The Church Fathers on this verse
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Matthew 6:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Douay-Rheims

ελθετω η βασιλεια σου γενηθητω το θελημα σου ως εν ουρανω και επι της γης

Greek (Byzantine text)

What does Matthew 6:10 mean?

The Fathers read "Thy kingdom come" as a prayer for the Second Coming and judgment and, as Jerome of Stridon adds, for God to reign in each of us. God's will is to be done on earth as the angels do it in heaven. John Chrysostom sees here a call to make the earth into heaven.

Summary drawn from the commentaries of the Church Fathers. Based on Theophylact of Bulgaria, Euthymios Zigabenos, Jerome of Stridon, Cyrill of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom.

The Church Fathers on this verse

17 Church Fathers comment on this verse · 28 commentaries

John Chrysostom

4th centuryChurch Father

See how excellently this follows; having taught us to desire heavenly things by that which He said, Thy kingdom come, before we come to Heaven He bids us make this earth into Heaven, in that saying, Thy will he done as in heaven, so in earth.

For virtue is not of our own efforts, but of grace from above. Here again is enjoined on each one of us prayer for the whole world, inasmuch as we are not to say, Thy will be done in me, or in us; but throughout the earth, that error may cease, truth be planted, malice be banished, and virtue return, and thus the earth not differ from heaven.

These words, As in heaven so in earth, must be taken as common to all three preceding petitions. Observe also how carefully it is worded; He said not, Father, hallow Thy name in us, Let Thy kingdom come on us, Do Thy will in us. Nor again; Let us hallow Thy name, Let us enter into Thy kingdom, Let us do Thy will; that it should not seem to be either God’s doing only, or man’s doing only. But He used a middle form of speech, and the impersonal verb; for as man can do nothing good without God’s aid, so neither does God work good in man unless man wills it.

Theophylact of Bulgaria

11th centuryChurch Father

May Your kingdom arrive, referring to the second advent, for a person with a pure heart prays for the arrival of resurrection and judgment. May Your will be fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven. Just as the angels faithfully carry out Your will in heaven, enable us to do the same here on earth. "For the angels always and in everything act according to the will of God."

Augustine of Hippo

5th centuryChurch Father

When they pray, Let thy kingdom come, what else do they pray for who are already holy, but that they may persevere in that holiness they now have given unto them? For no otherwise will the kingdom of God come, than as it is certain it will come to those that persevere unto the end.

This is not so said as though God did not now reign on earth, or had not reigned over it always. Come, must therefore be taken for be manifested to men. For none shall then be ignorant of His kingdom, when His Only-begotten not in understanding only, but in visible shape shall come to judge the quick and dead. This day of judgment the Lord teaches shall then come, when the Gospel shall have been preached to all nations; which thing pertains to the hallowing of God’s name.

For the kingdom of God will come whether we desire it or not. But herein we kindle our desires towards that kingdom, that it may come to us, and that we may reign in it.

In that kingdom of blessedness the happy life will be made perfect in the Saints as it now is in the heavenly Angels; and therefore after the petition, Thy kingdom come, follows, Thy will he done as in heaven, so in earth. That is, as by the Angels who are in Heaven Thy will is done so as that they have fruition of Thee, no error clouding their knowledge, no pain marring their blessedness; so may it be done by Thy Saints who are on earth, and who, as to their bodies, are made of earth. So that, Thy will be done, is rightly understood as, ‘Thy commands be obeyed;’ as in heaven, so in earth, that is, as by Angels, so by men; not that they do what God would have them do, but they do because He would have them do it; that is, they do after His will.

Or; as by the righteous, so by sinners; as if He had said, As the righteous do Thy will, so also may sinners; either by turning to Thee, or in receiving every man his just reward, which shall be in the last judgment. Or, by the heaven and the earth we may understand the spirit and the flesh. As the Apostle says, In my mind I obey the law of God, (Rom. 7:25.) we see the will of God done in the spirit, But in that change which is promised to the righteous there, Let thy will he done as in heaven, so in earth; that is, as the spirit does not resist God, so let the body not resist the spirit. Or; as in heaven, so in earth, as in Christ Jesus Himself, so in His Church; as in the Man who did His Father’s will, so in the woman who is espoused of Him. And heaven and earth may be suitably understood as husband and wife, seeing it is of the heaven that the earth brings forth her fruits.

From this passage is clearly shewn against the Pelagians that the beginning of faith is God’s gift, when Holy Church prays for unbelievers that they may begin to have faith. Moreover, seeing it is done already in the Saints, why do they yet pray that it may be done, but that they pray that they may persevere in that they have begun to be?

Jerome of Stridon

5th centuryChurch Father

Either it is a general prayer for the kingdom of the whole world that the reign of the Devil may cease; or for the kingdom in each of us that God may reign there, and that sin may not reign in our mortal body.

