"THE TIME OF THE END"

The Kingdom And The Church

INTRODUCTION
  1. In our previous study, we considered the significance of how one interprets prophecy...
    1. Whether to always force a literal interpretation, or be open to figurative interpretation
    2. To give precedence to uninspired interpretation of OT prophecy, or to apostolic application as found in the NT
  2. Another issue of distinction regarding the end times is one's view of the kingdom and the church...
    1. Are the kingdom of God and the church of Christ the same, or are they different?
    2. Was the church part of God's original plan, or was it an afterthought or a contingency?

[Some believe that the kingdom Christ came to establish was rejected, and therefore will be established when He comes again. Is that so? Let's first consider...]

  1. TWO VIEWS OF THE KINGDOM AND THE CHURCH
    1. THE KINGDOM AND THE CHURCH ARE DIFFERENT...
      1. The kingdom is to be a earthly, theocratic kingdom of Israel
        1. Prophesied in the Old Testament
        2. Initially presented by Jesus to Israel at His first coming
        3. Withdrawn by Jesus when Israel rejected Him
        4. "...the pivotal point in the Lord's ministry to Israel was reached in the twelfth chapter, where the rejection of Israel by Christ, because of their announced rejection of Him, and the withdrawal of the offer of the kingdom is recorded." - Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come, p. 463
      2. The church is a temporary substitute for the kingdom
        1. Unheralded in the Old Testament
        2. Not revealed until after the rejection of Christ by Israel
        3. An entirely new and unexpected program
        4. "In the parables the Lord outlines the program in the development of the theocratic kingdom during the period of the King's absence, and announces the inception of an entirely new, unheralded, and unexpected program - the church." - ibid., p. 463
        -- This view is held by most dispensational premillennialists today (Herman Hoyt views the church as a contingency plan foreseen by Christ)
    2. THE KINGDOM AND THE CHURCH ARE RELATED...
      1. The kingdom is to involve all nations
        1. Prophesied in the Old Testament
        2. Presented by Jesus to Israel, and then to all nations by His apostles
        3. To be manifested in varying degrees with the passing of time
      2. The church is an important aspect of the kingdom
        1. Part of God's eternal purpose
        2. Alluded to in the Old Testament
        3. Those in the church constitute citizens of the kingdom
        -- This view is held with variations by historic premillennialists, postmillennialists and amillennialists today

      [The danger of some views (e.g., dispensational premillennialism) is the disparaging treatment of the church as simply an afterthought, or at best a contingency plan. Here is what I believe to be...]

  2. A BIBLICAL VIEW OF THE KINGDOM AND THE CHURCH
    1. THE NATURE OF THE KINGDOM...
      1. The kingdom that Jesus came to establish was intended to be spiritual
        1. Entered into by a spiritual birth - Jn 3:3-5
        2. Manifested through the reign of Christ in the hearts of men - Lk 17:20-21
        3. A kingdom not of this world - Jn 18:36
        4. A kingdom of righteousness, joy, and peace - Ro 14:17
      2. The Jews did not reject the kingdom, Jesus rejected them!
        1. They wanted to make Jesus a physical king, but He refused - Jn 6:14-15
        2. He explained that the kingdom would be given to others - Mt 21:43
        -- Throughout His ministry Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom, not an earthly one
    2. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM...
      1. The kingdom is spoken of as being present
        1. Paul and other Christians were in it - Col 1:13
        2. John and other Christians were in it - Re 1:9
      2. Jesus certainly has all the authority due a king
        1. All authority in heaven and on earth - Mt 28:18
        2. Authority over all principality and power - Ep 1:20-22; Co 2:10; 1Pe 3:22
        3. He is reigning, just as His Father did - 1Ti 6:14-15; Re 1:5; cf. Dan 2:21; 4:17
        4. As foretold, He is reigning in the midst of His enemies - Ps 110:1-3; 1Co 15:24-27
        -- Since His exaltation to the right hand of God, the kingdom of God has been manifested in the reign of Jesus Christ
    3. THE FUTURE OF THE KINGDOM...
      1. To be purified when the Son comes again - Mt 13:40-42
      2. To be delivered to the Father when He comes again - Mt 13:43; cf. 1Co 15:22-26
      3. To become the heavenly, everlasting kingdom - cf. 2Ti 4:18; 2Pe 1:10-11
      -- The kingdom of God, inaugurated when Jesus ascended to heaven, will be culminated when He returns to deliver the kingdom to His Father
    4. THE CHURCH IS NOT AN AFTERTHOUGHT...
      1. It was part of God's eternal plan to be carried out in Christ - Ep 3:10-11
      2. The growth of the church was foretold in the OT - Amos 9:11-12; cf. Ac 15:14-18
      3. Though it was a 'mystery' until revealed by the apostles - Ep 3:3-9
      -- The church was foreknown, just as the suffering and death of Christ
    5. THE PLACE OF THE CHURCH...
      1. The church is the assembly or congregation of God's people
        1. Both Jews and Gentiles, where there is now no difference - Ga 3:28
        2. Gentiles are now part of the commonwealth of Israel - Ep 2:11-13
        3. Together they make one body, one new man - Ep 2:14-16
      2. The church is thus the new spiritual Israel
        1. The true descendants of Abraham - Ga 3:7,29; cf. Ro 9:7-8
        2. A new creation, and the Israel of God - Ga 6:15-16
        3. A holy nation, the people of God - 1Pe 2:9-10
        -- The church are those citizens of the kingdom who freely submit to the Son in the day of His power - cf. Ps 110:3
CONCLUSION
  1. The kingdom of God today is everything God intended when He sent His Son to die for our sins...
    1. The rule of God in the person of Jesus Christ
    2. Manifested most visibly in the church, that community of souls who freely submit to His rule
    3. Experienced also by His ruling in the affairs of men today, just as His Father did in OT times
    4. Inaugurated by the ascension of Christ and the outpouring of the Spirit, to be culminated when the kingdom is delivered by Christ to the Father at His second coming
  2. The church of Christ today is everything God intended when He sent His Son to die for our sins...
    1. Not an afterthought, nor a contingency plan for the kingdom
    2. But the body of Christ, the kingdom of Christ, foreseen in God's eternal purpose
    3. Purchased by His blood, enlarged by the obedience to the gospel
    4. Experiencing the blessings of the Son's rule now, looking forward to the heavenly and eternal aspects of the kingdom when delivered to the Father upon Jesus' return

Just as the death of Christ was foreordained by God (Ac 2:23), so the kingdom of God was presented and established by Jesus at His first coming just as God planned...

"Known to God from eternity are all His works." - Ac 15:18