The Great Doctrines of the Bible Part 29

He speaks of his greatest sin as consisting in persecuting the Church of G.o.d (1 Cor. 15:9). The supreme business of G.o.d in this age is the gathering of the Church. Some day it will be complete (Eph. 4:12), and then the age will have served its purpose.

I. DEFINITIONS; DISTINCTIONS.

1. OLD TESTAMENT USE OF THE WORD.

Lev. 4:13--"And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the a.s.sembly . .

. ." The Hebrew word for _a.s.sembly_ means to _call_ or _a.s.semble,_ and is used not only for the act of calling itself, but also for the a.s.sembly of the called ones. In this sense Israel is called a "church," an a.s.sembly, because called out from among the other nations to be a holy people (Acts 7:38, "the church in the wilderness"). There is always a religious aspect a.s.sociated with this particular call.

2. THE NEW TESTAMENT USE OF THE WORD.

It is from the New Testament primarily, if not really exclusively, that the real meaning and idea of the Church is derived. The Christian Church is a New Testament inst.i.tution, beginning with Pentecost, and ending, probably, with the rapture. Two words are of special importance in this connection:

a) Ecclesia, from Two Greek Words Meaning "To Call Out From."

This word is used in all about 111 times in the New Testament. It is used in a secular sense in Acts 19:39--"It shall be determined in a lawful a.s.sembly"; of Israel in the wilderness (Acts 7:38), and of the a.s.sembly of believers in Christ (Matt. 16:18; 18:17; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 5:25-27). In keeping with this idea the saints are said to be the "called-out" ones (Rom. 8:30; 1 Cor. 1:2; cf. 2 Cor.

6:17).

b) "Kuriakon"--That Which Belongs to the Lord.

So we have "the supper of the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:20); the "day of the Lord" (Rev. 1:10). See also Luke 22:25 and Rom. 14:8, 9, as ill.u.s.trating that over which the Lord has dominion and authority.

To sum up then: The Church is composed of the body of believers who have been called out from the world, and who are under the dominion and authority of Jesus Christ.

c) The Growth of the Church Idea in the New Testament.

At first there was but one Church at Jerusalem. The meetings may have been held in different houses, yet there was but one Church with one roster: so we read of the total membership consisting at one time of 120 (Acts 1:15), again of 3,000 (2:41), and still again of 5,000 (4:4), to which there were daily additions (2:47).

The apostles were at the head of the Church (2:41-47). See Acts, cc. 1 and 2, for a fuller account of the first Church.

The second stage in the growth of the Church was its spread throughout Judea and Samaria, as recorded in Acts 8.

Antioch, in Syria, then became the head of the Gentile Church (Acts 13:1), as Jerusalem was the head of the Jewish Church (Acts 15); Paul representing the Church at Antioch, and Peter and James at Jerusalem. The a.s.sembly at Antioch was called "the church" just as truly as was the a.s.sembly at Jerusalem (11:22; 13:1).

Because of the missionary activities of the apostles, especially Paul, churches sprang up in different cities, especially in Asia Minor, e.g., Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, and Philippi.

In view of all this the term "church" came to be used of the Church _universal,_ that is, the complete body of Christ as existing in every place (1 Cor. 15:9; Gal. 1:2, 13; Matt. 16:18); of _local_ churches in any one place (Col. 4:16; Phil. 4:15; 1 Cor. 1:2, etc.); of _single meetings,_ even where two or three met together (Matt. 18:19; Col. 4:15; Phil. 1:2; Rom. 16:5).

It is evident, then, from what has here been said, that by the term "church" is included all that is meant from the Church Universal to the meeting of the church in the house. Wherever G.o.d's people meet in the name of Christ to worship, there you have the Church.

3. DISTINCTIONS:

a) The Church and the Kingdom.

The Church (which is the mystery) and the Kingdom in mystery are now contemporary. The Kingdom will be fully manifested at the coming of Christ. The Church is within the Kingdom; probably the regenerate are "the children of the kingdom." The Kingdom is comprised of both good and bad (Matt. 13); the Church, of real saints only.

The Jews rejected the Kingdom under Christ and the apostles. That Kingdom, now rejected, will be set up again when the Messiah comes.

This conception will help us to understand the parables of Matthew 13, as well as the Sermon on the Mount. The tares are sown not in the Church, but in the field, which is the world. The Church may be looked upon as part of the Kingdom of G.o.d, just as Illinois is part of the United States. The Kingdom is present, in a sense, just as the King is present in the hearts of his own people. There is a difference between the Church and Christendom, just as there is a difference between possessing and professing Christians.

