The following articles are written by Christians worshiping at the Central church of Christ in Ocala, Florida.
GOD'S KINGDOM IS THE CHURCH
by Richard Bartholomew
Most people in the religious world today believe that God’s Kingdom is either in heaven or that it will be established by Jesus on earth at his 2nd Coming. But what does the evidence show? What do the Scriptures teach? If our goal is to go to heaven, then we must fully understand what God has to say about achieving that goal. We need to know what His kingdom is, when it started, what authority it has and how we gain entrance. Otherwise, we might be going about it all wrong and totally miss the mark. Therefore, it is crucial to know whether or not the kingdom has been established, what it is and how to get in.
Isaiah 2:2-3 and Micah 4:1-2 prophesied that the kingdom would be established in the "last days" in Jerusalem. Hebrews 1:1-2 and Acts 2:16-17 show that the New Testament times are the last days and Jesus confirmed that "repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." Daniel revealed the historic time God's kingdom would be established while he interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 2:32-44). Daniel had dreams himself during the reign of Belshazzar (Daniel 7 & 8) and the angel Gabriel explicitly spelled out the meanings of the symbols in the dreams and left no doubt that Jesus would establish His kingdom during the time of the Roman Empire (Daniel 8:19-26). Joel proclaimed the events that would signal the kingdom's beginning (Joel 2:28-32) and Peter recalled this proclamation in his first sermon, as the church came into existence (Acts 2:16-21). Jesus said that the kingdom would come with power before some who heard Him speak had died (Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, Luke 9:27). He referred to His church in Matthew 16:18 as something not yet in existence and in Luke 10:9-11, Jesus said the kingdom was "near", but not yet here. After His resurrection, Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 that all authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth, and then announced in Acts 1:6-8 that the apostles would receive the power of the Holy Spirit in order to witness from Jerusalem to all the earth. This was after He had told the apostles in John 14:26 that the Holy Spirit would teach them all things and bring to their remembrance all that He had told them. Furthermore, Jesus said the Holy Spirit would not come to the apostles until He went away (John 16:7). Just after His ascension, on Pentecost, the kingdom of God was established when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and Peter delivered the first sermon of the New Testament church (Acts 2:1-4,14-26). The logical sequence, then, is that: 1) The Kingdom was to come with power (Mark 9:1); 2) The Power was to come from the Holy Spirit; 3) The Holy Spirit came on Pentecost; 4) Therefore, the Kingdom came on Pentecost. From that point on the Bible speaks of the church, or kingdom, in the present tense, established and functioning. Examples of this can be seen in Acts 2:47; 5:11; 8:1; 11:22; 13:1; 14:27; Colossians 1:13; Revelation 1:9.
The church is not a manmade institution and the kingdom is not a future hope. They are one and the same, alive today and described by the New Testament in the following ways: 1) The Household of God (I Timothy 3:15); 2) A Royal Priesthood (I Peter 2:9); 3) A Holy Temple (Ephesians 2:19-21); 4) The Body, or Christ's Body (Ephesians 5:23, Colossians1:18,24); 5) The Kingdom (Colossians 1:13) Obviously, the church is the kingdom, the household of God, the body of Christ and His people. We can’t "join" the church. Nowhere in the New Testament is there an example of someone joining the church or instructions given to anyone to join the church. Acts 2:37-47 and the other conversion experiences given throughout the book of Acts show that those who hear God's Word, confess Jesus as the Son of God and submit to baptism for forgiveness of past sins are added by Jesus to His church. The church is a spiritual kingdom (John 18:36) made up of obedient believers and only those in the church, on God's terms, will be saved on the last day (I Corinthians 15:24, Ephesians 5:27). Hebrews 12:22-29 and Ephesians 4:4-6 ties some of this together and the book of Revelation consistently teaches that only Christians, saints washed in the blood, will be permitted entrance into heaven on judgment day.
