Is the kingdom present or future? Why does Jesus talk about it both ways?

An important fact must be acknowledged. Not only present and future, as the question states, but always: There was, is, and always will be a kingdom because God is eternal. God eternally reigns sovereign over the realm that is His kingdom. However, these questions center on why Jesus Christ spoke of the kingdom in terms of its current existence and its future reality, often referred to as the already but not yet concept.

This theological concept holds that believers are actively taking part in the kingdom of God, although the kingdom will not reach fullness until its future glory. The “already” side of the kingdom is sometimes called inaugurated eschatology. This expresses that Jesus brought the kingdom to earth with His first coming. Its authority is currently active (already inaugurated), but the full visible reign of God has not yet been established in its entirety on the earth (not yet).

The already but not yet paradigm was developed by Princeton theologian Geerhardus Vos early in the twentieth century. In the 1950s, George Eldon Ladd, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, argued that there are two meanings of the kingdom of God: 1) God’s authority and right to rule and 2) the realm in which God exercises His authority. The kingdom, then, is described in Scripture both as a realm entered now and as a realm entered in the future. Thus, the kingdom of God is both a present reality and a future hope. It is present through Jesus’ ministry and the Holy Spirit in believers, yet it will reach its full consummation only when Christ returns.

Now to the main question. As examples of Jesus’ dual usage, He said, “For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21), and He prayed, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Grasping Jesus’ intent: When He said the kingdom was “at hand” (Mark 1:15), He meant that He, the King, was present. Further, when Christ is in us, the kingdom is “at hand” for those who presently hear the message through the Great Commission. The kingdom was breaking into the world through Jesus’ actions, miracles, and message. It continues into this world through His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

When Jesus spoke of a future kingdom, with His apocalyptic return in glory to judge and finalize His reign (Matthew 25:31-34), He was speaking of when the spiritual age (already) will be united with the glorified reality of the kingdom’s physical existence (not yet). Hebrews 2:8, 9; John 18:36; and 1 John 3:2 further discuss this distinction.

So while the biblical basis for the already but not yet method of interpretation is true, we must avoid an error: We do not grow the kingdom. We receive it or it comes (Matthew 6:10; Luke 11:2). People who receive Jesus and His terms for citizenship are included in His kingdom when it comes to them (Mark 10:15). Jesus’ parables of the kingdom picture it as yeast in dough and a tree growing. In other words, the kingdom is slowly working toward ultimate fulfillment. It is not sporadically “breaking through” to bring us comfort in this world, as some erroneously teach.

While we may not yet feel the reality, Romans 8:30 and Ephesians 2:4-7 speak of it as certainty. The kingdom is an eternal certainty now and forever.

— Elder Chip Hinds