Dieter Schneider
Puritan Board Sophomore
Is the kingdom of God identical with the Church? Can this position be defended from Scripture?
Ecclesiology
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Moved to Ecclesiology forum.
See Matt. 16:18, 19, for the close connection of the two concepts. The two words are often used to apply to the same entity through the epistles. If a difference is to be found in the two concepts it is in the "kingdom" being an eschatological realisation of the church, i.e., either the church mystical (Rom. 14:17) or the church triumphant (1 Cor. 6:9). The strict use of the word "church" is usually confined to a visible manifestation of believers on earth; but it too is used occasionally to refer to the church mystical (Eph. 5:25), and to the church triumphant (Heb. 12:23).
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