ECCLESIOLOGY
The Doctrine of the Church
In
developing a philosophy of the church, it will be helpful to first see the
church as a whole before examining the particulars.
WHAT
IS THE CHURCH?
Our
English word “church” is translated from the Greek word ekklesia. It is a compound word made up of the joining
of two Greek words.
The
resulting word describes a called-out assembly.
It can refer to a secular assembly, a legal assembly, or a religious
assembly.
The
resulting word describes a “called out assembly.” It can refer to a secular assembly, a legal
assembly, or to a religious assembly. It
is the last usage that we normally see in the New Testament when we hear the
word “church.” As such, it can refer to
four different types of church.
1. The Local Congregation.
This is the most common use of the word in the New
Testament. It refers to the gathering of
people into a local congregation. In 1
Corinthians 1:2, Paul addresses his epistle to the
2. The
This speaks of the complete body of Christ, made up of
all believers throughout the world and throughout all time. Ephesians 1:22 speaks of the universal church
when it describes Jesus being the head of the church (see also Ephesians
5:23-24). In the same way, Ephesians
3:10 speaks of the manifold wisdom of God being given to the church.
3. A Group of Local Congregations.
The word “church” can be used of a group of local
congregations in a particular area that goes beyond a single group of people.
• Acts 9:31 tells us how the church
throughout all Judea and Galilee and
• The
• House
churches met as a part of the local church (1 Corinthians 16:19; Romans 16:3-5;
Colossians 4:15-26; Philemon 1:2).
THE
There
are five major and foundational truths set forth in the Scriptures concerning
the universal church that play a vital part in our understanding of how the
church functions and operates.
1. There is only
The fact that there is one church is to be the basis
of unity among believers. This becomes
immediately obvious if we examine the context of Ephesians 4:4. This unity is so strong that it is to break
past any prejudices between Jew or Gentiles, male or female, slave or
free. This means there is not to be one
church for Jews and another for Gentiles.
There is not to be one church for slaves and another for free men. We are all one in Christ.
This principle has some implications with regard to
Dispensationalism—the view that God has two separate and distinct assemblies of
people in
2. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church: For the husband is the head of the wife,
as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the
body (Ephesians 5:23); He is also head of the body, the church... (Colossians
1:18).
The head is the most important part of any body. It is indispensable. Even the heart can be transplanted and
replaced, but a body without its head is unthinkable. Just as a human body is controlled and
directed by its head, so also the church is to be controlled and directed by
its Head, Jesus Christ. He is the leader
of the church, its Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4), and its High Priest (Hebrews
9:11).
3. The Church is Holy: Do
you not know that you are a
Notice that Paul does not say merely that the church
will someday become holy. It is holy
right now. This quality of holiness
indicates that which is set apart from the world and set apart from the
sinfulness and impurity of the world and set apart for a special purpose. Though the church is still in the world, it
is no longer of the world.
4. Every Believer is a Priest of God.
In the Old Testament economy, God set apart a group of
men who were designated as priests. They
were the sons of Aaron from the tribe of Levi.
They wore special robes and were given the responsibility of ministering
in the temple. They were the only ones
who could enter into the temple. They
were the only ones authorized to administer the sacrifices. In this way, they served as mediators between
God and men.
Jesus Christ did away with this system by becoming our
perfect High Priest, offering up Himself as the perfect sacrifice. He also brought about an assembly in which
every member is a priest.
...you
also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ (1 Peter 2:5).
But
you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's
own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called
you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).
Every member of the body of Christ has been set apart
and consecrated as a priest of God. This
is a special priesthood. It is called a
“royal priesthood.” The priesthood in
the Old Testament economy was never known by this title. This priesthood is unique in that it does not
come down through Aaron, but through the King of kings, Jesus Christ.
5. The Mandate of the church is to Make Disciples.
This mandate was given in the last words of Jesus to
His disciples before he departed to heaven.
It was a command to make disciples of all men.
Go
therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20).
The main verb of this passage and therefore the
primary command is to “make disciples.”
The other verbs are all given in the Greek text as participles and thus
describe the steps that are to be used in making disciples.
• Going.
The church is to be mission-minded. It is not to have a fortress mentality in
which it isolates itself from the world.
Instead, it is to be invading the world, going out to accomplish its
work of making disciples.
• Baptizing.
The reference to baptism is a summarization of the
evangelistic and conversion ministry of the church. Baptism is the outward sign of such inner
conversion.
