Church Identity and Perpetuity Part 7

 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2Co 3:17

I want to cut the core now and ask the baseline question. What really makes a church a true church? Or more to the point, Who decides who’s in and who’s out? The answer is God decides and the presence of the Spirit of God is what makes the difference between the true church and a “knock-off” or “look alike”. At the end of the day all that really matters to me is that I am where the Lord is. It’s not the name on the front of the building, it’s not the folks we fellowship with, it’s not the creeds or confessions, it’s not the degree or intelligence of the pastor, it’s not the activities for the kids, It’s where God is revealing himself in the spirit.

The work of the Holy Spirit is vital to the church. John 14:25-26; 16:7,13. Jesus taught and established his church while he was present but didn’t leave us alone when he returned to the Father. He sent the Holy Ghost to teach us the meaning of his words and guide us into all truth. Eph 4:7-14, 1Co 12:4-11. The Holy Spirit brings gifts the church needs. The presence of the Holy Spirit is conditional and a dying church is simply one that isn’t enjoying the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. A church has either both spirit and truth or neither. Spirit without the truth is the wrong spirit, and doctrine without spirit is a dead formality and not truth at all. 

Truth is alive and has a taste that goes with it. Paul said God made manifest the savor of his knowledge by his preaching 2Co 2:14. Preaching (which isn’t just speaking but is a demonstration of the Spirit and of power 1Co 2:4) makes truth evident to those who are born of God because it is the savor of life. That happens when the weight of sin melts off and the smile of God lifts your heart above all your troubles. The letter killeth but the spirit giveth life 2Co 3:6. 

There are plenty of wrong spirits. When God removes his candlestick, the only spirit available to a group of people wanting to attract members is a manufactured spirit. We experience spirit-filled events all the time in the world. There is spirit at music concerts, there is spirit at exciting ball games, comedy clubs, political debates, and so many other forms of social gatherings. There may be a lot of spirit at a church meeting, but if it isn’t according to truth, it’s just importing our own spirit, and not worship which is in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Our fellowship with this or that church is not what makes them a true church and removing our fellowship doesn’t remove the candlestick. There is no governing board that decided who’s in, God reserves that right to himself and thankfully he is long-suffering (Rev 2:5). Our responsibility is to keep fellowship with God and that means avoiding fellowship with darkness or confusion Eph 5:11, 1Jo 1:6. That’s not easy, but I think it’s that simple.

Church Identity and Perpetuity Part 6

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire. Heb 12:28-29

The true church seeks to conform herself to the commands of God and doesn’t expect God to adapt to her offerings. Let’s consider how God is to be approached.

God sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let his people go so they could hold a feast unto him. Ex 5:1. It was imperative that they worship him outside of Pharaoh’s domain. Having delivered them from Egyptian bondage with his own power, God gave his people instructions on how he was to be worshipped. He told him how to build a sanctuary: the tabernacle, instruments, sacrifices, and priesthood. Ex 25:8-9. God declared how to construct the place where he would dwell among his people. The high priest was to place a golden bell on the hem of his robe that gave a constant reminder on how seriously God expected his people to follow his instructions in worship. Ex 28:35. Nadab and Abihu were priests killed by God because they offered strange fire to God, which is defined as a step that was not commanded by God. This tells me that God’s instructions were complete and additions were unlawful. Lev 10:1-2. While disobeying God’s commands resulted in death, following them had the exclusive benefit of seeing God’s glory in the earth. Ex 29:43.

At the end of Joshua’s life, he very famously challenged the people to follow the Lord. He gave a principle about the worship of God that will be critical for finding the true church in history. In Joshua 24, he said that to serve the Lord, all the gods of the world had to be put away and forsaken. God is a jealous God, a holy God. The worship of God means doing his will without mixing it with anything from men.

When Christ came, he signaled a change in worship for the New Testament era to the Samaritan woman at the well. John 4. The woman pointed out that her people worshipped in this mountain, but the Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place to worship. While Jesus pointed to the new era, he also acknowledged that in the old era it did matter where worship was conducted. Jesus said, ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. This goes back to the division of Israel by Rehoboam and Jeroboam after Solomon died. In 1Ki 12 we read that Jeroboam was concerned of losing his power over the ten tribes of the north by them attending worship in Jerusalem. So, he established a worship that was more convenient for them. Jesus was saying that tradition was illegitimate. Today, true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. If the Samaritans put themselves outside the covenant by abandoning Jerusalem, we know that any sect—however powerful or popular—that mixes God’s word with man’s tradition is illegitimate.

