abstract: When it is said that Christ's kingdom is not of this world, it is by no means meant that this world is not of Christ's kingdom.

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by J. S. Buck

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Vol. 1, No. 22, July 15, 1868 issue of The Christian Statesman.

One of the strangest spectacles which men or angels ever beheld was Jesus Christ standing before Pontius Pilate. No wonder the dignity of the accused caused the judge a painful consciousness of his own inferiority. No wonder the reputed purity of the life of Jesus; the utter want of evidence against him; and above all, that look which only innocence can wear, made the Roman officer anxious to wash his hands from the blood of this just person. If there had been any means by which Pilate could have escaped the malice of the Jews and the vengeance of Caesar, and at the same time have released Jesus, he would have availed himself of it with gladness. He questioned the prisoner again and again, if haply he might reconcile his release with the wishes of the Jews and the safety of his own power. He asked him particularly, in regard to the charge made by his accusers, if he was the king of the Jews. Jesus replied, "My kingdom is not of this world." In this answer Christ calmly gives his questioner to understand that he is a king. He asserts his claim to a kingdom, while he describes its character. And this kingdom which Christ here claims as his own, is not to be confined either to that spiritual power which he exercises over the hearts of his people, or to the invisible church known in the Scriptures as the Kingdom of Heaven. It embraces the whole of that dominion over which he is Ruler, to which he gives laws, and from which he demands allegiance.

When this kingdom is described as not of this world, it is meant that it is not of this world in the sense implied by Pilate. The Jews were looking for a Messiah. Jesus claimed to be the Messiah--the Christ. But he did not fulfill their expectations. He did not revive the literal scepter of Judah. He did not sit on the literal throne of David. He did not rebuild their temple and restore its former splendor. Neither did he wear royal apparel nor dwell in a palace. His power they could not deny: his miracles were wrought in the presence of many witnesses, and his wisdom was the object of constant wonder. But their disappointment was so bitter that it wrought the fiercest malice in their hearts. If only he had proclaimed himself king, and stood forth the champion of their natural rights, they were ready to follow him. Hence they frequently asked him, "Art thou the Christ? Tell us plainly." And once there was a conspiracy to take him by force and make him king. But no; the Zion of the Jews had ceased to be the mountain, and their Jerusalem the city of that name. Jesus, though claiming to be a king, and that very King whom the prophets had foretold, declined to exercise any authority as a Jewish prince. He was indeed that king whose glorious and triumphant reign was the burden of all prophetic vision, but he was not that imaginary person of whom accusation was made to Pilate as king of the Jews. And hence, in reference to this conception which Pilate had formed from the accounts of his traducers, his kingdom was not of this world.

Again, this kingdom of Christ is not of this world as to its economy. One cannot but admire the grand conception which Gregory VII formed of a whole world in subjection to one power, and the visible representative of that power the vicegerent of Christ. But in this conception, and in all attempts to realize it, were two great mistakes: first, Christ never appointed any vicegerent; and second, as a natural consequence, the temporal power of the Papacy possessed few, if any, of the characteristics of the kingdom of Christ. Hence it is that this power, after holding almost complete sway over the civilized world, has gradually decayed until at length Pious IX, its present and perhaps its last representative, is unable to maintain his throne without foreign aid.

Jesus himself, after saying that his kingdom was not of this world, gives this proof or illustration of the fact: "If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight." It was not for want of power to establish it that Christ did not found an earthly kingdom. For, leaving out of sight the assistance which the Jews would willingly have lent to such a project, had he not twelve legions of angels subject to his call? But that, just then, was not his work. It was to overcome by his blood rather than by the sword. It was to purchase his kingdom rather than to perfect it. And to his servants, as such, he has given weapons, not carnal but spiritual; and he has decreed that they shall overcome "by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony."

A distinction is to be carefully observed here between "a kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ," and "the kingdom of Christ." The fact that a nation is the former gives it no right to assume either the name or authority of the latter. If a nation should profess its allegiance to Christ, and require its officers to enforce his law, it would possess the leading characteristics of a kingdom of Christ. But that would give it no right or authority to reduce other nations to his dominion by force of arms. The very attempt at such conquest would disprove all its claims. That all the kingdoms of this world shall become the professed subjects of Christ cannot be doubted, for it is promised in the sure word of prophecy. But that it will be accomplished either by persecutions or crusades is contrary to Christ's express declaration. In this sense his servants do not fight. The Mediator employs two special agencies for the establishment of his power: 1st. His Providence, by which he dashes at times rebellious nations against each other as potsherds. In this sense, he sends not peace on earth, but a sword. 2nd. His Spirit, which, descending on all nations, as the dew, shall make them willing subjects in the day of his power.

Christ's kingdom is not of this world as to its extent. It is to be noted here that when it is said that Christ's kingdom is not of this world, it is by no means meant that this world is not of Christ's kingdom. And while he has not authorized his servants, even when constituting nations, to subjugate the world to him by the sword, yet it is none the less the duty of all nations to own his authority. There is the clearest proof that nations, as such, are the lawful subjects of his purchased power. The terms of the Father's gift are, "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." "Sit at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool." "Thou hast put all things under his feet." Then there are his titles; not merely honorary titles, but the exact symbols of his real authority. He is called "Governor among the nations," "Prince of the kings of the earth," "the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords;" and the name Christ is itself significantly expressive of delegated authority. This mediatorial power, this throne of universal dominion is the reward of the Redeemer's sufferings for man. "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name." Angels and authorities are made subject unto him. "And again, when he bringeth in his first-begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him." But why multiply texts? There is no doctrine of the Bible more clearly, repeatedly, and emphatically stated than the universal dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ. And how cheering to the believer the thought that there is no enemy in the universe against whom Christ cannot protect him; while on the other hand, how terrible to the wicked the solemn truth that there is no hiding-place in the universe where they are safe from his wrath.

Nor is the kingdom of Christ limited to this world any more in its duration than in its extent. There will indeed be a period when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, commend the righteous to his eternal favor, and abandon the wicked to his eternal wrath, when the work of subjugating and converting shall be done. But still it shall be said to him by the Father, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever."

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