“The church of the living God, the pillar and ground
of the truth" 1 Timothy 3:15
In these
days of many 'religions', many 'churches', many beliefs and ideals, the
question may well be asked, and rightly asked, which of these is the true church... indeed what is the Church?
A
worshipping people…
Well, let us consider a few aspects about the church
as revealed in God's word, the Bible. Firstly, the Church of God is not a building. It may meet
in buildings, but it is not a physical
building. The English word 'church' is used to translate the Greek word ekklesia as used in the Bible, and ekklesia essentially means a called out congregation or assembly of people. God's church, His ekklesia, is not a building, but His people, called out from the world to worship
Him, and not only is this people called out
but but it is called into the fellowship of
God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God's church, Christ's church, is a
worshipping people, a people who worship "in
spirit and in truth" John 4:23. Described as the ekklesia, the assembly of God, such a people may
gather and worship God in many congregations throughout the world, but in
God's eyes, they are One people, One body, One assembly, united by their
common love for God and worship of Him. This was typified by the nation of
Israel in the Old Testament scriptures who were themselves a people chosen
of God to worship Him, as a picture and foreshadowing of that spiritual Israel, the church of God in Christ.
Not only is the Church of God, the ekklesia of Christ, a called out assembly of
people who worship God, but it is God's
church, it is His people. God's church is that
people whom God the Father chose in Christ from before the foundation of
the world unto salvation “…according to the good pleasure of his will, to the
praise of the glory of his grace” (See Ephesians
1:3-6), whom Jesus Christ, the Son of God, loved and gave Himself
for (Ephesians 5:25) in laying down His life in the place of His
people that He might suffer the judgment of God against their sins, that
they might have "redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins" (Ephesians 1:7). Such people, those who are
sinners by nature, at enmity with God their Maker, far off from God (Ephesians 2:17), described in the Bible as being
"dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1)
are, in the will of God, in His time, brought to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, the Gospel of Christ, regarding how the Son of God
entered this world by being made flesh and taking human nature into
perfect union with His Divine Person in order that He might live as a man
amongst sinners and suffer and die in the place of His people in order to
take their sins and the judgment of God against them away, that God might
be just in forgiving them of their sins, washing them clean, declaring
them just and righteous before Him and giving them eternal life in Christ
that they might live and worship Him for ever. Through the preaching of
this Gospel, God the Holy Spirit causes this people to be born again by His almighty power, delivered from
the darkness and death of their sin, into the light and life of the Gospel
of Christ. It is this people whom God calls
His Church. This is the ekklesia of Christ
whom He purchased at great price - with His own blood, through His death
upon the cross in the place of His people.
God's people…
The church of God, then, is that people whom God has
saved through the Person and Work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who
are born again of the Spirit, hearing and believing the truth of Christ as
declared in His Gospel, and who are gathered as assemblies in various
localities to worship God, in spirit and in truth. God's word, the Bible, tells us a number
of other things about the church. Not only is the church referred to as
Christ's, whom He loves, but He also declares in Matthew 16:18 that "I
will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it".
Christ builds His church. He died for all
those whom God the Father gave to Him as His people, and by the preaching
of His Gospel, by the mouths of those men whom He sends to preach it,
through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ calls that people out from
the darkness of this world to believe on Him and to gather with His
people, in the church. This is a work of God's grace to bring His people to believe on Him, by
His will, not theirs, as John 6:29 tells us "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him
[Jesus Christ] whom he hath sent". Likewise Ephesians 2:4-5 tells us
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love
wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us
together with Christ (by grace ye are saved;)". And if by grace, then
of 'Sovereign Grace', grace which reigns(Romans 5:21),
for the grace of God, His undeserved, unmerited mercy towards sinners,
is freely given by His will, being Lord of all - by Christ, the King of
kings. And not only is the church said to be Christ's, and that He
builds it, but He is also described as being the Head of the Church. "And
[God] hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over
all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that
filleth all in all" Ephesians 1:22-23. Here we read of how Christ
fills all in all. He dwells in His people, and in His church. For the
church is not only a people gathered to worship God, but it is described
in the scriptures as God's dwelling place, as His habitation. We have
stated that the church is not a physical building, but the people of God,
and the Bible teaches us that it is in this
people that God makes His habitation, Christ by His Spirit dwelling in
their hearts by faith. Acts 17:24 tells us
that God "dwelleth not in temples made with
hands", for God's people are described as His habitation "In whom [Christ] all the building [of God's people]
fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye
also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."
Ephesians 2:21-22.
So, we see that the church of God, is that people called out by
God to worship Him, for whom Christ died, having set His love upon them.
The Church is Christ's, He is the Head of it,
He dwells within it, He reigns within it, and He builds it. And He does so through the preaching
of His Gospel, which the Bible describes as "the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" Romans 1:16.
