The Kingdom Intention For The Church
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:41-42)
For the past month, our study in Mark has been Jesus’ parables in the fourth chapter. These parables are about growth in God’s spiritual Kingdom as we wait on our Lord to return. Our wait now encompasses about 2000 years and each Christmas reminds us of it. We know how long the wait is because our dating, our time, relates to the birth of Christ. Each Christmas that rolls around is another year of waiting passed and we start another year in anticipation of His return.
While the parables of Mark 4 concern the Kingdom, I have reminded you that the church and the Kingdom are different. The church exists within the Kingdom but does not replace it nor does it transcend it. The glorious expectation of God’s saints is for all God’s people to live in a kingdom where God’s righteous rule not only dominates but is the law of the land. Jesus said to pray for the Kingdom to come, for then we will do the will of God on earth as saints do in heaven.
During the time we wait on the Kingdom, we have the church which is God’s mechanism for the growth of the Kingdom so that God has more of the world’s population to worship Him as their sovereign Lord and Creator. The recognition of the true God and the worship of Him is the solution to crime, justice, peace, goodwill, and genuine happiness. To proclaim Christ and His church is to put people in the position to receive earthly benefits and heavenly rewards. Witnessing for Christ is the best activity you can do for yourself and others. It is no wonder the New Testament begins with four gospel accounts. This is the good news of Christ that changes the outlook for the entire world. Thus, Jesus said to go into all the world and preach the gospel.
I want to make it clear that growth in the Kingdom happens simultaneously with the growth of the church. Our Lord Christ put the church between His ascension to heaven and His glorious return in His Second Advent. It is His design for all Christian work to take place through the activities of the church. When the church and the Kingdom are confused or conflated, the true church of Jesus Christ loses ground and the expected growth and design for growth in the Kingdom is not as God planned. The Kingdom itself does not uphold truth. The Kingdom is a domain while the church is a living organism. It is the church that is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). When Christians marginalize the church, they are weak. There are no ordinances without the church, thus obedience suffers. There is no missions plan to begin more churches without the church itself. Our job in these years of waiting for Christ is to replicate the church that Christ began with His twelve apostles. When the Holy Spirit empowered the first church on the Day of Pentecost, the result was steadfast continuance in the apostles’ doctrine, in fellowship, in the Communion, and prayer. Soon, the church sent out missionaries and the result of their efforts was new churches throughout the Roman Empire. This is what Christ planned. The apostles did not start new kingdoms. They began churches because the church is the plan for the propagation of the gospel. It is the method of Kingdom growth.
I hope you see through this that merely attending church is not enough. Christians without church membership are in the Kingdom but without a way to ensure that God’s plan for Kingdom growth will survive until the day Christ breaks through the Eastern sky. Consider carefully what God intends for you as a believer. It will not be different from the first ones who became part of the Jerusalem church.
Pastor V. Mark Smith