In his letter to the church at Ephesus the Apostle Paul writes, 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places, 4. even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. (Ephesians 1:3-4 [RSV])
There are some who mistakenly believe that when Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 [RSV], “I will build My church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it,” that this was but an afterthought. They believe He had failed in His mission to establish a Kingdom on Earth because the Jews rejected Him and killed him, and so God had to scramble and create a stopgap mechanism called the church. What they fail to realize is that the church is the Kingdom. It was always the vehicle God had in mind, as Paul says, even “before the foundation of the Earth.”
Jesus also said in Matthew 16:19 [RSV], “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” So we should be able to see here that the Kingdom of Heaven and the church are one and the same thing. There are several New Testament passages that teach this. Paul writes of Jesus currently reigning as a King: 24. Then comes the end, when He delivers the Kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15:24-26 [RSV]) One who reigns is one who is King. Jesus is currently reigning over His Kingdom from Heaven. God … 20. raised Him from the dead and made Him sit at His right hand in the Heavenly places, 21. far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come (Ephesians 1:20-21 [RSV]). So once again, we will see how the church and Kingdom are interchangeable. Paul immediately continues by saying God the Father 22. …has put all things under His feet and has made Him the Head over all things for the church, 23. which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23 [RSV]) Just as Jesus is Sovereign King, so is He also described as the Head of the church, which is His body. Not only here, but elsewhere as well: “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the Head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior” (Ephesians 23 [RSV]) And because He is King of His Kingdom and Head of His church, we can have peace with God through His shed blood: 18. He is the Head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything He might be pre-eminent. 19. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20. and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on Earth or in Heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross. (Colossians 1:18-20 [RSV])
There are some who mistakenly believe that when Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 [RSV], “I will build My church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it,” that this was but an afterthought. They believe He had failed in His mission to establish a Kingdom on Earth because the Jews rejected Him and killed him, and so God had to scramble and create a stopgap mechanism called the church. What they fail to realize is that the church is the Kingdom. It was always the vehicle God had in mind, as Paul says, even “before the foundation of the Earth.”
Jesus also said in Matthew 16:19 [RSV], “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” So we should be able to see here that the Kingdom of Heaven and the church are one and the same thing. There are several New Testament passages that teach this. Paul writes of Jesus currently reigning as a King: 24. Then comes the end, when He delivers the Kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15:24-26 [RSV]) One who reigns is one who is King. Jesus is currently reigning over His Kingdom from Heaven. God … 20. raised Him from the dead and made Him sit at His right hand in the Heavenly places, 21. far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come (Ephesians 1:20-21 [RSV]). So once again, we will see how the church and Kingdom are interchangeable. Paul immediately continues by saying God the Father 22. …has put all things under His feet and has made Him the Head over all things for the church, 23. which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23 [RSV]) Just as Jesus is Sovereign King, so is He also described as the Head of the church, which is His body. Not only here, but elsewhere as well: “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the Head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior” (Ephesians 23 [RSV]) And because He is King of His Kingdom and Head of His church, we can have peace with God through His shed blood: 18. He is the Head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything He might be pre-eminent. 19. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20. and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on Earth or in Heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross. (Colossians 1:18-20 [RSV])
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