The Church (Assembly)
and the Kingdom of God
Part 4 of a study - by
Bob Allgood
The New Testament gospel Church, as taught in the scriptures, is always a
particular local, visible assembly of born again believers who have been properly baptized
in water. There is no such thing as a “Holy Catholic (universal) Church” or an
“Invisible Church (assembly)” taught in the scriptures. There will
be a Church (Assembly) in glory when all the redeemed (elect) are gathered together to be
“with the Lord”. One may take the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:18 (when the word
"Ekklesia" is first used) and construe that Jesus was talking about (1) more
than ONE local assembly or, (2) just the church in Jerusalem or, (3) the assembly of all
Saints to be gathered in glory, when he said “upon this rock I will build my church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. But one will be hard pressed to
take the words of Christ in Matthew 18:15-17 (when the word "Ekklesia" is used
the 2nd and 3rd times) and construe anything other than a local,
visible, New Testament Church (assembly) dealing with internal church discipline. One
cannot take the words in Acts 2:47 (when the word "Ekklesia" is used the 4th
time) “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” and
construe anything other than a local, visible New Testament assembly, unless they make the
word “saved” mean “saved eternally”.
The 5th time the word "Ekklesia" is used it is in Acts 5:11
following the death of Ananias and his wife Sapphira. There is says, “And great fear
came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things”. The words “and upon as many as heard these
things” limit “all the church” to the church at Jerusalem
which heard of these things. The word "Ekklesia" is used it is in Acts 7:38 but
there it is speaking of the Jewish assembly in the wilderness with Moses.
The 6th and 7th time the word "Ekklesia" is used to
speak of a New Testament Church (assembly) is in Acts 8:1. “And Saul was
consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the
church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions
of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles” and in Acts 8:3, “As for Saul, he
made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed
them to prison”. It is obvious that “the church” in Acts 8:3 is the same
“church which was at Jerusalem” in Acts 81.
So far we have found NO place where God’s word introduces the idea of a
“catholic (universal)” or “invisible” church (assembly).
The next time we find the word "Ekklesia" used in the Scriptures it is
translated CHURCHES (plural) instead of CHURCH (singular). Due to Paul’s persecution
of “the church which was at Jerusalem” – “they that were scattered abroad
went every where preaching the word (Acts 8:4). Following Paul’s conversion recorded
in Acts 9 we read in verse 31 “Then had the CHURCHES (caps mine – ba) rest
throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear
of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied”. If God intended
that we believe that the New Testament Church (assembly) was to be a “catholic (universal)
church” it seems to me that the Spirit of God would have directed the writer to say
“Then had THE church rest, etc..” But instead the inspired word of God reads
CHURCHES (assemblies) throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria. I could “rest my case here” J but why stop when I’m on a roll. J
In Acts 11:22 we read, “Then tidings of these things came unto
the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem”. In Acts 13:1 we read, “Now there were in
the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers”. In Acts 20:17 we
read, “And from Miletus he (Paul) sent to Ephesus,
and called the elders of the church”. In Romans 16:1 we read “I commend unto you
Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea”. In Romans
16:5 we read, “Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my
wellbeloved”. In 1 Corinthians 1:2 Paul
wrote, “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth” and again in 2 Corinthians
1:1, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by
the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with
all the saints which are in all Achaia”.
When writing to more than ONE church Paul used the term CHURCHES. In Gal. 1:1-2 we
read, “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God
the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto
the churches of Galatia”. In
Ephesians 1:1 Paul wrote, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to
the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus”. In
Colossians 1:1 he wrote, “To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at
Colosse”. In 1st Thessalonians 1:1,
“Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in
God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ” and again in 2nd Thessalonians 1:1
“Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. NO
WHERE do we find any indication that Paul ever believed in a “catholic (universal)
church (assembly).
Our Lord and Saviour refuted this false teaching of a “catholic (universal)
church) when he instructed John to write to the seven (7) churches in Asia.
Revelation 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus
write;
Revelation 2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna
write;
Revelation 2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write;
Revelation 2:18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write;
Revelation 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis
write;
Revelation 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia
write;
Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans
write;
At
the end of each of these letters we find these words:
Revelation 2:7 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the CHURCHES”
Revelation 2:11 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the CHURCHES”
Revelation 2:17 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the CHURCHES”
Revelation 2:23 “And I will kill her children with death; and
all the CHURCHES shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will
give unto every one of you according to your works”.
Revelation 2:29 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the CHURCHES”.
Revelation 3:6 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the CHURCHES”.
Revelation 3:13 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the CHURCHES”.
Revelation 3:22 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the CHURCHES”.
And finally in
Revelation 22:16 we read, “I Jesus have sent mine angel to
testify unto you these things in the CHURCHES. I am the root and the offspring of David,
and the bright and morning star”.
