W e ' r e m o r e t h a n j u s t a C h u r c h . . . W e ' r e a F A M I L Y !
Pastor Carter addresses Questions on
THE KINGDOM & THE CHURCH
What is the kingdom of God?
It is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. There are other things it also is, but the primary answer to what the Kingdom of God is.... it is the Kingdom of Heaven and the sovereignty of our King fully extended and available to us here on earth.
The Kingdom of God is a method... it is a system... it is a way of doing things... it is privileged participation in the government of our King's domain, fully extended and available to those of any domain who are willing to grant our King entrance and sovereignty to do as He wills there, as in His own domain. ..."Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10; Luke 11:2).
His Kingdom has come and entrance was afforded us by the sacrifice of the spotless Lamb. That is the entire message of the Kingdom - that God came in the flesh and offered Himself a ransom for many... that God came down to seek and save His which were lost and to redeem them back to Himself. This is the Gospel of the Kingdom, and this should be our primary focus and message...
"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15)What did the Lord command we preach? ...Other religions? No. ...Other doctrines? No. ...About the Church? No. ...About who we claimed or wanted to be? No. ...About our preferences? No. ...About our opinions and traditions? No. He said to GO and PREACH THE GOSPEL. In Matthew, He said to teach all nations to observe all things He had shown them. Some interpret that to mean more than the Gospel of the Kingdom. Not so. Everything Jesus did, everything He taught, was to bring greater revelation to man about the immanency of the Kingdom having come. Jesus is the message... nothing more, nothing less!
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witnessunto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matthew 24:14) This is the message of the Church that will usher in the return of the Lord Jesus! ...the preaching of the gospel in all the world as a witness to all nations! Any other message is disobedience. Praise the Lord!
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What is the Church... who makes it up... how is the Church built, and who builds it?
The Church is people. Flesh-and-blood people. The Scripture, I believe, plainly bears out that as Christ establishes His rule and reign in the heart of a person, He is in fact making good on His obligation of building His Church against which the gates of hell shall not prevail.
The Lord adds to His Church daily such as should be saved. His conversation with Simon Peter ("Upon this rock I will build my Church..") is telling us that the 'rock' on which His Church is built is that foundational revelation and understanding that He is the burden removing, yoke destroying Anointed Son of God (literal interpretation of "thou art the Christ"). When that revelation is received in the heart of a sinner...that Jesus is their Savior, their Redeemer, their Lord and King...then they are saved and begin building on that divine revelation of who Christ is. Then, according to Jesus, His Church is built. That was His job, and His doing, just as He told us it would be. So if the Church is built on the revelation of who Christ is, and the personal appropriation of that revelation in our individual lives, then it's clear that the Church is PEOPLE.
Not everyone "in" a church "is" the Church. As my Pastor so aptly expresses, "There's no church that's all His Church, but there's some of His Church in every church." I would agree.
SEE ALSO THE TOPIC OF EXCLUSIVITY
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I do not believe the Kingdom of God and the Church of God are the same, however I believe they are very closely intertwined and function visibly through the individuals who make up both entities. Can you help to give some more information as to what you think the differences are?
Firstly, your understanding of the Kingdom and the Church being separate and distinct of one another is correct. They are not the same. But they are very closely intertwined.
The Kingdom is the invisible rule and reign of God. The Kingdom will function eternally. The Church is the visible expression which employs and enforces the dynamics and principles of that Kingdom's reign. The Church's function is temporal.
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Who can be in the Kingdom and not be in the Church?
No one. If the Kingdom is established in the heart of a person, which happens at the new birth, then that visible person houses and employs the principles and dynamics of that invisible Kingdom. It isn't possible to truly be in the Kingdom and not be the Church. You are the Church because you are a visible, flesh and blood person in whom the Holy Spirit has extended, and continues to extend, the laws and government of God's Kingdom.
That 'His Kingdom has come' is the message, and the Church is the visible, temporal carrier of that eternal, invisible truth.
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Who can be in the Church and not be in the Kingdom?
To understand who can be in the Church and not be in the Kingdom, you first have to understand that those who make up the 'true Church' are those who are truly citizens of His invisible Kingdom.
However, there are those who are 'IN churches' all over the place that are not truly citizens of the Kingdom of God, and thus cannot possibly be considered in the true Church.
To people who look on, anyone in a given local church body is representative of 'the Church.' Not so with God. He can see the difference between those who are sheep and those who are goats and wolves. There are those all over the place that are looked to as 'leaders' in church circles who's hearts are far from God. Are they truly the Church? Absolutely not. To earthly people who look on with limited knowledge, perhaps they are, but not to God. God knows them that are His and He knows those in whom His Kingdom's rule is established.
In view of that light, there are those who may be perceived as the Church who are not the Church, but God sees the true ones who house His Kingdom and carry the message of the Gospel. It is these who are truly the dual citizens of the eternal Kingdom and the temporal Church.
Secondly, the answer of who can be in the visible temporal Church and not be in the Kingdom, are those wolves in sheep's clothing that creep in to deceive the hearts of the simple and bring destruction and division to the Body. We must guard against these and be vigilant to keep the faith free of those who pollute the true message of the Gospel with messages of men and of devils, and who attempt to divide the body with spirits that stir up strife and discord.
