THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH
BY L.R. WILSON
IT’S BEGINNING
The church described by the New Testament rests upon seven cardinal principles. These are: (1) the death of Christ; (2) the resurrection of Christ; (3) the ascension of Christ; (4) the sending of the Holy Spirit by Christ; (5) baptism by His authority; (6) baptism “into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”; and (7) salvation in the name of Christ. Apart from these foundation stones there could be no New Testament Church.
There could be no New Testament church until these foundation stones were all firmly laid. When and where were these first laid?
Some six months before the death of our Lord, He said: “Upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). At that time the building of our Lord’s was still in the future. But from the first Pentecost following His resurrection the church was always spoken (Acts 2:47). It follows then that the church had its beginning between the time Jesus promised to build it and the close of the next Pentecost day.
In the second chapter of Acts for the first time was made the announcement of all seven cardinal facts upon which the church rests. Speaking by the Holy Spirit, the apostle Peter publicly declared that Jesus had been “delivered up by the determinate council and foreknowledge of God,” and that “by the hands of lawless men” He had been crucified and slain, whom “God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses.” He then explained: “Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this which you now see and hear” – the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Those who heard the words of the apostle were pricked in their hearts, and cried out, “Brethren, what shall we do”? and Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
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Acting under the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) which the apostles had received of the Lord to go and “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” the apostle Peter thus announced for the first time baptism by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, and “into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Thus, baptism was first proclaimed by Christ’s authority on this day. It was administered – according to the Great Commission of Christ – “is not the name” of God; and remission of sins, or salvation, was proclaimed in HIS NAME on this day for the first time (Luke 24:46-47). A few days later Peter explained, “And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven that is given among men, wherein we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Since all of the foundation stones upon which the church rests were firmly planted upon the first Pentecost following the resurrection of our Lord – in the city of Jerusalem – the church was henceforth spoke of as being in existence. Indeed, the apostle Peter actually spoke of this day as the “beginning” (Acts 11:15). Jesus also spoke of it as the beginning date for the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ. Thus the laws governing His church became functional on the very day it was started, and all men from then until now enter it the same way.
We do not, therefore, go back before the death of Christ upon the cross to learn the terms of entrance into His church, or kingdom. We do not go to the Law of Moses to learn how to worship God in the church set forth in the New Testament. Neither do we look forward to Christ’s return for the establishment of His reign upon this earth. He is our King now. We are His subjects now. We are amenable to all of His laws now. When he comes again it will not be set up a kingdom, but to raise all that are in the graves, either to “the resurrection of life” or to “the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28).
Any church that did not start in the City of Jerusalem, on the first Pentecost following the resurrection of our Lord, is not His. Any system not found in the New Testament constitutes no part of the church therein set forth, or the principle governing it.
All that we know about the church of our Lord, or the principles by which it is governed, we learn from the New Testament, and it alone.
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The New Testament Church
IT’S CREED
The church set forth in the New Testament has a creed, but not of human origin. Our confession is not in a set of rules and dogmas, but in the Divine Sonship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, OUR CREED IS CHRIST.
We believe that Jesus was a good man, a great teacher, a great philosopher, a great leader and great ruler. But our belief in Him goes much further. We might believe all of these facts and still be rank infidels. In fact, nearly all infidels do believe in Jesus to this extent. But we believe in Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” It is upon the confession of this great truth that the church of our Lord Jesus Christ rests (Matthew 16:16-19).
This is the confession made by God the father when Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:16-17), and again at the time of His transfiguration (Matthew 17:5). It is the same confession made by Jesus Himself which cost Him His earthly life (Matthew 26:63-64); Mark 14:6-65). It is the same confession made by all the early Christians (Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 3:14).
Belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God means belief that He is Divine; that He is God incarnate. It means that He was; and is perfect in all His ways – a perfect teacher, a perfect philosopher, a perfect propitiation of our sins. It means that He is our King Supreme. In His nature and character, in His wisdom and righteousness, in His authority and power, and in His decisions and judgment.
We also believe the Bible, not merely because of its antiquity, or some tradition which has grown up around it but because it is a revelation of the mind of God.
We do not go to the Old Testament to learn how to become Christians. But from the Old Testament we do learn of God’s dealings with His people in ages past, His regard for man, for truth and uprightness. From it we can learn to respect God’s judgment, what it means to obey or disobey His commands, and the consequences of our obedience to His will.
But if we want to know how to enter the Kingdom of God today, how to become God’s children, how to worship Him in our public assemblies, how to conduct ourselves as His children at this present time, then we turn to the New Testament.
We not believe in baptism because of any special merit that it carries. We do not believe in partaking of the Lord’s Supper because of any inherent good which we derive from it. We do not believe in prayer solely because of its psychological value to ourselves. First of all, we believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God. In accepting as such, we must accept His
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teachings, His authority, His judgments and His absolute right to direct all of our ways. We cannot substitute our own reasoning, our own desires for absolute belief in Christ as God’s Son and for His authority.
Upon this ground and it alone all believers in Christ be united. All of the angels and archangels might assemble in council for eons but never could they draw up a constitution for the church of the living God. With the followers of Jesus Christ scattered over the face of the whole earth, all with their own peculiar bits of reasoning, likes and dislikes, they could never be united on any human creed, any set of dogmas, or under any earthly authority. God very well knew this long before the church was established. Hence He gave us a living creed centered in the Divinity of the living Christ who was raised from the dead to die no more. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. By faith in Him alone can we all unite as a mighty army, against one common enemy – the force of evil – and with one common goal, the ultimate triumph over the powers of darkness, and an entrance into the eternal Paradise of God, where evil, disputings, parties, strife and warring factions have no place.
The New Testament Church
IT’S TERMS OF DESIGNATION
The church set forth in the New Testament is described by a number of different pictures. Since it is a spiritual institution, and different from anything else in existence, it could not be adequately represented by any one figure or picture.
