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Recognizing the Church
(You can be sure part 2)
Jesus promised
to build only one church. Matthew
16:18, "and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of
Hades shall not prevail against it." Jesus shed His blood and died
for only one church. Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the
church, and gave himself for it", [Singular]. Christ only purchased
one church with His blood, Acts 20:28, "Therefore take heed to yourselves
and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to
shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."
And Christ is the head of and the savior of only one church. Ephesians
5:22-24, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the
husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is
the Savior of the body." The body of Christ is the church.
Since Christ only built, bled for, died for, rules and saves one church
then doesn't it make sense that we must be a part of that church and no
other?
OK, so if I am
not a follower of Christ and I want to be, then how do I find one?
Or, am I trying to live for Christ and I want to know if the one I am
associated with now is the church Jesus built, bled for, died for, rules
and saves? How do I recognize it when I see it? What
does it look like? Where can I find it? How do I join it?
The purpose of this lesson is to help us and others who may not know,
learn to determine what the Lord's church is and how to determine if it
is a genuine, authentic new testament church.
The short answer
to this question is that it needs to look just like the church Jesus
built, bled for, died for, rules and saves as it appears in the new
testament. It makes perfect sense that if we are a member of the
new testament church that worshiped, lived, taught and believed as it
appears in the scripture then we will be in the church that Jesus built,
bled for, died for, rules and saves. In short, a church that looks
and acts just like the church of the new testament must be the church of
the new testament. A church which looks and acts just like the
church that Jesus built, bled for, died for, rules and saves must be the
church of Jesus Christ.
Not only does
this make perfect sense, it is also a Biblical way of approaching
this. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13-14 Paul wrote, "For this reason
we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of
God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but
as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you
who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of
God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus." The church in
Thessalonica patterned itself after the churches in Judea and Paul was
thankful for that and he praised them for it. The application for
us is that we can do the same thing by examining the church of the new
testament and using it, we can imitate it in the same fashion and know
beyond any doubt whatsoever that we are in the church Jesus built, bled
for, died for, rules and saves.
What is the New Testament
church?
The Bible was
written in a language known today as Koine Greek. In the first
century, this was the language of the common man on the street in this
period of history. The Greek word for 'church' is pronounced 'Ekklesia'.
This word has two distinct meanings depending on the context in which it
is used. The word 'Ekklesia' does not automatically have a
religious association at all. This word is used to describe a mob
of people who were upset with Paul's teachings in Acts 19, verses 32, 39
and 41. In this context, the word Ekklesia is translated as an
assembly in KJV. Therefore the word carries the meaning of
an assembly of people in some contexts. It can mean as assembly of
Christians or just a general assembly of people for any given reason.
In
Romans 16:16 we have an example of this word being used to represent
individual assemblies of Christians.
"...The churches of Christ greet you" (NKJV).
This word is also used in scripture to
represent the one universal body of Christ. In
Colossians 1:24, Paul wrote, "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you,
and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ,
for the sake of His body [singular], which is the church [Ekklesia]"
There is only one body of Christ, or church [Ekklesia] and individual
assemblies of the one church are also called churches [Ekklesia].
The context is used to determine which meaning of the word applies.
This teaches us that the church is a people and
not a physical thing. The word Ekklesia was never used to describe
anything physical in the new testament. The church is not a
building, it's not a temple, it's not a place or a location.
An Ekklesia is a group or assembly of people regardless of whether it
was for a religious purpose or not. The church is not the
building, rather it's the assembly of people within. We are the
assembly therefore we are the church.
How did the New Testament
church Worship?
One can tell a
lot by how a church worships. The worship period is when the local
body has assembled to offer worship to God. Regarding
worship, Jesus said in
Matthew 15:9, "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for
doctrines the commandments of men." From this we learn that it
is possible to worship God in a manner which is vain or worthless.
In Colossians 2:22-23, Paul wrote, "Which all are to perish with the
using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 Which things
have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and
neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the
flesh." The NKJV translated "will worship" as "self imposed"
worship. Paul connects this with the commandments and doctrines of
men in V22 and he he said all who did such things were going to perish.
Jesus said it was vain. So "vain worship" and "will
worship" or "self imposed worship" according to the
commandments and doctrine of men are no only vain, it is condemned.
So if one is worshipping God in such a manner that cannot be observed in
scripture then it had to come from the mind of men and therefore results
in that worship being rejected by God.
