There is much argument between various schools
There is much argument between various schools of teaching concerning the kingdom of God. One school of thought claims that the kingdom of God is not with us today. According to this school, the kingdom of God was suspended at the time of Matthew 13. This school affirms that when the Lord Jesus came He came with the kingdom of God and presented it to the Jewish people. Since the Jewish people rejected the kingdom of God, the Lord suspended it until the time of His return. Thus, this school teaches that during the period in which we live there is no kingdom of God. However, Romans 14:17 says, "The king dom of God is…." This is a strong proof that the kingdom of God is here today. Further evidence that the church is the kingdom of God today is found in Matthew 16:18-19, where we see that the words church and kingdom are synonymous and are used interchangeably by the Lord Jesus Himself. In verse 18 the Lord said, "I will build My church," and in verse 19 He said, "I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens." Hence, the building of the church is actually the establishing of the kingdom. Furthermore, Paul in the Epistles considered the kingdom of God as equivalent to the church (1 Cor. 6:10; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5). How wrong it is to say that the