This past month I caught a little bit of the NFL’s induction ceremony of this year’s class of football players into the “Hall of Fame.” I was struck once again with how this process appeals to the hardwiring of the masculine heart. These are men:
- Who succeeded greatly at the assignment they accepted—playing a certain position on an NFL team.
- Who overcame the physical challenge of getting and keeping their bodies in incredible shape, the mental challenge of staying focused on being the best they could be in daily practices and on the field at playing their position, and the emotional challenge of giving their best to their mission, day in and day out whether having a losing season or winning a Superbowl.
- Who earned the respect of their peers, usually a teammate introducing them in the ceremony.
- Who leave a legacy that outlives them, their bust being unveiled for the first time in the induction ceremony and then enshrined in Canton, Ohio for as long as the NFL lives.
I believe the greatest possible fulfillment of the masculine hardwired heart will be walking across the stage on the Day of Christ, Jesus placing a crown on our heads, whispering in our ears first and then proclaiming before all creation, “well done,” and then us placing our crowns at Jesus’ feet. As film clips of the inductees’ football feats show up on the screen at the induction ceremony, so at that moment, what will matter most to us will be the clips of us being faithful to the assignment given to us by The Master. This month we are examining how to understand and stay better focused on WHAT THAT ASSIGNMENT IS, day by day.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us a very precise summary of his follower’s mission. In Matt 6 he said to his followers, “don’t seek what the lost focus upon—winning the praise of men, piling up treasure on earth, being preoccupied with having enough to eat or drink, or store away in barns or with wearing the latest Nike’s or designer jeans. In sharp contrast,” says Jesus, “my people are to seek, to focus upon, to intentionally pursue, the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” The problem is that without a biblical overview of the concept of the kingdom of God, many Christians have NO CONCRETE PICTURE OF WHAT THEY ARE TO SEEK; so, it is impossible for them to pursue it. Jesus said the pursuit of the kingdom of God is to be our top priority in life this fall, as we return to our regular schedule. But to do that we desperately need a concrete understanding of the phrase kingdom of God. This episode unravels the rich thread of KINGDOM in the fabric of Scripture so that we can form the concrete picture we need. Let’s begin with Genesis 1.
ADAM AND EVE ARE CREATED KING AND QUEEN OF KINDOM EARTH
A. A careful study of Genesis 1 reveals that God’s description of how he created the earth sets the stage for understanding the kingly calling of mankind to rule over earth. The Genesis 1 creation account follows a careful pattern. Each of the first three days explains the creation of realms or “kingdoms.” The second three days explain the creation of the “kings,” that will rule each of those kingdoms.
- On day 1 (vs 3-5) God creates the REALMS of day and night; on day 4 (vs 14-19) God creates the RULERS over day and night, the sun and the moon.
- On day 2 (vs 6-8) God creates the REALMS of the sea and sky; on day 5 (vs 20-23) God creates the RULERS of the sea (sea creatures) and the birds who rule the heavens.
- On day 3 (vs 9-13) God creates the REALM of land; on day 6 (vs 24-25) God creates the RULERS of the land, “livestock, creeping things, and beasts of the earth.”
This pattern of creating a kingdom and then a king to rule over it is all a prelude to understanding that the universe is created to be the realm—the kingdom--that Adam and Eve are created king and queen to rule. The very next verse says, Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them HAVE DOMINION over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Gen 1:26). “Having dominion” is the verb for what kings and queens do. Adam and Eve are created to be the king and queen of creation.
B. In case we missed this emphasis on Adam and Eve being given the kingdom, Earth, to rule, God goes on to further emphasize their kingship. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and SUBDUE it, and HAVE DOMINION over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen 1:28). Filling the earth and subduing it has been called the cultural mandate. To subdue the garden is further explained in God’s command in Genesis 2 to cultivate the garden. This glorious word (AVAD) in Hebrew means “to cause to flourish, to reach its full potential.” God deliberately left creation unfinished, calling Adam and Even to complete his creation by reproducing other images bearers and shaping the garden to bring out its potential. Note that “have dominion, which is what kings do, is repeated by God.
C. There is another thread in the Genesis 1 account of the creation of Adam and Eve that highlights their role as earth's rulers—the fact that God emphasizes that they were created in his image, God, himself being the king and ruler over all. OT scholar Bruce Waltke observes, “An image represents the presence of the one represented.” Created with a spiritual nature, Adam and Eve had the moral law of God written on their hearts and were called to reflect his moral presence as they ruled over their kingdom. Waltke continues, “Inseparable from the notion of serving as a representative, the image functions as a ruler in the place of the deity.” It was customary in the ANE to think of a king as a representative of a god; obviously the king ruled, and the god was the ultimate ruler, so the king must be ruling on the god’s behalf. So being made in God’s image meant being created as a king over a specific sphere that they were to ruler over as God’s representative. Adam and Eve were created king and queen over earth to rule FOR God.
In the biblical narrative the KINGDOM thread is very, very bold, appearing in the very first verses of the entire Bible. We see this kingdom thread further reflected boldly in the concept of the Messiah.