• Teaching.
It is not enough to make converts. The business of the church is to take those
converts and to train them so that they will become disciple makers.
UNIVERSAL
PRINCIPLES FOR A
The
five principles we have just examined are very basic and are generally met with
agreement by all within the realm of Christian orthodoxy. However, there is considerably less agreement
as to how we are to take these principles and put them into practice within the
local church.
The
point should be made that the Bible never makes a clear distinction between the
universal church versus the local church.
It is because of this lack of a distinction that I want to suggest the
local church is to be seen as a microcosm of the universal church. The qualities that are true of the universal
church are to be mirrored in the practices of the local church.
1.
There is Only One
Church.
This principle is to be demonstrated in the face of
the differences that exist within the church.
It requires us to hold to our unity in the face of our
disagreements. The obvious question
arises as to the place of denominations within Christianity. I believe the answer is just as obvious —
they have come about as a result of sin in the church.
Does this mean we should take a stance of
non-denominationalism? Not necessarily,
since the very stance of non-denominationalism has become in itself a
denomination of its own.
What it does mean is that the Christian church should
always be ready to unite and to work with other Christians at whichever level
it is able. There will be times when,
due to differing doctrinal persuasions, this will not be possible. But the effort should be made to break down
the barriers whenever possible.
2. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church.
Most local churches are ruled by a head known as the
pastor, the preacher, the reverend, or some other exalted title. This is a very old tradition, going all the
way back to the apostolic fathers and witnessed as early as the epistles of
Ignatius. However, such a tradition is
remarkably absent from the pages of the New Testament. Instead of a one-man-rule, we see the pattern
of a plurality of elders within the book of Acts and in the epistles.
Not once in the New Testament is any one man besides
Jesus Christ held up as the leader of any local church. Even when Paul speaks of those particular
elders who rule well and who are considered worthy of double honor (1 Timothy
5:17), he refers to them in the plural.
In a day when too many churches have departed from
this Biblical pattern, it is not surprising that people tend to focus their
attention on the man in the pulpit rather than on the true Head of the church.
The adoption of this principle will have a tremendous
effect upon the direction of the church.
Most churches derive their vision and their identity from one man — the
senior pastor. If he is primarily an
evangelist, then the church will have evangelism as its primary emphasis to the
exclusion of other aspects of ministry.
However, a plurality of leaders allows for emphasis
and vision in different areas of ministry within the church because different
leaders will focus their efforts along the separate lines in which they have
been gifted. This does not preclude
having a single man who serves as the senior pastor, but it allows other
leaders to utilize their own gifts within the church.
3. The Church is Holy.
The holiness of the local church is to be manifested
in both doctrinal and practical purity.
This brings up the question as to the level of doctrinal purity. At what point is doctrine to cause division
within the church? Many artificial lines
have been drawn by well-meaning people, but I think they have been generally
drawn without regard for an appreciation of the relationship of the universal
church to the local church.
The doctrinal purity is to be such that the
requirements for entrance into the local church ought to be no more and no less
than the requirements for entrance into God’s universal church. The requirement is one of true and sincere
repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Scriptures give us very specific guidelines as to
the maintaining of practical purity within the church, both through the
positive means of exhorting and encouraging us, as well as through the negative
means of discipline and excommunication.
4. Every Believer is a Priest of God.
The priesthood of the believer ought to be manifested
within the local church in a way that is similar to the way in which the
Aaronic priesthood was manifested under the Old Testament economy. How was the Aaronic priesthood
manifested? The priest was one who
performed the service of worship on behalf of the people.
Today’s church services are often constituted as a
spectator sport in which the participation o the audience/congregation is
limited to singing and putting money into the offering plate. The pattern displayed in the New Testament is
quite different.
What
is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a
teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things
be done for edification. (1 Corinthians 14:26).
This picture of the meeting of the early church is one
of group participation in which every believer served as a priest to every
other member of the group. This was not
to be done in as disorganized manner, but neither was it so restricted in its
regulation that it was only the ministry of a single individual.
29 And let
two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. 30 But if
a revelation is made to another who is seated, let the first keep silent. 31 For you
can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; 32 and the
spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; 33 for God
is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
(1 Corinthians 14:29-33).
The preaching and teaching and exhortation and prayers
of the church were never designed to by only the activity of a single man. Paul’s language makes it clear that there is
to be a plurality among those who preach and prophecy in the meeting of the
church. There are several reasons for
this.