But be it noted, that it comes of high confidence, and of an unblemished conscience only, to pray for the kingdom of God, and not to fear the judgment.

Let them be put to shame by this text who falsely affirm that there are daily falls (ruinas) in Heavenb.

Maximus the Confessor

7th centuryChurch Father

Through the renunciation of desire and anger, we naturally embrace the authority of the Kingdom of God the Father, as articulated in the Lord's Prayer. After casting aside our passions, we are privileged to proclaim: Thy kingdom come, which signifies the presence of the Holy Spirit, transforming us into temples of God through this Spirit and the path of humility. The Lord instructs us: "On whom will I look, but on him that is meek and silent, and who trembles at My words" (Is. 66:2). It is evident, therefore, that the Kingdom of God belongs to the humble and the meek, as it is written: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5). God has promised an inheritance not of this transient world, which occupies a mere middle place in the cosmos. Instead, He unveils the truth: "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but abide as the angels of God in heaven" (Matt. 22:30). Furthermore, He states: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34). Additionally, He joyfully proclaims to the diligent: "Enter into the joy of thy master" (Matt. 25:21). The divine Apostle asserts: "For he shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible" (1 Cor. 15:52). He continues: "Afterwards we who are left alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:17). If all these promises are made to those who love the Lord, who among us would speak solely of the earthly existence we currently inhabit, without acknowledging the heaven and the kingdom that has been prepared since the world’s creation, as well as the hidden joy of the Lord, and the eternal dwelling of those deemed worthy to be with Him? Who would dare make such a comparison if guided by the Word of God and desiring to serve Him?

Hence, it is my belief that ‘the earth’ here signifies the unwavering strength, inner fortitude, and steadfast goodness of the meek, for they dwell perpetually with the Lord, possessing boundless joy, and are aligned with the kingdom established from the very beginning, thereby receiving honor and rank in heaven. Such virtuous qualities resemble a type of earth, existing in a balanced position within the universe. As a result, the meek, who experience neither praise nor disdain, remain unaffected by honor or shame. The mind, having renounced passion, is no longer disturbed by external pressures that it is naturally free from, for it has calmed the inner turmoil caused by these emotions and redirected the soul’s strength towards divine freedom. To impart this freedom to His disciples, the Lord encourages: "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matt. 11:29). The ‘rest’ referred to here embodies the power of the divine kingdom, which cultivates a sovereign dominion in the souls of the worthy, free from all forms of bondage.

Thus, if the indestructible power of the Sacred Kingdom is bestowed upon the humble and meek, who among us would remain apathetic to the Divine gifts and refrain from ardently pursuing humility and meekness to embody the imprint of the Divine Kingdom, truly holding within themselves the majestic King Christ, becoming, by grace, His unalterable image in the Spirit? According to the Apostle, in this image, "there is neither male nor female" (Galatians 3:28), which means that there exists neither anger nor desire. The former tyrannically steals the intellect and leads thoughts beyond the limits of natural law, while the latter elevates that which is lower than the One True Cause of all things above the Divine itself, thus the flesh prefers the material over the glory of spiritual goods, derailing the mind from divine perception towards mere visible pleasures.

In this Divine likeness, there is but one intellect, guided by the fullness of virtue, overcoming even the deepest impressed inclinations towards the body, for the Spirit triumphs over nature, compelling the mind to engage in simple, undivided contemplation united with the transcendent essence of the Word. However, it is also inherent for the mind to navigate through the temporal experiences of existence, and having done so, it ought not to be weighed down by moral dilemmas, for it has risen beyond the constraints of the senses. This is illustrated in the act of the great Elijah, who, upon his ascension to heaven, entrusted Elisha with the mantle, symbolizing the mortification of flesh and embodying the dignity of moral integrity to aid the Spirit in vanquishing all opposing forces, thus avoiding the trap of material entanglement depicted by the River Jordan. Elijah himself, advancing towards God in complete freedom, unmoored by worldly attachments and with a straightforward desire and will, ascended to God, whose nature is simplicity, through interlinked virtues that unite through knowledge, as he rode on fiery chariots.

He understood that a disciple of Christ must not exhibit conflicting dispositions, for such disparities signal separation from Christ. If the agitation of desire disrupts the spirit, then anger boils the blood. Therefore, Elijah, living preeminently in Christ, eliminated from within himself the unnatural roots of passions, refraining from embodying conflicting natures, like male and female. This was so the mind, inherently endowed with dignity from the divine image, would not be enslaved by them, nor swayed by their turbulent shifts, persuading the soul to recreate itself freely in the image of God, thereby becoming a radiant abode of the great kingdom, that is, the Holy Spirit—the kingdom that exists eternally with God, the Father of all creation.

