Kingdom Theology: Part 3
Two Kingdoms in Opposition
The Gospels picture two kingdoms standing in opposition to one another. The kingdom of God came with power to defeat the dominions of Satan. When a demon-possessed man was healed by Jesus, multitudes of Jews began to wonder if Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of David. The Pharisees, becoming jealous, retorted that Jesus was casting out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons. Jesus replied by describing two opposing kingdoms. The demons were not cast out by Beelzebub because Satan would not fight against himself (Matt. 12:22-27). Then Jesus said, "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matt. 12:28 NASB). Deliverance from demon possession demonstrated the emancipating power of God that had entered the world to defeat the power of Satan.
In Matthew 12:29 Jesus gives the analogy of the binding of the strong man in order to carry off his property. Satan in this context is the strong man; however, Jesus, the implied stronger man, is able to bind him. When healing the spirit-possessed, Jesus entered the house of Satan, bound him, and took possession of his property. This defeat of Satan was characteristic of Christ's ministry. He was breaking down the authority of Satan by entering his domain, a world controlled by his power (1 John 5:19).
It must be noted that the stronger man "first binds the strong man" before he may "plunder his house" (Matt. 12:29 RSV, emphasis added). The satanic influence in a person must be defeated before God can take possession of him. "The plundering of the Strong Man's house takes place only after he had been defeated" (Beasley-Murray 1986, 109).
The defeat of Satan during Jesus' ministry was a foretaste of what Jesus did in breaking the chains of death and being raised from the dead (Col. 2:15). The entire ministry of Jesus was characterized by triumph over Satan. This has become a testimony to later generations that "he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4 RSV).
Thus the kingdom was proclaimed not only by word but also by deed. Jesus proclaimed the message of the kingdom while at the same time casting out demons and helping the blind to see and the lame to walk (Matt. 11:5). The kingdom in the New Testament is seen as the "dynamic activity of God, operative in, with, and through" Jesus Christ (Beasley-Murray 1986, 74).
Kingdom Perspectives in Early Christian Proclamation
The kingdom was also proclaimed in the ministry of the early church. When Philip went to Samaria and "proclaimed the Christ there" (Acts 8:5), his message was "the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12). Paul was said to have gone "about preaching the kingdom" (Acts 20:25). His ministry was reflected in his conversional experience. Christ called him on the road to Damascus to proclaim the gospel to Gentiles--"to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God" (Acts 26:18). Paul in Rome declared the "kingdom of God" (Acts 28:23) to the Jews. Pauline Epistles proclaim deliverance "from the dominion of darkness...into the kingdom of the Son" (Col. 1:13). Apostolic preaching might be summarized as kingdom proclamation.
This proclamation of the kingdom is especially apropos in animistic contexts. Simon of Samaria was a sorcerer considered so powerful that he was acclaimed as "the Great Power" (Acts 8:9-11). Philip powerfully preached the might acts of God in defeating the powers of Satan--the message of "the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12). Simon, perhaps drawn by the demonstration of power that accompanied Philip's message, believed and was baptized (Acts 8:13). Even Simon as a Christian could not resist seeking power. He thought that Peter and John, apostles sent from Jerusalem to impart spiritual gifts to the new Samaritan Christians, were power brokers similar to the animistic practitioners of this tradition. Simon, therefore, approached them about buying the power of the "laying on of the apostles' hands" (Acts 8:18). Although he probably had received apostolic gifts through the laying on of hands by Peter and John, he now wanted the power to dispense these gifts. He was equating the power of God with the powers of his animistic heritage.
Inaugurated Eschatology
In biblical writings about the kingdom there is an evident "tension between the 'already' and the 'not yet.' The kingdom has been inaugurated but has not yet been completed" (Osborne 1987). Christians, who have been "strengthened with all power according to his glorious might" (Col. 1:11) in the present age, anticipate "the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light" (Col. 1:12). They have "tasted...the powers of the age to come!" (Heb. 6:5 RSV). The concept that the kingdom has already broken in the world but has not yet been consummated is termed inaugurated eschatology. The rule that God has initiated in Jesus Christ actively continues through those who believe in him and will be consummated at the end of the age (Beasley-Murray 1986, 80).
The parables of the kingdom make clear the nature of the rule of God in a world where the powers of Satan continue to exist. In the parable found in Matthew 13:24-30, the tares and the wheat exist side by side. The tares represent "the sons of the evil one" and the wheat "the sons of the kingdom" (v. 38 NASB). Since the roots of the tares have mingled with those of the wheat, removing the tares would endanger the harvest. The focus of the parable is on the command "Allow both to grow together until the harvest" (v. 30 NASB). Jesus teaches that the good and bad are not separated in the present age. This is the final work of God when he consummates his kingdom with judgment: The tares will be separated from the wheat and "THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH...in the kingdom of their father" (13:43 NASB). This parable thus gives a reason for the continuance of Satan's kingdom even though God's kingdom in Christ has broken into the world.
Although the kingdom of God has come, the kingdom of Satan continues to exist. Contrary to Jewish expectations, the arrival of the kingdom of God did not eradicate the kingdom of Satan.
This concept of inaugurated eschatology compels the animist, who is overwhelmed by evil forces, to wait on the Lord to act. The animist knows that evil forces coexist in this world with forces of God. He must not "consult the mediums and the wizards" (Isa. 8:19 RSV) but "wait for the Lord" (Isa. 8:17) and turn to "the law and to the testimony" (Isa. 8:20). He must not "consult the dead on behalf of the living" (Isa. 8:19). Knowing that both the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan coexist in this present world, the Christian of an animist heritage is able to differentiate the two.
