29/8/2021 Antonio Antón
1. Izquierdas y guerras culturales
The next area to consider is how the Church, made up of the members of the kingdom, relates to the kingdom of God itself. Some consider the relationship to be closer than others. Augustine of Hippo offers the classic relationship
308 Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, p.21.
309 Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, p.50. He goes on to say that the primary experience of the life to come is eternal life, in which people belong to God and he to people, and fellowship is shared between them. Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, p.72.
310 Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, pp.61-62.
311 Kallas, The Real Satan, p.51.
between the Church and the kingdom, stating that the Church currently is the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of heaven.312 Recent thinking seems to be moving away from this axiom, even within the Catholic tradition. The Catechism of the Catholic Church suggests a close relationship, that when Christ’s word is welcomed the ‘seed’ of the kingdom begins in people’s lives.313 This does not make a clear connection between Church and kingdom, but does seem to suggest that there is a tentative connection. It is this tentative connection which requires consideration as it deals with how the Church is to represent the kingdom in the world, and the connection between membership of the kingdom and ministry in the Church. Harper and Metzger note that the separation of any substantive connection between the kingdom of God and the Church was championed by dispensationalism, in protest at a liberal postmillennialism that sought to improve the world through social means.314 It may be that what Wimber is working through, in the theological connection between the kingdom and the Church, is the dispensational history of American evangelicalism. He emphasises the role that the Church is to play in witnessing to the kingdom, as we shall see, through proclamation and practice. It could perhaps be suggested that Wimber’s theology represents a reformed (in the sense of changed, not the theological designation) dispensationalism that is characterised by an openness to the spiritual gifts.
Ladd reflects on this further, and explicitly states that the kingdom and the Church are not to be confused. The kingdom creates the Church and the Church participates in the proclamation of the kingdom, but it is not the kingdom.315 Ladd even goes as far as saying that it is not helpful to categorise the Church as part of the kingdom, or that in the coming age the two will be
312 A. Augustine, The City of God, Book XX, Chapter 9, in The Works of Aurelius Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, A New Translation, trans. M. Dods, (Edinburgh: T&T Clarke, 1949), p.
365.
313 The Catechism of the Catholic Church, (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1995), Part 1, Para.
764, p.219.
314 Harper and Metzger, Exploring Ecclesiology, p.55.
315 Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, p.117.
synonymous.316 It may be that what was being feared here was a connection between one specific denomination or expression of Church and the kingdom of God.317 This could have meant that unless one is a member of that specific expression of Church, one is not a member of the kingdom either. It may also suggest that the distinctive of that expression of Church ought to be understood as the distinctive of the kingdom also, and that there may be no room for manoeuvring. In reflecting upon the relationship between the kingdom and the Church in Wimber, we touch on what has been deemed to be a key area in the theological development of the Vineyard. John P. Schmidt argues that Wimber’s close relationship between the two in praxis represented a shift in evangelical thinking. An emphasis on doing the works of Jesus today, because the kingdom was present, was a revolutionary message.318 He further suggests that Wimber and Ladd agree in not connecting the Church with the kingdom, but that the kingdom gave birth to the Church; and the Church witnesses to and is an instrument of, and acts under the authority of the kingdom.319 This connection between the Church and the kingdom appears to be one of action, in which the Church demonstrates the power of the kingdom, as Christ had done on earth.
Wimber makes the point that the Church is not the kingdom of God. He states that the Church is the community of the kingdom, and belongs to the kingdom; but, it is not the kingdom, it is a fellowship of people.320 It is in this context that, Wimber argues, God exercises authority.321 The reason he is so
316 Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, pp.110-11.
317 Wagner sees a necessity for a division between Church and kingdom because of the faults of genuine believers who battle their own sin nature, which may put people off the kingdom; and the inclusion of nominal members on Church rolls, which may make them think Church membership is related to kingdom membership. Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, p.9.
318 J.P. Schmidt, ‘New Wine from the Vineyard’, Direction Journal, 17:2 (Fall 1988).
319 Schmidt, ‘New Wine from the Vineyard’.
320 Wimber, The Kingdom of God, p.14.
321 J. Wimber, Kingdom Fellowship: Living Together as the Body of Christ, (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1989), p.10.
concerned about misunderstanding the relationship are the implications.
Wimber notes that if the kingdom and Church are seen to be the same, then it might make people assume that membership of the Church is also final salvation. It could also lead to an authoritarian leadership style, where leaders assume that they are speaking and acting with the authority of God.322 These implications may be particularly relevant to a culture such as that of Northern Ireland, where there is a large Church-going percentage. Tearfund suggest that 45% of the population in Northern Ireland attend Church regularly, Scotland has 18%, England 14% and Wales 12%.323 These statistics do not refer to how many people profess a personal faith, who have entered the kingdom of God. It tells of a general social trend amongst British people.
