Acts 8:12

But when they believed Philip preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Preaching the good tidings concerning the kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ ...; Acts 8:5 related that Philip preached "the Christ" unto them; and the message of the kingdom and the name of Christ, mentioned here, was the same as preaching Christ, mentioned there. That this message of Christ and his kingdom included the commandment that men should believe, repent and be baptized is implicit in the fact of the Samaritans having done exactly that when they believed Philip's preaching. Moreover, such a thing as baptism (which is the ordinance gateway into the church Jesus established), as mentioned in the good news of "the kingdom," has the utility of identifying the church of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God as one and the same institution. This is a fact so clearly taught in the New Testament that one can only be astounded at its denial by some scholars. For example, Ladd said:

The church is not the kingdom ... It is impossible to substitute "church" for "kingdom" in Acts 8:12, etc. ... None of the sayings in the gospels equates Jesus' disciples with the kingdom ... etc.[16]

Amazingly, Ladd proceeded, immediately following the last sentence cited above, to mention a number of references which do exactly what he denied, namely; equate the Lord's disciples with the kingdom and his church with the kingdom. We shall notice some examples of this.

MATTHEW 16:18,19. Jesus said, "I will build my church ... and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven." Here our Lord used "church" and "kingdom" interchangeably, that is synonymously. Both conservative and radical scholars alike have throughout ages viewed this as proof that the church and kingdom of God are one institution. As Vos declared, "It is plainly excluded that the house should mean one thing in the first sentence and another in the second,"[17] thus declaring the church and the kingdom the same. Even Gilmour said, "The church has been the kingdom of God within the historical process."[18] Ladd circumvented the true meaning of this analogy by the simple assertion that "metaphorical language possesses such fluidity" (as to allow diverse meanings of "church" and "kingdom")[19] in this passage, to which it is replied that no such "fluidity" appears in this passage. To agree with Ladd would be to suppose that Jesus built one institution upon the rock and gave the apostles "the keys" of another institution. That would really be some fluidity!

MATTHEW 13:41-43. The parable of the tares was explained by Jesus in such a manner as to make it clear that the church and the kingdom are one; for it is there declared that "the angels shall gather out of his kingdom ... them that do iniquity." Trench flatly declared that:

It must be evident to everyone not warped by a previous dogmatic interest, that the parable is, as the Lord announces, concerning the kingdom of heaven, or the church.[20]

In an effort to escape the power of this, Ladd stated that "The gathering of evil out of the kingdom looks forward, not backward";[21] but clearly, the question of "when" the Lord will purge the evil out of his church has no bearing on the fact that the kingdom and the church are fully equated in the marvelous parables of the kingdom in Matthew 13, which parables are also, unequivocally, the parables of the church as well.

In a number of other passages cited by Ladd, their obvious meaning is set aside by a mere arbitrary denial of their obvious meaning, as in the instance above. We have devoted a little more than usual consideration to his arguments, because his is one of the latest scholarly efforts to come to our attention in which a serious effort is made to set aside the view of the kingdom and the church of Jesus Christ being identical. For a dissertation on this subject, please see my Commentary on Hebrews, Hebrews 12:29.

The field is the world ... as used in Matthew 13:18 was cited by Ladd as a basis for setting aside the church-kingdom identity; but the meaning of "world" there is "the world-wide church." There is no way the parable can be explained adequately without taking this into account. See my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 13:37.

Preaching Christ and his church is identical with preaching Christ and his kingdom. Note the following:

WHAT IT MEANS TO PREACH CHRIST

I. To preach Christ means to preach the Old Testament, because the Old Testament is a testimony of Christ, the Messianic hope of the Hebrews. Of the Old Testament Scriptures, Jesus said, "These ... bear witness of me" (John 5:29). The 333 prophecies of the Old Testament are all fulfilled in Christ (Luke 24:44); its glorious history was "written for our admonition" (1 Corinthians 10:11); and when the noted Bible commentator, Dr. Adam Clarke, chose a topic sentence for his life's work, it was a New Testament text focused on the Old Testament (Romans 15:4). The apostolic preachers, notably Paul, customarily taught from the Old Testament (Acts 17:34).