The original term for “church” signifies a “called out” body of people. All who are in it have been called out from a state of sin, from the world, from the kingdom of darkness, or from a state of “death” (Ephesians 2:5). They have been called in to the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13), frequently spoken of a “the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 3:2), or the kingdom of God (Luke 10:9-11).
Often this divine institution, generally referred to in the New Testament as the “church,” carries no particular designation, other than that of its location. Thus we read of the church at Corinth, at Colossae, at Ephesus, etc.
If we think of this divine institution as a called out body of people over whom Christ reigns as head and in which the Holy Spirit dwells, then it is the body of Christ (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:20-22). If we think of God as the Father of us all, and ourselves as brethren, and joint-heirs with Christ Jesus (Romans 8:16-17), then we constitute the family, or “the house of
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God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the church” (1 Timothy 3:15).
If we think of this same body with Christ ruling over it as our King with the whole world as its territory, with the New Testament at its constitution, then it is the kingdom of God, or of “His dear Son.” Jesus referred to the church and the kingdom in one and the same breath, thus signifying the same institution (Matthew 16:18-19). If we think of it as a kingdom, then it is the kingdom of God, the kingdom of Christ, or the kingdom of heaven. They are all one and the same. Jesus could say, “All thing that are mine” (John 17:10). This divine institution is spoken of as the kingdom of heaven, Lord Jesus Christ, who came down from heaven.
The church is frequently called the “church of God;” sometimes “the church of the living God;” “the church of the Firstborn” (Hebrews 12:23). Once Jesus merely spoke of it as “my church” (Matthew 16:18). When various congregations were spoken of in the plural they were sometimes called “the churches of Christ (Romans 16:16).
Whether we refer to a single congregation, or the whole body of Christ, they may rightfully be referred to as HIS. In order “that in all things he might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18), we usually speak of it as Christ’s church, or the church of Christ. This in no way detracts from the many references in which it is spoken of as the church of God, or kingdom of God; nor does it in anyway make it a sect or denomination.
The church in the New Testament was not referred to as just another religious body among many. It was sometimes altogether new and different from anything that had ever existed before. When Jesus said, “upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18), He was alluding to all of His followers, or all of God’s people.
When the term “church” was used with respect to God’s people in Ephesus, Corinth, Philippi, and other places, then it is included all of God’s people in that particular location. The individuals who made up the family of God were spoken of as disciples, followers of Christ, brethren, children of God, Christians, fellow-workers, servants, or by some other single term which characterized their relationship to God, to Christ or to one another.
At no time was the church ever used as an adjective. We never find such terms as “a Church of Christ preacher,” a Church of God member,” or “a Church of the Lord elder.” Such phraseology would have been misleading. It is no less so today. Neither do we ever find the church referred to by such expressions which characterize the MEMBERS of the body of Christ. It is never called “the Disciples Church,” “the Church of the Brethren,” or “the Christian Church.” Such terms would have implied that God recognized a plurality of sectarian bodies which was never the case. It ought not so to be today.
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Let us be careful that we never “denominatioanalize” the church of our Lord. All such sectarian terms are what have contributed to the large number of denominations today. And denominational bodies divide the people of God. This is contrary to Christ’s prayer for unity (John 17:20-23).
The New Testament Church
IT’S NATURE
Jesus did not come into the world to establish an earthly government. There is no reference or allusion to the church as if it were “a new society” – meaning a society or institution that functions as a world government, with all of the powers of both a worldly and ecclesiastical body. It has no temporal power or earthly functions whatsoever. Jesus declared, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). His kindgom’s boundaries are that of truth and righteousness, purity and holiness.
Christ’s church is described by many images in order to convey some concept of its divine nature. Sometimes it is described as God’s “building” (Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5). Sometimes it is pictured as Christ’s body. Paul said “Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof” (1 Corinthians 12:27; see also Ephesians 1:20-23; Colossians 1:18).
The church is pictured as a kingdom. Sometimes it is spoken of as the “kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33; Mark 1:14); “the kingdom of His dear Son” (Colossians 1:13); or, more frequently, it is represented as “the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 3:2; 7:21; 16:19).
This divine institution is entered by a new birth – “of water and of the spirit” (John 3:5). It is not possible to enter it in any other way. However, before one is “born again…of water and of the spirit” it is necessary to believe in Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God, to turn one’s back upon all past sins, to publicly acknowledge the name of Christ, at which time one becomes a proper subject for a burial in water “in order to the remission of sins” (Romans 6:3-4; Acts 2:38). Thus, one is “born again”, or as the term is sometimes rendered, “born anew” or “born from above.” All of these terms mean conversion.
The blessings of the church are of a spiritual nature. One may never attend church at all, yet if he is an honorable and upright man in all of his dealings, he may enjoy the same MATERIAL blessings that the most devout Christian enjoys. But he cannot know “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).
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Paul declared that God “hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places IN CHRIST JESUS” (Ephesians 1:3). To be in Christ is to be in His spiritual body, which is His church. In it, therefore, we enjoy “every spiritual blessing.” There are NO SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS outside of Christ, or His church.
Paul further declared that all of the promises of God are in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:20). In Christ we have salvation (2 Timothy 2:10). In Him “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness” (Ephesians 1:7).
Thus, the church is composed of men and women (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:27); but not just any and every kind. All who are in the kingdom have been born again (John 3:3, 5); they have been called out from the world (for so is the meaning of the term church); they have become new creatures in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). All such can say with Paul, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in Me” (Galatians 2:20).
Being a spiritual institution, the church of our Lord was not founded for the natural man. It was founded for the spirit of man, that part that lives forever. Hence, the church will not pass away with the death of our bodies. It was built to stand “forever.” The gates of Hades can never destroy it (Matthew 16:18). Its purpose is to prepare man to dwell with God forever.
All civic organizations, all of the lodges of men, and all human institutions of every kind were founded for the natural man; that part of man that will finally die and return to the earth from whence it came. But the church of the Lord, being a heavenly institution, was founded for the spirit, or soul of man, that part that never dies. Human institutions may comfort us during our life on earth. But beyond the grave they cannot go. They were not built to stand forever.
