The Kingdom of God

The Christian good news is a message of hope. The apostle Paul begins his first letter to Timothy with the words, "Christ Jesus our hope" (1 Tim 1.1). The apostle Peter says that if you are a Christian and if asked, you should give "the reason" not for the faith but "for the hope that you have." To live without hope is a terrible state. But that is the state of much of the world at the start of the 21st century - "without hope and without God in the world" as the Bible says (Ephesians 2.12). That is the condition of millions today.

Emile Durkeim was the father of modern sociology and majored on what he called anomie - a word from the Greek for lawlessness. Anomie is when individuals have no rules to guide them or morals to restrain them. And anomie, says Durkeim, is related to suicide - the ultimate form of human hopelessness. The modern world is seeing an increase in suicides. The World Health Organization tells us that in the last 45 years suicide rates have increased by 60 percent world wide. The greatest increase is among young people - those between 15-44. And modern anomie comes from an ideological "pluralism". That is when everything is tolerated except definite belief. So obviously hopelessness results. No wonder Dorothy Sayers wrote:

in the world it is called 'tolerance', but in Hell it is called 'despair' ... the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, enjoys nothing, lives for nothing and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.

That is why today, at the start of the 21st century, people need to learn about the Kingdom of God - our subject for this morning. For the Kingdom of God gives hope. So will you now turn to the first chapter of Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians. I particularly want to focus on those words in verse 5 - "the kingdom of God for which you are suffering".

And you'll see that my headings are first, FUTURE HOPE, and, secondly, PRESENT EXPERIENCE.

So first, FUTURE HOPE.

2 Thessalonians 1 answers three questions: one, is there a coming kingdom? two, if so, when will it come? and, three, why will it come? Let's go through these questions in some detail.

First, is there a coming future kingdom of God to look forward to? The answer is, Yes! The kingdom of God will come. Look at verse 5:

you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

That is a future tense. But you say, "Didn't the kingdom come with Jesus?" Yes and no. Let me explain. The Kingdom of God, according to the four Gospels, was a central theme of Jesus' preaching. Matthew, of course, uses the term "kingdom of heaven". But it means the same thing. Matthew was writing for Jews who preferred not to utter the word "God". Jesus taught the good news that the kingdom of God had begun here on earth for those who trusted and followed him. But it was not complete. He, Jesus, was the long awaited king of Old Testament prophecy. But he was not, as many expected, someone who would there and then defeat the secular power of Rome. No! He was a king who came to suffer and to die on a cruel cross for the forgiveness of sins.

Now, he is risen and enthroned. And from his throne he still comes to men and women by the personal presence of his Holy Spirit. However, one day he will come again, publicly and in glory. There will then be judgment as the kingdom of God is finally established. Those who are Christ's will then be with him and he with them for ever. That is the great Christian hope. You say, "but what is the proof?" Listen to these words of the apostle Peter:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pet 1.3).

The resurrection of Christ is the great proof as well as the great means to this new life. So the kingdom begins now but will come. But if that is so, when will it come?

That is our second question. Look at verse 7 and the second half:

This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.

This underlines what we have just said. It will come when Christ returns. You say, "I cannot believe all that!" But why not? It is always important to distinguish the unimaginable from the unbelievable. Of course no human can fully imagine what the end of all history will be like, when as the Bible says, there will be not nothing but a recreation - a "new heavens and a new earth". But it is quite believable. As with the beginning of all things it is unimaginable. But the bible uses imagery or pictures that are quite clear to steer our imaginations so that we believe what is true and not what is false. That was the way with the oriental mind. It spoke about the future in a pictorial way rather than in journalistic prose. So you mustn't be wooden in the way you interpret the Bible. As Article XX of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England says the church may not ... " so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another." Woodenness results either in rejecting parts that seem to contradict other parts or in a false harmonization. You must interpret scripture by scripture and as a whole. You must use the parts that are clear to interpret the parts that are unclear. This is particularly true with regard to Jesus teaching on the future and with regard to the book of Revelation.

When Jesus teaches that the ultimate fate of the wicked is described in terms of both fire and outer darkness, you say this must be imagery. For fire dispels darkness. But it is as clear as clear to the human imagination. You understand that it is something utterly dreadful.

Similarly when you read in the book of Revelation of God's people in heaven having their robes washed and "made white in the blood of the lamb", you say that too must be imagery. Blood does not make things white but red! But it is as clear as clear to the human imagination. You understand that the Cross of Christ will totally cleanse you from all your sins - including those sins that make you feel so dirty.

So when you Paul says that the kingdom will be fully established ..." when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels,"... you don't say, "I can't believe that." You say, this means that the Lord Jesus will come again personally. It will be the same Lord Jesus that lived, died, rose again and ascended.

And it will be a visible coming. At the moment he is ruling and reigning but out of sight. Then all will be fully "revealed" and seen. And it will be a glorious return. His first coming had been in weakness. His second coming will be in power and glory. Blazing fire is a biblical symbol of God's holy presence that consumes all that is evil. Christ's coming, therefore, will be personal, visible and glorious - somehow. And our imaginations have enough for faith.

So the kingdom will be fully established when Christ returns.

Thirdly, why will it come, or, why will Christ come?

Look at verses 8 - 10:

He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marvelled at among all those who have believed.

Negatively he will come to punish those ...

who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus" - verse 8.

And what will be this punishment? It is described in verse 9 as ...

everlasting destruction and [being] shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.

