What We Believe: The Church, Part Two (040523)
Pastor Joseph Campbell
What We Believe • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 34:38
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We received our next question via our street sign:
Why did God kill my dad?
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Soul Winning Saturday
This is the “reschedule” of last Saturday’s Soul Winning Saturday.
Resurrection Sunday
7:30 AM: outdoor, “Son” rise service
10:00 AM: full breakfast in the Fellowship Hall
11:00 AM: Worship Service
Be sure to be on the lookout for guests! And be friendly!
Can you help?
What we believe about the church.
What we believe about the church.
Why is it important?
Why is it important?
Most of you are aware of the fact that I don’t read much of what would be considered the mainline news media. (I don’t even read/watch/listen to Fox News any longer.)
One news outlet that I do read is the American Family News, the news outlet for the American Family Association.
Just recently, they published an article entitled:
Pick Your Side
The summary of this article reads:
Fox News host Tucker Carlson is fearlessly connecting the dots from the transgender movement to a prideful rebellion against nature and nature’s God, and the evidence of a cultural and spiritual fight over truth seems to be building with each passing day.
https://afn.net/culture/2023/04/04/pick-your-side-fox-warns-of-spiritual-battle-msnbc-calls-god-her/
It must be bad when even a mainline news outlet, such as Fox News, warns of the fact that a spiritual fight is building with each passing day.
My admonition is that you had better choose the side of truth - Biblical truth. And, in order to do that you will need to know What You Believe.
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
What you believe about the church is very important because it is within the confines (Ephesians 4:12) that we are perfected and edified so that we aren’t tossed to and fro (Ephesians 4:14)!
Also, considering the fight that is brewing, our children need to know what they believe as well! They are the ones who will very soon be marching off into the battle.
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
May I tell you this about Daniel? I can guarantee you that Daniel, well before he purposed in his heart, knew what it was that he believed!
The same will be true of our children as well!
What we believe about the church.
What we believe about the church.
Turn to and read Matthew 16:13-19. Pray.
Last week, I began with this question:
Universal & Invisible or Local & Visible?
Universal & Invisible or Local & Visible?
To answer that question, I shared with you three truths which Dr. Mike Gass includes his book, A Glorious Church.
As a reminder:
Our English word church comes from:
1577. ἐκκλησία ĕkklēsia, ek-klay-see´-ah; from a comp. of 1537 and a der. of 2564; a calling out, i.e. (concr.) a popular meeting, espec. a religious congregation
In the New Testament the word church:
Overwhelmingly refers to local, visible assemblies of Christians.
Overwhelmingly refers to local, visible assemblies of Christians.
The Greek word ecclesia (assembly) is used 117 times in the New Testament.
Of those 117 occasions, 112 times it is used in connection with God in one of three different ways.
First, it is overwhelmingly used to refer to specific, visible and local churches.
In fact, of the 112 references, 94 times it refers to local, visible assemblies.
That is, we know where these assemblies were located, whether by reference to a region, a city, or a home in which they were meeting.
Gass, Mike. A Glorious Church: A Study of the Origin, Identity, Heritage, and Integrity of the New Testament Church . Striving Together Publications. Kindle Edition.
I’ll just give you one example:
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
1st - It overwhelmingly refers to local, visible assemblies of Christians.
1st - It overwhelmingly refers to local, visible assemblies of Christians.
2nd - The word ecclesia is also sometimes used institutionally.
2nd - The word ecclesia is also sometimes used institutionally.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Jesus was speaking of His church as an institution, that it would perpetually exist beyond the limitations of any one human life until the end of the age.
The church in a corporate or institutional sense is not invisible, nor is it universal.
Just because you cannot physically see all those local New Testament churches which make up the institution does not mean they are invisible any more than we would speak of all those who are married as being invisible.
Gass, Mike. A Glorious Church: A Study of the Origin, Identity, Heritage, and Integrity of the New Testament Church . Striving Together Publications. Kindle Edition.
2nd - The word ecclesia is also sometimes used institutionally.
2nd - The word ecclesia is also sometimes used institutionally.
Then...
3rd - The word ecclesia is used to refer to the future gathering of all believers - in Heaven.
3rd - The word ecclesia is used to refer to the future gathering of all believers - in Heaven.
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
In this passage, the apostle speaks of a future date when there would be a “general assembly and church of the first-born.”
In other words, there will someday be a “churching” or gathering together of the church in eternity.
Gass, Mike. A Glorious Church: A Study of the Origin, Identity, Heritage, and Integrity of the New Testament Church . Striving Together Publications. Kindle Edition.
This “gathering is spoken of in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 as a means of encouraging the local church in Thessalonika.
1st - It overwhelmingly refers to local, visible assemblies of Christians.
1st - It overwhelmingly refers to local, visible assemblies of Christians.
2nd - The word ecclesia is also sometimes used institutionally.
2nd - The word ecclesia is also sometimes used institutionally.
3rd - The word ecclesia is used to refer to the future gathering of all believers - in Heaven.
3rd - The word ecclesia is used to refer to the future gathering of all believers - in Heaven.
So...
The Bible does not teach a universal & invisible church.
The Bible does not teach a universal & invisible church.
That is first way in which I would answer the question:
Universal & Invisible or Local & Visible?
