The Kingdom of the New Covenant

Within the Reformed heritage we have the unique opportunity to bring together in a unified vision all the covenants of Scripture, in such manner that the whole inscripturated Word remains accessible and edifying in the most direct manner for the whole church of God.  This point of view was certainly recognized by Calvin, when he claimed that the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament was a difference of administration more than it was a difference of covenant.  This same Calvin, however, went on to make the central covenant the New Covenant, as the title (by Calvin) of Institutes, Book II, Chapter VII makes clear:  "The Law was given, not to restrain the folk of the old covenant under itself, but to foster hope of salvation in Christ until his coming."  See materials in http://www.christocentry.net/Notes on Calvin's Institutes".  See also, in that place, a discussion of Calvin's teaching in Chapter XI of Book II ("The differences between the two testaments").  Calvin thus recognizes "progress" in the historic covenantal dispensations from the beginning of the inscripturated history until the end.  Christ is the axis of the covenant theology.

In later times, Calvin's implicit redemptive historicism has been explicitly developed by others.  It has now become a commonplace to explain the sequence of divine revelations and covenants in Scripture as each being part and parcel of a single big picture that has developed through time, as sequentially recorded in the inscripturated history.  This approach, called "Biblical Theology," emphasizes the development and progress of divine revelation, rather than just noting "differences" seen in the different portions of the Old and New Testaments.  This redemptive historical approach is not even limited to the Reformed.

All this material native to the Reformed movement helps us to focus our attention on the forward motion of revelation, on the "age to come," on the hope of resurrection, the first-fruits of which we experience now in our own souls, in Christ, though not yet in the body.

The Kingdom of God now manifest on earth is the Kingdom manifested in the souls of the believers, in the Church, and in the total life of the kingdoms of this earth insofar as they are permeated by the Gospel.  But, the Kingdom of God will ultimately be a Kingdom of total resurrection, in both soul and body.  This is our hope and heart's desire.

But, this view has competition.  It seems to me that there is also a strong movement among us which focuses on restitution of creation in this present age at the cost of primary emphasis on the hope of resurrection.

Now, it's certainly a fact that creation is restored in many ways, and the world is blessed by the present Kingdom of Christ.  But, the resurrection of creation in Christ is much, much more than the restitution of creation in this age.  Christ must be seen, and death must be banished.  Only this can satisfy our hearts.