Such a person attains, if I may express it thus, the capacity to understand the Divine nature to the fullest extent possible. Through this divine comprehension, the soul instinctively renounces what is base and strives for what is better, provided it preserves within itself the unblemished essence of the bestowed goods by the grace of calling. Within such a soul, it is continually favorable for Christ incarnate to be mysteriously reborn, rendering the soul that conceives Him a virgin mother. Consequently, it does not possess the attributes of nature subject to corruption and birth, including the distinctions of male and female. One ought not to be astonished to acknowledge that corruption precedes birth; upon reasonable examination of the nature of that which is born and that which perishes, one can clearly observe that birth initiates with corruption and concludes in it.

The passionate attributes of this birth, as noted, lack Christ’s essence and life. The Apostle correctly emphasizes the nature that is governed by decay and birth: "In Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female" (Galatians 3:28), but only a divine intellect, formed by holy wisdom, and a singular manifestation of will that chooses virtue alone. In Christ Jesus, there is "neither Jew nor Gentile"—indicating differing, indeed opposing, perspectives concerning God. The Hellenistic mindset introduces irrational polytheism that fractiously divides the One Source into contrary actions and energies, leading to a polytheistic worship that, through its multiplicity, invokes discord and earns disgrace through its various forms of devotion. Conversely, the Jewish perspective, albeit professing a singular Beginning, portrays a narrow, imperfect, almost non-existent God, devoid of Word and Life—falling into a grave error tantamount to the previous one, leading to godlessness by confining the true essence of God to mere personhood, either devoid of Word and Spirit or attributing Word and Spirit as mere characteristics. This view neglects the reality that God, absent the Word and Spirit, ceases to be God.

Both conceptualizations of God are absent in Christ, for in Him, there resides the singular doctrine of true divinity and the unchanged law of sacramental theology, which refutes the notion of divisiveness found in the first view and does not accept the constriction evident in the second. Thus, the Holy doctrine protects us from perceiving God's essence as being in internal strife, which is a Hellenic fault, or from presenting Him as suffering and lacking the Word and Spirit, or giving Him the Word and Spirit as mere accidental properties, which is a Jewish error. Therefore, the law of sacramental theology instructs us, through the grace of those adopted through faith to the understanding of truth, to embrace the unified nature and power of the Godhead—one God manifest in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—acknowledging the singular and uncaused Intellect, who is the Parent of the eternal Word, existing eternally as essence, and to recognize the Source of eternal Life, who exists essentially as the Holy Spirit.

We must comprehend the Trinity within the Unity and the Unity within the Trinity—not as one manifesting in the other, for the Trinity is not an accidental property of the essence, and the Unit cannot exist within the Trinity, lacking quality; nor as one and the other, given that the Unit does not differ in nature from the Trinity, as both are fundamentally simple and unified; nor can they be understood as concurrent but distinctly separate entities, for it is not by the diminishment of power that the Trinity differs from the Unit, or vice versa; not as a common or generic concept, merely thought; for the Divine essence stands truly self-existent, and Divine power exists as truly capable. Neither can they be thought of in terms of an external relation, as what is absolutely equal and devoid of relation cannot be mediated like effect to cause; nor can one be derived from the other, for the Trinity, being uncreated and self-existent, is not brought into being by the Unit.

We speak and think of God as truly both One and Trinity; He is One in the logos of His essence and Trinity in the mode of His existence. We profess the same Unity, undivided amongst Hypostases; and the same Trinity, undivided in Unity, preventing the introduction of polytheism through fragmentation or heresy by amalgamation, thus clarifying the doctrine of Christ. This doctrine entails the new announcement of truth, where neither male nor female exists—eliminating the mark of weakness inherent in nature under the law of decay and birth; where neither Jew nor Gentile exists, denoting the absence of opposing doctrines concerning God; and where neither circumcision nor uncircumcision prevails, representing no ministries correlating to those doctrines. The Jewish ministry criticizes visible creation through the law's symbols, condemning the Creator as evil, whereas the Gentile ministry worships creation for the sake of fulfilling base desires, opposing the Creator; both pathways lead to the same sin—blasphemy.

There exists neither barbarian nor Scythian, meaning that the one human nature cannot rebel against itself, leading to the malicious law of mutual destruction against the order of creation. Likewise, there is neither slave nor free, indicating no encroachment upon human nature contrary to the will, which diminishes humanity's equality and is reinforced by laws reflecting the mindset of the powerful, thus disregarding the dignity of the image of God. Instead, all things and in all things align with Christ, who transcends nature and law, building an image of the eternal kingdom—an image that is manifested in the soul through humility and meekness, which signifies the person perfected in Christ (Col. 1:28). Indeed, every humble person is undoubtedly meek, and every meek person is necessarily humble. He recognizes that his existence is borrowed and understands the rightful use of his innate capacities given by nature for the birth of virtue, entirely directing their energy away from sensual indulgences.

