Church and Kingdom
Note: The following article has been translated from Portuguese and adapted to a wider audience. It was written for a monthly Brazilian publication. The theme of the month was "Foundations of the Faith.”
Among men there are many kingdoms, kings and governments. However, God is one and has only one Kingdom. There is only one way to him, John 14.6. The Body of Christ is one, Ephesians 4.4. The body has only one head, Colossians 1.18. The church is one; Jesus established only one thing, the church, which is unique, Matthew 16.18.
Let us now talk about false doctrine, within the theme of this edition on the foundations of faith. Because there are people among us who want to transform the church into a denomination. They want to destroy the biblical foundations of truth. This is not new.
A person who left the church to start his own denomination declared: “The Kingdom of God is greater than the Church of Christ.” On the face of it, the statement appears to be correct. The biblical teaching on God’s kingdom is broader than the church. But the statement is an attempt to include denominations. First, he made a mistake in thinking in sectarian terms about the church. Second, he wanted to make the church to be just another division. Third, he twists the teaching about the Kingdom of God in order to become the head of his denomination.
The people of Israel were the Kingdom of God, Exodus 19.6, but because of their disobedience to God’s commandments and abandonment of the covenant, the Kingdom was taken from the Jews, Matthew 21.33-44. The manifestation of the Kingdom today, on earth, is the church: Jesus “has made us a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father” Revelation 1.6. When we are converted “by the word of truth, the gospel”, we are “translated into the kingdom of his beloved Son” Colossians 1.5, 13.
Whoever converts to a denominational doctrine enters the denomination and not the Kingdom, which is the church. The one who defines the limits, restrictions, conditions and terms of the Kingdom is Jesus. Personal opinion and human tradition lead to perdition.
There are, indeed, conditions to enter the Kingdom. Whoever does not enter through the door of obedience is a thief who does violence to the Kingdom. The brother quoted above, who abandoned the faith, wrote: “There is no human part in salvation.”
If you belong to a denomination, you are not in the Kingdom of God, because a denomination is division and religion created by men. You cannot bear the name of a man and belong to Christ.
In the New Testament, we are authorized to use only one name, that of Christian, 1 Peter 4.16. If we want to enter the heavenly and eternal Kingdom, 2 Timothy 4.18; 2 Peter 1.11, it is necessary to enter the Kingdom that is the church today. It is so precious to God, because “he bought it with his own blood” Acts 20.28.
Now, a word to the family of faith, who will be the majority of the readers of this article: Do not get comfortable and lazy, thinking you are safe because you have the truth and belong to some entity called the “Church of Christ.” Israel lost its place as God’s Kingdom for not acting as a light to the nations, Isaiah 42.6. Jonah’s attitude shows the rebellious attitude of the Israelites. “(…) if God did not spare the natural branches [Israel], neither will he spare you. (…) you will also be cut off” Romans 11.21-22.
It is necessary for us to know the difference between denomination and church; to resist religious pressure, even from wicked men in our midst, to become yet another division; to learn to be teachers of the truth that can save those who obey our Lord, 2 Thessalonians 2.10.
See also the evangelistic study, “The Kingdom of God ─ his people”.
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