John Piper, in a sermon, “How is the Kingdom Present?”
The New Testament pictures all of history in two ages: this age with its sin and misery and satanic power, and the age to come with its righteousness and wholeness and freedom and joy. The mystery of the kingdom is that these two ages have intersected with the coming of Jesus. They now overlap. The age to come has in a sense begun. But this fallen age endures for a time. We live, not between the times, but in both times. We have tasted the “powers of the age to come” (Hebrews 6:5).
We know that Christ already purchased our healing (1 Peter 2:24; Matthew 8:17), but we still groan with sickness (Romans 8:23; 2 Corinthians 4:16). We have already passed from death to life (1 John 3:14), but we still die (1 Corinthians 15:26). We already have the sanctifying Spirit as a down payment of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:14), but the war between flesh and Spirit goes on every day (Galatians 5:16–18). We have already been acquitted of all sin in Christ (Romans 5:1), but must go on every day praying, “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12). We already have our citizenship in the kingdom of God (Philippians 3:20), but for now must still submit in measure to the rulers of this world (Romans 13:1).
In a word, every blessing of the age to come is already ours in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), but God wills for us to come into our inheritance patiently. According to Acts 14:22 Paul taught all his new believers, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom” (Acts 14:22; Matthew 7:14; Mark 10:24). It is God’s way to make us “fit for the kingdom” (2 Thessalonians 1:5).
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 