024 Thy Kingdom Come Pt 3

Episode 24 – Thy Kingdom Come (Part 3)

In this episode of Holystic Christian Prayer, we continue our deep dive into the Lord’s Prayer by exploring the second petition: “Thy Kingdom Come.” Along the way, I reflect on how our worldviews—our assumptions about God, the world, and Scripture—quietly shape the way we read the Bible, the way we pray, and even the way we live our faith day to day.

I take a close look at the connection between the Kingdom of God and the Holy Spirit, explore the debated translation of Luke 17:21, and explain why I believe the phrase “the kingdom of God is within you” carries important theological depth. My goal isn’t just to examine Greek words or scholarly debates but to show how our interpretations can influence how we understand God’s Kingdom and what we’re really asking for when we pray.

Ultimately, this episode invites us to reconsider what it means to pray “Thy Kingdom Come”—not as a distant future hope alone, but as a prayer for God’s rule to take deeper hold in our hearts, our lives, and the world around us.

Links:

Support Page

John Piper on the Holy Spirit and God’s Kingdom

Basics of Greek

Reasonable Faith on the Millennium

Transcript

Speaker 0:25

Welcome back to Holistic Christian Prayer. This is your host, Nickolas Meinerz, and if you've been following this podcast for a while, then you're aware that we are doing an in-depth study of the Lord's Prayer line by line. I want to apologize again for my delay in getting this episode out. As I was wrapping up the previous episode, I came down with a cold. I don't recover quickly when I get sick, and even though I had most of my next episode written, I was led to revise substantial portions for clarity. This is one of the most important episodes I've ever created, and I'm excited to release it.

Introducing “Thy Kingdom Come”

What Is God’s Kingdom Really?

Speaker 1:01

The next episode won't be as technical, and I think you can reasonably expect it to be published within the next two to three weeks, but I'll see if I can get something out sooner. One final thing before we get started. I want to thank the person who responded to my request for some financial aid. They left a nice message in French for me saying for something nice. It was interesting and ironic to see the message be in French, but the username to be in Greek. I speak a little French, and I speak almost no modern day Greek, so I'm not sure how to pronounce it and give them a shout out. So I'll just say merci beaucoup, and I'm grateful to anyone who donates to my Buy Me a Coffee page, the link will be in the show notes, blah blah blah. Alright, let's go on. In episode twenty two, we looked at the first of the seven petitions found in the Lord's Prayer, and in this episode we will begin discussing the second petition, thy kingdom come. Thy kingdom come? But to where? I have to admit when I first read this part of the Lord's Prayer, I found myself imagining some silly things. To me, a kingdom is a place, a realm or a territory where a king rules as the ultimate authority over all the lands of his kingdom. It's not like some large castle that suddenly springs legs and relocates. So it can't go anywhere. Right? Well, human kingdoms are tied to places. True. But God's kingdom is not like human kingdoms. As we saw in episode twenty two, Satan's kingdom is as close to the opposite of God's kingdom as you can get. And his kingdom wasn't even his originally. It was ours. Obviously, when we are praying thy kingdom come, we are talking about God's kingdom. So we are praying for God's kingdom to come. But there has been some disagreement as to in what sense God's kingdom is to come. There are lots of additional questions that arise when you ask a simple question like that. Is it a physical place? Is it a spiritual place, like heaven? Can the kingdom be seen in any sense? What is the kingdom of God like? Is it a reclamation of the earth from Satan by us or by God? How does the kingdom of God come? Remember how in the last episode I talked about how people have different interpretations or theologies about things? Well, this phrase in the Lord's Prayer is somewhat contentious, and there is no shortage of varying answers to those questions. I think the smartest way to go about this is by starting where everyone agrees. The Holy Spirit is inseparable from the kingdom of God. Due to this fact, how you translate Luke chapter 17 verse 21 will be central to this discussion. Before we dive deep into that passage and what it means, let's look at some passages about the kingdom of God and the Holy Spirit. You may be wondering, why are we going to talk about Luke chapter 17 verse 21 so much? What does it have to do with the Lord's Prayer? And with this phrase, thy kingdom come. Well it's because of what I said earlier. Most theologian scholars agree that the kingdom of God and the Holy Spirit are inseparable from one another. And well, it's somewhat rare for those theologian scholars to fully agree on much of anything. So if they agree on this point, we should pay attention and start there.

Kingdom And Spirit: Core Link

Speaker 4:40

Even if you don't come to share my point of view on the kingdom of God, you can study this topic again on your own and use this point of agreement among scholars as a solid first step. We're going to be looking at a number of passages related to the inter-connectedness between the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of God. Let's start by looking at some quotes from a message given by John Piper back in 2005 entitled The Kingdom of God is Righteousness and Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit. You can find the article in the show notes. He makes four points that not all theologians would agree upon, but what he said is so similar to my own views that I thought to share it. His fourth point is so straightforward that I won't even address it. Not really. God's kingdom is Christ's kingdom. I see nothing to elaborate on there with that. His message is centered on the text of Romans chapter fourteen, verses sixteen through nineteen, which says" So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding."

Speaker 6:03

Here's what Piper says the kingdom is and isn't. Here's his first point.

Speaker 6:09

"This is the only place in the book of Romans where Paul uses the word kingdom, but he uses it elsewhere and we can know what he means by kingdom of God. Four clarifications one first he means the reign of God, not the realm of God. We tend to think of a kingdom as a place, but for Jesus and for Paul, it almost never has that meaning. Rather, it means the reign or the rule of God. You can see that here, where the Holy Spirit is bringing about righteousness and peace and joy, the kingdom, that is the reign of God, is being manifested."

Speaker 6:52

By the way, when he's saying reign it's not R A I N, it's R E I G N, like King, a king that reigns. Anyway, just thought I should point that out. But aha! I was right to laugh at my mental image of a castle growing legs and relocating when thinking about the kingdom of God. This is probably the most important point in the entire episode, so listen carefully here. And I'm going to repeat it many times, so I apologize about that. The kingdom of God isn't about a place like some castle built in a particular land, but about God's reign. The kingdom of God is about his rule. It's about his reign. We will see more evidence of this first fact later on when we hear what Jesus says about his kingdom to Pontius Pilate.

Piper’s Points On The Kingdom

Speaker 7:41

So now we know that when we pray thy kingdom come to our Father, we're asking God to bring his rule or reign to earth in some way. Naturally, of course, theologians disagree about the nature of this ruling or reigning. Is it about God reigning spiritually? Or is it about God ruling on earth? How involved are Christian believers? Or are they not involved at all in bringing God's kingdom to earth? We will consider some of those questions in a little bit. For now, know that God's kingdom is not about a place, but about God's rule, and that the Holy Spirit is at the center of that kingdom. Piper even puts things fairly emphatically here saying," Where the Holy Spirit is bringing about righteousness and peace and joy, the kingdom, that is, the reign of God, is being manifested." Let's move on to his next point. Quote two.