All civic organizations, all of the lodges of men, and all human institutions of every kind were founded for the natural man; that part of man that will finally die and return to the earth from whence it came. But the church of the Lord, being a heavenly institution, was founded for the spirit, or soul of man, that part that never dies. Human institutions may comfort us during our life of earth. But beyond the grave they cannot go. They were not built to stand forever. They must all pass away with time. But the church built by our Lord can and will conduct our souls into the everlasting Paradise of God, to dwell with Him throughout all eternity.
The New Testament Church
IT’S ORGANIZATION
In structure the New Testament church has the most simple organization conceivable, yet the strongest and most durable. Civilizations have come and gone, kingdoms have risen
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and fallen, social orders have flourished and vanished, but the church of our Lord still endures. Truly, “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The greatest weakness in the institutions of men are often their top-heavy organizations. In their efforts to become strong they often become weak.
The church set forth in the New Testament has a divine head. Christ is that head (Colossians 1:18). He became head of His church after His resurrection from the dead (Ephesians 1:20-23). When Christ was raised from the dead it was to die no more, “death hath no more dominion over him” (Romans 6:8-10). He has never relinquished His headship to anyone. He has never surrendered His authority to another. To John He said, I am he that liveth and was dead; and, behold I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:18). He has no vicar on earth; no one rules in His stead. The church of the New Testament, being a spiritual institution, and “not of this world,” has no earthly head.
The church of our Lord had the apostles to direct it in the beginning. These were specifically chosen by Christ himself and specially endowed for a PARTICULAR work they were given to do. Before they were sent forth of some three years, then after His departure He sent forth the Holy Spirit to guide them in all that they taught (John 16:13).
As an evidence of His approval, and that the Holy Spirit was with them, the apostles were enabled to speak in other tongues, perform miracles, and to withstand all the accusations of their enemies, while confounding them with the evidence which the Lord has promised to them (Mark 13:10-11; 16:18-20; Acts 2:1-4; Hebrews 2:4). The work of the apostles was such that they could have no successors in office. It is evident that the work given to them to perform needs no revision; we can never add to or take from what they wrote, or what they did (Galatians 1:8-9; Jude 3; Revelations 22:18-19).
In New Testament times each congregation had a plurality of elders (Acts 14:23). These same men were also called bishops or “overseers” of the church (Acts 20:17-28). Their duties were to oversee the congregation and serve as pastors or shepherds to those committed to their care. Paul and Peter, himself also an elder, concur in what they taught about the duties of elders (Acts 20:28-29; 1 Peter 5:1-3)
The only officers were those who served a local congregation. Each congregation had elders, who served the particular congregation, and it alone.
Each congregation had a plurality of deacons. The first of these are mentioned in Acts 6:1-6. They are mentioned again, along with the bishops in the church at Philippi (Philippians 1:1). Their qualifications are set forth in 1 Timothy 3:8-10.
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There is a sense in which all of God’s children are servants. But deacons were especially chosen and assigned to perform particular services. This was characteristic of each congregation when it was sufficiently established.
The evangelists of the early church were to primarily “preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2). An evangelist might serve as a deacon, as an elder, or as a teacher, but the word “evangelist” carries the idea of a bearer of good news. This was his first and foremost duty.
There were no other officers in the early church. If these were sufficient then, they should be sufficient to govern the church of God today. And, indeed, they are.
The New Testament Church
IT’S DAY OF WORSHIP
Jesus was raised from the dead on the first day of the week. In the language of Paul, He was thus “declared to be the Son of God with power . . . by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). It was on this day that He first appeared to His disciples. One week later He appeared to them again – on the first day of the week.
The Church was begun on the day of Pentecost, which also fell on the first day of the week – fifty days after the feast of Passover which ended with the Sabbath (Leviticus 23:15-16).
The seventh day Sabbath was given to the Jews in commemoration of their deliverance from Egyptians bondage (Deuteronomy 5:15). But the resurrection of our Lord signified our deliverance from sin and the grave.
It was fitting therefore, that the church should have its beginning on the first day of the week, and that thereafter Christians should assemble on this day for the express purpose of worshipping God in commemorating the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus Christ in the observance of the Lord’s Supper.
Though we sometimes find Paul going into the Jewish synagogues in different cities on the Jewish Sabbath, he did so for the express purpose of preaching the gospel to the Jews, persuading them to give up their former manner of worship and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. As for Christians, in the New Testament, we never find them meeting for the express purpose of worshipping on the Jewish Sabbath, but always on the first day of the week; “and upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together TO BREAK BREAD, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow” (Acts 20:7). While the early Christians engaged in other acts of worship when they came together at their set time (“upon the first day
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of the week”), the apostle Paul specifically states that the PURPOSE of such meetings was to “break bread.”
If we argued that the early Christians did not necessarily meet the first day of “EVERY week” we have only to recall that in giving of the Decalogue the Israelites were merely told to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). One man in the camp it seems, felt that the Lord did not specify “EVERY Sabbath day,” that he might have to keep each and every one. But when he violated just one Sabbath by going out and gathering up sticks he was stoned.
We simply look at 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 where we learn that the early church met upon the first day of every week, at which time they were to make their contribution for the work the Lord had laid upon the church. “Now concerning the collection for the saints as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God has prospered him, that there be no gatherings (collections) when I come.” Many translations read: “Upon the first day of EER week,” which is precisely what the original language here signifies.
Never is the first day of the week referred to in the New Testament as the “Christian Sabbath.” Indeed, it is never spoken of as the “Sabbath” or even alluded to in this manner in a single instance. Furthermore, all references to the stated occasions for Christian worship indicate that it was done on the “first day of the week,” but never on the seventh day, or the Jewish Sabbath. With the death of Christ the Sabbath day which was given to the Jews in commemoration of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, lost its meaning. In truth, it never had any significance whatsoever for Christians (Colossians 2:14-16).
