Recently, I did a three-part series entitled What is a Cult? In case you missed that, you can read it here, here and here. Someone asked me: ‘Pastor, if all religions are cults and social clubs of association, which church then, is Christ’s church that Christians should attend?’ It is this question that has inspired this presentation.
In Christian Theology, there is a study known as Ecclesiology, which is the Theology of the Church. The easiest way of defining the Church is by stating what the Church is NOT.
The Church is not Israel: Many people think that because God revealed himself through the nation and culture of Israel, therefore Israel is the Church. Many do pilgrimages to Israel and visit the historical Biblical sites. Others consider the nation of Israel to be above all others. Some Theologians, like those in the Zionism movement, attach Salvation to Israel.
Some evangelical churches have even launched conferences about praying for Israel. Others struggle with the Pauline theology in Romans 9-11, while others misinterpret the apocalypse about the tribes of Israel in the book of Revelation. Some call the Church the New Israel. Others say the Church is the Spiritual Israel etc. But none of these ideas is in line with correct Biblical Theology. For as you may or may not know, Jesus collided and theologically disagreed with Israel as a nation and he disagreed with the chief religion of Israel which was ‘Judaism’. Therefore Israel cannot be the church.
The Church is not a Hierarchy of Powers: The Church is not some professional bureaucracy with a high ranking clergy that exists separate from the body of believers. Today, when one says, “the church has ruled”, they intend a certain select committee, chairperson, or other mystified leader like a Pastor or Priest. When Roman Catholics refer to “the Church”, they are talking about the Pope, the Cardinals, and the Bishops who make up the governing body of Catholicism. This cuts across all religious bodies that we consider to be churches.
Many people defend these power structures by misquoting Acts 15 about the Jerusalem council. But the truth of the matter was, the Apostles (Peter, John and James) were not heads of the Church but elders to the Church equal to Apostle Paul and Barnabas. Never in the New Testament do we see any kind of hierarchical ‘pecking order’ where one pastor is the ‘head pastor’ and others are assistants to him. There is only one Chief Shepherd (1Peter 5:4), and even the great Apostle Peter dares only call himself a ‘fellow elder’ (1Peter 5:1).
Jesus Christ is the real HIS EMINENCE OF THE CHURCH, because him alone shed his blood for it and created it. Any form of church government which tends, deliberately or otherwise, to place men in a position of pre-eminence is contrary to God’s truth and therefore an organized crime against humanity.
Jesus had a very low-opinion and harsh words to these officers and hierarchies in Mathew 23:1-12.
Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men.
But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
The Scribes and Pharisees loved prominence, they delighted in titles which honored them and the place of honor at public gatherings. Pre-eminence in the church belongs solely to our Lord. He alone is Teacher, Father, and Leader. Not the Pope, the Archbishop, Division leader, etc. This is why our Lord forbids His disciples to take for themselves titles which would exalt them over others. Error was two-fold in Matt. 23:8-10.
- They wanted to elevate themselves over men, to be served, not serve.
- They wanted to claim that which belonged only to Christ.
Friends, if you see this in what you consider to be your Church, trust me, it is not the Biblical Church but a highly arranged and governed Cult.
The Church is not a Schism (Denomination): the word Schism means division or segmenting and this the idea behind what we know today as a denomination. Some argue that the Church is one as manifested in many facets of denominations, and that if you put all the pieces in belief and teaching together, they make up the church. These denominations could be over 35,000 in number all over the world but still, this is not the Church.
Whoever argues thus, lacks historical knowledge of the historical evolution of these denominations. Since the birth of the Christian Church, there has been many cleavages due to departures and disagreement in Scripture interpretation, in doctrine, revivals, reformations, etc.
According to Ethan R. Longhenry in his book: A Study of Denominations, there are four phases of denomination evolution since the Biblical times to date.
- Phase I: from AD 60 to 1054 (from Judaizers to the Bogomils)
- Phase II: 1054-1500 (from Waldensians to Jan Hus and the Hussites)
- Phase III: 1500-1800 (From the Lutheranism to Wesleyanism)
- Phase IV: 1800 to the Present (From Plymouth Brethren to Modern Movements)
The Church of Christ is not a Protestant denomination. All the denominations of our day were established by men, hundreds of years after the church of our Lord was established on Pentecost, Acts 2, A.D. 33 (Mark 9:1; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:1-4, 47).
A denomination is not a Church, The word denomination comes from the Latin denominare meaning “to name”. Now we all know that we normally name what is already existing. In other words, the Church is, but people come up with their belief systems and attribute names and systems of operation.
Looking at it from another angle, our paper money system is divided into various denominations: five shillings, ten thousand shillings, twenty thousand shillings etc. We cannot insist that ten thousand or five shillings is the money. We know money is money whether denominated or not. We cannot insist that politics is a political party. We all know, a political party is a political party because of politics but not politics itself. The Church of Christ is not a denomination and cannot be denominated for three reasons:
- It has the head who is a deity and not a human being (Ephesians 4:15).
- It is comprised of individuals, not institutions or groups.
- It insists on the exclusive doctrine of TRUTH that is expressed in the five Solas (Scripture, Faith, Grace, Jesus, and Glory to God alone) as its belief and practice.
A denomination might be as big as the Catholic Church or even bigger but it proves to be smaller than the redeemed as a whole. The New Testament speaks only of local congregations (1Corinthians 1:2) or the church embracing all of the saved (Ephesians 1:22, 23).