But what is the significance of the kingdom being the church? What's the big deal? First of all, greater importance must be placed on our choices in religion. We can no longer worship as we please, "join the church of our choice" or hold just any system of beliefs if Jesus' kingdom is already here. We are now obligated to do what it takes to get added to His church or we are eternally lost. Most people don't want to give up their traditions or long-held belief systems and, so rationalize that God doesn't care about the details of our faith as long as we believe. The kingdom, they say, is something we are all working towards and it will only be established after that final battle between good and evil. To admit that the battle is going on today would require more change than most people are willing to endure. Secondly, the Bible and all it teaches becomes more real and applicable to us, personally, when we understand that the church, as now established, is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecy as well as the completion of Jesus' work while here on earth. When our Lord gave up His spirit on the cross, he uttered the words, "It is finished." (John 19:30) This signaled the end of His work on earth. He didn't say, "It is finished for now," or "It is finished until I come back to establish My kingdom." He said, "It is finished." The Bible teaches that He will not step foot on this world again (I Thesssalonians 4:16-17), and those who say or believe Jesus has more work to do on the earth call Him a liar. Jesus defeated Satan when He arose from the dead and He now sits on His throne in heaven, preparing to judge every person for their deeds in the body (II Corinthians 5:10). Finally, there will be no second chance. Hebrews 9:27 says, "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." All who reject Jesus (Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, atheists, etc.) are lost (Acts 4:12, John 14:6) and all who profess Jesus yet reject His church will, likewise, be rejected by Him (Matthew 7:21-23). Jesus purchased the church with His blood (Acts 20:28, Revelation 5:9-10) and wishes all to be saved (Acts 10:34-35, I Timothy 2:3-5). But God is just and promises only to save those in the church and only those in the church who persevere until the end (II Thesssalonians 1:8-10, I Peter1:17-25, 4:17-19, Revelation 2:10, 3:5).
There is only one true church. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, "I will build My church." He didn’t say churches. The New Testament church began with the baptism of about 3000 souls on the Day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2. Jesus’ apostles established churches over the next 40 or 50 years in accordance with instructions provided by the Holy Spirit, who guided them into ALL truth, as Jesus promised. How those churches were set up and organized is the only way God intended for the church of His Son to function. Deviations from that divine plan add to or take away from Holy writ and the scriptures clearly teach against such alterations. God’s Kingdom IS the church, let there be no doubt, and we must each make sure that we are part of His kingdom, His body, His church (all one and the same). Otherwise, our souls are in grave danger.
What is the church?
By Mark M. Chatfield
Colin Williamson pointed out in an early November 2004 sermon that after the first Century, apostasy was rampant. Human logic replaced scriptural authority. One elder began to rule in a hierarchical organizational structure and then all sorts of abominations entered in as church doctrine.
Today it is more than easy to be confused. Perhaps it is impossible not to be confused.
The book of Acts introduces man to the first church of Christ beginning at Pentecost. That church in Jerusalem was a local congregation of the most diverse people imaginable. It must have had the most “wet behind the ears” Christians any church has ever had. Here were some excited Christians who had just heard the gospel but their lives and their families and their homes were full of Jewish traditions and generations of teachings from laws and prophecies that had been fulfilled or taken out of the way by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection..
Will Harrison pointed out that the church in Antioch 30 or 40 years later replaced the church at Jerusalem as the leading congregation of the time. Here there were many Gentiles and Jews trying to coexist in the love of Christ. When we study the books Paul wrote to Corinth, we can gain insight into the problems these early churches faced. Gathering for the Lord’s supper and having a common meal instead, for instance.
Today we think we have some things figured out; and we do – I don’t know of any church today that can’t distinguish the Lord’s supper from a common meal. However, it is still easy to lose our perspective of the nature of the church because each of us has been exposed to an environment of denominationalism.
The word “church” in the Bible can mean several things. A church merely may mean a gathering of people. Literally, that is all it means. “Church” - a gathering or a grouping.
