The Church and the Kingdom

The Seven Statement Headings which Describe the Church:

  1. WHAT THE CHURCH IS NOT
    1. The Church is not a continuation of the Jewish Dispensation nor is it to replace the Jewish Nation or assume all the Old Testament promises regarding the Jews.
    2. The Church is also not the kingdom. John the Baptist preached "the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," and Jesus sent out the twelve and also the seventy to preach the same message but the Jews rejected their King and the setting up of the Kingdom was then postponed. There can be no Kingdom set up until the King comes back from the "far country." (Luke 19:11-27)
      1. The Church is compared to a House (1 Timothy 3:15), a Temple (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), and a Body (1 Corinthians 12:27-31), but never a Kingdom.

      2. Christ is the Head of His Church (Ephesians 1:22, 4:15; Colossians 1:18), but He is never spoken of as its king.

      3. The Church's revelation to Christ is to be His Bride! (Ephesians 5:23-32; Revelation 21:2, 9, 10)

  2. WHAT THE CHURCH IS
    1. It is a Mystery
      1. It was a mystery to the Old Testament prophets for the could not see what was to come between the "Suffering and the Glory" of Christ. They could not see between the "Cross and the Crown." (1 Peter 1:9-12)
      2. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 that on the belief that He was the Christ, He would build His Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. But He never told them when it should appear nor what it would be like.
      3. The "mystery" of the Church was first revealed to Paul. (Ephesians 3:1-11)
      4. For this cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for the Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward; how that by revelation He made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body, and partakers of His promises in Christ by the gospel according to the eternal purpose which He purposes in Christ Jesus our Lord.
      5. Now we see that the Church was unknown to the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets.
      6. That the Gentiles would be saved was no mystery (Romans 9:24-30)
      7. The MYSTERY was that God was going to form and entire NEW THING, made up of both Jews and Gentiles, called the Church.
    2. It is a "called out body"
      1. The word "church" comes from the Greek word "ecclesia" which means "assembly" or congregation of "called out ones"
      2. The purpose of the "Dispensation of Grace" is not to "Convert the world but the gathering out of the Church" (Acts 15:13-18)
      3. Israel is also a "called out body," but Israel is a national body composed of only the descendants of Abraham. But the Church is not a "national" body for it is composed of every race, kindred, people, tribe and nation.
        1. Israel and the Church are distinctly different and cannot be blended together
        2. Israel was chosen in Abraham from the foundation of the world. (Matthew 25:34)
        3. The Church was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.(Ephesians 1:4-6)
        4. "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will."

    3. It is the "Body of Christ"
      1. "And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him, to he head over all things to the Church which is His Body." Ephesians 1:22,23
      2. Jesus could not have been head until after His great sacrifice. He had to die first, rise again, and be seated in His Father's kingdom to be head. He had to "put all things under His feet." He had to have conquered death, hell and the grave. Then He could take on headship of the Church for it is His body.
      3. The Church could not exist without Christ since God does not create headless things.
      4. The Church IS THE BODY AND CHRIST IS ITS HEAD!!!
      5. It is the baptism of the Holy Spirit that brings us into the Body of Christ.
      6. Just the FACTS…
        1. The "BODY" does not discriminate. It is made up of all people, races, and nationalities. (1 Corinthians 12:12,13)
        2. There was NO Church until the DAY OF PENTECOST. (Acts 1:4,5; 2:1-4)
        3. There is ONE BODY (the Church), ONE SPIRIT (the Holy Spirit), ONE LORD (Jesus), ONE BAPTISM (of the Holy Spirit), ONE GOD AND FATHER. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
        4. Everyone that is saved is a part of the ONE BODY.
        5. The Church will never die for it is attached to a LIVE Head that can never die! (Revelations 1:18)
        6. Jesus not only gave His life for the Church, but He gave His life to Church.
        7. The job of the body is to show the personality of the spirit and soul in this world. The job of the "BODY OF CHRIST" is to show the personality of Christ to the world!
        8. THE PERFECT MAN - CHRIST AS HEAD AND THE CHURCH AS HIS BODY
        THE MINISTRY FOR PERFECTION: "And He gave some, APOSTLES; and some, PROPHETS; and some, EVANGELISTS; and some, PASTORS and TEACHERS; for the PERFECTING of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the BODY OF CHRIST, 'till we all come in the UNTIY OF THE FAITH, and of the KNOWLEDGE of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:4-6 The Church is the HABITATION OF GOD. AS Israel is now out of fellowship with God, He makes Himself known throughout he body of Christ, the Church. (Ephesians 2:19-22)
    4. It is to be the Bride of Christ
      1. The church is now an ESPOUSED (ENGAGED) VIRGIN (2 Corinthians 11:2)
      2. The Bride of the first Adam was Eve, the Bride of the second Adam (Christ) is the Church.
      3. The way the first Adam got his bride was that God put him into a deep sleep and took from him one of his ribs and closed up his flesh again. He took this rib and built Adam the woman. And Adam said, "this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man." (Genesis 2:21-23)
      4. The way the second Adam (Jesus Christ) got His bride-to-be is that He went into a "deep sleep" (death) and out of His wounded side, as a result of the atonement He made on the Cross, there came that from which the Church was formed, and to which the Holy Spirit gave life on the Day of Pentecost; so that, as Adam said of Eve, "this is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh," so we can say of the Church. "We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones." (Ephesians 5:29-33)
      5. There are two brides spoken of in scripture: one in the Old Testament and on in the New Testament.
      6. The one in the Old Testament refers to Israel and is the bride of Jehovah. Isaiah 54:5-8 says, "Thy maker is thine Husband." Because of her unfaithfulness, she is now a "cast off wife," but God will restore her again.
      7. The one in the New Testament refers to the Church and is the bride of Christ. She is a VIRGIN.
      8. During the Millennium, the "wife" (Israel) is to reside in the earthly Jerusalem while the "bride" (the Church) will reside in the New Jerusalem which is a heavenly city.
      9. As the Church is both the body and the bride of Jesus, it shows a type of Eve who has both the body and bride of Adam.
  3. THE ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH

