All Scripture
quotations, except those noted otherwise are from the New American Standard
Bible copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by
The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
2.5.1 Worship:
Ministry to God 2.5.2 Nurture:
Ministry to believers 2.5.3 Evangelism:
Ministry to the world 4.1.2 Varying
degrees of church purity 6.1.1.2 Attributes of apostles 6.1.1.3 The purpose of apostles 6.1.1.4 Qualifications of an apostle 6.1.1.5 Do apostles exist today? 6.1.2.1 Plurality of elders in the New Testament 6.1.2.4 Qualifications of an elder 7. Receiving grace in
the church 7.2.1 The method and meaning of baptism 7.8.3 The folly
of grouping gifts: Motivational gifts? 7.8.3.1 The rationale of those who teach motivational
gifts 7.8.3.2 The proper interpretation of the gifts in Rom
12:6-8 7.8.3.2.1
A comparison with 1 Cor 12 7.11 Personal ministry to individuals
Luke’s
second book [Acts] does not seem to have a conclusion. At the end, Paul is
still preaching in Rome, and the book does not tell us what became of him or of
the rest of the church. Luke had a theological reason for this, for the story he
was telling shall not come to an end before the end of all history.
When Jesus said, “I will build My church; and the gates
of Hades will not overpower it” (Mt 16:18 The birth of the church was on the
day of Pentecost as the Holy Spirit came on all those who have believed on
Jesus. It was on this day that “there
were added about three thousand souls” (Ac 2:41
The church is that group of people who has believed in Jesus Christ and
henceforth is a part of the body of Christ. As people believe in Christ He adds
them to the number of the church (Ac 2:47 The church is at once both visible
and invisible. The church is invisible as the fellowship of all true believers.
We cannot see into people’s hearts and know what their condition is. Only God
knows who are His (2 Tim 2:19 The word church in the New Testament
may be used of a local group meeting in someone’s house—local church—or as
abstract as all believers together from the birth of the church—universal
church. The word “church” may be use of (1) house churches (Rom 16:5 There are other metaphors and terms used of the church in the New Testament.
Table 1: Aliases for the church The purpose of the church is
ministry. This ministry may be divided into three categories.
We are encouraged several times in
the New Testament to bring glory and praise to God (Col 3:16
And do not
get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the
Spirit, [19] addressing one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord
with all your heart (Eph 5:18-19
The church has an obligation to bring
its people to maturity and to nurture them to full strength. The ministry in
the church is “[12] for the
equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body
of Christ; [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature
which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” (Eph 4:12-13
that we may present every man
complete in Christ. (Col 1:28
Some of the last words Jesus ever spoke were to make disciples of all nations.
[19] Go therefore and make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I commanded you (Mt
28:19-20
A very necessary part of evangelism is to show God’s kindness and mercy.
[35] But love your enemies, and do
good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and
you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and
evil men. [36] Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Lk 6:35-36 When it comes to Israel and the church, there are basically three ways to interpret Israel’s relevance to the church today.
First, in Covenant Theology (CT) it is attempted to read the Old Covenant as though it were the New Covenant. In CT, there are two overarching covenants: the covenant of works made with Adam, which came to an end when the covenant of grace was instituted; the covenant of grace was instituted under Moses. The covenant of grace has two administrations. One from Moses to Christ, and the other from Christ on. Since there is only one covenant of grace—divided into two administrations—which is the basic assumption of CT, there has to be only one Church, and as a result, Israel has to be one with the church today.
Second, in Dispensational Theology (DT), the Old Testament is read as though it were the New Covenant. DT believes that all nations must bless Israel or incur God’s wrath. According to DT, God has an earthly purpose with Israel and a heavenly one for the church. DT believes that all of history is seen in terms of Israel’s history. In essence, DT is Israeli-centric.
Lastly, in New Covenant Theology (NCT), which is the author’s view, the Old Covenant is seen as obsolete and done away with, and that the New Covenant is now in effect which completely and utterly replaces the Old Covenant. In Gen 12:1-7
However, in the DT camp, it is believed that God must still fulfill the
promises to Israel and that the struggle in the Middle East today is a direct
result of that. They pour millions of dollars of their own money into
supporting this cause. DT believes that everything must be done to this end, no
matter who else lives there. Yet, Scripture is clear that the land promises to
Abraham and Israel have been fulfilled.