Speaker 8:39

"The kingdom of God refers to his saving reign, not to his total providence over all things. In one sense, God reigns over all, so you could call everything God's kingdom. But that is clearly not the way Paul uses the term. The kingdom of God is God's redemptive reign, his saving reign. When Jesus said to pray, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, Matthew chapter six, verses nine through ten, he meant that the coming of the kingdom would be the extent of God's rule, where his name is hallowed, and his will is done the way angels do it, obediently and joyfully. So the kingdom of God is God's reign, not realm, and it is his saving, redeeming reign, bringing about the hallowing of his name and the joyful doing of his will."

Speaker 9:39

It's really nice of Piper to connect his second point to our text, isn't it? His second point in effect is that God's reign or kingdom is redemptive in nature. I liked a couple of the things he said here. I think I've always just naturally assumed that since God made everything, and since he is everywhere and all powerful, that everything falls into the category of God's kingdom. In a sense, this is still true. God has authority over everything by nature of who he is.

Speaker 10:14

Maybe you've heard from procedural cop shows or from a superb 90s paranormal TV show like The X-Files. Cops or agents speaking about who has the jurisdiction in some place. That's just cop talk for who's got authority in this particular place. This isn't a matter of God's jurisdiction. This isn't about where God has the right or authority to do something, or to command someone to do something in any particular place. Whereas cops and agents get their jurisdiction from whatever state they operate in, no one has to give God jurisdiction. He is the highest authority in every place, so there is no place where he does not operate as sovereign. His jurisdiction is the whole universe, and so in a sense, as king over all things, his love and control or providence extends to all things. This is what Psalm chapter one hundred and three, verse nineteen says.

Speaker 11:15

"The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all."

Speaker 11:20

But as Piper said, quote, in one sense God's kingdom reigns over all, so you could call everything God's kingdom, but that is clearly not the way Paul uses the term, end quote. Nor is it the way I think of God's kingdom now. I also like his summary of Matthew chapter six verses nine through ten, where he says, "He meant that the coming of the kingdom would be the extent of God's rule where his name is hallowed, and his will is done the way angels do it, obediently and joyfully."

Reign Not Realm: A Key Shift

Speaker 11:54

Thinking of God's kingdom as rule or reign rather than as a realm or a place will be very helpful when we pray that kingdom come. We're basically asking God to make our obedience and reverence of him like that of the angels in heaven, total and joyful. I think I mostly agree with his second point, but I'd maybe word it a little bit different. I agree that there is a redemptive element to God's kingdom, but I'm not sure that I'd say that God's kingdom refers to his redemptive reign so narrowly. I think I'd rather say that the world and all its people have been damaged by sin. God didn't make things to be broken, he made them to be perfect. It's always been God's desire to mend and heal not just the secondary wounds of sin upon creation, but to restore our spiritual relationship with Him. I'd rather say that God is a redeemer and a restorer of things and people. When God's kingdom comes to earth through the Holy Spirit, the result is that healing and redemption follows. As more and more people pray this prayer, and as more and more people live in obedience to God, not only are people being redeemed from sin and death, but God's name is hallowed by them, joyfully doing his will. However, God's kingdom doesn't just redeem sinful people. It plays a few roles in other areas too. More on that later. Let's go on to Piper's third point. Point three.

Speaker 13:23

" The kingdom of God is fulfilled partially in the present and will be consummated at the end of the age when Christ comes a second time. Paul speaks of unbelievers not inheriting the kingdom of God, and so treats the kingdom as yet future. But then he also says to believers that he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, and so treats the kingdom as already present."

Speaker 13:57

This is known as the already and not yet idea, motif, or theme. This is a recurring theme in many biblical topics. It's important for us to take note of this already and not yet theme because it can influence the way we will read passages concerning entering or inheriting the kingdom of God. Part of the reason so many of us struggle to understand the Bible is that we modern people tend to try to understand things one dimensionally, or to prefer one answer over two or more answers. Much of the Bible, however, is often intended to be understood in more than one way. Part of that is because many of the authors of the Bible were Jewish, and the Hebrew language makes full use of double meanings, figurative language, imagery, and poetic structures known as parallelisms. Even when authors in the New Testament wrote down their books in Greek, they retained their Hebraic style. Therefore, it is often intended for a text to be understood in at least two ways, rather than just one.

Speaker 15:06

The parables of Jesus, for instance, many of which are about the kingdom of God, by the way, are deliberately constructed to be understood in at least two ways. Oftentimes those that heard Jesus' parables understood them in a superficial way, but their deeper meanings had to be explained by Jesus to his disciples later on. For example, the parables of the sower and the parable of the weeds found in Matthew 13, verses 1 through 9, and then in verses 24 through 30, are parables about the kingdom of God. Scholars largely agree that kingdom of heaven is Matthew's way of respecting God's name and that it's equivalent to kingdom of God. So don't be thrown off by that small difference.

Speaker 15:53

Most who heard the parable were able to understand the agricultural picture Jesus was creating for them, but not the spiritual significance of it. Even the disciples had to ask for an explanation in verses 18 through 23 for the parable of the sower, and then again for the explanation of the parable of the weeds in verses 24 through 30 in that same chapter. In a similar way, this concept that Piper brings up already and not yet is meant to be understood in more than one way. In one sense, the kingdom of God has already come, in another sense it is presently coming, and yet in another sense it hasn't yet come. So which one is right? Is the kingdom here coming now or not yet? Yes, it is here, it is coming, and it has not yet come.

Speaker 16:45

The key is to understand that all three are right, and not contradictory. Piper says that the kingdom of God is fulfilled partially in the present and will be consummated when Jesus returns. First, the kingdom of God has already come in the person of Jesus. Second, the kingdom is coming to the earth by the work of the Holy Spirit. Third, the fullness of God's kingdom, where evil is dealt with, where sin, Satan, and death are defeated, and where believers live in God's immediate presence face to face has not yet come. They are all true. But if you insist on understanding things in one way only, you will, like many who heard the parables, come away thinking that Jesus was merely telling you about gardening and harvesting, or that God's kingdom has an evil rival gardener.

Already And Not Yet Explained

Speaker 17:39

Back to Piper's points about what God's kingdom is and isn't. He mentions that he believes that Paul considers the kingdom of God as something that in the future unbelievers will not inherit. But he also seems to speak of God's kingdom as a place that believers have already been transferred to. So it's something to inherit later by believers, but it's somehow also a place we have been transferred to already? If you're confused, don't worry, I'll help you clarify what this means, even when Scripture seems to use spatial language to talk about God's kingdom as something we enter. As we will see, Scripture often seems to use spatial language to speak about God's kingdom as something we enter. When this happens, we need to slow down and ask how that language is functioning. Earlier, I had asked the question if God's kingdom is a place. Well, yes and no. And that's not a contradiction. It is not a place yet, but we will be taken to a place that Jesus is preparing for us in God's house in heaven. Some people debate whether we are taken somewhere else, or if God will restore the earth, or if God will make all new heavens and earth. Depending on your theology of eschatology, or theology of the last things, God's kingdom eventually expands to encompass the entire earth. The " last things" is some Christianese for end of the world theology. It's all about the ultimate destiny of humanity, and is involved with Jesus' return, the resurrection of the dead, judgment of the world, the millennium, something we might discuss in future episodes, and the creation of the new heavens and earth.

