Musing – Are we called to build the Kingdom or the Church?

Hebraic Musing – Are we called to build the Kingdom or the Church?

Someone asked me an interesting and important question.  What is the main Gospel message according to the Gospels?   Are the Gospels about (a) the Kingdom of God?  Or (b) the Church?  Or (c) personal salvation?

When I did an initial straw poll of traditional church-attending Christians, they said “Personal Salvation.”  And yet, most pulpit messages sound like our goal is to build the Church, especially “our church.”  But when I asked our Tuesday Torah study group, they responded in unison “Kingdom of God.”  So it is obviously an interesting and important question.   What think you?

In the NIV concordance, the word ‘salvation’ appears only 7 times in Gospels, and 33 times in Epistles.  ‘Save(s)’ appears 21 times in Gospels and 17 in Epistles. On the other hand – the word ‘kingdom’ yields 114 references in four Gospels alone, plus an additional 35 references in the Epistles. Some references are to the “Kingdom of the air” which represents the enemy’s “kingdom.”

John the Baptist is quoted in the first Gospel …preaching…and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Matt 3:1.  And Jesus opened His famous beatitudes with "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.  Matt 5:3

The word “Church” is mentioned 76 times in the epistles.  In the gospels, “Church” is only mentioned 3 times and only in Matthew.  The defining reference is Matt. 16:18 in red letters – “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” NIV   Whose church is it?  Who will build it?  Our pastor recently stressed that our job is to build the Kingdom of God, and our church is His tool.

Why is this question important? Human nature has a strong temptation to emphasize a selfish ‘I/Me/My’ mindset.  But, the message of Jesus and writers like Paul was not focused on an individual’s entry into salvation. Their message was about the world being redeemed by God and individuals being called to join “God’s Kingdom” and reject the “Kingdom of the air.” 

Another view: The name Jesus is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Yeshua, which means ‘Salvation’ or ‘Savior’.  However we add ‘Christ’ to His name which in Greek means ‘Anointed’; however the word in Hebrew was ‘Messiah’, a deliverer.  The thinking and background of Paul, Peter and all the writers was Torah-based as they recognized that the Messiah cane to deliver us -- to take us out of the “Kingdom of the Air” and into the “Kingdom of God.”

The individual is not unimportant to Jesus or Paul; but the place of the individual is in a bigger, corporate picture.  Excessive focus on salvation demonstrates our Western culture’s ‘me-ism’ vs. the Eastern ‘corporate’ culture.

There are two differing concepts being compared. Before interpreting the question as either/or, consider that the Kingdom of God was, is and will always be the goal of Yeshua and should be the goal of today’s church – living by the guidelines that were established in the Torah. Personal salvation is the converting of our lives or repenting and joining in the Kingdom effort, which happens to also have the benefit of “personal salvation.” The challenge is for those who claim the saving grace that Yeshua provides to also accept a corporate responsibility rather than settling for the selfish ‘I/Me/My’ mindset.

I remember a pastor I respect who opened his message confessing that he had come to a realization – “My role is not to build my church, nor to build my denomination. My role is to build the Kingdom of God.”

Point to ponder

Is the good news about the kingdom, or about your personal salvation. 
What think you?  T/F?  Or somewhere in between?

Lord, help us to be effective tools in your Kingdom.

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   November 15, 2016

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage” “Musings - A Victorious Life”  “Musings - The Torah and New Testament”
Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      www.InsightsByYosef.com