THE CHURCH
AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD
There has been confusion over the relationship
between the Church and the Kingdom of God.
Some teach they are the same but in truth they are not. We need to recognize the main differences between
the Church and the Kingdom of God.
1.
Nature of the Church The English word “Church” is derived from
the Greek word “Kuriakos” that means, “belonging to the Lord”. In the New Testament the Church is
translated from the Greek word “Ekklesia” that has the meaning of “a called-out
assembly.” The Church refers to the
people of God
Nature of the Kingdom of
God The Kingdom of God
refers to the realm, domain or sphere in which God’s reign is experienced. The abstract meaning of God’s Kingdom can be
shown that only those who “receive the Kingdom of God” meaning those who
accept God’s rule here and now, enter the realm of its blessings. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “Assuredly, I
say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child will
by no means enter it.” (Mk. 10:15)
It is possible that a person can
be in the Church but not in the Kingdom of God. A person who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and is baptized
has already joined the Body of Christ that is the Church, but if he does not
submit himself to God’s rule over his life then he is not in the Kingdom of
God. A notable example is Simon of Samaria (Acts 8:9-25).
There are only three places in the whole of the New Testament where it is recorded that our Lord Jesus Christ talked about the Church. The first one can be found in Matthew 16:18. Here He described the Universal Church that began on the Day of Pentecost. The next two are found in the same verse in Matthew 18:17. This refers to the local church that is limited by time and space. All the other three gospels Mark, Luke and John do not have the word “church” in them.
It was
recorded in the four gospels that our Lord Jesus Christ spoke about the Kingdom
of God about 120 times. The Kingdom of God is
important to His ministry. It is central to the Gospel of our Lord. When
He began His ministry He preached the Kingdom of God is at hand (Mk.
1:14-15). That means the Kingdom
of God would exist very soon from the time of its announcement. According to Daniel’s prophecy the Kingdom of
God would be established during the time of the Roman Empire. The Kingdom of God was established after the
Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven.
The Kingdom Time Line is shown on this web site. Click Here
In
the Sermon on the Mount Jesus had preached "seek first the Kingdom of
God and His righteousness." (Mt. 6:33). Jesus indicated the Kingdom of God would be
established during the disciples lifetime.
If it were not so then how could His disciples find the Kingdom of
God? Jesus preached that in order to enter the Kingdom of God one
needs to be “born of water and the Spirit” (Jn. 3:3-5). He later
explained “born of water and the Spirit” refers to baptism of water and
baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5; ref. 2:38-39). One does
not have to wait until after the Lord’s Second Coming before entering the
Kingdom of God. All one needs to do is
to be baptized into the Lord Jesus Christ and receive the Baptism of the Holy
Spirit. After His death, burial and
resurrection Jesus spoke "of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of
God (Acts 1:3). The reason for teaching
that is because He was preparing His disciples for the Kingdom of God that
would come in all its power and glory when they received the Holy Spirit just
ten days after the Lord’s ascension to Heaven.
During His earthly ministry Jesus taught His disciples to
preach the Kingdom of God (Lk. 9:2) The early Apostolic Church preached the Lord
Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God (Acts 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25;
28:30-31). Throughout the New Testament
one will see the importance of the Kingdom of God. There are many other distinctions between the Church and the
Kingdom of God.
2.
Weakness of the Church The Church is built by our Lord Jesus Christ who
promised “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Mt.
16:18). The Church began on the Day
of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on all the disciples. It began gloriously at its highest level of
spirituality, but as time advanced the condition of the Church began to decline
and deteriorate. The apostle Paul
wrote: “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which
the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He
purchased with His own blood. For I
know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not
sparing the flock. Also from among
yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the
disciples after themselves.” (Acts 20:28-30)
By A.D. 95 that is about 50 years after Paul had given that warning
the Church had actually declined badly.
This is called the apostasy or falling away of the Church (2 Thes. 2:3;
1 Jn. 2:18-19). The apostle John was
given visions of the fallen condition of the Church.
·
The church of Ephesus had left their first love (Rev.
2:4).
