This
is a prevailing belief among many and even among those
who profess to be of the New Testament Church of God,
but it at once denies that God ever provided a government
for His church and that man must provide one. Others
advance the theory that the early preachers were Monarchal
Bishops and decrees that there were humanly-appointed
officers in the church. They go so far as to say the
Apostles were a duly appointed committee, which is
as far from the truth as day is from night.
It will not be necessary here to say much concerning
the divine origin of the church, for that fact is
clear in the minds of most. The holy institution that
came fully into being at Pentecost as the result of
Calvary and the coming of the Holy Ghost was definitely
and fully divine. I shall therefore speak more fully
of her divine leadership and government. It has always
been the will of God that He should be the Supreme
Ruler of His people, both in the Old Testament and
in the New.
For many years God led Israel as much as they would
permit Him to do so. He gave them laws and precepts,
fought their battles, and gave them leaders and judges
who were definitely led by God Himself. The time came
when they were not satisfied with divine guidance
and desired to be like other nations.
"But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said,
Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto
the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto
the voice of the people in all that they say unto
thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have
rejected me, that I should not reign over them"
(1 Samuel 8:6-7). Concerning the time when God should
send Christ into the world and He should "build"
His church, the Prophet Isaiah was inspired to say,
"And the government shall be upon his shoulder"
(Isaiah 9:6). Paul stated in Colossians 1:18, "He
is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he
might have the preeminence."
Some may ask, "Did the early church not have
officers with ecclesiastical powers, and did not the
Apostles exercise such powers? Was not Paul a bishop
over a number of congregations?" In the modern
sense of ecclesiastical officers, it is not true.
There is no hint of such authority in the New Testament,
and Paul was in no sense a modern bishop over congregations.
Yet, some may ask, "But does not God put human
authority over His people?" In Ephesians 4:11-13
are these words: "And he gave some, apostles;
and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity
of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature
of the fulness of Christ."
In
Acts Paul spoke of overseers, but let us note what
kind of authority this was. It was in no case the
authority of office, for it grew out of the very nature
of the case and not from any dogmatic arrangement.
Never were any of them formally elected to any office.
The only authority they had grew out of the divine
gifts of the Spirit.
First Corinthians 12:4-13 and 18 sets forth very clearly
the gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit. Again, Ephesians
4:8-12 also shows the same thing. Paul wrote, "(For
he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship
of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward
the Gentiles)" (Galatians 2:8). This is a very
clear statement by Paul. The authority that was exercised
by himself and Peter was the authority given directly
from God Himself, and that is the only authority that
God has ever desired to be exercised by anyone in
His church. The authority of office may be exercised
by anyone who may be elected to that office, whether
he is a good man or a rascal. But the authority of
the gifts of the Holy Spirit when lost from the heart
also ceases to have any authority over the saints.
In the early church, it was the Holy Ghost who bestowed
upon ones the gifts that gave them their places in
the church. Spirit-filled people recognized these
gifts and were submissive unto them. Those men were
shepherds of the flock of God and bore rule only by
virtue of their divine gifts and not because they
had been appointed to office.
The divine gifts fitted them for various types of
ministries. Some had apostolic gifts, such as Paul
and Barnabas (Acts 13:1-4). This very gift gave Paul
a fatherly oversight of some congregations that he
had been instrumental in raising up. However, that
oversight was only for a short time and grew out of
the divine gifts. Had he lost that, he would have
lost his influence with the saints also.
How different it would have been had Paul been appointed
as a bishop by some human authority. In such a case,
if he had lost his power with God, his authority as
a bishop would have remained until some formal action
displaced him and appointed someone else. In Galatians
1:1 he told us plainly where he received his authority:
"Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man,
but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised
him from the dead.)" In verse 12 we read, "For
I neither received it of man, neither was I taught
it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." There
are also the pastoral gifts, such as are mentioned
in Acts 20:28.
No Thought of Formal Organization
The early church did not bother itself with the thought
of formal organization. To them the church was a divinely
organized body, moving forward by the inherent life
of the Holy Spirit within and not from some human
source. They had a very strong consciousness of the
indwelling presence of the Holy Ghost who had placed
the organs in the body as it pleased Him. Neither
did they spend time trying to form some complicated
church machinery, which would require more time in
running it than anything else. Instead, they put the
emphasis on a personal experience of Bible holiness.
When people had their hearts full of God and were
grounded in the whole truth, there was no need of
human ecclesiasticism or human setups.
Each congregation of that early church was completely
autonomous, or self-governing. Nowhere can we find
that they were under the domination of any outside
regulatory authority or body. As such, the local congregation
was the largest unit mentioned in the New Testament.
Their cooperation with others was purely voluntary
and on the basis of their fellowship in Christ. They
had no conception of a corporate body composed of
local churches, such as men like to form in these
days to make a great showing in the world. They knew
no organizations larger than the local church. The
only inter-congregational authority they knew was
that of the Apostles whose only authority was that
of the spiritual father in Christ.
Church History Supports This Contention
It might be well to examine some of the writings of
church historians to see what their impressions were
of the working of the early church, which church is
the only example to which we may turn for guidance.
"The earliest Gentile churches had no officers
in the strict sense. Paul's letters to the Galatians,
Corinthians, and Romans make no mention of local officers.
Those to the Corinthians could hardly have avoided
some allusion, had such officers existed. Their nearest
approach is only an exhortation to be in subjection
to such as Stephanas, and does not imply that he held
office.