Although Christians do no observe the first day of the week in the same manner that the Jews observed their Sabbath, yet because of its significance, all Christians should be faithful in their meetings upon this day to worship God to commemorate the sufferings and death of our Lord, while looking forward to His coming again.
The New Testament Church
IT’S MUSIC IN WORSHIP
That the early Christians had music in their assemblies for worship goes without saying. Indeed, they had the very best. It was vocal music accompanied only BY THE HEART. There were no mechanical instruments to mar the beautiful melody of the early saints. Mechanical instruments were first used in church about 700 years after Christ.
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When God’s people sing praises to Him today in their assemblies for worship they are carrying out the orders of the Holy Spirit. There is never any question about this. Christians need not apologize for, nor explain why, they worship God “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). This is exactly what the apostle Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, enjoined upon all Christians. And again: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16)
If the Lord had wanted us to have ice cream and cake on the Lord’s table He would have told us so. In like manner, if He had wanted us to use mechanical instruments of music in our worship, He would have told us.
In our efforts to follow the Lord Jesus Christ we are not governed by what He did not forbid, but by what He has authorized. In that great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). We can only know the will of the Lord form the reading of His Word. When the Lord asks us to do something, then it is His will that we do it. But if He does not, then it presumptuous to make it a part of our worship.
The fact that the apostle Paul specifically mentioned “singing” without generalizing upon the type of music we are to make to the Lord excludes any other kind. Had we merely been to “make music” WITHOUT ANY MENTION OF THE KIND, then we would have been at liberty to sing, to play upon an instrument, or to do both. But when the New Testament specifically mentions the kind of music we are to make, then it would be presumptive on our part to add something thereto, just as it would be presumptive to add meat to the elements on the Lord’s table.
When Paul said to sing and MAKE MELODY did that imply the use of a mechanical instrument?
It is true that the original word from which this term comes does signify an accompaniment. Etymologically, the term meant to “PLUCK.” It might have signified the plucking of a hair from the tail or mane of a horse, or from the head of person, or the plucking of a flower. But we can only determine the thing that was to be plucked by the use of the term.
Since no word is used with the “pluck” the context makes it evident the thing plucked in Christian worship was not a mechanical instrument but the vocal chords, used to make melody unto the Lord. The early church thus praised God with their “lips” (Hebrews 13:15).
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It is true that the early Christians sang with an accompaniment. But Paul was quite specific in naming the accompaniment. It was that of the heart (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). The instrument that accompanies our singing in Christian worship today must likewise be the heart. If the heart is not in it, then it is not spiritual worship. Thus Paul could write: “I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also” (1 Corinthians 14:15).
Instruments were introduced into the worship not as an “aid” for the doing of what God commanded, but rather an excuse for our failure to carry out our Lord’s divine requirement, that of “singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
The New Testament Church
IT’S TERMS OF ENTRANCE
When one becomes a part of the New Testament Church he leaves his old state and enters into a new state, a new relationship with God. This relationship is sometimes pictured as an entrance “into Christ” But since the church is the (spiritual) body of Christ (Ephesians 1:20-23; Colossians 1:18), then when one enters into Christ he enters into Christ’s church, His kingdom, or His body.
A number of figures are used in the New Testament to represent the change which takes place in the life of the individual when he leaves his old state of sin, and enters into a new relationship with Christ. In order to convey this change to our infinite minds many striking terms are used to represent it – such as “conversion,” “a new birth,” “regeneration,” “reconciliation,” “redemption.”
Thus, entrance into the body of Christ differs completely from entrance into any sort of human organization. No such change takes place in the life of an individual when he joins a lodge, a sectarian body, or any sort of human society. One does not “join” the church of our Lord in the sense that he joins a lodge, a sectarian body, or any sort of a human society. We can only become united with Christ, or His church (His spiritual body), by experiencing a complete change in our nature. We must die to the old life and be raised to a new life with Christ (Romans 6:3-5). We must leave our old state and enter into a completely new relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Jesus once said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Again He declared, “Except ye be converted, and come as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). The apostle Peter told unrepentant sinners to “Repent… and be converted that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). The apostle Paul
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declared that god “saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).
These Scriptures naturally raise the question of HOW this change, known as “conversion,” or “regeneration,” is brought about.
The New Testament specifically stipulates four separate steps, or acts which culminate in a complete change of heart, life, or relation and by which one is translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13)
1. MAN MUST BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Jesus said, “. . . if you believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). Again He said, “. . . He that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). The apostle Paul told the Philippian jailer to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved” (Acts 16:32). Belief in Christ implies complete reliance upon Christ – not upon self, or anyone else.
2. MAN MUST REPENT OF HIS SINS. Jesus said, “… except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish”(Luke 13:3, 5). The apostle Peter, speaking by the Holy Spirit, commanded repentance “for the remission of sins,” or “that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 2:38; 3:19). Genuine repentance means a complete about face. It means the giving up of the practice of sin and turning to the Lord. In repentance one dies to the practice of sin and brings his life into harmony with the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. ONE MUST CONFESS THE NAME OF CHRIST. We do not confess our belief in some human creed. Instead, we acknowledge our faith in Christ as the Son of God. This is evident from such Scriptures as Matthew 10:32-33; Luke 9:26; Acts 8:37; Romans 10:9-10.
4. ONE MUST BE BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST (Romans 6:3-4); Galatians 3:27). In the Great Commission Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). The apostle Peter commanded the Pentecostants to “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Ananias told Saul to “arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins (Acts 22:16).
When we examine all the cases of conversion in the New Testament we find each one who was converted heard the Gospel, and having been convicted of his sins, repented and acknowledged his belief in Jesus as the Christ the Son of God, and everyone was baptized.
