Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

“Kingdom” is not so much a geographical area as it is a sovereign dominion. When Christian pray “Your kingdom come,” they are asking God to rule through Christ’s future enthronement, His coming reign over the earth.

The Greek for “come” indicates a sudden, instantaneous coming and here refers to the coming millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:4). Jesus is not speaking of some indirect effort by human good works to create a godly society on earth.

God’s coming kingdom will be a kingdom on earth but not a kingdom of this present world system. Jesus told Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). No human kingdom fits with God’s, which is why even the best measures to improve society are mere holding actions that only retard sinful corruption until Christ returns to establish His perfect kingdom.

Jesus cane to “preach the kingdom of God” (Luke 4:43), and there is no other gospel but the good news of His kingdom. Even during His final days on earth He was faithful to teach the apostles things concerning that kingdom (Acts 1:3).

Yes, the kingdom has a past element that encompasses the Old Testament patriarchs (Matthew 8:11). The kingdom was also present during Jesus’ earthly ministry because He, its king, was “in [people’s] midst (Luke 17:11).

In a sense that is true today as believers are members of God’s invisible kingdom. But the particular focus of our prayers regarding the kingdom should be future, as we hope for the visible one to come.

It is obvious that Christ is not physically ruling on earth today, but one day He will. Therefore we should pray that God would hasten that time when His Son returns to establish His earthy kingdom, defeat sin, and ensure obedience to God’s will.

After a thousand years, this kingdom will merge into the eternal kingdom, and His earthly and heavenly rule will be the same (see Revelation 20-21). There are two major ways in which God’s kingdom comes, and they ought to inform our prayers as we ask Him to complete His purpose.

First, His kingdom comes by means of conversions. Thus we should pray for sinners to repent (Mark 1:14-15) and to embrace the gospel (Luke 9:61-62). Our prayers must be simply that the Spirit will add new citizens to God’s kingdom.

Second, the kingdom comes through believers’ commitment. If we pray as Jesus commands, we will constantly ask that our lives and those of other Christians might obediently honor and glorify God in heaven.

The kingdom that we hope and pray for is of infinite value. Jesus elsewhere teaches that it “is like a treasure hidden in the field” or like “one pearl of great value” (Matthew 13:44-46). When the kingdom fully comes at His return, God will have completely answered our prayers.

As the hymn says, “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun does its successive journeys run. His kingdom spread from shore to shore, ’til moon shall wax and wane no more.”[1]

John MacArthur

___________________________________________________________________________
End notes:

[1] John MacArthur, Daily Readings From the Life of Christ [Chicago: Moody, 2008], May 21.

See also:

APPRISING MINISTRIES SHOWS ANOTHER SIDE

DON’T CONFORM TO THE WORLD OR TO FOSTER-WILLARDISM

DR. LAVERNE ADAMS ACCUSING KEN SILVA OF DEFAMATION OF CHARACTER?