I haven't time to go into the Bible's teaching on Hell - this being "shut out from the presence of the Lord". All I shall say is that most of it comes from Jesus himself - the one who was the most loving, most compassionate and most caring person who ever lived. He taught that Hell was real because he cared for people. That is why he warned people. If something terrible is going to happen, as happened in Madrid last Thursday, the most loving action is to warn people if you have secret or inside knowledge. To fail to warn people is wicked and callous. So it was that Jesus warned, and warns, people of Hell. (If you want to think more about God's judgment, I was dealing with this subject on a Sunday evening in our series on Abraham, when I preached on Sodom and Gomorrah, under the title of A Crisis of Civilization - you can get that from the web or from the back of the church.)

But positively Christ came not to punish. He came, verse 10, "to be glorified in his holy people". That is the primary reason for his coming. Punishment is necessary. He comes again, however, not primarily to punish but "to be glorified in his holy people". Christ is glorified in his people now. Jesus said of his disciples:

I have given them the glory that you gave me" (John 17.22).

But that is a limited glory. This will be the full glory of Christ with a wonderful transformation. 1 John 3:2 says this:

what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

That is a great hope. Do you wonder if after death you will be able to recognize your loved ones and friends? Of course you will. For you will be like Christ - who recognized his disciples and called them by name. You will, indeed, be changed with a new body but without sin. As Paul told the Corinthians:

The trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed" (1 Cor 15.52).

And remember, these were the Corinthians to whom Paul had just said, in chapter 6 verses 9 - 11:

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

You see, some of these Corinthians were falling back into sin, as is clear form Paul's letter; so they would need to confess and be forgiven. But in the kingdom of God when Christ returns there will not only be no more pain but no more sin. For there will be no more temptation. The devil will have been finally put down Are you depressed by the way you still sin? Oh! it may not be sexual sin or financial sin - those sins of the Corinthians and of many people today. But you may be critical and negative and gossip. You may be mean and unkind and unhelpful. Or you know that too often you miss out on the fruit of the spirit -

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5.22).

Yes, you must work on all that now. The bible says you must "crucify" those sins of commission and omission - kill them, in as ruthless a manner as you can. That is what "crucify" means. But, however much you grow in grace, this side of Christ's return you will never become perfect. When Christ returns it will be different. You will be perfect. That is the good news. That is the great hope. Christ will be "glorified in" you - if you are a believer in him. Are you confident of one day being among Christ's "holy people" in whom "he comes to be glorified"? Look at verse 10 - the last part: " you believed our [Paul's] testimony to you". That is the secret of being confident - faith in Christ. For Paul's testimony was to the kingdom of God and to its King - Jesus Christ, the Lord. Christ is the one who gives you forgiveness now for sin, and new life for eternity by his Holy Spirit - if you trust him and ask him for what he offers. If you've never done that before, why not ask him this morning? I must move on and more briefly.

Secondly, the PRESENT EXPERIENCE of the kingdom of God.

In this interim period between Christ's two comings, the experience of the church that is working for the kingdom will be marked by suffering. Look at verse 5. It refers to "the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering." This is the consistent teaching of the Bible. The apostles taught the early Christians that

We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14.22).

God's people will suffer - not because God likes us to suffer but for our good. Sometimes it is to knock off our sinful rough edges; sometimes it is to strengthen our faith. And suffering was the experience of the Thessalonians. So Paul prays for them in verses 11 and 12 to stand true to their calling. But what form did suffering take for these Thessalonians? Well, they were under attack from three groups of people. And these people cause suffering or temptation in every age of the church. They still do today.

First, there were persecutors. People outside the church were attacking believers and trying to destroy their faith. Verse 4 refers to ...

all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

And Christians in the West today must expect more and more persecution. To help the churches that is why the Christian Institute is trying to fight this Gender Recognition Bill. If this goes through Parliament as it is, Christians will be criminalized for following their consciences. Already churches have been threatened and one taken to court over their response to transsexualism. It can be the same if you stand up for honesty as well as sexual morality. Last week an estate agent told me that they were asked to overvalue a house. Issues of sex and money will always be areas of temptation. When you stand firm, you may well be attacked.

Secondly, there were fanatics who were causing the Thessalonians trouble. Chapter 3 of 2 Thessalonians speaks about "idlers" in the church. Chapter 3 verse 6 says:

We command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle.

Many scholars think that these were people who believed the second coming was imminent, and so had given up work and, says Paul, were "busybodies" (2 Thessalonians 3.11). If so, these were people who were not interpreting scripture by scripture teaching. Jesus had made it clear that ...

no one knows about that day or hour [of his return], not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Mark 13.32).

So in the meantime his people were to be getting on with work and evangelism and not to be idle. The word to the disciples at Jesus' ascension was:

Men of Galilee ... why do you stand here looking into the sky?" (Acts 1.11).

The disciples were to get on with working for Christ. They were not to stand idle. Tragically, when there is an emphasis on the second coming, often there will be fanatics of various sorts who discredit this glorious hope.

Thirdly, there were false teachers. Look at chapter 2 verses 1-2:

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.

And there are people like that in the churches today. They say that there is no future hope. The kingdom of God has already come in all its fullness. What rubbish! Tell that to the people of Madrid. So do not be unsettled by such teaching. And don't be surprised when you hear it.

I must conclude.

The present will not be easy for Christian believers. There will be persecution. There will be fanatics. And there will be false teachers. But there is a wonderful future hope. God's kingdom will come, when Christ returns; and every believer will then be transformed by him and be for ever with the Lord.