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"Is the church and the kingdom the same?"
Harrell Davidson |
Our question this month comes by way of USPS. The question is, "Is the church and the kingdom the same?" This is a good question about which there has been much discussion. A good place to begin is in Matthew 3:2 where John the Baptist was preaching, "And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Obviously he was not talking about the final abode to which we all wish to go. He was referring to a kingdom that "was at hand." The preaching of Jesus was almost — to the word — the same. After Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness (cf. Matthew 3:15) and after the temptation of Christ by Satan recorded in Matthew 4 in which Satan was unsuccessful it is recorded this way: "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). Likewise, our Saviour's life is clearly defined again by a similar statement in Matthew 4:23 describing some of the places where He preached and the message He proclaimed. "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people" (Matthew 4:23). According to Mark's record Jesus said, "And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power" (Mark 9:1). Not only is this a record of the coming of the New Testament church it also shows that this kingdom would come with power. The reader can read Acts chapter 2 and find this coming to fruition. As a student at Freed-Hardeman College under the late brother H. A. Dixon, we asked what the phrase "at hand" meant. He said, "extend out your arm fully and turn up your fingers." The turned up fingers represented the time at hand. He thought that this was the meaning of the phrase and it very well may be the case. It literally refers to something that was just around the corner, so to speak. The real clincher is found in Matthew 16. While the words "kingdom of heaven" are referred to some 32 times in the New Testament, in almost every case it is a reference to the church, but none is plainer or more definitive than the following passages: "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" "(Matthew 16:18-19). Thus Peter would be the one to open the doors of the church to the Jews (Acts 2) and the Gentiles (Acts 10). Watch what it is called! The saved were added to the "church." (cf. Acts 2:47). The kingdom and the church are one and the same. Thanks for your question. |