The Church is part of the spiritual kingdom, ruled and governed by God’s Word. But the Church exists in the world and thus is also subject to kingdom-of-the-left-hand concerns. A Reformed version of the doctrine of the two kingdoms teaches that the spiritual kingdom is the local church.6 And the earthly kingdom consists of unbelievers, though Christians must live out their faith in this hostile environment. But the Lutheran view teaches that both kingdoms are good, being two different domains of the same King. The Church, like the Christian, inhabits both kingdoms. Congregations are subject
...more
