion (1 Tim. 1:9), and described the future antichrist, the ultimate rebel against God, as the “man of lawlessness” (2 Thess. 2:3).

But to come to Christ savingly is to forsake one’s pretended autonomy from God and acknowledge that He sets the course for our lives. It is to forsake self-centered living and replace selfishness with submission. In salvation the sinner bows the knee to the lordship of Jesus Christ, submitting to Him as King and acknowledging His absolute, sovereign authority (see the discussion below). One day “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and … every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10–11), as God sovereignly determined: “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession’” (Ps. 2:7–8).

The two petitions discussed in this chapter, one from Luke’s account and the other from Matthew’s, focus on God’s plan. Both acknowledge that all history is inevitably, inexorably moving toward the reign of Jesus Christ, and each expresses a strong desire for that to be realized. The nineteenth-century English hymn writer Frances Ridley Havergal expressed the cry of the believer’s heart in her hymn, “Thou Art Coming, O My Saviour”:

These next two petitions in our Lord’s model prayer introduce God as sovereign, and supreme.

GOD AS SOVEREIGN

Your kingdom come (11:2d)

There have been a multitude of states, empires, and nations throughout human history, but spiritually there are only two kingdoms: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan (cf. Col. 1:13). All the kingdoms of this world are currently part of Satan’s domain of darkness. In the future, however, “The kingdom of the world [will] become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). Having been “rescued … from the domain of darkness, and transferred … to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13), believers have as their highest goal the advancement of that kingdom. They do not love the kingdom of this world (1 John 2:15), but as Paul wrote they “keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1; cf. Matt. 6:33; Phil. 3:20).

Basileia (kingdom), which can also mean “rule,” or “reign,” refers to a sovereign realm. It is used most frequently in the New Testament to refer to the kingdom of God (called the kingdom of heaven in Matthew’s gospel), as it does here. Combined with the imperative form of the verb erchomai, this petition could be translated, “Your kingdom, let it happen”; “let it actually take place”; or “let it actually come.” To see God’s kingdom triumphant and His rule manifest on earth is the believer’s desire and prayer.

The word Your indicates that the kingdom of which Jesus was speaking is the one ruled by His Father. Earthly powers, such as Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and, in more modern times, Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, and every other nation rise and fall (cf. Acts 14:16). Nations have their moment in the sun, but as their power grows, so does their pride, and sin brings about their fall. “Righteousness exalts a nation,” wrote Solomon, “but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Prov. 14:34). God sovereignly determines the nations’ extent and duration. Daniel declared to the Babylonian king Belshazzar, “God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it” (Dan. 5:26), while Paul proclaimed to the Greek philosophers in Athens that God “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation” (Acts 17:26).

The sovereign rule of God was the context of all the teaching and preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the outset of His ministry “Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matt. 4:17). In Luke 4:43 He said, “I must preach the kingdom of God … for I was sent for this purpose” (cf. 8:1). The kingdom of God continued to be the theme of His instruction to the apostles even after His resurrection, when He “appear[ed] to them over a period of forty days and [spoke to them] of the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

Jesus spoke of the kingdom in three dimensions. First, He referred to it as existing in the past. In Matthew 8:11 He spoke of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as already being in the kingdom.

Second, Jesus spoke of the kingdom as present. In Luke 17:21 He told the Pharisees, “The kingdom of God is in your midst”; earlier the Lord had commanded the seventy to proclaim to the people, “The kingdom of God has come near to you” (Luke 10:9; cf. v. 11). He replied to the Pharisees’ blasphemous allegation that He cast out demons through the power of Satan by saying to them, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28). The Jewish people, and their leaders in particular, failed to recognize the presence of the kingdom, since they were not looking for a spiritual kingdom, but rather a political, social, military, and economic one. The kingdom was a reality, but unbelief blinded their eyes so that they could not see it.

But although the kingdom continues to be present today as the living God rules the hearts of the penitent who trust in Him, there is also a future, unique form of it. Jesus told the disciples in the Upper Room, “Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God” (Mark 14:25). At the sheep and goat judgment “the King will say to those on His right [the sheep], ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’” (Matt. 25:34), but for those who reject Him “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when [they] see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but [they themselves] being thrown out. And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God” (Luke 13:28–29). This refers to our Lord’s millennial reign on earth (Rev. 20:1–6).

