Already and Not Yet: Kingdom of God Tension
The concept of the "already and not yet" tension regarding the Kingdom of God is rooted in biblical teachings that indicate the Kingdom is both present and future. Jesus' teachings, as recorded in the New Testament, emphasize that the Kingdom of God has been inaugurated through his ministry but is not yet fully realized [4].
In the view of John Calvin, the Kingdom of God is a present reality, yet its full manifestation is still awaited. Calvin interprets Jesus' statement that "the kingdom of God is in your midst" (Luke 17:21) as indicating its presence, while other passages like Matthew 6:10 suggest its future consummation [7]. This dual perspective is characteristic of Reformed theology, which understands the Kingdom as having been initiated by Christ's first coming but awaiting completion at his return.
The patristic tradition also grapples with this tension. Tertullian, for instance, argues against Marcion's interpretation that the Kingdom of God is solely a future reality, pointing out that the Kingdom is "within you" or "among you," indicating a present aspect [4]. This interpretation underscores the idea that the Kingdom is not merely a future hope but a current reality that believers experience.
The tension between the "already" and "not yet" is further reflected in the contrast between the believer's current experience and the future glory. According to Charles Hodge, believers experience an inward conflict between their desire to obey God's law and their ongoing struggle with sin, indicating that while the Kingdom has been inaugurated, its full realization is still future [6].
The biblical basis for this tension is evident in passages that speak of the Kingdom as both present and future. Jesus' parables, such as the parable of the fig tree, suggest that the Kingdom's coming can be anticipated, much like the arrival of summer (Luke 21:29-31) [8]. Conversely, passages like Matthew 25:31-46 depict a future judgment, underscoring the "not yet" aspect of the Kingdom.
Reformed theologians like Calvin have sought to reconcile this tension by emphasizing that the Kingdom is a reality that is both currently experienced by believers and still awaited in its fullness. This perspective is grounded in the understanding that Christ's first coming inaugurated the Kingdom, while his second coming will bring its consummation [3, 7].
The "already and not yet" tension is thus a fundamental aspect of Christian eschatology, reflecting the complex relationship between the present experience of believers and the future hope of the Kingdom's full realization. This tension is not unique to Reformed theology but is a theme present across various Christian traditions, including the patristic era [1, 2].
The eschatological tension inherent in the "already and not yet" of the Kingdom of God serves as a reminder of the ongoing nature of God's redemptive work. As Calvin notes, believers are called to pray for the Kingdom's coming (Matthew 6:10), indicating an ongoing expectation of its future consummation, even as they experience its present reality [5].
Sources
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 3: Tertullian — CHAP. XXXIII.--THE MARCIONITE INTERPRETATION OF GOD AND MAMMON REFUTED. THE PROPHETS JUSTIFY CHRIST'S ADMONITION AGAINST COVETOUSNESS AND PRIDE. JOHN BAPTIST THE LINK BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE NEW DISPE (part 3): upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is arrogant and lifted up, and they shall be brought low."(21) I can now make out 404 why Marcion's god was for so long an age concealed. He was, I suppose, waiting until he had learnt all these things from the Creator. He continued his pupillage up to the time of John, and then proceeded forthwith t”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 4: Tertullian IV, Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen — CHAP. IX.--ON THE WORLD AND THE MOVEMENTS OF RATIONAL CREATURES, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD ; AND ON THE CAUSES OF THEM. (part 7): my opinion, why that world presents the aspect of diversity, while Divine Providence continues to regulate each individual according to the variety of his movements, or of his feelings and purpose. On which account the Creator will neither appear to be unjust in distributing (for the causes already mentioned) to every one according to his merits; nor will the happiness or unhappiness of each one's birth, or”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 80: the contest, are already depicting to themselves imaginary triumphs. 12. Moreover, as language cannot describe the severity of the divine vengeance on the reprobate, their pains and torments are figured to us by corporeal things, such as darkness, wailing and gnashing of teeth, inextinguishable fire, the ever-gnawing worm ( Mt. 8:12 ; 22:13; Mark 9:43 ; Isa. 66:24 ). It is certain that by such modes of expression the Holy Spirit designed to impress all our senses with dread, as when it is said, “Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for ”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 3: Tertullian — CHAP. XXXV.--THE JUDICIAL SEVERITY OF CHRIST AND THE TENDERNESS OF THE CREATOR, ASSERTED IN CONTRADICTION TO MARCION. THE CURE OF THE TEN LEPERS. OLD TESTAMENT ANALOGIES. THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITHIN YOU (part 5): very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, and in thy hands, to do it."(5) This means, "Neither in this place nor that place is the kingdom of God; for, behold, it is within you."(6) And if the heretics, in their audacity, should contend that the Lord did not give an answer about His own kingdom, but only about the Creator's kingdom, concerning which th”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: by a just, indeed, but often hidden judgment, lead us into temptation. Though the cause is often concealed from men, it is well known to him. Hence we may see that the expression is not improper, if we are persuaded that it is not without cause he so often threatens to give sure signs of his vengeance, by blinding the reprobate, and hardening their hearts. 47. These three petitions, in which we specially commend ourselves and all that we have to God, clearly show what we formerly observed (sec. 38, 39), that the prayers of Christia”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 31: subjects of the inward conflict here depicted. There is in them indeed often a struggle protracted and painful, between reason and conscience on the one side, and evil passion on the other. But there is not in the unrenewed that utter renunciation of self, that looking for help to God in Christ alone, and that delight in the law of God, of which the Apostle here speaks. What Romans vii. 7-25 teaches. Assuming, then, that we have in this chapter an account of the experience of a true and even of an advanced Christian, we learn that in ever”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 58: by the tree, have never understood its nature, and are moved to adopt that view on very insufficient grounds. 2. Christ and John, it is said, in their discourses first exhort the people to repentance, and then add, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand ( Mt. 3:2 ; 4:17). Such too, is the message which the Apostles received and such the course which Paul followed, as is narrated by Luke ( Acts 20:21 ). But clinging superstitiously to the juxtaposition of the syllables, they attend not to the coherence of meaning in the words. For wh”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 3: Tertullian — CHAP. XXXIX.--CONCERNING THOSE WHO COME IN THE NAME OF CHRIST. THE TERRIBLE SIGNS OF HIS COMING. HE WhOSE COMING IS (part 6): the execution of the two dispensations. You make either the Creator a most beneficent God, or else your own god terrible in his nature! Reflect, in short, on the picture presented in the parable: "Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees; when they produce their fruit, men know that summer is at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is very near."(1) Now, if the fructification of the common tre”