Introduction

In the New Testament we read of
the formation of the Church, its unity, worship, ministry, government, and
discipline.  In New Testament times there was, in every sense of the word,
one body of believers.

Since New Testament days the
outward testimony of the Church has been smashed into several thousand pieces,
which we call denominations or fellowships. Given this sad state of affairs, what
is the Christian to do? Some counsel us, "Go to the church of your
choice." That is pretty poor advice because it suggests that we are
capable of coming up with reasonable criteria on our own for selecting the most
suitable church fellowship. It also suggests that the differences among
churches and fellowships are relatively trivial. This is not at all the case,
for some deny fundamental teachings of the Bible such as the deity, virgin
birth, and resurrection of Christ and salvation by faith alone; some wink at
serious sins that are utterly condemned by the Bible; and others seek to be
guided, in doctrine and practice, by the Bible alone.

Others give better counsel:Find a
Bible-believing church, one that teaches and seeks to live and operate
according to the Bible, the Word of God. But we still will find a great variety
of churches, assemblies, fellowships, and denominations that claim to be
Bible-believing, but differ widely among themselves in doctrine, practice, and
organization.

The best we can do is:

1. Study, study, and study some
more what the Bible teaches about the Church.

2. Pray earnestly that the Lord
will help us to understand rightly what the Bible teaches concerning Christ and
the Church.

3. Pray for a pure heart for
ourselves and a deep desire to know and do God’s will in all things in
our personal life.

4. Pray that the Lord will lead us
to others who "call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Tim. 2:22),
thus forming the basis for church fellowship that is in accordance with
Biblical principles.

Is church fellowship really such a
big deal? Yes, it surely is. Here is Christ’s own attitude about the Church:
"Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word; that He might present it
to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;
but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:25-27). So Christ
not only gave Himself for individuals, He gave Himself for the Church
as a body of believers. The Church is precious in His sight. May
we, as those who are being changed into Christ’s image (2 Cor. 3:18), find His
Church to be precious in our sight as well.

 

In this series of articles we
shall briefly discuss the historical background of the Church—when it began and
of whom it consists. Then we shall study the characteristics of the early
Church, including:

1. Its being one body and a unity
of assemblies.

2. Its being the house of God, the
pillar and ground of the truth.

3. Its heavenly character and
hope.

4. Its members being gathered
together unto the Lord’s name often for the breaking of bread, prayer, and
ministry of the Word.

5. The priesthood of all
its members.

6. The equipping and
responsibility of all its members for ministry and service in the
assembly.

7. The existence and role of
overseers and guides in the local assembly.

8. Its carrying out of Church
discipline.

After this we shall tackle the
issue that is so controversial in the Church today, namely, how do we manifest
the unity of assemblies or express the truth that there is one body in an age
in which the Church is splintered into thousands of different denominations,
sects, and fellowships.

Finally, for those who truly
believe they are following Biblical teaching about the Church as best as they
possibly can, I shall offer suggestions as to how they can do it even better.
May it be the earnest prayer of each believer in Christ and member of the
Church that we not only improve, day by day, in our walk with and likeness to
Christ, but that we and our fellow members of the body of Christ will be
increasingly faithful to the plan, organization, and practical conduct of the
Church according to the Word of God.

As we anticipate the coming
articles in this series, may we all—writer and reader alike—be much in prayer
about this matter that is so important to the One who loved the Church and gave
Himself for it.

                
The Beginning and Membership

                        
of the Church

There are some Bible scholars who
teach that the Church consists of all believers in every age. John Calvin
taught that Galatians 4:1-4 refers to the Church in its childhood in Old
Testament times. Surely there were many true believers in the Old Testament (Rom. 4:1-8; Heb. 11:1-32). However, there is scriptural evidence to show that the Church
was not formed until the Day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2:

1. Jesus said to Peter, "Upon
this rock I will build My Church" (Matt. 16:18). The apostle Paul
declared, "That Rock was Christ" (1 Cor. 10:4); and the apostle Peter
referred to the Lord Jesus as "a living stone" and "a chief
cornerstone" (1 Pet. 2:4-8; see also Eph. 2:20).

 

2. It is by the Holy Spirit that
we are "baptized into one body" (1 Cor. 12:13). Jesus, after His
resurrection, told His disciples that they would "be baptized with the
Holy Spirit not many days hence" (Acts 1:5,8). On the Day of Pentecost
those disciples (about 120 of them, Acts 1:15) were gathered together when the
Holy Spirit came down and filled them (Acts 2:1-13). The apostle Peter preached
to the multitude gathered to celebrate the feast of Pentecost; about 3,000
received his word and "were added unto them" (that is, unto the 120
or so original members of the Church; Acts 2:41). At the end of the chapter we
read that "the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be
saved" (2:47).

The Greek word translated
"church" in the New Testament is ekklesia. The word ekklesia
literally means "called out ones" and was used generally by Greeks to
refer to "an assembly of the citizens summoned by the town
crier."  The early Church was made up of Jews who, upon believing on
the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, were called out from the Jewish religion
to be members of the body of Christ (Acts 2:44,46). Later on, when the gospel
came to the Gentiles, many of them also believed and were called out of their
pagan religions and joined with the Jewish believers in the same body, the
Church (Acts 15:14; Eph. 2:11-21).

In this series of articles, we
shall use "Church" with capital C to denote the Church of Christ in its entirety, worldwide (such as Eph. 5:23), and "church" with lower-case c
to denote a congregation or expression of the Church in a certain place (such
as Gal. 1:2). The Bible does not—nor shall we—use the word "church"
to designate a building where Christians meet together.

Clearly, the word ekklesia
goes far beyond simple membership in a body. As mentioned above, it expresses
the thought of an assembling of people. The chief activity of the local ekklesia
or church is being assembled together for worship, prayer, ministry of the Word
of God, or decision-making. We shall often use the word "assembly" in
these articles, especially in reference to the believers gathered together in a
particular place.

In the Old Testament the faithful
ones were primarily individual believers, vitally and eternally linked with
God. Their unity was that of the family or tribe and they were represented by twelve
loaves of showbread in the holy place of the tabernacle (Lev. 24:5). Since
Pentecost in Acts 2, the believers enjoy not only the vertical link with God as
their Father and with the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, but a horizontal
link with every other believer as "one body in Christ, and every one
members one of another" (Rom. 12:5). Believers are now represented by one
loaf (1 Cor. 10:17). Surely the unity of the different parts of a body is much
closer even than the unity of members of the same family.

In the next issue, Lord willing,
we shall consider the Church in its characteristic as one body, the body of
Christ.