The Already, and the Not Yet!

OPENING

How many of you are history buffs?

So since today is July 4th. Our nation’s birthday. I thought I would start by asking you a history question.

How many of you know what D-day was in WWII? How many of you can tell me when it was?

On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end, the Allies gained a foot-hold in Continental Europe. The cost in lives on D-Day was high. More than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded, but their sacrifice allowed more than 100,000 Soldiers to begin the slow, hard slog across Europe, to defeat Adolf Hitler’s crack troops.

Now let me ask you another question. D-day was a victory. But was that the end of the war?

That would come later on VE Day. On May 8, 1945. For a person living between D-Day (June 1944) and VE-Day (Spring 1945) during World War II. D-Day was when the allied troops invaded Europe and began to push the German army back to Germany, while VE-Day was when they actually claimed victory:

The decisive battle in a war may already have occurred in a relatively early stage of the war, and yet the war still continues. Although the decisive effect of that battle is perhaps not recognized by all, it nevertheless already means victory. But the war must still be carried on for an undefined time, until "Victory Day." 

You may not know this. But throughout Scripture, this is precisely how the Kingdom of God is actually described? Understanding this idea in the Bible can actually have huge implications for how we live as Christians. But before we get there. We have to first define what we mean when we talked about the the Kingdom of God? Now you may think of the Kingdom of God in a specific way but let me show you how Scripture defines it and then lets talk about why this matters.

Kingdom of God (also “kingdom of the Lord,” “kingdom of heaven”). Refers primarily to God’s kingly power exercised over creation and people.

Sometimes when we talk about the Kingdom of God. We are either talking about God’s people or the territory of God domain. Which we think of as Heaven. But when Scripture talks about the Kingdom of God. It is talking about something completely different. It is talking about God’s rule and reign over His people.

In the OT we find references to the Kingdom of God found in Obadiah, Chronicles, Psalms, and Daniel. For people living in the OT the expectations of the present and the future kingdom were set in a very particular way. And this is part of what threw the Disciples off about Jesus.

They thought everything happened all at once when the Kingdom of God arrived. Including the resurrection. Every dead person is raised and God’s Messiah will reign physically. And the Jews were at the top as God’s chosen people!

But here Jesus comes on the scene with His upside down kingdom. And you have one man dying and then raising. The lowly are exalted and the powerful are humbled. Totally confusing for them!

Now in the NT John the Baptist is the first to actually preach about the arrival of the kingdom of God. (Matt 3:2). John preaches a message of repentance. Jesus does that too. But also brings a message of the good new of salvation.

Jesus’ healings and expulsions of demons are directly linked to the kingdom of God (Luke 11:19–20). Jesus came to overthrow Satan’s opposition to God’s kingdom (Mark 3:22–27). By casting out demons, Christ was demonstrating the power and presence of the kingdom (Matt 12:28).

But when Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God. He does something different. He talks about it as both present and future.

Mark 1:14–15 (ESV)

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

But then…..

Luke 11:2 (ESV)

2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

So which is it? Present or future? Well the answer is! YES!! When Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God. He describes it as both a present reality AND a future hope.

Let me show you from Scripture that this is true. Then we can talk about what that means in practical terms for us as Christians.

According to Scripture, believers are

already adopted in Christ (Romans 8:15), but not yet adopted (Romans 8:23);

already redeemed in Christ (Ephesians 1:7), but not yet redeemed (Ephesians 4:30);

already sanctified in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2), but not yet sanctified (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24);

already saved in Christ (Ephesians 2:8), but not yet saved (Romans 5:9);

already raised with Christ (Ephesians 2:6), but not yet raised (1 Corinthians 15:52).

Scripture teaches this idea in multiple places. Christ has already won the victory (1 Cor. 15:1ff.; Eph. 1:15ff.; Col. 2:15; and Heb. 2:14ff.). The crucial battle has been fought and won in the incarnation and the resurrection. The cease-fire is yet future. Jesus' followers continue to fight against the principalities and powers (Eph. 6:10ff.) until he comes again to bring about the final end of the war. We do not know how long the warfare will continue. As we battle the forces of evil, we also bear witness in the shadow of Christ's victory on the cross and his ultimate victory to be achieved at the final coming. We fight with the conviction that someday all weapons will be placed at the feet of Jesus.

We live in a theological tension. We generally tend to think of tension as negative thing or bad. All of us live with way too much tension in our lives as it is. But this kind of tension is actually healthy and helpful. It is by faith in Christ, that all of these spiritual blessings are ours already, but the full enjoyment of these blessings is not yet ours. This is the life of faith: “the assurance of things hoped for” in the future, and “the conviction of things not seen” in the present (Hebrews 11:1). This is life between the times.

Acrobats who walk a tight rope know that the amount of tension in the rope is actually what can save their life. Without that tension. They fall. Potentially to their death.

