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eschatology, Other, Theological Reflections

A Foretaste of Glory Divine: Rightly Understanding the Kingdom of God

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The old hymn by Fanny Crosby begins with these words: “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!” This remarkable stanza reflects a lovely reality in Scripture that gives believers unwavering hope in times of tumultuous trials and troublesome temptations: we fellowship with Jesus Christ now, but this is only a preview of the eternal fellowship that is yet to come. This is what theologians refer to as the “already/not yet” tension of eschatology (that branch of theology which deals with the future and last things). The “already” refers to the blessings of salvation and the kingdom of God that believers enjoy in this age, and the “not yet” refers to those same blessings which will be fully realized in the consummation when Christ returns. And this tension between the “already” and the “not yet” may be seen primarily in the Bible’s teaching regarding the kingdom of God.

The Nature of the Kingdom of God

One of the great themes of Scripture is the “kingdom of God,” which simply refers to God’s rule and reign in the hearts of His people who have submitted to His kingly dominion.1 The concept of the kingdom of God begins in and continues throughout the Old Testament,2 as it is dominated by a forward-looking anticipation of its arrival with the advent of the Messiah, who would restore God’s rule in the hearts of sinners whose rebellion is the result of the Fall. And at first glance, all the Old Testament expectations and prophecies regarding the kingdom of God appear to depict a literal kingdom characterized by triumphal victory, nationwide prowess, and Israel’s restoration to supremacy. After all, God promised that He would gather His people, establish the throne of David forever, and send a Messiah upon whose shoulders would be everlasting government (Jer. 23:3-4; 2 Sam. 7:9-13; Isaiah 9:6). Therefore, it is only natural that the most popular Jewish vision of the kingdom of God was interpreted solely in physical and political terms. For them, the arrival of the kingdom of God would entail God’s ultimate victory over evil, Israel’s vindication and restoration, and the fulfillment of all the promises made to David regarding his throne and rule.3

However, it is not until one turns the page from Malachi to Matthew that the kingdom of God is defined in terms of an invisible and spiritual nature, which is primarily emphasized by Christ’s own testimony regarding the kingdom. As Jesus begins His public ministry, He repeatedly demonstrates that the kingdom promised in the Old Testament was not to be reduced to a purely political or geographical concept. Rather, as theologian Herman Bavinck observed, “Jesus introduces a new understanding of the kingdom: it is religious-ethical and not political; it is present in repentance, faith, and rebirth, and is yet to come as a full eschatological reality.”4 And nowhere is this spiritual understanding of the kingdom more clearly expressed than in Jesus’ response to the question of the Pharisees about the coming of God’s kingdom: “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:20b-21, emphasis mine). Thus, according to Christ, the kingdom of God that He came to usher in was initially a spiritual one, inaugurated as He thwarted demonic oppression and restored the rule of God within the rebellious hearts of sinners.

Furthermore, when Jesus was pressed to claim literal kingship by Pilate, He replied, “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” (John 18:36). Similarly, when Jesus was given the best opportunity to become an earthly king, He abandoned the scene, demonstrating that He had no interest in ruling over a purely earthly kingdom. As John wrote, “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself” (John 6:15). Finally, that the kingdom Jesus ushered in was spiritual and not physical is apparent from His statement that entrance into the kingdom requires one to be, “born again.” As Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).5

The Inauguration of the Kingdom of God

Now that it is abundantly clear that the arrival of God’s kingdom was meant to be understood in spiritual terms, it must also be emphasized that the Scripture teaches that the coming of God’s kingdom is to occur in two stages. That is, the “inauguration” of the kingdom of God began with the first advent of Jesus, and the “consummation” of the kingdom will commence with the second advent of Jesus. Jesus ushered in the “beginnings” of the kingdom by His first coming, and the kingdom will be fully realized when Jesus returns bodily to subject all things to Himself and finish the work of redemption that He began. Thus, the kingdom of God manifests itself in two of the most significant redemptive events: the first and second coming of Christ.6 As Cornelis Venema observed, “What from the vantage point of Old Testament expectation appeared to be a single movement has now in the New Testament become a twostage movement. Whereas the Old Testament saw only one great, future Messianic age, coinciding with the coming of the Messiah, the New Testament further reveals that the present Messianic age awaits its consummation at Christ’s coming again.”7