First of all, it is so that there can be a system of
checks and balances within the meeting of the church. This is to guard against a single pastor
going off the deep end. The other
leaders of the church are to keep him answerable to the word of God.
Secondly, this pluralization of ministry is so that
the Spirit can minister to the body through a multiplicity of spiritual
gifts. I have yet to meet a single
person who possesses in himself all of the spiritual gifts. The tendency within a typical one-man-ministry
is to focus only upon those gifts that the one man in the pulpit
possesses. By divesting the leadership
of the church into a number of different men, the focus of that ministry ceases
to be limited.
5. The Mandate of the Church is to Make Disciples.
The primary duty of the church is not to stop abortion
or to elect Republicans into political office or to close down all ungodly
establishments by passing Christian legislation. That is not to say that Christians should not
be involved in these issues, but it does mean that this should never become the
primary focus of the church. The church
is to make disciples. The way in which
this is to be accomplished has already been laid out for us.
• Going.
The work of evangelism is not to take place
exclusively or even primarily within the walls of the church or its regular
meeting. This is not to say that the
gospel cannot be presented within the worship service, but it does mean that
our emphasis should be in taking the gospel to those who are outside of the
church.
• Baptizing.
The church is to have an emphasis on evangelism and in
converting people to the cause of Christ.
• Teaching.
Once
converts have been made, then it is the business of the church to train them up
in the faith so they can be involved in this same ministry. Paul gave these instructions about passing on
the faith: And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of
many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others
also (2 Timothy 2:2).
THE
IMPORTANCE OF A PROPER VIEW OF THE CHURCH
One’s
view of the church and of prioritizing the various aspects of the church will
have a major effect upon how ministry is structured. This is observed in the major Christian
denominations.
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Roman Catholicism |
Sees the Mass
as being central to the church. For
this reason, there is limited emphasis upon preaching, to the extent that for
much of the history of the church the Mass was conducted in a foreign
language. |
|
Reformed Tradition |
Placed a high
priority upon the reading and study of the Scriptures. The sermon was seen as central. |
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Baptist |
Tends to view
evangelism as preeminent and this is the basis for the “altar call” and the
“pulpit evangelism” that characterizes the service. |
|
Charismatic |
Their priority
is a “worship experience” that emphasizes group interaction and participation
within the service. |
A
view of the church also has an influence on how the church relates to
society. This has had a major impact in the church in history.
|
Roman Catholicism |
Sees the church
as properly being over society. All
things, including government, are to be subservient to the church |
|
Reformed Tradition |
Sees the church
as exerting transformation influence upon society as it is salt and light to
the earth. This mandates the church’s
involvement in politics and social issues. |
|
Baptist & Independent Churches |
They have often
adopted a stance of separation of church and state that sees the church as
separated from and having nothing to do with society. |
|
Religious Liberalism |
This is the
exact opposite of the Reformed Tradition.
It attempts to make the church a part of society by transforming the
church so that it fits the patterns and morals of society. Thus if society affirms homosexuality, the
church will also accept and affirm a homosexual lifestyle. |
METAPHORS
OF THE CHURCH
The
Bible uses a number of word pictures to portray the church. We call these pictures “metaphors.” In each of these metaphors, a physical object
is used to illustrate some specific aspect of the church.
1. The Church as a Body.
For
even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the
body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by
one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether
slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians
12:12-13).
The point made by Paul in this passage is that the
church is much more than an organization.
It is an organic living body.
Though it is composed of many different parts, it is still a single
body. This has several ramifications.
• The
principle of unity.
There is to be unity within the church. A body that is divided is soon a corpse. If the church is to be healthy and alive, it
also needs to be united.
• The
principle of diversity.
This means there should be diversity within the unity
of the body. Just as the body is made up
only of arms or only of legs or only of eyes, so the church is not to be made
up only of pastors or only of evangelists or only of exhorters.
• The
principle of headship.
Jesus is the head of the body. Each of these metaphors has a focus upon
Jesus as the leader of the church.
2. The Church is a Vine.
We no longer live in an agricultural economy, so we
are not as attuned to such metaphors.
This particular symbol is drawn from the Old Testament nation of
8 Thou
didst remove a vine from
Thou didst drive out the nations, and didst plant it.
9 Thou
didst clear the ground before it,
And it took deep root and filled the land. (Psalm
80:8-9).
The nation of
Let
me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.
My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. 2 And He
dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine.
