Fundamental 9. 

The Church

What is the Church?  Is the Church important and if so, why?

How important is the church in God’s plan?

How important is it with respect to our relationship with God?

By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, God has revealed to us His own mind about the church.  We can know for sure.  We can know if it is true that a person can be just as close to God without being affiliated with the church or not.

In only three decades following the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven, Jesus’ disciples had fanned out to Greece, Rome, and beyond.  And by A.D. 60 there were small congregations meeting together regularly from Jerusalem to Rome.  Their message was impacting both Jews and Gentiles.

The story of the Man from Galilee began to grow, sometimes through one-on-one witnessing (Paul was guarded by a Roman soldier for two years) and sometimes through dynamic public messages in public forums.

The Christian believers met regularly and “joined together constantly in prayer” from the vey beginning.  In Acts 1:14-15 it is recorded 120 Christian believers met; and Acts 2:41 mentions that over 3,000 were added to the group and again in Acts 4:4 puts the number of believers at 5,000.   This practice of joining together was what Jesus had called “the church”

In the NT, the Greek word “ekklesia”, translated “church”, refers to a “called out” group or “assembly,” a word used regularly for secular (non religious) gatherings of any kind.

The Ephesus town clerk, trying to quell a near-riot said, “If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly [ekklesia]” (Acts 19:39).

People –Not Buildings

Applied to Christians, ekklesia meant the church—“those who have been called out to Jesus Christ.”  According to the New Bible Dictionary, it “mostly means a local organization of Christians and never a building.

One thing we learn about the church in the Scriptures is that it comes from God.  It is not a device or idea of man.  In Ephesians 3:10-11 we are told: “… so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.  This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that He has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

This text tells us several things about the church as the Lord designed and built it; NOT to be confused with churches that men have built.

God’s church as defined in Matthew 16:16-18 –  when Jesus asked Peter, “who do you say that I am”? Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah!  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my “church” and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 

When Jesus says the gates of Hades will not prevail against His community/His church, he is proclaiming that his community will NEVER die out.  The blessing of Peter is important to all of us, since Jesus promises to build his community on people like Peter, that is, those who make such a confession as Peter did.  He reminds Peter that he came to this conclusion about Jesus due to a revelation from God, not from human testimony. 

The play on words in verse 18 is between Peter, called “Rock,” and the Greek term for a shelf of rocks, which would include Peter but does not refer solely to him.

These texts tell us several things about the church as the Lord designed and built it.  It tells us:

1. The wisdom of God is made manifest in spiritual places through the church.
2. This was in accordance with God’s eternal purpose of His church.
3. This was carried out through Jesus Christ. 

Think about it.  The church was planned in the mind of God before the first star was created.  That the church exists today is the result of God’s eternal plan and carries forth his eternal purpose.  No other organization, group, collection, or body can claim this.

Based on this passage alone, it would be difficult to draw the conclusion that one can be just as close to God without being identified with His church.

The church is the universal body of Christ, composed of all believers everywhere.  The church exists so that we can worship God (Ephesians 5:16-19), serve one another (Ephesians 4:12), and share our faith (Mark 16:15).

The church is people and God has always had His people. There are many prophecies made in the Old Testament about the church that Jesus would one day establish.

From the time of the Fall, when God gave Adam and Eve His promise of the Redeemer (Genesis 3:15),  “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel;” all who have believed His promises have been His people.  “His people” is an excellent definition of church.

God called Abraham and promised him, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3).  God established an eternal covenant with the nation of Israel as His “chosen people”.

They were not chosen because of inherent superiority over other racial or ethnic groups, as described in Deuteronomy 7:7-8:  “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.  But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers.”

Merely being born into the nation of Israel did not make a person one of God’s people spiritually:  “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.  No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code” (Romans 2:28-29).

In Isaiah 2:3 we are told this kingdom, or church, would be established in Jerusalem; and a little over seven hundred years later, Jesus told His apostles that they would see His kingdom come with power and that they were to wait in Jerusalem for the promise to be fulfilled.  It was fulfilled just ten days after His ascension. (Mark 9:1; Acts 1:6-8; 2:1-4;30, 31).

