And then Peter stood up and preached the first Gospel sermon, Acts 2, verses 14 through about verse 36. The assembly was made up of Jews who had been there for the Passover and were staying until the Pentecost. Peter told those Jews on that occasion that this outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel in the Old Testament [Joel 2:28a— “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh…”]. He told them that they had killed the Son of God, but that God had raised Him up from the dead to rule on the throne of David and to establish that spiritual kingdom, Acts 2, verse 30 [“Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him [David] that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne…”]. Peter declared that Jesus now was sitting at the right hand of God in Heaven reigning as Lord and Christ, Acts 2, verse 36 [“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, Whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”].

What was their reaction? Well, we are told in verse 37 that many who heard this message were convicted of their wrongdoing. They were “cut to the heart,” and they wanted to know what they needed to do [“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’”]. Then Peter responded in verse 38, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

And on that day, three thousand obeyed Peter’s command and were baptized for their remission of sins, verse 41 [“Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.”]. It was at that time that the Kingdom of God was established on earth. From that time onward all who obey the Gospel have been, and continue to be, added to that Kingdom by God, Acts 2, verse 47 [“praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”]. Paul writes in his epistle to the church in Colosse, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,” [Colossians 1, verse 13].

It is also from this point on here in Acts, the second chapter, that the church is spoken about in the present tense because it has already been established. It is already in existence. We can look at Acts 5, verse 11 [“So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.”]; Acts 8, verse 1 [“Now Saul was consenting to his [Stephen’s] death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”]; Acts 11, verse 22 [“Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.”]; Colossians 1, verse 13 [“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love…”]; and Revelation 1, verse 9 [“I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”].

We see here that there is a clear demarcation, a clear point in time when all of this prophecy, all of these actions came to pass and were culminated when the church was established in Jerusalem, on the Day of Pentecost, and when the Roman Empire was at its height.

The Kingdom of God on earth, that is, the church, will continue until Jesus comes again to return it to the Father. Turn over to 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 24. Paul here, speaking of the end times, says, “Then comes the end, when He…” (Jesus) “…delivers the kingdom…” (what is the Kingdom?—it is the church!) “…to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.” When a person today hears the Gospel preached about Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection from the dead, when that person believes and obeys by being baptized for the remission of his or her sins, God adds that person to the same church, to the church of Christ, the church that belongs to Christ, which is the Kingdom on earth.

So we have seen that the Kingdom of God is the church. We’ve seen this in prophecy, in preparation and finally in perfection.

Now let’s look at THE BODY OF CHRIST. Of course, there are several different ways that the church is referred to euphemistically, or, in descriptive terms, in different ways. Perhaps the most descriptive and the most instructive of all of these is the term “body.”

Let’s turn to Ephesians, chapter 1, verse 20 through 23, and read: “Which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all.” We could also look at Colossians 1, verse 18, in that regard [“And He is the head of the body, the church, Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”].