Plain Words For The Young Who Belong To Christ

by N.D.W. MILLER | Category: Pages For Young Believers | Dec 1932

Concerning things that differ.

IX.-" MY CHURCH," and "THE CHURCH OF GOD."

"And this I pray," says the Apostle in writing to the Philippians, "that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; so that ye may approve the things that are excellent-or, prove the things that differ" (Philippians 1. 9, 10, R.V.M.). And to his "beloved and faithful child in the Lord," Timothy, he writes-" Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth-or, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2. 15 R.V.M.).

We think it needful to remind our readers of these words, as we come to consider our present theme, because, with comparatively few exceptions, believers in Christ-and teachers of the Word as well, believe and teach that the expression, "the Church of God," wherever it occurs in the New Testament is simply another term for "My Church" (Matthew 16. 18); that is, the Church, the Body of Christ. In other words, that the persons who compose the Church the Body, are necessarily identical with those embraced in the term, the Church of God, and vice-versa. We do not believe this. That is why we who believe that the Scriptures teach otherwise, occupy the place we do-a place separate both as to position and service, from the ecclesiastical position of so many of the children of God. We thankfully acknowledge the eternal bonds which bind us together in Christ, but we cannot join with other believers in systems of man's creating, where it is impossible to obey all God's Word, and to be subject fully to His will. The vital matter that will face each one of us at the Judgment Seat of Christ is-have we sought, by God's grace, to do His will unreservedly?

We would refer, then, to some of the practical things connected with our theme, which we judge cannot be gainsaid in the light of the Word of God.

The first mention of the Church is in Matthew 16. 18-" I will build MY Church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." The building was then future. It awaited the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, as well as the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. These were necessary unto the building of the Church of which the Lord Jesus spoke. Could the gates of Hades have kept Christ within its bars, there would have been no Church built, nor aught else; but, in triumph HE AROSE.

When, then, did the building begin? How is His Church built? And of whom is it composed? These are questions that would very naturally arise in the minds of the young who belong to Christ.

The building began on the Day of Pentecost with the descent of the holy Spirit of promise (Acts 2.), for "In one Spirit were we all baptised into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12. 13). "There can-be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female: for ye all are one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3. 28). Christ is the head of the Church the Body; and not only is He the head of the Church, but He is "Head over all things to the Church, which is His Body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all" (Ephesians 1. 22, 23; 4. 15; 5. 23; Colossians 1. 18). Consequently, Christ is the Baptiser (John 1. 33; Acts 2. 33). He baptises all who believe in Him, in One Spirit, into the One Body. So that "My Church"-the Church the Body-is composed of all who believe in Christ (apart altogether from sectarian differences) from the Day of Pentecost until the last member is included and the Church is complete at Christ's Return. Speaking of Christ, the Apostle says-" in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation-in whom having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise" (Ephesians 1. 13). By Divine operation a vital union exists; we become members of Christ, and, members one of another (1 Corinthians 6. 15; Ephesians 4. 25; 5. 30; Romans 12. 5). Christ is the saviour of the Body-that means, the preserver of the Body. Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself up for it; therefore He preserves the Body from attack of any kind: nothing can touch it, neither the devil, nor demons, nor men. Intact, sanctified, cleansed, and gloriously complete, Christ will present the Church to Himself(it is His Own peculiar property-the gift of the Father to Him) a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing (see Ephesians 5.). As yet the Body as a whole, has at no time functioned, for at no time has it been complete. The dead in Christ constitute the great proportion of its members; the multitude of believers now on earth also swell its membership; and, there may be multitudes yet to be baptised into it. We would fain hope so, though we do long for the Lord's return.

All that we have written relates to the heavenly and dispensational side of the truth concerning the Body. We have not so far touched upon the responsibility of the members during their lifetime on earth. The Body is one-"there is one Body" (Ephesians 4. 4; 1 Corinthians 12. 12). Conduct does not determine our place in the Body. Man has no responsibility whatever in receiving into the Body, and it is an utter impossibility for man to put out of the Body, or to dismember the Body in any way. Head and members are one for ever, so that they are spoken of together as THE CHRIST. (1 Corinthians 12. 12 where in the original it reads, "the Christ").

This union of Christ and His members is of such a nature-- so mysterious and vital, that Paul by the Spirit, to illustrate it, brings in the marriage state as ordained by God-" For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the twain shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I speak in regard of Christ and of the Church" (Ephesians 5. 31, 32).

Now we come to consider "the Church of God." We have stated that we do not believe this term is synonymous with "My Church"-that it does not mean the same thing. In proof of this, we read of "the Churches (plural) of God" (1 Corinthians 11. 16). We are not told how many Churches of God there were on earth at any given time, save that we know there was one to begin with--the Church of God in Jerusalem. The Fellowship may have been co-extensive with the membership on earth of the Church the Body, at the very beginning of the Dispensation; but the very fact that Churches of God are mentioned-in bold contrast to the statement, "there is one Body," is surely enough to show that they do not mean the same thing.

