What is the nature of God’s Government for the world?
The biblical motif of God’s ‘Kingdom’ conveys this truth. God’s government invades planet earth through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, accompanied by supernatural confirmation; as the executive agent of the Godhead, God’s government is “in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17). But what is the core message of the Gospel?
The Gospel that Christ and the apostles proclaimed was the Good News of the Kingdom—of the new order of God’s government coming to earth, not in Caesar (i.e. the state), but in Christ. It is not only personal salvation but cosmic—the renovation of the universe. A new heavens and a new earth! Having been enthroned over the universe through his ascension, Christ is now actively ruling. And the Scriptures teach that he will do so until all his enemies are subdued. Thus, Christ’s victory in history is both already inaugurated and progressively realized. It will gradually increase, through the ambassadorial role of Christ’s Body, the church, until the knowledge of the glory of the Lord fills the earth.
Just as every human civil government has a constitution, likewise, God’s government. Its constitution is God’s covenant with humankind, accompanied by its divinely revealed stipulations (conditions) and sanctions (consequences).
God’s government flows from the spiritual regeneration of the individual and their self-government through to the family, the redeemed community, and to civil government. Each of these four spheres has been constituted by God through which he delegates his authority for human protection and flourishing.