The kingdom of God first appeared with the arrival of the King, Jesus. He preached that the kingdom of God was “at hand” (Matthew 3:2; Mark 1:15). He also declared that the kingdom of God had “come upon” the people because of His ministry through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28). He even instructed His disciples to preach that the kingdom of God had arrived (Luke 10:9). Thus, according to Jesus’ own testimony, the kingdom of God became dynamically active and present in His person and mission.8 Indeed, all throughout the Gospels, Jesus has an awareness that He was the promised “son of man” depicted in the book of Daniel as receiving and ushering in “glory and a kingdom” (Daniel 7:13-14).9

The Consummation of the Kingdom of God

However, as Jesus’ own words make clear, only the inauguration of God’s kingdom occurred during His first coming—there was more to come. Jesus instructed His disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come” (Matt. 6:10a), indicating that the kingdom of God had not yet arrived in its totality. Jesus also spoke of a future day when He would “recline at table” with His disciples (Matt. 8:11-12). And most notably, Jesus assured His disciples during the Passover meal, “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:29, emphasis mine). Even Jesus’ sayings in the Beatitudes imply that His followers currently possess the kingdom of God, but have yet to fully possess it.10 As Christ said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven . . . Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:3, 5, emphasis mine).

The Already/Not Yet Tension

Because of this, author George Eldon Ladd observed, “For Jesus, the Kingdom of God was the dynamic rule of God which had invaded history in his own person and mission to bring men in the present age the blessings of the messianic age, and which would manifest itself yet again at the end of the age to bring this same messianic salvation to its consummation.”11 Thus, because of this “already/not yet” paradigm regarding the kingdom of God, there is no contradiction between Jesus’ proclamation that the kingdom of God was “at hand” and John’s promise that the kingdom would be fully realized at some point in the future (Rev. 11:15). This is why Paul can rightly call Jesus the Lord who is “highly exalted” (Eph. 1:22-23; Phil. 2:9) without contradicting the writer of Hebrews, who said, “At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him” (Heb. 2:8c). Paul even stated that Christ is King now, but the kingdom of God over which He reigns has yet to be fully effectuated: “[Christ will deliver] the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet” (1 Cor. 15:24b-25). The kingdom of Christ is thus present still now, but not yet fully established—which is why it is sometimes called a “semirealized” kingdom.12

And this is the tension the believer is currently experiencing. Those who are saved by grace through faith are members of “the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13), but are living in a world dominated by the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). Believers have been made “a kingdom, priests to his God and Father” (Rev. 1:6a), but they must wait for the day when they shall reign in the new heavens and new earth with God and the Lamb (Rev. 22:5). For the believer, being part of God’s kingdom is joy-producing now, but the best is yet to come.13 And the good news is that the believer may still experience the profound blessings of the “already” while awaiting the “not yet.” As John Calvin aptly stated, “Earth is where we begin to taste the sweetness of God’s blessings, and where we are roused by the hope and the desire to see them fulfilled in heaven.”14

  1. A similar definition is found in Akin, Daniel, A Theology for the Church (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2014), 674.
  2. Granted, the Old Testament never uses the phrase, “the kingdom of God.”
  3. For more on the Jewish viewpoint of the kingdom of God, see especially Storms, Sam, Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative (Scotland: Christian Focus Publications Ltd, 2012), 337.
  4. Bavinck, Herman, Reformed Dogmatics (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2011), 405.
  5. I owe this final observation to Wiersbe, Warren, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Volume I (Colorado Springs: Victor Books, 1989), 112).
  6. George Eldon Ladd said it well: “The Kingdom of God involves two great moments: fulfillment within history, and consummation at the end of history.” Ladd, George E., The Presence of the Future (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 218.
  7. Venema, Cornelius P., The Promise of the Future (Edinburgh, UK: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2000), 28.
  8. This is Anthony Hoekema’s argument in The Bible and the Future (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979), 43.
  9. Bavinck, 406.
  10. This is the assertion of George R. Beasley-Murray in Jesus and the Kingdom of God (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1986), 157-168.
  11. Ladd, 307.
  12. This is how it is referred to by Michael Horton in Pilgrim Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 219.
  13. Akin, 701-702.
  14. Calvin, John, A Guide to Christian Living (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2009), 96.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He is proud to be the pastor of the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English shepherd), and Dot (beagle).

Sermons

Psalm 150: Where, Why, and How to Praise God

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The following message was delivered at Ohio Valley Baptist Church on July 28, 2013:

Introduction

There is nothing boring about worship. There is nothing boring about God, the object of our worship. And we have a collection of prayers, poems, and hymns that focus on worship. This collection is the Book of Psalms. One of my reformer heroes, Charles Spurgeon, called the Psalms “the treasury of David” and similarly John Calvin said that the Psalms are a “treasure for the use of all the people of God.” The Book of Psalms served as a hymnbook for the early church and for centuries, the Book of Psalms has played a leading role in shaping the spiritual life of the church.

