CHURCH PURPOSE

Church Purpose

The church although not replacing Israel, certainly embodies the great principles underlying the history of the ancient people. The principle of their divine government, the illustration of its meaning, the proclamation of its power, is all committed to the church of God. The mission of the church is scattering light over darkness of the whole world.

Revealed by Paul as an army at war, conquering, and leading an exodus out of all bondage that the whole world is under, even that of death, Christ being the first fruit. It is entrusted with the responsibility concerning the ethic of heaven for the government of earth. [keys]

By the 1st Advent the rule of God was revealed; the realm of the rule was claimed in His name; and the resources were provided that were necessary for the establishment of the material Kingdom upon spiritual foundations.

The process is that of individual realization of the Kingdom; worldwide proclamation of the Kingdom by those in whom the Kingdom is realized; and corporate realization of all the benefits of all the breadth and beauty of the Kingdom within the Christian Church.

In this last particular we have most conspicuously failed. There is no clear manifestation of the Kingdom of God in the corporate being of the Church of God today. The man outside has no clear vision of the Kingdom of God when he looks at the Christian Church. That one undivided whole, the holy nation, where is it? Blessed be God, the spiritual unity has never been lost, for He has kept that within His own power; but the outward manifestation has been entirely lost. The most disastrous phase of the Church's failure is her failure in her corporate capacity to reveal to men what the Kingdom of God will mean, when it is finally established on this earth.

This shall be finally realized at the installation of Israel back into the fold of blessing; at the rapture of the true Church off the scene and the glory of God revealed through His beloved nation.

At that 2nd Advent (2 parts), there will have been accomplished the ultimate victory of good over evil, the subjugation of the whole realm of the earth to the reign of God, in and through Jesus Christ, and so the fulfillment of the great ideal.