CHRIST THE MESSIAH WILL FILL THE OFFICE OF KING
One of the reasons that Christians can’t follow Jesus’ mission for them very effectively without understanding the concept of KINGDOM is that Jesus’ very identity as KING is implied in his title, Christ. Christos means “anointed one” in Greek. The Hebrew word is Messiah. In the OT there were three offices to which men were ANNOINTED: priest, prophet, and KING. Let’s look at these three offices, which are the facets of his role as the Anointed One.
In Israel, the HIGH PRIEST was the only one allowed into the presence of God. He was only allowed into the tabernacle or temple one day per year after making sacrifices for his sin and the peoples’ sin. Before the fall there is a sense in which Adam was a priest of God because he walked with God in the cool of the day. After Adam’s sin he is expelled from God’s presence, the OT priesthood was established to show that atonement for sin must be made by the shedding of blood, that the wage of sin is death. But the blood of bulls and goats only pointed to the real lamb who would be slain, our Great High priest who offered his own blood to restore us to God’s presence. The book of Hebrews says, Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near (Heb 10:19-22). Through Christ, the second Adam, we are restored to the intimacy enjoyed by the first Adam before the fall and, in fact, this intimacy with God seems to be in view in Revelation 1:5, Jesus has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us PRIESTS to his God and Father.
Let’s consider the second facet of Messiahship. In Israel the second anointed office was that of PROPHET, who was the mouthpiece of God. Moses the greatest prophet gave the LAW--the covenant obligations of God upon God’s people along with the blessings that would follow obedience and curses that would follow disobedience. We think of prophets as foreseeing the future and they did. But, usually, they foresaw and warned against the consequences that would befall God’s people for their disobedience. Elijah, for example, declared to Ahab that it would not rain in Israel because of Israel’s worship of Baal. In Deuteronomy 11 the covenant stipulations had warned of the consequences of worshipping another God: “then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain.
Adam was originally created to be the mouthpiece of God. The law of the Lord was written on his heart (Rom 2:15) and he was to shape the developing culture according to that moral law, exercising dominion FOR the High King. But once Adam sinned, man’s heart became darkened, suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. After the fall a prophet was needed to be God’s mouthpiece delivering the moral law—the obligations of those redeemed by God. Jesus the Messiah was THE PROPHET. Hebrews 1:1 declares, Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son. Understanding who Christ is as our High Priest and the ULTIMATE prophet are imperative for knowing who Jesus IS and walking with HIM. No less important is understanding Jesus’ office of KING.
CHRIST THE KING IS THE SECOND ADAM
The first Adam failed in his calling to exercise dominion FOR the High King, choosing to rule FOR HIMSELF. Instead of Earth experiencing the righteous, benevolent rule of King Adam, Adam’s alignment with Satan’s rebellion causes his kingdom, Earth, to be taken captive by the forces of that rebellion, SIN, SATAN, and DEATH. In Ephesians 2:2, Paul refers to SATAN as “the prince of the power of the air.” In Luke 4:5-7, where SATAN's temptation of Christ is recorded, SATAN says that the kingdoms of this world belong to him. But, one day the second Adam would defeat the angelic hosts and take back Adam’s kingdom, the Apostle Paul explaining, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them at the cross.”
The other two powers that begin to rule Earth are SIN and DEATH. In Romans 5:12, Paul refers to the reign of SIN over mankind because SIN and DEATH are inextricably linked together. “Therefore, just as SIN came into the world through one man, and DEATH through SIN, and so DEATH spread to all men because all SINNED…” Sin not only corrupts the individual hearts of Adam, Eve, and their posterity, but it corrupts the culture they begin to build. In the words of Cornelius Plantinga, “Once humans determine that they will structure reality in opposition to God, sin moves in waves throughout the culture, enslaving mankind. The scope of sin is enormous. It touches every aspect of individual life and every part of creation.” Genesis 1-3 reports the story of the first Adam coming into the world, being tempted by Satan, surrendering to sin, and losing his kingdom to Satan, Sin, and Death.
The gospel tells the story of the second Adam. He was also made of human flesh. He was also tempted by Satan, but in his case it was not in a lush garden surrounded by delicious fruit but in a barren wilderness. The second Adam did not have the companionship of another human at his side but was alone in his temptation. The second Adam was not tempted to eat fruit on a full stomach but after forty days of fasting. The second Adam was not silent in the face of Satan’s lies but responded by restating God’s truth. The second Adam did not yield to Satan’s temptation but totally obeyed The High King. Because the second Adam passed his test, he defeated Satan, sin, and death, winning salvation for all who are in him. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor 15:22). Christ’s resurrection proves that victory has been won.