Kingdom Proclamation in Animistic Contexts
Kingdom theology is appropriate for Christian proclamation in animistic contexts for a number of reasons. First, kingdom theology provides an interpretive model based on the Word of God for explaining the world. Spirit propitiation and appeasement of both malevolent and ambivalent spirits and gods are of the realm of Satan; the worship of the awesome, majestic Creator is of the realm of God. spirit possession, black magic, and witchcraft are of the reign of Satan; God protects the Christian from the malevolent use of all such powers in his kingdom. In the kingdom of Satan morality is relative, defined by society and by relations with ambivalent spiritual beings. In the kingdom of God morality is defined by a holy God who expects his people to reflect his nature. Kingdom theology, therefore, provides a holistic philosophy to help the animist understand the reality of God in the world.
Second, kingdom theology introduces the reign of God, which equips believers to attack and defeat the powers of Satan. By the power of Christ, fetishes and altars are destroyed, satanic laws overturned, and the spirit-possessed healed. God in his spirit protects his children so that there is no fear of magic or witchcraft. A Christian's relationship to God casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). Above all, in Jesus Christ there is forgiveness of sins so that harmony with God and with his world is reestablished. Just as Jesus did, the church actively confronts Satan's powers in all their manifestations in order to bring people under the sovereignty of God. Christians have the assurance that they will overcome because they have a greater power than that which is in the world (1 John 4:4).
Third, kingdom theology makes no dichotomy between the natural and the supernatural. It acknowledges that the encounter between God and Satan is actively taking place in this world. God heals the sick, blesses and protects his children, and casts out spirits as manifestations of the kingdom. God controls all facets of his world, both physical and spiritual. No dichotomy should be made between these two realms. The missionary working in an animistic society must believe in the reign of God over all domains of life.
Fourth, while conversion theology is individualistic, kingdom theology is systemic. It aims to Christianize the entire cultural system. Not only must the individual give allegiance to creator God in Jesus Christ, but the customs, mores, and laws that have been contorted by the influence of Satan must also be Christianized. ethics and morality thus become part of the proclamation of the kingdom of God. For example, rites of passage must be made Christian. When a child is born, he is blessed before God rather than having an ancestor called into him. The coming-of-age rite will initiate children into Christian adulthood. Prayers for God's blessing upon marriage rites will mirror faith in God rather than having beer spit upon a traditional wedding band asking for ancestral blessings. Birth, marriage, and coming-of-age rites must all demonstrate the nature of Christ. During times of drought and famine, God, the giver of rain, is beseeched in prayer. The reign of Christ must be seen in every facet of life.
In kingdom theology the encounter between God and Satan is overtly declared.
A Suggested Metaphor in Animistic Contexts
There are many different metaphors of the atonement. Similar to colors of a prism produced by one ray of light, different metaphors of the atonement are used to explain the mystery of God's saving work of bringing people to himself (Steeves 1990, 15). Fisher Humphreys has given three biblical metaphors of the atonement. Peter's metaphor in his sermons in Acts conceives the atonement as the dawning of a new age in Jesus Christ in an eschatological setting. Paul's metaphor in Romans and Galatians pictures atonement as justification in Christ within a legal setting. The writer of Hebrews describes atonement as sacrificial expiation in a legal setting (Humphreys 1978, 19-29). While these metaphors would be understandable to an animist and would shed additional light on the radiance of God's atonement once he becomes a Christian, they would not create an urgency in his heart to hear the Christian message.
The metaphor which does stir the heart of the animist is that of Christ, the triumphant one, who defeats the principalities and powers. In his death Christ "disarmed the rulers and authorities" and "made a public display of them" (Col. 2:15 NASB). Conversion, therefore, is not simply personal salvation but also "cosmic redemption" from the powers (Bruce 1984, 113). This metaphor is the classical doctrine of the atonement, reintroduced to Western theology by Gustav Aulen in Christus Victor, proclaimed by the church whenever animists forsake their paganism to worship their emancipating, sovereign Creator (Driver 1986, 71-86).
Throughout the generations people have come to God from animistic contexts and have needed to view Christ as the one who is victorious over the powers. While Westerners have tended to feel uncomfortable with Aulen's perspective and have de-emphasized it, the animist gladly responds to the Good News that the powers of Satan have been defeated in Jesus Christ. Paradoxically, an overemphasis on this metaphor creates triumphalism, an emphasis on power, which Christ, who had all power, gave up. However, without the power of God the animist can never free himself of the power of Satan. Only the message of the Triumphant One who defeats the powers will free the animist from his bondage. May the news of the Triumphant One be mightily proclaimed!
Western formulations of theology are inadequate to affect animistic peoples like the Kipsigis. If Kipsigis Christians had been presented a coherent kingdom theology from the beginning, my visitors would not have needed to ask me how to deal with spirit possession. From her inception the church would have been actively confronting the powers of Satan. My response "Let us pray God Almighty to free the children of the spirits" was right. Nevertheless, the fact that the question was asked at all shows how movements growing out of a Western secular heritage seldom deal with any theology beyond conversion. Those converted have no theology with which to confront Satan. Western missiologists must become better theologians, doing biblical theology, in order to formulate a theology of the kingdom, showing God in Jesus breaking into the world to defeat the powers of Satan.
Copyright
©2000 by Gailyn Van Rheenen -- excerpt from Communicating Christ in
Animistic Contexts (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1996)
All rights reserved. If you wish to copy this information, please e-mail
Dr. Van Rheenen.