·
The church in Smyrna had members “who say they are Jews
and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan (Rev. 2:9).
·
The church in Pergamos
“dwells where Satan’s throne is”.
They eat things sacrificed to idols and commit sexual
immorality. They also hold the doctrine
of the Nicolaitans – the clergy that controlled the laity or congregation.
(Rev. 2:13-15).
·
The church in Thyatira “allow that woman Jezebel, who
calls herself a prophetess, to teach and beguile My servants to commit sexual
immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols.” (Rev. 2:20).
·
The church in Sardis had a name that they are alive, but
they are dead. Their works are not
perfect before God (Rev. 3:1-2)
·
The church in Philadelphia did not have serious faults but
had “little strength” (Rev. 3:8)
·
The church of the Laodiceans was lukewarm, and neither cold
nor hot, so God would spew them out of His mouth. They have become wealthy and have need of nothing but God said
that they were “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.” (Rev. 3:15-17).
The seven churches in the book of
Revelation represent all the visible and organized churches in the world
because the number seven is a symbolic number of completeness. The apostle John had also received the
revelation that God would protect and preserve the hidden or Remnant Church
from the “Gates of hell”. (Rev.
12:13-17) True to His promise our Lord
Jesus Christ would not allow Satan to destroy the Remnant Church that exists in
every age.
Strength of the Kingdom of
God The Kingdom of God
is not an earthly organization like the visible and organized churches where
the devil can infiltrate, attack and subdue.
“Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a Kingdom, that all
peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass
away, and His Kingdom the one which
shall not be destroyed.” (Dan. 7:14) Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “My Kingdom is not of this world .
. . but now My Kingdom is not from here.” (Jn. 18:36) Jesus had prayed to the Father, “I have given them Your word; and
the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of
the world. I do not pray that You
should take them out of the world, just as I am not of the world, but that You
should keep them from the evil one.
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (Jn.
17:14-16) “We know that whoever is born
of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the
wicked one does not touch him. We know
that we are of God, and the world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” (I
Jn. 5:18-19) So it is very clear
that the saints of God who belong to the Kingdom of God are not of this world
and they are not subject to demonic influence and domination. They conquer over wickedness and the
demons. “And they overcame him by
the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love
their lives to the death.” (Rev. 12:11)
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the “King
of kings and LORD of lords”, and He rules the Kingdom of God from
Heaven “with a rod of iron.” (Rev.
19:11-16) “And they sang a new song,
saying: You are worthy to take the
scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God
by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have
made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” (Rev.
5:9-10; ref. 1:5-6)) God has delivered
the saints “from the power of the darkness and translated us into the
Kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:13-14)
“To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and
has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Rev. 1:5-6)
The saints who are in the Kingdom
of God are kings and priests to their God, therefore they triumph over the devil. Our Lord Jesus Christ said: “But if I
cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come to
you.” (Mt. 12:28) “Then the seventy
returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your
name.’ And He said to them, ‘I saw
Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that
the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are
written in heaven.” (Lk. 10:17-20) “And
these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out
demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they
drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on
the sick, and they will recover.” (Mk. 16:17-18) “For the Kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” (1 Cor.
4:20) “But you shall receive power when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts
1:8)
Here you see the big difference
between the visible and organized church on earth and the Kingdom of God. The visible and organized Church would be
under the control of the demons whereas the Kingdom of God keeps the demons
under their control.
What
are the causes of the weakness of the Church and the strength of the Kingdom of
God? The Church that is a visible organization often has administration
that operates and resembles a secular corporation or government. Human governments are susceptible to
errors. It usually gets
deeply involved in politics and high finances. When churches tend towards dependency on
their human strength and intelligence, the Holy Spirit would back off and not
get involved in them. On the other hand
the Kingdom of God has the power of the Holy Spirit as its strength. It is an ethereal and invisible state of
relationship between the believer and the Lord Jesus Christ who said, "My
Kingdom is not of this world.” (Jn.18:36).
In the Kingdom of God our Lord Jesus Christ is the King of kings
and Lord of Lords and He rules His Kingdom in peace, judgment, justice and
righteousness (Isa. 9:6-7). He does not
make mistakes, not even a single one.