Speaker 19:28

It's when Jesus returns for the second time that he will gather all his believers and bring them to their new eternal dwelling with God. We see this in John chapter 14, verses 1 through 3, where he says,

Speaker 19:41

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe in me as well. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into my presence, so that you also may be where I am."

Speaker 20:06

So in terms of this final and eternal home with God, free of sin and death and illness and all evil, the kingdom of God has not yet come. Piper also mentions Paul's words in Colossians chapter one, verse thirteen, where he says something interesting about God's kingdom. It says,

Speaker 20:28

"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son."

Speaker 20:34

Wait a second, I thought we just said that God's kingdom isn't a place, at least not yet. What's all this about God transferring us to the kingdom of his beloved son? That kind of language implies physical relocation, doesn't it? It sounds that way. It also sounds like this is something that already happened, given that Paul uses past tense words like delivered instead of is delivering us, and words like transferred us instead of is transferring us, or will transfer us. But if you can resist the urge to think of God's kingdom in just one sense everywhere you find it mentioned in the Bible, it will be easier to make sense of this passage. A key phrase in this text are the words domain of darkness.

Entering And Inheriting The Kingdom

Speaker 21:19

In the Bible, domain refers to the authority, rule, or territory, where someone exercises control over something or someone. God's domain is over everything, as we saw when discussing his jurisdiction over everything. Originally, our domain was the earth, and we were meant to rule it, subdue it, and care for all life on it. Our domain was stolen and is now ruled by Satan. In all these senses that I just spoke of, domains are being thought of as places, but God's kingdom isn't a place. If we aren't talking about a place here, In Colossians chapter 1, verse 13, then in what sense are we being delivered out of the domain of darkness and transferred to Jesus' kingdom? It's in the sense of rule and authority. God delivered us out of Satan's kingdom, delivered us from his power and rule over us, and has placed us under the power and authority of Jesus. This passage, rather than describing physical movement from one place to another, underscores a spiritual reality that God has freed us from Satan's power and his authority to keep us enslaved to him. To put it simply, God has deposed Satan as our tyrannical ruler, broke his power over us, and set Jesus over us as the one true king. It's describing a change of rulership, and it declares who has authority over us. God already accomplished this for believers in Christ on the cross, and so it can be said that we are already in the kingdom of God in this sense. We have him brought to the kingdom already in terms of whose rule we are now under. It's a present reality as Christians live in obedience, and therefore the kingdom of God has already come, is here, and has not yet come. This is just one example of this kind of motif in Scripture. So we can understand passages like Colossians 1 verse 13, that they aren't describing movement through space, but describe a transfer of authority from one ruler to another. There are many other passages that speak of people entering or not entering God's kingdom.

Speaker 23:49

There are also some passages that speak of inheriting the kingdom of God and not inheriting the kingdom of God. They often seem to refer to God's kingdom as a place, such as Matthew 7, verse 21, John 3, and 1 Corinthians 6 verses 9 through 11. In cases like these, I believe the authors are speaking of our final and eternal dwelling with God in His house. That place is being made. We have not yet gone there, and entry seems conditional on obedience, at least in part, because obviously we are accepted by God through Christ's sacrifice on the cross, and yet obedience is still an integral part to this whole system.

Born Of The Spirit or Not At All

Speaker 24:36

And while salvation is 100% accomplished through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, there is still a sense in which believers are expected a certain degree of obedience in order to be in this final resting place. So it's not a merit-based thing, but there is still an element of obedience in this whole Christian system. So just keep that in mind. As John chapter 3, verse 5 makes clear, however, no one can enter God's kingdom unless they have been born of water and spirit. Indeed, chapter 8 of Romans makes it crystal clear that without the Holy Spirit, you cannot be spiritually reborn. You cannot please God, you cannot obey God's commandments, Romans chapter 8, verses 6 through 8, and therefore you cannot enter God's kingdom. I recommend reading the whole chapter, as it is very thorough in explaining our transference to God's kingdom and the vital role the Holy Spirit plays in our daily lives and our ultimate destination in heaven. Again, read this whole chapter, but hear what it says in verses nine through seventeen. "You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who rise Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God, for you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of Adoption as sons, by whom we cry Abba Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."

Speaker 27:08

Notice what it says about the Spirit. The Spirit dwells in individual believers. If you don't have the Holy Spirit, you don't belong to Jesus or His kingdom. Living according to the flesh leads to death, but living according to the Spirit leads to life. That's a bit of Christianese for saying if you obey simply the desires of your flesh, which are sinful, if you just follow whatever first comes to mind, you just follow the way that the rest of the world lives, that's going to lead to spiritual death. That's just Christianese for that. To say another way, you know, to give you a different Christianese translation, it basically means that you need the Holy Spirit in order to stop obeying sinful desires, obey God, and therefore please him. So hopefully that makes it a little bit clearer. It's only by the Spirit that you can put to death your fleshly desires, the sinful desires.

Why Luke 17:21 Matters

Speaker 28:07

The Spirit of God leads us, he is received by us, adopts us into God's family as sons and daughters, and gives us the right to call God our Father and know him closely. The Holy Spirit confirms our adoption to our spirits as fellow heirs with Jesus, on the condition we suffer with him. We can get into that topic a little bit later. What does it mean to suffer for him? You know, how does that play into your daily life? We'll talk about that maybe in a future episode. Are you starting to see why theologians agree that the Holy Spirit is central to God's kingdom? So much hinges on his power and daily involvement in the life of the believer. If it weren't for the Spirit of God dwelling in believers, none of us could live in obedience to God, be adopted into his family, or break free of the powers of sin in the dominion of darkness that Satan rules, aka the earth. In fact, the Holy Spirit even assists us in our prayers. That's a huge comfort to me when I feel like all I know how to say is God, please help me. Listen to Romans chapter eight verses twenty six through thirty. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, and he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God, and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers, and those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. It's good to know that even when I don't have the words the Holy Spirit understands and intercedes for me to God the Father saying, This is what he means. The way that the Holy Spirit understands my needs perfectly is especially comforting. Anytime you share something with a human person, there's always the chance that they will misunderstand you, or that they will fail to use gracious words or say things in a way that makes you feel worse rather than better. That almost never happens with the Holy Spirit unless he's trying to convict you on some sin, and on top of that, the Holy Spirit asks the Father for exactly what you need. The Holy Spirit also perfectly understands the mind of God because he is God. So he knows how to make intercession for you in a way that God will receive and respond to. I hope this is likewise a comfort for you to know. Let's look at another passage about the Holy Spirit in Galatians chapter five, verses sixteen through twenty four.