It is by the preaching of the Gospel that Christ builds His church,
adds to it, increases it and strengthens it. Described in 1 Timothy 3:15
as "the pillar and ground of the truth" the
church is also described as the "household of God"
and is "built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone",
and that foundation, that teaching of God regarding Christ as declared
by the apostles and the prophets of old is set forth and proclaimed in the
preaching of Christ in His Gospel. Hence the preaching of the Gospel from
the word of God is not only that by which God's people are saved, but is
that by which the church is built and sustained, and it forms the centre
of all worship of God in His church, "For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then
shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear
without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?" ….
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans
10:13-15, 17
…Who
worship in
spirit and in truth
Having asked what is the church of God, we may also wonder just how
that church worships God when it gathers together?
Unlike much that is done in the name of 'worship' in
many religious gatherings today, which are either full of pomp or
ceremony, of outward form or ritual, or just frothy sentimentalism or
entertainment, the church of God as described in the scriptures, and the
way in which it worships, is actually very simple and without much
ceremony. What is at the heart of true worship is the centrality of Christ
in the meetings. Quite simply, Christ is all.
True worship is to love and adore Christ, the Head of the Church, in whom
God has revealed Himself to man. This is an act of faith, which works by
love (Galatians 5:6), which springs from the
new heart of the believer. We cannot worship Him whom we do not know, as
we have seen in Romans 10, and the true
knowledge of God as Father, Son and Holy Ghost, resulting in belief in Him
and worship of Him, is made known by the preaching of Christ in His
Gospel. Hence the centrepoint of all true worship, is the preaching of
Christ, the preaching of the truth as it is in Jesus, in His Gospel. This
results in worship from the hearts of God's people who hear. Whilst their
worship may also be expressed in singing, prayer and praise, all these
things have no meaning unless we know of whom
we sing, or to whom we come in prayer. True worship is not about
ceremony, forms, rituals or entertainment, but is centred on God in
Christ, as preached in His Gospel. True worship is not an outward thing,
but an inward, spiritual exercise, emanating from the heart, by faith,
through love, towards God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In order to ensure this centrality of the preaching
of the Gospel in the meetings of God's people, in order to give it free
course, to remove hindrances to its being preached, and to keep God's
people's gaze clearly set upon Christ and His work, God has given several
simple guidelines in the Bible for how He should be worshipped (for
example in 1 Corinthians or 1 Timothy), and has given several 'ordinances'
to be kept in the church as vivid pictures of Christ and His work. These
ordinances include the ordinance of Baptism by which those who are brought
to faith in Christ declare that faith publicly to others by confessing
Christ's Name in baptism, in which they are immersed in water as a picture
of being buried with Christ in His death and having risen again with Him
in His resurrection, having had their sins washed away by His blood. We
can read of this practice in Acts 2:41 "Then they
that gladly received his word were baptized". Having been baptized
these early Christians met for worship as described in verse 42: "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles'
doctrineand fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."
Notice the primary place given here to the Apostle's doctrine – ie.
the preaching of Christ in His Gospel.
Not only does the church remember the ordinance of
baptism, but it also remembers the Lord Jesus' death in the ordinance of
the 'Lord's Supper'. The Apostle Paul describes this in his first epistle
to the church at Corinth in which he
sets down a number of guidelines for how God should be approached in
worship. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 he reminds them of the importance and
meaning of the Lord's Supper: "For I have received
of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the
same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given
thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken
for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took
the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my
blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as
often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's
death till he come." Here we see what a powerful picture the simple
act of remembrance depicted in the Lord's Supper, of breaking bread and
drinking wine, is, of the Lord Jesus' death for sinners, in which His body
was broken and His blood was shed that He might redeem them from their
sins. As often as the church gathers to "eat this
bread" and "drink this cup" they show
forth "the Lord's death till he come". What a
simple act this is, but what a wonderful reminder of Christ and His work
to save sinners!
In the same chapter in 1 Corinthians we also read of
another simple ordinance which God has given to His church to set forth a
vital truth in a simple, yet clear and vivid manner - that truth being the
Headship of Christ over His church. In chapter 11 verses 3-5 God the Holy
Spirit states "But I would have you know, that the
head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the
head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head
covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or
prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is
even all one as if she were shaven." Christ is the Head of His church,
that church often being depicted in the Bible as His bride. For this
reason, and to set forth this truth clearly, here we are reminded of God's
order, of the Headship of Christ over His church, of how Christ is the
head of the man and the man is the head of the woman, this relationship
between the man and the woman being a reflection of Christ's relationship
to His bride, the church. And in order to set forth this picture of
Christ's Headship in the church, as pictured by God's order in male and
female, God has provided this further simple ordinance for His church, for
men to worship with their heads uncovered and
for women to worship with their heads covered.
What a tremendous truth this sets forth, and in such a simple manner! It
is for this reason that Christians who gather to worship in the church are
kindly requested, if they are women to wear a head covering (hat or scarve
*) and likewise, if they are men not to. For by simple obedience in so
doing the gathered church plainly declares both its willing submission to
Christ's Headship over His bride (His people) and His authority in the
midst, and also the fact that as that bride, the
church approaches unto God as having its nakedness and sin covered by Christ's blood.
