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What We Believe and Why - Vol. II
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1982
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

Chapter Eighteen
Family, Kingdom and Church

INTRODUCTION:

Scriptural reference is made to three different divisions of believers. Some references speak of the family of God, while others speak of the Kingdom of God. Then, there are several references to the Church of God. There is tremendous confusion among many Bible students when it comes to an understanding of these three divisions. Some think they are synonymous. They think that the moment a person is saved, he automatically becomes a member of all three groups. Out of this idea rose the false concept of a universal church (i.e. that all believers are automatically in the church). Most Bible students are blank as to what difference, if any, exists between the family, kingdom, and church of God.

It is, however, when one asserts the claim that Baptist churches alone can claim Jesus as their founder and head, that the difference in the family, kingdom, and church become apparent. At such a Bible claim, there are invariably some who immediately jump to the conclusion that none are saved but Baptists. To say that only Baptists have Jesus as their founder and head in no way implies that only Baptists are saved. To the contrary, honest Baptists believe just the reverse to be true. Their position has been, and still is, that you do not have to be a Baptist to be saved, but you must be saved to be a true Baptist.

Assumptions and false conclusions arise where there is no light. Thus, an understanding of the family, the kingdom and the church, can put to the grave many false concepts, including that of a universal church. As we shall see, true Baptists are members of both the family and kingdom of God before they ever become members of a Baptist church.

I. LET US FIRST CONSIDER THE FAMILY OF GOD.

A. The family of God includes all the children of God in heaven and on earth.

1. In Ephesians 3:15, the apostle Paul mentions, "The whole family in heaven and earth."

2. Whenever a person puts his faith in Christ, he is "born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever." (1 Peter 1:23) This new birth makes us "Sons of God," (I John 3:2), "whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15) We can thus address God as "our Father which art in heaven." (Matthew 6:9)

3. This makes us brothers in Christ to all others who have also experienced the new birth. Hebrews 3:1 thus establishes this special brotherhood by saying, "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." Notice that the "holy brethren" are those who are partakers of the heavenly calling. These are the saved. The word "brethren" is used to describe many different relationships, but we only become brethren in the sense that we are a part of God's spiritual family by faith in Christ. Thus, Galatians 3:26 declares, "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." But, once there is faith, and the new birth occurs, membership in the family of God is established, and the believer has become a part of a special brotherhood with all of God's other children. Thus, the scriptures on scores of occasions, refer to "brethren" in this sense. Consider Romans 12:1, Romans 1:13, I Corinthians 2:1, Ephesians 6:23, I Timothy 4:6, etc.

B. All family members, Old Testament or New Testament, gain membership in the family the exact same way.

1. Remember that Galatians 3:26 says, "Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus."

2. Some think that Old Testament people were saved in a different way than New Testament people. Such is not at all the case.

a. New Testament people are told to believe in Christ, and Him alone, to be saved. Acts 16:31 says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." The same truth is declared repeatedly in such places as John 3:15-18, John 5:24 and I John 5:5. Jesus told New Testament people that if they did not believe in Him as the Savior, they would die in their sins. (John 8:24)

b. Old Testament people were given the exact same method to be saved. Of Christ, Acts 10:43 declares, "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." When Paul came, preaching Christ to be the only means of salvation for sinners, he affirmed without successful contradiction, that he was presenting the exact same plan of salvation that had been propagated since the first man, Adam, of the Old Testament. His words in Acts 26:22-23 are "Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to the Gentiles." Folks, that is the gospel, that Christ should die, be buried, and raised again. (I Corinthians 15:1-4) Here, under divine inspiration, Paul is saying the prophets, including Moses, preached the gospel as the means of salvation.

c. A good illustration of the fact that Old Testament people had to believe the gospel of Christ, that the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah was a future certainty, just as New Testament people believe the gospel is a finished work, is Abraham. Galatians 3:8 says, "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham." Jesus, who was the Savior, knew that, and thus declared, "Your father Abraham, rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad." (John 8:56) Thus, Romans 4:3 says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." The case is clear. Abraham, and all other Old Testament saints, was saved by faith in Jesus Christ just exactly the same way New Testament saints are saved.

d. The ordinances of the Old Testament, the Passover, burnt sacrifices, sacred, holy days, etc., and of the New Testament, baptism, the Lord's Supper and the Lord's Day, symbolize the taking of sin away, but are not meant to actually take away sin. They are a picture of Christ, who alone can take away sin.

C. So God's family is bigger than the saved you might find on earth at any given time.

1. It consists not only of the saved, who are mortally alive on earth, it also consists of all of the saved, who have already gone on to heaven. It consists of all saved persons, from Adam to the last person just saved.

2. That means that as a believer, you are not only a brother to all the saved around the world, you are also a brother in Christ to Abraham, Moses, David, Paul and all others in heaven. All of us, who have believed in Jesus Christ, are members of the same big family.

II. NOW, LET US CONSIDER THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

A. There are several aspects of the Kingdom of God.

1. By definition, a kingdom is the rank, quality, state or attributes of a king. It is a royal authority, dominion, monarchy, kingship or territory.