JESUS’ GOSPEL WAS THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM
Jesus began his public ministry with the words, “The time is fulfilled and the KINGDOM of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). The gospel Jesus proclaimed was not simply the good news that an individual could be delivered from an eternity in hell. It was never just the gospel of personal, private salvation. The gospel has always been the good news that Jesus is overthrowing THE TYRANTS WHO USURPED ADAM’S THRONE, Satan, Sin, and Death to establish, righteousness, wholeness, shalom on earth. It takes just a few texts to make this clear: “And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM and healing every disease and every affliction among the people” (Mt 4:23). “Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM of God” (Lk 8:1). Not only do the gospel writers describe Jesus’ ministry as proclaiming the good news of the kingdom; they record Jesus, himself, describing his preaching ministry the same way: “He said to them, ‘I must preach the GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose’” (Lk 4:43). Furthermore, until Jesus returns his followers are to proclaim the good news of the kingdom: “And this GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Mt 24:14).
JESUS’ CLAIMED TO BE THE DIVINE MESSIANIC KING
It was not until his trial before Pilate that Jesus finally clearly admitted his kingship: “Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this purpose, I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world’” (Jn 18:37). It is fair to say that if Jesus had said this earlier in his ministry there would have been a revolt in Galilee against the Romans, because his followers misunderstood the nature of his kingdom. The OT prophets consistently made clear that Israel’s subjugation to foreign tyrants like Babylon or, in this case, Rome was not because they lacked MILITARY might but because they lacked the MORAL might to overcome their sinful rebellion against Yahweh. Indeed, Acts 1:7-8 seems to suggest that even after the resurrection, Jesus’ followers still did not understand which tyrants Christ’s kingdom was inaugurated to overthrow. They asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons… But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. The kingdom Jesus was focused upon was not a political or military one but his kingdom of righteousness spreading over earth through his ascension and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.
However, Jesus did frequently claim to have come from heaven to fill the kingly role assigned to humans. We just tend to miss it. He did this by calling himself the Son of Man, which was a term taken by Jesus from Daniel 7:13-14. Behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Dutch scholar Herman Ridderbos explains, “In this prophecy, as indeed in all Daniel’s visions, the universality and transcendent character of the coming king are very prominent.” He argues that “the coming of the Son of Man” (Mt 10:23) is synonymous with the “coming of the kingdom of God.” Thus, Jesus’ frequent reference to himself as The Son of Man is a claim to be the King of kings and Lord of lords, the messianic son of David and son of Adam who would recover Adam’s lost kingdom and establish The High King’s righteous rule over earth.
JESUS’ INTERPRETATION OF HIS OWN MISSION
Understanding that Jesus' mission was to overthrow Satan, Sin, and Death opens our eyes to understand his ministry. This king, who overthrows the corruption of the fallen order caused by Adam’s sin, demonstrates the arrival of the new order in all that he does. By his healing power, he shows that the kingdom of God reverses the curse on Adam’s race and kingdom brought about by their sin. The deaf hear, the blind see, the lame walk. Even destructive forces of nature are overpowered as the wind and waves obey the voice of Jesus. The curse upon them, because of Adam’s sin, is temporarily overcome by the command of earth’s rightful king. The second Adam empowers his disciples to heal and commands them to explain that such healing is a demonstration that the kingdom of God is near. He raises Jairus’ daughter from the dead, the widow’s son, and his friend Lazarus. In so doing, Jesus demonstrates more than his divine power; he is showing that he has come to overthrow the brokenness and havoc spread through all of creation by Satan, Sin, and Death. Every part of human culture and the created order are to be redeemed by his power and rule. The arrival of the new order brought to earth by King Jesus is further manifest by his power over Satan’s kingdom. Jesus empowers his disciples to show that the kingdom is near, by casting out demons. Jesus interprets his own mission to be the invasion of Satan’s kingdom. “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Lk 11:20).
In short, Jesus, the Second Adam, came to earth to overthrow the usurpers of Adam’s throne, Satan, Sin, and Death, claim Adam’s throne as his own and spread his kingdom of righteousness and restoration over every square inch of planet earth. Our mission is to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness because every true follower of Jesus enlists in Jesus’ cause. So our assignment from the Master is seeking to implement Christ’s kingdom of righteousness in every sphere or our lives—1) first in our heart allegiance to King Jesus, then 2) in demonstrating kingdom heart attitudes, i.e. becoming like Jesus, 3) in setting an intentional focus upon implementing Christ’s agenda in every sphere of our lives—in our role as husband, father, employee/employer, neighbor, church member, steward of resources, ambassador for the kingdom. The more we stay focused on this mission, the greater will be OUR JOY and JESUS’ HONOR when we walk across the stage on the Day of Christ.
Resource Used for this Episode: Discipling Men's Hearts Through Kingdom Theology, by Dr. Gary Yagel
For further prayerful thought:
- How would you try to persuade a brother in Christ that it was important to understand the full background behind the term kingdom of God?
- What stood out most to you about the parallel between the first Adam and the second Adam?
- The word gospel means good news. How is the good news of the kingdom, which Jesus taught and proclaimed, a richer concept than just saying the gospel is that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone?
- In what ways is our mission to spread “rightness and wholeness” (the kingdom of righteousness) over every square inch of the planet a compelling challenge? Are you ready to accept the challenge to pursue rightness—the agenda of Christ in every sphere of your life?