And again in Isaiah 2:2; the church, or kingdom, would be open to all of every nation.  In fulfillment of this, Jesus sent His apostles out to preach the gospel to all nations. (Matthew 28: 18-20) Peter summed it up this way:  “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him. (Acts 10:34,35).

God’s People Described

Jesus used the word church a second time in Matthew18:17, instructing His followers to take disputes to the “church” as the place to arbitrate disagreements between Christians or others. The plan originated in His mind, and He described the simplest form of a church:  “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20).  Home alone watching church on T.V. or listening to the radio, while better than nothing, is not “Church”.

Then, beginning with Acts 2:47, the rest of the New Testament uses “church” constantly when referring to the collective gathering of the Christians.

The New Testament church, is defined in two ways:

• It is worldwide, “the whole company of regenerate persons . . . in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 5:24-25; Hebrews 12:23).

The author of Hebrews contrasts the church in the Old Testament with the church in the New Testament.

The contrast is a “spirituality of the law with a spirituality of grace”.

A spirituality of law, like Mt. Sinai, makes demands that cannot be endured, Hebrews 12:20 – For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.” and produces fear (v 21) – Indeed so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”

The gospel calls people away from the “forbidding darkness and gloom” of Mt. Sinai ((v. 18)- You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness and gloom, and a tempest,) to Mt. Zion, where a joyful gathering of believers shares in the privileges of firstborn children of God. 

A spirituality of grace does not require our blood, as does a spirituality of law (v.24) – and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

A spirituality of grace is participation in a new covenant community where we are made truly righteous and perfect because of the shedding of Jesus’ blood.

The same “reverent submission” that characterized the life of Jesus (5:7 – In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission) now characterizes our lives (v.28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe.)

This is the universal, invisible church.   It is universal, including all true believers in every place, those who have gone on as well as those still alive.  It is invisible, in that it includes all believers in Jesus Christ apart from a visible gathering: “God placed all things under his [Christ’s] feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body” (Ephesians 1:22-23).

• It is also the individual local group, or church – the group you belong to and the group I belong to.  The church may also be defined as that smaller company of regenerate persons who, in any given community, unite themselves voluntarily together in accordance with Christ’s laws, for the purpose of securing the complete establishment of His kingdom in themselves and in the world

Again, the church is people – not buildings.  Today we use the word church in several additional ways.  In answer to the question, “Where is your church?”  We are more likely to answer, “At 3700 Richard Allen Court” than “At County Hospital,” “Joe’s Texaco Station” or “The Federal Building”.

Truly a church is where its members are at any given time.

Part of our problem, in reaching the world today, results from our “building” mentality.  When we think of the activities of the church, we tend to think only of what goes on within the four walls of the church building, rather than what takes place in the world through what believers say, do, and are.

Three New Testament Pictures

The metaphors used for the church in the New Testament teach its multifunction for believers.

1.   The church is the “body of Christ.”  Jesus Christ Himself is the Head of the body.  Every member functions under the leadership of the Head and with interdependence upon other members:  “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.  So it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:4; Col. 3:15)

Christ leads the church, and it is to be subject to Him (Ephesians 5:23-24).  He is the source of its unity: “for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3;28)

Every part of the body is important.  As in the physical body, even the smallest part is as significant as the largest.  The unknown woman and man who pray are as important as the more visible teacher.  When one suffers the whole body suffers.  “There should be no division in the body” for each part is needed (1 Corinthians 12:25).

Members of the church are to have an intimate relationship with each other as well as with Christ; therefore, what hurts one member will hurt all, and when one member is honored, all the others will rejoice with him (1 Corinthians 12:26).

1. The church is the building of God:  “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5).  This household of God “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone “ (Ephesians 2:20).  This building, or temple, is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit; it is comprised of all individuals in whom the Holy Spirit lives (1 Corinthians 6:19).

The building of God is not made with brick and mortar, but with people who are “living stones.”  An empty church building is not the church, even though it may be where the church meets.  Those who attend are the dwelling place of God.

1. The church is the bride of Christ.  Marriage illustrates Christ’s relationship to the church (Ephesians 5:25-27, 31-32; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Rev. 19:7; 22:17).

This metaphor powerfully displays Christ’s intense love for His church and His total commitment to her.

To ask if one can become a Christian and not be joined to a body of believers, the building of God, or the bride of Christ would be tantamount to saying, “I’ll be married, but not see the bride again or join in any of her activities.  Maybe on Easter!”