Speaker 31:21

"But I say walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh, for the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against such things there is no law, and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

Speaker 32:30

The only way you can put to death the list of the works of the flesh in verses nineteen through twenty two is to walk by the Spirit. That's again Christianese for obeying God's Spirit within us rather than our own desires. Without the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, you are without the power and will needed to overcome temptation and live in obedience to God's commandments. It's not just hard to do, it's impossible to do. I'm not overstating things here, even though it might kind of sound like it. Listen to what Romans chapter eight, verses five through eight says.

Speaker 33:13

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Okay, so maybe you think this is all very interesting, but you're not convinced yet that the Holy Spirit is so integral to God's kingdom and want more textual backing? I got you. How about some direct words from Jesus Himself? Let's look at John chapter three verses three. Jesus replied Truly, truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. How can a man be born when he is old? Nicodemus asked. Can he enter his mother's womb a second time to be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. Flesh is born of the flesh, but spirit is born of the spirit. Did not be amazed that I said you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the spirit."

Grammar Deep Dive In Koine Greek

Speaker 34:56

Did you catch that? Jesus said in no uncertain terms that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. We are spiritually dead, not just dying, but dead. We need a living spirit to give us life anew in our spirit. Our bodies and all our human efforts can never restart our spiritual hearts, renew our fallen minds, or help us obey God's commandments. Only God's Spirit can do these things. I think at this point we have enough to go on to begin looking at Luke 17, verse 21. Anytime you are translating from one language to another, you will have to make decisions about how to understand it. Often, there aren't word for word matches between two languages, or the sentence structure in one language doesn't match the other. Or certain words have a plurality of meanings, and so the translators are forced to make an educated decision on which meaning was intended by the author. With biblical Greek, known as Koine Greek, we sometimes have all three problems involved. In biblical Greek, the placement of the subject isn't fixed, and the word order is flexible. Instead, translators rely on other details in the text to understand who or what the subject is and what they're doing by examining other parts of the text such as case endings.

Speaker 36:34

Case endings in Greek are suffixes or endings added to nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and participles to indicate their grammatical role in a sentence. For those who don't regularly study grammar, let alone Greek grammar, these case endings basically help the translator understand who is the subject, what is the object, what the action is, how many people or things are being talked about, and in what manner is the action being done. In English we have many words that have multiple meanings, but it is both the context and the rules of English grammar that give it meaning. Just look at the word run, for example.

Speaker 37:17

What does the word mean? If I asked you that, you'd probably scratch your head and you'd say, in what context? Run can mean moving faster than walking or jogging. It can mean it's operating, as in a refrigerator running. It can mean run, as in run for office, and many other things. It's the context and grammatical rules that tell us what our English words mean, and it's the same in biblical Greek. In English, word order is vital, and it matters a lot where we place a subject of a sentence. But it's not the same in biblical Greek. In English, if we say dog bites man, the order of the words indicates that it is the dog biting the man. It would be a very different sentence if we change the word order to be man bites dog. The word order tells us who is doing what.

Speaker 38:15

In Greek, you can have the order of the literal words be man bites dog or dog bites man, but instead of the word order determining the meaning, it's the case endings that tell us what's going on. Similar to English, in Greek, the context can also help us in determining meanings of words in translation. I'd like to share what is perhaps a very short and basic example, but it illustrates why we can't rely on instincts of our native languages when translating or interpreting ancient Greek. This isn't an example of Luke 17 just yet, it's merely meant to show why we can't rely on our English word order or the word order of any other language to help us answer questions related to translating ancient Greek. So here's my example.

Speaker 39:03

In Greek, dog bites man would be Dacne Kunun anera, and man bites dog would be aner dokne kunun. In both sentences, the word dachne means bite, and kunun means dog, but it is the ending of the word anera that tips us off to who is doing what. Aner in the normative sense means man, as in the English sentence, dog bites man. In order to say that it's the man that bites the dog in Biblical Greek, the word for man, aner, becomes the word anera in the accusative sense. What that basically means is it's the suffix or the ending of the word aner to anera that changes the meaning of the sentence from dog bites man to man bites dog. If all that went over your head or bored you to tears, I don't blame you. I just wanted you to be aware that translating ancient Greek is tough.

“Within You” Or “Among You”?

Speaker 40:07

In addition to all these grammatical differences and translating problems, people also bring their own theological and philosophical worldviews into their approach to translation. That's why I took the time last episode to explain how our personal theologies and philosophies can color the way we interpret and understand Scripture. And that's what we are running into in this contentious passage of Luke chapter 17, verse 21. The contentious part is the last line where it says, The kingdom of God is in the midst of you. Other translations such as the New King James Version and the American Standard Version both translate this line as the kingdom of God is within you. Obviously, there is a fairly big difference between the two, so what's the deal with the differences? I'll tell you about the problem first, and then I'll tell you why I don't think it's as big of a problem as it first appears. It all comes down to whether you translate a Greek word as within or among or in your midst. The actual Greek word itself, pronounced entos, literally means within or inside, according to Strong's Greek dictionary. It's the same word Jesus uses in Matthew chapter 23, verse 26, where Jesus is referring to cleaning the inside of a cup. So why then do most modern translators translate this phrase as the kingdom of God is in the midst of you, or as the kingdom of God is among you? It's because if you translate it as within you, it implies something that seems theologically unlikely, depending on how you translate the Greek of important passages about the kingdom, like Luke 17, verse 21. So far, all that we've said about the Holy Spirit and the kingdom of God becomes sharply focused around a single saying of Jesus. Luke 17, verse 21 has been translated in noticeably different ways, and those differences subconsciously shape where people imagine the kingdom of God is found. Before we examine those translations in detail, let's simply read the passage itself. And just so we have a bit more context, I'll begin reading from verse 20 of chapter 17 and read through to verse 21. I usually use ESV in my translation, in my studies, so that's what I'll be using here. Listen carefully to the final line of Jesus' answer because everything that follows hinges upon how that phrase is translated and understood. It says,

Speaker 42:54

"Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them. Nor will they say, Look, here it is, or there, for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. Let me just say from the very beginning that I usually agree with how modern translators convert the biblical Greek to English. But there are certain places, such as this passage, where I don't. I recognize that I'm no biblical scholar, but I feel that I understand enough to make a decent argument. Even if you end up disagreeing with me, which you're free to do, please don't do so simply because I have no degree or plaque on my wall. I also don't think it makes a huge difference whether you read it as within you or as in your midst, ultimately. I think there are good linguistic reasons as well as theological reasons to leave the text unaltered as within you. Allow me at this time to present my nerd card. Heads up, it's about to get super nerdy. Even nerdier than it's been so far. You've been warned.