We must understand the Kingdom of God dynamics and become a part of it.
A
subscriber in the ARK Forum wrote that she does not like to travel more than 50
miles for one and half hours to attend a church service. I replied that
she does not have to travel anywhere and spend any time going into the Kingdom
of God. It is within her heart and
within her reach at all times. Our Lord Jesus Christ said that one is
able to worship the heavenly Father in any place and at any time (Jn. 4:21-24;
Mt. 18:19-20). When you honor the Lord
Jesus Christ as your King, obey Him implicitly and do His will you are in the
Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of God is in you (Lk. 17:20-21; Mt. 6:33).
This is taught by Jesus in the Lord's prayer. He prayed, "Thy
kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." (Mt.
6:9-13). You can experience what heaven is like when you communicate
with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Spirit. The Kingdom of God becomes a reality
when you pray in the Spirit (Jude 20-21). "The Kingdom of God is
not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit." (Rom. 14:17)
3.
Discipline in the Church and the Kingdom of God Sometimes you see bad things
happening in the church and nobody seems to do anything about it (1 Cor. 5:1-2) The church council or congregation will have
to conduct a meeting to discipline the sinful and unrepentant person. (Mt.
17:18; 1 Cor. 5:9-13) On the other
hand the person that sins intentionally and is unrepentant will be automatically
excluded in the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; Heb. 6:4-8;
10:26-31).
4.
Church Administrative Systems There are church
boards or councils, pastors, elders or ministers that have tight control of
all matters over the congregation. That
is the Nicholaitan or hierarchy system where the churches have various tiers or
levels of authoritative control. God
hates the “doctrine of the Nicholaitans” (Rev. 2:15). Some churches have the reverse or
democratic system where the congregation controls the ministers. Both church administrative systems are not
pleasing to God.
Humility
and Service in the Kingdom of God The Kingdom
of God is not about control but about humility and service. Our Lord Jesus Christ taught the principle
of humility and childlikeness in the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt.18:1-5). In the Kingdom of God there is no hierarchic
system in which one person or group controls or rules over others (1 Pet.
5:2-3). Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “If
anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” (Mk.
9:35) Jesus Christ is God
manifested in the flesh, yet “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form
of a servant . . . He humbled Himself” (Phil. 2.5-8). He said, “If I then, your Lord and
Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you
should do as I have done to you.” (Jn. 13:14-15)
5. Schism and Divisions in the Church When
the Early Apostolic Church was first established on the Day of Pentecost all
the believers were in one accord. “Now
all who believed were together, and had all things in common.” (Acts 2:44) “Now the multitude of those who believed
were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things
he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” (Acts 4:32) Here you see “agape love” in
action. Later there were divisions within
the Corinthian Church (1 Cor. 1:10-13).
Today we see the one Body of Christ, the Church, splintered into hundreds
of denominations. Denominationalism is
carnal and not spiritual (1 Cor. 3:1-4). “There should be no schism in the Body of Christ” (1 Cor.
12:25). The concept and teaching of
each denomination claiming to be the only true one while denouncing all others
as false ones add further horrendous confusion to the Church system. Our Lord Jesus Christ prophesied that in the
End Time “then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate
one another. Then many false prophets
will rise up and deceive many. And because
lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” (Mt. 24:10-12)
Unity, harmony and love in the Kingdom
of God Our Lord Jesus Christ prayed to the heavenly
Father, “Sanctify them by Your truth.
Your word is truth. As You sent
Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that
they also may be sanctified by the truth.
I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me
through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I
in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You
sent Me.” (Jn. 17:17-21) Our Lord
was not praying for a superficial kind of unity where Christians just come together
for fellowship, but one that has unity of the Spirit, truth and the common
faith that affects salvation. (Jude 3) “Endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one
hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of
all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Eph. 4:3-6) In the Kingdom of God all true Christians
form the “whole family in heaven and earth.” (Eph. 3:15)
· In the New Testament there are many groups that are called by
different names. The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is called "the
House of God, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of
the truth." (1 Tim. 3:15)
· The first Church that was established in
the New Testament is the one in Jerusalem. It was simply called "the
Church" (Acts 2:47), "the Church which was at Jerusalem" (Acts
8:1) and "Church in Jerusalem"
(Acts 11:22).
