(Umm, not those three. Those are estate cars.)
The State, the Family, and The Church. Perhaps a picture to illustrate will help.
(Credit to Rev. Philip Hoppe, LCMS. He put together a presentation on the Table of Duties which you can find heBlogre. Plenty of good stuff available there.)
So, the infographic should be self-explanatory, but let's break it down a bit.
The bottom half is the "big picture" regarding God and the Church. We, the Church, are under God's authority, and we obey and respect Him in all things. We do this because we have been freed by His love and service. Not necessarily reactionary, since it was not compulsory.
The top half breaks up the various authorities vested by God. These are the Three Estates.
The Estate of the State is obvious, especially since I've already discussed it. God has placed leaders in authority, and we as citizens are to obey and respect. The State is armed with the Law, by which they maintain good order in civic society.
The Estate of the Church (as an organization on Earth) operates similarly. There is a leader appointed (the pastor) who is in charge of running the group. Not so much the "secular" side; that is, the pastor isn't called and ordained to be in charge of the upkeep of the lawn, or the picking of new carpet, or deciding if they should hire a new secretary. Not that he shouldn't be part of those discussions, but issues such as those are technically part of the state. The pastor leads the church regarding following the rules God has established for believers. Remember, some laws are for all (don't murder, don't steal, etc), but some apply to the church (remember the Sabbath, etc). The pastor is called to proclaim confession and absolution. His weapon is not the Law, but the Gospel, which he preaches to the people so they might believe and be saved.
So, two out of three, pretty straight forward and easy to rightly divide. The third, the Home, may seem a bit muddled. The reason why is simple. While the Estate of the State gets to only hold the sword of the Law, and the Estate of the Church can only grasp the sword of the Gospel, the Estate of the Home holds both because it is part of both.
(No matter what happens in my life, I fear I will never be as cool as Sir Christopher Lee dual wielding lightsabers while humming a symphonic metal song he wrote about Charlemagne.)*
But... wha... huh... didn't you say...?
Yep. The State (as well as the Kingdom of the Left) does not use the Gospel. And the Church (as well as the Kingdom of the Right) are not tasked with the Law. Yet the Home gets to be both.
How?
Think of the Estate of the Home (or, as we could call it, the Family) as a bridge. Like this one here:
On this side, we have the State - the Kingdom of the Left.
And the Estate of the State.
On this side, we find the Church - the Kingdom of the Right.
And the Estate of the Church.
And here in the middle is the Estate of the Home.
At times, the Home must use the Law (like when a child elects to hit his a sibling with a dog) and dole out punishment appropriate. Other times, the Home uses Gospel (like when a child accidentally breaks mother's favorite knickknack) and establishes forgiveness.
Be aware, the Home is more than just the Parent-Child relationship, but also Husband-Wife, and Employer-Employee. The Home covers the entirety of the Order of Creation, which God established in Eden.
Hence why the Estate of the Home is one of the most challenging, and at times most important. (Not that the other two aren't important.) The Home is where "the rubber meets the road" so to speak. It is the practical side of this discussion. It is the Ten Commandments and the Creeds in action. In some ways it is a balancing act, having to determine when to use law and when to use gospel. Each situation and scenario is different. Part of why parenting is so difficult.
For example, I love my daughter, but if she climbs onto the dresser in the bedroom, I'm going to end up raising my voice, and possibly even disciplining her. Out of anger? No, out of love, and fear of her injuring herself. Law, to be sure, but there is forgiveness too, once the lesson is made. The gospel is without comfort if the sting of the law isn't felt. That doesn't mean running about bashing people with the law just so we can give the gospel, but until someone comes to grips with their transgression, they will not be able to fully appreciate the grace given to them in the gospel.
(And, yes, my little girl has climbed on the dresser. And, yes, she was instructed not to.)
But how about a more concrete example of the Two Kingdoms? Maybe one found in a popular movie? Perhaps finally I'll get around to exploiting the tease in the post title... tomorrow.
* Okay, so I don't actually know if he was humming a symphonic metal song about Charlemagne while on the set of Star Wars. But I do know he actually sang a symphonic metal song about Charlemagne. Actually, he produced four albums, and a number of other songs. Yes, the White Wizard sang metal at age 90. Seriously, its even on YouTube.
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