So Joshua took the whole land,
according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an
inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Thus the
land had rest from war. (Josh 11:23
[41] All the cities of the Levites in
the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel were forty-eight cities with
their pasture lands. [42] These cities each had its surrounding pasture lands;
thus it was with all these cities. [43] So the LORD gave Israel all the land
which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in
it. [44] And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He
had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them;
the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand. [45] Not one of the good
promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to
pass. (Josh 21:41-45
However, even though promises were made to Israel and were fulfilled as
we can see in the Joshua passages, the New Testament is clear on the ultimate
fulfillment of these promises. Under the New Covenant these promises are shown
to have been mere shadows and types of the real fulfillment that waited for the
church in the New Testament. Concerning these passages in Joshua, the New
Testament has this to say:
[8] For if Joshua had given them
rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. [9] So there remains
a Sabbath rest for the people of God. (Heb 4:8-9
The complete fulfilment that awaited the people of God can only be realised in Christ and in the New Covenant. Paul interprets what God actually told Abraham when He made the promises to him.
[16] Now the promises were spoken to
Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, And to seeds, as referring to many,
but rather to one, And to your seed, that is, Christ. [17] What I am saying is
this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not
invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.
[18] For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a
promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise. (Gal 3:16-18
Since the promises to Abraham were
kept and fulfilled in the book of Joshua, we can now see the proper fulfilment
in Christ. The promises have all been fulfilled in Christ and Israel no longer
has to wait for earthly promises to be fulfilled. Since the priesthood changed,
the law changed with it (Heb 7:12
What is the result of all this,
then? In Christ, there “is
neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28
The outcome of all this is that God’s program no longer runs with an
earthly kingdom in mind—such as that of setting Israel up in the land of
Palestine—but rather a spiritual kingdom, which for now—until Christ returns to
set up His kingdom—is proclaimed by the church and realised in Christ as the
head of the church. All blessings are now appropriated in Christ.
However, some will claim that the promises made to Israel and the
covenant with her were eternal in nature and therefore could not come to an
end. Yet, this shows a basic misunderstanding concerning the New Testament
message with Christ as the fulfilment of all promises made to Israel. In order
for us to understand the eternal nature of the promises and their fulfilment in
Christ we can also look at the “eternal” aspects in the worship system of
Israel in the Old Testament.
Table 2: Christ – the antitype
It is clear that the Lord has done away with the old—priesthood, passover, sabbath, circumcision—and that He has put in place the new. If we can believe that the Old Testament priesthood or passover has been done away with and fulfilled in the New Testament—notwithstanding that all-encompassing word “eternal” or “everlasting”—then surely we can see and believe that the land promise—fulfilled already in Joshua’s day—has a better fulfilment in Christ!
Israel is no longer the people of
God. They broke God’s covenant and rejected the gospel, and as a result, God
rejected them as His people. Right through the pages of the Old Testament we
read of Israel as the unbelieving people of God. Time and time again God had to
bring judgement on Israel to bring them back to Him. Israel was known as the
people of God (Rom 9:1-5
[5] And when Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, [6] and saying, Lord, my servant is
lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented. [7] Jesus said to him, I will
come and heal him. [8] But the centurion said, Lord, I am not worthy for You to
come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. [9]
For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this
one, "Go!' and he goes, and to another, "Come!' and he comes, and to
my slave, "Do this!' and he does it. [10] Now when Jesus heard this, He
marveled and said to those who were following, Truly I say to you, I have not
found such great faith with anyone in Israel. [11] I say to you that many will
come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
in the kingdom of heaven; [12] but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out
into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. (Mt 8:5-12
As a result of Israel’s rejection by God, God instituted a new people of
God, the true Israel…the church!
[4] And coming to Him as to a living
stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight
of God, [5] you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house
for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ. [6] For this is contained in Scripture: BEHOLD, I LAY IN
ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL
NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. [7] This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but
for those who disbelieve, THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME
THE VERY CORNER stone, [8] and, A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE; for
they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they
were also appointed. [9] But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY
NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the
excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous
light; [10] for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD;
you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. (1 Pet 2:4-10
There is a new people of God, a people of God in which there is no Jew
nor Gentile. In this people all are one. This people of God is the church (Eph
2:12-19
[6] But it is not as though the word
of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;
[7] nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but:
THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED. [8] That is, it is not the
children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise
are regarded as descendants. (Rom 9:6-8
It has never been the case that all Israel will be saved
lock-stock-and-barrel. It has always only been the remnant that would be
saved (Rom 9:27
[28] For he is not a Jew who is one
outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. [29] But he
is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart,
by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.
