When we think of the church in relation to the Kingdom it is best to understand that the Church and Kingdom are not exact synonyms so that when we speak of “The Church” we are suggesting that the Kingdom exists nowhere else but the Church. This is the mistake of many Amillennialists — especially of the R2K variety — in the Reformed world. They make “Church” and “Kingdom” to be exactly synonymous. This is an error as pointed out by Herman Ridderbos in his magnum opus, “The Coming of the Kingdom,”
[We] should point out the concept basileia (Kingdom) nowhere occurs in the sense of this idea of ekklesia (Church). Nor is it used in the sense that the Kingdom of God in its provisional manifestation on earth would be embodied in the form and organization of any church…; by the term kingdom of God we can denote not only the fulfilling and completing action of God in relation to the entire cosmos, but also various facets of this all-embracing process. Thus, e.g., the territory within which this divine action occurs and in which the blessings of the kingdom are enjoyed is called the basileia of God or that of heaven. (cf. Mt. 5:20, 11:11; 23:13).
Geerhardus Vos agrees with the idea that a distinction must be made between kingdom and church;
“The conception of the kingdom is common to all periods of our Lord’s teaching, that of the church emerges only at two special points of His ministry as recorded in Mt. 16:18, and 18:17.”
The Kingdom is a far more expansive reality than just the Church. The Kingdom includes within it, not only the Church but it includes within it all areas of life which have bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ. This means families can be part of the Kingdom of God. This means that businesses can be part of the Kingdom of God. This means that the arts can be part of the Kingdom of God. This means that civil-social orders can be part of the Kingdom of God. This means law-orders can be part of the Kingdom of God.
However, having said that, I do believe that the Church as part of the Kingdom of God is the first among equals. I say this because if the Church fails its task within the Kingdom of proclaiming all the Word for all of life then the odds are incredibly high that the Kingdom has a whole goes south. The church is the keeper of the aeterna ignus which serves as the place where those who build all the other Kingdom Institutions learn of Christ. The Church is the Kingdom’s apologetical and evangelistic armory so that if the Church fails the Kingdom totters. The Church is the place where we come to hear how the third use of the law is applied to all areas of life. There in the Church, those members of the Kingdom whose task and calling are other domains within the Kingdom learn that Scripture is the norm that norms all norms — including the norms for their Kingdom Institutions. There in the Church, all of this comes in the context of the preaching of the sufficiency of Jesus Christ for God’s kingdom people who sin daily in word, thought, and deed.
This does not mean the Church runs those other institutions but it does mean that the Church provides the first principles that can then be teased out by those called to other areas of Kingdom work. For example, the Church, can not tell a Christ-loving businessman how to run his business in terms of nuts and bolts but it can lay down the first principles of prohibiting theft in terms of price, and the idea of just wages for a just day’s work.
So, again, the Church is not solely the Kingdom but it is the agency of the Kingdom that is assigned the task of being the repository of truth as it touches every area of life.
The Church exists to proclaim and placard Christ so as to draw God’s elect Kingdom people into its circle so that having come into the family of God the Kingdom people, now being instructed in answering the question, “How then shall we live” go out and handle all their careers and callings for the glory of God and His Kingdom.
So, the Church and Kingdom while distinct from one another and so not synonyms, are interdependent upon one another and can’t exist without each other.
One more word here. As the varying institutions are equals with the Church in the Kingdom, even though the Church may be the first among equals, those other institutions have to realize that they have an interposition role in being a check if and when the church goes rogue and becomes anti-Church in God’s Kingdom. At that point, these other Kingdom Institutions have to step up and bring correction upon the Church so that the Church will not poison the rest of the Kingdom Institutions. This thought demonstrates that all in the Kingdom is not dependent upon the Church and that this is a philosophy where the Church can’t be corrected.