And He built a tower in the middle of it, And hewed out a wine vat in it; Then
He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones.
(Isaiah 5:1-2).
After all the care and devotion that the Lord gave for
His vine, when the time arrived that there should be fruit, the fruit that was
produced was not of a kind to be desired.
It was fruit, but it was not the right kind of fruit. Isaiah goes on to say in verse 7 that the
Lord looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but
behold, a cry of distress.
Jesus takes this same analogy of the vine of the Lord
and adds something new and different. He
says that HE is the vine and that we are only considered to be a part of that
vine if we are connected to Him.
I
am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every
branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that
bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:1-2).
As the vine, Jesus is the source of nourishment to all
of the branches that make up its different parts. When Jesus calls Himself the true vine, He
seems to be distinguishing Himself from those other false vines that might
claim to be vines in their own right.
The principle that is the key ingredient in the
fruitfulness of the church is centered in its relationship with the Lord. It is only as the branch is connected to the
vine that it is able to bear fruit. Cut
a branch from the vine and you also cut it off from the very source of
life. Inversely, it is by the
fruitfulness of the branch that you can tell whether it is connected to the
vine.
3. The Church is a House.
So
then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with
the saints, and are of God's household, 20 having been built upon
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the
corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together is
growing into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are
being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22).
The concept of the house of God goes back to the Old
Testament. When Moses led the Israelites
into the wilderness, God gave specific instructions for the building of a
tabernacle. When it was completed, the
presence of God, as manifested by the cloud, came and rested upon the tent of
meeting.
Later, when the tabernacle was replaced by Solomon’s
temple, the same cloud was seen to fill the temple, signifying that God had
moved into His house. Likewise, the
prophets of the exile spoke of the presence of the Lord departing from His
temple. Even when the temple was rebuilt
after the Babylonian Captivity, the post Exilic prophets would do no more than
promise that one day the Lord would return to His temple.
When Jesus spoke of the temple of God being destroyed
and raised again in three days, He was referring to the temple of His body
(John 2:19-21). In Him all of the
fulness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell (Colossians 1:19).
The New Testament teaches us that the church is the
house and the
• Collectively
the church is the
• Individually
each member of the church is a
We should understand it is not the physical structure
in which the meeting of the church is held that is to receive such a high
priority as the people who meet within that structure. They are the church. A church that recognizes this principle will
not place so much emphasis upon the physical church structure and will center
its attention on people.
4. The Church is a Bride.
The nation of
The same imagery is seen of the New Testament Church. In Ephesians 5:25-33, as Paul presents an
exhortation to husbands and wives, he said that these same truths apply to
Christ and to the church. As such, the
church is to be chaste, giving her single minded attention to her husband, We
are not called to be “once-a-week saints.”
5. The Church is a Kingdom.
God promised to Abraham that He would make him a great
nation (Genesis 12:2). When Moses led
the Israelites from
But
you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's
own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called
you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).
In the nation of
6. The Church is a Flock.
The Lord in the Old Testament often described Himself
as the Shepherd of Israel. Psalm 23
starts off by saying, “The Lord is my shepherd.” Throughout Ezekiel 34, the Lord refers to the
nation of
Jesus takes up this same title for Himself in John
10:1-18, saying in verse 14, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays
down His life for the sheep.” We are
the sheep who belong to the Good Shepherd and, as His flock, we are called to
follow our Shepherd with faith and obedience, listening to His voice so that we
will recognize Him.
7. The Church is a Family.
Jesus speaks of entrance into spiritual life as being
born again. When you are born, you find
yourself entering into a family. We have
been born again into the family of God and we have been given the privilege of
calling ourselves the children of God (John 1:12). We have received an adoption—a placement into
God’s family as legal children and heirs.
With this privilege comes great responsibility. We are to act the part of God’s children.
THE
ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH
When
we begin to speak about the organization and the structure of the church, some
people will object that we are trying to bring alien forms and trying to impose
them upon the body of Christ. “The
church is a natural organism,” they say.
“You should just let it be itself.”
The
problem with this line of thinking is that even natural organisms have their
own organization and structure. We have
a God of organization and structure who tells us to let all things be done
properly and in an orderly manner (1 Corinthians 14:40). The Lord established the form of government
for His church by means of the officers that he gave for the duty of
oversight. This is stated in Paul’s
address to the Ephesian elders:
Be
on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers, to shepherd the
Notice
who it was that made these men overseers in the church. It was not Paul or any of the other
apostles. It was the Holy Spirit. This is the principle of Just Divinum —
“Divine Right.”