By way of further distinction, two aspects of the kingdom of God may be noted. The universal kingdom encompasses God’s rule over the entire universe. As the Creator, He is sovereign over His creation. Psalm 29:10 says that “the Lord sat as King forever,” while Revelation 15:3 addresses Him as “King of the nations.” Psalm 103:19 adds, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.” In 1 Chronicles 29:11–12 David prayed,

The universal kingdom is eternal, providential, supernatural, and efficacious. Authority over it has been delegated to the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God employed to create (Col. 1:16) and sustain it (Heb. 1:1–3).

But the universal kingdom is not in view here. There is no need to pray for it to advance, since it is eternal, comprehensive, and absolute. This petition asks instead that the redemptive kingdom, the sphere of salvation, the supernatural realm of believing people, advance. It does so in three ways.

First, through salvation; the redemptive kingdom grows one redeemed soul at a time. It is not a visible, earthly structure, nor can it be identified with any nation, denomination, or organization; it is the realm of souls ruled by Christ. The request “Your kingdom come” is first of all a missionary prayer, in which the petitioner submits his or her will, ambitions, plans, goals, and concerns to the life priority of advancing God’s redemptive kingdom by seeing sinners converted. “First of all, then,” Paul instructed Timothy, “I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men” (1 Tim. 2:1), because God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (v. 4). The prayer of the believing heart is that people would “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17; cf. 3:2). All else is secondary (cf. Matt. 6:33)

Contrary to much popular teaching today, entrance to the kingdom is not easy. Nor should we expect it to be; after all, the price of redemption was the sacrifice of God’s dear Son. Those who would enter His kingdom must force their way in (Luke 16:16)—not through meritorious good works that earn salvation, but through the self-denial that characterizes the truly penitent (Luke 9:23–24). Far from merely uttering a glib prayer and then continuing to live as they choose, those who would enter the kingdom must go through the narrow gate, jettisoning their baggage of good deeds, self-will, and selfish desires, none of which will fit through the turnstile at the entrance to the narrow way (Matt. 7:13–14). In words that are jarringly discordant with today’s man-centered gospel of self-fulfillment and easy believism, Jesus bluntly declared that following Him demands complete self-denial and total surrender to His lordship:

In His parables, Jesus likened those who enter the kingdom to a man who finds treasure in a field, or a merchant who finds a priceless pearl, and sells everything he owns to buy it (Matt. 13:44–46). (I discuss the high cost and infinite value of entering the kingdom by following Jesus in Hard to Believe [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003].)

Second, the redemptive kingdom comes not only through salvation, but also through sanctification. The kingdom progresses when people come in repentance and faith to Christ, and also when those who are His increasingly grow and submit to His lordship. The writer of the familiar hymn “Lead Me to Calvary” expressed the heart cry of every believer in this regard:

The kingdom advances when its subjects see an increase of “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17) in their lives.

Finally, the kingdom will consummate in the second coming of the King to establish His promised earthly millennial kingdom. To pray, “Your kingdom come” reflects a joyful, expectant desire for that glorious event to take place. Paul exclaimed in 1 Corinthians 16:22 “Maranatha,” an Aramaic expression that means, “O Lord, come.” Near the end of the book of Revelation John wrote, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20). In their lives as well as their prayers, those who love the Lord Jesus Christ are always “looking for and hastening [eagerly desiring] the coming of the day of God” (2 Peter 3:12). John described the coming of the kingdom in Revelation 20:1–6:

To pray for the coming of the kingdom is to pray for the salvation of sinners, the sanctification of believers, and the second coming in glory of the Savior.

GOD AS SUPREME

This concept derives from the petition that follows the request, “Your kingdom come” in Matthew’s account: “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). Honoring the Father’s person and desiring to see His kingdom advance requires an inseparable concern for His will to be done. The Christian’s desire and prayer is that God’s will, which is always done perfectly and completely in heaven, would be done on earth as well. This petition is the expression of a heart that seeks God’s glory and wants what He wants; it is an expression of worship.

