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THE KINGDOM OF GOD, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, AND THE CHURCH By DR. JIM ELLIS, ThD., PhD. 504 BLANKSTON DRIVE BOGALUSA, LOUISIANA 70427 E-Mail: Bblpchr@aol.com WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD? John 3: 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. What Is The Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom. The following verses of Scripture establish that: Luke 17: 20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Romans 14: 17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
What Is The Kingdom of Heaven? The foundation for the teaching of the Kingdom of Heaven in found in Daniel two: 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. 46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The Kingdoms represented by Nebuchadnezzar’s image were Babylon, Media/Persia, Greece, and Rome — followed by the revived Roman Empire under the Antichrist. The fact is that regardless of whether it was the Medes and the Persians, or Greece, or Rome — it was still a form of the Babylonian System. The Babylonian System was established by Nimrod in Genesis Ten and Eleven. Daniel tells us that God will set up a kingdom that will destroy these – the Kingdom of Heaven — or Heaven on Earth. That will be when Jesus returns. Here are some more Scriptures to back that up: Isaiah 9: 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. Luke 1: 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. The time of a thousand years is established in Revelation Twenty: 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. In fact, in this context, "a thousand years" is mentioned six times in the first seven verses in the chapter. What Is The Church? The Greek word for "church" is ekklesia. Here is what Strong’s Concordance reads: 1577. ekklesia, ek-klay-see'-ah; from a comp. of G1537 and a der. of G2564; a calling out, i.e. (concr.) a popular meeting, espec. a religious congregation (Jewish synagogue, or Chr. community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both): -- assembly, church. The Greek word ekklesia is a compound word; that is, it means a called out assembly. If it is a church, it means to be called out and assembled by definition. There is no such "animal" as a universal invisible church. It is impossible to get away from the definition of the word. In fact, it is dishonest to do so. The word "church" occurs one hundred and eleven times. In every place it refers to a local assembly with one exception where it is talking about the future assembly in Heaven. Hebrews 12: 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, In Acts chapter 19 the same Greek word is translated "assembly" as well as in Hebrews 12:23. 32 Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together. Further we have others: Acts 19: 39 But if ye inquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly. Acts 19: 41 And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly. James 2: 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; WHEN DID THE CHURCH BEGAN? Not at Pentecost! The church was begun by Jesus Himself. Matthew 16: 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. This goes back to Daniel Two where the rock that was hewn out of the mountain without hands destroys all the other kingdoms. The rock here in Matthew is not the Catholic Church – but Jesus himself. "Peter" means a little rock. The word "rock" here means the big rock — Jesus. The church was not built on Peter. The church began when Jesus called out His twelve Apostles (called out) and assembled them and sent them out. Pentecost was the first time anyone got "born again." Listen to Jesus in John Fourteen: 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you (Present tense before the crucifixion and resurrection), and shall be in you (Future tense). Again let us look at more Scripture relating. Luke 24: 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things. 49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. Acts 1: 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. Here is more: Matthew 3: 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: (with the Holy Ghost if you get saved, and with fire in Hell if you reject Christ). More yet in Titus Three 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; When we get "born again" we are baptized into the Kingdom of God—not into the church. In order to become a church member you must be baptized in water, which symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection. By the way, the word "baptize" means to immerse, not sprinkle, not pour. This also puts you under the authority of the local assembly in which you are a member. The only Scriptural Officers authorized to baptize are ordained pastors and deacons. This brings us to another question---Spirit baptism versus water baptism. Ephesians 4: 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, What is the one baptism—is it water or Spirit" It is ridiculous to think that the one baptism is water. The fact is that there were several baptisms in the Bible. For instance, the children of Israel were baptized in the Red Sea. I Corinthians 10: 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; Spirit baptism is the one baptism and all the rest are pictures of it. THE OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH 1. PASTORS The pastor is the pastor of the deacons, the pastor of the youth director, the pastor of the music program, the pastor of the bus ministry, the pastor of the missions program, the pastor of the Sunday School, the pastor of all committees — he’s The Pastor. 2. DEACONS The deacons are under the authority of the pastor. No where in the Bible are we taught that deacons are to run the church. The bible teaching is that deacons are servants and answerable to the pastor. Acts 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. 2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. 3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. With these things in mind we have an understanding of the church and its function. Every believer is ordered to be a part of a Bible Believing church. Jesus started the church and the Bible teaches us our responsibilities to it. CONCLUSION There is much confusion abut the church and the Kingdom of God. When we get saved we are born into the Kingdom of God, and not into the church. We have the personal responsibility of making a profession of faith in a good Bible preaching church and getting baptized as an act of obedience to Jesus Christ. As I heard a famous preacher say one time, "You don’t have to pray about it — just do it!" The church is a local assembly — not a universal invisible church. |
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