Is the Kingdom of God Here Already—or Are We Still Waiting?

By Pastor John Erickson

If I asked you to name the main thing Jesus talked about while he was on earth, what would you say?

Love? Forgiveness? Heaven? Eternal life?

Those are all important things Jesus taught. But again and again, the Gospels tell us that Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God.

In Luke 4:43, Jesus explains that he must announce the good news of God's kingdom because that is why he was sent.

So if this was so central to Jesus, we'd better have some idea what he meant.

Here's the interesting part: when we talk about the kingdom of God, the picture isn't nearly as simple as we might expect.

A Kingdom Isn't Just a Place on a Map

When I hear the word kingdom, I tend to picture a country. A king, a castle, some borders, maybe a flag.

But the biblical idea of God's kingdom is not mainly about drawing lines around a piece of land.

It's about God's rule and reign. Where his authority is being exercised, his kingdom is at work.

In Luke 17:20-21, Jesus tells the Pharisees that God's kingdom is not something people can simply point to and say, "There it is." He is challenging the expectation that the kingdom will arrive like another ordinary political state.

That doesn't mean God's kingdom has nothing to do with the world we live in. Quite the opposite. It means the reign of God can begin breaking into the world in ways people don't expect.

Jesus announces it. He forgives sins. He heals people. He calls disciples to follow him and live differently.

God's rule is becoming visible.

And yet, the world is obviously not the way God intends it to be in the end.

So what do we do with that?

The Kingdom Is Now-and Not Yet

Christians often describe this as the now and not yet of the kingdom.

In Jesus, God's reign has truly arrived. We can experience his forgiveness, his presence, and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives now.

But the final fullness of his kingdom is still ahead. We wait for the day when Christ will set all things right.

Both things are true.

And living between them can feel strange.

Jesus asks us to live as people of his kingdom even though the world around us doesn't fully reflect that kingdom yet.

He tells us to forgive. To love enemies. To serve instead of seeking power. To practice generosity and humility.

And part of us thinks, Okay, but have you met the people I'm supposed to love?

The tension is real.

It's a Little Like Being Stuck in an Airport

There's a movie called The Terminal, where Tom Hanks plays a man who finds himself stuck in an airport. The country he left has undergone a crisis, and the paperwork he needs to enter his destination no longer works.

He's arrived, but he hasn't actually entered the life he thought he was traveling to.

I think there's a helpful picture there for Christians.

We're citizens of God's kingdom. We've begun to experience the life Jesus offers. But we're still living in a world where many things are unfinished.

It's as though we've arrived at the airport and haven't yet reached the destination.

I have been through some interesting airports. Branson felt very different from LAX: country music and barbecue gave it a flavor of the place beyond the terminal. The barbecue was not as good as it was in Branson itself, but it was still good.

That helps me picture a foretaste. We can experience something real of God's goodness now while still waiting for the fullness he has promised. Unlike a stranded traveler, we are not shut out of God's presence; his Spirit is already at work among us.

Or think about the free version of an app. You can see some of the features. It's real software. It does things. But the full version includes so much more.

Now, don't build a whole theology out of my app comparison. It's just a picture.

The point is that what we experience now is real, but it isn't the whole story.

Jesus Asks Us to Live by Kingdom Values Now

This is the part I find challenging.

We don't get to say, "Well, I'll start forgiving people once the kingdom finally arrives."

Or, "I'll practice humility when everybody else stops competing for attention."

Jesus invites us to begin living his way now.

And that means his teaching should sometimes rub against our instincts.

Our instincts say to protect our status, win every argument, and make sure we get what's ours. Jesus tells us that greatness looks like serving and that love can extend even toward people who mistreat us.

We can become very skilled at finding reasons why Jesus' commands should apply to everybody else but not to this particular situation in our lives.

I know I've done that. I have spent time explaining why turning the other cheek does not have to apply, or why loving an enemy might have an exception in this particular case. Before long, Jesus' words become the exception instead of the rule.

Wise boundaries matter. But I need to ask whether I am seeking wisdom or simply defending my preference.

But if God's reign is real, then his values should begin shaping us.

We Can Live Faithfully in the Tension

One day, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12, what we now know only in part will be known more fully.

That's a comfort to me. There are parts of God's kingdom I don't fully understand yet.

Jesus didn't give us one neat textbook explaining everything. He told stories. He challenged assumptions. He invited people to follow him and discover what life under God's reign looks like.

So don't be surprised when following Jesus feels countercultural or uncomfortable.

The kingdom is here. The kingdom is coming.

And right now, we get to practice living as people of the King.