The Kingdom Economy: These Last Days (1)
…having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. Ephesians 1.9, 10
A new era
The apostle Paul refers to the times in which we live as the fullness of the times (cf. Gal. 4.4). History had come to its full point; “the times” would never be the same again.
What Paul referred to as the fullness of the times, the prophets Isaiah and Joel described as the last days (cf. Is. 2.8, Mic. 4.1—the NKJV has “the latter days”). The fullness of times, the last days to which the prophets looked forward, began on the first Christian Pentecost, as Peter explained in Acts 2.14-17. On that day, when the Holy Spirit of God was poured out upon His people, a new era began. A new epoch and dimension of human history—the ongoing work of Christ, enthroned in glory—was inaugurated and began to bring a new fullness into “the times”—to human lives and all their relationships, roles, and responsibilities, all culture and society, all creation.
We would be accurate in saying that a new economy began to be implemented, according to an agenda from beyond this world, and with a view to bringing the power of love to bear on all aspects of life in the world in these last days. This is the word Paul used to explain what was now, in his day, beginning to occur: οἰκονομία, oikonomia—economy.
A new dispensation, a new economy had burst into time to fill it up, and that economy operates within the framework of the Kingdom of God.
It is the economy!
Some of us may remember that candidate Bill Clinton built his successful campaign for the presidency around the mantra, “It’s the economy, stupid!” As it turns out, he was correct: the economy is the central and most important concern.
Only, not the economy you might think.
The economy that matters above all else is not the free, commercial, materialistic, getting-and-spending economy that tends to drive our American republic, but the eternal economy which God has proclaimed and is establishing under the rule and supervision of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our text mentions this fact of a divine economy under the rubric of a “dispensation” or an “administration” (NASB) or even a “plan” (ESV). God, Paul insists, has a plan for administering the world that embraces and affects everything that takes place in these last days. It’s not that God has not always been Lord of all; rather, in these last days, He has made known His agenda for grace, truth, salvation, and life in Jesus Christ, and He is calling all people everywhere to repent and believe the Gospel (Acts 17.30).
The word Paul uses here means an order, an administration, a way of “keeping house” that flows from a pool of divine priorities and power through communities of Kingdom citizens and ambassadors unto a new order on earth, one that reflects the way things are in heaven. The new economy is a flow of spiritual power, the power of God’s Spirit, and it affects matters on earth from within the community of His people, all those who have made the Kingdom turn (Jn. 7.37-39). There is a divine economy, a Kingdom economy, and Jesus is setting it up and administering it in our midst, right now, today, and every day of our lives.
We are part of that great plan, and thus it behooves us to understand as much as we can about it, so that we can make our way in these last days according to God’s purposes and designs.
Four things
Let’s notice four things about the divine economy as Paul introduces in it our text.
First, it is a program established for now. In his Pentecost sermon Peter announced that, with the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the pouring out of God’s Spirit, the “last days” had begun (Acts 2.14-17), the new economy has been put into effect. Paul says Jesus came in “the fullness of the times” to inaugurate His great work of redemption in these last days (Gal. 4.4). The “fullness of the times” in which the divine economy is unfolding, is now. We are living in the last days, the fullness of the times, when the Lord of heaven and earth is establishing and expanding His divine economy.
The Kingdom economy of Christ is being established in time, through time, and with time. And this suggests that we need to make sure we understand the gift of time and how the Lord intends us to use it in furthering the progress of His economy.
Second, that divine economy embraces all things. Everything in heaven and on earth is subject to God’s unfolding plan. Our interest and part in this Kingdom economy, therefore, reaches to every area of our lives, all our relationships, roles, and responsibilities, all our culture and community life, and all creation. As the Kingdom economy of Jesus unfolds and advances, nothing remains untouched or unaffected.
God’s purpose in doing so, third, is to gather together earthly things with heavenly things so as to effect peace and harmony between the two realms. God’s Kingdom is coming on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6.10). He is making things new on earth (Rev. 21.5, 6)—all things: human lives and relationships, work, culture, institutions, the affairs of nations, indeed, the whole vast cosmos and creation. Jesus has reconciled the fallen, rebellious world to God (2 Cor. 5.19), and now He is administering a new economy according to His original plan that all His creation should be “good” and “very good.”
Finally, all this is being accomplished through our Lord Jesus Christ. Only those who know Jesus and have made the Kingdom turn into His grace and power can take up the work of laboring with God to advance His divine order on earth as it is in heaven. All those who have come to know Jesus will desire to take their place in the new economy of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit that He is administering.
What a glorious privilege and opportunity! What a high calling! It is the economy—the divine economy—that matters most. Let us not stupidly miss this—and our exciting place in it—by being distracted to lesser things.
For reflection or discussion
1. How many ways can you identify that people organize their lives around the fact of our free-market economy? That is, how is it apparent that people are focused on this as their primary frame of reference in life?
2. An “economy” is simply a plan or a way of administering a “household”. What do you understand by “the Kingdom economy” at this point?
3. Do you think it would make a difference if people organized their schedules and lives more self-consciously around the Kingdom economy? In what ways?
Next steps—Preparation: How much of your own life is consciously being ordered, arranged, and pursued under the umbrella of the Kingdom economy at this time? Talk with the Lord Jesus about this, and be specific.
T. M. Moore
Give thanks
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: This week in our Read Moore we begin selections from our book, Understanding the Times. This book will be a valuable companion to our study of “The Kingdom Economy.” In our Crosfigell column we’re following Brendan, a 6th century Irish saint, as he pursues the Kingdom economy in his extraordinary adventures. Our daily Scriptoriumcolumn takes up the Gospel of John this week in our continuing series, “Jesus throughout the Scriptures.”
Thank you.
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
