So Pray We Yet
"OUR Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come."
Thus did the Master teach His disciples to pray; and the injunction has never been abrogated. The passing of the centuries has demonstrated the need of ever increasing fervency in the supplication Thy kingdom come!
But if this petition be anything more than words, it implies a conviction on the part of the supplicant that the kingdom specified has not yet been established on the earth, and that it will be set up in due time. And, if there is to be a kingdom, there must needs be a living, reigning King.
In the Gospel according to Matthew the phrase "kingdom of heaven" repeatedly occurs; while in the writings of the other evangelists and throughout the epistles, the corresponding expression is "kingdom of God," "kingdom of Christ," or simply "kingdom." In many instances these designations are used with the same meaning, though a distinction is apparent in others. The several scriptural usages of the terms comprise:
1. A signification practically identical with that of "The Church of Jesus Christ."
2. The designation of the literal kingdom, material and spiritual, over which Christ the Lord shall rule by personal ministration in days yet future.
Under the first conception, the "kingdom" of scriptural mention has been already established as an organization among men, and is today in a state of war against sin, with its powers and resources mobilized in defense of freedom of worship and for the salvation of the race. Plainly, when we speak of the Church as the Kingdom we refer to an institution already extant on the earth, not one that is yet to come.
The Church of Jesus Christ asserts no right of control in the government of nations; and its jurisdiction in temporal affairs is limited to matters of organization and discipline within itself, such as are essential to the maintenance and perpetuity of any community body.
The Kingdom of God and the Church of Christ are virtually synonymous terms. We do not pray that this organization shall come; for it is now existent. We pray and strive for its growth and development, for the spread of its saving principles, and for their acceptance by all mankind. But the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than the Church as the latter exists today, and when fully established will be seen to be a development thereof. Its advent is yet to be prayed for.