The Establishment of the Kingdom · Acts Bible class

I. The Establishment of the Kingdom

Prophesied in the Old Testament
1. Daniel 2:44
  1. In the days of these kings (Roman Empire)
  2. Babylon → Medo-Persia → Greece → Rome
  3. “Daniel identifies Babylon in Daniel 2:38, Medo-Persia in Daniel 8:20, and Greece in Daniel 8:21. Rome is the empire ruling in the days of Jesus and Pentecost—Luke 2:1 and Acts 2. Therefore, Daniel 2:44 points to Christ establishing His kingdom in the days of Rome.”
2. Micah 4:1-3, Isaiah 2:1-4 to Luke 24:47
  1. In the last days (latter days, Hebrews 1:1f)
  2. The word of the Lord will go out from Jerusalem (Zech 12:10-11)
Prepared by Christ
1. Why did Christ come down to earth? (The immediate and most obvious answer is that Christ came to die for our sins, but He also came to establish His kingdom)
  1. This is what John the Baptist was preaching (Matthew 3:1-3)
  2. This is what Christ was preaching (Matthew 4:17)
  3. Christ told us to seek this first (Matthew 6:33)
2. Matthew 16:13-19: Christ promised to build His church, which is equated with the kingdom
  1. Peter confesses the deity and the messiahship of Jesus
    1. "Christ," the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew word "Messiah," means "anointed."
    2. His being the "Son" of God indicates His being the "only begotten Son" (John 3:16) (Liddell)
  2. Upon this truth, the church of Christ is going to be established
    1. Christ states that He “will” build His church
    2. This is giving a time in the future, when it had not been established at the time Christ was speaking these words
    3. What was the kingdom that Christ and John were preaching? (the church)
  3. Characteristics of the church Christ built (Matthew 16:18)
    1. Demonstrated clearly after the kingdom was established that being in the kingdom means sharing the same spiritual benefits as being in the church (because being in the church means being in the kingdom)
    2. It was His church; it did not belong to anyone else, established on the truth of Christ in this passage, and it was built upon Christ as the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11, Ephesians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:4)
    3. The gates of Hades were never going to prevail against it; the church was never going to go out of existence
  4. The future tense verb “will” denotes that it is going to take place in the future? When was this kingdom Christ came down to establish going to come to be actualized
Christ told us when the kingdom would come (The kingdom anticipated)
1. Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, Acts 1:8, 2:1-4
  1. The kingdom is being promised by Christ as something that will come to fruition before those standing there taste death
  2. What was this power? (It was what we have been going over for the past two Bible classes) baptism/outpouring of the Spirit that came in Acts 2)
  3. The apostles would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them
  4. Acts 2:1-4: the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost
2. This connects back to Isaiah 2:2-3, Joel 2:28-32
  1. This would be in Jerusalem
  2. At the time of the Roman Empire
  3. The message of repentance and remission of sins was going to be preached
3. What is the connection between Mark 9:1 and Acts 2:1-4
This kingdom would be spoken of as a reality after Pentecost (Acts 2)
1. Colossians 1:13 – they were not waiting to enter into the kingdom; rather, they were already in it. They weren’t part of a kingdom that did not yet exist
2. Revelation 1:9- John is part of the tribulation and the kingdom
3. Hebrews 12:28 – receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken (present active), something that they were currently receiving; Daniel 2:44 a kingdom that cannot be destroyed
The nature of this kingdom
1. It is spiritual (John 18:36)
2. Its citizens submit to Christ as their king, not earthly rulers
3. Contrast to the doctrine that is being taught today
  1. The kingdom is not something that failed to be established by Christ in the first century
  2. The kingdom was established and was present in the first century, and it is still present today
  3. Any doctrine that is being taught that Christ has not yet established His Kingdom is a gross false doctrine and fails to see Christ in His fullness as King
  4. Christ must be King, as He is now sitting on the throne of David (Acts 2:30)
  5. Even the apostles maintained a misunderstanding of the nature of the kingdom even after all the time that Christ had taught to them (Acts 1:6)
4. It is singular
  1. Christ states that He will build His kingdom (singular in case)
  2. The kingdom is the church
  3. What is the church? (It is the body of Christ)
  4. The church is the singular body that Christ shed His blood for; there is one body (1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 4:4, 5:22-26)
  5. There is not more than one kingdom; therefore, there is only one church
5. It is Christ’s
  1. If it is the bride of Christ, then it is going to bear the name of Christ
  2. Romans 16:16 talks about the churches that belong to Christ

How do we recognize this kingdom today?

Christ stated that the gates of Hades will not prevail against it; therefore, it has to be in existence today
- It is based upon apostolic succession?
- It is based upon the pattern set forth in the New Testament contained in the doctrine of Christ
- Pattern can be seen in:
  - Worship
  - Organization (structure), elders, deacons (Phil 1:1, 1 Clement 42-44)
  - And how to be saved
- The church is the pillar and ground of truth
  - If there is a religious body teaching contrary to the doctrine of Christ, then it is not the church that Christ established because it cannot be the pillar and ground of truth

Transition: It regards to the plan of salvation, it should be the plan of salvation that is preached by Peter and the rest of the apostles on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2

II. The Kingdom Being Preached (Acts 2:22-42)

Peter gets up and preaches the first gospel message (next Bible class we are going to get into the actual content of the sermon)
1. Peter is going to claim that Christ has been made king, sitting on the throne of David (Acts 2:30)
2. Peter is going to claim that the Christ that they crucified has been made both Lord and Christ
How to be added to this kingdom
1. They were picked in their heart from the preaching of Christ
2. They realized that it was their sins that nailed Christ to the cross
  1. We must realize that it is also our sins that nailed Christ to the cross
  2. When we sin, the reality of that fact is that Christ loves us and is going to redeem us from our sin (1 Peter 1:18-20)
  3. Christ loved us (John 3:16), and if it were just us who were in our sin, Christ would have died on the cross because of our sins
  4. When we look at Christ and understand that we need to be saved, part of it is understanding that it is our fault that Christ was crucified, and every single one of us should be pricked in our heart when we understand what our sins did to the only begotten Son of God.
3. They asked what they should do next
  1. Peter responds to them, and he is going to tell them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins
  2. Those who gladly received the word were baptized
  3. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine
  4. The lord added daily to the church such as should be saved
  5. We are not adding ourselves to the kingdom of Christ, but God is adding us to the kingdom of Christ when we are baptized according to the doctrine set forth in the Bible
4. There needs to be an understanding of this kingdom
  1. This is what Paul was preaching (Acts 14:21-23)
  2. This is what Philip was preaching (Acts 8:12)

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