Thus, those who did, had their sins forgiven and were then added to the church (Acts 2:47), and became the recipients of the Holy Spirit. All such were born again, they were regenerated, and became new creatures in Christ Jesus the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:17). Thus, they entered into the body of Christ, His church
BY L.R. WILSON
IT’S BEGINNING
The church described by the New Testament rests upon seven cardinal principles. These are: (1) the death of Christ; (2) the resurrection of Christ; (3) the ascension of Christ; (4) the sending of the Holy Spirit by Christ; (5) baptism by His authority; (6) baptism “into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”; and (7) salvation in the name of Christ. Apart from these foundation stones there could be no New Testament Church.
There could be no New Testament church until these foundation stones were all firmly laid. When and where were these first laid?
Some six months before the death of our Lord, He said: “Upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). At that time the building of our Lord’s was still in the future. But from the first Pentecost following His resurrection the church was always spoken (Acts 2:47). It follows then that the church had its beginning between the time Jesus promised to build it and the close of the next Pentecost day.
In the second chapter of Acts for the first time was made the announcement of all seven cardinal facts upon which the church rests. Speaking by the Holy Spirit, the apostle Peter publicly declared that Jesus had been “delivered up by the determinate council and foreknowledge of God,” and that “by the hands of lawless men” He had been crucified and slain, whom “God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses.” He then explained: “Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this which you now see and hear” – the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Those who heard the words of the apostle were pricked in their hearts, and cried out, “Brethren, what shall we do”? and Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
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Acting under the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) which the apostles had received of the Lord to go and “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” the apostle Peter thus announced for the first time baptism by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, and “into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Thus, baptism was first proclaimed by Christ’s authority on this day. It was administered – according to the Great Commission of Christ – “is not the name” of God; and remission of sins, or salvation, was proclaimed in HIS NAME on this day for the first time (Luke 24:46-47). A few days later Peter explained, “And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven that is given among men, wherein we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Since all of the foundation stones upon which the church rests were firmly planted upon the first Pentecost following the resurrection of our Lord – in the city of Jerusalem – the church was henceforth spoke of as being in existence. Indeed, the apostle Peter actually spoke of this day as the “beginning” (Acts 11:15). Jesus also spoke of it as the beginning date for the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ. Thus the laws governing His church became functional on the very day it was started, and all men from then until now enter it the same way.
We do not, therefore, go back before the death of Christ upon the cross to learn the terms of entrance into His church, or kingdom. We do not go to the Law of Moses to learn how to worship God in the church set forth in the New Testament. Neither do we look forward to Christ’s return for the establishment of His reign upon this earth. He is our King now. We are His subjects now. We are amenable to all of His laws now. When he comes again it will not be set up a kingdom, but to raise all that are in the graves, either to “the resurrection of life” or to “the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28).
Any church that did not start in the City of Jerusalem, on the first Pentecost following the resurrection of our Lord, is not His. Any system not found in the New Testament constitutes no part of the church therein set forth, or the principle governing it.
All that we know about the church of our Lord, or the principles by which it is governed, we learn from the New Testament, and it alone.
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The New Testament Church
IT’S CREED
The church set forth in the New Testament has a creed, but not of human origin. Our confession is not in a set of rules and dogmas, but in the Divine Sonship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, OUR CREED IS CHRIST.
We believe that Jesus was a good man, a great teacher, a great philosopher, a great leader and great ruler. But our belief in Him goes much further. We might believe all of these facts and still be rank infidels. In fact, nearly all infidels do believe in Jesus to this extent. But we believe in Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” It is upon the confession of this great truth that the church of our Lord Jesus Christ rests (Matthew 16:16-19).
This is the confession made by God the father when Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:16-17), and again at the time of His transfiguration (Matthew 17:5). It is the same confession made by Jesus Himself which cost Him His earthly life (Matthew 26:63-64); Mark 14:6-65). It is the same confession made by all the early Christians (Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 3:14).
Belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God means belief that He is Divine; that He is God incarnate. It means that He was; and is perfect in all His ways – a perfect teacher, a perfect philosopher, a perfect propitiation of our sins. It means that He is our King Supreme. In His nature and character, in His wisdom and righteousness, in His authority and power, and in His decisions and judgment.
We also believe the Bible, not merely because of its antiquity, or some tradition which has grown up around it but because it is a revelation of the mind of God.
We do not go to the Old Testament to learn how to become Christians. But from the Old Testament we do learn of God’s dealings with His people in ages past, His regard for man, for truth and uprightness. From it we can learn to respect God’s judgment, what it means to obey or disobey His commands, and the consequences of our obedience to His will.
But if we want to know how to enter the Kingdom of God today, how to become God’s children, how to worship Him in our public assemblies, how to conduct ourselves as His children at this present time, then we turn to the New Testament.
We not believe in baptism because of any special merit that it carries. We do not believe in partaking of the Lord’s Supper because of any inherent good which we derive from it. We do not believe in prayer solely because of its psychological value to ourselves. First of all, we believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God. In accepting as such, we must accept His
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teachings, His authority, His judgments and His absolute right to direct all of our ways. We cannot substitute our own reasoning, our own desires for absolute belief in Christ as God’s Son and for His authority.
Upon this ground and it alone all believers in Christ be united. All of the angels and archangels might assemble in council for eons but never could they draw up a constitution for the church of the living God. With the followers of Jesus Christ scattered over the face of the whole earth, all with their own peculiar bits of reasoning, likes and dislikes, they could never be united on any human creed, any set of dogmas, or under any earthly authority. God very well knew this long before the church was established. Hence He gave us a living creed centered in the Divinity of the living Christ who was raised from the dead to die no more. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. By faith in Him alone can we all unite as a mighty army, against one common enemy – the force of evil – and with one common goal, the ultimate triumph over the powers of darkness, and an entrance into the eternal Paradise of God, where evil, disputings, parties, strife and warring factions have no place.
The New Testament Church
IT’S TERMS OF DESIGNATION
The church set forth in the New Testament is described by a number of different pictures. Since it is a spiritual institution, and different from anything else in existence, it could not be adequately represented by any one figure or picture.