Speaker 44:15

Remember that in verse 20, we're told that it's the Pharisees who are asking Jesus when the kingdom of God would come. Just like us, they had theologies of things too. They were anticipating the kingdom of God coming to them on earth, and many Jews hoped at that time that God's kingdom and the Messiah would overthrow the Roman government. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead and taught strict obedience to the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, as well as oral tradition. They saw religious oral tradition to have equal authority with written scripture, a fact that Jesus and the Pharisees firmly disagreed about. Just as one example, check out on your own God's commandment to support one's parents in Exodus twenty, verse twelve, and the Pharisees' oral tradition of Corban or Corbin, which allowed people to dedicate their resources to God to avoid supporting their parents.

Speaker 45:19

Jesus was quite clear that they were elevating their human oral laws over God's laws, and we see this in Mark chapter 7 verses 9 through 13, which I encourage you to read on your own. Now the Pharisees were an influential sect within Judaism during Jesus' ministry. They were mostly middle class businessmen and leaders of synagogues who strongly emphasized personal piety, which is always a good thing. Although they were a minority, they had significant influence on the Sanhedrin, which was the Jewish court that eventually called for the Roman government to crucify Jesus for blasphemy.

Jesus Before Pilate: Not Of This World

Speaker 46:01

Later on the Sanhedrin asked Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor set over Judea, to examine Jesus. They do this because they accuse Jesus of blasphemy, but they neither have the evidence to condemn him, nor the legal authority to put him to death. So they lie and say that Jesus was claiming to be the king of the Jews, as in an earthly king, but he wasn't doing that. Such a claim would have been viewed as sedition by the Romans, and the penalty for that crime was often crucifixion. Only the Romans were allowed to carry out capital punishment, and so the Sanhedrin hoped the Romans would put him to death. Now pay attention to what Pilate asks and what Jesus says in John eighteen verses thirty three through thirty eight. "So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answered, Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world. Then Pilate said to him, So you are a king? 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 to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. Pilate said to him, What is t ruth?"

Speaker 47:56

Did you hear that? My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would be fighting, but my kingdom is not from the world. The whole reason why Pilate finds no fault in him is precisely because Jesus isn't claiming to be an earthly king, and so he isn't a threat to Roman rule. Jesus is king of a kingdom, but not an earthly one. Jesus underscores this fact when he says that if his kingdom were an earthly one, his servants would fight for him just like any other earthly king. Now that we've worked through the linguistic tension and observed the context of this phrase, let's take this understanding back to the contentious Luke chapter 17, 21 verse.

Speaker 48:48

It's the opponents of Jesus who are asking him about when the kingdom of God would come. If you take the Greek word entos and translate it as within or inside, this creates theological issues. For one thing, the kingdom of God and the Holy Spirit are closely connected, as we've already said. Jesus doesn't even begin his ministry proclaiming the coming of God's kingdom until after he is baptized by the Holy Spirit in Mark chapter one, verse ten. Moreover, Jesus points to the fact that if the Holy Spirit does things like cast out demons, it's an evidence that the kingdom of God has come. Look what Jesus says in Matthew twelve, verse twenty-eight.

Speaker 49:35

"If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."

Speaker 49:42

The problem is the Holy Spirit doesn't permanently come to live within believers until after Pentecost, which is after Jesus' death and resurrection. And the Pharisees, who sought to kill him, could hardly be called believers. So modern translators today think it's unlikely that Jesus here is saying that the Holy Spirit is within the Pharisees. And I'd have to agree with that. As we saw earlier, if you don't have the Holy Spirit, you don't have the kingdom of God. So basically the argument goes, Jesus wouldn't have used the words the kingdom of God is within you to the Pharisees, because it would imply that these Pharisees, the opponents of Jesus, have the Holy Spirit within them. Obviously, that doesn't gel theologically with what we know of the Holy Spirit and these Pharisees.

Speaker 50:34

The other way this word gets translated is as in your midst or among you. This could make sense if we consider the fact that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. In addition to Jesus being God in the flesh, Jesus could easily say that the kingdom of God was among the Pharisees because he had the Holy Spirit within himself. So whether you think Jesus is talking about himself or the Holy Spirit, the translators say it makes more sense for this to be translated as in your midst or among you rather than within you. I personally think that while in your midst or among you makes sense in a way, I think within you makes more sense. For one thing, I really don't like when translators take a word that has a straightforward meaning like in you or within and contort it to mean something else unless they have no other choice and give good supportive reasons for doing so.

Luke’s Word Choice: Entos

Speaker 51:35

I don't think that the issue of the Pharisees asking the question is enough of a problem to completely change the words. I have a couple of reasons for thinking this. Let's start with textual reasons. First of all, in biblical Greek Koine Greek, they use different words to convey the ideas of in the midst of and among. Anytime you read a book of the Bible, it's important to note the way that biblical authors use certain words, and pay attention to the patterns in their usage. Now if Luke, the author of this gospel where this verse comes from, wanted to convey the idea of in the midst of or among, he would have used en meso. This phrase is made up of the Greek words en which is a preposition that means in, on, at, by, with, among, and the word meso, which means middle, midst or among. So why didn't Luke use this Greek phrase? Well, it turns out he did use it seven times, just not here in Luke chapter seventeen, verse twenty one. He used en mesos in places like chapter two verse forty six, chapter eight, verse seven, chapter ten, verse three, chapter eighteen verse two, chapter twenty one, verse twenty one, chapter two verse twenty seven, chapter twenty two verse fifty six, and chapter twenty four verse thirty six. It's a lot, I know. If you look closely at each one of those places, the idea of among or in the midst fits very neatly into those passages. What I mean is when you read it, it's pretty obvious that in the midst of or among fits those situations, and there's no problems contextually. Luke was a very careful author and is often noted to be a physician in the Gospels. He was a stickler for details.

Speaker 53:36

The oldest Greek copy fragment we have containing this verse Luke 17, is known as papyrus seventy five and uses the word entos in this place, which again means within, not among or in the midst. If Luke had intended to say the kingdom of God is among you, he would have used the phrase en meso, but he doesn't. Instead he uses entos, meaning literally within. So what we have here is some very deliberate word choice by Luke, the author, that I don't think we should mess with. Rather, we should take him at his word and adjust our understanding rather than the words of God.

Speaker 54:25

Secondly, at least some of Jesus' disciples must have been with him to overhear and record this exchange between him and the Pharisees. This means that it's at least possible that while he was addressing the Pharisees initially, he was also teaching his disciples and any other believers gathered around him at the same time. I think that this is probable because Jesus immediately turns around and addresses his disciples concerning the waning days of the Son of Man, which is a title that he claims for himself. He answers the Pharisees, look, the kingdom of God isn't what you think, it's already here, and it's something that happens on the inside of you. And then he turns to his disciples to explain that soon the Son of Man, himself Jesus, will go away, but one day come back. He then makes a contrast. He says to the Pharisees, You won't be able to see the kingdom of God coming. But then to his disciples he says, When I come back, it won't be a secret thing like the kingdom of God. When I come back, everyone will know, and it'll be just as obvious as lightning flashing from one end of the sky to the other.