Church Identity and Perpetuity Part 5

Part 4 Here

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.  1John 1:3,4

The Apostle John says the objective in teaching Christ is for our fellowship, which is rooted in God, and is the fulfillment of our joy. Fellowship is a vital sign of the life of the church, and I want to notice the logical order of things presented in this passage. First is fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ, second is fellowship with each other, and third that our joy may be full.

Our fellowship with God is the center of worship. Fellowship with God is something we are blessed to have because of the redeeming work of Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit according to the election of the Father. Having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, we draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith (Heb 10:19,22). This describes worship on the individual level and is the core of corporate worship. Paul professes that fellowship with Christ means partaking in his sufferings which he was called to do and we should be ready to as well.

When we meet together, as the body of Christ, with a common desire to worship together, then that fellowship flows over to the love we share from breast to breast. This is described in Phil 2:1,2. The basis of that fellowship is the one mind and one accord that those saints share in the adorable Savior that they are praying to, singing about, and preaching about. This fellowship is what those that were baptized at Pentecost (Ac 2:42) continued in steadfastly with the apostles’ doctrine, communion, and prayers. Obviously, agreement is required for fellowship, see 2 Co 6:14-16. We can’t have fellowship with Christ and with things that are against Christ. We can have temporary fellowship with each other in this world outside of Christ, but it is fragile and unfulfilling and not the church as He established it. Prioritizing our agreement with men above or equal to our agreement with Christ, will likewise ruin fellowship. Christ said the great commandment was first to love God, and secondly to love our neighbor (Matt 22:36-40). That order is important.

Finally, John intended our joy to be full. I don’t believe we can find the fulfillment that Christ intended for us to have in this life, without worshiping in the fellowship of his church. This same apostle quoted Jesus in John 10:10 that He came that we might have life and that we may have it more abundantly. That’s two things, life and life more abundantly. Christ came to save his people from their sins (Matt 1:21) and to establish his church (Dan 2:44, Matt 16:18). Both of those things were complete when he gave up the ghost (John 19:30). I will emphasize this one more time, our life and victory over sin and death is based on the sacrifice of his own body and blood that he gave and completed on the cross (Heb 10:14-18). Life is given to the entire mystical body of Christ by grace without works or conditions on our part. Life more abundantly is given in his church. The church in this world is never for giving life, but it is for living that life more abundantly.

Church Identity and Perpetuity Part 4

Part 3 Here

Primitive Baptists are always astonished when we hear other people say that we believe our sect are the only people going to heaven, yet it happens from time to time. I think this could be caused by a confusion between different senses of the word Church. We believe that ultimately in heaven shall be assembled a church of people that were redeemed out of every kindred, tongue, and people, and nation (Rev 5:9; 7:9), which are more than those which give an outward profession of faith or enter a visible church in this life. So, let’s consider how our definition of church applies to a universal church.

As we said in part 3, church is translated from a word (ecclesia) that means an assembly or congregation. There are verses (18 by Hassell’s count) where church refers to the assembly in heaven (Eph 5:25; Eph 3:10,21; Col 1:18, 24; Heb 12:23). This is the legitimate universal church since it includes everyone who, after the resurrection and general judgement, will be gathered into a congregation. This is also called the triumphant church. We may also call it an invisible church since we can’t see it yet. Every other use of church refers to a local congregation. The Bible never refers to the visible church on earth as a universal entity. If it refers to the church generically—not specifying which congregation—it teaches principles that apply to all churches. However, it doesn’t mean a universal (or national or denominational) church, because a congregation (ecclesia) wouldn’t describe people that are not meeting together.

I don’t want to present a view of the church as several unrelated independent societies. There is a unity that we have between churches in which we share the Lord’s supper and accept baptism of other churches. This unity allows fellowship based on inter-church relationships with mutual obedience to Christ. We reject the unscriptural organizations that rule over local churches in every “universal” church (Mar 10:42-45, 1Pe 5:2,3).

The visible church is always a subset of the triumphant church. I don’t mean that someone couldn’t fake repentance and love for the church; in that case they would be like a virus and not a member of the spiritual body. What I mean is that most of God’s children (triumphant church) never enter the visible church on earth. Matt 7:14 teaches that few find the life that is enjoyed in the church because it is a strait and narrow way. This cannot mean that few will be in heaven, because we’ve already mentioned that a multitude will be in heaven at the end of time (Gen 15:5; Rev 7:9). It means that church (visible, local) membership is difficult and unpopular, yet our eternal destiny is not dependent on our finding the way, since that destiny has been predestined by God (Eph 1:3-6). Put another way, we believe the church on earth is a smaller number compared to other denominations, but that the church in heaven will be a  larger number than envisioned by other denominations.

