Main idea: God has a kingdom on earth and in heaven, and he provides for the needs of those in his kingdom.
- God has a kingdom. v. 10a-b
- God has a kingdom on earth. v. 10c
- God has a kingdom in heaven. v. 10d
- God provides for those in his kingdom. v. 11
Christianity is based on the life and teaching of Jesus. Jesus is primarily remembered for his death on the cross that provides salvation and the forgiveness of sins to all who believe in him. Jesus is remembered also as a great miracle worker and as one of the world’s greatest teachers. In fact, many people, not just Christians, believe that Jesus is the greatest teacher our world has ever seen. Jesus was a master storyteller and spiritual preacher. Because of his teaching, huge crowds followed him because they had never heard anyone speak the way Jesus spoke.
One of the techniques Jesus used in storytelling was the parable. Parables are stories from everyday life that convey a spiritual truth. Jesus taught many lessons by way of the use of parables. One of the most common lessons concerns the kingdom of God. Again and again, Jesus would say, “The kingdom of God is like ...” and then he would give the parable. Jesus wanted to make sure that people understood the kingdom of God. He spoke about God’s kingdom so often because he came to help people find and enter God’s kingdom. In fact, in the prayer known as the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus says that we should pray that God’s kingdom will come. “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:10-11).”
Jesus says that God has a kingdom on earth and in heaven, and he provides for the needs of those who belong to his kingdom.
The first point is that God has a kingdom. The kingdom of God is the realm over which God rules. This kingdom is not a geographical location. You cannot take a bus to God’s kingdom. You can’t fly to God’s kingdom. Although his kingdom can be found on earth, it cannot be found on a map because God’s kingdom is a spiritual reality, not a physical or geographical location. God’s kingdom is in heaven and on earth. God’s kingdom encompasses everywhere, and his rule extends over everyone. You can’t find God’s kingdom on a map, and neither can you see it with a telescope, yet his kingdom is just as real as everything else. In fact, God’s kingdom is even more real than the material universe because God’s kingdom is an eternal, spiritual reality.
The kingdom of God is a spiritual reality where God rules over the lives of men and women. What do I mean by a spiritual reality?
There is a spiritual world, and there is a material world. God, the angels, and even evil spirits inhabit the spiritual world. We live in the physical, material world.
These two worlds are not separated from each other. The world of the spirit and the world in which we live intersect and overlap. The beings who inhabit the spiritual world have access to our world. God, the angels, and the evil spirits are able to travel back and forth from their world to ours. We also have access to the spiritual world. We have access to this spiritual dimension through prayer and other spiritual means.
In the spiritual dimension there are two kingdoms. There is a kingdom of light and there is a kingdom of darkness. The kingdom of light is ruled by God, the kingdom of darkness is ruled by Satan.
We read about these two kingdoms in the Bible. In Paul’s letter to the Christians in Colossae, Paul wrote that “[God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son (Colossians 1:13).”
Jesus appeared to the Apostle Paul and said to Paul:
I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Acts 26:17-18).
Now that we have an idea about what God’s kingdom is, we need to answer another question. Why do we pray for God’s kingdom to come? If God is already ruling over his kingdom, why do we pray for God’s kingdom to come?
God’s prophets foretold of a day when God would judge the earth and bring salvation to his people. Through the centuries, God has promised to judge his enemies and bring his people into a glorious kingdom. These events will take place during a time called the Day of the Lord.
Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations… The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it? … And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls (Joel 2:1-2, 11, 28-32).
When God poured out his Spirit on the church on the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter proclaimed that Joel’s prophecy about the Day of the Lord had been fulfilled.
Jesus says clearly that “the kingdom of God has come upon you (Matthew 12:28).”
When Jesus came the first time, he set into motion the events of the Day of the Lord. Jesus fulfilled many prophecies concerning the kingdom of God, but he didn’t fulfill all the prophecies. Some prophecies concerning the kingdom of God are still future. Jesus will fulfill these prophecies when he returns.
Theologians refer to God’s kingdom as being “already but not yet”. When Jesus came the first time, he set into motion parts of the Day of the Lord. These aspects of God’s kingdom are here now. They are active now. God’s kingdom has already started, but other aspects of God’s kingdom are not yet here. So we pray: “Your kingdom come, your will be done.”
Are you waiting for God’s kingdom? Are you praying for God’s kingdom to come?
Next, Jesus says that God has a kingdom on earth. “Your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).”
Presently, this kingdom on earth is God’s rule over the hearts and minds of his people. God is ruling in our hearts. God is our king. We are his subjects. We are citizens of God’s kingdom.
To be a citizen of God’s kingdom, you must repent of your sins and believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Jesus had a very simple message. Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Unfortunately, there are many people who are unwilling to repent. They are unwilling to submit to God, and because they refuse to repent, they cannot be a part of God’s kingdom. Millions and millions of people have turned their backs on God. Millions of people all around the world are living in active rebellion against God.
God has a kingdom on earth, and God has a kingdom in heaven. “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).”
God’s throne is in heaven. God rules from heaven—a spiritual dimension inhabited by angels and various kinds of angelic beings.
Most of the angelic beings serve God and obey him, but some of the angels rebelled against God. These rebel angels are called demons and evil spirits. They are the fallen angels who followed Satan in a great rebellion. God cast these angels out of heaven, and now they reside on the earth and inhabit the atmosphere. The Bible says that Satan is “the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient (Ephesians 2:2).”
God does not allow disobedience or rebellion in heaven, so God cast out Satan and his demons.
This is the prayer that Jesus wants us to pray: that just as all citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom serve and obey him, so too citizens of God’s kingdom on earth will serve and obey him.
A day is coming when Jesus will return to set up God’s kingdom on earth. The Bible says that Jesus will set up his kingdom
when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10a).
In the meantime, Jesus is still calling men and women to repent so that they can enter his kingdom. Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3).”
When we humble ourselves, submit to God, and believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we enter God’s kingdom. We become his children forever and ever. And because we are his children, God provides for us. So we pray to our heavenly Father: “Give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:11).”
God provides for those in his kingdom.
Daily bread represents our daily needs. In Proverbs chapter thirty we read an ancient prayer: “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ (Proverbs 30:8-9).”
This prayer for daily sustenance echoes the experience of God’s people in the wilderness when God supplied their need only for the day. We read in the book of Exodus: “Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions (Exodus 16:4).”
The implication of being satisfied with God’s daily provisions is that being unsatisfied is sinful. We must learn to be content with what God provides.
God promises to provide our daily needs. He gives us what we need for today and maybe for tomorrow, but for next week, next month, next year, we must wait.
Occasionally, God pours out his blessings and provides an abundance—more than we need, but we should not pray for more than we need. We should be like the Apostle Paul who said in Philippians 4:11-13,
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Contentment is a characteristic of those who are citizens of God’s kingdom. Are you a citizen of God’s kingdom? Are you in God’s kingdom or are you outside the kingdom looking in?
God doesn’t want you to be on the outside looking in. God is calling you to enter his kingdom. God wants you to be part of his kingdom. He wants you to be a member of his family. To become a citizen of the kingdom, all you need to do is say no to your own selfish desires and say yes to God. All you need to do to enter into the kingdom is to humble yourself, admit that you are a sinner—a sinner in need of forgiveness—and Jesus will wash away your sins and make you a child of God. Won’t you do that today? Right now?