Andy Glover, meditating on this phrase, refers to his ‘kingdom’ emphasis. He refers to transformation within all sectors of society; something which I have gradually grown to understand and have written about before. (Are our churches ‘charismatic lite’? – Andy Glover – Fresh Streams)
This challenges the traditional and dominant view across evangelicalism for the past century, that the sacred- secular divide is to be maintained and reinforced. This reflects a ‘dualistic’ approach to the spiritual and material ‘worlds,’ which I believe is not correct.
The proper approach starts with, I think, the most important phrase ever written – ‘the word became flesh’ (John 1.14).
The Lord Jesus ascended in bodily form into Heaven; the man in the glory; with the promise that all who are ‘in Him’ shall be ‘with Him.’ Their future existence will not be purely ‘spiritual,’ lacking the physical. There will be a new heaven AND a new earth. Isaiah and Peter (ie; OT and NT) refer to this.
Therefore, today, in daily life, we eat and drink, we rise and tire. We experience physical reality and seek to invade all spaces with the gospel of Christ. I read of a Church in Essex, UK, with raised vegetable beds adjacent to its building, described as ‘a fun way of learning to grow your own veg.’
Just as Christ overturned the tables of money changers in the temple area; and challenged the scribes and Pharisees who wanted to stone the woman caught in adultery, but not the man, so we seek to bring His kingdom into all the dark places of the world.