The Kingdom of God: What Was He Building?
30 min read
The most important theological tension in the New Testament is the "already / not yet" of the Kingdom. Getting this right changes how you pray, suffer, hope, and engage the world.
"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." — Romans 14:17
1. Oscar Cullmann's D-Day analogy.
The Swiss theologian Oscar Cullmann described the Kingdom tension with a memorable analogy from World War II. D-Day — the Allied invasion of Normandy — was the decisive turning point that made the final outcome certain. But the war was not over on D-Day. It continued for another year with significant suffering and cost. V-Day — Victory Day — was the end. Jesus' death and resurrection is D-Day. The final consummation of all things — V-Day — is still to come. In between, we live in the tension.
2. What is "already."
Through Jesus' ministry, death, resurrection, and the gift of the Spirit, these things are already true: sins are forgiven, the powers are defeated, the Spirit is poured out, the new creation has begun, reconciliation with God is accomplished, eternal life is available, and the resurrection has been inaugurated. These are not future promises. They are present realities to be appropriated by faith.
3. What is "not yet."
These things await the return of Christ: the bodily resurrection of all the dead, the final judgment, the complete defeat and elimination of evil, the full renewal of creation, the removal of sickness and death, the complete revelation of God's children Romans 8:19. These are not available now. They are secured but not yet delivered.
4. Why this tension is not a problem to be solved.
Some Christians try to collapse the tension by putting everything in the future (ignoring the present power of the Kingdom) or by putting everything in the present (claiming all healing, all prosperity, and full restoration are available now by sufficient faith). Both are mistakes. The tension is designed to keep the church humble, hopeful, and engaged. Humble — because much remains to be done. Hopeful — because the decisive battle has been won. Engaged — because we are called to live the "already" into the "not yet."
5. This tension shapes prayer, suffering, and hope.
When you pray for healing and the healing does not come — that is not a failure of faith. It is life in the "not yet." The Kingdom has come; full healing awaits its consummation. When you pray for justice and injustice continues — that is not a sign that God is absent. It is the tension between D-Day and V-Day. And when healing does come, when justice does break through, when reconciliation does happen — these are signs that the Kingdom is genuinely "already," foretastes of the coming fullness.
Write a paragraph: describe a situation where you have seen the "already" of the Kingdom break through. What did it look like? What does it point toward?
Submit your paragraph and your journal answer about living in the "not yet."
A: Jesus' death and resurrection — the decisive turning point that makes the final outcome certain, though the war is not yet over.
A: Sins are forgiven, the powers are defeated, the Spirit is poured out, new creation has begun, reconciliation with God is accomplished.
A: Because it is designed to keep the church humble, hopeful, and engaged — not collapsing into either triumphalism or despair.
Lord, I live between D-Day and V-Day. Give me the faith to receive what is already true and the hope to wait for what is not yet — and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.