Below are some thoughts from Dr. John Davis of Grace Church in Philadelphia, on the “Already, Not Yet” Kingdom of Jesus. Pastor Davis is the overseer of Sonship Ministries, the church I am privileged to call home.  You can read his blog here.

1. Already a Kingdom in which the King offers redemption through his death and resurrection; not yet a kingdom in which redemption is applied to all of creation.
2. Already a Kingdom which one sees and enters through repentance and faith (John 3:3-5); not yet a kingdom which one sees with the physical eye.
3. Already a spiritual kingdom in which the King rules over the hearts and lives of his subjects, not yet, a geo-political kingdom in which all the universe is in subjection to His righteous rule.
4. Already a kingdom in which the subjects of the King are learning to love one another and live in unity; not yet a kingdom in which the subjects of the King perfectly love another and live in unity.
5. Already a kingdom in which its subjects hold title to an eternal inheritance; not yet a kingdom in which the subjects are in full enjoyment of the inheritance.
6. Already a kingdom in which its subjects are granted the New Heavens and Earth; not yet a kingdom in which they possess the New Heavens and Earth.
7. Already a kingdom which is in conflict with the powers of darkness; not yet a kingdom which is fully triumphant over the powers of darkness.
8. Already a kingdom in which the power of the King over death, disease, and the devil is evident; not yet a kingdom in which death, disease, and the devil are banished forever.
9. Already a kingdom growing mysteriously and gradually (Matt 13); not yet a kingdom manifested in power and glory.

“God expects nothing from Alan Redpath but failure. I as a man am no different today from the day before I was converted. Five minutes after I’ve finished preaching I would be capable of committing any sin imaginable but for the grace of God. Alan Redpath is no different as a man from what he was as a youngster. And the sins that beset him then beset him now, were it not for a constant, continual dependence upon the blood of Jesus, and the grace of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit to keep me.”

– Alan Redpath

“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” Romans 3:28

Trust – what is it?

Go to that child’s couch when the storm is raging,
moaning among the tree-tops and strewing branches
on the lawn, the blackened sky echoing with the
artillery of heaven. A parent’s hand draws the curtain
and smoothes the ruffled pillow; a parent’s lip kisses 
all fear away.

Such is the trust and confidence of His children inspired
by their Heavenly Father in the hour of anxiety and dismay,
“In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence, and His 
children shall have a place of refuge.” Proverbs 14:26

John MacDuff, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour

“There is fullness of sympathy in our God.  The river that flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb, did you ever hear of it drying up?  “The “Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.” The Son, the “Consolation of Israel,” He that was sent to comfort all that mourn; the Holy Spirit “the Comforter,” leading us to Consolation of Israel and the Father of mercies.  We are at the deep, deep well of love.  The weariest head and the sorest heart may lean on the bosom on which the beloved disciple leaned, and find indescribable relief and indescribable sympathy, for He will whisper all the time, “All things work together for good to them that love God,” “For thought He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.”

– Andrew Bonar, Heavenly Springs.