Stephen McDowell

This article is excerpted from the soon-to-be published booklet, Christ’s Ever-Increasing Kingdom.

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“There shall be no end to the increase of His [Christ’s] kingdom.” – Luke 1:33

“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.” – Isa. 9:7

There has been and will continue to be a progressive advancement of Christ’s kingdom in history, on the earth. The parables of the leaven and the mustard seed show that Christianity is destined to grow and grow.

He [Jesus] presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened.” – Matt. 13: 31-33; Luke 13:18-21; Mark 4:30-32

These parables indicate the slow but progressive growth of the kingdom of God, and point to the ultimate triumph of the gospel. The last 2000 years of history show this to be the case. When Christianity began, it was small, but over the centuries it has gradually grown larger and larger, and positively influenced the world. The Christian faith has changed nations and cultures such that people have found shelter and sustenance under its branches (in those nations transformed by biblical truth).

The Kingdom at Creation and the Impact of the Fall

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We pray this because of the fall of man. Before the fall, God’s kingdom – His government – was ubiquitous. After the fall, man surrendered the earth to Satan.

When God created mankind, they – male and female (that is, the family) – were given stewardship over the earth as God’s vice-regents. “God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule … over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Gen. 1:28). This Creation Commission (also called the Cultural Mandate) included ruling or taking dominion over the earth and all it contained.[1]

After creation and before the fall, Satan and some angels rebelled against God and were cast to the earth (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). Satan has sought to set up his own kingdom and usurp God’s rule and purposes. He seeks to destroy mankind and keep him from the dominion mandate.

When man disobeyed God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, man surrendered the earth to Satan. He surrendered his rule as God’s vice-regent to Satan.  However, God’s mission for man to rule the earth remains.

After the fall, God initiated His plan to restore His kingdom and government to the earth. He is bringing about the “restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21).

The Promise of the Messiah to Restore His Kingdom

After the fall, God promised to send the Messiah in order to crush Satan – God said to the serpent that the seed of woman “shall crush you on the head,” Gen. 3:15 – reclaim His kingdom, and restore God’s government in the earth through His heirs (Christ and His church).  That promise is restated many times in Scripture.

God’s plan involved His making a covenant with Abraham to bless the nations of the earth through his seed, his descendants, his family, out of which came the covenant nation of Israel and in perfect time the Messiah.

When Christ, who was part of both a heavenly and earthly family, came to earth, He gave birth to a new family, a spiritual family comprised of the redeemed, the family of God. God’s New Covenant family became the new dwelling place of God’s Spirit, the new tabernacle and temple.

Many Scriptures speak of the promise of the Messiah from the seed of woman, in particular from Abraham and his descendants, including King David (often presented as a type of Christ the King): Gen. 3:15, Gen. 12:3, Gen. 22:18; 26:4, Gen. 49:10, Dt. 18:15 (quoted in Acts 3:22 referencing this as Jesus), 2 Sam. 7:12, 16 (here David is a type of Christ); Ps. 132:11, Isa. 4:2, Isa. 7:14, Isa. 9:6-7, Isa. 40:10, Jer. 23:5, Ezek. 34:23, Ezek. 37:24.

What is the Kingdom?

In a general sense the kingdom of God is the government of God. It is the rule of God in every sphere of life.

The Greek word for kingdom is basileia which denotes sovereignty, royal power, dominion. W.E. Vine states, “The Kingdom of God is the sphere of God’s rule, Psalm 22:28; 145:13; Daniel 4:25.”^[2] It is the rule of the eternal sovereign over all His creation (Psalm 103:19; Daniel 4:3). Where the King is, there is the kingdom of God. First, the kingdom is in the heart of the believer. When Christ comes into the heart of man, His Kingdom comes. To the degree that He rules in your life is the degree to which His Kingdom comes into your life.

The kingdom of God is the rule of God, the order of God, the standard of God. The kingdom is the total rule of God in every area of life and thought in terms of His Law-Word. Every king has a law by which he rules. God cannot rule, or establish His kingdom, without a law (His righteousness).

The kingdom of God comes to your life to the degree that His rule comes to your life. This is also true within the society at large. The kingdom of God comes to a nation to the degree that the rule of God comes to that nation, being reflected in its laws, institutions, moral standards, and all spheres of life.

How Does the Kingdom Come?

God promised to send His Messiah to retake the earth from Satan, restore all things, and establish His throne (rule) in the earth. How is this being accomplished?

Remember, the kingdom of God is like a seed (Luke 13:18-19). A seed is planted and at first is small and barely seen, but over time it grows and becomes huge, producing much fruit (the parable of the mustard seed). The potential fruit of a seed is unlimited. After all, you can count how many seeds are in an apple, but you cannot count how many apples are in a seed.

Historically, the seed of God’s kingdom (planted with the coming of the Messiah) has produced a forest that covers the earth.

The Advance of the Kingdom in History

During the time between the fall of man and the coming of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Satan prevailed in the earth. Yet, God had a plan to restore all things. God made a covenant with Abraham to bless the nations of the earth through his family – through his seed (Gen. 12 ff) (and the Messiah was the ultimate seed).

God called Abraham and said “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). Abraham and Sarah rejected the pagan city-state government and culture of Ur to follow God’s leading (Gen. 11:31-12:2; Acts 7:2-4). This resulted in the founding of the Hebrew nation, from which the Messiah came and which also became a model for all people (Gen. 15:18; 17:4, 6; 18:18). God delivered Israel (Abraham’s seed) from slavery in Egypt (Ex. 2:15, 16, 18, 21). Israel was a beachhead for God to re-establish His kingdom in the earth – to reclaim His world.

