Kingdom of God (3) - Jesus cannot do it

Apart from the few who want to seize political control and impose it by force, most Christians do not believe that the Kingdom of God can come in fullness before Jesus returns to earth. A huge mental stronghold prevents them from even considering the possibility. They just assume that it cannot happen. They truth is that Jesus cannot establish his Kingdom by returning to earth and reigning on a throne in Jerusalem.

The problem is that hen Jesus left heaven to become a man, he emptied himself of divine power and he cannot get it back.

He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men (Phil 2:6,7).

Once he came to earth as a man, Jesus was limited to working in time and space. His influence was limited to the country of Palestine. Jesus humanity made it impossible to establish the Kingdom. Ruling the world from Jerusalem was impossible, as most of the world could ignore him. Those who could not ignore him would hate him, and eventually kill him.

Jesus could not raise himself from the dead, but needed to be raised by the power of the Holy Spirit. Once he was raised from the dead, he received a spiritual body that could move between the physical and spiritual worlds, but he can only be one place at a time. When he ascended into heaven, he sat down at the right hand of the father, but he was still constrained by the physical limitations of being human. That did not matter for the Kingdom, because his work on earth was finished. He had laid the foundation for the Kingdom by his death, resurrection and ascension. That was all he was called to do.

Jesus could not make the Kingdom of God a reality, but he did something better. By departing, He released the Holy Spirit to work in the world. While living on the earth, Jesus had no influence beyond Israel. This is why he said it was better for him to leave the earth (John 16:7). Once he left the earth and began to work through the Spirit, his influence soon extended throughout the earth.

Jesus is still a man, so if he returned to earth, he would have limited power. He could not establish the Kingdom. Even if he sat on a throne in Jerusalem, he could only control those in the immediate vicinity. Those further abroad could escape his power. He could get his followers and the angels to kill everyone who opposed him, but that would not be a very nice kingdom. It would be quite different from the Kingdom that he promised.

Jesus can accomplish far more in the present age through the Holy Spirit. Working through him, Jesus can extend his power and influence throughout the entire earth. The Holy Spirit is divine. He was powerful enough to create the entire universe in just a moment of time. He is not limited to one place. He can be active throughout the entire earth, because he is not limited by space and time. The Holy Spirit can do greater things than Jesus did, and that it is a hard act to follow (John 14:12).

The Holy Spirit is greater than the devil, by an immense margin. The Devil is a fallen angel. He can only intervene on earth in one place at a time. This is severely limiting. The devil has an army of fallen angels, but it is not a united force. They are proud and independent and do not always do his will. The devil is hard pushed to get his work done on earth.

A struggle between the Holy Spirit and the devil there is no contest. During the Times of the Gentiles, the Holy Spirit has been constrained. Once his team is complete and the shackles are off, the Devil will find himself powerless.

Jesus cannot establish the Kingdom of God by returning to earth. Those who think he can, have been watching too many Rambo movies.