God's Kingdom in the Nations

by Dr Leong Tien Fock

"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth," declares the Lord Jesus Christ. Then He adds, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." Disciples are made by "teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you." The conjunction "therefore" indicates explicitly that the reason for them to obey Christ's teaching is that He has been given authority over all the nations of the world. They are to recognize Christ's authority.

In other words, beginning with the apostles, the Church has been commissioned to do what is necessary so that every nation of the world would submit to Christ's authority and so manifest God's will in every sphere of the nation.

Christians today may find this plain understanding of the Great Commission surprising. This is partly because the Great Commission is often misunderstood as nothing more than world evangelization. Actually it is surprising that this misunderstanding has survived so long, especially since it has often been emphasized that the Great Commission is not about making converts but making disciples. However in recent years there has been a gradual revolution in thinking.

This misunderstanding becomes obvious when the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) is understood in the broader context of the Gospel of Matthew. For in the Sermon of the Mount (Matthew 5-7) Jesus spells out clearly what the Church is called to be and to do.

The Church is called to pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt 6:10). The word "kingdom" does not refer to a geographical location, as in "the United Kingdom." God's kingdom refers to God's kingship or reign and wherever His reign is manifested or recognized. So when God's kingdom comes to the earth, it means the nations submit to His reign, and His will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

In recent years more and more Christians in Malaysia have been praying for God's will to be done in Malaysia. But it is not enough just to pray for God's will to be done in the nation. For the Church is also called to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matt 6:33a). This means, as part of the answer to that prayer, Christians are also to seek first God's will to be done in and through their life.

This is actually a command for Christians to live out what the Church has been called to be: the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt 5:13-16). The Church's light shines when Christians seek God's will done in every sphere of their life. Just as light exposes darkness, their good deeds make the evil deeds of the world conspicuous. And just as light helps people find the right path, the good deeds of the Christians help people see the truth of the Gospel, and point them to Christ.

In most nations of the world there are Christians in all the seven influential spheres of culture: religion, family, education, economy and business, media, arts and entertainment, and the government. Hence, if Christians seek first God's will to be done in every sphere of their life, God's kingdom will have come to every influential sphere of the nation. They then form the base from which God's kingdom spreads within the respective spheres.

God's kingdom spreads in each of the spheres when the Christians in the respective spheres act as salt by seeking God's will done through their life. They do this by influencing the non-Christians to do God's will. The most effective way is of course to first lead them to accept Christ and make them His disciples.

But it is still possible to influence non-Christians to do God's will even if they do not accept Christ. For God has put the knowledge of what is right and just and what is wrong and unjust into their conscience (Rom 2:14-16). By being light Christians arouse their conscience to recognize what is right, and by being salt they move their conscience to do what is right. In this way, not only are Christians doing God's will but they are also influencing non-Christians to do the same. As a result, increasingly, Christ's authority is recognized, and God's will manifested.

As we look at the conditions in the world today, we would probably say, "All this is just too idealistic. Throughout the centuries there have been Christians praying for and seeking first God's kingdom to come, but the world is still in a mess awaiting Christ's return to clean it up." Has the Church made any significant difference to the world?

In the premodern world, except in ancient Israel, there was no such thing as what we now call the constitution, the supreme law of a nation to which even the highest authorities in the government must submit. There was virtually no effective means to limit the powers of kings and emperors and hold them accountable to what is right and just. But beginning with the apostles, the Church has so impacted the world that today it is the norm for a nation to have a constitution.

It was through Christian influence in Western nations, and the subsequent influence of these nations in the rest of the world, that most nations today have constitutions that embody at least to some extent the Golden Rule: however we want others to treat us, so treat them (Matt 7:12a). Since the Golden Rule sums up the whole will of God (Matt 7:12b), these constitutions embody the will of God. This sets the stage for what is right and just to be manifested in the respective nations.

Hence in most nations of the world Christ's authority has already been recognized and God's will manifested in and through the fundamental structures of the nations. It is now therefore easier for the Church to fulfill its calling to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. But this requires the Church to first take seriously the frequent reminder that the Great Commission is not about making converts but making disciples, people who truly follow Jesus Christ.

Christ desires so much that we seek God's kingdom in and through our life that He has promised to add to us all the things that we need in order to live (Matt 6:33b). He knows we need to make a living. Often this becomes an obstacle to seeking God's kingdom. But Christ has set us free to obey Him by promising to meet our needs. In fact, He says, "seek FIRST the kingdom of God ... and all these things will be added to you". Hence seeking God's will done on earth has higher priority than even making a living. In other words, even the need to make a living is no excuse for not seeking God's will done in and through our life.

Dr Leong Tien Fock is Research coordinator of Malaysia Campus Crusade for Christ.