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Euthymios Zigabenos

11th centuryCommentator

Thy kingdom come... This phrase pertains to His glorious Second Coming. It is commanded that we pray for this, so that, being aware of our supplication, we may be fully equipped to greet Him. Naturally, one who is prepared would eagerly pray for the arrival of the Judge. It can be expressed differently: Thy kingdom come, meaning You reign over us, not the adversary; You provide us with guidance and directives, not him. Thy will be done, both in heaven and on earth. May Your will manifest among humanity on earth, just as it is fulfilled by the angels in heaven, of whom David declared, ‘His servants do His will’ (Psalm 102:21). The divine will comprises His commandments.

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The term hallowed is essential for us to perceive it as a desirable state; we seek it in prayer because we require God’s assistance to achieve it. Similarly, the other actions are to be understood as desired, despite their imperative form.

Cyprian of Carthage

3rd centuryChurch Father

Or; it is that kingdom which was promised to us by God, and bought with Christ’s blood; that we who before in the world have been servants, may afterwards reign under the dominion of Christ.

The kingdom of God may stand for Christ Himself, whom we day by day wish to come, and for whose advent we pray that it may be quickly manifested to us. As He is our resurrection, because in Him we rise again, so may He be called the kingdom of God, because we are to reign in Him. Rightly we ask for God’s kingdom, that is, for the heavenly, because there is a kingdom of this earth beside. He, however, who has renounced the world, is superior to its honours and to its kingdom; and hence he who dedicates himself to God and to Christ, longs not for the kingdom of earth, but for the kingdom of Heaven.

We ask not that God may do His own will, but that we may be enabled to do what He wills should be done by us; and that it may be done in us we stand in need of that will, that is, of God’s aid and protection; for no man is strong by his own strength, but is safe in the indulgence and pity of God.

Cyrill of Jerusalem

4th centuryChurch Father

Your kingdom come. A righteous spirit can confidently declare, ‘Your kingdom come.’ For anyone who has listened to Paul’s words, ‘Let not sin reign in your mortal body’ (Romans 6:12), and anyone who cleanses themselves through actions, thoughts, and speech, can address God with, ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Blessed and divine angels of God, fulfill the will of the Lord, as David proclaimed: Bless the Lord, all His angels, mighty in power, who carry out His word (Psalm 102:20). Thus, when you pray, you express this understanding: ‘As your will is fulfilled among the angels, so may it be realized in me on earth, O Lord!’

Cassian

5th centuryChurch Father

Or; because the Saint knows by the witness of his conscience, that when the kingdom of God shall appear, he shall be partaker therein.

Isidore of Pelusium

5th centuryChurch Father

I believe that someone who acts as one of the initial attendants of the oppressor goes beyond all bounds of audacity when they declare: Thy kingdom come. This plea is a request for the arrival of the victorious King for those subjected to the tyrant's power, who brings unfailing aid in the battle against sin. Despite failing to embody any actions that are pleasing to God, such an individual still pretends to possess virtue and proclaims: Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Thus, it is those who abstain from everything that grants enjoyment to the oppressor who rightfully express the desire for His kingdom to manifest. The phrase Thy will be done reflects the true intentions of those who demonstrate their commitment through their deeds.

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The teachings of the Lord, alongside all other divine revelations, instruct us in prayer to request: Thy will be done, as it is in heaven, so let it be carried out on earth. This implies that we, here on earth, may partake in the serene realm of the divine, where all Your will is fulfilled, so that what pleases You may also be accomplished within us. Therefore, being aware of these truths and having learned them from me, do not neglect them but instead hold tightly to what is celestial and draws us nearer to God.

Symeon of Thessalonica

15th centuryChurch Father

May your kingdom arrive. Let us see you as our Sovereign for the sake of our righteous deeds, rather than as an adversary because of our wrongdoings. And may your kingdom come in fullness—on that final day when you will reign over all and every foe, establishing your kingdom forever, as it already is; anticipating those who are prepared and worthy for that moment. Let your will be fulfilled both in heaven and on earth. Transform us intoYour messengers, that your will might be realized in and through us as it is among them; may our desires not be driven by our flawed humanity, but be filled with your divine and sacred passion; and just as you have united the earthly and the heavenly, may we on earth experience the divine as well.

Ignatij (Briantchaninow)

19th centuryChurch Father

Your kingdom come! The kingdom of God resides within you (Luke 17:21). What a magnificent progression is found in the Lord's Prayer! This progression illustrates the orderly, gradual, and sacred system of spiritual development. After requesting a complete understanding of God, the Lord instructs the believer adopted by Him to earnestly seek the Kingdom of God to enter his heart. He urges him to approach this request through humble yet powerful prayers of faith. For the believer, receiving this kingdom is a certainty, as assured by the Word of God: He who has My commandments and obeys them, he who loves Me is the one loved by My Father. Whoever loves Me will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him (John 14:21, 23). Thy kingdom come!

