Fighting for the Peaceable Kingdom without the Weapons of the World
Meghan Stratford
When I say the word “war” what is the first thought that enters your mind? September 11? Terror? Thousands of lives lost? What about the words light and darkness? Currently, we are members of two nations that are at war: one, against an idealistic perception of evil personified in a specific people and local; two, against a strong and capable enemy with only evil intent. Do not be confused. I speak not of an earthly dual citizenship or a fight against two separate earthly powers. I am speaking of the differences in the kingdom of light and darkness. As followers of Jesus Christ, we live in dual Kingdoms, one of God and one of man. We need to have a correct mindset of what God’s Kingdom looks like and how fighting for that kingdom differs from fighting for any kingdom in this world. My purpose is not to come up with a plan for solving a physical war, but instead to reinforce the importance of fighting evil with good; that is to say, recognizing the spiritual war that is going on everyday and to fight it with the weapons God intends. Aide in this understanding will stem from discussion on the meaning of the kingdom of God, the importance of and implications of spiritual warfare and how these ideas contrast the weaponry tactics of the world. I speak as a humble servant of God who recognizes the limits of my understanding but hopes that the Lord will bring comprehension of you, the audience, of God’s ways and not my own.
First, I must clarify my usage of the term “spiritual” in reference to discussion on the kingdom of God. I do not mean just an inner sense of holiness, but, rather an outward display of inner working of the Holy Spirit. Too often we resort to the Greek imagery of separating completely the spirit from the body; the problem with this is that it gives only negative implications to the flesh and workings of it. We are spiritual beings embodied in a flesh for the purposes of working out the plans and desires of the Lord. The “spiritual” connotation, then, is not limited to that which directly refers to the inner, but also an external exhibit. The one whom we follow, Jesus, according to John Howard Yoder (The Politics of Jesus), was not just a moralist whose teachings had some political implications; he was not primarily a teacher of spirituality whose public ministry unfortunately was seen in a political light; he was not just a sacrificial lamb preparing for his immolation, or a God-Man whose divine status calls us to disregard his humanity. Jesus was, in his divinely mandated (i.e. promised, anointed, messianic) prophethood, priesthood, and kingship, the bearer of a new possibility of human, social, and therefore political relationships. His baptism is the inauguration and his cross is the culmination of that new regime in which his disciples are called to share” (52).
This “new regime” was that of the Kingdom of God. Jesus was talking about a radical change in rule, but not in the way his disciples and other followers thought. His intention was not to overthrow the Roman government by force, but, rather, to teach the principles of his kingdom and allow those who wanted to follow to do so. Following him had drastic implications as the kingdom he spoke of was exceedingly different than the one they lived in.
“The Scriptures teach that there are two opposing princes and two opposing kingdoms: the one is the Prince of Peace, the other the prince of strife. Each of these princes has his particular kingdom and as the prince is so is also the kingdom” (Simons 544). There are rules to establishing a kingdom. A kingdom must have a ruler, subjects, and rule. In God’s kingdom, the Ruler is God. The subjects are those who follow God and the rule is the Word of God. (The opposite could be said of the kingdom of darkness.) God’s kingdom about love. God is love. The kingdom of God, which is the reign of God in the present age and in the age to come, is a kingdom ruled by love. It is a kingdom of righteousness, justice and peace. It is a kingdom that is so vastly different than the kingdoms of our world now. In God’s kingdom, love, humility and service are priority rather than greed, pride and control. The reign of God in our lives starts out small like a mustard seed in a field but grows progressively into a tree. It is like yeast in flour—it slowly infiltrates until it changes and affects all of the dough (Matthew 13:31-35). God’s kingdom in our lives begins with a decision to let God rule and to surrender control completely. It is certainly not a trivial decision. But God’s control over our lives grows with time if we allow it to penetrate every part of our being. It is this rule that makes God’s kingdom a reality in our lives.
“In his revolutionary style, Jesus spoke of a kingdom where God ruled as king. Jesus broke into history at a real point in time, died on a real cross, and left behind a real empty tomb. This was no last-ditch effort on God’s part to save the world from its woes. This was God’s plan for bringing God’s kingdom to earth” (Breen 23). Jesus talked more about this kingdom than anything else; it was of obvious importance. The kingdom of God does not only have eternal implications, but is of the utmost importance now in this present time! He didn’t save us merely so we could get to heaven, but so we could be a fragment of the kingdom now. We are a part of ushering in the kingdom reign of God onto this earth. This is a responsibility that frees us from pursuing the “rights” we deem ours given by the world. We give up those rights to do as we will in order to see God’s kingdom, or reign, come into our lives and God’s will be done.
Entering into this kingdom is a choice, therefore, and should not be forced by men. Jesus’ mentioning of the kingdom of God forcefully advancing (Matthew 11:12) alluded a progressive transformation. The parables used of a mustard seed and yeast also demonstrate this point. It is not by man’s hand, but by God’s—nurturing us through the word and experience and growing us. God’s reign grows because it has life. Therefore, as John the Baptist urges, we are called to “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near” (John 3:1). Repentance requires a changing of mind and direction of heart; being a part of the kingdom of God is to be different than how one was before.
