The Kingdom of God has always been a mysterious topic in Scripture. Jesus talks about it primarily through the use of parables, but even these are used in order to obscure the intended message from those who are not in the right mindset. For those who seek it, however, and who read it with the Spirit, the meanings of the kingdom can become clear. This is what George Eldon Ladd intends to do with his book The Gospel of the Kingdom. Ladd uses scripture to make several distinct claims about the kingdom, including its current state, its character, and its call. The book begins by addressing the current state of the image of God, discussing the contrast between the realty and the presence of the kingdom and the impending arrival of the kingdom. This tension is known to Ladd and to many Christians as the “Already and Not Yet” nature of the kingdom of God. The picture that is outlined for us through this phrasing is powerful. Ladd writes, “The Kingdom is a realm in which men enter now, and yet …show more content…
In so much as the kingdom of God is through God and in God, all the power and the characteristics of God are also in the kingdom. Therefore, the character of the kingdom is perfectly righteous and perfectly holy. While this may seem contradictory due to the flawed nature of the church, it again comes back to the two-fold nature of the kingdom. The “Not Yet” aspect of the kingdom is perfectly righteous, but the “Already” aspect is righteous only so far as we, the body of Christ, receive power from Christ. Ladd describes it this way. “This is the law of love; this is the Gospel of the Kingdom. The righteousness of the kingdom is a righteousness only God can give.” (Ladd 93) This being said, however, this righteousness is something that cannot be perfectly attained here on Earth. Rather, the body of Christ must constantly strive towards it while they eagerly await the second coming of