The Kingdom of God Is Advancing

The Ceiling of One Generation Becomes the Floor of the Next

The nature of the Kingdom of God is that it is always increasing. We see this illustrated in many of Jesus’ parables.

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches. (Matthew 13:31-33)

Jesus also compared the Kingdom to yeast working through dough:

The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.(Matthew 13:33)

In both parables, the Kingdom begins small but continues to grow and expand until its influence reaches far beyond where it started.

Even long before this, Isaiah testified to its increasing nature when he prophesied the coming Messiah hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus:

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end… (Isaiah 9:6-7a)

The Kingdom is always meant to advance both individually and corporately as the Lord takes us from “glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18) and from “faith to faith” (Romans 1:17).

One of the key ingredients in this process of increase is inheritance. Inheritance is the link between the generations. It is what each generation receives from the previous generation and then passes on to the next. When one generation has been fruitful and multiplies, the next generation starts out ahead of where they otherwise would have started. For example, in the natural, a financial inheritance would enable a young couple to buy a house or a car much earlier than they could have if they had to depend only on their income. Their lives are advanced early on, and they are in a better position than they would have been.

When we receive an inheritance we are freely getting what someone else earned or bought with a price. The principle of inheritance makes each new generation responsible to receive what has been passed on from the previous generation and then to pay their own price to make it grow so that the next generation starts out ahead of them. The ceiling of one generation becomes the floor of the next.

This is why inheritance is so important in the Kingdom. It enables each generation to advance what has been passed on to them and leave a greater inheritance for those who follow. Our actions greatly affect generations ahead of us.

A well-known illustration compares the descendants of Jonathan Edwards and Max Jukes. Jonathan Edwards had 929 descendants. By contrast, Max Jukes had 1,026 descendants. Of Jukes’ descendants, 300 were imprisoned, 190 became prostitutes, and 68 were alcoholics. Edwards’ descendants included 430 ministers of the gospel, 86 university professors, 13 university presidents, 73 authors, 7 members of Congress, and 1 vice president of the United States. Whether every detail of the illustration is exact or not, it serves to remind us that generations are profoundly affected by the choices we make.

We can see from this the effect that righteousness can have on a family line, because “a righteous man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children” (Proverbs 13:22).

One of the keys that enables one generation to give an inheritance and the next generation to receive it, is honor. Honor is the link that joins the generations together, allowing life and blessing to flow from one generation to the next. Establishing a culture of honor is not only a vital ingredient in unity, but is a crucial Kingdom value that enables us to receive what has been passed on to us.

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)

It is important to note the relationship between honor and life. Honor creates a highway on which life travels, and it is one of the key virtues in creating, maintaining, and advancing Kingdom culture.

Perhaps one of the challenges of our day is that we live in a culture that increasingly celebrates independence while often neglecting honor. We are encouraged to forge our own path, find our own “truth”, and do things our own way. While there is value in taking responsibility for our lives, we can sometimes lose sight of the fact that much of what we enjoy today was built on the faithfulness, sacrifice, and obedience of those who went before us. When we fail to honor them, imperfect as they may have been, we can miss the inheritance they carry. But when we cultivate a culture of honor, we position ourselves to receive life, wisdom, and blessing that God intended to flow from one generation to the next. If we want to see the Kingdom of God advancing, and if we want to be a part of it, we need to embrace honor.

God’s heart is that we continue increasing from one generation to the next. In everything He has done for us, His desire is that the next generation would also know His power, His deliverance, His love, His grace, and His might. The Kingdom of God is always advancing, and one of the primary ways it advances is through what is faithfully passed from one generation to the next.

Our responsibility is not only to honor those that went before us and receive the inheritance we have been given, but to steward it, grow it, and pass it on so that those who come after us begin where we leave off. That’s a huge part in how we partner with God in advancing His Kingdom.

One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. (Psalm 145:4)

Further Scripture Reading

• Psalm 22:30–31

• Psalm 48:12–14

• Psalm 71:18, 28

• Psalm 102:18

• Psalm 145:4–7, 11–13

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