2. Context determines the right interpretation of the word.

a. For example, in Matthew 13 the kingdom contains all professing disciples of Christ.

b. Psalm 103:19 says, "The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all." Kingdom here expresses God's rule over all beings.

c. Kingdom, as used in Acts 1:6 and Daniel 2:44, refers to the future reign and territory of Christ upon this earth from Jerusalem.

B. The Kingdom of God, as used in this study, includes only believers living on the earth at any given time.

1. Colossians 1:13 speaks of this kingdom when it talks of Christ, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son."

2. Romans 14:17 also speaks of this kingdom, when it says, "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Note well how this verse shows that the kingdom is made up of the saved on earth, not the saved in heaven. This verse, in discussing the kingdom, says its members are not involved in eats and drinks, which are earthly, not heavenly pursuits.

3. This is the kingdom that a person cannot see nor enter until he is born again. (John 3:3,5) According to Ephesians 5:5, unconverted people have no part or inheritance in this kingdom.

C. This aspect of the Kingdom of God is largely unknown and misunderstood.

1. It is often falsely called the universal invisible church of God, although we shall soon see that it is not.

2. The main distinction between the family of God and the kingdom of God is that the family includes all the saved of all ages, whether on earth or in heaven, and the kingdom includes only those saved living on earth at any given time.

III. WE SHALL NOW CONSIDER THE CHURCH OF GOD.

A. The church of God speaks of a local, visible congregation, gathered to carry out His business.

1. The English word "church" comes from the Greek word "Ekklesia." The common usage of the word was that of a local, visible body of people gathered together to carry out some sort of business.

2. That is exactly the way Jesus used the word. He "called unto him" the apostles, (Matthew 16:18), gave them a business to carry out, (Matthew 10:4-42 and Matthew 28:19-20), and I Corinthians 12:28 says, "God hath set some in the church first apostles." When God called these men out and gave them a job to do as a unit of men, He called them a church.

3. He spoke to this very group, in Matthew 16:18, and called them "my church" to distinguish them from any others who might later come along and call themselves the church of God. Those who cannot historically trace their lineage to Jesus Christ as a founder, do not in fact constitute a church of God. That's one reason why those started by a Pope, Charles or John Wesley, John Calvin, Martin Luther, Alexander Campbell, Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, Herbert W. Armstrong or any other late comer cannot qualify as being a church of God.

4. Every one of these in this initial church of God experienced baptism by a Baptist preacher, (Acts 1:21-22), thus they received a Baptist baptism.

B. From this first Baptist church, which Jesus referred to as "my church," (Matthew 16:18), a continuous line of churches has followed:

1. The lineage of true Baptist churches can be historically traced back to this church which Jesus built.

2. They have continued, and do continue, to be noted for being local, visible bodies, carrying out the business, or commission, of Jesus Christ, which is to: (1) win souls, (2) baptize those converts, and (3) teach them the truths of His Word. (Matthew 28:19-20)

3. Only believers are eligible for membership in the church of God (Acts 2:41,47) and that membership is secured by baptism.

a. I Corinthians 12:13 says the various members are baptized into the body.

b. Acts 2:41 shows that it is at the point of baptism that members are added to the church body.

C. So, the church of God is a local, visible body and is made up only of baptized believers.

1. The moment a person has faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior, he will be born into God's family. (I John 5:1) That will also make him a member of God's kingdom, until such time as he physically dies and goes to heaven.

2. However, it is possible this believer would never become a member of the Lord's church, should he refuse baptism.

IV. FINALLY, NOTE SOME COMPARISONS AND CONTRASTS BETWEEN THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE CHURCH OF GOD.

A. Kingdom and church translate from two entirely different Greek words.

1. Kingdom is from "basileia," denoting a sovereignty, royal power or dominion.

2. Church is from "Ekklesia," denoting a local, visible body of people called out for a purpose.

3. It is noteworthy that "Ekklesia" also denotes locality, visibleness, and organization. Terms such as universal and invisible are antonyms of the word "church," not synonyms. Thus, a word study of the term "church" gives no aid or support to the idea of a universal church, visible or invisible.

B. The church, in abstract usage, is an assembly or congregation organized to carry out the great commission. The kingdom includes all saints living on earth at any given time, both in and out of God's church.

C. The church is spoken of as being built. (Matthew 16:18) No such reference is made to God's kingdom.

D. The Bible speaks of plural churches, but God's kingdom is always singular.

E. Christ said, "Tell it to the church." (Matthew 18:17) He never said such a thing about His kingdom.

F. The church is called the body. (Ephesians 1:22-23 and Colossians 1:18) The kingdom is not called a body.

G. Church membership is effected by the democratic action of the body. (Romans 14:1, I Corinthians 5:5 and II Corinthians 2:6) Membership in God's kingdom is secured by God, independently of any action by the church. (Colossians 1:13)

H. God had members like Abraham in His kingdom (Galatians 3:6-7) long before He ever came into the world and initiated the church during His personal ministry. (Matthew 16:18)

I. So, there is a difference between the family, the kingdom, and the church of God. To prevent heresy and false doctrine from arising and/or creeping in, to the spiritual hurt of the believer, (Ephesians 4:14), it is important to understand what the difference is and to thereafter refer to the family, the kingdom and the church in the proper sense.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"