When applying these principles to Northern Ireland, a clearer line of demarcation may be needed, regarding the kingdom of God, than those who attend a local congregation. This may be why Wimber suggests that the kingdom creates the Church. It is through the witness of the kingdom that individuals come into fellowship with the Church.324 This may also be why Harper and Metzger refer to the Church as ‘the doorway to the kingdom’.325 In this sense, Wimber could be seen to be arguing for a causal relationship between the kingdom and the Church. It is through kingdom witness that people enter the kingdom, and having entered the kingdom they are committed to Church. Ladd also wants to emphasise the spiritual aspect of the Church. He argues that the kingdom of God works through the Church, which is itself a fellowship of those who have received kingdom life.326 Kraft highlights the term ‘adoption’, that through entering the kingdom individuals become adopted children of God.327 There may be a critique here of Churches where there is a mixed membership, and because of that
322 Wimber, Power Evangelism, p.34.
323 Church Going in the UK, A Research Report from Tearfund on Church Attendance in the UK, (Teddington: Tearfund, 2007), p.vii.
324 Wimber, Kingdom Fellowship, p.13; Wimber, The Kingdom of God, p.16.
325 Harper and Metzger, Exploring Ecclesiology, p.60.
326 Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, pp.115-116.
327 Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels, p.81.
membership there is an assumption of spiritual membership also. This is an issue that Wimber takes up concerning Church fellowship and the kingdom, as shall be noted. To argue for a strong divergence between the kingdom and the Church may remind the Church of its own imperfection. E. Stanley Jones defines the Church not as imperfect but as relative to the kingdom, so it points people away from itself and to Christ.328 This may also give an expectation of perfection yet to come when the kingdom comes in its entirety, when the kingdom is completely revealed without being blurred by any perceived human faults, and not using the Church to exercise spiritual warfare on the kingdom of Satan. That hope may sustain and strengthen the Church through opposition and even persecution.
The connection between the kingdom and the Church does manifest itself, however, in the witness of the Church. Wimber states that the Church witnesses to the kingdom through demonstrating and telling of God’s actions.329 This happens not only as the Church proclaims the message of the kingdom, but as it heals the sick, casts out demons and wages war on satanic strongholds.330 The connection Wimber suggests between the kingdom and the Church is in how the Church displays the kingdom. The Church sees to manifest the power of God as it witnesses to God. Ladd also highlights this connection to the actions of people, while maintaining that the kingdom is never subject to individuals, always remaining God’s kingdom.331 Yet, Ladd also connects this action with the keys of the future kingdom of heaven, which were said to be entrusted to Peter (Mt. 16:19). This is the power to open or close access to the blessings of the kingdom.332 There may appear to be some issue of discontinuity here. While the kingdom is said to be greater than
328 E.S. Jones, The Unshakable Kingdom and the Changing Person, (Bellingham, WA:
McNett Press, 1995), p.35.
329 Wimber, Kingdom Fellowship, p.16; Wimber, Kingdom Fellowship, p.20; Wimber, The Kingdom of God, p.14.
330 Wimber, Kingdom Come, p.23.
331 Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, p.102.
332 Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, p.113.
one specific denomination or individual leader, the question of how individuals can close entrance to that kingdom is not explained further. Perhaps Ladd is alluding to spiritual warfare, in which the kingdom of God confronts the kingdom of Satan. This happens when the Church moves beyond exclusive proclamation to practising the kingdom’s power.333 Perhaps Ladd and Wimber are both wanting to emphasise the role for the Church to play in this age.
Perhaps they may also be reminding the Church of its necessity to participate in the role, ministering to individuals and confronting spiritual evil powers.
A further area in which Wimber sees a connection between the kingdom and Church is regarding fellowship. He suggests that individual congregations can be understood as ‘outposts of the kingdom’, places where spiritual training, through prayer, Bible study and spiritual disciplines prepare Christians for active service.334 Underpinning this notion is an understanding of conversion that connects personal faith to a committed member of the Church, generally and locally.335 It seems that for Wimber commitment to the kingdom was manifested in commitment to the Church. This seems also to portray Wimber’s heart for the Church, something that he appears to have loved deeply. Don Williams writes that Wimber was not a loner, he was committed to community and a passionate Churchman.336 Wimber is emphasising the importance of local and personal fellowship in the Church.
Ladd calls this fellowship ‘a bit of heaven on earth’.337 The fellowship of the Church reflects the belonging to the kingdom, and ultimately the fellowship that there will be when the kingdom comes in all of its fullness.
333 Kallas, The Real Satan, p.90.
334 Wimber, Power Evangelism, p.40.
335 Wimber, Dynamics of Spiritual Growth, p.182.
336 D. Williams, ‘Theological Perspective and Reflection on the Vineyard Christian
Fellowship’, in Church Identity and Change: Theology and Denominational Structures in Unsettled Times, eds. D.A. Rosen and J.R. Nieman (Grand Rapids, MI: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001), p.183.
337 Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, p.23.