In this concluding installment of Vos Group’s extended journey through Geerhardus Vos’s Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments, Camden Bucey and Lane Tipton reflect on one of the most significant themes in Vos’s account of redemptive history: the relationship between the kingdom of God and the church. Focusing especially on Matthew 16 and Jesus’s promise, “I will build my church,” they explain that Christ is not introducing an unrelated people, but bringing the covenant people of God into a new, eschatological mode of existence through his death, resurrection, ascension, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
The church is not a mere institutional add-on to the kingdom. Rather, in its inaugurated form, the church is the kingdom of God as constituted by the Spirit of the ascended Christ. The episode also explores the church’s indestructible life, the meaning of the “gates of hell,” the centrality of the means of grace, and the already/not-yet character of the kingdom’s coming. Along the way, Camden and Lane also mark the end of this long-running series on Biblical Theology and preview the next phase of Vos Group on The Teaching of Jesus concerning the Kingdom of God and the Church.
Chapters
- 00:00:08 Introduction and Vos Group finale
- 00:01:06 Save the date for the 1,000th episode celebration
- 00:07:23 Transition from Biblical Theology to The Teaching of Jesus concerning the Kingdom of God and the Church
- 00:09:01 Matthew 16 and the meaning of “my church”
- 00:12:14 Continuity and redemptive-historical newness in the church
- 00:15:28 Pentecost, Acts 2, and the constitution of the church
- 00:21:56 The church after Christ’s ascension and the new mode of life in the Spirit
- 00:29:23 The indestructible life of the kingdom and the gates of hell
- 00:35:29 The means of grace, preaching, and the keys of the kingdom
- 00:36:52 The nearness of the kingdom and inaugurated eschatology
- 00:42:10 The church is not merely instrumental to some higher kingdom purpose
- 00:49:20 The church as the kingdom of God in inaugurated form
- 00:53:20 Pilgrim identity and longing for consummation
- 00:56:42 Closing reflections and upcoming resources
Participants: Camden Bucey, Lane Tipton
Christ the Center focuses on Reformed Christian theology. In each episode a group of informed panelists discusses important issues in order to encourage critical thinking and a better understanding of Reformed doctrine with a view toward godly living. Browse more episodes from this program or subscribe to the podcast feed.