1. The Principle of Divine Right.
This principle has been used in the past to say that
kings received a divine right from heaven to rule over their nations. I am not so sure that the principle
necessarily applies to all forms of human government, but I DO think it applies
to church government.
2. The Regulative Principle.
This principle states that God regulates His church
and the activity that goes on in His church.
Practically speaking, it means that God regulates how He is to be
worshiped. We are not free to worship
God in any way we like. He demands that
He be worshiped in the ways in which He has ordered. This is vividly illustrated in Leviticus 10:1
when Nadab and Abihu attempted to worship the Lord using “strange fire,” that
is, fire that was not according to that which had been prescribed by God. They were struck dead for their
transgression.
The church has had some very different ideas
concerning the regulative principle.
Luther and Calvin each came into the Reformation with a kettle full of
traditions in worship. Luther said,
“Let's take anything that is condemned by the Scriptures out of the
kettle.” Calvin said, “Let's dump the
kettle and anything that the Bible teaches about worship can go back into it.”
|
Roman Catholic & Lutheran |
Reformed Tradition |
|
We are free to worship the
Lord in any way that is not forbidden. |
We are to worship the Lord
only in those ways He has commanded. |
|
That which is not expressly
forbidden in the Scriptures is permitted. |
That which is not expressly
commanded in the Scriptures is forbidden. |
This has some very practical implications. It means you cannot say, “I know that Jesus
taught His disciples to pray to the Father, but I would like to pray to the
Virgin Mary.” You are not allowed to
worship any way you like. You are to
worship God in the way He likes. You are
to follow the pattern of worship set forth in the Bible.
3. A Responsible Leadership.
Obey
your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those
who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for
this would be unprofitable for you. (Hebrews 13:17).
It is a very heavy responsibility to be an elder or a
deacon in the church. Leaders will have
to give an accounting of their people to the Lord. Notice that there is a dynamic overlapping
tension between leaders and the people they lead. Leaders are responsible to lead in a way that
shows their submission to the Lord and those whom they lead are to follow in a
way that shows that same submission.
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God’s Instructions |
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To Leaders |
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To the People |
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Don’t lord it over the people |
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Obey your leaders and submit to them |
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On the one hand, God says to the leaders, “Don’t get
carried away with your authority.” But
when those whom they lead are tempted to say, “That’s right, they can’t tell me
what to do,” the Lord says to them, “You obey those leaders and submit to
them.”
4. The Revelation of God’s Plan for Church Organization.
How has Jesus manifested how He wants His church
ordered? Did He preach a sermon
entitled, “Rules for Church Structure?”
No. He has used to specific
means:
• Explicit
teaching.
• Apostolic
example.
All Christians agree on the first point — that certain
passages of the Bible give explicit teachings that ought to be followed. It is this second area, that of apostolic
example, that leads to greater uncertainty.
Are we to follow the example of the apostles? Are their examples to be normative to us
today? I submit that under certain
conditions their example is to be considered both normative as well as didactic.
a. All Scripture is profitable.
When Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that all
Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable, he does not say that the
applies only to the teachings portions of Scripture.
b. Historical passages are didactic.
The New Testament states in a number of instances that
the Bible is written for our instruction.
This is often stated in a context that cites historical episodes (1
Corinthians 10:6; 10:11; Romans 4:23-24; 15:4).
If an Old Testament historical passage can give us principles of how we
ought to live, how much more will a New Testament historical passage give us
normative principles?
c. The representative character of the
apostles: So then you are no longer
strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of
God's household, 20 having been built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone (Ephesians 2:19-20).
The apostles were given by Christ to begin His
church. That was their function. Because of this design function, their
actions should be considered both significant and normative.
• Paul
speaks of his teaching in all the churches (1 Corinthians 7:17).
• There
was a practice in all of the churches that was to be seen as a pattern to be
followed (1 Corinthians 11:16).
• Paul’s
written instructions were, in effect, the Lord’s commandments (1 Corinthians
14:37).
• Paul
and Silas gave to the churches decrees that had been established by the
• Paul
writes so that people would know how they are to act within the
• Paul
calls his readers to join him in following his example, and to observe those
who walk according to the pattern they have in him (Philippians 3:17; 4:9).