The original term for “church” signifies a “called out” body of people. All who are in it have been called out from a state of sin, from the world, from the kingdom of darkness, or from a state of “death” (Ephesians 2:5). They have been called in to the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13), frequently spoken of a “the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 3:2), or the kingdom of God (Luke 10:9-11).
Often this divine institution, generally referred to in the New Testament as the “church,” carries no particular designation, other than that of its location. Thus we read of the church at Corinth, at Colossae, at Ephesus, etc.
If we think of this divine institution as a called out body of people over whom Christ reigns as head and in which the Holy Spirit dwells, then it is the body of Christ (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:20-22). If we think of God as the Father of us all, and ourselves as brethren, and joint-heirs with Christ Jesus (Romans 8:16-17), then we constitute the family, or “the house of
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God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the church” (1 Timothy 3:15).
If we think of this same body with Christ ruling over it as our King with the whole world as its territory, with the New Testament at its constitution, then it is the kingdom of God, or of “His dear Son.” Jesus referred to the church and the kingdom in one and the same breath, thus signifying the same institution (Matthew 16:18-19). If we think of it as a kingdom, then it is the kingdom of God, the kingdom of Christ, or the kingdom of heaven. They are all one and the same. Jesus could say, “All thing that are mine” (John 17:10). This divine institution is spoken of as the kingdom of heaven, Lord Jesus Christ, who came down from heaven.
The church is frequently called the “church of God;” sometimes “the church of the living God;” “the church of the Firstborn” (Hebrews 12:23). Once Jesus merely spoke of it as “my church” (Matthew 16:18). When various congregations were spoken of in the plural they were sometimes called “the churches of Christ (Romans 16:16).
Whether we refer to a single congregation, or the whole body of Christ, they may rightfully be referred to as HIS. In order “that in all things he might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18), we usually speak of it as Christ’s church, or the church of Christ. This in no way detracts from the many references in which it is spoken of as the church of God, or kingdom of God; nor does it in anyway make it a sect or denomination.
The church in the New Testament was not referred to as just another religious body among many. It was sometimes altogether new and different from anything that had ever existed before. When Jesus said, “upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18), He was alluding to all of His followers, or all of God’s people.
When the term “church” was used with respect to God’s people in Ephesus, Corinth, Philippi, and other places, then it is included all of God’s people in that particular location. The individuals who made up the family of God were spoken of as disciples, followers of Christ, brethren, children of God, Christians, fellow-workers, servants, or by some other single term which characterized their relationship to God, to Christ or to one another.
At no time was the church ever used as an adjective. We never find such terms as “a Church of Christ preacher,” a Church of God member,” or “a Church of the Lord elder.” Such phraseology would have been misleading. It is no less so today. Neither do we ever find the church referred to by such expressions which characterize the MEMBERS of the body of Christ. It is never called “the Disciples Church,” “the Church of the Brethren,” or “the Christian Church.” Such terms would have implied that God recognized a plurality of sectarian bodies which was never the case. It ought not so to be today.
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Let us be careful that we never “denominatioanalize” the church of our Lord. All such sectarian terms are what have contributed to the large number of denominations today. And denominational bodies divide the people of God. This is contrary to Christ’s prayer for unity (John 17:20-23).
The New Testament Church
IT’S NATURE
Jesus did not come into the world to establish an earthly government. There is no reference or allusion to the church as if it were “a new society” – meaning a society or institution that functions as a world government, with all of the powers of both a worldly and ecclesiastical body. It has no temporal power or earthly functions whatsoever. Jesus declared, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). His kindgom’s boundaries are that of truth and righteousness, purity and holiness.
Christ’s church is described by many images in order to convey some concept of its divine nature. Sometimes it is described as God’s “building” (Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5). Sometimes it is pictured as Christ’s body. Paul said “Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof” (1 Corinthians 12:27; see also Ephesians 1:20-23; Colossians 1:18).
The church is pictured as a kingdom. Sometimes it is spoken of as the “kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33; Mark 1:14); “the kingdom of His dear Son” (Colossians 1:13); or, more frequently, it is represented as “the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 3:2; 7:21; 16:19).
This divine institution is entered by a new birth – “of water and of the spirit” (John 3:5). It is not possible to enter it in any other way. However, before one is “born again…of water and of the spirit” it is necessary to believe in Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God, to turn one’s back upon all past sins, to publicly acknowledge the name of Christ, at which time one becomes a proper subject for a burial in water “in order to the remission of sins” (Romans 6:3-4; Acts 2:38). Thus, one is “born again”, or as the term is sometimes rendered, “born anew” or “born from above.” All of these terms mean conversion.
The blessings of the church are of a spiritual nature. One may never attend church at all, yet if he is an honorable and upright man in all of his dealings, he may enjoy the same MATERIAL blessings that the most devout Christian enjoys. But he cannot know “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).
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Paul declared that God “hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places IN CHRIST JESUS” (Ephesians 1:3). To be in Christ is to be in His spiritual body, which is His church. In it, therefore, we enjoy “every spiritual blessing.” There are NO SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS outside of Christ, or His church.
Paul further declared that all of the promises of God are in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:20). In Christ we have salvation (2 Timothy 2:10). In Him “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness” (Ephesians 1:7).
Thus, the church is composed of men and women (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:27); but not just any and every kind. All who are in the kingdom have been born again (John 3:3, 5); they have been called out from the world (for so is the meaning of the term church); they have become new creatures in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). All such can say with Paul, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in Me” (Galatians 2:20).
Being a spiritual institution, the church of our Lord was not founded for the natural man. It was founded for the spirit of man, that part that lives forever. Hence, the church will not pass away with the death of our bodies. It was built to stand “forever.” The gates of Hades can never destroy it (Matthew 16:18). Its purpose is to prepare man to dwell with God forever.
All civic organizations, all of the lodges of men, and all human institutions of every kind were founded for the natural man; that part of man that will finally die and return to the earth from whence it came. But the church of the Lord, being a heavenly institution, was founded for the spirit, or soul of man, that part that never dies. Human institutions may comfort us during our life on earth. But beyond the grave they cannot go. They were not built to stand forever.
