When we pray “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” this is what we are praying for. We are praying for God’s kingdom and rule on the earth to be perfect, unopposed and complete, just like it is in heaven. The Garden of Eden, of which we read in Genesis 1-2, serves as a type – a model or picture – of God’s kingdom here on the earth. It serves as a reference point for us of what could be.
God’s reign in the Garden was: Perfect*
- At creation, God’s kingdom on earth was perfect. There was no sin or death.
God’s reign in the Garden was: Unopposed*
- At creation, God’s kingdom on earth was without enemies. His rule was unopposed.
God’s reign in the Garden was: Not Complete
- Even at creation, God’s kingdom on earth was not complete. From the beginning, God’s plan included sending Christ. God had a plan for history that was not complete.
So, to answer the question of what will the kingdom of God look like, look at the Garden. There, his kingdom was perfect and unopposed. But it was still not enough because it was not complete. We must go beyond Eden.
*Yes, I know the serpent opposed God and the Fall (end of perfect) came in the Garden. Go farther back. There was a time before the serpent slithered his way in front of Adam and Eve that the Garden was perfect and unopposed. We’ll see, soon enough in this series, the implications of the Fall.
Radical Greatness 