I also wanted to invite you to the adult forum in the sanctuary between worship services.  We get started about 10:20 AM.  This Sunday, we'll continue our discussion on how the old book - the Bible - applies to us today.  We concluded last week with the question, "How can Biblical words like 'Lord' and 'King' be understood when most of us have NO personal experience with lords and kings?"  If you have ideas about the answer, come share your thoughts and hear those of others.

Ask the Pastor

Pastor Paul Answers Your Questions

Pastor Paul, FDR had the New Deal, JFK the New Frontier, LBJ the Great Society, and Jesus of Nazareth the kingdom of God.  What did Jesus mean by the kingdom of God?

With reference to the agendas of three presidents, this question puts the kingdom of God into a context that leads us to the first thing that can be said of it.  Jesus said to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world."  Nevertheless, the kingdom of God comes into this world.  We pray for it to come.  And Martin Luther, in the Small Catechism, wrote about the second petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Thy kingdom come."  So what does this mean?  The kingdom of God comes of itself, without our prayer, yet we pray that it may come.

How is this done?

It is done when the heavenly Father gives us the Holy Spirit; by his grace, we may believe his holy Word and live a godly life, both now and forever.  In the Large Catechism, Luther wrote:

What is the kingdom of God?  Simply what we learned in the creed, namely that God sent his Son, Christ our Lord, into the world to redeem and deliver us from the power of the devil and to bring us to himself and rule us as a king of righteousness, life and salvation against sin, death and an evil conscience.

So Lutherans understand the Kingdom of God to be an activity of God, NOT a geographical place.  This activity is centered in Jesus Christ.  When Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is among you" (or "in your midst"), he was referring to himself.  Some people incorrectly translate and interpret his words to mean, "The kingdom of God is in you."  The Greek in the gospels does not allow for this translation.

To quote a contemporary Lutheran theologian, Martin Marty: "Where Jesus was proclaiming good news, healing, calling for repentance, effecting justice, doing the words of love - there was the activity he called the kingdom.  He also summoned his followers to announce the kingdom and to be part of its activity, so it still goes on."