Forming Faith Blog

Hesed and God’s Kingdom (Kingdom Come)

Posted on August 5 2025 by Gregory Rawn

The Hebrew word hesed represents a critical concept in understanding the kingdom of God. It is difficult to translate, but it is basically active love within the context of a covenantal community.

A group of people with their hands together. Hesed is about love within a covenantal community.
Photo by Ivan Samkov
Summer Series 

As you might know, I write this blog during the program (school) year as a commentary on the upcoming Narrative Lectionary reading. During the summer months, I take the opportunity to write on topics related to faith formation that interest me. In the summer of 2025, I started with a series on vulnerability and authenticity (adapted from posts written in 2021) and moved to a series on immigration inspired by our newest product: Learning Together: Travelers. Now I’m writing a short series on some of my favorite theological concepts, all of which relate to the kingdom of God.

God’s Kingdom Come Series 

I grew up in a conservative church, and my faith has evolved throughout my lifetime so far (both my relationship with God and my set of beliefs). And I expect—hope, in fact—that this evolution will continue, as I certainly have not “arrived” at any final goal. 

I have found that, in the past decade or so, a certain petition of the Lord’s Prayer keeps grabbing my attention. Specifically:

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 6:10

God’s kingdom (or the kingdom of heaven in the Gospel of Matthew) is central to the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Though I can’t say that I fully understand it, the idea of the kingdom warms my heart and has become central to my understanding of faith.

Community over Individual

One of the change-points in the evolution of my faith is a discomfort with the focus on the individual in salvation-justification theology. In fact, much of Protestant theology specifically relates to the individual’s relationship with God. Of course, my dissatisfaction or discomfort has nothing to do with truth, and definitely doesn’t discount what is meaningful to others. But, I have a blog platform and the freedom to write about whatever topics I want, so that’s that.

What I have come to value is the importance of community, in general, in Scripture, and in theology. Community is, in fact, key to both the Old and New Testaments, though especially the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible). Specifically, this is a covenantal community.

What Is a Covenantal Community?

A covenant is, at its most basic, an agreement and commitment between two parties. Each party has responsibilities toward the other and enjoys certain benefits. There are many covenants between God and people in Scripture, but the most consequential one in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is often referred to as the Mosaic Covenant or Sinai Covenant. As the names suggest, this is the covenant based on God giving the Torah to the people of Israel via Moses on Mount Sinai. Significant here is that this covenant is between the God of the universe and the people of Israel. It is between God and a community. In fact, this commitment transforms a people group descended from one family (Sarah and Abraham) into a covenantal community. The individual is the basic constituent of the community, but the community is more than the sum of its parts.

The most consequential covenant in the New Testament is the New Covenant that Jesus describes when he institutes the Lord’s Supper. Much ink has been spilled explaining the details and significance of the New Covenant, and that is beyond the scope of this blog post. What is, to me, important here is that this, too, is a commitment between God (in Jesus) and a covenantal community. This new community is not limited to people descended from a specific ancestor but is open to all. And through the Holy Spirit, this community is united as the singular Body of Christ.

What Is Hesed?

Hesed (or chesed) is a word of greatest importance in the Hebrew Bible. It is also a word that is impossible to directly translate into English (or Greek, or other languages). In fact, one Bible translator (Miles Coverdale) invented a new English word to mean hesed: lovingkindness. Hesed is love, but it is far beyond our meaning of “love.” It encompasses love, kindness, mercy, compassion, and more, all within the context of a covenant—and therefore a covenantal community. Hesed describes the bond between God and the community, a deep connection with a desire for the best for the other, specifically a bond that requires action.

Hesed, Community, and God’s Kingdom

This hesed, this covenantal love and loyalty, is what establishes and maintains the community of God’s people. It also describes the responsibilities of the people of the covenantal community: to give active love and loyalty back to God and around to other people. While different “love” words are used in the original verses quoted by Jesus (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18) when describing the greatest commandments, the commanded love for God and neighbor is inextricably tied to hesed.

God’s kingdom is not a place like human kingdoms are. It is not limited by time (no beginning and no end) nor space (no length, width, and height). God’s kingdom is a reality bound in relationships and community where and when God’s will is done. We can see and experience it in part now, but we won’t experience it fully until God establishes it at the end of the age (so now and not-yet).

Practical Insights and Faith Formation

The first practical step is to learn as much as you can about this important topic. The second is to teach it to others. The third is to put it in action. 

How can a congregation build community? A community is a web of relationships, connections between people. So, anything that establishes and deepens relationships builds community. This is especially and importantly true for relationships between people of different generations (and any other difference that divides people). If people only have relationships with people like themselves (in the same generation), then we do not have one community, but many little communities (cliques) that meet under the same roof. So, start building this web of relationships with something as small as an intergenerational event or service project and move into intergenerational classes and worship!

Go, love God and love others.

In Christ’s love,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

Order Faith Formation Resources

The 2025-2026 program year is almost here! Do you have all the faith formation resources you need? Our Narrative Lectionary (Year 4, 2025-2026) and Revised Common Lectionary (Years C & A, 2025-2026) resources are online and ready to order, with the Fall and Winter lessons available for immediate download (with Spring coming very soon)! If you don’t have much time for full-length children’s Christian education, then check out our Kids Mini Lessons for the NL and RCL. If you don’t use a lectionary, check out our non-lectionary Living the Word: Classroom (PK-2nd, 3rd-6th).

Are you looking for resources for topical Sunday school, family/intergenerational events, retreats, and more? Check out our newest Learning Together unit: Travelers (Immigrants and Refugees).

Our unit Celebrations is a recommended VBS curriculum by Building Faith (and the only curriculum they reviewed from a small, independent publisher)!!!

Learning Together is a series of five-lesson units on a variety of topics. You can read outside reviews on both our Do Justice and Created to Care units! Our faith formation resources are easy to use, theologically sound, and inclusive.

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