Matthew 6:10

Matthew 6:10 A. Jesus taught us to pray that the Father’s kingdom come. c/w v. 9. 1. kingdom: Kingly function, authority, or power; sovereignty, supreme rule; the position or rank of a king, kingship. trans. and fig. The spiritual sovereignty of God or Christ, or the sphere over which this extends, in heaven or on earth; the spiritual state of which God is the head. 2. This involves the concept of God’s government, His kingly reign. B. There are five things in Scripture referred to as the kingdom of God. 1. God’s universal rule. 1CH 29:11-12. 2. The O.T. nation of Israel. 2CH 13:5, 8. 3. The regenerate elect family of God. JOH 3:3 c/w ROM 5:17, 21; COL 1:13. 4. The eternal state, heaven. MAT 25:30-34, 46; 2TI 4:18; 2PE 1:10-11. 5. The N.T. church under the government of the God-man, Jesus Christ. LUK 16:16 c/w LUK 7:28-30; MAT 16:18-19. a. This is the kingdom of God prophesied in DAN 2:44-45; ISA 9:6-7. b. It came at the appointed time. MAR 1:15; GAL 4:4. c. It is the only kingdom of God/heaven that came at such an appointed time. C. “Thy kingdom come” is an expression in the imperative voice, subjunctive mood. 1. It is a demand or command as a request for something promised or desired. 2. Scripture closes with a similar plea. REV 22:20. D. “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (MAT 6:10) is appropriately attached to “Thy kingdom come.” 1. This prayer ultimately looks to the perfect conditions of God’s rule in heaven, the everlasting kingdom of 2PE 1:10-11. 2. This prayer desires God’s heavenly government to be reflected in the earth. 3. This prayer is especially relevant and applicable to the N.T. church which is God’s kingdom in this world. a. We ought to desire in the church things that are in accord with our heavenly King’s will, even as Jesus showed us. It is, after all, the church of God. JOH 6:38; MAT 26:39. b. We ought to receive in the church those whom God has declared He receives in heaven. ACT 10:15. c. We ought to purge from the church those with whom God will not fellowship. GAL 5:19-21 c/w 2CO 6:14-18. d. We ought to emphasize in the church things that accord with God’s will and government. ROM 14:17; MAT 6:33. e. Since the church is emphatically Christ’s kingdom we ought to desire His oversight and judgment so as to increase His government and peace in it. ISA 9:7; REV 3:20-22. E. Remember that the kingdom of Christ is a spiritual kingdom and in us personally it works from the inside out. JOH 18:36; LUK 17:20-21; PHIL 2:12-13. 1. “Thy kingdom come” may be viewed as a plea for the reign of Christ in our hearts and over our hearts. This is the submission which overcomes Satan. JAM 4:7. 2. We ought not let sin therefore reign in us or over us. That is Satan’s kingdom/government. Matthew 6:10 10-3-24 Page 1 of 2  ROM 6:12 c/w EPH 2:1-2. 3. Our affections should be primarily on things above since that is where our lives are anyway. COL 3:1-3. 4. We should desire the increase of Christ’s government and peace in us personally. ISA 9:7; COL 3:15; PHIL 3:13-15. a. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (ISA 26:3). b. “Let the truths of God rule in your heads, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” (Matthew Henry) F. “Thy kingdom come” is a hope-filled longing for the full realization of God’s government. 1. Christ will return in time to catch His kingdom out of this world unto His world. 1CO 15:24-25. 2. Then, even the Son shall be “...subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all” (1CO 15:26-28). 3. In that day, our resistance issues with His government shall be graciously and mercifully ended. PHIL 3:20-21. 4. Until then, let our plea, “Thy kingdom come” be for the government of God wherever it is lacking: in our hearts, in the church, and in the world around us that even in its unbelief is still under the Son’s rule. PSA 110:1-2. Matthew 6:10 10-3-24 Page 2 of 2