By such simple ordinances in God's church, great
truths are set forth. Should any ask why we baptise, we may declare
plainly the death and resurrection of believers in Christ. Should any
ponder the meaning of the bread and wine, the death of our Lord is clearly
set forth by them as depicting His body broken and His blood shed. And
should any wonder why women cover their heads, and men don't, the glorious
truth of Christ's Headship over His church and His authority and
centrality within it can be clearly proclaimed. God hasn't given many
requirements for outward form in His church, but what He has in His wisdom
set forth such glorious and central truths relating to Christ and His work
for, and in, His ekklesia - those same truths
which we see declared in word and doctrine in the preaching of Christ in
His Gospel. It is this preaching of the truth which these simple
ordinances help to maintain as the centre of all true worship. For since
God the Father seeks a people who worship "in
spirit and in truth" (John 4:23), for that worship to be in truth the
truth must be proclaimed. It is by the
preaching of the truth in Christ in His Gospel, by the power of the
Spirit, that Christ builds and gathers His church, as one company, one
assembly of His people, His elect, who hearing of Christ in the Gospel are
given faith by God the Holy Spirit to worship Him, who loved them and gave
Himself for them (Galatians 2:21). What a
Saviour the Gospel sets forth, who loving His own gave Himself through
death to save them, for "God commendeth his love
toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" Romans
5:8.
The
church of the living God
So to come back to our original question, just what
is the church? It is that people called out of this world by God to
worship Him, the living God, as revealed in Christ and in His Gospel. The
true church is not that which man builds, but that which is built by
Christ, by the preaching of His word, that over which He is the Head, that
which was given to Him as His bride by His Father from before the
foundation of this world, that for which He suffered and bled in death in
order to perfect and purify as His own and that in which He dwells by His
Spirit. The 'church of the living God' is that
company who worship the living Godin 'spirit and in truth', having the truth of God in
Christ proclaimed in the midst through the preaching of the Gospel, as
being the 'pillar and ground of the truth'.
This is the church of God, and
anything short of it, or contrary to it, is but a counterfeit.
But praise God that He continues to build His church
through the preaching of His Gospel, even in this our day. May He be
pleased to send forth that Gospel in power today that many may be saved
and that His Name might be glorified in the midst of His people!
“And I
will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people”
Leviticus 26:12
Amen.
[* Whilst some today consent to the teaching
regarding Christ's Headship over His church as set forth in 1 Corinthians
11, and recognise God's order in the distinctions made between male and
female, and also recognise that such ordinances having nothing to do with
legalism, but eveything to do with faithful obedience to God's word and a
loving desire to willingly submit to Christ's authority and Headship in
His church, and to demonstrate that...
they nevertheless explain away Paul's intent in this
passage regarding headcoverings by claiming that the woman's hair itself is the only covering necessary in worship
(see verse 15). However it is not Paul's intent in his illustration from
nature in verses 14 and 15 to argue that the woman's long hair is the same covering described in verses 5-7 (indeed a different Greek word is translated as
'cover' in verse 15 from that word translated similarly in verse 5 which
more literally would be translated 'veiled'), but it is instead
to demonstrate from this natural comparison
of male and female (in which a woman has a natural covering of longer
hair than men in order to show God's order in the natural realm) that the covering of a woman's
head in approaching unto God in public worship, with an
additional cover over the hair, is both right and
proper for "does not even nature itself
teach you...?". Indeed if the hair alone were the cover of which
Paul speaks in verse 5, then not only would it make a nonsense of the
statement made in verse 5 itself (since not being covered would actually
then mean being shaven, if the
cover is the hair, hence the statement "for that
is even all one as if she were shaven" would become irrelevent), but
it would also require that men approach unto God bald, for it is not the length of covering which is stressed in
verse 5 but the respective presence of a covering or not, so if hair be the
covering, men should not have a covering, and hence they should be shaved!
... Now, it is not my desire to labour such points, but faithful exegesis
of the passage can really lead one to no other conclusion but that
Christ's Headship in His church is to be demonstrated visibly in its
public assembly by the men having uncovered heads and the women
wearing headcoverings - a practice which has been the accepted 'norm'
within Christianity for hundreds of years, and has only really begun
to be set aside with the rise of the feminist movement since the
1960s. John Gill, for example, in his comments on 1 Corinthians 11 presents such sound exegesis and
is well worth reading. This all said however, it cannot be stressed
enough that outward forms in worship, in and of themselves are of
nothing worth, if the thing pictured by the form is not understood.
Sadly, there are many who can be very strict about adherence to such
practices as headcoverings who think little of what the form pictures and
who in their hearts are not subject to the Headship of Christ in His
church, just as many others argue and divide over the correct application
or mode of baptism. But that such things can be abused or adopted in a
legal manner does not mean that they should in any way be set aside, but
rather that they should be practiced in the right spirit and attitude,
looking past the forms to the glorious truths set forth by them, with
God-given faith. May God keep us from a legal spirit and grant gracious
hearts to worship Him in the ekklesia in
spirit and in truth.]