The “universal church” is the church that Christ bought with His life is all those who are participating in an eternal oneness with God. Most of those souls have already passed from this life. The rest, those who are now alive, have believed and obeyed and continue to serve Christ. Only God knows for sure who belongs to Him in this “universal” church, the kingdom. We read about the Ethiopian eunuch. When Philip baptized him, to what church did he belong? He was added to the Lord’s church – the body of the saved. There are other examples of people who are part of the body of the saved yet never may have attended a local worship gathering. Consider, for instance, those who were baptized just before their death, soldiers in combat, and people who may be home-bound due to illness or handicap.
Deciding who is a member is God’s business. He knows the hearts of men; it is not our business to make that distinction. Ro 14:13 “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge ye this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother's way, or an occasion of falling.” We may, as Christians worshiping at a local church, find that some individuals need to be put away (like Corinth and Pergamum needed to do) from among us in order to permit those remaining to focus more on Christ. However, that may not have any reflection on those individual’s standing before God. There also may be some who are part of the universal church who are trying to worship God while gathering with those who do not follow the scripture any more than those in the early church at Corinth.
We are not saved because we attend worship services. We are saved when we are obedient to God. We are not forced to attend. We go to church because we love the Lord and want to learn about Him and obey. We are not slaves, but love-servants. On the other hand, we may be lost if we forsake the assembling of ourselves together by getting in the habit of missing opportunities to meet with the saints and shirking in our service to God and others. Why should we assemble? Because there is everything to gain. The question is not, “Will I go to Hell for missing a Wednesday night Bible Class?” The question is, “What is it in my life that is more important than learning about God and taking every opportunity to worship and serve Him?”
1. It is to be “for the better” – we should be improved by the experience (I Cor. 11:17).
2. It is to be in a spirit of togetherness, not division (I Cor. 11:18).
3. We are to defer to one another, not insist on our own way (I Cor. 11:33);
4. We are to focus on God, not on other things (I Cor. 11:34);
5. We should consider the effect our worship might have on visitors (I Cor. 14:23);
6. We need to assure that the worship is edifying (I Cor. 14:26).
7. We are to sing (Eph 5:19), pray (Rom. 12:12), teach (I Cor. 4:17), learn (I Cor. 14:31), lay by in store (I Cor. 16:2), and partake of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7).
The church was established by Christ through the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. There are scriptural names for the church, but the names are not a title, per se. Some of the names for the church:
Church of the Lord - Acts 20:28
Church of God - I Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:13
Church of the Living God - I Tim. 3:15
Church of the firstborn - Heb. 12:23
Church at ________ (Revelation, etc.)
The Way (Acts)
Churches of Christ (Rom. 16:16)
The Bible does not contain denominational terms. After all, there were no denominations at the time. There were local churches on earth with Christians who met together to worship. The church at Corinth was trending toward following Paul or Apollos, but the church was rebuked for their divisiveness by Paul himself.
Today, however, we hardly can avoid thinking in denominational terms. I was brought up in the Presbyterian Church. My tendency is to think that there are Presbyterians and Methodists and Catholics and there is the Church of Christ. But that is denominational thinking. It is in keeping with the New Testament to think instead in terms of Christians, not the Church of Christ.
If someone asks what my religion is, I don’t say that I am a “church of Christer,” I say, “I am a Christian;” or “I worship at the Central church of Christ.”
There is nothing wrong with the term “church of Christ” and there is much that is correct about the name. But if we get too hung up on a single name for Christ’s church, we are missing the point. It’s not about a name, it is about Christ and His promise for the obedient.
What are scripture-based roles for Christians in a local congregation?
Before we discuss roles for Christians in a local congregation, let’s clarify some points about the worship. I was introduced first to a congregation that had no Bible classes. This was not because they had not thought of it but because they believed with all their hearts that to do so was not authorized in scripture. It took me a decade or so to learn differently. Many who have not had that kind of experience have never really studied the subject, but I could not just change my beliefs without convincing myself that it was the way God wants it. My study led me to think about our gathering together and just what that means. One of the main objections the non-class brethren come up with is that the church is to come together on the first day of the week . . . Classes, by definition, are separations. So, much of the discussion comes down to a question of what is our “coming together?”
