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Is the Church the Kingdom of God?

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Is the Church the Kingdom of God?

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Sunset of mountains. Adriel Kloppenburg/Unsplash
The Kingdom of God is not here yet.

Some think the Church today is the Kingdom of God. Although there is a connection between the two, they are not identical. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22), which is the body of believers called by God now to proclaim the good news of the coming Kingdom of God.

Christ rules His Church, thus it is under His royal power. We might say the Church is the forerunner of the coming Kingdom of God. Or, as Jesus Christ said, the Kingdom of God is like the proverbial mustard seed, waiting to grow rapidly at Jesus' return (Matthew 13:31-32).

The Bible, however, doesn’t use the word kingdom to apply directly to the Church. Instead, the Kingdom of God refers to God's prophesied government, which will literally rule this on this earth (Revelation 11:15; Revelation 5:10). The Kingdom of God is not here yet.

Church Kingdom of God Kingdom of God

Comments

  • rwp_47
    rwp_47
    As mentioned in the 18 October comment above, many point to Rom:7:4 as proof that the Church is to marry Christ. "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." Of course the key word here is married (Strong's G1096). There are eleven verses in the New Testament where the word "married" can be found. But in every location except here in Rom:7:3-4 the word married is translated from G1060, where G1060 means 1) to lead in marriage, take to wife a) to get married, to marry b) to give one's self in marriage 2) to give a daughter in marriage. But in Romans:7:3,4 the word married isn't translated from G1060 (but instead from G1096). And 1096 is used in many different places with various different meanings ... but the only place it is translated as married is in verses 3 and 4 of Romans 7. And the definition of G1096 is ... 1) to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being 2) to become, i.e. to come to pass, happen a) of events 3) to arise, appear in history, come upon the stage a) of men appearing in public 4) to be made, finished a) of miracles, to be performed, wrought 5) to become, be made. The word married (or even the idea of marriage) doesn't even show up in this definition. So I'm left wondering why the translators used the word married in the case of G1096 in Romans:7:3-4, because it doesn't appear to make any sense? Because the context is if a husband dies then the wife is loosed from the law of her husband and is free to remarry. But Romans speaks of the Church as having died (we've become dead to the law). But the context isn't the woman who becomes dead but rather the husband who dies. Considering these things it just strikes me that the translators simply were already predisposed to the belief that the Church is Christ's bride (for whatever reason), and so simply used "creative translating" to support that unscriptural presupposed personal belief ... and so just made it say that. It rather reminds me of the way the fallacious trinity doctrine found its way into scripture. So I feel that this scripture is a mistranslation and so simply is not a proof of a marriage between Christ and the Church. Note: All definitions from Blue Letter Bible (web site).
  • rwp_47
    rwp_47
    As a short follow-on to the previous comment of this same date (10/18/2014) - consider. The Church is the temple of God. The New Jerusalem is the bride of Christ. But equating the temple to the New Jerusalem would be like equating the Alamo to San Antonio, Texas. How does that make sense? Clearly, just as the Alamo is but one set of structures engulfed in the city of San Antonio - the temple is but one set of structures engulfed in a huge cubicle city twelve thousand furlongs on a side called the New Jerusalem. How can such things be equated? Additionally - why would anyone marry his own body? The Church is now - at this very moment - Christ's body. Why would Christ marry a body that already is his body? What would be the purpose of a marriage in that case ... unless the body that was formed and presently exists was due to fornication ... and the wedding is a shotgun wedding? Since we know that's not the case ... then what sense does it make? There's an old stock market adage that says ... "If it obvious, its obviously wrong". Evidently the world sees the idea that the Church is the bride of Christ as obvious (because everyone ... and I mean everyone ... believes it). So I'm suggesting here that the world view is obviously wrong.
  • rwp_47
    rwp_47
    The subject question actually means the one asking simply doesn't know what the Church is. So the real issue here is: What is the Church? And it may very well be that the Church itself can't correctly answer this question. For instance - presently the Church sees itself as the bride of Christ. There are a couple of scriptures that might actually lead one to think such (specifically 2Cor:11:1-2 & Rom:7:3-4). There's really not space here to explain why I think these scriptures are mistranslations but I may come back to that issue in a future comment. But for now consider. The Church is the body of Christ (1Cor:12:27). But there has yet been no marriage. So in that case how can the Church be Christ's body if such is accomplished by marriage? And where in scripture (or anywhere else for that matter) is a wife ever referred to as the body of her husband? Yet the Church is plainly called the body of Christ in many scriptures. And when one thinks about it - actually Jesus himself is a member of the body of Christ. He's the member called the head. With this in mind consider 1Cor:12:21 - " ... nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.". Think carefully who the head spoken of here is - and who a foot might be. Clearly two members of one and the same body. And what body is that? Its Christ's body. Jesus is a member of Christ's body. Let that statement soak in. So what Christ is this then? Its the Christ spoken of in 1Cor:12:12 - "... all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.". While the Church has come to see the word God can refer to an individual - the Father is God; it can also function as a plural noun and can refer to the "God Family" - or "God Kingdom". But what the present day Church has missed is that the word Christ is the very same kind of word. The Christ of 1Cor:12:12 is a plural noun. The whole body is Christ - and each part of it is Christ. The head is Christ to be sure. But the foot is Christ also. We can see this again in Gal:3:16,29 - " Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. ... And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Every saint is counted as the one seed - and that one seed "is" Christ - not the Bride of Christ.
  • rwp_47
    rwp_47
    The Church acts as an embassy of the Kingdom of God for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). The primary mission of the Church is to preach Jesus' message as ambassadors of God's Kingdom ... which message is called "the gospel". The gospel, which is the message that Jesus brought (Mark 1:14,15), is a message about the Kingdom of God and world government. So the Church is not "the" Kingdom of God ... but acts as an embassy of that kingdom.
  • rwp_47
    rwp_47
    If the Church were the Kingdom of God then it would logically follow that the United States Government is the United States of America. So ... no ... the Church is not the Kingdom of God ... any more than the United States government constitutes the United States of America. What is the Church? It is Christ's body (the body of which Jesus is the head ... 1 Corinthians 12:12 & Colossians 1:18). It is the temple of God (of which the Father is the head ... 1 Corinthians 3:16 & John 2:16). It is the firstfruits ... because it is Christ's body ... and Christ (the plural noun Christ) is the firstfruits ... 1 Corinthians 15:23 & 1 Corinthians 12:12. The Kingdom of God will be composed of those that are in the first resurrection and those that are saved during the second resurrection. Those saved in the second resurrection will not be firstfruits. So they are not the body of Christ and they are not the Church ... yet they will part of the Kingdom of God. So the Church forms only a part of the Kingdom of God ... just like you form a part of the United States of America. And just like you are not "THE" United States of America ... the Church is not the Kingdom of God.

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