Luke 11:2 And he said to them, When you pray, say, Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done… I. WHAT IS THIS KINGDOM? 1. The term in its primary signification no doubt suggests a material territory, with a personal sovereign, laws, offices, institutions. But without any effort we transfer this organization to that which is ideal, and use the term in a figurative sense. We are accustomed to speak of a kingdom as representing some particular section of created things; as, for example, the animal kingdom, the vegetable kingdom, the kingdom of letters. The principle of life, and not any particular mode or form of its development, must be the same in the several members of the kingdom. In like manner, the phrase "kingdom of God" is intended to comprise all who are spiritually related to God-all who are partakers of the Divine nature, and are subservient to the Divine rule and government. The complete development of that kingdom is, I take it, the meaning of the term here; and towards that our prayer is directed, though in reality the kingdom itself has already come. 2. This thought suggests another. We have spoken of a common life, a Divine life which constitutes citizenship in the kingdom of God, of laws by which this life is governed, of principles by which it is animated. Let us amplify this idea, so as to see what are the moral forces at work within the kingdom. "The kingdom of God is within you." It is not a thing to be seen; it is a power to be felt. This view of the kingdom is purely a personal one. Its principles must be apprehended, so that he who is enrolled as its subject may possess the moral qualities pertaining to it. "The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." II. WHOSE IS THIS KINGDOM? It is the kingdom of God. But not of God only as God. It is the kingdom of the Father. Whose Father? My Father? Our Father. III. TO WHOM IS THE GOVERNMENT OF THIS KINGDOM COMMITTED? TO Him who by the mysterious incarnation was at once Son of God and Son of Man. Both natures are needed in His capacity of Prince and Ruler. As God, He rules with Divine attributes; as man, He knows and feels for the governed. Let us take care to be in readiness to recognize this kingdom when it comes. (T. Lessey.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. |
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