Part 5 Here

Church Identity and Perpetuity Part 3

Part 2 Here

It's critical we define how we mean the word “church” before we go any further. In our day and age we use it mostly in ways that are foreign to the meaning of scripture. I’m going to here give the full definition of the noun church found in our current Merriam-Webster dictionary (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/church) so you can compare and contrast that with a biblical definition given by Sylvester Hassell. My purpose is to be very intentional about what we may think is meant by church to divorce ourselves from the definitions not considered in the New Testament for the purpose of this study. Like all English words, church has taken its own path in evolving in a living language. The biblical definition, as given by Hassell is the definition of the Greek word used in the New Testament. The Greek language is dead and therefore we have confidence that we understand the full extent of it’s meaning. For future articles, we’ll dive into more details about the biblical meaning to clarify and enhance our understanding of the institution Christ established.

Webster: 

church noun

1: a building for public religious services and especially Christian worship

2 often Church : a body or organization of religious believers: such as

a: the institution of the Christian religion : the Christian religion seen as an organization

b: the clergy or officialdom of a religious body

The word church … is put for the Persons that are ordained for the Ministry of the Gospel, that is to say, the Clergy—J. Ayliffe

c: denomination

the Presbyterian church

d: the whole body of Christians

… the One Church is the whole body gathered together from all ages …—J. H. Newman

e: congregation

… they had appointed elders for them in every church …—Acts 14:23 (Revised Standard Version)

3: a public divine worship

goes to church every Sunday

4: the clerical profession

considered the church as a possible career

Hassell, History of the Church of God, 1886, pg. 291:

The Greek word rendered “church” in the New Testament is “ekklesia”, which is derived from the verb ek-kaleo, to call out, and denotes an assembly called out, a select body separated from the mass of the people. In ancient Greece the ekklesia in each State was the assembly of free-born, native, self-governing citizens, the highest legal body in the land, from which there was no appeal; slaves and foreigners were excluded from the ekklesia. In the Septuagint ekklesia is the usual rendering of the Hebrew word kahal, “the congregation” of Israel or of the Lord, from which were excluded the uncircumcised, the unclean and the “mixed multitude”. Ekklesia occurs in the New Testament 115 times; twice referring to the Hebrew “congregation of the Lord,” three times referring to the Greek assembly, and 110 times referring to the Christian church. In 92 of these last cases the reference is to a special, local, visible society of Christians; in the remaining 18 cases the reference is the entire body of the elect in Heaven and on earth, or what is sometimes called the invisible church (as in Ephesians v. 25, 29; iii. 10, 21; Colossians i. 18, 24; Hebrews xii. 23). The word is never used in the New Testament to designate a universal (or Catholic) visible church, a national church (as the Church of Judea or England), or a denominational church (as the church was not divided into different denominations in the Apostolic Age, and as there was not then any great organization, like the Presbyterian Church of the Methodist Church, including in itself a large number of local congregations). A visible church is always in Scripture a local body; and every local church, acting by a majority of its members (in 2 Cor ii. 6, “ton pleionon” is, literally, not “many”, but “the more” the majority), is invested by Christ with the exclusive and final power of receiving, disciplining, excluding and restoring its members, electing its officers, and transacting all other necessary business (Rom. Xiv. 1; Matt. Xviii. 15-18; 1 Cor v. 4, 5, 7, 11-13; Rom xvi. 17; 2 Thess. Iii. 6; Acts i. 15-26; vi 1-6; 1 Cor. Xvi. 3; xiv. 23).

Part 4 Here

Church Identity and Perpetuity Part 2

Part 1 here

Why am I making a point about not being a protestant? If it’s not clear to you, then I want you to understand how radical and distinctive the Primitive Baptists doctrine of the church is from all the major Christian groups. I love the Primitive Baptists, not just as people individually (there are many other individuals and families I also love), but as an institution and fellowship of a distinct character and separate from the world. I have faith based on the promises of God that he has preserved his church through the ages and that we have that inheritance in this time and place and I want it to stay and grow here as we move to the next generation.

We are taught in scripture, including Daniel 2:44 and Mathew 16:18, that Christ established a kingdom on earth, Jesus called it his church, and it will remain true and faithful as a witness of the Truth in every generation. If this function were carried out by the Roman empire-church, then protestants had no right to split it up and were schismatics. By establishing new churches on principles lost for centuries, they couldn’t be the church started by Christ because that shall never be prevailed against. Being identified with Christ is the only reason I’m concerned with church identity.

