Assembly Versus Kingdom--Part 1

The true understanding of Jesus Christ and His assembly is obtained from the New Testament, not from denominational institutions. A creed is like the sky painted on canvas. The sky painted on canvas is a ceiling beyond which the human eye does not wander. Outside the art gallery, there is a different sky which seems to recede forever. The sky painted on canvas is something to be looked at; the sky of nature is something to be looked through. Therefore, it behooves every Christian to view Christ and His assembly in the unlimited creeds of men.

When one seeks to understand Christ and His assembly in the light of the restricted creeds of men, it leads to subjectivism and arrogance. When one memorizes the creed, he thinks he has arrived. On the other hand, when one recognizes that he is the servant of the limitless sky of Divine truth, he is humbled at the feet of the infinite message of God. There is a straight line to the conclusion of God’s eternal purpose, but one approaches the conclusion by stages. The guide allows the elect to take circuitous routes by roads that come to an end, from which we return with an important lesson which we have learned. Let us not overlook the men whose names were mentioned, beginning with John the Baptist.

John the Baptist could present God’s message, but he could not enable the people to receive the message which was foreordained. God alone can enable the ones given to Christ before the world began. John the Baptist stood on the threshold of a new day. Israel had been without a message for four hundred years, and Jesus Christ was coming for the first time. To find out how bad things were, read Malachi 2:1-9. Malachi gives a special message to spiritual leaders. The priests were to be disciplined. Even today, how many church members really take the message of God to heart?

The Biblical outline for the Gospels is found in Philippians 2:5-11—“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The progress of the gospel message from Jewish Matthew through Gentile Mark to Gentile Luke parallels the three stages of expansion in the Acts of the Apostles. First, the Gospel is preached within the confines of the Jews (Acts 1-7). It then spread through Samaria, reached to the Ethiopian eunuch, and finally, reached the household of Cornelius (Acts 8-12). Through the missionary travels of Paul, the Gospel is propagated freely and fully to the whole Gentile world (Acts 13-28).

The genealogies of our Lord form an important link in the comprehension of the kingdom. Matthew presents Christ as the rightful Heir to Abraham’s “land” and David’s “throne.” Neither the land nor the throne can be interpreted typically or symbolically, but must be understood as being literally and actually covenanted to the Heir.

In the study of prophecy, there is a return to the beginning, and such is the case in the study of Revelation. God’s first thoughts are His last, for He is Himself “the first and the last” (Rev. 1:17). He is the living God, who abides to carry out His purpose according to His own unchanging nature. Thus, it is no wonder if, when we reach the end to which Revelation bring us, we find that we are once more contemplating the beginning. The beginning is now seen from the end; as indeed, when we look closely into it, we find that the end was seen from the beginning. Revelation, therefore, is Genesis enlarged and glorified.

It is foolish for us to think that there would be order at the beginning, but there would be no order at the conclusion. The mystery of prophecy is not what God will do, but that He delays to do it, from our perspective—“But to the wicked God says, What right have you to tell of My statutes And to take My covenant in your mouth? For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you. When you see a thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers. You let your mouth loose in evil And your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes” (Ps. 50:16-21).

Jesus Christ’s perfect human nature cannot be denied. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near….BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen….When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me saying, Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades” (Rev. 1:1-3, 7, 17, 18).

In John’s message to Philadelphia, he said, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this: I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you” (Rev. 3:7-9).

Many arguments can be given to show the difference between the assembly (church) and the kingdom, but the foundation of them all is the diversity of the mediating work of the Holy Spirit in the assembly (Rom. 8:26, 27) and the unmediating reign of Jesus Christ in the kingdom. The assembly and kingdom can be equated no more than imperfection and perfection, or the believer in his perishing body and his glorified body.

The idea of a present kingdom and authority exercised by men on earth is not too far from Roman Catholic teaching. They say the church is God’s visible kingdom on the earth, and some non-catholics say the church is God’s invisible kingdom on the earth. While Roman Catholics claim authority is invested in the Pope, most non-catholics say authority is given to all believers in the church. Therefore, both Roman Catholics and non-catholics see the kingdom already existing, but in different forms. The idea that saints already possess the kingdom, with its authority, has led to all kinds of heresies and extravagant claims of authority and fanaticism among Roman Catholics and non-catholics alike.

Some think the kingdom is present in a limited sense. Their proof text is Matthew 6:10—“Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” The following are some of the various interpretations of “Your kingdom come”—

1. This is a spiritual kingdom. The prayer has for its object the spread of the gospel and its saving reception.

2. The kingdom is twofold: (a) universal and (b) particular. One is power, and the other is grace. Now, this kingdom of grace is God’s church militant; and in the future, it will be the church triumphant in heaven.

3. The kingdoms of grace and glory are but one and the same kingdom, distinguished into two parts, which differ in five circumstances: (a) In time, one is present, and the other is future. (b) In place, one is on earth, and the other is in heaven. (c) In condition, the church is triumphant and destined for glory. (d) In order, grace in time is triumphant, and then comes glory eternally. (e) In the mantel of government, grace is entered before we can enter heaven. In the manner of government, grace is governed by subordinate means of ministers and ordinances in time, and glory is governed immediately by God.

4. The kingdom can be regarded in three ways: (a) In one sense, the kingdom has already come (Luke 11:20). (b) The kingdom is here at this moment in the hearts of those who submit to Him. (c) The day is yet to come when the kingdom has been established on the earth.

We will parse parts of two verses of Scripture, in order to give additional help, in answering those who have twisted a great doctrinal subject. Christ said, “...you are Peter [Petros, masculine, a stone], and upon this rock [petra, feminine, large rock] I will build [‘I shall continue to build,’ progressive future active indicative of the verb oikodomeo] My church [feminine, ‘assembly’]; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it [feminine, ‘her’]. I will give [future active indicative of the verb didomi] you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind [aorist active subjunctive of the verb deo] on earth shall have been bound [‘shall have already been bound,’ future perfect passive participle of the Greek verb deo] in heaven, and whatever you loose [aorist active subjunctive of the verb luo] on earth shall have been loosed [‘shall have already been loosed,’ future perfect passive participle of the Greek verb luo] in heaven” (Matt. 16:18, 19). No keys have been given to the assembly that Christ is continuing to build.

The most heretical statement I have ever tried to read on Matthew 16:19 is as follows: “We control heaven and bind hell. It is up to us, not up to God. Things start on earth and end in heaven.” The King James Bible says that God’s action in heaven is contingent upon what Peter and his successors do on earth. That is wrong. Things start in heaven and conclude on earth.

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The NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE—UPDATED EDITION is the source of all Scripture quotations in this message, unless otherwise noted.