II. To preach Christ means to preach the New Testament. The good news of salvation for mankind is found only in the word of Christ "through the apostles" (1 Peter 3:2); and, since the word of the apostles is available only in the New Testament, one cannot preach Christ without preaching the New Testament. To preach Christ is to preach the New Testament which is the word of the apostles who "heard him"! This, of course, eliminates the doctrines of men. If one wishes to receive the doctrines of men, he may do so from their books; but the true doctrine of Christ through the apostles is found in their book the New Testament.

III. To preach Christ is to preach all of the great facts, promises and commandments of the gospel.

A. A bare catalogue of the facts of the gospel is overwhelming: God entered our earth-life as a man, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, fulfilling the great prophecies of the Old Testament; he wrought the greatest wonders ever seen on earth, even raising the dead again and again; he was despised and rejected; he died on the cross according to the Scriptures in order to procure eternal life for men; he rose the third day, ascended to the right hand of God, established his church, sent the Holy Spirit, is reigning until all enemies are destroyed; and finally, he will raise to life again all who ever lived on earth, preside over the final judgment and appoint all men their destiny.

B. The great promises of the gospel are the richest treasure belonging to men. Jesus will forgive men's sins if they will believe in him and obey the gospel, bless them providentially in this life, make all things work together for their good, give his Holy Spirit to them that obey him, raise them up from the grave at the last day, and provide for them an eternal inheritance among the saints in light, giving them an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom. He will succor them in temptation, comfort them in sorrow, illuminate them in darkness, strengthen them in tribulation, love them always, and save their souls forever! How glorious are the promises of the gospel. To preach Christ is to preach those promises.

C. To preach Christ is to preach the commandments of the gospel; and, in this area, men have often misunderstood. Commands of Christ are sometimes written off as "mere legalisms"; and the grace and love of Christ are made the excuse for diminishing the force of his commandments; but this is an incredible folly (Hebrews 2:2,3). "Whosoever shall break one of the least of these commandments" (Matthew 5;19) shall be called least in God's kingdom. Not even faith can void the law of God (Romans 3:31).

IV. To preach Christ is to preach his church and kingdom. This blessed institution is called the bride of Christ, the vineyard of the Lord, the pillar and ground of the truth, the general assembly and church of the Firstborn, the family of God, the body of Christ, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of the Son of his love, and the church of Jesus Christ.

V. To preach Christ is to preach the plan of salvation, that is, faith, repentance and baptism for alien sinners, and the reception of the Holy Spirit and the continuation in the apostles' doctrine, in the breaking of bread and of prayers, on the part of the baptized. Two instances of this preaching are evident in the chapter before us (Acts 8:5-12; 8:35,36).

VI. Preaching Christ means preaching the obligations imposed by the holy faith in him. It is impossible to preach Christ without preaching the Christian virtues, church membership, church attendance, generosity, self-denial, and that community of love and interest which binds men together in Christ Jesus. Shame be upon those popular evangelists who preach Christ without spelling out the obligations imposed upon them who believe. Morality, integrity, faithfulness in every area of life, identity of the believer with God's church on earth, and the wholehearted, unselfish support of all that the Lord taught - such things are not optional, but mandatory. No matter what men may "say," it is evil for one to be like the persons condemned by Paul as professors of holy religion who "by their works" deny the Lord (Titus 1:16).

The brief resume of what Philip taught the Samaritans by no means implies that he omitted to teach "all" and "whatsoever" Jesus commanded.

Baptized, both men and women ... Again, in this, the New Testament bears witness of the fact that only accountable persons were received into the body of Christ, such a passage as this forbidding any notion that infants became Christians.

[16] George Eldon Ladd, Jesus and the Kingdom (Waco, Texas: Word Books, Publisher, 1964), p. 259.

[17] Gerhardus Vos, The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom of God and the Church (New York: American Tract Society, 1903), p. 150.

[18] S. McLean Gilmour, The Interpreter's Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1951), Vol. 8p. 33.

[19] Gordon Eldon Ladd, op. cit., p. 260.

[20] Richard C. Trench, Notes on the Parables of Our Lord (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell, 1953), p. 93.

[21] George Eldon Ladd, op. cit., p. 259.