Describing the life of the Kingdom and of those who share in it, Paul emphasizes a very...
Describing the life of the Kingdom and of those who share in it, Paul emphasizes a very important feature of our age, the age of the coming Kingdom, which, as it is revealed in ever greater fullness, includes more and more new inhabitants.
Earlier, speaking about the ways God acts in the world, the apostle, referring to the Torah, drew his readers' attention to the fact that God can act even through those who oppose Him; but in that case it was already an action not of God's love, but of God's power. Now the picture, at first glance, changes: the action of God's love is quite obvious, and Paul describes its manifestations in considerable detail and vividness, both in relations among brothers and in the relations of Christians with those who do not yet know the Kingdom (vv. 9-18).
But the apostle does not mention manifestations of the action of God's power like those Paul speaks about when referring to texts from Exodus. On the contrary, he forbids revenge, undoubtedly following here the teaching of Jesus Himself, and proposes putting it off until God Himself directly manifests His power and carries out His judgment (vv. 19-21). But judging by everything Paul says about the Kingdom and the Savior's return, one must think that the final judgment over God's enemies, and therefore over the enemies of the faithful, is postponed until the end of time.
At first glance it may appear that in this way God exposes His people to attack, since in that case the faithful will not soon have to wait for God's judgment. On the other hand, such a way of acting in our fallen world is evidently the only possible one. Indeed, one can speak of God's final judgment only when a person is in the Kingdom or before the face of the Kingdom, and of the Kingdom revealed in all its fullness.
Of course, God already sees every heart. But the history of the Kingdom is only beginning; it has not yet been revealed so fully as to transform to the end our world, which is still not free from sin. This means that the earlier history, in which the choice of a path meant only the choice of a path, has not entirely ended. The old world has ceased to be the only reality of history, but it still makes up a certain part of it. Therefore every choice made by a person in this dual and divided world cannot be considered final, unless we are speaking of those who have chosen the Kingdom and gone their way to the end. Everyone else still has, until the Savior's return, a chance to change his mind, to change his decision and his choice.
Then they must also be given time to use this chance. By postponing His judgment, God gives them time so that all the possibilities for the salvation of each person may be used to the end. For those who are already in the Kingdom, the path of salvation is open. Now the time has come for them to think about those who do not yet know this path, so that the Savior may truly be Savior for everyone who can still be saved.
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12:21 And if you see no present fruit, yet persevere.Be not overcome with evil - As all are who avenge themselves.But overcome evil with good. Conquer your enemies by kindness and patience.