Baptized Christendom is one thing, and the Church of Christ is another.

b) The Church Visible and Invisible: Actual and Ideal.

The Church _Visible_ is composed of all those whose names are enrolled upon its roster; _Invisible,_ of those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life; _Actual,_ people imperfect, yet aiming after perfection, alive here on the earth; _Ideal,_ departed saints who are now triumphant in heaven (Heb.

12:23). There is a Church in heaven just as there is one upon the earth; indeed, it is but a part of the one Church; called the Church _militant_ while upon the earth, and the Church _triumphant_ in heaven.

c) The Church Local and Universal.

By the first is meant the Church in any particular place, such as "the church at Corinth"; by the latter, the Church as found in every place (1 Cor. 1:2).

II. THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH.

1. FORETOLD BY CHRIST.

Matt. 16:16-18--". . . . On this rock I will build my church." Here is the Church in prophecy and promise; the first mention of the Church in the New Testament. Note the distinction here recognized between the "Kingdom" and the "Church."

The Church is to be founded on Peter's confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of the living G.o.d. No supremacy is here given to Peter, as a comparison of these verses with John 20:19-23, and Matt.

18:18--in which the same privilege of the binding and loosing is given to the whole Church and to all the apostles--will show.

In Matthew 18:15-20 our Lord recognizes the fact of the Church, and also that it has the divine seal and sanction in the exercising of the power of the keys.

2. HISTORICALLY FOUNDED BY THE APOSTLES.

Acts 1-2:47. The promise and prophecy of Matt. 16:16-18 is here fulfilled. Here is the account of the first Christian Church in its glorious beginning, and as it actually existed in Jerusalem.

When a man became regenerate by believing in Jesus Christ he was thereby const.i.tuted a member of the Church. There was no question as to whether he ought to join himself to the Church or not; that was a fact taken for granted. So we read that the Lord was adding to the Church daily such as were being saved. The Church was already a concrete inst.i.tution to which every believer in Christ united himself.

"The Apostles' doctrine" formed the standard of faith--a fulfillment of Christ's prophecy and promise in Matthew 16:16-18: "On this rock I will build my church," etc.

The Church had _stated places of meeting:_ the upper room (Acts 1:13), the temple (5:12), the homes of members (2:46, 12:12), and the synagogue; _stated times of_ meeting: daily (2:46), each Lord's Day (20:7), the _regular hours_ of prayer (3:1; 10:9); _a regular church roll:_ 120 (1:15), 3,000 (2:41), 5,000 (4:4); _daily additions_ (2:47).

That there were definitely, regularly organized churches is clear from the fact that the Apostle Paul addressed many of his epistles to churches in different localities. The letters to the Corinthians (e.g., 1 Ep. 12-14) show that the churches had already recognized certain forms of service and liturgy; those to Timothy and t.i.tus presume a regularly organized congregation of believers. That there is a Church in the world is clear from 1 Cor. 5:9-13. The Christian Church is as much an ent.i.ty as the Gentile, or the Jew (1 Cor.

10:32). The existence of church officers proves the existence of the Church in an organized form: bishops and deacons (Phil. 1:1), elders (Acts 20:17), the presbytery (1 Tim. 4:14). Church letters were granted to members (Acts 18:27).

III. MEMBERSHIP IN THE CHURCH--ITS CONDITIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS.

1. REPENTANCE AND BAPTISM REQUIRED OF ALL ITS MEMBERS.

Acts 2:38-41--"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls."

2. FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AS THE DIVINE REDEEMER.

Matt. 16:16-18; Acts 2:38, 39. Peter's entire sermon in Acts 2 ill.u.s.trates this fact.

3. SAVED-REGENERATED.

Acts 2:47--". . . . And the Lord added to the church such as should be saved." Cf. John 3:3, 5. It was essential that the members of the early Church should be "added unto the Lord" before they were added to the Church (5:14; 11:24).

4. BAPTISM IN THE NAME OF THE TRIUNE G.o.d AS AN OPEN CONFESSION OF CHRIST.

Matt. 28:19--"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Acts 2:38-41; 10:47, 48; 22:16: cf. Rom. 10:9, 10.

5. ADHERENCE TO THE APOSTOLIC DOCTRINE.