Everything changes. Because corruption and decay are stitched into the fabric of creation, one may wonder if the renewal of all things will ever come to pass. Yet Scripture offers something more hopeful than a grinding cycle of deterioration. God weaves redemption and renewal into every season. He works within the flow of history without being swayed by its current. What he begins, he will finish.

The Christian life is lived in the reality of God's patient, unfolding plan for good. We rejoice in what God has already accomplished and yearn for what he has not yet completed. Acknowledging and embracing the tension of what is already happening but not yet complete is a lens some have found helpful for viewing our walk of faith with God, who is making all things new. It can free us from panic on one side and passivity on the other, empowering us to live with steady confidence. Consider how this lens might apply to three areas where the church itself frequently experiences tension: the fulfillment of prophecy, the Kingdom of God, and personal sanctification.

Prophecy

There have always been debates about the meaning of biblical prophecy. Some contend that nearly every prophecy was fulfilled in the upheavals of the first century. Others look ahead, expecting a chain of literal fulfillments on the horizon. We find ourselves suspended between various impulses; the urge to fit prophecy neatly onto the pages of history, the temptation to read it in every ominous headline, and maybe the temptation to put our head in the sand and ignore it.

Although future-telling is one of prophecy’s key functions, biblical prophecy can be more than that. Peter reminds us, “Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”[i] Their words were shaped by the Spirit’s knowledge of redemption’s story, calling his people into that story in each age. Given from a divine perspective, they reveal the purposes of God in the past, present, and future.

-----------------CONTINUED PORTION BELOW--------------------

Consider the Spirit's words through Isaiah in Chapter 7. Isaiah prophesied to King Ahaz that in fewer years than it takes for a child to come of age, the immediate threat facing King Ahaz would vanish, and it did. Yet centuries later, Matthew announces a deeper fulfillment of the prophecy; the birth of Jesus, “God with Us” in flesh and blood. The first fulfillment did not exhaust the promise. It anticipated a greater one.

This way of interpreting prophecy may also be useful to understand the Book of Revelation and Jesus’ words upon the mount of Olives. The words were spoken with urgency to the early church. Much of his message came true in 70 A.D. But like Isaiah’s sign, Jesus’ words may also point further ahead to his second coming. What was profoundly relevant in the first century need not be confined there. The prophecy, first heard in one generation, may have additional meaning, now or at the end of the age.

Prophecy, then, is woven into God’s unfolding plan for the world. Understood through this lens, we can rest in past fulfillment without abandoning a posture of hopeful expectation. We need not press every promise into the past, nor tremble over every headline. And we can be less concerned with decoding today as we trust the one who holds tomorrow.

The Kingdom

Substantial as it is, the Kingdom of God can be a controversial topic today. Many believers are asking: What does it mean for Christ to reign now? Should we labor to reshape society into a visible Christendom, or should we retreat from a world that seems to be cracking at the seams? Are there other ways to understand the Kingdom’s role in daily life?

In his letters, the Apostle Paul invites us into a Kingdom that has already come but has not yet fully arrived. In the second half of Ephesians 1, he declares that Christ is already seated at the right hand of the Father, far above all rule and authority, given as head over all things.[1] Yet in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul speaks of a future moment when Christ will subdue every enemy and deliver the kingdom to the Father.[2] The reign of Christ is real, but the conquest is not yet fully realized.

Those who forget what has already been accomplished may lapse into despair, imagining the world as a sinking ship. Those forgetting what has not yet been fulfilled may attempt to engineer heaven on earth by sheer political or cultural force. As we live the better way, as citizens of the Kingdom that is very real and not yet fully realized, may we function in the world without being absorbed by it. May we faithfully preach, teach, evangelize, and serve others not because we imagine we can usher in perfection, but because we know our King already reigns over us.

Sanctification

The reality of sin in the life of a believer can be challenging to explain. On one hand, the gospel proclaims a finished work. Although God's gift of eternal life and assurance of salvation is a present possession of every true believer, sin is neither natural nor welcome here. In Romans, Paul insists that sin shall not have dominion over us. [3] In Colossians, he commands us to put to death what is earthly within us. [4] In Galatians, he speaks of the Spirit warring against the flesh.[5] We are declared righteous, but we also are destined to be, “Conformed to the image of his Son.”[6] Complete holiness is not an optional pursuit.

The extremes here are real and dangerous. Some may be tempted to shrug at lingering sin, saying, “I’m just a sinner saved by grace.” Others struggle with despair, measuring every thought, fearing they have not done enough. The “already and not yet” lens can fortify us against these extremes.

We are already set apart in Christ; already transferred from death to life. And yet, “It doth not yet appear what we shall be.” We are not yet free from corruption and temptation. We may not yet have given the trauma of our past sins and the sins of others over to Jesus. Amid this tension, we can learn to take real delight in our growth and in the maturing of the church and remain unsatisfied with anything less than perfect unity with Christ.

Living the “already and not yet” life adopts a posture that celebrates God’s continuing work for good in creation. Our lives reflect the Kingdom of which we are a part. We submit our lives to Jesus and become more than conquerors as we conform to his image. Our resurrection is more than a distant dream; it is as sure as prophecy, and even now the prophecy is coming true in our lives. In all this we follow our Lord who is bringing all things to completion and will not stop until everything in heaven and on earth is fully, finally, and gloriously his.

[i] 2 Peter 1:20 ESV
[1] Ephesians 1:20-23

[2] 1 Corinthians 15:24-28

[3] Romans 6:12

[4] Colossians 3:5

[5] Galatians 5:16

[6] Romans 8:29