Kingdom & Church: Missing the Point

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Kingdom & Church: Missing the Point

Introduction: Christians have probably studied the book of Acts more than any other NT book. We look at this book as a shining example of what Christianity should be. However, as so often happens, what we are looking for is what we find, and that which is clearly revealed, we miss.

All my life I have heard it said that Acts is the “establishment and growth of the church.” Acts 2 is highlighted as the “beginning of the church.” I would first stress, the moment that is placed in our minds, the message of Acts has been utterly ruined. We simply read the letter as a history lesson and proof text.

For example, if someone mentions that Acts 2 is the beginning of the Kingdom, we might be quick to say, “Absolutely! That’s the same as the church.” Then we are right back to our problem. We are just thinking about church, and we can’t get it out of our heads.

1. Mistakes in Equating “Kingdom” and “Church”
   1. First, consider Jesus’ explanation of the Parable of the Tares/Weeds (Matt. 13:37-42). Two teachings should be considered:
      1. Verse 38: “The field is the world”, not the church. This is a parable of about the kingdom. It is not a parable about the church. The world is under the rule of King Jesus, and within the realm of the world good and bad seeds have been planted with the sons of the kingdom and the sons of the evil one growing up side by side.
      2. The message of the parable is how the kingdom of God differs from manmade kingdoms. In God’s rule, his subjects do not root up the rebels or in any other way destroy the evil that is in their midst. Within he realm of God’s rule over the world, good and bad exist together.
      3. Next, notice verses 40-42. At the judgment, God will “gather out of his kingdom” all causes of sin and all law-breakers (ESV). Now, simply question: Is the field the church or is the field the world? Is God gathering the sinners out of the church or is he gathering them out of the world – the realm of his rule, his kingdom? You know how that has been taught. I have heard preachers repeatedly warn Christians that they might be “gathered out of the church” on that day. No, the field is the world, not the church. “The church” is all the saved written in God’s book of life and there is no one practicing evil in God’s group of saved, thus no need to “gather them out!”
   2. Before we continue, let’s answer one more question: How did equating church and kingdom get started? It started as a result of attempting to defeat premillennialism in the early 20th century. The “premill” people were teaching that God intended to start his kingdom on earth at the coming of Jesus. But God’s plan had to be changed when the Jews rejected and killed Jesus. God then “substituted” the “church age” awaiting when Jesus would come a second time and to reign on earth for 1000 years, a millennium. Thus Jesus return “pre” a thousand year reign on earth.
   3. Christian preachers defeated the doctrine by teaching that kingdom and church were essentially the same, thus when the church started the kingdom started. It didn’t take long for “church and kingdom” to be considered one and the same thing. It is true that both started at the same time, but it doesn’t mean both are referring to the same thing. “Church” is simply saved people; kingdom is a far greater concept with implications that go far beyond a bunch of saved people. 
   4. In addition, when church and kingdom were made the same, “church” became something that was “established,” with the connotation of an institution. In other words, “church” became more than just saved people, it became an “organization” in which salvation was to be found – like getting in Noah’s ark. 
   5. Of course, erroneous terminology followed:
      1. People began to preach the necessity of getting into the church, and then getting in the right church in order to be saved.
      2. People preached the importance of the church and advertised the church, and spoke of “falling away from the church.” 
      3. I have commentaries written by Christians who speak of the “glorious church” and the importance of getting into this “glorious institution.” No, Ephesians 5:27 tells us that Jesus will present the church to himself in glory, but that doesn’t make the church a glorious institution.
   6. (As a sidebar, please consider the error of “getting into the right church.” Church in this sentence – all the saved in Christ – does not exist on earth. No one chooses to get into the church that Christ is building. We obey the gospel and Jesus adds to his church. Further, getting into a local church on earth, does not mean we are in universal church, one of the saved. Therefore, the correct way to teach is to speak of what is truth and what is not, what is the will of the Lord that must be obeyed and what are the traditions of men that keep us from a relationship with the Lord. Certainly, we want to be in a local church that practices and teaches the truth.)
2. The NT Kingdom Emphasis; the Kingdom Is the Context
   1. In Acts 1:1-8, Luke gives an introduction to his letter in which two principles are stressed: (1) proof of the resurrection of Jesus, and (2) Jesus teaching the apostles about the kingdom for 40 days. 
      1. When Jesus spoke of the baptism of the Spirit on the apostles in a few days, the apostles made the proper connection. The pouring out of the Spirit and the restoration of the kingdom was joined together in the prophets. Thus, their question: “Will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 
      2. 1:7-8 is the answer. It is not about the “time,” it is about how the restoration will be accomplished: the preaching of the gospel to the world. 
      3. Let’s process this. According to Isaiah, the people  had rejected God as their King. God departed from them and left them desolate. But God also promised a new exodus and a restoration of what had been torn down (Amos 9:11-12). This would be accomplished when God would raise up a King who would crush the power of Satan and deliver the captives. What then is restoration of the Kingdom? It is bringing people back to God, gathering his people from the nations back to him. 
   2. Consider Acts 2:34-35. Jesus will reign as King until all enemies are put under his feet. That’s the part of restoration that delivers us from our bondage.
   3. Now look at Acts 3:19-21. The “restoration” will be complete at Jesus’ return.
   4. Putting the above together, we can now feel the excitement of the “good news” – “Your God reigns”  (Isa. 52:7). The captives are being released! God has returned to destroy all his enemies that have been led by the devil. His people, that is, his body, fulfill his purposes in proclaiming this good news: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’” (Isa. 52:7).
   5. To illustrate how out of balance this is, in all four gospel accounts there is only two times “church” is used, and that is in the book of Matthew. But the word “kingdom” is used 158 times. This knowledge alone should urge us to have a better understanding and change our emphasis.
   6. Consider, how many times would you think the word “church” is used in the book of Acts? If you guessed, “Quite a few!” You would be correct. The word is used 19 times. However, every time “church” is used, the reference is to a local church or the church in a vicinity. Never is the word in reference to the “universal” church.
   7. On the other hand, even though “kingdom” is used only 8 times in the book, it is the primary point and the message of the preaching of Jesus. Luke introduces his letter with Jesus instructing the apostles on the kingdom and ends the letter with Paul preaching the kingdom in Rome.
      1. 1:3 “…appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”
      2. 1:6 “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
      3. 8:12 “But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”
      4. 14:22 “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
      5. 19:8 “And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.”
      6. 20:25 “And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.”
      7. 28:23 “When they had appointed a day for him… From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.
      8. 28:31 “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.”
   8. You will notice a pattern in the above texts: the kingdom is what is preached. That is, the kingship of Jesus and the restoration of all things is what is preached. But when we read of a “church,” we are simply reading of the people who received the preaching about the kingdom. The church is never preached! 
3. How This Has Affected Christians Today
   1. Let’s face it, for the most part we have been “kingdom ignorant.” We have placed almost all our emphasis on “church,” even to the point of saying that when the Bible refers to the kingdom it is just talking about the church. As a result, our focus becomes primarily on our membership in a local church. 
   2. Consider why this is so damaging to the Lord’s cause:
      1. Christians believe they are fulfilling their responsibility as a Christian if they are part of a local church. A local group of Christians are certainly a significant part of God’s plan, but we must understand our role in God’s larger purpose of the Kingdom of Jesus.
      2. We are reminded of this principle in Acts 8:3-4, “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.” Those who were scattered did not go about seeking to establish new churches. Before all else, they were operating as kingdom citizens, spreading the good news of the Kingdom. 
      3. Because church is the emphasis, we do not feel or pursue the strong connections that Christians had with Christians in other places. For example: 1 Cor. 16:10-12, 15-20.
      4. Further this “church supremacy” has caused a misunderstanding of the purpose of evangelists. Churches speak of “our preacher” and will often go to great lengths to restrict “their preacher” from doing “kingdom work” instead of “church work.” I’m not talking about “gospel meetings.” That might be a small part. The main emphasis is doing kingdom work in getting the gospel out to areas of need or helping a local church more than just for a week who need equipping or grounding in the faith. We see this done constantly by Paul and those of whom he speaks that are fellow laborers even though they are not necessarily traveling with him.

