The nature of God’s kingdom work is this: “the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” (1 Cor. 4:20)
The words I speak have power, the ideas I hold have significance and the ideals I embrace are forceful. I am able to influence people, both negatively and positively, through my abilities to reason and to express myself using human vocabulary. But, while God will use human speech and human reason as a tool to bring about his plans, human dialog and human intelligence alone are not sufficient.
The nature of God’s kingdom work is found in God’s miraculous power. It is in his might, strength or ability to perform what no person or host of persons can.
His power is inherent power: it is contained within himself. It is not gained from any source outside himself, so that when he rules, he rules in power, irrespective of all and any other powers at work. His power is manifested as, for example:
– the power I have to perform miracles;
– the principled power and excellence of soul I need to live in victory;
– the power which belongs to my resourceful ability to bless others; and
– the power arising from my ability to work together with God’s people.
My ability to apply God’s ability – is my ability.
Jesus’ prayer, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” (Mat. 6:10) was more than a wish.
A wish is a stated will or yearning. While it may be characterized by passion and zeal, the wish alone has no substance. It is merely the expression of what a person wants.
Saying, “I wish I had a million dollars” does not give me a million dollars. It merely states a desire I might have. It has no substance. My statement alone does not contain the ability to produce a million dollars.
Jesus’ prayer, however, was beyond a wish. While it revealed his desire that the rule of his Father would be extended and employed on earth in the same manner and substance that it is in heaven, it was more than that.
Jesus’ prayer was a creative act.
In the same manner in which he restored blind eyes with a word from his mouth, so too was his word here. And in the same way he cast out demons with one vocal command, so too was the effect of his speech here.
Jesus was and is God. He was and is the Christ, or Messiah, “the Son of the living God.” (Mat. 16:16) He was and is divinity. So, when he speaks, God speaks. And when God speaks limbs grow, souls are set free, dead people come to life again and worlds are created. So, when Jesus prayed – in the context of the life he lived and laid down, and that was raised to life again and ascended into the heavens, and by virtue of the person and work of Holy Spirit, who was poured out on the Day of Pentecost – “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” (Mat. 6:10) the kingdom of God Almighty came and his will was and will be done, in my world!