No Intermediary

A common belief is that God needs a human government to act as his intermediary on earth. Many Christians believe that the Kingdom of God will come when key political positions in their nation are held by Christians and the elected law-makers pass laws that align with the scriptures. They believe that by voting for a godly people to get elected to political power, they are helping bring in the Kingdom of God.

The more power that the person elected has, the more important it is to get a good person elected. This is why Christians get stirred up about elections for President or Prime Minister. Christians believe that if the wrong person is elected, then the Kingdom of God will be shut out. They also believe that if they can get the right people elected, the Kingdom of God will be advanced.

Most Christians just assume that when the Kingdom of God comes to fulfilment in their nation, the political system that has been established in the nation will be an important part of it. Whether they have a republican presidency of a prime minister ruling under a monarchy, they assume that they already have God’s form of government. They believe that they just have to tweak the existing political system by getting Christian politicians elected for the Kingdom of God to come.

Although this view is widespread, it is wrong. The Kingdom of God does not come by political power. The political system uses force, coercion and compulsory taxation to achieve its objectives. Jesus refused to use political power because his kingdom is totally different from the kingdoms of the world. His kingdom is advanced as the gospel of Jesus is proclaimed in the power of the Spirit and people choose to love him and bring their lives into alignment with his will. The only government needed in the Kingdom of God is voluntary judges applying God’s law.

In the Old Testament age, Israel chose to have a king like other nations, but this was not God’s plan for them. He allowed them to have a king as a concession to human weakness, but the king was not essential for his kingdom. Old Testament kingship was a second-best option, so it is not a justification for modern political power/People in the Old Testament struggled to hear God, so they needed prophets and priests to act as intermediaries on their behalf. Now, God has given has sent us his Holy Spirit to act as an intermediary between him and his people.

Jesus announced the priesthood and kingship of all believers (Rev 1:6). We can enter the presence of God through Jesus and hear him speak through the Holy Spirit, so we do not need a priest to act on our behalf. We can give our allegiance to Jesus and serve him by obeying the voice of the Holy Spirit. We do not need a king to tell us what to do.

God does not need a king or other human government standing as an intermediary between him and the people. The Holy Spirit can tell people what he wants them to do. His laws still provide the best possible basis for resolving disputes between people.

The idea that God needs a human government or a holy roman empire to act as a king and establish a kingdom using military and legal power is nonsense. Human governments rely on force and coercion, so they cannot be part of the Kingdom of God. Their love of power allows them to be controlled by government-spirits in the spiritual realms, so they are part of the kingdom of darkness. God cannot use them to bring in his kingdom, because it is totally different from the kingdoms of the world. His kingdom is expanded by love and serving in the power of the Holy Spirit.