The Kingdom of God vs. the Church

-
What exactly is the Kingdom of God? How is that different from the church?

From Easton's Online Bible Dictionary...

Kingdom of God
(Matthew 6:33; Mark 1:14, 15; Luke 4:43) = "kingdom of Christ" (Matthew 13:41; 20:21) = "kingdom of Christ and of God" (Ephesians 5:5) = "kingdom of David" (Mark 11:10) = "the kingdom" (Matthew 8:12; 13:19) = "kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 13:41), all denote the same thing under different aspects, viz.: (1) Christ's mediatorial authority, or his rule on the earth; (2) the blessings and advantages of all kinds that flow from this rule; (3) the subjects of this kingdom taken collectively, or the Church.

Church (more)
Derived probably from the Greek kuriakon (i.e., "the Lord's house"), which was used by ancient authors for the place of worship.
In the New Testament it is the translation of the Greek word ecclesia, which is synonymous with the Hebrew kahal of the Old Testament, both words meaning simply an assembly, the character of which can only be known from the connection in which the word is found. There is no clear instance of its being used for a place of meeting or of worship, although in post-apostolic times it early received this meaning. Nor is this word ever used to denote the inhabitants of a country united in the same profession, as when we say the "Church of England," the "Church of Scotland," etc.


Right now over at Jesus Creed, McKnight has an excellent series on the topic of the Kingdom. You might want to check it out.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Music Tuesday - 2 Free Album Giveaways

-
Image
I've had a lot of fun giving away music throughout the year, but what's amazing is how many times no one would take me up on the offer. So with all the money I've saved, I'm going to try giving away two album downloads on iTunes. Of course, as with all giveaways, there is a catch. Here's this one... This giveaway will be a drawing. In order to participate you need to share what you think is your favorite song or favorite album that you heard in 2008 . (The song/album can be from any year, but this year is when you really came to enjoy it.) You will need to post your comments on the blog -- facebook comments won't count. I will draw from the names next Tuesday, December 23rd, and the two winners will receive one free email gift certificate for $10 from iTunes for the music of YOUR CHOICE . So you can get an album or you can choose 10 different songs if you wish. Here's my favorite album of the year: Room to Breathe from Andy Gullahorn . This album is
Read more

Just Making Memories or Ear Piercing--The Hard Way.

-
Image
I always wondered what it felt like to have your ear pierced, but no longer do I wonder... This weekend Grandpa Penn came down to take the guys fishing. We got up early and headed out to the lake in the Jon Boat. We really had a great day catching fish and just spending time together. The weather was great - this was the first good cold fall weekend. The leaves were turning and there was a mist on the water. (That's a picture of Old Kinmundy Lake.) My son started us off with a nice catch. It was also a lot of fun to see the Largemouth hit Grandpa's frog lure on the top of the water. I even had a lot of fun setting the hook on some Largemouth myself. But later in the afternoon, someone set the hook on me! That's right - one of my fishing buddies was making a cast and on their back swing caught a hold of my right ear with an Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp Wide Gap Worm Hook. And yes, the way you are cringing right now is exactly how it feels! At first it felt like someone just slap
Read more

Obama, Abortion & Young Evangelicals

-
Image
There is a pretty heated discussion over on Tony Jones blog about this very topic. If I understand the commentators correctly... The Obama supporters think that his presidency will actually reduce abortions even though Obama is a strong Freedom of Choice Act supporter. They feel that Bush has done nothing to lower the amount of abortions and that by not developing a stronger economy and by not helping the poor he has contributed to more unwanted pregnancies. The McCain supporters think that McCain will continue to nominate conservative justices and will eventually overturn Roe v. Wade. They believe that Bush has helped the cause by appointing conservative justices and has taken a strong stand on stem cell research. Again, I'll ask a question I asked all the way back in February about Obama and abortion . How can a person who believes that abortion is morally wrong justify voting for a person who believes abortion can be morally acceptable? This is an honest question. I really am i
Read more