The Distinctiveness of the Church Ecclesiology

The foundation statement for the church: Mt 16.15-20 The church was yet in the future when Jesus made the statement. The church was founded on “this rock” which is the confession of faith that Peter uttered in verse 16. The church will withstand the attacks of the ‘gates of hell’ There is some kind of connection between Peter, the church, and the kingdom that flows from Peter’s confession and Christ’s foundation statement

Problems in proper understanding of the relation of the church to the kingdom Augustine, The City of God – Church = Kingdom; result: absolute authority of church on earth Postmillennialism – builds earthly kingdom on the growth and success of the church Theonomy – church’s mission to impose OT Law on human society Reformed theology – church principle agent in accomplishing Lordship of Christ over the world

Meaning of the Kingdom Definition: a territory, state, people, or community ruled or reigned over by a king or queen Rulers Ruled Realm “To define a particular kingdom, one needs to ask several questions: Who is the ruler? Who are the ruled? When and where is the kingdom? The various kingdoms of Scripture can and need to be distinguished by asking such questions.”

Concepts: The Universal Kingdom God rules all things (1 Chr 29.11, Ps 145.13) God exercises jurisdiction over the nations of the world (Ps 96.13, Dan 2.37, Rev 15.3, Ps 110.6) Includes angels and men God’s rule is supreme over time and eternity

Concept: The Davidic/Messianic Kingdom Established in covenant with David (2 Sam 7.12-16) Messianic: the Messiah will be the ruler (Lk 1.31-33) Viewed as still in the future during the NT church era (Mt 25.34) Commences with the return of Christ (Rev 19.11-16) and exercises rule for 1000 years (Rev 20.4, 6)

Concept: The Mystery form of the Kingdom The kingdom exists in hidden or mysterious form in the current age (Mt 13.11) The kingdom includes the presence of believers and unbelievers during this aspect of the kingdom (Mt 13.24-30) The kingdom is an aspect of the universal kingdom except that the ruler appears to be Christ [the Son of man] (Mt 13.36-43)

Concept: The Spiritual form of the Kingdom Scriptural evidence for this aspect (Col 1.13, 1 Pt 2.9-10, Rm 14.17-18) Ruled by Christ Entered by conversion to Christ, composed of believers only Believers subject to the law of Christ

Relationship of the church to the Kingdom To the universal kingdom: As all things are under God’s sovereign rule, so the church is included under the universal kingdom To the Davidic/Messianic kingdom: As Christ’s brethren and co- heirs, the church will rule in this kingdom along with Christ To the mystery aspect of the kingdom: as part of this age and under Christ/God the church participates in the mystery aspect To the Spiritual form of the kingdom: The true church – the believers in Christ – is equivalent to this form of the kingdom If one were to try to summarize the relationship of the church to the kingdom, he would have to say that it is related but not equivalent to certain concepts of the kingdom; it is unrelated to another concept; and it is equivalent to another. The concept of the kingdom must be defined before one can determine the relationship of the church to it.