God’s idea from the beginning was to join the lonely into His covenant family.  This is part of His plan for us when we trust His Son and are called “children of God” (Psalms 68:6; John 1:120).

The biblical picture of the normal Christian life is to meet regularly together with other Christians.

This should answer the questions asked at the outset.  What is the Church?  Is it important and if so why?  And, finally, how important is the church in God’s plan?

A Close Look at the First Church

By reading the New Testament, we learn about the activities and membership requirements of the first church.  The first meeting of he first church, as described in Acts 2:42, gives us a picture of its four prime activities.

• The apostles and those who had been with Jesus taught them.

All they had heard Jesus say and do, the apostles declared to the believers. The last week of Jesus’ life was spent with the disciples pouring out His heart with all the basics.  He told them to make disciples of all nations teaching them “everything I have commanded you” (John 10-17; Matthew 28:20).  For us, a church can only be founded on those basic biblical teachings.

• Fellowship was the second activity of the some 3,000 believers.  This was not a routine visit to the local building called “church”, followed by a quick exit and no contact for at least another week.  There was mutual involvement, caring, studying the teaching, living as a close-knit community.  This would be “oneness,” as Jesus called it.

• “The breaking of bread” was their usual term for “the Lord’s Supper”, remembering Jesus’ death.  It was not a feast for the physically hungry, rather an event based on Jesus’ words “do this in remembrance of me,” in honor of His climactic death, the ultimate sacrifice of God for His church (Luke 22:9).

Along with this, it was a time of inner examination, giving thanks and seeking purity of life congruent with obeying the Lord.

• Prayer was a common practice in the early church.  The first meeting of the disciples as recorded in Acts 1:14 tells of them meeting to pray:  “They all joined constantly in prayer.”

Membership Requirements

Requirements for church membership focused on the basics.

1. Belief in the Lord Jesus Christ was the first ingredient, (Acts 2:38).  Faith in Christ, which normally included repentance for sin, was (and still is) the spiritual prerequisite to new life and membership in the body of Christ.

When people asked Jesus the question, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”  He answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:28-29).

2. Baptism, with repentance, was for everyone, “in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins” (Acts 2:38). Then believers received the promised follow-up of “the gift of the Holy Spirit”.  

From the practice of the Apostle John, Jesus Himself, Philip, and the Ethiopian, water baptism is implied as a practice of those who believe in God.  Some earnest Christians believe that the “one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5) is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and that water baptism is not God’s purpose for Christians today.

3. Acting on revealed truth was another membership requirement. Paul warned of false teachers arising within the church (Philippians 3:2), and Peter echoed the same solemn theme.  Throughout the New Testament there is emphasis on doctrinal purity and holiness of life.

Doctrinal or moral impurity was to be purged from the church (1 Corinthians 5:7).

4. Witnessing was a visible characteristic of the church as a whole. Some had the special gift of evangelism.  Their goal was the communication and preservation of the Gospel message to the immediate world and throughout the entire world. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).

5. Serving stood out as the normal function of church members as they met the physical and spiritual needs of both believer and unbelievers: “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10).  Christ Himself was the example; He “went around doing good” (Acts 10:38)

As Leon Morris puts it, “During the history of the church there have been many variations from the New Testament pattern. Ministerial forms evolved in a variety of ways.” That there was some organization at the local level in New Testament time is evident.

There were:

• Stated meetings (Acts 20:7)
• Elected deacons (Acts 6:5-6)
• Discipline of Christians (1 Corinthians 5:13)
• Letters of commendation (Acts 18:27)
• Lists of widows for support (1 Timothy 5:9)

God gave spiritual gifts to the church to prepare God’s people for works of service, “so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12 – to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ). There is no clear distinction between clergy and laity, either in terms of church government or spiritual ministry.   That distinction comes from man!

PERIODS OF MINISTRY

1. C. Hammond outlines the three periods in the development of the organizational structure of the New Testament ministry:

• The first period included the following:

–Jesus’ ministry with the seventy whom He commissioned.