(Rom 2:28-29 True church unity cannot exist apart from true church purity. As far as the church preaches pure or true doctrine, there may also be unity in the church. Wherever
we see the word of God sincerely preached and heard, wherever we see the
sacraments administered according to the institution of Christ, there we cannot
have any doubt that the church of God has some existence.
It has to be understood that when a church preaches what is contrary to the truth of the gospel on a fundamental level, then that church cannot be noted as a church of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Naturally, the Roman Catholic Institution claims to be the only true church and that the visible church that descended from the apostle Peter and the rest of the apostles is the only true church. However, based on the multitude of false doctrine that they teach, they cannot be a true church. The Mormon Church and the Jehovah’s Witnesses can also be classified as false churches.
When we read the epistles of Paul, we
can acknowledge that the church was in no way a perfect church even at that
early stage. Those Christians whose cry is to move back to the New Testament
church will first have to tell us which one. When we look at the Corinthian
church we find different factions (1 Cor 1:10-17
Thus, we cannot even find the perfect New Testament church in the New Testament. From the beginning there were those who were less pure in their teaching than others. This can be backed up by reading Paul’s epistles.
However, since we cannot find a perfect church in the pages of the New Testament, it does not mean we must not attempt to live and teach as close to the truth as we can. This is a subject very close to Paul’s heart.
Paul is very serious on the point of teaching correct doctrine. First, he instructs us to watch out for those who teach doctrines opposite to the truth and to avoid them.
I appeal
to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create
obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. (Rom
16:17
Second, we must be diligent in handling the truth of the gospel. It is important for the church to teach the truth in a consistent manner.
Do your
best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be
ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15
Third, Paul instructs Titus to appoint elders in the church at Crete that are able to refute those who contradict the truth.
holding fast the faithful word which
is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in
sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. (Tit 1:9
Paul very eminently demonstrated the importance of refuting false
doctrine when he rebuked the apostle Peter for not handling the truth correctly
in his attitude toward the Judaizers.
But when I saw that they were not
straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence
of all, If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how
is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? (Gal 2:14
It is very important to understand that if we do not hold ourselves to
the highest degree of truth in our own lives and doctrine, that we are not
displaying love in the Biblical way.
[love] does not rejoice in
unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth (1 Cor 13:6
To read more about truth in the church, read the article Study02-Truth.htm. The New Testament has a strong
emphasis on the unity of the church. Jesus wanted His flock to be one flock
with one shepherd from the beginning (Jn 10:16
The relationship between church
purity and church unity is a close one. Without the truth, there can be no
Biblical unity. Unity can only be based on truth. Any unity based on love that excludes the truth, has no
Biblical love or unity. Love, and as a consequence unity, rejoices with the
truth (1 Cor 13:6 What are valid reasons for leaving a church? The question could also be asked, does the New Testament ever give a Christian the right to leave a church?
The New Testament is dead set
against divisions in the church. In fact it speaks against it fairly
frequently. Paul was so concerned that Peter was not showing the truth of the
gospel when he separated from the Gentiles to eat with the Jews only, that he
rebuked him to his face in a public setting (Gal 2:11-14
The New Testament emphasises unity
in the church and when it speaks of separation, it is separation from
unbelievers, not believers. Paul instructs us not to be bound together with
unbelievers (2 Cor 6:14
[2] For men will be lovers of self,
lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents,
ungrateful, unholy, [3] unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without
self-control, brutal, haters of good, [4] treacherous, reckless, conceited,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, [5] holding to a form of
godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. (2 Tim
3:2-5
These are the marks of unbelievers, showing us to avoid unbelievers, not
believers who we differ with. In 2 Tim 3:8
The ones we are to separate from are those who do not teach the truth. Paul urges us very
seriously to keep our “eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances
contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.” (Rom
16:17
The question is, How far from the truth must a church’s teaching be
before we feel that we need to separate from them? In order to put this
question in a darker setting: Should we not leave a church when it has left the
teaching of the gospel and therefore is teaching a different gospel? This
means, when we can say of a church that it is no longer a Christian church,
then we have a right to leave that church. One should therefore only leave a
church who was no longer teaching the essentials of the gospel, but has turned
from it to teach something different to the essentials. In order to learn more
about the essentials of the gospel, read my article called What is
the gospel?