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Such a beautiful request! A deep longing is awakened by this plea! A bold supplication is inspired by a divine desire! And this prayer is fulfilled. This fulfillment is confirmed by the remarkable acts displayed through God's saints. What can we attribute the miraculous signs performed by them to, if not to the truth that God was present within them and acted through them? What else can explain the gift of prophecy or the unveiling of the mysteries hidden within hearts and minds, revealed through God’s saints, but the presence of God—the one who perceives the distant future as the present, who knows all secrets? This was affirmed by the saints themselves. The Apostle Paul wrote of his experience to the Galatians: ‘I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me’ (Galatians 2:20); he wrote to the Corinthians: ‘You seek proof of Christ speaking in me’ (2 Corinthians 13:3). When Apostles Peter and John healed the man lame from birth at the Beautiful Gate of the temple in Jerusalem, and the amazed crowd gathered around them, they addressed the crowd: ‘Fellow Israelites, why are you amazed at this? Why do you stare at us as if we had made him walk by our own power or godliness? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified His servant Jesus’ (Acts 3:12-13). The Acts of the Apostles recount a profound episode: the Christians in Jerusalem, in obedience to the Lord's command, sold their possessions and shared the proceeds for the common good of the church, ensuring there was no one in need. Ananias and his wife Sapphira followed suit. They sold a property but conspired to keep part of the proceeds secret. Ananias presented the sum as complete at the apostles' feet, intending to deceive the Spirit-bearers. Saint Peter asked him: ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back some of the purchase price? Wasn’t it yours to keep? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings, but to God’ (Acts 5:3-4). Upon hearing these words, Ananias fell down dead. Sapphira, who supported her husband’s actions and shared in his sin before the Holy Spirit present in the apostles, met the same fate (Acts 5:1-10). Throughout the history of Christianity, the annals of the Church record the experiences derived from the sanctified acts of God that transcend human nature, belonging instead to God, who dwells and reigns within holy people. Monk Macarius of Egypt remarked: ‘In those whom the grace of the Divine Spirit has illuminated and settled in their hearts, the Lord becomes like a soul within them.’ Again, he stated: ‘The action and power of the Holy Spirit resides in the renewed human being.’ He who experiences the Kingdom of God within themselves becomes a stranger to a world that opposes God. Those who feel this divine kingdom may genuinely desire that it be manifested in everyone around them. They can rightly yearn for the visible Kingdom of God to envelop the earth, eradicate sin from its surface, and establish the reign of Truth. From this place of longing, St. John the Theologian prayerfully responded to the Lord during a moment of spiritual delight, who promised His imminent return to address the final destinies of the world: ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ (Rev. 22:20). The earth is filled with wickedness, in need of purification and renewal. Unprepared and recognizing his own mental temple as empty—a dwelling lacking God—he seeks another opportunity to perform his duties. He pleads for time, like the gardener imploring the Lord who ordered the unfruitful, mysterious fig tree to be cut down: ‘Lord, leave it for this year until I dig around it,’ separating it from the habits that sap its strength, ‘and I will fertilize it’—using humility and repentance (Luke 13:8). Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; heaven consists of the heavenly beings: through them, God's will is executed in purity and without corruption. They do not impose their own will alongside that of God! Their will has merged with divine will. What the Savior of the World desired from God the Father for His disciples and all who follow Him has been granted: ‘I do not pray for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word: that they all may be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they may also be one in Us.... that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and You in Me: that they may be made perfect in one’ (John 17:20-23). ‘Thy will be done, both in heaven and on earth.’ The earth represents Christians. It would be fitting for each of us, when uttering this request, to understand the term ‘earth’ as referring to our hearts, intimately linking the heart and body. The direction of the heart's forces influences how the body responds, with the body's inclinations transforming from the carnal and beastly to the spiritual, holy, and angelic. The complete unity of the human will with God’s will represents a state of perfection achievable only by a rational being. Angels possess this perfection. It is the good pleasure of our Savior that we—fragile and imperfect humans, derived from the earth, roaming it briefly, and ultimately returning to dust—should receive what the most sacred heavenly spirits have. He commands us to pursue the perfection that remains beyond our full understanding. Those who have experienced the Kingdom of God within themselves learn not to be content with this; they learn to reject carelessness and inactivity; they strive for the fullest manifestation of the Divine Kingdom within themselves. Let the will of God operate thoroughly within each individual, in every aspect: spirit, soul, and body, harmonizing the desires that were divided by the fall! Only through the will of God can the will of man, tainted by sin, find healing; only in and through the will of God can the conflicting desires of the different parts of man be reconciled into a single yearning; only the will of man, enlivened by God’s will, can ascend from the earth to heaven. ‘Brethren,’ says the holy apostle Paul, ‘I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things’ (Phil. 3:13-15).