Speaker 55:41

While you couldn't say of the Pharisees that the Holy Spirit was in them or the disciples permanently at that point, the Holy Spirit was within Jesus. It's also of note that at this point in time the Holy Spirit has been active among his disciples already, as seen in Matthew chapter 10, which is chronologically prior to this exchange. In that passage, Jesus sends out his twelve apostles to preach with authority and the power to heal. In verse 1 of Matthew chapter 10, it states that Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal every disease and every affliction.

Speaker 56:25

If his disciples could cast out demons, or unclean spirits, and heal diseases and afflictions, I think that this is evidence of the Holy Spirit within Jesus' disciples, and evidence of the kingdom of God within them. So in addition to himself, the Holy Spirit has been in the disciples up to this point, and Jesus could be referring to that idea even as he answers the Pharisees. The answer Jesus gives isn't literally true of the Pharisees, but it is of Jesus and perhaps of his disciples. Jesus is correcting them about where the kingdom of God is. It's not external, but internal. Back to Matthew chapter ten. Here the Holy Spirit is referred to a little differently. Verses twenty to twenty one says

Speaker 57:15

"When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

Disciples, Spirit, And Early Signs

Speaker 57:31

Don't let the name of God's Spirit throw you off. He has many names, such as the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father, simply the Spirit, and even the Spirit of Jesus, among several other names. So clearly the Holy Spirit has been upon or within the disciples prior to this discussion with the Pharisees. Little distinction here. I readily admit, however, that the Holy Spirit is not yet in them in the same way that he is after Pentecost, which is after Jesus returns to life from the dead, he spends some time with his disciples, and then the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside of the believers. It's not the same. When he sends them out as the 70 or as the twelve, when he sends out the twelve to cast out demons and heal people, it's not the same. The Holy Spirit is on them for a time and then leaves. And so I do make that distinction, but at least the Holy Spirit's been active and within, or at least upon the disciples at that point. So I just want to make sure it's clear that some scholars would argue this point. And in fact, some theologians do distinguish between the Holy Spirit empowering people, such as when the Spirit of God is said to come upon someone for a time, and indwelling, which is internal to a person and is permanent. I think that's fair. And we see examples of the Spirit coming upon certain kings and certain leaders only temporarily, such as in the book of Judges. So even if you exclude the earlier involvement of the Holy Spirit with his disciples, Jesus still could be speaking of the Holy Spirit within himself. Thus the translation of within you could be Jesus correcting the Pharisees about where generally the Spirit of God comes within you, rather than some external worldly kingdom. So I'm going to try and say this one other way, maybe it's already clear, but I'm going to just say it again.

Speaker 59:30

I think what's happening in Luke chapter 17, verse 21, is Jesus is saying to the Pharisees, The Kingdom of God isn't external, it's internal. It's not physical, it's spiritual, and you're missing it. The Pharisees remember believe that the kingdom of God would be led by an earthly Messiah who would triumph over the enemies of Israel. They believe that someone from David's earthly line would come as their Messiah and reign forever as a military and political figure, based on their misinterpretation of Scripture. While Jesus is addressing the Pharisees at this point, it's at least possible that he meant that the kingdom of God is something that exists inside of people. I don't think that he was saying that the kingdom of God or the Holy Spirit was in the Pharisees, but was merely correcting them by saying that it's an inner spiritual kingdom.

Speaker 1:00:23

If it's even possible that Jesus was just making a clarifying statement about where the kingdom of God would be found, there's no compelling reason to change the text from within you to in your midst or among you. Let me state my case as forcefully as I can. I believe that the final line of Luke 17 verse 21 should be translated as the kingdom of God is within you because of Luke's own careful and deliberate word choice, not because I prefer the theological implications of the text being translated that way. I do think that rendering the Greek in this way adds theological depth and beauty to the concept of God's kingdom, but that isn't what's driving me to my conclusion.

Speaker 1:01:10

When it comes to translation, we should aim to preserve the original words as much as possible and conform our understanding to them, rather than taking editorial liberties and changing the words of God, even if it's for the sake of clarity. We will look at the words Luke chooses for this passage, alternatives he could have used but didn't, which we kind of did already, and why within you better preserves his authorial intent. At this point, I'd like us to zoom back out and connect all these ideas to how we practically read Scripture and how this applies to the Lord's Prayer. Finally, am I right? Like I said before, I think you could adopt either rendering of the Greek, and it doesn't make a great deal of difference.

Speaker 1:01:56

So why did I spend all this time explaining this? Well, in part to help you realize that not even our translations of the Bible are free from a degree of interpretation. Every translation of the Bible has already had someone else's interpretation of the text applied to the text long before you ever read it in your hands. Someone, usually a team of scholars, apply not only their knowledge of biblical Greek, but also their own beliefs about certain doctrines. Most translators generally do a great job of turning a language few people speak and turning it into something that very much resembles the original text and reproduces it in other languages. Some even state the preface of their translations the approaches they have taken, and some of their views are plainly stated, others do not. I thought it might be helpful to be aware of this fact so that if you run into places like Luke chapter 17 verse 21 that are debated, you can understand what's going on and maybe investigate the Greek yourself. If you're interested in doing that, I'll be posting some links in the show notes for you.

Translation Vs Theology

Speaker 1:03:08

My intention in making you aware of all this isn't to make you suspicious of whatever translation you have, because many of them are quite accurate. So you can probably trust whatever translation you've got. I'm just letting you know someone else has done some interpretation on your behalf before you even get to read it. Now, there's always a danger in trying to quote unquote prove a point of view that you really want to be true. Many people, even pastors, will sometimes begin with a conclusion they prefer and then try to make the Bible support that conclusion. That's known as isegesis, which is E I S E G E S I S, which means to read one's own ideas, beliefs, and biases into a text. That can get you in a whole lot of trouble when it comes to understanding the Bible, and no translation is completely free from a degree of eisegesis. Exogesis, is the opposite and preferred approach to biblical interpretation among scholars, which means to quote unquote lead out, and is aimed at drawing out the original meaning from a text, based on factors like historical, cultural, linguistic, and literary context. In other words, you don't try to make the text mean what you want it to mean or what makes sense to you in our modern context, but you try to understand what the author's original intent was for their audience at the time they wrote it, and in the context that they wrote it. It's harder to do and takes more work, but it leads to less errors in interpretation.

