In this episode of Christ the Center, Camden Bucey and Lane Tipton continue their study of Geerhardus Vos's Biblical Theology. Turning to Vos's treatment of the kingdom of God and the church, they explore the importance of Caesarea Philippi, Peter's confession, and Christ's promise, "I will build my church."

Lane explains why Vos sees this moment as a decisive redemptive-historical transition: the kingdom of God, proclaimed and embodied in Christ, begins to assume its ecclesial form. Together, Camden and Lane discuss the church as the kingdom in its present historical expression, the role of the Spirit poured out from the ascended Christ, and the distinction between the kingdom's inaugurated and consummated forms.

They also consider how Vos's teaching helps clarify ongoing theological questions concerning the kingdom of grace and glory, the already/not-yet structure of redemptive history, the thought of Meredith Kline, and the strengths and weaknesses of more recent reductionist or two-kingdom approaches.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and transition into Vos on the kingdom and the church
01:46 The kingdom as the sphere of blessedness
05:39 Caesarea Philippi as a redemptive-historical turning point
08:16 Peter's confession and "I will build my church"
10:26 The church as the kingdom in its present historical form
15:26 The kingdom in its inaugurated and consummated forms
18:10 The kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory
22:32 Kline and the "heavenization" of the church
26:50 Two-kingdom theology and Christ's mediatorial reign
29:53 Reductionist views of the kingdom
36:30 The kingdom, the church, and redemptive-historical development
43:45 Measuring the kingdom's progress in the world
49:30 Final reflections and concluding thoughts

Participants: Camden Bucey, Lane G. Tipton