Philaret of Moscow (Drosdow)

19th centuryChurch Father

WHAT KINGDOM IS REFERRED TO IN THE LORD'S PRAYER? The second request in the Lord's Prayer highlights the kingdom of God, which signifies the kingdom of grace that the apostle describes as ‘righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Rom. 14:17). HAS THIS KINGDOM ARRIVED? The kingdom of God has already been established for some individuals, while for others, it remains absent, as ‘sin reigns in the mortal ... (their) body, that ... (they) should obey him in his lusts’ (Rom. 6:12). HOW IS THIS REIGN ESTABLISHED? It manifests in a deeply personal and internal manner. ‘The kingdom of God will not come in a visible way...For...the kingdom of God is within you’ (Luke 17:20-21). CAN WE REQUEST THE KINGDOM OF GLORY?

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A believer may petition for the kingdom of glory under the term kingdom of God, which represents the ultimate joy of the faithful. ‘I have a desire to be cut off and to be with Christ’ (Phlp. 1:23). WHAT DOES THE REQUEST, ‘THY WILL BE DONE’ ENTAIL? The request for God's will to be accomplished indicates that we are asking God to ensure that all our actions and the occurrences in our lives transpire not according to our own desires, but in alignment with His divine purpose. WHY SHOULD WE AVOID ASKING FOR OUR OWN WILL? We often err in our desires, while God, knowing what is truly good for us, desires even more than we do to grant us every good thing, provided our own stubbornness does not obstruct it. ‘To Him who by the power working in us is able to do incomparably more than all that we ask or think, to Him be glory in the Church’ (Eph. 3:20-21). WHY DO WE PETITION FOR GOD'S WILL TO BE FULFILLED ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN? We seek the realization of God's will on earth, mirroring its fulfillment in heaven, as there the holy angels and blessed souls, without exception, continuously and wholly carry out God’s will.

Wladimir (Bogojawlenski)

19th centuryChurch Father

Dear brothers and sisters! One who genuinely harbors a spirit of sonship toward God, for whom the Almighty truly serves as a Father, whom one loves above all else and reveres beyond all things, cannot help but begin prayer with the words, "Our Father, who art in heaven," and immediately follow with, "Hallowed be Thy name." It is not for our sake, but for Your name alone that we seek glory, honor, and reverence befitting You. All-Powerful, Eternal, Merciful Father! We beseech You to accept what is rightfully Yours! Shield us from all that may obstruct our ability to glorify Your name. Grant that Your Word may spread among us across the earth so that all humanity may come to know Your holy name, and that we may venerate You as Your true children through our sanctified lives. Therefore, if the primary and sole aim of our desires, worries, and aspirations is to glorify the name of God, our heavenly Father, we are fully justified in adding to our first request, hallowed be Thy name, the second: Thy kingdom come.

Our esteemed ancestors in faith describe the kingdom of God in three distinct forms: the kingdom of power, the kingdom of grace, and the kingdom of glory. God's kingdom of power has reigned from creation's dawn over all He has made. He governs everything with absolute authority, and no creature can weaken or diminish His strong hand. Even demons quake at His majesty and, against their own desire, serve as instruments of His Divine Will, underscoring the glory and steadfastness of His eternal laws. The kingdom of God permeates all; nothing exists outside His omnipotent governance. This is beyond doubt.

In this regard, the kingdom of God is not solely something that is only coming or will arrive in the future. It is already present, thus we need not utter, Thy kingdom come, in that sense. However, the intention behind the Creator's crafting of the world and the glory He desires from His creations is not for them to serve Him unwillingly or to honor Him as vessels of His wrath. Rather, He created us to serve Him willingly, out of free and grateful love, to honor and exalt His name, to fulfill His will, and to enjoy the good gifts bestowed upon us. This reflects why He does not eradicate sinful humanity in its fall nor abandon it to its own ruin, which arises from willfulness.

The eternal decree of divine love has resolved to establish the kingdom of His grace amid the sinful world. His governance is aimed at fulfilling this eternal counsel of divine love, that all things in heaven and on earth may be unified in Christ, where His will is executed and truth, peace, and joy thrive. The arrival and fulfillment of this kingdom is the ultimate goal of God's plans. Through the prophets He conveyed to the forebears the multiplicity and richness of this purpose (Hebrews 1:1). For this reason, He sent His Son, born of a woman, at the appointed time, and delivered the law. For this purpose, the only begotten Son of the Father diminished Himself, adopting the form of a servant, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).