All civic organizations, all of the lodges of men, and all human institutions of every kind were founded for the natural man; that part of man that will finally die and return to the earth from whence it came. But the church of the Lord, being a heavenly institution, was founded for the spirit, or soul of man, that part that never dies. Human institutions may comfort us during our life of earth. But beyond the grave they cannot go. They were not built to stand forever. They must all pass away with time. But the church built by our Lord can and will conduct our souls into the everlasting Paradise of God, to dwell with Him throughout all eternity.
The New Testament Church
IT’S ORGANIZATION
In structure the New Testament church has the most simple organization conceivable, yet the strongest and most durable. Civilizations have come and gone, kingdoms have risen
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and fallen, social orders have flourished and vanished, but the church of our Lord still endures. Truly, “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The greatest weakness in the institutions of men are often their top-heavy organizations. In their efforts to become strong they often become weak.
The church set forth in the New Testament has a divine head. Christ is that head (Colossians 1:18). He became head of His church after His resurrection from the dead (Ephesians 1:20-23). When Christ was raised from the dead it was to die no more, “death hath no more dominion over him” (Romans 6:8-10). He has never relinquished His headship to anyone. He has never surrendered His authority to another. To John He said, I am he that liveth and was dead; and, behold I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:18). He has no vicar on earth; no one rules in His stead. The church of the New Testament, being a spiritual institution, and “not of this world,” has no earthly head.
The church of our Lord had the apostles to direct it in the beginning. These were specifically chosen by Christ himself and specially endowed for a PARTICULAR work they were given to do. Before they were sent forth of some three years, then after His departure He sent forth the Holy Spirit to guide them in all that they taught (John 16:13).
As an evidence of His approval, and that the Holy Spirit was with them, the apostles were enabled to speak in other tongues, perform miracles, and to withstand all the accusations of their enemies, while confounding them with the evidence which the Lord has promised to them (Mark 13:10-11; 16:18-20; Acts 2:1-4; Hebrews 2:4). The work of the apostles was such that they could have no successors in office. It is evident that the work given to them to perform needs no revision; we can never add to or take from what they wrote, or what they did (Galatians 1:8-9; Jude 3; Revelations 22:18-19).
In New Testament times each congregation had a plurality of elders (Acts 14:23). These same men were also called bishops or “overseers” of the church (Acts 20:17-28). Their duties were to oversee the congregation and serve as pastors or shepherds to those committed to their care. Paul and Peter, himself also an elder, concur in what they taught about the duties of elders (Acts 20:28-29; 1 Peter 5:1-3)
The only officers were those who served a local congregation. Each congregation had elders, who served the particular congregation, and it alone.
Each congregation had a plurality of deacons. The first of these are mentioned in Acts 6:1-6. They are mentioned again, along with the bishops in the church at Philippi (Philippians 1:1). Their qualifications are set forth in 1 Timothy 3:8-10.
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There is a sense in which all of God’s children are servants. But deacons were especially chosen and assigned to perform particular services. This was characteristic of each congregation when it was sufficiently established.
The evangelists of the early church were to primarily “preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2). An evangelist might serve as a deacon, as an elder, or as a teacher, but the word “evangelist” carries the idea of a bearer of good news. This was his first and foremost duty.
There were no other officers in the early church. If these were sufficient then, they should be sufficient to govern the church of God today. And, indeed, they are.
The New Testament Church
IT’S DAY OF WORSHIP
Jesus was raised from the dead on the first day of the week. In the language of Paul, He was thus “declared to be the Son of God with power . . . by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). It was on this day that He first appeared to His disciples. One week later He appeared to them again – on the first day of the week.
The Church was begun on the day of Pentecost, which also fell on the first day of the week – fifty days after the feast of Passover which ended with the Sabbath (Leviticus 23:15-16).
The seventh day Sabbath was given to the Jews in commemoration of their deliverance from Egyptians bondage (Deuteronomy 5:15). But the resurrection of our Lord signified our deliverance from sin and the grave.
It was fitting therefore, that the church should have its beginning on the first day of the week, and that thereafter Christians should assemble on this day for the express purpose of worshipping God in commemorating the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus Christ in the observance of the Lord’s Supper.
Though we sometimes find Paul going into the Jewish synagogues in different cities on the Jewish Sabbath, he did so for the express purpose of preaching the gospel to the Jews, persuading them to give up their former manner of worship and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. As for Christians, in the New Testament, we never find them meeting for the express purpose of worshipping on the Jewish Sabbath, but always on the first day of the week; “and upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together TO BREAK BREAD, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow” (Acts 20:7). While the early Christians engaged in other acts of worship when they came together at their set time (“upon the first day
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of the week”), the apostle Paul specifically states that the PURPOSE of such meetings was to “break bread.”
If we argued that the early Christians did not necessarily meet the first day of “EVERY week” we have only to recall that in giving of the Decalogue the Israelites were merely told to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). One man in the camp it seems, felt that the Lord did not specify “EVERY Sabbath day,” that he might have to keep each and every one. But when he violated just one Sabbath by going out and gathering up sticks he was stoned.
We simply look at 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 where we learn that the early church met upon the first day of every week, at which time they were to make their contribution for the work the Lord had laid upon the church. “Now concerning the collection for the saints as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God has prospered him, that there be no gatherings (collections) when I come.” Many translations read: “Upon the first day of EER week,” which is precisely what the original language here signifies.
Never is the first day of the week referred to in the New Testament as the “Christian Sabbath.” Indeed, it is never spoken of as the “Sabbath” or even alluded to in this manner in a single instance. Furthermore, all references to the stated occasions for Christian worship indicate that it was done on the “first day of the week,” but never on the seventh day, or the Jewish Sabbath. With the death of Christ the Sabbath day which was given to the Jews in commemoration of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, lost its meaning. In truth, it never had any significance whatsoever for Christians (Colossians 2:14-16).