I’m not saying that the true church has always looked exactly like us, that we can name them by existing historical records, nor that there are no true churches at any other place with another name and language with heritage back to the apostles. My ignorance of them doesn’t mean that they don’t or didn’t exist. But I am saying that no church that is substantially different from us is the true church. Primitive Baptists don’t decide who is or isn’t the church, that’s the work of the Lord—the only head of this church. What we do is try to acknowledge the leadership of God in every matter, and when it comes to worship and spiritual matters, withdraw and reject those things which are incompatible with the truth. This is the only way for true fellowship and unity. Christian fellowship and unity in the church is based on Christ alone and God is not the author of confusion. Identifying other denominations as part of the Church and then maintaining a distinct identity from them is inconsistent. If they are the church then there should be no divisions in it, if they aren’t keeping themselves separate from the world, then they are of the world and we should come out from among them. 2 Cor 6:16-18.

When I get questions about why we don’t invite members of other Christian denominations to our communion table, or why we “re” baptize folks who want to convert, I’ve never been satisfied in my ability to answer them. It’s a major sticking point for many people so I thought it worthwhile to study it for better understanding and the best way I know how to master a subject is to explain it to others as cogently as I can. I want us to get a firm handle on the doctrine of the church and that includes disabusing ourselves of much of the error that comes from the Protestant view of the church that undermines church perpetuity. I don’t see myself as having all the answers here, so as I try to lay my beliefs out, I invite correction in brotherly charity to put my ideas to the test.

Part 3 Here

Church Identity and Perpetuity -Part 1

 There are about 700 organizations in America today, claiming to be churches. Every one of these false churches can be traced to some man as their founder. Every one of these, each and all, have their own man-made creeds or faiths, and they are as conflicting as light and darkness. They can't all be true. But our school textbook writers throw all these conflicting creeds into one pile, and label the whole conglomerated mess: "The Christian Church!" Baptists have been permitting their children to be taught this monstrous falsehood without entering a protest. No wonder confusion, infidelity, atheism and wickedness are stalking rampant everywhere, defying every code of decency. The ONE and ONLY true Church is the Bride of Christ. She walks with him, trusts in him, leans on his arm, and has never strayed off into some spiritual "red light" district and needed reforming.

-Monroe Jones in The Bride and Seven Other Women 1948

I have never viewed myself as Protestant although I constantly get lumped into that pile. I’m a Primitive Baptist and have a heritage of baptism in churches that go back to Christ and the apostles without ever coming out of the Roman Catholic Church.  I have come to find out that that is called “pseudohistory” and that “no reputable church historians have ever affirmed the belief that Baptists can trace their lineage through medieval and ancient sects ultimately to the New Testament”. Should I just submit to the scholarly opinions accepted by even Baptist scholars that all Baptists are protestants?

The realistic truth is, my Baptism doesn’t have some kind of pedigree like a registered Border Collie that certifies and proves the validity of each baptism back to Christ. No one does. If you think a Roman Catholic or an Eastern Orthodox has such a pedigree (doubtful), then I would argue that is only a nominal or mechanical succession. I’m not really interested in a succession of the same name, or a perpetuity based on human tradition, but rather interested in perpetuity of the same faith and discipline from Christ.

Before I can jump into history, it’s vital I review my starting point. The first axiom is that the 66 books of the Bible are the infallible word of God and therefore the only authoritative source of light on the subject. But didn’t the Bible come from the church? No. The Bible contains revelation from God to the church, through God’s servants. The church never decided what God’s words were, they recognized them and submitted to him by obeying those words and rejecting anything spurious pretending to be God’s words. I know what they are by tradition, yes. Tradition means to hand down over time. So, in some sense, I am relying on the church while putting that tradition to the test. That’s the only starting point I have at my disposal. First, my church must be judged on the authority we profess to follow. If we pass that, then the protestants are out because we profess the same authority. If we fail the test of the scriptures we hold to, then our tradition does nothing to validate the Bible we profess as the authentic words of God, and I’m left to search for the tradition that kept the oracles as delivered from Christ. I don’t see any consistency in the belief that you can know what the scriptures are and deny the tradition that kept them through the generations. The perpetuity of the church and perpetuity of the scriptures go hand in hand.

From the Bible, I want to go through and carefully review what it teaches about the identity of the church. Then and only then can I judge the history, because we have to subject each historian’s conclusion to the light of the Bible, not the other way around.

Part 2 Here