For this reason, the Son of Man, having been granted all authority in heaven and on earth, now commissions His apostles, the heralds of His kingdom, to proclaim the gospel so that all God’s children, for whom He sacrificed Himself, may gather to Him from dawn till dusk, to live within His kingdom and serve eternally in righteousness, innocence, and joy. This is the kingdom of which our Savior speaks when He preaches the gospel of the kingdom and teaches us to pray, "Father, Thy kingdom come." Indeed, He encourages us to pray for this grace-filled kingdom to manifest in us, bringing forth its truth, peace, and joy of the Holy Spirit, and that it may arrive in its glory—the day revealed when all decrees of His eternal counsel will be realized.

This is the kingdom we plead for when we say, "Father, Thy kingdom come." It is certain that the kingdom of God will indeed come, even without our supplication. By His free will alone, the Almighty has chosen to redeem the world, without awaiting anyone's request; out of His boundless love, He enforces this decision, overcoming all sin and apathy inherent in the world, and despite the conspiracies and opposition of its ruler. The Lord's hand prevails, no matter how brazen human wickedness may rise against it.

Herod and Pilate, alongside the Gentiles and Jews, conspire against God and His Christ, yet their actions are simply in accordance with God's eternal predestination. Saul breathes threats towards the disciples of the Lord and seeks to obliterate God's kingdom and His Christ, yet he could not succeed (Acts 9:5). The Strong One drew him to Himself, transforming him into His chosen vessel to glorify His name among the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. Therefore, the kingdom of God will indeed come without our prayers. Why do you, mere mortal, presume that the Almighty requires your assistance?

God does not need our help; rather, we need His help for the kingdom of God to touch us. Although the kingdom of God will arrive independent of our prayer, we implore that it may personally come to us. What benefit is it to me if it arrives with its salvation and grace while I remain unconnected to it? What would gain result from the bridegroom's approach if his guests gather for the joyful feast and I am unprepared, lacking the radiant garment to enter the wedding hall, thus being cast out?

This is why we ask in this prayer for God’s kingdom to come unto us Christians, whom the Lord has instructed to pray in this manner, and for those who do not yet know Christ and remain enveloped in the darkness of paganism. Oh, that the heavenly Father would cleanse their hearts of everything that obstructs the arrival of His kingdom, allowing it to enter every soul, family, city, and nation—believers and non-believers alike.

Let us not forget that the Christian mission is not an alien responsibility but rather a call to reveal God's name even to the Gentiles, that His Word may be proclaimed across the globe: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). It is without question that this kingdom of God will manifest even without our petition, but it must take root through us, through our prayers, and through our love. Woe to us if the arrival of this glorious kingdom coincides with the appearance of the Son of Man in glory to inherit His kingdom, only for us to be exposed as liars, lacking the congruence in our lives reflective of the words we repeatedly speak!

In such a case, this very prayer we often recite, along with all the souls who were denied entrance to the kingdom of God due to our failings, would stand as witnesses against us, condemning us before the Judgment Seat. Oh, protect us from such fate, merciful heavenly Father! Strip away from us all that bars us from receiving You and Your Holy Spirit into our hearts. Make us vessels of Your grace so that Your kingdom may draw near and spread across the earth through our actions and service.

Pour out Your Holy Spirit upon all creation so that Your kingdom may manifest, that the day of Your glory may be unveiled, and that we might join the celestial chorus, singing: Alleluia! For the Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be filled with joy and give Him glory: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready (Revelation 19:7). The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and He will reign forever and ever (Rev. 11:15). Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The angels of God proclaimed on that holy night of Christ's Nativity: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men (Luke 2:14). This beautifully encapsulates the essence of the first three requests in the Lord's Prayer. For the glory due to the Most High God is rooted in the genuine reverence of His name, and peace upon the earth follows the arrival of His kingdom, which ushers men into a state of grace—there is no way to achieve this apart from what we seek in the third petition.

What do we request in this prayer? Though God's merciful and good will is fulfilled without our involvement and without our supplication, in the third petition, we ask that His will may be enacted on earth just as it is in heaven. We refer to God's will here as His benevolent will, which is entirely accurate: it is His will alone that is indeed good. Furthermore, it is characterized as merciful, for it reflects the heart of a God who wishes to restore us and desires that all humankind be saved and embrace the truth. This decree of His divine love was established before the world's foundation and will be carried out following the fulfillment of time.

This is His desire for us, which directs His providential actions—even if we do not plead for it. Why, then, should we continuously implore Him that His good and gracious will may be accomplished in us and through us for His glory and our benefit? Is there anything that obstructs the fulfillment of His benevolent will? In heaven, nothing stands in the way. There, all is accomplished according to God's gracious and good will. The heavenly hosts rejoice eternally, triumphantly singing before His throne, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts." There, no opposition to the unconditional and unfettered rule of the Divine Will exists. The joy of angels is to fulfill His commands and serve those destined to inherit blessings.