The singular, "Church of God," occurs six times in the New Testament; and the plural, " Churches of God," three times.

The Scriptures make no provision for sectarianism-they emphatically condemn it. Sectarianism, as far as this present Dispensation is concerned, is Satan's greatest triumph in marring the unity of believers on earth. "That they all may be one," was part of the Lord's prayer (John 17.). This oneness-the perfection of Divine Unity-will unquestionably be seen eternally in the completed Church in glory. But while that is so, we believe the only legislation the Word of God contains, is for believers in Christ while on earth to be together according to the pattern shown. Not only one in life, but one in the doctrine of God, and in His Testimony. "As for God, His way is perfect." He is "not a God of confusion, but of peace; as in all the churches of the saints " (1 Corinthians 14. 33).

What, then, is the Scriptural meaning of the term "the Church of God"? Of what, or of whom, does it speak? The title, we submit, is used to designate a company of disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ brought together of God in any given place; acting together in local responsibility to God. To prove this we cannot do better than to refer briefly to the scriptures where the words "Church of God" occur. In Acts 2., we have the divine original pattern of a Church of God. From that God-gathered Company in Jerusalem, other churches of God sprang up in Judea, and then farther afield. It was the Church of God in Jerusalem that Saul persecuted (compare Galatians 1. 1.3 with Acts 8. 1). But the first mention of the term is in Acts 20. 28.

You will notice that Paul is addressing overseers-local overseers-"From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church"(verse 17). His exhortation is that they are to "feed the Church of God"; and surely, without a doubt this refers to the God-gathered company of disciples in Ephesus.

The second occurrence is, 1 Corinthians 1. 2-"Unto the Church of God which is at (literally "in ") Corinth." Who then, composed this Assembly? We are not left in doubt with Acts 18. to guide us. As a result of Paul's preaching, "Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptised... And he dwelt there a year and six months, teaching the Word of God among them." That was carrying out precisely the Lord's commission as we have it in Matthew 28. 18-20. They heard the Gospel; they believed; they were baptised; and they were taught to observe the Word of God. This is the company which afterwards received the Epistle with the divine appellation "to the Church of God which is in Corinth." And, says the Apostle, "Ye are God's building"; and again, "Ye are a temple of God," and "the Spirit of God dwelleth in you "(see 1 Corinthians 3. 9, and verse 16). When we contrast this with what is said of the individual in 1 Corinthians 6. 19, "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit," we receive, I think, instruction. When did they, as individuals receive the Holy Spirit? When they believed. (Compare Acts 11. 17 and Acts 18. 8). When, then, did the Holy Spirit take up His dwelling in their midst collectively, when did they thus become "a temple of God," God's building in Corinth? I submit, on the day (surely the Lordly Day) that they took their stand collectively upon the Word of God (compare 1 Corinthians 11. 23-"I delivered unto you"; and Exodus 24. 7, 8; 25. 8). There came a time iii the experience of that Company, when one of their number sinned so grievously that he had to be put away from the Assembly. He was put out of the Church of God in Corinth (1 Corinthians 5. 13), but as a believer he was still in and of the Church the Body, for we read of his spirit being saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (verse 5).

The solemn responsibility rested upon all in the Assembly, as called upon by the Lord, to participate in the solemn act of excommunication. Privilege and responsibility in the churches of God go hand in hand. We may note that in the Body there is neither "male nor female" (Galatians 3. 28); but in the Church of God in Corinth all the various relationships existed; it was commanded-"let your women keep silence in the churches" (1 Corinthians 14. 34-37). The woman is not without the man, nor the man without the woman, in the Lord (see 1 Corinthians 11. 11).

The third occurrence is in 1 Corinthians 10. 32, "Give no occasion of stumbling, either to Jews, or to Greeks (Gentiles), or to the Church of God." By those who teach that the Body, and the Church of God, are one and the same, it is said that Paul was here referring to "a threefold division of mankind," but this, we submit, is not so. The Apostle was referring to the Corinthian saints, and to the City of Corinth. The Jews in Corinth, who were part of Israel, had their synagogue; the Greeks in Corinth, who were part of the Gentiles, had their many altars; and the Church of God in Corinth-saints under the Sovereign Authority of the Lord Jesus, was the only thing that God recognised collectively in Corinth, as of Himself.

The fourth occurrence is in 1 Corinthians 11. 22, where we read, "What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the Church of God?" In 1 Corinthians 10. 32, we see the possibility of causing stumbling to the Church of God. Here there is danger of despising the Church of God. The Corinthians, evidently, partook of a meal together, and, through carelessness and over-indulgence, they were unable to discern-when the time came for their being in Assembly to Remember the Lord-the precious body of the Lord Jesus, of which the loaf was the symbol. They were treating the symbols of the Lord's body and blood, as bread and wine associated with the common meal. The seriousness of their so doing is revealed in chapter 11. 30. But the point we wish to note is that here again the Church of God is the local Assembly.