Everything Has A
Beginning:
But now let’s move on to another aspect of this
study. Everything but the Eternal Godhead has to have a beginning. Mankind did not evolve
from non-organic matter into a life-form and then turn into a tadpole, then a frog, then a
monkey, and finally a college professor. God created Adam from the dust of the earth and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. But he could
not procreate by himself, so God made Eve from one of his ribs. If Adam and Eve are in
heaven, they will be the only ones there without a natural “belly button”,
unless God put one on them for decorations. All other humans have been conceived in the
womb of a woman and nourished through an umbilical cord attached to the placenta.
The Hebrew Nation got its beginning via Gentiles. Noah and his wife and their three sons
and their wives were ALL Gentiles and the ONLY souls to survive the great flood of 2390
BC. Eber, pronounced He’ber, from which comes Hebrew, was a descendent of Shem, a son
of Noah (see Gen 10:21-31). Terah was of the linage of Eber, and Abram was
of the linage of Terah. Abram was a native of Ur
of the Chaldees (a Chaldean) before God called him to go into the land of Canaan. The word HEBREW
appears in Genesis 14:13, but the word JEWS does not appear in scripture until 2nd
Kings 16:6. It was after 1787 BC when Jacob’s name was changed to Israel and the “house of
Jacob” became the “house of Israel”.
When the fullness of time was at hand for believers in the coming of The Messiah to
be “baptized with water” God sent John the Baptist, with heavenly authority, to
start the process. As far as I know John himself was never “baptized with
water”, unless God himself did it, but there is no record of that. John baptized many
“disciples”, the number of which is unknown. Jesus was baptized by John in order
to fulfill all righteousness (Matt 3:15), and the authority to baptize passed from John to
Jesus. From the disciples John had baptized, some recognized Jesus as the Messiah and
began to follow The Christ. Jesus called out others to follow him. They, having received
authority to baptize from Christ, in turn baptized many more disciples, even more than
John had baptized (John 4:1-3). It appears from Acts 1:21-23 that John baptized ALL of the
disciples from which Jesus chose his first Apostles. According to Luke 6:13 the first twelve
(12) apostles were chosen from among other disciples. “And when it was day, he called
unto him his disciples: and of them he
chose twelve, whom also he named apostles”. So
in the “First Church” there were born again believers who had been “baptized
with water” called Disciples, and some disciples who were chosen to be Apostles,
including Judas Iscariot, who was a devil.
According to Acts 6:1-6 it was the Apostles in “the church which was at Jerusalem”
who ordained seven men to serve the widows who were being neglected in the daily
administration. We assume these were the first Deacons, although the word
“deacon” does not appear in this passage. The word deacons first appears in
Paul’s epistle to the Philippians. The qualification for deacons is set forth in
Paul’s first epistle to Timothy. No where in the Scriptures do we find where a
“deacon” ever sat on a presbytery to ordain an Elder – as some Primitive
Baptist churches allow them to do.
We do know that there were Elders in “the church which was at Jerusalem”
and must assume that the Apostles ordained them as such. When “the church which was
at Jerusalem” was in need, we read in Acts 11 that the church in Antioch, where the
disciples were first called Christians, sent relief to “the church which was at
Jerusalem”. The scripture says, “Then the disciples, every man according to
his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: Which
also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul”. These
Elders took part in the first church council recorded in Acts 15.
When Paul’s persecution came on “the church which was at Jerusalem”,
the Apostles remained in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), but these Elders were scattered abroad
and “went every where preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). Other Churches (plural)
were established throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria. We know this to be true because after Paul’s
conversion we read in Acts 9:31 “Then had the CHURCHES (caps mine – ba)
rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the
Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied”.
“When the apostles, Barnabas and Paul” (Acts 14:14),
went on their first “missionary journey” they not only established more CHURCHES
(plural) but they “ordained them
elders in EVERY church” (Acts 14:23). If there was such a creature as a “catholic (universal)
church” it seems to me they would have just “ordained elders in THE church. But
the Holy Spirit of God inspired the writer to say they “ordained them elders in EVERY church”.
There are some who claim there must be a plurality of Elders in every church in order for
it to be a New Testament Church – but I will not get into that here and now.
Finally let’s consider the Elders of the church at Ephesus.
When Paul was returning to Jerusalem from his third “missionary journey” with
Silas, they stopped in Miletus, and he “sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church”. He did not call for ALL
the Elders which had been ordained in EVERY church, but the Elders of the Church at Ephesus. In Acts 20:28 Paul said unto THEM
– “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to
all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased
with his own blood”. The flock THEY were to take heed over was the flock over which
the Holy Ghost hath made THEM overseers. They had no ecclesiastical control or duty to
take heed over every other church in that region or around the world. Granted, every elect
child of God, and every New Testament Church, has been “purchased with the blood of Christ (God)”, but
the church under consideration is the Church at Ephesus, and not some “catholic (universal) church”.
It seems that now days, in most religious denominations, and especially in some Baptist
Associations (which is another subject in itself) there are some who want to “Lord it
over” all the churches, as though the Holy Spirit has made them overseers like unto
the Roman Catholic Pope. Peter had some advice
along this line, so I will let him speak in my behalf. “The elders which are among
you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a
partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you,
taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but
of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to
the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory
that fadeth not away”. |