Scripture
mentions the kind of worship that is acceptable to God. Jesus
declared in John
4:23-24, "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father
is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship
Him must worship in spirit and truth." So we have vain
worshipper and we have well worshippers who worship according to the
commandments and doctrine of men. And on the other side of the
fence, we have true worshippers who worship in Spirit, meaning from the
heart, and in truth, meaning in accordance or agreement with God's word.
God's word is truth, (John
17:17). So we know that the new testament church was required
to worship in spirit and in truth. So with that said, let's have a
look at how they worshipped when they assembled.
The new testament church
met on the first day of every week
We know from scripture that the
new testament church assembled to offer organized worship to God.
Paul gave explicit instructions for them to follow in numerous places
such as 1 Corinthians chapters 11 through 14. These chapters are
devoted wholly to the conduct of Christians in the assembly. James
made reference to conduct in these assemblies in chapter 2:2-3. In
Philemon we learn that the church assembled in his house. In
Colossians 4:14 we read of another church that assembled in someone's
home so we know that the church gathered into local assemblies on a
regular basis.
Acts 20 verse seven teaches us
this this regular assembly took place on the first day of the week; "Now
on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together.."
In 1 Corinthians 16:2-3 Paul wrote, "On the first day of the week let
each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that
there be no collections when I come." In the original
language it really means the "the first day of every week". The
Greek word "Kata" is in the original language it means "every" The
NASB translates this verse correctly, "On
the first day of every week". So we know that the new
testament church assembled on the first day of every week to offer
worship to God. And we know from
1 Thessalonians 2:14 that we can imitate this practice today and be sure
that we are assembling in accordance with God's will.
The new testament Christians
prayed to God in their assemblies
The new testament Christians prayed at all
times, both good and bad, (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18). Prayer is
requested by Paul on his own behalf on several occasions, and he prayed
for his brethren always. We are told to "pray without ceasing" in 1
Thessalonians 5:17. Paul desired that "supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men" (1 Timothy
2:1). 1 Timothy 2:8 is an example of instructions on prayer in the
assembly, "I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up
holy hands, without wrath and doubting". So we know from these
verses that prayer was a part of the first day of the week assemblies of
the new testament church. And we know from 1 Thessalonians 2:14
that we can imitate this practice today and be sure that we are
worshipping in accordance with God's will.
The new testament
Christians sang praises to God in their assemblies
Christians were given explicit instructions to
sing in the assembly in Hebrews 2:12, "I will declare Your name to My
brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You".
Paul gave instructions to the Ephesians and the Colossians regarding
their singing, Ephesians 5:19, "speaking to one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to
the Lord" and in Colossians 3:16-17, "Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your
hearts to the Lord."
Verse 17 goes on to say , "And whatever you
do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
to God the Father through Him." The scriptures never ever said
to play anything during new testament worship. And Paul went on to
say right after he commanded singing that whatsoever we do should be
backed up by the authority of Jesus. The scriptures never
authorize manmade musical instruments in worship and secular history
proves that they were never used for centuries after the new testament
church was established. We also know from scripture that is
forbidden to go beyond what is written in 1 Corinthians 4:6 and 2 John
9. With all this in mind, we know that if we simply sing in our
worship to God, we are absolutely assured of our worship being both in
spirit and in truth. Let's keep in mind that Jesus said our
worship MUST be in spirit and in truth. We must be sure on this.
Adding manmade musical instruments is a violation of God's word to
refrain from going beyond what is written.
The new testament church sang and we know from
1 Thessalonians 2:14 that we can imitate this practice today and be sure
that we are worshipping in accordance with God's will.
The new testament
Christians partook of the Lord's supper every first day of the week
The Lord's supper is the memorial Christ
established to commemorate his death. Matthew 26:26-29, "And as
they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to
the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." 27 Then He took
the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it,
all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed
for many for the remission of sins." New Testament Christians
assembled every first day of the week to remember this and to "proclaim
the Lord's death till He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). Paul in 1
Corinthians 11 gives instructions regarding the observance of that feast
in the assembly, and Acts 20:7 sets the time of its observance to be the
first day of the week. Acts 20:7, "Now on the first day
of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul,
ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message
until midnight."
The new testament
Church had preaching in their assemblies
One of the primary purposes of assembly is to
edify the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13, "And He Himself gave
some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors
and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ". Paul came
to Troas, and in the assembly, "spoke to them and continued his message
until midnight." (Acts 20:7). Preaching is an important part of
the worship.
The new testament church had preaching in their
Lord's day assemblies and we know from 1 Thessalonians 2:14 that we can
imitate this practice today and be sure that we are worshipping in
accordance with God's will.