Hence the New Testament church cannot be fitted into any denominational mold which is manmade and without divine origin. The Lord is not the author of confusion nor denominationalism (1Corinthian 14:33). Our Lord did not work against his own prayer for unity by establishing conflicting and contradictory denominations (John 17: 20, 21).
The Church is not a Building: In almost every community around the world, there is a building with across on it and people like calling this building, a Church. Since early Israel, the Temple was a mystified, sacred and venerated structure. The Temple was one of the objects praised and worshipped in disguise. This is the mindset when the disciples take Jesus on the Temple tour. The Bible in Mathew 24:1-2 says that:
“Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down.”
To Jesus, this building was an object destined for destruction. It was mere bricks and sand. It was like the human body which is for food and eventually for dust. Our buildings are not the Church that Jesus talked about in Mathew 16:18: On this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.
The Church of Jesus Christ is not a building in a sense that the rock upon which it is built, is not a geological rock but a theological rock who is Jesus Christ himself. The church that Jesus built is eternal for the powers of death and demolition shall never prevail against it, it is eternal. Now we know, no building qualifies. The Bible uses five metaphors of the Church which are:
- Bride: (Ephesians 5:25-27, 3:18-19, 2Corinthians 11:2)
- Priesthood: (1Peter 2:5-9, Revelation 1:4-6, 20:6)
- Body: (1Corinthians 12, Colossians 1:18)
- Flock: (Acts 20:28, 1Peter 5:4, John 10:11,14) and the fifth one which is close to the structure is the
- Temple: (Ephesians 2:21-22, 1Peter 2:4-6, 1Corinthians 3:10-11) However, when you look at the scriptures, they all reveal how the temple itself is not a literal building but ourselves being the built and edified Temple of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The church is not a geography we go to but who we are. You are the church. “You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22.
The church is not where (Building) but who (individual) believers. The New Testament people did not mystify or even venerate structures as we do today. For they did not recognize them to be the CHURCH. Paul, in sending greetings to many in Rome at the close of his letter to the Romans, tells them to “greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus” (Romans 16:3). He goes on to say in verse 5, “Likewise greet the church that is in their house.”
In Colossians 4:15 Paul sends greetings to “the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house.” In addressing Philemon, Paul sends greetings to “Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house” (Philemon 1:1-2).
Someone said:
“Today, people are attracted to a church by the size or the beauty of its building, the social programs, the music programs or the sports programs. But the building location or size, the status of those who attend it, the programs offered, the adornments or other physical things don’t make a church. The building is just a building—an empty shell. God’s Church is not the building; but rather, it is the individuals of called-out individuals who have dedicated their lives to following Jesus Christ, who is the Head of His Church”. When we view our building as our legacy, we tie the church to a building which will eventually crumble and collapse.
The Church is not always the Visible but the Invisible: The individuals we esteem as members of the church of Christ just because they confess him and profess the right doctrine are not necessarily the Church. Many who do wonders in his name will perish (Mathew 7:21-23). This does not mean we have never seen the Church. Of course not, we have witnessed it. However, it is not for us to tell who the Church is and who isn’t. Only Christ has that ability.
The true Church of Christ has no book or electronic register of members where it registers and de-registers but rather the membership is registered in the mind of Christ (John 10:25-27). Only the owner of the Church has the register with him in heaven (Hebrews 12:23).
Brian wrote these words:
“The term invisible as defined by the Reformed symbols and theologians does not mean that some Christians are invisible like ghosts floating around in the spirit realm. It refers to the fact that the invisible church cannot be fully discovered, distinguished or discerned by the eyes of men, by empirical means we can only perceive outward signs, statements and actions.”
No person has the ability to determine or observe the whole body of God’s elect irrespective of time (i.e., throughout human history prior to the last judgment) or place (i.e., there are many real believers in the world of which we are not aware).
Williamson writes:
“It is invisible to us because it has extension in both time and space. It reaches from one end of the earth to the other, and from the beginning to the end of the age. But it is invisible only to us”. It is not invisible to God. He who infallibly discerns the hearts of men, knows them that are his. “The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal: ‘the Lord knoweth them that are his” (2Timothy 2:19). Jesus prayed for the invisible church—the elect present and not yet born in John 17.
“Christ is speaking of a special company which had been given to Him. These are eternally His: “chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4); and by the immutability of His purpose of grace (Romans 11:29), they are always His.” As we brag about ourselves being the only church, Christ stands with us and says: “I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16)
John MacArthur wrote:
“Every biblical metaphor of the church, without exception, emphasizes its unity. The church is one bride with one husband; one flock with one shepherd; one set of branches on one vine; one kingdom with one king; one family with one father; one building with one foundation; one body with one head, Jesus Christ.” (The Church: The Body of Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973, 19.)
Friends, the Greek word translated as Church is ekklesia, which literally means an assembly or gathering of people. This meaning is most shown in Acts 19:32, where the Ephesians dragged Paul before the entire assembly of the city. However, most of the time the bible uses the word ekklesia, it is referred to as the ekklesia of God (1Corinthians 10:32) or in Christ (1Thessalonians 1:1).
The big question is; Are you his Church? If you are not, please join him by Faith.
God bless I invoke TRUTH, REASON and FAITH
Am Pr. I.T.White
The Gospel Hawker
iTiS Well of Worship Fellowship (John 4:24) 