    The origin of the Church in the mind of God was before the foundation of the Earth, but it did not come into physical existence until the Day of Pentecost. Matthew 16:13-20 Breakdown:

    THE QUESTION: Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?

    ANSWER: Some say John the Baptist, Elias (Elijah), Jeremias (Jeremiah), or one of the prophets.

    1. SECOND QUESTION: Whom say ye that I am?
    2. ANSWER FROM SIMON PETER: Thou art the Christ (Messiah, Christos), the Son of the Living God.
    3. JESUS SAID, "Blessed art thou Simon Barjona (his proper name): for flesh and blood hath not revealed (made known) it (the fact of Jesus' deity) unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
    4. JESUS SAID, "Thou art Peter" (Greek - Petros masculine means "stone", small fragment, also Greek Petra feminine means "rock," large mass of stone) these two meanings of the word actually distinguish Peter the man from Christ the Rock.
    5. Christ did not mean that on Peter He would build His Church. He simply meant that on the confession of Peter, "Thou art the Christ, Son of the Living God" that He Himself being the "rock" would build His Church upon this belief.
    6. Peter reaffirms this in 1 Peter 2:3-8

  4. WHO BELONGS TO THE CHURCH?

    Since the Church had its physical origin on the Day of Pentecost and ends at the first half of the second coming of Christ (the Rapture), only those who are saved between these two events are a part of the true Church.

    1. The Old Testament saints do not belong to the Church for it did not exist during their time. They make up the "wedding party" like the bride's maids, groomsmen, guests, flowers, and relatives. Revelation 19:9 says, "Blessed are they which are called (invited) unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." The Bride shares the glory of the Groom as the intended, not as an invited guest.

  5. THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH

    WE ARE TO CARRY THE GOSPEL TO THE WHOLE WORLD (Mark 16:15)

  6. THE SIGNS OF THE TRUE CHURCH

    In Mark 16:17-18 Jesus said, "And these signs shall follow them that believe (the Church); In MY NAME shall they

    1. Cast out devils (demons)
    2. Speak with new tongues (prayer languages and holy conversation)
    3. Take up serpents (NO FEAR)
    4. Cannot be hurt by deadly drink
    5. Lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover
    6. Is your church identifiable to God by the aforementioned signs?
  7. THE DESTINY OF THE CHURCH

    The Church is to be "caught out". This event is two-fold

    1. The dead in Christ
    2. The Living Saints

    They will be caught out simultaneously to meet the Lord in the air. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

    "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

    There are two men in the Bible who did not see death, who are they? The answer can be found in Genesis 5:24 and 2 Kings 2:11

Study Questions

Are the Church and the Jewish Nation the same? If not, explain the difference between them.

John the Baptist preached "Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Who was he and what was his mission?

Is the Church and organization or an organism? Explain the difference between the two.

The Church was a mystery tot he Old Testament saints. Now the mystery has been revealed. Explain it and who it was revealed to.

What is a "called out body" and who else does it describe besides the Church?

The Church is the bride of Christ. As such, what is her function in eternity?

The origin of the Church came first in the mind of God and was before the foundation of the world. On what day did it come into the earthly realm? Describe the holyday and what took place.

When Jesus asked the question, "Who do ye say that I am?" who responded and what did he say?



What was Jesus referring to when He said, "on this I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (What was the "this"?)



There are two events between which one can become a member of the Church (the days of the beginning and ending of the Church gathering by the Holy Spirit). What are these two events?

What is the mission of the Church?

What are the five signs of the true Church?

Whose name is used as the "the" authority with these signs?

The Church is to be "caught out." This event is two-fold. Explain how the Church is to be taken.



There are two men mentioned in the Bible who never saw death. What are their names?

Where will the judgment of the Church take place?

What will be the basis of this judgment?



What will be the results of this judgment?



Who will the Church marry?

How is it possible that a human Church can marry the Son of God?