Paul, the Gospel of the Kingdom, and the Birth of the Body of Christ

The question assumes a tight linkage: if Paul is still preaching the gospel of the kingdom, then the body of Christ has not yet begun. From that premise it is argued that the body of Christ cannot have started in Acts 9.

There are two issues to address:

1. Whether the continued preaching of the kingdom necessarily excludes the existence of the body of Christ.
2. Where, in Acts, the distinct message of the body of Christ first appears with clarity.

Continued Kingdom Preaching in Acts

It is accurate to observe that kingdom themes continue throughout Acts. In the final verse we read:

"Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him." Acts 28:31

Here Paul, at the end of Acts, is still "preaching the kingdom of God." If one holds that any reference to the kingdom or its proclamation is incompatible with the existence of the body of Christ, consistency would push the beginning of the body of Christ to some point after Acts 28. That is essentially the Acts 28 dispensational position.

However, such an assumption—that proclamation of the kingdom must cease before or at the moment the body of Christ begins—is not demanded by the text. It is quite possible to have an overlap:

• The kingdom promises and message still being proclaimed to Israel.
• The newly revealed message of grace apart from the law being proclaimed as well.

Acts, in fact, shows different audiences and different emphases at different points. Paul can address Jews with kingdom–related themes and at the same time proclaim to others a message of justification apart from the law.

A Key Text for the Message of the Body of Christ

A significant pivot appears in Acts 13:38–39:

"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."

Here Paul announces:

• Universal availability: "all that believe."
• A justification that covers "all things," explicitly contrasted with what was possible "by the law of Moses."

This is the first explicit statement in Acts that presents justification by faith alone, apart from the Mosaic law, in such comprehensive terms. It matches the later Pauline teaching characteristic of the body of Christ: justification by grace through faith, apart from works of the law, and apart from Israel’s covenants and national program.

On this basis, one can reasonably argue:

The distinct message associated with the body of Christ first becomes clearly evident in Acts 13, even if Paul’s conversion and calling occur earlier in Acts 9.

Overlap of Programs Rather Than Instant Replacement

Acts presents a transitional period. Elements of the kingdom program to Israel and elements of the new Pauline revelation both appear. For example:

• Paul preaches in synagogues, reasoning from the Scriptures about Jesus as Messiah—language very much at home in the kingdom context.
• At the same time, he proclaims justification for all who believe, apart from the law—language characteristic of the body of Christ.

Thus, the presence of kingdom preaching does not by itself prove the absence of the body of Christ. Both could operate in parallel for a time as God moves from Israel’s kingdom offer toward the predominance of the mystery revealed to Paul.

Response to the Specific Claim

To the statement, "The body of Christ didn't start in Acts 9 because Saul was still preaching the kingdom, the gospel of the kingdom," the following can be said:

• It is true that in Acts 9 Paul has not yet publicly unfolded the full message later associated with the body of Christ.
• It is also true that kingdom themes continue well beyond Acts 9, even to Acts 28.
• The mere presence of kingdom preaching does not logically require that the body of Christ has not yet begun; Acts demonstrates a transitional overlap.
• A strong textual case for the body–of–Christ message can be made from Acts 13:38–39 onward.

Consequently, one need not link the beginning of the body of Christ strictly to Acts 9, nor deny that kingdom preaching occurs afterward. A more cautious approach is to recognize that Paul’s conversion in Acts 9 initiates a process, and the distinct Pauline message of justification apart from the law emerges clearly by Acts 13, while kingdom proclamation to Israel continues alongside it for some time.