3. The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the World
And 1Pet 3:9, "Let no one repay evil with evil, nor railing with railing," etc. These and like passages truly would make it appear as though in the New Testament there should be no secular sword among Christians.
Hence the sophists also say that Christ has abolished Moses' Law; they make such commandments counsels only for the perfect, and divide Christian teaching, and Christians, into two classes. One part they call the perfect, and assign to it such counsels. To the other, the imperfect, they assign the commandments. This they do out of sheer perversity and caprice, without any scriptural basis. They do not see that in the same passage Christ lays such stress on His teaching, that He is unwilling to have the least word of it set aside (Mat
5:19);1 and he condemns to hell those who do not love their enemies. (Mat 5:25 ff.)
Therefore we must interpret these passages differently, so that Christ's words may apply to all alike, whether they are "perfect" or "imperfect." For perfection and imperfection do not consist in works, and do not establish a distinct external order among Christians; but they exist in the heart,2 in faith and love, so that those who believe and love the most are the perfect ones, whether outwardly they are male or female, prince or peasant, monk or layman. For love and faith produce no sects or outward differences.
3. The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the World We must divide all the children of Adam into two classes; the first belong to the kingdom of God, the second to the kingdom of the world.
Those belonging to the kingdom of God are all true believers in Christ, and are subject to Christ. For Christ is the King and Lord in the kingdom of God, as the second Psalm and all the Scriptures say. (Psa 2:6)3 For this reason He came into the world, that He might begin
God's kingdom and establish it in the world. Therefore He says before Pilate, "My kingdom is not of the world, but whoever is of the truth hears My voice" (John 18:36f.); and continually in the Gospel He refers to the kingdom of God and says, "Amend your ways, the kingdom of God is at hand." (Mat 3:2) Likewise, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." (Mat 6:33) He also calls the Gospel, a Gospel of the kingdom, for the reason that it teaches, governs, and contains God's kingdom.
Now observe, these people need no secular sword or law. And if all the world were composed of real Christians, that is, true believers, no prince, king, lord, sword, or law would be needed. For what would be the use of them, since Christians have in their hearts the Holy
Spirit who instructs them and causes them to wrong no one, to love every one, to willingly and cheerfully to suffer injustice and even death from everyone. Where every wrong is suffered and every right is done, no quarrel, strife, trial, judge, penalty, law or sword is needed. Therefore, it is not possible for the secular sword and law to find any work to do among Christians, since of themselves they do much more than its laws and doctrines can demand. Just as Paul says in 1Tim 1:19, "The law is not given for the righteous, but for the unrighteous."
Why is this? Because the righteous does by himself all and more than all that all the laws demand. But the unrighteous do nothing that the law demands; therefore they need the law to instruct, constrain, and compel them to do what is good. A good tree does not need any
1 Mat 5:18-19 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
2 Mat 5.48.
3 Psa 2:6 "Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion."