The Origin of the Church:
Be sure to read Part 1 HERE
The salvation of man has always been at the forefront of the eternal mind of God. After man sinned in the Garden of Eden, God put His plan of salvation into motion, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). This is the first prophecy of the coming of Jesus to save the world. After commanding Abraham to leave his country and his kindred, God promised Abraham, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). The blessing of salvation would come through the seed-line of Abraham. When one opens his New Testament he finds the genealogy of Abraham to Christ (Matthew 1:1-17). The purpose of this is to show the fulfillment of the coming of Jesus. Verse 21 tells the reader why, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
While Jesus walked upon the earth, His entire ministry centered upon the words, “the kingdom is at hand” (Matthew 3:1-2; 4:17; 10:5-7). The term “at hand” simply tells of a divine institution that was coming soon. The kingdom that was “at hand” was none other than the church of Christ. After Jesus promised to build His church he said to Peter, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom…” (Matthew 16:19). Here, Jesus calls His church the kingdom. Why would Jesus promise to build one divine institution and then give Peter the keys to an entirely different institution? As proof that His church and the kingdom are one and the same, Jesus taught that some who were alive in His day would not die until they see the kingdom (church) come with power (Mark 9:1). Either the kingdom (church) has come, or there are people scattered throughout the world that are at least Two Thousand years old!
(Lord willing, continued next week)