During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ perfectly carried out the Father’s will. In Gethsemane, anticipating his forthcoming sin-bearing and separation from the Father, He cried out, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39). In Mark 3:35 He said, “Whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.” The Lord told His disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34), while in John 6:38 He said to the crowd, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Ultimately, all things will resolve in accordance with God’s eternal purpose, which was established before the world began. Paul expressed that truth when he told the Ephesians that God “works all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11). But most of what happens in this evil, fallen, sin-cursed world is contrary to God’s purpose. A proper understanding of the will of God reveals why that tragic reality is perfectly consistent with His absolute sovereignty. Theologians distinguish between three aspects of God’s will, as R. C. Sproul helpfully notes:

The petition for His will to be done especially considers that third feature, His will of disposition. Their heavenly preoccupation (cf. Col. 3:1–2) motivates Christians to pray that God’s will be carried out by obedience so that He may be honored by the testimony of the faithful.

There are several wrong views of God’s will that must be avoided. First, some manifest an attitude of bitter resentment. They acknowledge that what God wills is inevitably going to come to pass whether they like it or not. Therefore, they reason, it is useless to resist. Such people take a fatalistic, deterministic view of God’s will, and are angry at Him because of it. The medieval Persian poet Omar Khayyam expressed this view in his poem “The Rubaiyat”:

Others pray with a sort of passive resignation. They are not angry with God, but their prayers reflect a sort of gray acceptance; a weary, tired, listless resignation that whatever is going to happen will happen. Such people pray very little and with no assurance that their prayers will have any impact. They go through the motions because it is their duty, but they lack the passionate heart that cries out to God and believes He will answer.

Even the early church fell prey to this attitude. When Peter was imprisoned by Herod, who had just executed the apostle James, John’s brother, the believers gathered to pray to God on his behalf (Acts 12:5). An angel miraculously released Peter from prison and he came to the house where they were praying. When a servant girl who had answered his knock at the gate excitedly told them that Peter was outside, they scoffed and “said to her, ‘You are out of your mind!’ But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, ‘It is his angel’” (v. 15). Despite their fervency, they really had not expected God to answer their prayers; hence their reluctance to accept that He had.

A third wrong attitude in prayer might be termed theological reservation. Some Christians take such an extreme view of God’s sovereignty that it paralyzes their prayers. Since God will inevitably carry out His will, they reason, there is really nothing to pray for. This view overlooks the explicit teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, who told “a parable to show that at all times [people] ought to pray and not to lose heart” (Luke 18:1). That parable spoke of an unjust judge, who finally gave legal protection to a desperate widow because she kept hounding him (vv. 2–5). Driving home his point “the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly’” (vv. 6–8). This view also ignores the reality that “the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16)—a truth borne out by the numerous answers to prayer recorded in Scripture (see the examples listed in chapter 1 of this volume). Failure to pray is disobedience to the explicit commands of the Bible (e.g., Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17).

Nothing will destroy passion and effectiveness in prayer more than bitter anger, a defeatist attitude, or aberrant theology. In contrast to those wrong attitudes about prayer, true prayer manifests an attitude of rebellion. It rebels with holy indignation against everything that is contrary to God’s will. Jesus Himself rebelled against the terrible consequences of sin, which would result in His being made sin on behalf of the redeemed (2 Cor. 5:21) when He prayed in Gethsemane. In response, God strengthened Him to carry out His divine plan and purpose. Peter, James, and John, however, failed to heed the Lord’s command to them, “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41). As a result, when their time of trial and temptation came, they were defeated. Matthew 26:56 records that “all the disciples left Him and fled,” while Peter even denied that he knew Him (vv. 58–75). They forgot the example of their Lord who, as noted in chapter 1 of this volume, prayed before all the great events of His life.

To pray for God’s will to be done is to refuse to be resigned to the sinful status quo. It is to wake up and stop sleeping, fainting, or losing heart. It is to recognize that there is a cosmic war going on between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan, and to refuse to strike a truce with the forces of evil. True prayer focuses on God. It acknowledges His sovereign right to refuse any request that is not in keeping with His perfect will, as was the case with Paul (2 Cor. 12:7–10). In every circumstance the believer’s prayer is to be that God’s name be honored by His kingdom being advanced, and that by His will being done.