The Text

150 Praise the LORD!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

    praise him in his mighty heavens!

2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;

    praise him according to his excellent greatness!

3 Praise him with trumpet sound;

    praise him with lute and harp!

4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;

    praise him with strings and pipe!

5 Praise him with sounding cymbals;

    praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD!

Where to Praise God (v. 1a)

The very first phrase “Praise the LORD” here in this passage, would serve as appropriate motto for the entire book of Psalms. Whether David is crying for mercy (Ps. 51), lamenting over his many enemies (Ps. 3), giving thanks (Ps. 92), or expressing the depths of the knowledge of God (Ps. 139), there is always some element of praise in every psalm. Though each psalm is an individual poem with its own theme, there is no psalm that does not contain an element of praise. Though the Psalms are broken into 5 Books, we have now reached a small section towards the end where each psalm begins and ends with the phrase “Praise the LORD.” This new sub-section starts at Psalm 146. Psalm 150 can be broken into three sections:

  1. Where to Praise God (150:1)

  2. Why to Praise God (150:2)

  3. How to Praise God (150:3-6)

How do we know this? Within the context you can easily identify a change of grammar. Look at your Bibles and notice the change from “Praise God in. . .” (v. 1) to “Praise Him for. . .” (v. 2) and to “Praise Him with. . .” (vv. 3-5).

According to this psalmist, God should be praised in his sanctuary (literally “holy place”), a reference to the earthly temple in Jerusalem. The list of musical instruments (vv. 3—5) argues for this earthly designation of the sanctuary. God’s house is to be filled with praise and worship. The Jews went up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord down through the generations as long as the temple stood. Matthew Henry writes in his commentary, “Let his priests, let his people, that attend there, attend him with their praises. Where should he be praised, but there where he does, in a special manner, both manifest his glory and communicate his grace?”

Praise God in His Sanctuary, But Don’t Build Walls Around the Church

This verse doesn’t imply that the only place we are to worship God is in the church ‘sanctuary,’ because at it has been well said before, never build walls around the church. When we praise God, we are to praise Him before our feet hit the floor in the morning, we are to praise Him in the home, we are to praise Him when driving to work, we are to praise Him in the workplace, we are to praise Him indoors and outdoors, and we are to praise Him everywhere! I know this psalmist would agree that we are not to ‘build walls around the church.’ Our giving isn’t limited to church walls, our studying of Scripture isn’t limited to church walls, our prayers aren’t limited to church walls, and our witnessing/evangelism isn’t limited to the church walls. Because if our giving, praying, witnessing, and especially our worship is limited to these walls, then no wonder we may be lukewarm and half-hearted in our worship! If you eat up to three meals daily, but then come to God’s sanctuary for one dose of the Word, the fellowship, and worship, you are setting yourself up to be spiritually malnourished! If you wonder why you are not becoming like Christ, then maybe you’re not getting enough of the Word of God in your life. Jesus said “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17), and to be in this process of sanctification means being in the process of becoming more and more like Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. Who inspired the Bible and uses it not only for our information but for our transformation? You guessed it. The Holy Spirit.

The implication of this verse is not that we need to limit our worship to the sanctuary, but rather when God’s people assemble together, this is what we are to do. When we “meet together” (Heb. 10:25), and when we devote our selves “to. . . teaching and the fellowship” (Acts 2:42), we are to lift God’s name on high! Because if we don’t proclaim that we are redeemed, worship as a result of our changed life and faith, and shout that we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Peter 2:9) and if we don’t worship, worship, worship, then what makes us different from any other gathering of people? That is the reality. If we do not praise God in His sanctuary, then we are no different from any other gathering of people.

Where to Praise God (v. 1b)

The psalmist also says that God is to be praised “in his mighty heavens.” This is a reference to His heavenly sanctuary in glory. Redeemed saints and elect everywhere, whether on earth below or heaven above. There is an ongoing, eternal worship that surrounds the throne of God. Isaiah describes this beautifully (Isaiah 6:1-5). Also, the cosmos are included so that the heavens and earth are to join together and become one in praising Him (see Ps. 148 “praise him sun and moon,” etc.). There is no place where praise is out of place.