–the apostolic ministry of those given leadership after Pentecost, and

–the ministry of deacons, elders, and bishops.  (The three pastoral epistles give the principles and qualifications for the ministry in1-2 Timothy and Titus)

• The transitional period.  During most of the lifetime of the apostles, the New Testament had been circulated to the various Christian communities.  The aim was to ensure the local community had received the New Testament revelation of Christ direct from the Spirit of God.  There was no evidence of an unending succession of apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20; 3:5; 4:11).
• The permanent ministry.  A bishop or elder taught spiritual truth and exercised rule and discipline in the local church.  “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.  Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” (Hebrews. 13:7 see also 1 Timothy 5:17).  Deacons also helped administer the business of a church (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Timothy 3:8-12, though it is clear there are spiritual overtones to their activity. 

In many denominations and sects throughout church history, the views of the ministry fall generally into one of three groups: the episcopal, the presbyterial, or the congregational.  These terms, as here used, refer to systems of church government rather than to denominations.

EPISCOPALIANISM 

Bishops govern the church in the Episcopalian system, and they hold the major authority.  Also, there are presbyters (or priests) and deacons under him/her.  Only bishops have power to ordain.  They trace their office back centuries to the Apostles; hence the term used is “apostolic succession.”  The Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopal, Methodist, and some Lutheran churches have the episcopal form of government.

This system is actually not found in the New Testament.  Those who hold to this type of church government, however, feel that it was a natural development in the second-century church.  They see in the work of some New Testament figures, a transition between the itinerant ministry of the apostles and the more settled ministry of the later bishops.

Let there be no misunderstanding about the term “Apostolic Succession” in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  In our Doctrine and Discipline Part II– Doctrinal Affirmation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Section III. Special Declaration on” Apostolic Succession and Ritualism”, this ritual is found to be abhorrent and is NOT practiced in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

We need to know what we believe and why.  And while the Episcopalian polity governs us, we do not adhere to “Apostolic Succession”

PRESBYTERIANISM 

Elders in Presbyterianism govern the church.  Presbyterians recognize that in the New Testament the terms elder and bishop are used interchangeably, are considered equal to each other, and are clearly very important in the group’s ministry.  In each local church, it would seem, a number of elders formed a kind of committee to handle church affairs.  In New Testament times they acted with the apostles (Acts 15) and when the apostles finally passed from the scene elders became the leading officers.

The members of the local congregation also appear to have had a voice in the selection of those who would minister to them.  They chose the seven deacons (Acts 6:1-6) and apparently had a hand in setting aside Paul and Barnabas for missionary work (Acts12:1-3).

Presbyterians usually make a distinction between teaching and ruling elders (1 Tim. 5:17).  The teaching elder is the principal minister, ordained by the “laying on of the hands” of other elders.  This is, in the presbyterial view, ordination to the church worldwide, not to some small part of it.

Ruling elders are chosen by the congregation and admitted to their office by ordination.  They may not preach, baptize, or administer Communion, but they assist in the government of the church and in the exercise of discipline.  They also have responsibility for the financial affairs of the church.

The word “ordination” is not used anywhere in the New Testament.  The RSV translates the word as “appoint” (Acts 14:23)” Paul and Barnabas “appointed” elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.”  Both Mark (3:13-15) and Luke (6:13-16) record Jesus’ calling those He wanted to be with Him, that is, “the twelve.”

He designated them as apostles, meaning, “messenger” or “one sent with a special commission.”

It is significant that both Mark and Luke tell of Jesus spending the previous night in prayer.  Matthias was simply “enrolled” as a replacement apostle for Judas (Acts 1:26, Revised Standard Version).

When the need arose for some to care for the needy in the church, the twelve apostles appointed “the Seven,” as they came to be known, for this work.  With prayer and laying on of hands and prayer these men were appointed.

The actions of laying on of hands and prayer were frequently used in ways other than to appoint someone to a work, and were even practiced in the Old Testament.  It is difficult to see, however, in this kind of event a prototype ordination.

CONGREGATIONALISM

The local congregation is autonomous in the congregational form of church government.  Every group whose emphasis is on the autonomy of each congregation would be included here.  Such groups include Baptists, the Evangelical Free Church, the Open Brethren, Christians (Disciples), and some Bible and other independent churches.  Followers of this polity hold that no one man or group of men should exercise authority over a local congregation of Christ’s church.