The fifth occurrence is in 1 Corinthians 15. 9, where Paul says, "I persecuted the Church of God." To what then, does he refer? Without a doubt, to a local Assembly-to the Church of God in Jerusalem. (Compare Acts 9. 13; Acts 26. 10; and Galatians 1. 13).

The sixth occurrence is in 1 Timothy 3. 5, "But if a man knoweth not how to rule his own- house, how shall he take care of the Church of God? " If this referred to the Church the Body it would mean that a man had responsibility to take care of its members the wide world over. But Timothy was exhorted to tarry at Ephesus, to which city Paul himself hoped to come (1 Timothy 1. 3; 3. 14), and, therefore, the only conclusion we can come to is, that Paul is clearly referring to rule in a local Assembly, as we have already noted in connection with Acts 20. 32.

The first mention of Churches of God is in 1 Corinthians 11. 16-"If any man seemeth to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the Churches of God." Compare this with chapter 4. 17, and see how the Apostles' Doctrine and the Churches of God are inseparably linked together. There must be neither independency nor self-choosing. All are to be controlled by the One Lord, and the Churches of God should be one in doctrine and practice-"Even as I teach everywhere in every church." "And so ordain I in all the churches" (1 Corinthians 4. 17; 7. 17). The Teaching of the Apostles was directed to produce oneness of mind, and of practice among God's gathered saints. There may be much failure, and a coming short of the divine standard (it was so even in Apostolic days) "I have seen an end of all perfection" (Psalm 119. 96), but let there be the honest endeavour to maintain God's standard-the God-given pattern.

The second occurrence of the plural is in 1 Thessalonians 2. 14-"For ye, brethren, became imitators of the Churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus." That is God's way. The Thessalonians-saved by grace, and baptised-were not left like sheep upon the mountains, to go, and to do, as they pleased. In personal conduct they had a pattern set before them-"Ye became imitators of us, and of the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 1. 6), and collectively they had likewise a pattern to follow-"Ye, brethren, became imitators of the Churches of God which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus." In this our day persons who are saved are exhorted to join this "ism," and that "ism"; and, by so doing, Sectarianism is pandered to and strengthened. How different is God's way referred to here, and set forth in Acts 2. 41, 42.

The third mention of the plural is in 2 Thessalonians 1. 3, 4- "We are bound to give thanks to God alway for you, brethren, even as it is meet, for that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another aboundeth; so that we ourselves glory in you in the Churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure."

As individuals, and also as churches, there is always room to excel. This portion shows out very beautifully the unity and the love that existed in the early days, in spite of the much failure which God hesitates not to reveal. They were one in joy, and one in sorrow. The churches of God in the aggregate are comprehended in 1 Timothy 3. 15-"that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the House of God, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." The Scriptures we have looked at show that each church of God, wherever situated was one with the other churches of God in their several localities. Together, they constituted "the House of God, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." When the wicked man was put out of Corinth, he was outside of the whole; he had no access to any other of the Assemblies. The Fellowship was one divine whole. Let us suppose a believer applies for fellowship, but it is revealed that he is unsound in doctrine-for example, that he does not believe in the statements of Scripture regarding eternal punishment; should such a person be received into a Church of God? No! because such a person would mar the Church's character as pillar and ground of the truth. Life in Christ ensures membership of the Church the Body, and this remains inviolable; but more than life is required to maintain the divine standard-"Pillar and ground of the truth."

The Church of God in Corinth was a pattern Assembly as to its constitution; but not as to some of its practices. That is why God sent His Word to correct: but the origin of the Assembly can never be in doubt. It was of God. There must always be the two things connected with a Church of God- origin as to the Godward side, and character as to the manward side. Four things call for special notice in Paul's address to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20. He refers to:

Testifying the gospel of the grace of God.

Preaching the kingdom of God.

Declaring the whole counsel of God-and then he exhorts them to

Feed the Church of God.

The feeding is necessary to the maintenance of the other things.

I would conclude by quoting a "Fragment" from Vol. V. of this Magazine:

"We are saints by the call of God in sovereign grace; and as such we are called to walk blamelessly and harmlessly before the world. The one who boasts much of the title by which he is called is not likely to be showing forth much of the character of a saint in his life and ways-just as one who speaks often of "love" is apt to be most unloving in his character.

"So again, if the same grace of God which has made us saints individually has made us Church of God collectively, it is not for us so much to be pressing our claim to the title as to be patiently and prayerfully endeavouring to act as Church of God, and thus to bring glory to the Name of Him by whom we are called into Church position in a present evil age, and in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation." This is well worth laying to heart.

May God sanctify the Word of His Grace to us, and enable us to go on together proving the things that differ-approving the things that are excellent.

N.D.W. MILLER | Dec 1932
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