The Law of God given to the Hebrew people was for all men and nations. God’s Ten Commandments are a revelation of the state of reality, of how God’s world works. These moral and civil laws form the foundation of Western civilization. The Hebrew Republic provides a blueprint for life and government. Israel had the Law of God (which contains principles for life and flourishing) and the presence of God (Dt. 4:1-8), but they rejected God and His Truth, and became a harlot (Babylon in Revelation).

Much of the Old Testament Scriptures tell the story of the covenant nation of Israel – the nation from which the Messiah would come. Through many ups and downs, God preserved the nation and brought forth His anointed King who would restore all things.

Jesus Was the Promised Messiah.

As mentioned before, after the fall God initiated His plan of sending the Messiah to reestablish His ruler-ship over His earth. Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah. Many Scriptures speak of this: Luke 1:32-33; Mt. 16:16-17, 20; John 1:41; Acts 13:33-34; Heb. 1:3. Paul writes:

Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. (Rom. 15:8-9)

Acts 3:20-26 makes clear that Jesus is the Seed God sent forth for the “restoration of all things:”  “that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (v. 20-21).

The Birth of the Messianic Kingdom and a New Age

Jesus gave birth to a new family, a spiritual family comprised of the redeemed, the family of God (the church). The kingdom of Jesus the Messiah came into the earth via the heart of man (Luke 17:20-21). The “restoration of all things” began by restoring man’s relationship with God. All those birthed into this New Covenant nation are kings and priests (Rev. 1:6) with authority to disciple all nations (Matt. 28:18-20). The Messiah delegated His authority to rule and reign in the earth to the church.

Through His death and resurrection, Christ defeated Satan, stripping him of his power. “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out” (Jn. 12:31). Christ’s work gave Him authority to evict Satan from the earth. Satan is a squatter that the church, Christ’s ambassadors, are to go and remove from their inherited property.

Jesus said in Matthew 12 that His casting out demons by the Spirit of God was evidence that “the kingdom of God has come upon you” (v. 28). He goes on to say: “Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house” (v. 29). Jesus bound Satan at His first coming. His church is now able to enter his house (the world) and plunder his goods (that were surrendered at the fall).

With Christ’s resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to live inside all the redeemed of God, the Messianic kingdom was established. His kingdom is within His people. His kingdom came at His resurrection and outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost.

The Significance of the Messiah

Since the coming of Jesus the Messiah 2000 years ago, the Gospel has been spreading and transforming the world. In many ways, the crooked has been made straight, valleys have been filled, and mountains leveled (Isa. 40:3), as was said the Messiah would do, and as was attributed to Christ (Luke 3:5; Isa. 65, 66).

During the Gospel Age, the Church (God’s covenant family) has been reclaiming the spiritual and material world God created for mankind. Our task is to reclaim every square inch of the earth for the Master (for His kingdom is over all things).

Theologian and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Abraham Kuyper declared: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”

We can take back the earth for God (that is, restore paradise) because Jesus Christ defeated and bound Satan: “Now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). The true heirs, His ambassadors (the church), have and are evicting the illegitimate heirs. God gives us the Kingdom: “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lk. 12:32). He has called us to rule in/over His kingdom (Luke 12:44; Lk. 19:17, Ps. 8:6).

Satan is defeated, and since the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom with the coming of Christ, Satan has been and is being crushed under the feet of the church: “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom 16:20).

The New Testament presents the victorious kingdom of God on the earth in history. Many Scriptures speak of the triumphant church: Luke 10; Rom. 16:20; Rev. 12:9, 11; Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8; Rom. 4:13; Matt. 5:5; Matt. 28:18-20; 2 Cor. 2:14; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10; Rom. 5:17; 1 Cor. 3:21; Rev. 20:4; Eph. 1:22-23.

Paradise Restored

God created the world as a paradise. This was man’s original home. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God they were cast out of Eden/paradise and began to live in an ever-increasing land of torment. Jesus Christ the Messiah not only defeated and bound Satan, but He also restored man’s relationship to God, filled him with the Spirit of God, wrote His law on his heart, and gave him everything he needed to accomplish the great mission of reclaiming the earth and restoring all things as God intended them to be. In other words, God made a way to restore paradise on the earth.

Since the coming of Jesus the Messiah, God’s covenant family has been working for the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21). Those things include:[3]

• Myriads converted to the Christian faith (with an exponential increase of converts in the past 50 years).
• Barbaric cultures civilized (Romans, Celts, Irish, Picts, Vikings, etc.)
• Advance of liberty, including personal, religious, civil, political, economic
• Advance of education for all people
• Establishment of schools and colleges to transmit truth
• Advancements in science and technology for the betterment of mankind
• New inventions for economic flourishing
• Advancements in business and the marketplace for increased productivity and elimination of poverty
• Advancements in medicine for preserving life
• Advancements in music and arts for greater worship and enjoyment of life

There has been a progressive expansion of Christianity impacting all spheres of life since Jesus initiated the Messianic or Gospel Age.

The parables of the leaven and the mustard seed show that Christianity is destined to grow and grow. The great movement of God today includes the restoration of biblical truth and the expansion of His kingdom in every sphere of life.

Truly, “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9).

[1] For more on this see the books Ruling Over the Earth and Stewarding the Earth by Stephen McDowell, published by Providence Foundation

[2] W.E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1966, p. 294.

[3] See the booklet Christ’s Ever-Increasing Kingdom for a deeper look at how all these spheres of life have progressed during the Gospel Age (available in 2025). See also other Providence Foundation publications, especially America’s Providential History by Mark Beliles and Stephen McDowell, and Transforming Nations through Biblical Work by Stephen McDowell.