Conclusion: 

1. 1. If I asked, “What is the ‘body,” in scripture?” I’m sure most of you would be able to say what Paul said in Ephesians 1:22-23, “he is the head over all things to his body, which is the church…” Yes, the body is the church. The church is the body of Christ. Is church and body the same? Think carefully. “Church” is saved people. “Body” has members with saved people. Same thing? Well no. It is the same people, but not the same thing. “Body” implies a working unit, a metaphor for saved people functioning together. Paul uses the word “body” in much different contexts than he uses the word “church.”
   2. If I introduced my wife to you and said, “This is Teresa, she is a woman,” you would think that was quite odd. But if I said, “This is Teresa, she is my wife, the mother of our children, the grandmother of our grandchildren, I would have given you a series of descriptions of Teresa that goes far beyond she is a woman.
   3. The same is true with Kingdom and church. Church is a nondescript term. It’s just people. Kingdom goes far beyond church. Kingdom includes its citizens (the church), but also tells us about a King who rules over his Kingdom including the whole world, whether people saved or not. It speaks of the King’s mission, the King’s end goal, and King’s relationship to his subjects, the overthrow of the King’s enemies, etc. The King and his Kingdom is far more that just the people (church) who have obeyed the King. 
   4. When I became a Christian, all I knew was, Jesus came to save me. And yet, the whole Bible was teaching a message that was so far greater! We must not miss it. 

Berry Kercheville