· Later on,
other local congregations were established in other areas. They were called by
various names. "And the disciples were first called Christians in
Antioch." (Acts 11:26)
· Another group was known as "the Way"
throughout Asia Minor (Acts 9:2; 19:9; 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).
· They were also called "Nazarenes" in Caesarea (Acts 24:5).
· They were called "the Church of
God" in Corinth, Ephesus and Galatia
(Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 1:2; 11:22; 15:9; Gal. 1:13; 1 Tim. 3:5)
· In Rome they were called "Church
of Christ" (Rom. 16:16), "Church by Christ Jesus" (Eph. 3:21), and
"Churches of the Saints" (1 Cor. 14:33).
The list of different church names
goes on and on. Some Christians did a research in the New Testament and
discovered more than fifty different names and designations for the Church.
Although all these churches and congregations are called by different names,
yet in the Kingdom of God they are in the one and only Body of Christ. The
important thing about all these New Testament churches is that they had all
believed in the same Lord Jesus Christ, had the same faith, the same water
baptism and the same Holy Spirit, therefore they were all accepted by the One
True God (Eph. 4:3-6). This same principle can also be applied in our time that
also has the same situation. Any
Christian group or congregation that has the same faith, same water baptism and
same Holy Spirit is in the one and only Body of Christ - the Church. A believer in the Kingdom of God must recognize
and accept the work of other Christians that do not belong to his group (Mk.
9:38-41)
Our Lord Jesus Christ declared, “A
new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you,
that you also love one another. By this
all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
(Jn. 13:34-35) The distinguishing
mark of a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is the Christian love that he
has for one another. Our Lord also
said that loving only the brethren in one’s own group is not true Christian
love (Mt. 5:43-48). In His parable of
the Good Samaritan Jesus indicated that showing kindness and love towards a
person from another religious group is the love that He expects us to have (Lk.
10:29-37). In the Kingdom of God our
Christian love must extend beyond our brethren in our own church denomination
and group.
6. Judgment and Cleansing of the Church
in the End Time In the End
Time God will revive and restore the Church to the same condition as in the time
of the Apostles to prepare her as the Bride ready to meet her Bridegroom who is
the Lord Jesus Christ. “Husbands,
love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it,
that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or
wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
(Eph. 5:25-27) Due to the persecution by the false brethren and the devil the revived and
restored church will still be the remnant or hidden church that is protected and preserved by God in the End Time.
During
the process of church revival and restoration many assemblies, congregations,
groups and individual believers will undergo serious attitude changes,
re-evaluation and examination of themselves (1 Cor.11:31-32). “For the time has come for judgment to
begin at the House of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end
of those who do not obey the Gospel of God?
Now if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and
the sinner appear? Therefore let those
who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing
good, as to a faithful Creator.” (1Pet. 4:17-19)
The
Gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached throughout the world As the Church undergoes severe cleansing God
opens the way for the Gospel of the Kingdom to be preached all over the
world. “Then I saw an angel flying
in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who
dwell on the earth – to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people – saying with a
loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has
come; and worship Him who made Heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”
(Rev. 14:6-7) Our Lord Jesus Christ
prophesied, "And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all
the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."
(Mt. 24:14) Does anybody realize why our Lord Jesus Christ did not
prophecy the gospel of the church will be preached in all the world? The answer is really simple. It is because there is no such thing as the
gospel of the church. Those that preach
the church are not following the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ. Saints of God will preach the Gospel of the
Kingdom everywhere; on the church pulpits, on the streets, on radio, on
television, and on the Internet until the Lord Jesus Christ returns. Visit the Web Site of the Kingdom of
God. Please Click
here.
May God bless you.
Updated on 01/13/04
Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the President of ARK International.
His ministry also serves as an architectural service company in Houston.
The ARK Forum on the Internet is international and non-denominational.
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