Although Christians do no observe the first day of the week in the same manner that the Jews observed their Sabbath, yet because of its significance, all Christians should be faithful in their meetings upon this day to worship God to commemorate the sufferings and death of our Lord, while looking forward to His coming again.
The New Testament Church
IT’S MUSIC IN WORSHIP
That the early Christians had music in their assemblies for worship goes without saying. Indeed, they had the very best. It was vocal music accompanied only BY THE HEART. There were no mechanical instruments to mar the beautiful melody of the early saints. Mechanical instruments were first used in church about 700 years after Christ.
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When God’s people sing praises to Him today in their assemblies for worship they are carrying out the orders of the Holy Spirit. There is never any question about this. Christians need not apologize for, nor explain why, they worship God “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). This is exactly what the apostle Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, enjoined upon all Christians. And again: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16)
If the Lord had wanted us to have ice cream and cake on the Lord’s table He would have told us so. In like manner, if He had wanted us to use mechanical instruments of music in our worship, He would have told us.
In our efforts to follow the Lord Jesus Christ we are not governed by what He did not forbid, but by what He has authorized. In that great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). We can only know the will of the Lord form the reading of His Word. When the Lord asks us to do something, then it is His will that we do it. But if He does not, then it presumptuous to make it a part of our worship.
The fact that the apostle Paul specifically mentioned “singing” without generalizing upon the type of music we are to make to the Lord excludes any other kind. Had we merely been to “make music” WITHOUT ANY MENTION OF THE KIND, then we would have been at liberty to sing, to play upon an instrument, or to do both. But when the New Testament specifically mentions the kind of music we are to make, then it would be presumptive on our part to add something thereto, just as it would be presumptive to add meat to the elements on the Lord’s table.
When Paul said to sing and MAKE MELODY did that imply the use of a mechanical instrument?
It is true that the original word from which this term comes does signify an accompaniment. Etymologically, the term meant to “PLUCK.” It might have signified the plucking of a hair from the tail or mane of a horse, or from the head of person, or the plucking of a flower. But we can only determine the thing that was to be plucked by the use of the term.
Since no word is used with the “pluck” the context makes it evident the thing plucked in Christian worship was not a mechanical instrument but the vocal chords, used to make melody unto the Lord. The early church thus praised God with their “lips” (Hebrews 13:15).
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It is true that the early Christians sang with an accompaniment. But Paul was quite specific in naming the accompaniment. It was that of the heart (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). The instrument that accompanies our singing in Christian worship today must likewise be the heart. If the heart is not in it, then it is not spiritual worship. Thus Paul could write: “I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also” (1 Corinthians 14:15).
Instruments were introduced into the worship not as an “aid” for the doing of what God commanded, but rather an excuse for our failure to carry out our Lord’s divine requirement, that of “singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
The New Testament Church
IT’S TERMS OF ENTRANCE
When one becomes a part of the New Testament Church he leaves his old state and enters into a new state, a new relationship with God. This relationship is sometimes pictured as an entrance “into Christ” But since the church is the (spiritual) body of Christ (Ephesians 1:20-23; Colossians 1:18), then when one enters into Christ he enters into Christ’s church, His kingdom, or His body.
A number of figures are used in the New Testament to represent the change which takes place in the life of the individual when he leaves his old state of sin, and enters into a new relationship with Christ. In order to convey this change to our infinite minds many striking terms are used to represent it – such as “conversion,” “a new birth,” “regeneration,” “reconciliation,” “redemption.”
Thus, entrance into the body of Christ differs completely from entrance into any sort of human organization. No such change takes place in the life of an individual when he joins a lodge, a sectarian body, or any sort of human society. One does not “join” the church of our Lord in the sense that he joins a lodge, a sectarian body, or any sort of a human society. We can only become united with Christ, or His church (His spiritual body), by experiencing a complete change in our nature. We must die to the old life and be raised to a new life with Christ (Romans 6:3-5). We must leave our old state and enter into a completely new relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Jesus once said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Again He declared, “Except ye be converted, and come as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). The apostle Peter told unrepentant sinners to “Repent… and be converted that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). The apostle Paul
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declared that god “saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).
These Scriptures naturally raise the question of HOW this change, known as “conversion,” or “regeneration,” is brought about.
The New Testament specifically stipulates four separate steps, or acts which culminate in a complete change of heart, life, or relation and by which one is translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13)
1. MAN MUST BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Jesus said, “. . . if you believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). Again He said, “. . . He that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). The apostle Paul told the Philippian jailer to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved” (Acts 16:32). Belief in Christ implies complete reliance upon Christ – not upon self, or anyone else.
2. MAN MUST REPENT OF HIS SINS. Jesus said, “… except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish”(Luke 13:3, 5). The apostle Peter, speaking by the Holy Spirit, commanded repentance “for the remission of sins,” or “that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 2:38; 3:19). Genuine repentance means a complete about face. It means the giving up of the practice of sin and turning to the Lord. In repentance one dies to the practice of sin and brings his life into harmony with the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. ONE MUST CONFESS THE NAME OF CHRIST. We do not confess our belief in some human creed. Instead, we acknowledge our faith in Christ as the Son of God. This is evident from such Scriptures as Matthew 10:32-33; Luke 9:26; Acts 8:37; Romans 10:9-10.
4. ONE MUST BE BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST (Romans 6:3-4); Galatians 3:27). In the Great Commission Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). The apostle Peter commanded the Pentecostants to “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Ananias told Saul to “arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins (Acts 22:16).
When we examine all the cases of conversion in the New Testament we find each one who was converted heard the Gospel, and having been convicted of his sins, repented and acknowledged his belief in Jesus as the Christ the Son of God, and everyone was baptized.
Thus, those who did, had their sins forgiven and were then added to the church (Acts 2:47), and became the recipients of the Holy Spirit. All such were born again, they were regenerated, and became new creatures in Christ Jesus the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:17). Thus, they entered into the body of Christ, His church