From an Iowa reader comes the question: “Is the cosmos Christ’s Kingdom?” I am sorry that the reader did not elaborate any further on the intent or background of that question, for that would have been helpful in answering it.
It seems to me that there are two primary words that need definition before we attempt an answer: “cosmos” and “kingdom.” First of all, the word “cosmos.”
There are several New Testament Greek words that are translated “world,” such as oikoumene, denoting the populated world (Luke 4:5), and aion, which is often translated as “age,” though it also frequently combines the concept of time and space (Heb. 1:2; 11:3), and kosmos, which contains the thought of order or system. The latter occurs most often in the New Testament, and may refer to the material world (Rom. 1:20), the totality of heaven and earth (Acts 17:24), the sphere of intelligent life (I Cor. 4:9), the place of human habitation (I Cor. 5:10), mankind as a whole (John 3:16), society as alienated from God and under the dominion of Satan (I John 5:19), and the complex of ideas and ideals which govern men who belong to the world in this ethical sense (I John 2:15–17; James 4:4).
In its main use among the Greeks, kosmos was used to refer to the universe, because that word was expressive of the order found in it. On the other hand, the Hebrews thought more in terms of the heavens where God dwelt, and the earth which was for human existence. God created both, and the regularity of the movements of the heavenly bodies and the pattern of the seasons gave witness to His creative wisdom and the power of His sustaining control. The New Testament writers followed the pattern of Old Testament thought, and very seldom did they use the word kosmos for the heavens and the earth combined. Most often they used it to refer to the earth, and thus to mankind who dwelt on the earth.
A careful reading of the New Testament reveals that the word kosmos is often used in the sense of evil. That is particularly true in the Johannine writings, where the “world” is presented as something hostile to God. That may be explained by the fact that the powers of spiritual evil, of which Satan is the head, dominate the life of unredeemed humanity in this world. Since Satan’s kingdom is of this world, and stands in opposition to God’s kingdom, anything “worldly” became associated with evil.
Now, “is the cosmos Christ’s kingdom?” If we mean by that, “is the world, the world of evil, as it so frequently is used in the New Testament, and as it stands in opposition to God’s kingdom, is that Christ‘s kingdom?,” the answer is “no.”
What does the word “kingdom” mean? To be brief, the word “kingdom,” or the phrase “kingdom of God” or “kingdom of Christ,” refers to the rule of God, the divine kingly authority. This divine authority and rule was given by the Father to the Son (Luke 22:29). Christ does exercise and will exercise this rule until He has subdued all that is hostile to God. When He has finally put all His enemies under His feet, then He will return the kingdom to His Father (I Cor. 15:24–28), and it will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ (Rev. 11:15), “and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
In this sense, yes indeed, the whole cosmos is under the authority of the Christ. Over that world which is marred by the love of evil and in the sinister hold of Satan, God is still sovereign. Satan’s kingdom exists by permission, and not by reason of divine helplessness. God has worked a glorious reconciliation for that world (II Cor. 5:19), whereby through faith in His Son, people may be transferred from the realm of darkness into the kingdom of God’s Son. There they enjoy the blessedness of forgiveness and eternal life, while those who are not so transferred will share the fate of Satan.
What a tremendous privilege it is to be among those who shall some day join voices with “every created thing,” saying, “Unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever” (Rev. 5:13).