Speaker 1:04:54

Now you might be thinking, Nick, you've been doing that this whole episode. You've been trying to push, you know, for the specific grunning. I admit, I have pressed for Luke chapter 17, verse 21 to be rendered the kingdom of God is within you. But I hope that you've at least followed my reasoning so far and don't see it as a leap or as wish fulfillment or as eisegesis. I've done my best to interpret Luke chapter 17, verse 21, and Matthew chapter 6, verses 9 through 10 exegetically. And even though I'm going against the opinion of the majority of modern translators, I think my interpretation of the original text is more compelling.

Speaker 1:05:34

On that note, I've done my best to see if there are any other reasons for why modern translators thought to change the Greek rendering from within you to in your midst, and could only find this one very weak reason about Jesus' answer being directed at the Pharisees. If you're aware of other reasons for doing this other than Jesus' answering a question from the Pharisees, let me know, because I couldn't find any. If you interpret Interpret the original Greek as within you, it really illuminates the heart of the Lord's Prayer. There are strong theological implications for reading it this way as well. I believe this way does a better job of systematizing or fitting together doctrines about the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of God, and strengthens many elements of the Lord's Prayer. By understanding it in this way, which I believe better fits the author's original intent, word choice, and total audience, not just the Pharisees, who Jesus was answering, we get a fuller and richer understanding of the contents of the Lord's Prayer, God's kingdom, and even of the Great Commission.

Speaker 1:06:44

We have to do our best to understand what words Luke actually wrote, especially since they are recorded to be Jesus' words. We must do this so we can understand their linguistic and exegetical meanings, such as in my early example when I asked what the word run meant. In what sense is something running? That depends on a lot of context clues, and it's the job of translators to accurately match up the words with their contexts. Only after we are sure of the translation should we attempt to understand what the words imply theologically. I think that even if translating this verse as within you causes theological difficulties or questions, we should address them after translation, not let them control how we translate Scripture.

Basileia: Rule, Not Territory

Speaker 1:07:35

Allow me to just voice my opinion very clearly here. In contrast, if we read Luke 17 verse 21 as among you or in your midst, we are making a deliberate choice to deviate from Jesus' actual words. We ignore the author's intent, and we lose a little bit of theological richness and beauty of God's kingdom. I'm going to argue this a little bit further. If it were true that Jesus said to them, the kingdom of God is in your midst, then why didn't Luke use the Greek words he used seven other times in his own book, but another word that means inside? If Jesus really said that the kingdom of God was in their midst, and by that he meant that the kingdom of God was in the midst of the Pharisees because Jesus was there, doesn't that seem a little redundant? Jesus had already made claims to divinity when he healed the paralytic in Mark chapter two verses five through seven, and also when he claimed to be one with God the Father in John chapter ten verse thirty, both of which are chronologically prior to this passage. In both of those passages, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees have an angry reaction to Jesus' claims to divinity. And in John 10, verse 30, they get angry enough to try and stone him to death. Yet in Luke 17 verse 21, there is no such angry reaction to Jesus' response. So it seems unlikely that this was the point he was making to the Pharisees at that time. At the end of the day, however, if you choose to agree with modern translators and say this passage should read as the kingdom of God is in your midst, it won't spell out disaster, and I won't take it personally. I think it will rob you of a bit of the awe that you could have for God's kingdom, and it could color the lens through which you consider his kingdom, as we will see near the end of this episode. I have one last textual insight to give you that I think will help you. In Matthew chapter 6, verses 9 through 10, when it says, Thy kingdom come, the Greek word for kingdom is very similar to the idea we explored earlier when we discussed the passage from Colossians chapter 1, verse 13, about a change in reign or rulership. Remember how I said that we were removed from the power and authority of Satan? How God places believers under the rule and authority of Himself? Well that idea is very similar to the Greek word used in Matthew chapter 6 verses 9 through 10 for kingdom, which is basileia in ancient Greek. Listen to how Thayer's Greek lexicon defines this word. He gives a couple so

Speaker 1:10:26

"Royal power, kingship, dominion, rule." This next line says "not to be confused with an actual kingdom, but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom." The next one says "of the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the Messiah's kingdom." His next one says "a kingdom, the territory subject to the rule of a king." Actually that was the last one.

What We Are Asking For When We Pray Thy Kingdom Come

Speaker 1:11:00

So do you see how these definitions better fit with the theological elements of the Holy Spirit? The Pharisees were asking when the kingdom of God would come to the earth, but they were mistaken in their beliefs about the manner in which the kingdom of God was coming. As I said earlier, they were envisioning a conquering Messiah who would overthrow the oppressive Roman government and create an earthly kingdom for Israel. Maybe in future episodes we can look at just what those Israelites were expecting of the Messiah and the future kingdom of God in a later episode. Just to restate things, Jesus' kingdom isn't earthly in nature, although his rule and power does spill over into our world and can be evidenced by things like miracles, casting out demons, and opponents of God becoming ministers of God, such as the Apostle Paul himself. It is widely invisible and internal. So let's bring all this together to understand what we are asking for when we pray thy kingdom come. Because remember, we are petitioning God, which means to request something of him. When we pray, thy kingdom come, we aren't praying for a physical kingdom, obviously, here on earth. As we've seen, Jesus' kingdom, God's kingdom, is not of this world. And you don't have the kingdom of God without the intimate involvement of the Holy Spirit. When the Pharisees ask when the kingdom of God is coming, they're asking that question, believing it will be physical and here on earth. Jesus answers the question about when the kingdom of God is coming, not by giving a date, but by saying it's already here, and it's coming. He also gives an answer about where the kingdom of God will come, but in the form of a correction. He says it's not any place you can point to and say there it is. And the reason to me at least is kind of obvious.

Speaker 1:12:50

The kingdom of God is inside believers. God's kingdom comes to earth as more and more people believe in Jesus and allow his rule or reign to have dominion in their hearts and minds. As more people submit to Jesus' authority, that is, allow Jesus to have ever greater jurisdiction over them, God's kingdom grows in both terms of allegiance and where his rule is accepted on the earth within us. So what are we asking when we pray thy kingdom come? We are praying that the kingdom of God grows not by conquest or by overthrowing governments, but by faith in Jesus spreading from one individual to another. Probably the easiest and clearest way to say what we're asking for is this.

Speaker 1:13:37

When we pray thy kingdom come, we are praying that God's kingdom expands into the hearts and minds in such a way that loving trust and obedience to God is expressed here on earth with the same joy and immediacy as the hosts of heaven or the angels of heaven, or whatever creatures are in heaven, in addition to angels. We are petitioning, we are requesting of God to bring his Holy Spirit to more people, to bring about obedience to himself by the Spirit, and for our joy and obedience in serving him to be like how angels joyfully obey him in heaven. And how do they do that? Immediately, without hesitation, with joy, with love, and complete trust in his good plans and commandments.