The new testament Christians gave of their means on the first day of
every week
Paul established the first day of the week contribution as something
Christians "must do" 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, "Now
concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the
churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every
week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up as he may
prosper so that there will be no collecting when I come."
Christians are instructed to "give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of
necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). Giving
is a rewarding and necessary part of Christian worship. The new
testament church gave in their
Lord's day assemblies and we know from 1 Thessalonians 2:14 that we can
imitate this practice today and be sure that we are worshipping in
accordance with God's will.
That is all we are authorized to do in scripture in the Lord's day assemblies that pertains to worship. Anything more than this is a violation of the commands not to exceed what is written and add to the word of God. Anything more than this had to come from the mind of man and is a commandment and doctrine of men. Anything less is a violation of the command not to leave anything out. By doing these five things and only these five things in worship we can be sure that we have fully obeyed all of what God's will is on the worship we offer. We need to remember that God is the object of our worship. It is directed towards Him and He directs how it is to be done.
The new testament Christians did not worship in temples
Many people today think God must be worshipped in a large magnificent building. That is not how new testament Christians often worshipped. Sometimes then met in homes sometimes, they met in other places.
Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered
together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." In Acts 17:23-25,
"Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to
you: 24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord
of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor
is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything" God
says He does not dwell in manmade temples nor is He worshipped in or
with things made by men's hands. We can worship God anywhere we want as
long as we do it in spirit and in truth. We can gather in a home
and with nothing more than our hearts, voices and the word of God offer
acceptable worship to God and be sure that He is pleased with it.
The new testament church taught and practiced the Biblical way of
salvation.
Following the principle of not adding anything to or taking
anything away from scripture we can know how new testament Christians
were saved. New testament Christians were required to believe in
Christ.
The new testament church taught and practiced that we
must believe in Christ
John 3:16-19, "For God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be
saved. 18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not
believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of
the only begotten Son of God."
But it doesn't stop there.
If we stop there, we have left something out of the word of God.
We can't do that if we want to be sure of our salvation.
The new testament church believed
and practiced that Christians must confess Jesus Christ before men
Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33, "Therefore
whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My
Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will
also deny before My Father who is in heaven."
Paul wrote in Romans 10:9-11, "that
if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart
that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with
the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation." Paul says
right there that confessing Jesus is a part of one's salvation.
The new testament church baptized
believers for the remission of sins
Acts 2:38, "Then Peter said to
them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins" After Paul was confronted on
the road to Damascus, Ananias told him in Acts 22:16, "And now why
are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling
on the name of the Lord."
The new testament church believed
that baptism placed the believer "into Jesus Christ"
Galatians 3:27, "For as many of
you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Romans
6:3-4, "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into
Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried
with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life."
The new testament church believed
that baptism was essential to salvation
Mark 16:16, "He who believes
and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be
condemned." 1 Peter 3:21, "The like figure whereunto even baptism
doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh,
but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ"
The
new testament church believed that members were added to the church by
God
Acts 2:47, "praising God and
having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily
those who were being saved." No one votes on church
membership. Anyone who is saved is a member of the church by the
operation of God. Man has nothing to do with it.
The new testament church believed
that one had to remain faithful until death to be saved
Matthew 10:22, "And you will be
hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be
saved". Revelation 2:10, "Be faithful until death, and I
will give you the crown of life."
In part 1 of this lesson we saw
how scripture teaches us that we can be sure of our salvation. We
can know beyond any doubt that we have God. We can have that
confidence through knowing the word of God and being obedient to it.
We must be obedient to the gospel. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians
1:7-9, "and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord
Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire
taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not
obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory
of His power."
Eternity is a long time. We only get one
chance to get it right. When we pass from this existence, all that
will matter then is whether or not we lived in accordance to God's will.
The stakes are high, the rewards or punishments are for ever. We
must be sure. And John made it
crystal clear in 1 John 2:3-5 that our assurance comes from obedience to
His commands: "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His
commandments. 4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever
keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we
know that we are in Him."
In conclusion, let's look at a verse we read
earlier and let's make an application to it.
1 Thessalonians 2:14, "For you,
brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in
Christ Jesus." We can do the same thing and be sure that we
are right with God. That's how they did it in Thessalonica and we
can do it today. If we study the new testament church and believe
what it believed, teach what it taught, practice what it practiced and
be what it was, then we can be sure that we are part of the one body of
Christ. The one church that Jesus established, bled for, died for,
rules and saves.
We can be sure. We must be
sure. And the Bible tells us exactly how to do it.
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