Political Church: The Local Assembly as Embassy of Christ's Rule (Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture)

“For Christians who want to think deeper and more biblically about the nature of the church and its relationships to politics and government, Political Church will reward you.”

“Jonathan Leeman in this profound and important work argues that Christ is Lord of all, that he rules both in the church and in the public square. At the same time, Leeman unpacks for us the differences between the political sphere and the realm of the church. The implications for our ecclesiology are spelled out in a noteworthy way. Here we find robust biblical and systematic theology deftly applied to our role as citizens and church members.”

“An incisive and distinctly evangelical contribution to political theology, Leeman's Political Church supplants the tired dichotomies of classical liberalism by recapturing the church's unique political ontology as a community with a message that is also at the same time an institution with keys to the kingdom. To bear witness to the rule of Christ is also to represent him publicly to the world. Leeman's account is impressively well-judged and advances a conception of church as embassy that those who take the rule of Christ seriously cannot afford to overlook. Essential (and edifying!) reading.”

“The church, we are sometimes told, is a fellowship, not an institution. Jonathan Leeman makes us think again. Broad-ranging, deeply biblical, widely informed both theologically and politically, Political Church is a fine and statesmanlike contribution that deserves our careful attention. We need to capture the vision of the local church as an embassy of Christ's rule. This is just what the author enables us to do.”

“Jonathan Leeman is one of the most careful, intelligent and skilled theological minds of our day, particularly in matters of ecclesiology. This new volume is a courageous defense of the centrality and indispensability of the local church. Political Church is a model for sound exegetical, biblical and systematic theology that makes a powerful argument. For anyone thinking seriously about ecclesiology, local church ministry, the relationship between church and state, or even religious liberty, this volume is a brilliant resource.”

“Difficult issues related to church, state and religious freedom arise on a daily basis and fill our newspapers and inboxes. In Political Church, Jonathan Leeman offers a way forward that we would do well to read and consider. The virtues of this book are considerable, ranging from its institutional reading of Scripture and the larger society to its trenchant critique of liberalism, with the latter's exaltation of the expansive self and its wants.”

“This is a very important book. Impressive in the depth and breadth of its sources, Political Church offers a fresh, cogent and well-informed model that deserves wide attention. Situating his arguments in past and present debates, Leeman formulates a unique paradigm for understanding simultaneously the nature of the church and its relation to the kingdoms of this age. Political Church is an example of a new level of evangelical reflection and serious engagement.”

“Leeman's well-argued book is a welcome reminder that the full reality of the church is to be found in the local congregation. I cannot imagine that his book will not become a standard work in this area of theological inquiry.”