Universal & Invisible or Local & Visible?
But, then, allow me to answer that question in one additional way.
Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
If the Bible does not teach a universal & invisible church comprised of all the saved, why do so many people - Christians - believe in a universal & invisible church?
Tradition
Tradition
This most commonly held position—that the true church is composed of all the redeemed regardless of their doctrinal persuasion—is predominately a Protestant position.
Gass, Mike. A Glorious Church: A Study of the Origin, Identity, Heritage, and Integrity of the New Testament Church . Striving Together Publications. Kindle Edition.
This was the position that was taken by the leaders of the Protestant Reformation - Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and Knox.
These individuals falsely believed that the mother church was Roman Catholicism. (Roman Catholicism had it’s beginning in AD 311 with the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. The true, biblical, New Testament church, however, had been in existence - apart from Roman Catholicism - since its inception, by Christ, in Matthew chapter 16!)
Note: The word Catholic means universal, pertaining to the whole Christian body or church
When these individuals (Luther, Calvin, etc.) were kicked out of the church, they formed new churches with doctrines unique to each of them.
However, did they need to do that? No!
Luther and Calvin were both aware of biblical, New Testament churches, such as the Waldensian church that had never been a part of Roman Catholicism. Why didn’t they simply unite with/become members of these churches? I don’t know that I can answer that question.
However, what I can tell you is this…Each of these Reformers, as they started new churches, carried with them unscriptural baggage that they were either unwilling or unable to let go of. (One example of this would be infant baptism.)
These various leaders also began to realize that, although they agreed upon their rejection of Roman Catholicism, they couldn’t always agree - doctrinally - with one another. So, what were they to do? Who - or which group -would take the mantle of the true church?
They simply redefined the old Catholic doctrine of the church.
The Catholic Church for centuries had defined the church as visible referring to itself, and universal or exclusionary (that is, all competitors were heretics).
The Reformers adjusted this position by saying the true church was invisible and universal, meaning that the church was all inclusive regardless of doctrinal persuasion.
Gass, Mike. A Glorious Church: A Study of the Origin, Identity, Heritage, and Integrity of the New Testament Church . Striving Together Publications. Kindle Edition.
Thus, they validated their doctrinal diversity and justified their own individual and distinct efforts in the Reformation.
Gass, Mike. A Glorious Church: A Study of the Origin, Identity, Heritage, and Integrity of the New Testament Church . Striving Together Publications. Kindle Edition.
Luther produced the Lutheran Church
Calvin produced the Reformed churches
Knox produced the Presbyterian churches
Henry VIII produced the Anglican church
Thus, their false understanding of the church - as universal and invisible simply comprised of all believers - allows each “church” to justify diversity but also their own claim to legitimacy as a “church.”
What has this led to? Simply put it has led to confusion and a watering down of Biblical truth.
Allow me to give you two incidents, which have happened this past week, to illustrate this confusion and watering down of Biblical truth:
Confusion: After meeting with a couple - on Tuesday - I gave them a Gospel DVD to watch. His response? He grew up in the Methodist church and had friends that were in the Baptist church. He didn’t see any difference and besides, it didn’t really matter as long as you believed in God.
Watering Down of Biblical Truth: This past Sunday morning we had an older lady attend, who was a first time guest. After the service, as I was speaking with her, she told me that she had just left her Methodist church. Why? Because of their (the United Methodist Churches of America) support of the LGBTQ+ agenda and teachings.
In a book that I have on my shelf entitled, Handbook of Denominations, on the opening page it states:
That fact, whether it is grouped with other churches or stands alone, is one of the early clues to solving the mystery that religious diversity - confusion, perhaps - can present.
We still haven’t actually gotten to what our church doctrinal statement regarding the church.
Before we do - next week - I would like to consider, for just a moment:
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Don’t those verses teach a universal, mystical church? Don’t they teach that we are all part of that body?
We must understand and keep in mind that the Apostle Paul, in both of these passages, is writing to local, visible churches in the cities of Corinth and Colosse.
We should understand the body of Christ and the church of Christ in this way:
The local, Corinthian church (ecclesia) was the physical body (soma) of Christ in the city of Corinth, and each person, being baptized into that body, was a member.
The local, Colosse church (ecclesia) was the physical body (soma) of Christ in the city of Colosse, and each person, being baptized into the body, was a member.
Common sense should also dictate this understanding.
If the church was “universal and invisible” how could the right hand of the body be of any use to the mouth of the body if the right hand is located in Warsaw, Poland and the mouth of the body is located in Gainesville, Florida.
As we speak of our own bodies, we understand that they are visible and that all the parts of our body are in the same location.
The local church is the physical manifestation of the body of Christ in that particular location.
What we believe about the church.
What we believe about the church.
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Patricia Jordan
Should be released from the hospital tomorrow afternoon.
Her daughter, Linda, will be taking her to Knoxville, Tenn for a time.
Lillian Woodley
Ms. Lillian’s funeral will be held this Saturday afternoon in Elmore, Alabama. I will be driving to Alabama on Friday afternoon and then driving back on Saturday evening.
If you would like to send condolences, you may send them to her address in Fort Mill. (You can get her address by contacting the church office.)
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Praying for an Open Door
Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
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I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.