All of this has dealt with that first mentioned kingdom—the kingdom of light reigned by the Prince of peace. However, it is only half of the story. We are told in Scripture that we have a real enemy that prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Revelation chapter 12 tells us of a war between the angels in which “the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (vs.9) This enemy is real and powerful; he as been around since the beginning of time. Ephesians 6:12 speaks of the battle that is now going on against the rulers, authorities, principalities of the dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The word principality that is used implies something that has been in place for ages. These are not struggles against flesh and blood, but against these other rulers in the dark world. This is not to say that rulers of this earth cannot be influenced by these other evil rulers (as they often can be and are!), but the emphasis here is on the evil rulers of the dark world. In the same passage, we are instructed on the weapons to use for such a battle. The belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the spirit. Paul uses war imagery but these are all spiritual weapons: one cannot fight man with these weapons, but one can fight forces of evil with them. Too often we see the counterproductive measure of trying to destroy evil with carnal weapons. This often leads to more death and destruction—things that are not of the kingdom of God, but of the kingdom of darkness. We are told to overcome evil with good (Romans 12). If the kingdom of God is different than the kingdom of darkness, then how we defeat our enemies should look different, too. The words of Menno Simons encourage:
O beloved [listener], our weapons are not swords and spears, but patience, silence, and hope, and the Word of God. With these we must maintain our heavy warfare and fight our battle. Paul says, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal; but mighty through God. With these we intend and desire to storm the kingdom of the devil; and not with sword, spears, cannon, and coats of mail” (Simons 554).
There is a definite contrast in our weaponry and in our hearts from those of the world. The trouble comes in when people confuse the kingdom of God with the kingdom of this world and try to battle disproportionately. Currently, in our worldly kingdom we are a nation involved in a war against a religion. How does one justify this? Dr. Richard Hughes, who spoke in forum here at Bluffton a few weeks ago, gave a message entitled “The Myth of Christian America”. His message presented thoughts that although America may represent ideas legally and culturally that would lead some to believe we are a Christian nation, we are actually far from that. He believes that we could actually look at it this way: the Kingdom of God vs. America.
The Kingdom of God is just that—a kingdom. A kingdom has just one ruler, namely a king. Can a government still represent the kingdom of God without the same overall structure? It may, perhaps, although unlikely, still hold to similar values and try to portray those through law. But, it is vastly different than the ways in which God’s kingdom is run. God’s kingdom is not a democracy. God is the ruler, God is the judge. God’s is a kingdom of righteousness, justice and peace. It is a kingdom that is so vastly different than from worldly government—and intended to be so! The rule of man over people has been set up and established differently than the rule of God. In God’s kingdom, love, humility and service are priority rather than greed, pride and control. The kingdom of God is about God. It is for God. It is made by God. It cannot be copied by man because it is different in its entirety.
I will conclude with a few final thoughts. Time after time in the Bible, God reminds us of God’s reign and the importance of bringing glory to God’s name. The fight is not about the strength of the army, but it is all about the mightiness of the Lord. Gideon is a prime example. Even from the beginning of his calling, the Lord was out to do the Lord’s work. Gideon asked how he could know that they would be successful and the Lord said that the Lord would be there and the people would defeat their enemies. As the story progresses, the Lord says “the people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, 'My own power has delivered me.’ (Judges 7:2). Eventually, God hones down the army of 32,000 to a mere 300. This was all to display the mightiness of the Lord, not the mightiness of the men. (For the men did not even fight except by the blowing of trumpets and the smashing of pitchers!) This was done solely for the glory of God.
God gives strength to those fighting the forces of evil. In serving the Kingdom, we have limited time and energy. Our commitment to Jesus is not measured by activity in the church, but in obedience to him out into the world. He calls us to be alert to the workings of the enemy and fight with the proper weapons—we will not win a spiritual war with weapons of this world. God does desire to bring godly reign and rule into our lives (think about what this implies—love, justice, peace, righteousness, etc!). The church is the vehicle for bringing the kingdom (Jim Swihart). Should this not be enough reason to live like we really are members of such a kingdom? To live in God’s Kingdom and experience life as intended, we must come to a greater understanding the character of the King we follow. Our Ruler is one of love, justice, and peace.
The Prince of peace is Christ Jesus; His kingdom is the kingdom of peace, which is his church; His messengers are the messengers of peace; His Word is the word of peace; His body is the body of peace; His children are the seed of peace; and His inheritance and reward are the inheritance and reward of peace. In short, with this King, and in His kingdom and reign, it is nothing but peace. Everything that is seen, heard and done is peace (Menno 554).
Peace is evidence that God is ruling. True peace comes in with the Kingdom of God. Peace will not come from killing those not in the kingdom. Entering into the kingdom is a choice, it is not something that should be forced; it is a free a gift given in love that we ourselves have accepted and thus chosen to let change the course of our lives forever. This, then, is my prayer for you, that you may recognize and know God’s abounding love and through such allow the Lord to reign in your life according to the principles of a godly kingdom.