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I believe that most people who believe that the Kingdom and the Church are separate also believe that even though all Christians are in the Kingdom, they also believe their particular denomination is solely "the Church."
I suppose that's because they are confused on who makes up each. I believe they have a misunderstanding about the distinct purpose, function and role of each. Just because they are distinct entities doesn't mean one is greater than the other and that they operate independently of each other with exclusive citizenry. The GOSPEL of THE KINGDOM is the message that THE CHURCH is to carry. You can't really have one without the other.
So even though they are not the same, they are inseparable. You don't have the Church without having the Kingdom, for it's that Kingdom citizenship and its message that gives the Church its purpose. And you don't have the Kingdom without the Church, for it's the Church that visibly, publicly proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ.
SEE ALSO THE TOPIC OF EXCLUSIVITY
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I once heard someone say they wondered what it would take for people [of the world] to wake up [to the gospel]. You commented that it would take the Church waking up first. Will you explain what you feel is the make up of the Church, or rather who makes up the Church, and why you feel they need to wake up?
The Church is the visible, flesh and blood representation of the invisible Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God and the Church of God are not the same, however, they are very closely intertwined and function visibly through the individuals who make up both entities. Is one group of believers solely the Church? ...Absolutely not. Does everyone who goes to church or call themselves a Christian make up the visible Church? ...Absolutely not.
My pastor says it best when he says, "there's no church that's all His Church, but there's some of His Church in every church." I agree completely.
So when I said that what it would take to wake people up to the truth of the Gospel is for the Church to wake up, I mean that those that make up His visible Church have been sleeping far too long. We (in the broad, generic sense) have become complacent, arrogant, powerless, and ineffective in our calling. Now, I know that there are some who are fulfilling God's plan and are anointed of God in tremendous ways... and thank God for them! But in general, the Church has NOT done its job and the state of our nation reflects it greatly.
People criticize that line of thinking and say that you can't judge the effectiveness of the Church by the condition of a society, but I beg to differ. The condition of a society is a direct reflection of the state of the Church. It's a historical fact that as the Church goes, so goes America, and as America goes, so goes the world. If that's the true measuring stick, we ARE NOT measuring up.
When we get saved, we are not immediately translated off of earth and into heaven... we are here for a reason. We have a purpose. We are CALLED to ENGAGE the culture and society of which we are a part and enforce, or impose, the Kingdom of God in the earth. The Church is nothing if it is not a force for righteousness in the society into which it has been infused.
The Church is a sleeping giant that has lost it's vision. Don't believe it? ...Look and listen to what most "modern" churches teach and preach. Their message is one of self-help, humanistic, modern-day psycho-babble from some pseudo-spiritual playboy in the pulpit masquerading as a prophet. His "message" is no more a word from God than the bark of a dog.
Flip that coin to the other side and it's not much better. You find irrelevant, institutionalized religious denominations that practice a form of godliness...or what I simply refer to as "religion"... that is high on legalism, compliance, and self centeredness, but low on forgiveness, grace, mercy, outreach, and true Pentecostal power. ...And I don't equate a service where people "shout" and roll in the floor to being a movement of true Pentecostalism. I do believe in that, and am the first to cut loose and run around the building, leap over pews and swing from the chandeliers when I sense the Spirit of God moving...my church embraces that wholly! But what I equate true Pentecostalism to is what happens when all that quaking and shaking is over. Are we getting out of the box, leaving the four walls of the church and actually engaging the enemy in our midst? If we're not engaging the enemy, we're sleeping with him. I don't to be found in bed with the enemy - I want to engage him.
When all is said and done, how many have been saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, delivered from demon possession and addictions to crack, alcohol and pornography? How many marriages have been put back together? How many homes and marriages and relationships have been restored? How many supernatural healings, miracles, and other manifestations of the Gifts of the Spirit have taken place?
I remember one morning at World Harvest Church, for example, we had one of those old fashioned knock-down, drag-outs! People shouted and ran and quaked and fell out under the power, but when it was all said and done, we had one blind woman receive her sight, and a young African American couple that was on the verge of divorce recommitted their lives to Christ and our Pastor renewed their marriage vows right there in front of God and thousands of witnesses. When they both had said "I do," they were touched by the Holy Spirit. The young lady took off running and dancing, and the young man took off in an old fashioned Pentecostal fit, fell out in the floor and shook under the power of God like I used to see when I was a child.
That's what church is all about. It's not about going to church, being pretty and cute, and shouting amongst ourselves. It's about being the Church and effecting "Kingdom change" in the society into which we have been infused. That's the job of the Church, and those who are doing that job are who make up the true Church.
That's why I believe the Church needs to wake up. When we wake up and get about our Father's business, power will come and we will be empowered to open the eyes of those who have been blinded by the god of this world to the glorious light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So what will it take to wake up this nation and the world? ...I do, with all my heart, believe it will take the Church waking up.
Contact FHC with your questions and Pastor Carter will answer them here.
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Copyright © Pastor Chad Carter • Family Harvest Church Global Ministries
FAMILY HARVEST CHURCH
PASTOR CHAD CARTER
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