With some exceptions, these churches have two types of ministers – pastors and deacons.  Pastors have oversight of the congregation.  They are usually ordained or set apart in a service attended by representatives of other similar congregations.  Deacons (or, sometimes, elders) are generally assigned the responsibility of watching over the spiritual and material needs of the local congregation.

Congregationalists, as most other Protestants, deny that ordination imparts special grace to a man.

Two basic ideas are behind the congregational view of the ministry, and they have biblical precedent.  One is that Christ is the Head of His church, in living vital contact with it.

Therefore, the church is not to be understood as consisting of “two or three officials,” but “two or three believers”, gathered together in His name, in whose midst Christ promises to be (Matthew 18:20).

The second basic idea is the priesthood of all believers, common to most other Protestants as well.   Strictly speaking there are no laymen in the church.  All believers are priests (1 Peter 2:9) – “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praise of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 

As believers and priests, we are representatives of God and we are to witness and minister to men in His name and power.

Almost all churches fit into one of the above three groupings so far as polity is concerned. 

According to biblical teaching each Christian is also a saint, implying a person is holy through Christ’s new life.  Since human righteousness falls far short of God’s personal holiness, a “bestowed” or given righteousness is ours when we wholeheartedly believe in “Christ’s death.  This happens at the new birth or salvation.  We do not achieve sainthood by our own achievements or greatness “but …through….righteousness

 that comes from God and is by faith.” (Phil

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CHURCH ORDINANCES 

There are numerous differences of opinion about the number and nature of ordinances or sacraments in the church.  Ordinances are outward rites that signify or represent spiritual grace or blessing.

The Roman Catholic Church has seven sacraments: baptism, the Lord’s Supper, confirmation, penance, orders, matrimony, and extreme unction.

Protestants maintain, however, that Scripture recognizes only two ordinances – baptism and Lord’s Supper.

Generally, Roman Catholics teach that objective merit or grace is conferred by the sacraments.  By contrast to this seeming mechanical view, most Protestants emphasize faith and the working of God directly in each believer. 

The meaning of baptism is perhaps most fully explained in Romans 6:1-4, though some Christians insist that this chapter does not have baptism with water in view.  Baptism has been called “an outward sign of an inward grace,” a declaration and public identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.

Protestants are divided on the issue of baptism: should it be only adults who make a profession of faith in Christ, or should infants also be baptized?  Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists, and certain others practice infant baptism, whereas Baptists, Disciples, and a great number of independent churches hold to baptism following belief.

Those who are baptized as infants often later make some public declaration of faith, usually as they enter into a personal commitment to Christ.

For the Lord’s Supper most Christians agree on their obligation to observe the Lord’s request, “Do this in remembrance of me”.  The Lord’s Supper was to be a memorial and a “showing forth” or declaration, of His death till He returns (1 Corinhians 11:23-26)

Traditional Roman Catholic teaching has held that in the Lord’s Supper the bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Jesus, though their appearance remains the same.

This view is called transubstantiation – a view that assumes that the body and blood of Christ are offered every time the mass is observed.

Scripture, however, emphatically contradicts such ideas.  Christ’s death on the cross was a complete and fully effective sacrifice, and He died once for all (Hebrews 10:10; 7:27; 9:12).

Lutherans believe in consubstantiation.  In this view, Christ is present with the unchanged substance of the bread.

Most Protestants, however, believe either that the elements are a symbolic memorial or that by faith the believer, in the Communion, enters into a special spiritual union with his Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Though participation in neither of these ordinances alone makes a person a Christian, every true believer should want to show his devotion to Christ by giving public witness in baptism and remembering Him in the Lord’s Supper.

No “Lone-Wolf” Christians

There is no such thing as a “lone-wolf” Christian.  Each genuine Christian, regardless of denomination, is spiritually one with every other believer.  All are in the church universal.  We are united in Christ, who is our life. 

When Christians are alive to Jesus Christ, they are like coals in a fire—they keep the flame alive, as they stay connected.  Left alone coals die out.  When Christians separate and become lone wolves they, too, can grow cold in their own hearts.

If we are obedient to Jesus, we will identify with and join other believers for worship and service.  In so doing, we not only contribute our own unique gifts to the fellowship to be used by God to help bless others, but we are also blessed.

 

10 FUTURE THINGS TO COME -Summary Fundamental

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