The relationship of the Church to the Kingdom of God
Jesus employed the term church on only two occasions, as recorded in the Gospels. Jesus did not preach the coming of the Church but rather the coming of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus stated that the authority and power of judgment resides in the Church. When He was discussing a dissension between two people He taught that reconciliation should be attempted. In the event that the offender would not yield, the injured party should seek judgment from the elders of the Church.
And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. (Matthew 18:17)
Jesus indicated also the Church will be the instrument of war in the hand of God:
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)
The Church is the vehicle through which God will lay waste the "gates of hell" and bring judgment into the earth. The above two verses are the only instances of Jesus’ use of the word church, as recorded in the King James translation of the four Gospel accounts.
The fact that the term was used by the Lord Jesus in the context of judgment and of resistance to the forces of Hell indicates that these are important purposes of the Church in the work of the Kingdom of God.
Peter, along with the other apostles and prophets of the Church, was used by Christ to lay the foundation of the Temple of God, the Church of Christ, Christ Himself being the chief Cornerstone. The Church is founded on the Rock, Christ (I Corinthians 3:11; Ephesians 2:20).
Notice Jesus’ words to Peter:
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:19)
The above verse points toward the relationship of the Christian Church to the Kingdom of Heaven. The Church holds the keys of the Kingdom. The Church, when walking in the Spirit of God, possesses, through Christ, the authority and power to install the Kingdom of God on the earth, to allow people into the Kingdom or to keep them out.
Christ in the Church is the Judge who has been invested with the fullness of authority by God Almighty. The power of judgment resides in the Church when the Church is abiding in Christ and is acting under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The Apostles of Christ were interested in the restoration of the power of the Kingdom of Israel, as had been true under David and Solomon:
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6)
The question raised by the Apostles had to do with the coming of the kingdom of the Jews. Jesus set aside their question. He gave them the only answer they were capable of receiving at that time:
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:7,8)
When will the kingdom be restored to Israel? Jesus did not come to restore the Davidic or Solomonic thrones as they existed under the old covenant. Jesus came to set up a kingdom in the hearts of the saints that has the spiritual authority and power to overcome the real enemies of God—the lords of darkness. The disciples did not understand this because they had not as yet received the Spirit of truth.
So Jesus answered their question by saying in effect, you will receive the power of the Spirit of God so you can go out to all the world and bear witness of me—the King of the Kingdom. All who will believe and be baptized will be saved and live forever in my Kingdom. Meanwhile, I am going to build a Church, a holy Temple, that will become my means of ruling over the earth.
Jesus understands that the earth and everyone and everything in the earth will belong to Him as an everlasting possession. He realizes also He is required to wait patiently for God Almighty to bring all in subjection under Him.
The Apostles knew little about the scope or the spiritual nature of the Kingdom of Heaven. They were expecting Jesus to return in their lifetime.
Jesus answered their question concerning the Kingdom to the extent possible at that point. He gave them the next step in the plan for building the Kingdom. This step still is being taken today. We are to receive the power of the Holy Spirit and bear witness of the King, Christ, so people all over the earth will be prepared for His return from Heaven.
The Day of the Lord, the period of the setting up of the Kingdom of Heaven on the earth, is the time of redemption, of the full maturing of the fruit of Christ’s work of atonement, of the beautifying and adorning of the Wife of the Lamb, and of the restoration to the earth of all that was lost in the Garden of Eden.
The whole earth will be full of the knowledge of the Glory of God as the waters cover the sea. The wild animals will dwell in peace with the tame animals and a "little child shall lead them."
As most of us may realize, people are occupied too much with the pursuit of money. But "In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." (Isaiah 2:20,21)