The kingdom of God would not be a worldly kingdom with any geographical constraints. Construction crews would not build it. The Praetorian Guard would not police it. Written edicts would not regulate it. It was a mystery, by and large, as Jesus taught it, but would crystallize in short order as the apostles began preaching it and realizing their place within it.
It in no way resembles the temple hierarchy or any other authoritarian government.
Within the Christians’ kingdom at large—in the spiritual assembly of believers where Christ reigns—no hierarchy subjugates them, no taxing authority oppresses them, no regulatory body directs them, no central authority oversees them. They seek no single unifying leader to call teacher or father, for they do not need one. Nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ Their kingdom has no earthly center, only Christ in heaven. In Christ is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female (Gal 3:28). In the new age, circumcision and uncircumcision avail nothing. All are brothers. The body’s decentralized leadership means that the Christians’ living temple is one in which they are all the stones. They are all living stones, all counted as priests, all adorned with royalty, all inspired by the Holy Spirit to higher moral and ethical standards, to live by the power of forgiveness and the spirit of truth. Theirs is a temple without altar, ritual, or mandate. By design, the church is a temple of equals (Mt 20:25-28).
