The Already and Not Yet of the Kingdom

Explanation of “Already and Not Yet”

• In-breaking Kingdom: Fish explains that when Jesus came, He inaugurated the in-breaking kingdom, proclaiming that the kingdom of God is at hand. However, the kingdom is not yet fully consummated and will not be until Jesus returns.
• Window of Time: This creates a “window” of time between Jesus’ first and second comings, where the kingdom is both present and yet to be fully realized.
• Theological Implications: This theological framework leads to the idea that when people are healed, they are experiencing the “already” of the kingdom, while those who are not healed are experiencing the “not yet,” implying that their healing will only occur in glory.

How It Limits the Church:

• Soft Skills: The “already and not yet” theology can cause people to let their skills go soft. They lose their determination to see breakthrough in healing situations.
• Loss of the Cutting Edge: Over time, this mindset leads to a loss of the “cutting edge,” the passion, and the expectation for supernatural intervention.
• Decline in Healing: Eventually, the church loses its ability to effectively minister in healing. Fish says that after a while, there is no healing in the church.
• Passivity and Complacency: When believers attribute the lack of healing to the “not yet,” they can become passive and complacent, accepting sickness and disease as inevitable until the second coming. They stop pursuing breakthrough and resign themselves to the status quo.
• Incomplete Diagnosis: This theology can lead to incomplete and incorrect diagnosis and therefore mistargeted healing prayer. Fish explains that healing prayer will not drive out demons and deliverance prayer will not heal the sick.
• Missed Opportunities for Deliverance: This theological viewpoint leads to overlooking the possibility of a spiritual root cause, such as demonic influence that requires deliverance, and prevents the church from seeing breakthroughs.
• Focus on Social Services: When the supernatural is removed from ministry the church becomes another Social Services Agency and the government does a better job of delivering those services.
• Lack of Respect for the Church: When the church is not demonstrating the power of God through healing and deliverance, the world loses respect for it.

Alternative Perspective:

• Root Cause: Instead of accepting the “not yet” explanation, Fish proposes that many unfulfilled healings could be due to an unaddressed root cause, such as a demonic presence that acts like an armor plate, deflecting prayers.
• Armor-Piercing Ammunition: Ken uses a military metaphor to explain that the church may need to employ “high explosive armor-piercing incendiary ammunition” (deliverance) instead of “a flamethrower” (traditional prayer) to see breakthroughs. He uses this metaphor to make a point that some situations require specific approaches, and the church should not settle for just one method.
• Deliverance as Key: Often dramatic examples of the kingdom breaking through occur at the intersection of deliverance and healing.
• Jesus Wins: The speaker notes that the correct approach is that the church is in this to win it, not to lose.
• The Church Should be Miraculous: Fish concludes that the church should be a miraculous church and it should preach the kingdom and heal, often through driving out demons.

In summary, Ken Fish argues that while the “already and not yet” framework is valid, an overemphasis on the “not yet” aspect can cripple the church’s effectiveness in ministering healing and deliverance. He says the church should actively pursue the supernatural, recognizing that many unfulfilled healings may be due to unaddressed spiritual issues that require deliverance. The church is called to be a miraculous church that preaches the kingdom and heals, often through driving out demons.

• Title: The Kingdom of God is a Message of Deliverance
• Speaker: Ken Fish
• Start Time: 37:51
• End Time: 43:04

Orbis Ministries – Link to Ken Fish’s Ministry material.