I concluded that “coming together” means our gathering for the Lord’s Supper and for preaching and singing and praying – what we call our “worship service.” That means to me that Bible study classes are not “the church” nor “the gathering of the saints” nor “worshiping together”.
Here is another area where it seems easy for Christians today engage in unscriptural thinking. Somehow we take I Tim. 5:17, that tells about elders that rule well, and we get the idea that the local church has an organizational structure like IBM or the DOD with a corporate CEO and board at the top that makes all the rules for their underlings, the VP’s and Branch Chiefs and Regional Managers on down to the factory workers on the assembly line.
The church that the Bible talks about, it’s not like that. Jesus says that the greatest among us is the one that serves the most. It’s not the fact that a man is an elder that is so important, it is the fact that he serves. Yes, elders end up doing a lot of things like budgeting and approving expenditures and deciding what will be done. But they don’t have to do all that – that work can be given to Deacons. Each church can and should decide just how the congregation wants to function. Some get along without elders – maybe that is okay when there are not two or more qualified to the work. Some turn the decisions about financing and other business items over to Deacons. The question each congregation must answer for itself is how should the elders shepherd the flock.
Who can appoint and discharge elders?
It seems reasonable that a church should have a balance similar to the examples we see in the New Testament. Apostles appointed elders. Elders oversaw the feeding and protection of the flock of the flock which included having evangelists like Timothy. Evangelists have a responsibility to teach and admonish elders and Christians have that responsibility as well. I have gone through the difficult time when an evangelist had to publicly rebuke an elder and when the elder would not change, the elder was “dis” appointed. In all this, I’m not sure there was sin on anyone’s part but it was necessary for the local church to focus on Christ rather than on the personalities involved.
Who should select and appoint deacons?
We read in Acts about appointing the seven to take care of the Grecian widows. The congregation should be asked or have input to bring forward names and then the elders should consider the men and their qualifications and the work to be done and then there should be an opportunity for the congregation to consider the selections before the elders appoint the men to the work. Paul instructed Titus to ordain elders in every city. Tit 1:5 “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou should set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:” It seems that the evangelist should do the ordaining or appointing and have a strong hand in the selection process.
Who should select and discharge evangelists?
Again, the congregation should have a role in the consideration and selection. The elders and deacons would want to coordinate financial aspects and qualifications and consider how the evangelist would work with the congregation and the community. All things of the local church should be done decently and in order and it seems that the role of elders would be to oversee the process and to make sure the needs of the congregation are known and met.
What should characterize a local congregation?
From the letters to the seven churches of Asia in Rev. (Without repeating things like faith, etc):
Ephesus: works, patience, don’t bear evil men, don’t grow weary, don’t leave first love, repent.
Pergamum: hold fast to Christ, don’t deny Christ’s faith, get rid of immorality.
Thyatira: love, ministry
Sardis: live up to your good reputation; stay alive; some may be worthy even if the congregation is essentially dead – we aren’t justified just because we have placed membership at Central.
Philadelphia: keep the word, don’t let anyone take it away.
Laodicea: Don’t be lukewarm, keep aware that true riches are measured by following God, don’t be proud of money we may have, be zealous for the Lord.
From I Cor.: Unity, lack of contention, learn the milk and the meat of the word, behave knowing our bodies are the temple of God, behave wisely, be imitators of Paul as he imitated Christ, mourn about low morality in the church and drive out fornication, don’t keep company with Christians who are fornicators, covetous, idolaters, revilers, drunkards, or extortioners, respect marriage, put God first, respect the conscience of other Christians, don’t let our freedom be a stumbling block to others, learn, grow, have self control.
So, if we ever have the thought that church is boring or there is nothing to do – think again. There is always room for learning and growth and generosity and helping others and God knew that the local church – the gathering of Christians – was the way for His people to learn and be encouraged and pray and worship and praise Him so we can be one with Him on this earth and in heaven forever.