The kingdom: Has it been established?
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
Searching the Scriptures
David A. Bass, Rockford Church of Christ
There is a great deal of confusion today concerning the kingdom of heaven. There are some who teach that the kingdom has not been established. But a careful study of the Bible proves that the kingdom and the church are one and the same and that the kingdom has been in existence since the first Pentecost following the ascension of Jesus into heaven (Acts 2).
In Matthew 3:1-2 we read, “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Shortly after being tempted of the devil in the wilderness, “Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
Both John the Baptist and our Lord preached that the kingdom of heaven “is at hand,” indicating that it was near or close by.
Jesus promised the apostles that He would build His church and give Peter the keys of entrance.
“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. And I will give unto thee keys of the kingdom of heaven…” (Matthew 16:18-19).
In the same chapter, Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom” (Matthew 16:28).
IF the kingdom has not been established, there are some very old people walking on this earth! Peter used “one of the keys of the kingdom” (Matthew 16:19) in Jerusalem on the first Pentecost following the ascension of Jesus back into heaven when he preached “repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins” (Acts 2:38).
This was the beginning point of the church, for we read in Acts 2:47, “And the Lord added unto the church daily such as should be saved.”
Shortly before his death, Jesus promised his disciples, “… ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom…” (Luke 22:30). Obviously, the Lord’s Table is IN the kingdom! Yet in I Corinthians 10:21, Paul rebuked the church at Corinth for their perversion in partaking of “the table of the Lord,” and so it is evident that the Christians in Corinth were already in the kingdom!
In Colossians 1:13 we read, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.”
The tense of the verb (past) reveals that their entrance into the kingdom had already occurred. In Revelation 1:9 John said that he was “in the kingdom.”
There are many other passages that teach that the kingdom and the church are one and the same, but space will not permit dealing with all of them. Dear friend, please study the Bible and do not be led astray by false teachers. If you will obey the gospel of Christ, then you, too, can be a member of the kingdom, the church!
Send your comments or questions to: Dabass1962@bellsouth.net or mail them to: 8997 Hwy.
231; Rockford, AL 35136.
