Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

John 18:36

A friend from back in my high school days responded to last week’s blog, asking that I would consider writing one on the topic of Jesus’ kingdom, and specifically how His kingdom is not of this world. Then, as a follow-up to that, how, or even if, Christians are to be involved in political systems/ideologies while not being part of those systems.

First, let’s think about Jesus’ statement in the verse quoted above: “My kingdom is not of this world.” There are a few observations that need to be made from these words. It is obvious that Jesus truly believed that He had a kingdom. This may sound overly simplistic, but it is imperative that we grasp the significance of this Biblical truth.

Second, Jesus came into the world on mission to establish His kingdom. However, He makes it crystal clear that His was not like other kingdoms. All other kingdoms were “of this world”. They had geographical boundaries. They were ruled by kings who operated from the perspective of worldly philosophical and political biases. For the most part these worldly kings gave little to no regard to Biblical truth, but rather operated from worldly wisdom.

Jesus’ kingdom was vastly different. Thus, His statement about His kingdom not being of this world. His, rather, was an “other-worldly” kingdom, based, not on worldly political biases and philosophies of men, but on the truth of God’s Word. It would have no geographical boundaries as do earthly kingdoms but would be a universal kingdom made up of every individual who is submitted to Jesus’ offer of salvation. Those who accept this offer become citizens of His kingdom. Thus, they become citizens of Jesus’ kingdom while continuing to be citizens of the nation to which they belong. I am a citizen of Jesus’ kingdom while at the same time a citizen of the United States of America.

So how am I to relate to and be involved in the political process of my earthly “kingdom” while also being a good representative of Jesus’ kingdom? I am, after all, to do all that I do for the glory of God, so how do I relate to both, and be involved in both, at the same time? I will strive to answer that by making several personal observations.

First, my commitment to Jesus Christ and to being a good citizen of His kingdom is priority number one. I must not allow my involvement in the political process of the United States to take precedence over my commitment to Jesus’ kingdom. My citizenship in His kingdom is eternal, while my citizenship here is only temporal. We must keep things in their proper perspective.

Second, being a good citizen of Jesus’ kingdom demands that I be a good citizen of my earthly citizenship. The thirteenth chapter of Romans teaches clearly that God has established earthly governments to provide security for their citizenry. As long as I adhere to the laws that govern our land I will be in good standing with those in authority over me.

Third, this dual citizenship will sometimes cause a certain level of stress as the kingdoms will sometimes be in conflict with one another. When the apostles were arrested and ultimately commanded to never preach in the name of Jesus, their response was simply that their commitment to Jesus Christ took precedence over their commitment to the earthly kingdom to which they belonged. If there comes the time that any earthly kingdom demands of its citizenry acts or actions that are contrary to God’s Word, citizens of Jesus’ kingdom must always obey Him rather than the dictates of man.

Fourth, my commitment to Jesus’ kingdom must always take precedence over my allegiance to my earthly citizenship. I love my country. I am sincerely proud to be a citizen of this great nation. But as I talk with people, it should be evident that I am first and foremost a citizen of Jesus’ kingdom, and my allegiance is to Him above and beyond any and all commitments I make to my country.

Fifth, I can, and should, be involved in the political processes of my earthly kingdom without being a part of that political system. The apostle Paul was led by the Lord to speak with the rulers of his day. He did so for the purpose of presenting them with the truth claims of the Gospel, not for the purpose of adapting the Gospel to those earthly kingdoms. The best way we can be involved in the political processes of our earthly kingdom is by striving to be good representatives of Jesus Christ in the process, and not be believing that one particular political persuasion will provide salvation for the nation.

There are those who seem to believe that republicans would lead us back to the principles upon which this nation was founded. Others believe democrats would provide the solution to our nation’s ills. While others believe that it is time for a complete overhaul of the political system by throwing them all out and putting an entirely new slate of politicians in office.

As citizens of Jesus’ kingdom, we must guard ourselves against thinking that our hope rests in an earthly political system. We must maintain the understanding that we are citizens of two kingdoms simultaneously, and that our commitment to Jesus’ kingdom must always have priority. We can and should be involved in the political processes of our earthly kingdom by being good representatives of Jesus Christ in that process.

Yes, we can be in the world – even the world of politics – but not of the world. Blessings!