If we don’t understand this mindset, the theological tension we live in will become a theological disaster. We will inevitably misread Scripture. And if we misread Scripture, we will live misled lives.

Theology and Christian living are not oil and water; they are organically connected like a seed and a tree. So, if we long to think God’s thoughts after him and live for him, then we must follow the way his inspired apostles thought theologically and lived practically.

The problem is that our understanding tends to lean to one side or the other. The nature of humanity is always to gravitate to extremes. And there are inherit problems with focusing too much on either the “already” or the “not yet” on its own.

If the kingdom is both already now and not yet, the believer must be on guard against the danger of emphasizing one aspect of the kingdom at the expense of the other.

A one-sided emphasis on the “already now,” which emphasizes miracles, healing, victory over sin, and gifts God has given his church, (which are all good and true), but ignores the “not yet” may lead to an overly optimistic triumphant attitude that results in disillusionment. The reality is as Christians there are times when we get and feel defeated. Jesus’ teachings concerning the tribulation(s) that lay ahead (Mark 13; Matt. 24–25; Luke 21) warn against such optimism. The symbol of discipleship Jesus gave to his disciples is that of bearing a cross! The crown awaits the completion. The enjoyment of the firstfruits of the kingdom must be tempered by the fact that we still live by faith and not sight. We still long for the perishable to become clothed with the imperishable, the mortal with immortality (1 Cor. 15:53). In the meantime we are called to endure to the end.

On the other hand, a one-sided emphasis on the “not yet”, may lead to a defeatist attitude and despair in this life as well as a neglect of the joy that can be gained in this life and victory that can be achieved over sin and death in the Spirit’s having already come. The “gates of Hades” (Matt. 16:18) cannot not overcome the church! Even in this life! Because the kingdom has come, we can be “transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). The now and the not yet must be held in tension.

Believers can rejoice in having passed from death into life and in the abiding presence of the Spirit of God. But the victories in the present life, are also accompanied with all too many defeats.

If we don’t understand this principle. We can end up wishing our life away. We all can be at risk to do this. Let me give you an example. My wife and I went on vacation late last year. On Monday at the beginning of the week we were to leave, I was asking her. Is it 4pm on Friday yet? I was so preoccupied with prospect of future rest. That I neglected the present. Blind to opportunities that God may have for me. We have work to do here and now. And we can not be too preoccupied with what awaits us that it handcuffs in our here and now. On the flip side. We cannot let the despair and the depravity of this world throws at us, keep us from laying hold of the prize we will one day receive.

This is why theologians talk about the kingdom of God as being already here, but not yet here, already but not yet. We know it is here. But we also need to learn how to live in the present and looks forward to learning what God wants from us. This concept is illustrated very nicely in a specific passage.

In 1 Cor 15. We read:

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers 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.

BI171 Problems in Bible Interpretation: Why Do Christians Disagree about End Times? Already but Not Yet

Did you catch that? Jesus is reigning, but then He has to destroy His competition so that He can deliver up the kingdom. He is already reigning, but yet there’s still something out there that He has to deliver to the Father. There’s still a conquest idea; there’s still something to be won, and that something of course is the nations of the world.

As i mentioned earlier, the Jews in the Old Testament looked forward to the resurrection of the dead. Christians, however, must look back to Christ’s resurrection before they look forward to their own. The reason for this shift in perspective is simple: the resurrection of Christ is closely tied to our own resurrection. More specifically, our future physical resurrection is determined by our present spiritual resurrection with Christ.

Let’s go back to our analogy with WWII. So for a person living during WW2. D-Day is past; V-Day is in the future. But how many of you know what happened between D-day and VE Day?

THE BATTLE OF THE BULDGE!!

Called “the greatest American battle of the war” by Winston Churchill, the Battle of the Bulge was Hitler’s last major offensive in World War II against the Western Front. Hitler’s aim was to split the Allies in their drive toward Germany. The German troops’ failed to divide Britain, France and America with their offensive and paved the way to victory for the allies.

We too face a battle every day against the the principalities and powers of darkness that seek to divide us.

So we who follow Christ. We also live "between the times." We know that Christ is Victor and Deliverer now, but we also know that there is more to come. This fundamental shift in our thinking is what can help us endure the hardships of the present, work with God to participate in hHis kingdom in the present. All the while realizing that we will one day be gloried just has Jesus was glorified. That should give us real hope! We are destined to Rule and Reign with Christ. But for now. We continue to work. Not for our salvation. But from our salvation in our love for Christ andf His church. We have much work to do!!! So let’s get busy!!

Heiser, M. S. (2017). BI171 Problems in Bible Interpretation: Why Do Christians Disagree about End Times?. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Stein, R. H. (1996). Kingdom of God. In Evangelical dictionary of biblical theology (electronic ed., pp. 453–454). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.