Growth Like Seed And Yeast

Speaker 1:14:26

You know, after all this, I'm really grateful that God doesn't expect perfection right away, but understands that as fallen creatures we will struggle to understand him, we will struggle to trust him, and that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Basically, God knows it will take time, patience, and a lot of forgiveness on our behalf. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is the kingdom of God. I believe that's why Jesus compares the kingdom of God to things that start off small, but gradually grow and become enormous, such as the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of yeast in places like Matthew chapter 13, verses 31 and 32, and Matthew chapter 13, 33, respectively. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in more and more believers here on earth, and it's in this way that God's kingdom expands throughout the world. As this happens, there will occasionally be worldly external signs of God's kingdom spreading. But the kingdom itself is spiritual, largely invisible like the wind from Matthew chapter twelve, verse twenty-eight, and it's somewhat secret. The Holy Spirit assists believers in resisting sin, renews our minds, renews our hardened hearts, helps us to obey God, bestows gifts, helps us to share our faith, and even performs miracles. This fits nicely into the next phrase we will look at on earth as it is in heaven. I can't wait to show you all how it fits and how this understanding can bless you as you make prayers following the pattern of the Lord's Prayer. The last thing I want to say before we close out is there are many people out there who want to believe that as God's kingdom grows, that the earth will become more like heaven. There's a whole range of opinions on this. I had mentioned before that I had really liked the idea of us sort of doing like a counter strike against Satan and reclaiming our world from him. I still like that idea, and I think there is a kernel of truth within it, but I don't think that's the way we should primarily think of God's kingdom coming to earth as it is in heaven.

Speaker 1:16:48

Certainly we will gradually see more people living within God's moral laws, and we will certainly see people freed from darkness, diseases, addictions, temptations, and we may even see some people literally rising from the dead. Some of that will even be a direct result of our prayers. So I hope that makes you excited to pray, or at least gives you an idea of what it can do. However, I don't think that's what Jesus is telling us to petition our Father for. God is looking to expand his kingdom and bring more people into his eternal family. I believe this is what is at the heart of thy kingdom come. Some people really like the idea of reclaiming our world from Satan's authority and power even more than I do. They go as far as to say that we Christians need to reclaim everything back from Satan before Jesus returns. Some even think that Jesus won't return until the whole earth comes under God's law and produces a heaven on earth. And some of those people think that that means putting God's commandments into governmental law. Depending on who you talk to, it's either completely up to us to produce the earthly environment that Jesus desires for his return, or they believe it's up to us in part and partly up to God. All of these concepts are wrapped up in one's eschatology, or beliefs about the end of the world. Perhaps in future episodes we can discuss these differing interpretations.

Eschatology And Common Views

Speaker 1:18:18

If you're interested in this, you can either Google the second coming of Christ, or more specifically, the Millennium, which has to do with a thousand year reign of Jesus Christ, found in Revelation chapter 20, verses 1 through 20. Alternatively, I encourage you to read the transcript or listen to Doctrine of the Last Things Part 15, The Millennium, by Dr. William Lane Craig on his website, which is www.reasonablefaith.org. It gives a very fair and detailed summary of three common views on the return of Christ and will help you start understanding why this topic matters to the Lord's Prayer. I'll post that link in the show notes. Well everyone, I I hope I didn't completely bore you to tears with all the talk about grammar and that you found at least parts of this enlightening. Next time we Certainly we will gradually see more people living within God's moral laws, and we will certainly see people freed from darkness, diseases, addictions, temptations, and we may even see some people literally rising from the dead. Some of that will even be a direct result of our prayers. So I hope that makes you excited to pray, or at least gives you an idea of what it can do. However, I don't think that's what Jesus is telling us to petition our Father for. God is looking to expand his kingdom and bring more people into his eternal family. I believe this is what is at the heart of thy kingdom come. Some people really like the idea of reclaiming our world from Satan's authority and power even more than I do. They go as far as to say that we Christians need to reclaim everything back from Satan before Jesus returns. Some even think that Jesus won't return until the whole earth comes under God's law and produces a heaven on earth. And some of those people think that that means putting God's commandments into governmental law. Depending on who you talk to, it's either completely up to us to produce the earthly environment that Jesus desires for his return, or they believe it's up to us in part and partly up to God. All of these concepts are wrapped up in one's eschatology, or beliefs about the end of the world. Perhaps in future episodes we can discuss these differing interpretations.

Speaker 1:19:12

If you're interested in this, you can either Google the second coming of Christ, or more specifically, the Millennium, which has to do with a thousand year reign of Jesus Christ, found in Revelation chapter 20, verses 1 through 20. Alternatively, I encourage you to read the transcript or listen to Doctrine of the Last Things Part 15, The Millennium, by Dr. William Lane Craig on his website, which is www.reasonablefaith.org. It gives a very fair and detailed summary of three common views on the return of Christ and will help you start understanding why this topic matters to the Lord's Prayer. I'll post that link in the show notes. Well everyone, I I hope I didn't completely bore you to tears with all the talk about grammar and that you found at least parts of this enlightening.

Wrap Up, Prayer, And Requests

Speaker 1:19:55

Next time we will discuss next time we will discuss in depth what Jesus meant when he said, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In a way, it will be sort of an expansion of what we discussed so far in parts one through three of Thy Kingdom Come, but it'll be more conversational and won't require you to do Greek word studies with me. Yay. After we finish studying our next phrase, I will make a short review episode to help you remember what we've covered so far in this series, and I'll provide some tips about how to put what we've learned into practice in our prayers. Thanks for listening, thanks for supporting the podcast, and until next time, keep praying. Change Speaker Dear Father, thank you for all of the help you've given me in writing this and even rewriting this and recording and re-recording this episode. Lord, I just ask that I've spoken true, and that you've guided my words, and that I've been careful, and that I am teaching truth to whoever wants to hear it, and that people are able to take what they learn from here and apply it to their prayers and begin to enjoy prayer more and to see how powerful prayer can be in their life. And ultimately that they they they enjoy prayer and they don't see it as like a spiritual task to do. So, Lord, help everyone who listens to this to be blessed in that way. Help us to all learn to love prayer more, to enjoy it, and to make it a part of every area of our life, because I believe that's that's what you want for us. It's our way of contacting you and being blessed by you. So, Lord, I ask that you help us grow in our love for that. Lord, I ask that you bring more people to listen to the podcast, that it's able to help more people, that you just keep encouraging me to continue. And Lord, I just ask that you continue to teach me truth, and that I'm able to teach truth in a way that many people can understand, and in a way that will bless their prayer life. So, Lord, be with everyone that's listening, be with me, and help us all to remember to pray more. Thank you, Jesus. In your name. Amen. Right on. You guys are still here, which means I think you guys like the things that you're hearing. If that's true, if you are enjoying this podcast, go ahead and like or subscribe, rate or review this podcast, and that would be incredible. Not only would that personally encourage me to keep going, it also makes it easier for other podcast listeners to find this podcast. So go ahead and do that, help this podcast out, and I hope to hear from you guys soon. In the meantime, keep praying.