Was John A Member of Christ’s Church?

By Hollis Creel

No Bible Student will question that John the Baptist was a great Bible character He was given the great job as forerunner of the Christ (Matt. 3:3). As to his performance of duty Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matt. 11:11).

I now call our attention to the last phrase of that verse; "yet he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. " if John is as great as any one ever born of woman, why would Jesus say that the least in the kingdom would be greater than John?

This is a good and fair question and deserves a Bible answer. First, let me say that it is not a contradiction. Based on Bible knowledge I must conclude that John was never in the kingdom. Now let us establish what the kingdom of the passage refers to. What Jesus refers to as the church in Matthew 16:18, he calls the kingdom in verse 19. In Luke's record of the institution of the Lord's Supper He said, "For I say unto you, I shall not eat it, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God" (Luke 22:16). Jesus clearly says that the Lord's Supper was to be observed in the kingdom. Jesus was here referring to the time when it would be observed in the church. It was and is to be observed in the church. "And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul preached unto them" (Acts 20:7). The church at Corinth came together to "proclaim the Lord's death" by eating the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:26). These observations show that the kingdom and the church are one and the same. Thus, Jesus’ statement, "He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John" amounts to this: John was never in the church.

But someone says, "I thought John built the church." No, not only did he not build it he was never privileged to be a member of it. Had he been, Jesus would not have said that the least in the kingdom or church is greater than John.

The church was not even built in John's lifetime. John's death is recorded in Matthew 14. Some time later Jesus said, "And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). This passage shows that the church had not been built at this time, and that Jesus promises to build it in the future. There 'is no way that John the Baptist could have built the Lord's church and there is absolutely no scriptural justification for any religious body to wear the name "Baptist."

The church of our Lord was not established until the first Pentecost after the resurrection and ascension of Christ as recorded in Acts chapter two. All references to the church before Pentecost point forward to that day. All references to the church after Pentecost point backward to it, or refer to it as in existence. Isaiah prophesied concerning "Jehovah's house" saying it would come in the "last days" in the city of Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:2-4). What Isaiah called the "house of God" Paul called the "church of the living God" (1 Tim. 3:15). So Isaiah was speaking of the church or kingdom.

Daniel also prophesied of the kingdom. "And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever" (Dan. 2:44). Sometime, somewhere, God would set up a kingdom which would never be destroyed, according to the prophet Daniel. Do we have such a kingdom? Yes we do, according to the Hebrew writer. "Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe" (Heb. 12:28).

John was a great man. The Lord commended few as He did John in Matthew chapter eleven and verse eleven. But John was never a part of the kingdom or church of which he spoke. I am thoroughly convinced that, if John had lived until the church was established he would have been a member of it, but he didn't. In this light we can understand Jesus' statement, "Yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (Matt. 11:11). This is true because being a member of the Lord's church is the greatest blessing ever afforded man (Eph. 1:3; 3:20).

No, John did not enjoy the blessings of being in the Lord's church. But you and I can by doing what they did on Pentecost (Acts 2). Peter and the other apostles, inspired by the Holy Spirit, preached the first ever gospel sermon (Acts 2:22-36). Having heard heaven's message people became believers, and being pricked in their hearts they cried, "men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37) To this question the apostle Peter replied, "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto (for) the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The people were further exhorted to save themselves, and three thousand responded to the gospel call and were baptized into Christ (Acts 2:40-41). And the Lord added to the church or kingdom those who were saved (Acts 2:47). This is what I am convinced that John would have done if he had had the opportunity. Why don't you become a member, now? [Via Words of Life] &

The Will of God (Part 4)

By Bob Myhan

According to Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, all men have defeated the ideal will of God by sinning and, as a result, have lost the right to eternal life. But His circumstantial will is to give them eternal life in spite of their having sinned.

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

“God shows no partiality” but “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowl­edge of the truth” (Acts 10:34; 1 Tim. 2:1-4)

³¹ Then Jesus said to those Jews who be­lieved Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32).

The truth one must know, in order to be made free thereby, is the gospel.

¹ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, ² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. ³ For I deliv­ered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins ac­cording to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. (1 Cor. 15:1-5)

These are the primary facts of the gospel. But the gospel also contains commands that must be obeyed by those who desire to be saved. (2 Thess. 1:8) We will consider these com­mands in the next Faith Builder. &