What reasons are there for leaving a church? When a church has deviated from the Biblical gospel and standards in a serious way, whether in its official documents or in its actual belief and practice, one should consider leaving. How does one measure this deviation? We have already seen that the New Testament never gives us a command to separate from a true church, as long as they are part of the body of Christ.
[9] Anyone who goes too far and does
not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in
the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. [10] If anyone comes to you
and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do
not give him a greeting; [11] for the one who gives him a greeting participates
in his evil deeds.( 2 Jn 9-11
It is clear from this passage that if someone comes to you with a message
that is not the “teaching of Christ” we should not receive him into our houses
or our churches. The one who walks with such a person (gives him a greeting),
he in effect participates in the false teacher’s evil deeds. What does this
tell us? We should separate ourselves from false teachers. If we air a program
on a TV channel that is dedicated to false teaching, we should rather withdraw
our program so that we do not participate in their evil deeds. So, if a church
supports a group or movement that teaches false doctrine, we should be wary of
that church. A church that refuses to part ways from a false teacher or false
movement, can no longer claim to walk in the truth of the gospel, since they
participate in the evil ways of the false teachers.
Therefore, when a church teaches or supports those who teach heretical
views on one of the major doctrines—Trinity, person of Christ, atonement, man’s
sinful condition, inerrancy of the Scriptures, salvation—it would be wise to
leave such a church. If a Christian does not have the freedom to teach or preach his conscience as he feels informed by Scripture, then it would be wise to leave. If it comes to the point where you believe different on things which the church frowns upon, and you do not feel that you have the freedom to teach or preach what you believe the truth to be—tithing, Arminianism vs Calvinism, eschatology—then for conscience sake it would be better to leave.
Some
people might also find it necessary or at least wise to leave a church on the
basis of conscience if staying implied approval of some unbiblical doctrine or
practice within the church, and thereby encouraged others to follow that wrong
doctrine or practice. When a church hinders one from effectively discharging one’s ministry, it may be a practical consideration to leave the church to actively pursue one’s ministry before the Lord. However, this should be considered in a prayerful attitude.
On the other hand, it may be practical to leave a church simply because of location. The power of the church is its God-given authority to
carry on spiritual warfare, proclaim the gospel, and exercise church discipline. [3] For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war according to the flesh, [4] for the weapons of our warfare are
not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. [5]
We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the
knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of
Christ, [6] and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your
obedience is complete. (2 Cor 10:3-6
When it
comes to spiritual warfare, there have been many abuses, obviously encouraged
by books like This Present Darkness
and Piercing the Darkness by Frank
Peretti.
As we
turn to our passage in 2 Cor
First,
“the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh,” meaning that Paul did not
execute his ministry in the flesh, since he was divinely called by Jesus Christ
Himself (Ac 9:1-19
[13] for WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE
NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED. [14] How then will they call on Him in whom
they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?
And how will they hear without a preacher? [15] How will they preach unless
they are sent? Just as it is written, HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO
BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS! [16] However, they did not all heed the good
news; for Isaiah says, LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? [17] So faith comes
from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Rom 10:13-17
It is only through the preaching of
the gospel that people can come to a saving knowledge of Christ. There are no
mystical ways through which God works! God has chosen the base things of the
world to confound the wise (1 Cor 1:27
When Paul writes that “we are destroying speculations and every lofty
thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought
captive to the obedience of Christ,” (2 Cor 10:5 [10] Finally, be strong in the Lord
and in the strength of His might. [11] Put on the full armor of God, so that
you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. [12] For our
struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces
of wickedness in the heavenly places. [13] Therefore, take up the full armor of
God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done
everything, to stand firm. [14] Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS
WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, [15] and having
shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; [16] in addition to
all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [18] With all prayer and
petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the
alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, [19] and pray on
my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to
make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel (Eph 6:10-19
This is one of the most abused passages in what is known as the
Charismatic section of the church. This passage has been used as proof for the
expulsion of demons out of communities and cities and to bind the evil
spiritual realm from activity. This supposedly opens the heavens for God to
work in people’s hearts to prepare them for the reception of the gospel. This
is definitely not the sovereign God of the Bible.
We are told to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might”
(Eph 6:10 |