In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul calls the believers in
that city to be imitators of himself. He
then cites the traditions he delivered to them (11:2). When the gospels make mention of the
traditions of men, it is in a negative sense, but the traditions described in
the epistles are all to be obeyed.
d. The historical and didactic passages can be seen in parallel
to one another. They are not
contradictory, but complementary.
|
Subject |
Example |
Teaching |
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Elders |
Acts 14:23 |
Titus 1:5 |
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Authority in the Church |
Acts 16:4 |
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 |
|
Laying on of hands |
Acts 6:6; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2
Timothy 1:6 |
1 Timothy 5:22 |
This is not to say that every practice ever mentioned
in the New Testament must necessarily be followed. We must ask whether the practice was local or
universally followed and whether there was a principle to be found behind the
practice.
THE
MEETING OF THE CHURCH
1. The Purpose of the Meeting.
In the book of Hebrews, the writer gives several
admonitions to Christians. One of these
involves a warning against the forsaking of the practice of assembly.
Let
us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised
is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to
love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the
habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the
day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25).
All Christians are to hold fast to the faith. The reason we can do this is seen in verse
23. It is because we have been given
promises from One who is in the promise-keeping business. He is faithful.
We are to hold to the faith and we are to consider how
to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. This is only accomplished in a group. It is only accomplished when we assemble
together.
I could go off on my own and live the Christian life
as a hermit. But I wouldn’t. Neither would you. We need each other in order to grow. The further along we get, the more we need
each other. We will never be too old or
too spiritual to outgrow this need.
2. The Pattern of the Meeting.
Most of us today are used to a meeting in which a song
leader or a worship team gets up and leads everyone in the music of the
church. Then the preacher gets up and
does all of the talking in the church.
In such a service, the role of the people is very limited. Their role is to sit and to listen and to try
not to fall asleep. That is not the New
Testament pattern for the church. The
service in the New Testament church was characterized by corporate involvement.
What
is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a
teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things
be done for edification. (1 Corinthians 14:26).
And
do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the
Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always
giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even
the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
(Ephesians 5:18-21).
Let
the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and
admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16).
Notice who was involved in the meeting of the New
Testament church. It was not just the
elders or the deacons. It was not just
the seminary or Bible college graduates.
It was not just the ordained ministers.
The meeting of the church was made of the various members of the church
who were involved in teaching, in the giving of a revelation, in the speaking
and interpreting of a language, in the sharing of a song or a psalm.
The members of the church enjoyed the exercise of
their spiritual gifts in the meeting of the church. This was the place where they came to use
their spiritual gifts. The result was
that the entire body was edified. Paul
does not say that he wants the believers to stop doing this. Instead he wants them to regulate it.
• They
are to speak one at a time.
• They
are to take turns speaking.
• Only
three representing each gift is to speak.
I personally believe we need a return to this kind of
corporate life. I am not saying that it
needs to become a disorganized mob. That
was the problem Paul dealt with in
DISCIPLINE
IN THE CHURCH
Confrontation
is necessary to a healthy relationship.
This is seen in marriage. If you
are married, then you know that confrontation is sometimes necessary. I did not say that it is pleasant. But it is healthy. It clears the air.
When
Paula and I were first married, we really did not know how to engage in
constructive confrontation within the realm of our marriage. I would see something that she did that
bothered me and I would hold it in and think about it and it would fester and
grow, but I would not say anything.
Likewise, Paula would get her feelings hurt and would go off and pout
and not say anything. By the time the
problem came out into the open, what had started out as a minor matter had
grown and grown until it was affecting our relationship. Fortunately, we are both a lot older and a
lot wiser now. We have learned the value
of immediate constructive confrontation in our marriage.
The
same is true of the church. We pick up
the idea that it is not spiritual to confront other believers when they have
offended us. As a result, we hold it in
and let it fester and grow until it begins to affect our Christian walk.
1. A Pattern for Church Discipline.
Jesus Himself gave what is considered to be the
classic pattern for conducting discipline within the church.
15 “And if
your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you
have won your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two
more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be
confirmed. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the
church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a
Gentile and a tax-gatherer. 18 Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall
be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I
say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask,
it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For
where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their
midst.” (Matthew 18:15-20).
There is a progression given here that moves from the
small to the large. It begins with a
one-on-one situation. It ends before the
courts of both heaven and earth.
• Step One:
If your brother sins, go and reprove him in private (18:15).
Our problem is that we usually run to a third party
from the outset. This is gossip and
should not take place. The Bible
presents us with a pattern for confrontational Christianity.
