Part 8 (1/2)

A Divine Inst.i.tution.--The Christian church was not organized by any one man or a company of men, but was given to man as an expression of the compa.s.sion of G.o.d (John 3:16-21), that in it men might a.s.sociate themselves together for the proper wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d and that they might draw near to Him (Hebrews 10:19-25).

1. The beginning of the organization of the church was in the upper room, where Jesus partook of the last supper with His disciples (Matthew 26:20-30). Here He showed the significance of His death (v. 28), His relation to the Father (John 14:9), and the coming of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16,17; 15:26,27). In the last instructions given by Jesus, and His prayer (John 14:1-17:26) we have a body of teaching which const.i.tutes the basis of the faith of the church.

2. The completion of the organization of the church was in the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-24,32,36-41), which the disciples had been commanded to await in the city of Jerusalem (Acts 1:6-8,14). Those who accepted the word which had been preached through the Holy Spirit were baptized (2:41). ”The Lord,” not men, ”added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47).

Ordinances and Faith.--The church, with its ordinances of the Lord's Supper and Baptism, its faith in G.o.d the Father, in His Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit, now begins its victorious career.

Human Elements.--The divine inst.i.tution of the church has been subject to the admixture of human elements, there was a traitor amongst the twelve apostles. The organization and the doctrines have been tampered with in the interest of human ambitions and the pride of human philosophy, but no inst.i.tution has shown itself so adapted to satisfy the great needs of men of all conditions of life, to purge itself when the human elements proved too great a burden, and to outlast all man-made organizations.

Authority and Teaching.--The church and its ministers have authority to teach through Christ and what He has commanded. There is a certain and quite definite body of truth. This body of truth, preached in the heart of heathendom or in the most fas.h.i.+onable church, in the most highly civilized country, is quite sure to produce certain definite results in awakening men from their sins and causing them to lead a new life. ”By their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:15-20).

Jesus said, ”All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 10:22; John 3:35; 5:32; 13:3; 17:2; Acts 2:36; Romans 14:9).

Paul said, ”For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11).

Form.--The word church, in the New Testament, is used in three senses to denote the differences in the form.

1. The local congregation wors.h.i.+pping in a house (Philemon 2; Colossians 4:15) or a certain place as, ”The church of G.o.d which is at Corinth” (1 Corinthians 1:2) and ”the church of the Thessalonians” (1 Thessalonians 1:1). This is much the most frequent use of the word.

2. The entire community of Christians throughout the world or some portions of it (1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13; Matthew 16:18).

3. The total company of the redeemed, the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:23,25,27,30; Hebrews 12:23).

The Life of the Early Church, as we have seen, had its origin in Jesus Christ. Those who came into the church, did so because of their belief in Him and acceptance of Him as their Saviour.

1. The organization was simple; each church looked to Christ as its head (1 Corinthians 1:2-18,30; Ephesians 5:23).

2. The officers were appointed for certain necessary duties (Acts 6;20:17-23; t.i.tus 1:5-7); it was the Lord who called men into certain vocations for the edifying of the church (Ephesians 4:11,12; 1 Corinthians 12:27,28).

3. The time of meeting was upon the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2), thus commemorating the resurrection of the Lord (John 20:1,19; Luke 24:1; Mark 16:2; Matthew 28:1).

4. The aim was to build up pure and G.o.dly lives (t.i.tus 2:1-15) and to bring all men into fellows.h.i.+p with the Master. There was an intense enthusiasm for the faith and propagation of it. There was an extraordinary religious elevation and purity of conduct. The churches set themselves to eradicate the selfishness in man, out of which all forms of injustice sprang and aimed to affect the moral renovation of the individual and of society. There were abuses which arose out of the former lives of believers; it is surprising, considering the evil influences surrounding the early churches, that they were so few.

5. But there arose in the midst of a gross heathenism, with all its great immoralities, a rapidly growing community, which demanded purity of life and conduct from its communicants and supreme allegiance to Christ, the Lord and Saviour; how strong it was is shown by the fact that the Roman Empire tried to stamp it out, failed, and was taken captive itself by the religion it had despised.

THE WORK OF THE MODERN CHURCH

The Chief End of the Church is to carry on the work which brought Christ into the world (Luke 19:10; 17:33; 15:1-24; 24:48; Acts 1:8). All things should be made to serve this purpose.

The Activities and methods of work have a wide range. What is highly successful in one community may prove, however, a failure in another. The means, which produce large results at one time, tried again in the same place, at another time, sometimes show small or no results.

The problem of each church and community needs to be studied, that means may be properly adjusted and adapted to the ends sought to be accomplished. It is remarkable how Jesus adapted Himself to the times and circ.u.mstances. He said to Peter and Andrew, ”Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19); He spoke to them in a language they were able to comprehend; to fish for fish meant care, understanding of their habits and much toil to accomplish the desired results. In the conversations with Nicodemus and the women of Samaria Jesus arrives at the same end but uses entirely different means. The letters of Paul fit exactly the needs of the churches to which they are addressed.

It is the really earnest spirit desiring to bring men to Christ which will produce the largest results; this spirit appeals to men and compels them to listen; hence it is the cultivation of this spirit which is most earnestly commended. Mere machinery of effort is doomed to failure, but when the living spirit is in the wheels and is adequate to the moving of them, the results are sure to be large. The disciples of Christ knew all the facts about Christ's life, death and resurrection, but they were not equipped for their great work until after they had spent much time in prayer and the Holy Spirit had come in power; then they became mighty men in the upbuilding of the church.

Wors.h.i.+p.--”Men not only need to be urged to be true to their consciences, but their consciences need to be informed.” One of the great functions of the church is to teach men how to wors.h.i.+p G.o.d aright; to do this they must have right thoughts about G.o.d. Jesus said, ”G.o.d is a Spirit: and they that wors.h.i.+p Him must wors.h.i.+p Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Men must be led in their wors.h.i.+p by a proper exposition of the Scriptures, by prayer and by praise. The place of the church in this matter is clearly defined in the New Testament, it can be taken by no other inst.i.tution; and no other organization has so high a mission as this, to bring man into harmony with G.o.d.

Fellows.h.i.+p.--Man is a social being and he seeks contact with his fellow men. Many of the worldly ways in which this fellows.h.i.+p is sought are ways which lead to the wrecking of man, body and soul, or to the obliteration of all the finer feelings. The mission of the Christian Church is to strengthen the social bond by seeking to cultivate all the better impulses and finer feelings in man, and to place society on a firmer footing in love, purity and righteousness (1 John 1:3; 1:5; Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 1:9).