When John, the swift herald of the gospel day, came preaching, he said: “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Mat. 3:2. The first words in the ministry of the Son of God were, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Mat. 4:17. The kingdom which Daniel saw was to be set up. Great was the speculation throughout Jewry concerning the kingdom of God in John’s days. They were expecting a kingdom to excel in temporal pomp and glory the grandeur of the kingdom of the Cæsars. The Savior in conversation with some Pharisees on one occasion astonished them by saying, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20, 21. Jesus one night explained to a ruler of the Jews how to enter this kingdom. He said, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:5. Again he says, “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Mat. 18:3. The inspired apostle in Rom. 14:17 explains the nature of this kingdom: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” In the process of the mysterious birth of the Spirit the soul experiences a translation from a “power of darkness” into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. Col. 1:13. It certainly must have dawned upon your understanding ere this that the church of God and the kingdom of heaven are the same spiritual structure. In the twelfth chapter of Hebrews several terms are used to denote the church of God. In the twenty-second verse it is designated by “mount Zion,” the “city of the living God,” the “heavenly Jerusalem,” and an “innumerable company of angels.” In verse twenty-three it is denominated “general assembly,” “the church of the first-born,” etc. In the twenty-eighth verse it is called the “kingdom.” By this we are made to understand that the church built by the Lord is identical with the “city of God,” the “kingdom of God,” the “heavenly Jerusalem,” etc. With this understanding we will better comprehend the meaning of many other texts. The Head Of The Church. “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body.” Eph. 5:23. “And he is the head of the body, the church.” Col. 1:18. “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” Eph. 4:15. See also Eph. 1:22; Col. 2:18, 19. Christ is the head of his church, and as such he is the sole governor, or legislator. “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Recapitulation In Conclusion.