Why is church discipline so important? Because it gives glory to Christ because it
is obedient to His command. It is also
important because it serves to restore the wayward brother and thus preserves
the unity of the church.
• Step
Two: If he does not listen to you,
take one or two more with you (18:16).
In giving this step, Jesus is quoting directly from
Deuteronomy 17. It is a passage that
stresses the importance of witnesses.
Why are the witnesses necessary?
So that you can gang up on the guilty party? No. It
is so that they can make certain that what is said is understood. They are there to further the process of
communication.
There is usually a direct correlation between the
intensity of your anger at an insult and your lack of understanding of what was
really said. There is also usually a
correlation between the intensity of your anger and your ability to accurately
express yourself. That is why you need a
neutral third party.
• Step
Three: And if he refuses to listen to
them, tell it to the church (18:17).
This does not necessarily mean all of the dirty
laundry and all the gory details must be broadcast to every member of the
congregation. I want to suggest that we
tell it to the church by taking it to the representatives of the church made up
of the elders and overseers. Beyond
this, we make the announcement as public as the sin.
• Step
Four: If he refuses to listen to
them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church,
let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer (18:17).
This is the principle of excommunication. The sinner is excluded from the fellowship of
the Lord’s table. It is important that
excommunication does not come merely as the result of sin. If that were the case, then nobody would be
left in the church. Excommunication has
to do with repentance. It comes when the
sinner refuses to hear the words of the church and a call to repentance. It comes as a result of rebellion and a
desire to continue in sin.
Rebellion and sin against God are contagious. Remember the story of Joshua and Achan at the
battle of Ai? Achan and his family were
put to death because of his sin.
Why? Because sin does not affect
just one person. It spreads like a
cancer and can affect an entire church.
At this point, we ought to clarify that we are not
speaking of throwing people out of the church for spitting on the sidewalk or
for chewing gum on Sunday or for falling asleep during the sermon. This is speaking of serious unrepentant sin. Once a person repents of sin, then the next
step is restoration to the church.
Furthermore, in the case of public sin, the church is
not required to go all the way back to step one. Paul was not doing wrong in 1 Corinthians
5:1-5 when he told the church at Corinth to move directly to step four and to
remove the one who was unrepentant in his public sin.
2. The Power of Church Discipline.
18 “Truly
I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and
whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I
say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask,
it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For
where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their
midst.” (Matthew 18:18-20).
This passage has been used out of context to teach a
variety of things. However, when we
consider the context, we are reminded that it is not speaking primarily of
prayer. It is speaking of church
discipline. What is it saying? It says that when the church agrees on
discipline, there is a heavenly authority that is also in agreement.
What happens in church is not confined to a
building. It has ripples that are felt
in heaven. When two people exchange
wedding vows on earth, there is something taking place in heaven. When elders and deacons are ordained on
earth, there are angels in heaven saying, “Amen!” When the church agrees to discipline a
sinning brother, there is a corresponding agreement that is to be found in
heaven.
• This
agreement is based upon the presence of Christ:
For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am
in their midst (18:20).
When the church comes together, there is an additional
presence that the ushers do not count.
Jesus is there. That is what
gives power to the church. The absence
of His presence can give death to a church.
There is a story of an old black man who became a
Christian and who tried to attend an all-white church in a segregated
community, but the deacons blocked his way at the door and would not let him
enter. The man was praying that night
and he told the Lord how he had tried to attend the church, but had been prevented. As he was praying, the Lord came to him and
said, “Don’t worry, My son. I’ve been
trying to get into that church for years and they won’t let Me into it,
either.”
There is a point to the story. The reason we exercise discipline within the
church and remove sin from the church is so that Christ’s presence will remain
in the church. Either you will have sin
present within the church or you will have Christ present in the church but you
will not have both.
The same is true of your own life. Either you are enjoying the presence of Jesus
Christ in your life or else you are holding to sin in your life, but you do not
have both. If you are holding onto your
sin, take another look and you will see that Christ has gone and you just
hadn’t noticed.
• This
agreement involves forgiving and retaining sins: “Truly I say to you, whatever you shall
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth
about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is
in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18-19).
This does not describe a power that exists
independently of God to forgive or to secure sins. Only God can forgive sins. This is a picture of God working through the
instrumentality of the church.
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[1] This
reading is generally preferred to that of the Textus Receptus which reads
“churches,” making it plural.