Why to Praise God (v. 2a)

Having called for praise in every place, reason is now given for this worship. God is to be praised “for his mighty deeds” and “according to his excellent greatness.” The Israelites knew well of God’s “mighty deeds.” Take a look through Israel’s history. They knew of how God lead them by the “pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night” as Pharaoh let them go (Ex. 13:17-22). They could recall the parting of the Red Sea (Ex. 14), the manna from heaven (Ex. 16), the water from the rock (Ex. 17:1-7), and the freedom from slavery and oppression in Egypt (Ex. 12:33—15:27). They knew of when “Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. . .[and] the whole mountain trembled greatly” (Ex. 19:18). They could recall to memory the countless victories they had been granted (see Joshua & Judges). Recall when David had slain Goliath “with a sling and with a stone” (1 Sam. 17:50)? The Israelites knew God was faithful.

Praise Him for His Mighty Deeds

We know of God’s acts of power through creation, providence, salvation, and judgment. Just as Israel experienced manna (the bread from heaven) so we too have experienced and tasted for ourselves the Bread of Life, the Lord Jesus (John 6:35) who alone satisfies us. As they experienced freedom from slavery in Egypt, so we too have experienced freedom from slavery to sin (John 6:63; Rom. 6:17-18)! God provides for us day by day. He enters our lives through His Spirit. He answers our prayers. He delivers us from our enemies. He heals our diseases. He unites us to each other in love. He matures us in His Word, and He remains faithful toward us. Indeed, we are to “Praise him for his mighty deeds”! Matthew Henry writes concerning this verse, “Praise him. . . for all the instances of his might, the power of his providence, the power of his grace, what he has done in the creation, government, and redemption. . .”

Why to Praise God (v. 2b)

In addition, praise is to be rendered to God “according to his excellent greatness.” The Israelites weren’t blind to this either. They knew God was holy, sovereign and righteous. The psalmist here says that everything about God is to be praised, both for His acts and His attributes.

Twofold Praise: What He Has Done and Who He Is 

God is infinite yet intimate. He exists outside our realm thus, we cannot categorize Him. We are to praise God for who He is, not only for what He has done. He is the mighty King. He is the eternal God. He is filed with holiness, justice, trustworthiness, and covenant-love. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the beginning and the end. Worship this great God! John Calvin writes concerning this part of the verse, “If we would have our minds kindled . . . let us meditate on his power and greatness, which will speedily dispel all such insensibility. Though our minds can never take in this immensity, the mere taste of it will deeply affect us. And God will not reject such praises we offer according to our capacity.” You see, our motives for praise are twofold: we are to praise God for what He has done and we are to praise Him for who He is!

How to Praise God (vv. 3-6)

Having said where God is to be praised and why He is to be praised, the psalmist now tells how He is to be praised. The author of this psalm gives instruction regarding the manner in which God is to be praised. Both musical instruments (vv. 3-5) and human voices (v. 6) are to be employed. The trumpet, a shofar, or ram’s horn is to be sounded. The lute and harp, were also to be used. Both wind and string instruments are listed here in praising God. Also, God is to be praised with tambourine and dance. These two often went together, the former used by women when they danced after God-given victories (Ex. 15:20). Moreover, God is to be worshiped with strings, a general term for all kinds of stringed instruments. Finally in v. 5, God is to be praised with sounding cymbals, instruments usually made of either brass or silver. These were the smaller and higher pitched kind. Loud clashing cymbals were also to be used in God’s sanctuary and they were larger and louder, making a more crashing sound.

Those who should praise the Lord encompasses “everything that has breath.” This includes all the redeemed who gather at God’s house. Everyone in God’s house is to sing praise to God, supported by the playing of instruments by the priests and people, men and women. Finally, this psalm concludes with the dramatic declaration Praise the LORD.

God Is to be Praised by a Symphony of Sound

Today we could legitimately add our own musical instruments to the list. Everything that evokes praise or expresses praise is a legitimate instrument of praise and therefore relevant for the culture and the people using it. The issue is not what instruments we use; the issue is why we use them and how we use them. Millions have been told of the “excellent greatness” of God through K-LOVE Radio just as they have been through the Gaither Vocal Band. God will continue to be praised through Bluegrass Gospel as He will through Lecrae (Christian Rap/Hip Hop).

Will You Answer the Psalmist’s Call to Worship?

Will you bring your wholehearted praise to God? This requires the total response of your entire life. Worship is a lifestyle, not an isolated act, never to be segmented from the whole of your life. Worship must be a passionate life pursuit of rendering praise to God, a deepening reality that should permeate your entire existence. If God is real in your life, then you should be praising Him with all of your being. This, of course, includes times involving the corporate gathering of God’s people when they come together to sing His praises. May you give to God the praise He so rightfully deserves in the midst of the great congregation.