Sect. 233The Church of Christ Described in the New TestamentThe Church of Christ Described in the New Testament

I. When we turn to the New Testament, we are told that Christ came to found a kingdom, which is described as the “Kingdom of God,” the “Kingdom of Heaven,” the “Kingdom of Christ.” These expressions, especially the two former, are used in various meanings. The “Kingdom of God,” “Kingdom of Heaven,” sometimes mean the whole of creation (Ps. 23:1; 49:12; 102:19, 22; 144:11, etc.); but in the New Testament they mean the supernatural kingdom purchased by Christ’s Precious Blood. In this latter sense they denote: (1) Internal gifts and graces (Luke 17:20, 21; cf. 12:31; Rom. 14:17, etc.); (2) Heaven, where God reigns with His Saints, and His Saints reign with Him (Matt. 8:11; Luke 13:28, etc.); (3) the visible kingdom of Christ here on earth among men and composed of men.

1. The Angel Gabriel, when announcing the Incarnation of our Lord, foretold to the Blessed Virgin: “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David His father; and He shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32, 33; cf. Dan. 8:14, 27; Mich. 4:7). Here it is clear that Christ was to reign over a visible kingdom on earth—the kingdom prefigured and foretold in the old dispensation. His kingdom was to last on earth as long as the world should last, and was to last absolutely for ever in heaven.

2. The preaching of the Baptist, sent “to prepare the way of the Lord,” was: “Do penance (μετανοεῖτε), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2). And our Lord Himself declared: “The Law and the Prophets were until John; from that time the kingdom of God is preached” (Luke 16:16).

3. The Jews, whether carnal or spiritual, expected that the Messias would found a kingdom upon earth, as the Prophets had foretold; in their minds the expectation of the Messias coincided with the expectation of His kingdom. One of the marks by which He was to be known was that He should be “the Son of David,” “the King of Israel” (John 1:49; Matt. 2:2, 6; 27:11; John 19:19, 22). Hence, those who recognized that the prophecies had been fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, hailed Him as “King of Israel” (John 12:13–16; Luke 19:38), and “Son of David” (Matt. 21:9); they cried out, “Blessed be the kingdom of our father David that cometh” (Mark 11:10).

4. Our Lord Himself, when about to offer the sacrifice of Hisown blood, by which He was to purchase His kingdom, declared that He was a King, and that He had a kingdom in this world. Both the Jews who accused Him, and Pilate who judged Him, spoke of a visible kingdom here on earth. This kingdom which they denied Him He claimed for His own, though at the same time He explained that it was of a supernatural order. “Art thou the king of the Jews?… My kingdom is not of this world (ἐκ τοῖ κόσμου τούτου) … but now My kingdom is not from hence (ἐντεῦθεν)” (John 18:33, 36). “He does not say,” observes St. Augustine, “My kingdom is not in this world, but is not of this world.… He does not say, My kingdom is not here, but is not from hence; for His kingdom is here as long as the world shall last” (In Joan, Tract. 115, n. 2). This expression “of this world” occurs elsewhere in St. John’s record of our Lord’s discourses, and does not exclude the fact of being in this world. “Having loved His own who were in the world (ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ), He loved them unto the end.… If you had been of the world (ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου), the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world (ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου), therefore the world hateth you” (John 13:1; 15:19; 16:11, 12, 16).

II. This kingdom of Christ upon earth is described by Him under various figures.

1. In the Old Testament God’s chosen people are called the flock of His sheep. “The sheep of Thy pasture” (Ps. 73:1); “We Thy people, and the sheep of Thy pasture” (Ps. 78:13); “He is the Lord our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand” (Ps. 94:7; cf. Ps. 99:3; Jer. 23; Ezech. 34; Mich. 7:14). God rebukes the shepherds of this flock for their neglect to feed the sheep, and promises that He will form a new flock, over which He “will set up one Shepherd, even His servant David,” who “shall feed them and shall be their Shepherd” (Ezech. 34:23; 37:24, 26; Zech. 11:7). And under this Shepherd He will set up pastors over them, “and they shall feed them, they shall fear no more, and they shall not be dismayed” (Jer. 23:4); “I will give you,” He says, “pastors according to My own heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and doctrine” (ibid. 3:15). Accordingly, in the New Testament He declares that He is this promised Shepherd, and that His sheep are the promised flock. “I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.… I lay down My life for My sheep.… I give them life everlasting (John 10:11, 15, 28). He gathers them together; He feeds them with His doctrine; He rules them by His authority. “You do not believe, because you are not of My sheep; My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (ibid. 26, 27); “I am the good Shepherd, and I know Mine, and Mine know Me” (ibid. 14). And this flock is to be composed not only of the children of Israel, but of all the nations. “Other sheep I have, that are not of this fold, and them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold [or, ‘flock,’ ποίμνη] and one Shepherd” (ibid. 16). As, however, this fold upon earth is to last till the end of time, He appointed other shepherds under Himself, the one Divine Shepherd, to feed His flock: one chief shepherd, Peter and his successors, “Feed My lambs, feed My sheep” (John 21:15–17); and others, who should be subordinate to this one, and to whom St. Peter says, “Feed the flock of God, which is among you, taking care of it (ποιμάνατε τὸ ἐν ὑμῖν ποίμνιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπισκοποῦντες)” (1 Pet. 5:2).

2. In the Old Testament the kingdom of God is also spoken of as a vineyard. “Thou hast brought a vineyard out of Egypt; Thou hast cast out the Gentiles, and hast planted it … Thou plantedst the roots thereof, and it filled the land” (Ps. 79:9, 10; Isa. 5:1 sqq.; Jer. 2:21; 12:10; Ezech. 19:10 sqq.). This figure is likewise used by our Lord in describing His Church. “There was a man, an householder, who planted a vineyard, and made a hedge about it, and dug in it a press, and built in it a tower, and let it out to husbandmen,” etc. (Matt. 21:33–46; Mark 12:1–12; Luke 20:9, 19; cf. Isa. 5:2).

3. Closely connected with this figure is another, which compares the kingdom of God to a marriage-feast, or wedding (Matt. 22:2–14; cf. Osee 2). The parables of the Grain of Mustard-seed and the Leaven bring out the growth and influence of the Church. The Church as a “building” (“I will build my Church;” “You are God’s building,” 1 Cor. 3:9) will be spoken of when we treat of the primacy of St. Peter. But now we are touching on the constitution of the Church, a subject which belongs to the next chapter.