When we consider the Lord’s coming kingdom, it is important that we begin with what He has stated about its characteristics in the Scriptures, especially when clear definitions are given. We must not add or subtract from those, regardless of how ambiguous they may seem to us. It has been said that almost every heresy is the result of men trying to take to logical conclusions what God has only revealed in part. When God reveals something in part, He has a reason for it, and it is a huge presumption to think we can add to it.

      For example, I’ve heard some teach that when the kingdom comes, Christ will have absolute authority over everyone and everything. However, if we look at the way He ruled over Israel when He was their King, there was actually far more freedom for the Israelites under the Law than there were rigid rules to follow. He was clear and specific about the way He wanted many things done, enough to make the principles of righteousness and justice clear. In everything else, they were free to make their own decisions as long as they did not violate His laws.

      We know that the Lord loves freedom. We are told in 2 Corinthians 3:17, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” In fact, the Lord has always given His people an astonishing amount of liberty. As we mature in Him by coming to know His ways, He gives us more. He wants us to do what is right and just because it is in our heart and because we love righteousness and justice. He does not want us to do it out of fear—though that may be necessary for a time until we mature.

      I have heard it taught that there will be no democracy in God’s kingdom, because democracy is in conflict with His rule. If we look at how He ruled over Israel, He actually created the first republic in history. When Israel was in the wilderness, He instructed Moses to have the people choose seventy elders from among all the elders to judge the people.

      He is also called the King of kings, and He told His disciples that they would rule and reign with Him in His kingdom. How much autonomy will He give them to make decisions? If we go by how much He gave them when He was here on earth, it will be a lot. Dominant, controlling micromanagers often teach and preach that He is like that, but they are obviously trying to make God into their image.

      To try to make God out to be like us is something we may all be prone to doing in some ways, but maturity compels us to see Him as He is and for us to be changed into His image. He very graciously gives us time to mature, because it takes time. I’ve often wanted the gift to be able to lay hands on people and have them instantly be made mature, but that is not how maturity works.

      The only shortcut to maturity I know of is to be humble enough to be correctible and to not waste our mistakes, but learn from them. Being correctible is one definition of humility. We are told repeatedly in Scripture that, “God resists the proud, but gives His grace to the humble” (see James 4:6). We are also told that the wise love reproofs for correction and even that this is the path of life (see Proverbs 12). Do you want to know how wise you really are? Just think about how much you loved it the last time someone corrected you.

      Thinking about this is also a good way to tell where we are on the humility scale. There is no treasure on earth as valuable as the grace of God, so if we really are wise, our focus should be on how we can humble ourselves, not how we can look bigger or better to people.

      Moses is usually considered the greatest leader/prophet in the Old Testament, and it was said of him that he was the humblest man of the earth (see Numbers 12:3). Even more humbling was that he had to write this about himself.

      When I think about how often I have steered conversations to reveal something good about myself, knowing that is not the kind of wisdom and the humility God gives His grace to, I know anyone reading this could have me beat in the wisdom and humility we should all be seeking. However, one reason He left us on this fallen planet after we gave our lives to Him was to develop these basic characteristics of Christ, who is “gentle and humble of heart” (see Matthew 11:29). The degree to which we have grown in these in this life will likely determine how much authority He can trust us with in His kingdom.