The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom of God and the Church

Recognizing the import of the topic, Vos devotes this work to a discussion of Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom of God. The phrases “kingdom of God” and “kingdom of heaven,” which Vos takes to be referencing the same object, signify Jesus' greatest focus in ministry. Vos correctly warns that, while important and most worthy of study, one should not neglect the other topics on which Christ taught and make the kingdom the sole focus. Ever the historian, Vos begins by connecting the Christ's teaching on the kingdom to the Old Testament and its notions of a Messianic king. He then moves into the conception of the kingdom during the New Testament and analyzes the Greek phrases. From there, he moves into the kingdom as it is now, and as it will be in the new heavens and the new earth. The remaining chapters detail specific aspects and characteristics of the kingdom as it currently exists. The church is also compared to the kingdom, as is how one gains entrance into the kingdom. A small amount of Greek is used in the text, although it is by and large accessible to a layman audience. Vos' enlightening treatment of this important theme in the Scriptures ought to be read, especially by pastors, to assist in preaching and teaching on passages dealing with this subject.

Publisher:
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781579101701

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Vos was born in the Netherlands an emigrated to the USA in 1881. He earned degrees from Calvin Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the University of Strasbourg (Ph.D. in Arabic). In 1894 he was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in the USA. Before beginning his 39-year tenure on Princeton's faculty, he was professor of systematic and exegetical theology at Calvin for five years.

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