Every repentant soul who experiences the triumph of God's merciful will here on earth celebrates becoming transformed from a servant of sin into a servant of God, an heir of His kingdom, and a cherished one in His favor. Therefore, we pray that God’s will be accomplished among the earth’s inhabitants just as it is executed by those in heaven, with the same unwavering, trusting, tireless, and obedient hearts that fulfill God’s will without questioning its necessity. Yet, currently, God’s will isn't fully realized on earth.

We do not yet display the sincerely willing, unquestioning, tireless, childlike faith that would characterize perfect instruments of His Divine Will. Why is this? The wicked and ungodly will persists, continuously opposing and resisting the glorification of God’s name and the commencement of His kingdom; the malevolent, unholy will outside of us—the desires of the world and the devourer's schemes—and the evil desires within us—our fleshly inclinations. These three adversaries to our salvation have forged an alliance that forever entangles us in the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the arrogance of life, instigating agitation and escapism from our cross.

This resistance makes it arduous for us to submit our will to God's. Therefore, we often declare with our lips, "Father, Thy will be done," while our hearts contradict, desiring, "No Father, not Thy will, but mine be done!" We safeguard ourselves from this evil counsel and will, both external and internal, when we pray, "Father, Thy will be done!" Under what circumstances can God's good and merciful will manifest in us, among us, and through us?

God pushes back against every evil intention and all wills that entice us toward the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, and He instills us with His Word and faith until the end of our lives. Thanks be to God! His own Word and gospel assure us that His good and gracious will aims to vanquish wicked counsels and prevail over ill will, to fortify His children in righteousness, and maintain them in His teachings and faith until life's end. Thus, we have every reason to trust that He will hear us when we petition: Thy will be done!

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Nikolaj Velimirovic

20th centuryChurch Father

Blessed is John the Baptist, for he fulfilled the Gospel even before the Gospel! When he went out into the wilderness, he completely surrendered himself to the will of God, both in body and in spirit. And the will of God was done in his body on earth as in his spirit in heaven.

Anonymous Commentary (Opus Imperfectum)

4th centuryCommentator

The kingdom of God encompasses both justification and condemnation; the righteous shall experience the former due to their righteousness, while sinners face the latter because of their transgressions. This kingdom is also referred to as the kingdom of the saints, as articulated in the scripture: "And the tares shall be gathered out of His kingdom" (Matthew 13:41), signifying the removal of the unrighteous from among the Christian community. Furthermore, righteousness itself is identified as the kingdom of God, as noted in this passage: "The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation that bringeth forth the fruits thereof" (Matt. 21:43). However, all these statements convey a single truth. There is a distinction between being a king and exercising rule.

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While God is inherently King, He does not reign over everyone, as not all belong to His kingdom due to their refusal to follow His will. It is not God who governs the wicked; rather, it is the devil whose desires they fulfill.

Consider how carefully He expressed Himself. He avoided saying: "Father, sanctify Thy name in us, grant us Thy kingdom, let us fulfill Thy will," to prevent the implication that God sanctifies Himself through individuals, bestows His kingdom arbitrarily, or performs His will in anyone He chooses, which would suggest a lack of seriousness in God's nature (cf. Acts 10:34). He also refrained from stating: "That we may sanctify Thy name, that we may gain Thy kingdom, that we may accomplish Thy will on earth as it is in heaven," to avoid implying that the actions of sanctifying God, receiving His kingdom, or doing His will are solely human endeavors. Instead, in the middle of His declaration, He used an impersonal approach: let Him be holy, let Him come, let Him be, highlighting the necessity of a collaborative effort. Humanity relies on God, while God requires humanity's willingness for righteousness to be accomplished. Just as a person cannot perform good deeds without divine assistance, likewise, God cannot perform good through an individual who does not seek it.

Michail (Lusin)

19th centuryCommentator

Your kingdom come. The kingdom—the reign of the Messiah—Jesus Christ. This prayer was deeply cherished by the Jews, particularly since the time of their exile in Babylon, fervently longing for the Messiah's arrival: "Let Your kingdom reign; let redemption come quickly." The Christian, as a participant in this kingdom, expresses a heartfelt petition: 1) for the kingdom of Christ to endure and flourish across the cosmos, that the Lord may draw the faithless from the shadows of disbelief and lead the unrighteous towards holiness, thereby expanding His dominion on earth and diminishing the realm o

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f evil and sin; 2) for Him to govern the hearts of believers, igniting in them faith, hope, and love; 3) that upon the conclusion of this earthly journey, He may welcome them into His heavenly kingdom, which is the ultimate purpose of our existence. Your will. This is revealed in the Scriptures and demonstrated through His continuous care for creation. The Christian must forsake his own sinful desires, which are contrary to God's will, and must wholly surrender to it, as it is perfectly fulfilled in Heaven by the angels and saints, who know no will except that of God. May this holy will be established on earth among humanity and all living beings, as it is in Heaven; the believer is called to offer his own will to the Lord, yield to His plan, and discern His intentions in all things.