For Thine is the Kingdom… Really?
So many individuals know the words of the prayer Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount. It begins by addressing God with the words, “Our Father which art in heaven. . .” and ends with “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen” (KJV—Matt. 6:9-13). What can be so easily overlooked is the prayer of David as he discussed the building of the temple by his son, Solomon. He said, “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power and the glory, and . . . the kingdom” (1 Chon. 29:11).
What does the expression “Thine is the kingdom” really mean? Look at the NKJV rendering of the words of David, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory. . .Yours is the kingdom, O Lord.” The kingdom is God’s. Thine (Yours) is the kingdom!
Now when we understand that John the Baptist, Jesus, the twelve and the seventy proclaimed that the kingdom of God was at hand, about to come in the first century (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7; Luke 10:9), should we be surprised that Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come”? Jesus said that the kingdom would come with power in the lives of those who heard His words (Mark 9:1). We know what that kingdom is. Those in the early church had been translated into the kingdom (Col. 1:13). Jesus said the kingdom would come in the first century. What came? That which came was the church.
Now note how the prayer the Lord gave said that the kingdom belongs to God! He said that kingdom is Yours (Thine). He planned it and the blood of Emmanuel bought the church (Acts 20:28). It is His and His alone! He is the King over the kingdom. He is the head over the church (Eph. 1:22-23). Look again at the prayer. The kingdom belongs to Him forever.
O the folly of any mortal, whose very life is dependent on the breath God gives him, to usurp the right of the King to govern His kingdom, to rule His church. But isn’t that what has been done in Christendom?
The whole basis of denominational division is that God has abdicated His throne and given the kingdom to mortals and the right to change anything in the church any man desires. God did not give men the right to change His rules for His kingdom about worship, the Lord’s Supper, congregational singing, church organization, baptism, and a host of other matters. Where is the authority for all these changes? Does it come from a church synod, the reverend pastor, the church board, etc.?
Read the Bible. Let God be King over your life. Let’s return to the way He designed His kingdom, the church. Let’s not just say the words, “Thine is the kingdom.” Let’s give the kingdom back to Him.