"The allusion in 1 Thessalonians 5:12 to those
that 'are over you in the Lord', is, at best, very
obscure. Paul's earlier Epistles show that all ministries
in the church, of whatever sort, were looked upon
as the direct gift of the Spirit, who inspires each
severally for the service of the congregation. It
is fair to conclude that these bearers of the gifts
of the Spirit might be different at different times,
and many in the church might equally become vehicles
of the charismatic inspiration. Paul, however, specified
three classes of leaders in particular as having the
gift of the Spirit–apostles, prophets, teachers.
He himself regarded his Apostolate as charismatic"
(History of the Christian Church by William
Walker).
Again, O. J. Thatcher, in his book The Apostolic
Church and Governments, after speaking of the
individual Christian being possessed of the Holy Spirit,
said, "From this point of view it is not difficult
to say a few plain words about the government of the
early church. It was a gift and not an office."
Again, quoting from Encyclopedia of Religious
Knowledge, by Shaft-Herzog, we read, "No
definite difference in authority was provided between
them and other disciples. Nowhere did he sum up such
activities as are thus indicated into the terms of
a fixed and limited office, or prescribe the manner
in which any person was to be appointed. The word
office is generally applied more strictly
to functions committed to a particular man, whether
by church or state. The New Testament has no word
for office in this sense. In 1 Corinthians
12:12-14 is the clearest proof that the charismato
are the decisive factors."
Again, Shaft-Herzog says, "Association of the
various local communities into one church was not
expressed by any formal constitution, but by the free
communion of fraternal love. At the close of the Apostolic
period, the epistle of John, while insisting strongly
on the necessity of this loving union, laid down no
rules governing external unity and said nothing of
ecclesiastical forms." Professor P. C. Baker,
in the Pulpit Commentary, said (speaking
on Acts 13:1), "The local church appears as the
ecclesiastical unit. In regard to the sending of Paul
and Barnabas, it indicates that it is the point of
departure, condescendingly recognized by heaven itself,
by the church and by the Spirit. Wherever the church,
it is the living center. No metropolitan center of
officialism, ever existed then. It purports to be
and is ordained to be a living fountain head."
Acts 13:4 states, "They, being sent forth by
the Holy Ghost …." Shaft-Herzog states:
"Have we not here for all time the true principle
of appointment to sacred office?" These quotations
are given to show what other men have found as they
studied the workings and government of the early church,
and it is to this church we must turn for our example
if we are not to go astray.
The Glory of the Early Church
With all the power and glory of the early church,
it looked as if nothing could stop its progress. Yet,
Paul, with his keen spiritual perception, told the
Thessalonians that there would be a falling away and
that "the mystery of iniquity doth already work"
(2 Thessalonians 2:7).
There are always those who are ambitious to hold the
reigns in their own hands and John told of one: "Diotrephes,
who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth
us not. . . . neither doth he himself receive the
brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth
them out of the church" (3 John 9-10). When John
wrote the Book of Revelation, toward the close of
the first century, apostasy had crept into the congregations
until he said the church at Ephesus had "left
thy first love." Thyatira was plagued with immorality.
Sardis had a name to live and was dead. Laodicea had
become "lukewarm."
Paul's Warning
Paul had warned of such an apostasy. Second Thessalonians
2:1-7, which came early in the history of the church,
shows this "falling away" consisted in the
loss of definite doctrines of truth. Instead of the
simple preaching of the great truths that changed
men's lives and made them holy and Christ-like, men
began to substitute forms of religion in the place
of real experiences. Instead of that keen, sure sense
of the abiding presence of the Holy Ghost guiding
and governing the people of God, human church machinery
was substituted, exalting men to office and bringing
the church and ministry into subjection to the dictates
and rule of the machine. This was the full development
of the "mystery of iniquity" Paul spoke
of. No longer were the gifts of the Spirit recognized
as sufficient to govern God's people. Authority now
was all positional and human.
No
longer was there that primitive equality. Jesus taught
them that some "love the uppermost rooms at feasts,
and chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in
the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master,
even Christ; and all ye are brethren" (Matthew
23:6-8). But now men were exalted to position with
various degrees of authority and titles.
The various reformations and revivals of religion
since the sixteenth century have restored much truth,
yet every such movement has either failed to entirely
restore the Word and Spirit of God to their rightful
place, or have not for long granted that rightful
place to them as full governors of the people of God.
Men seem to think that after such a group gets to
be of some size, there must be human machinery set
up to put the "new wine into old bottles"
(Matthew 9:17).
Jesus was answering the disciples of John who had
just asked Him, "Why do we and the Pharisees
fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?" After
saying to them that after He, the Bridegroom, was
gone away they would fast, He then said, "No
man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment
. . . Neither do men put new wine into old bottles:
else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out,
and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into
new bottles, and both are preserved" (Matthew
9:16-17). He was saying that the Gospel could not
be made to fit into the old forms of Judaism. How
many even now feel the Gospel cannot prosper unless
in some way they can get it into the old ecclesiastical
bottles of human rule?
A People Who Will Be Free
The time has come when God is going to have a people
who will be free from all the entanglements of human
machinery and every sectarian bondage—a people
who will be humble enough that the Word and Spirit
will be able to once again take their rightful place
of full authority in the church and where Christ again
will be restored to preeminence in all things (Colossians
1:18).
There can be no formal binding together of a group
of congregations without creating a denominational
conscience and emphasis. There is one basis of unity
and that is a definite experience in Christ and full
conformity to His revealed Word. That is the only
center to which Christians can be brought and the
only center to which we, as Christian ministers, have
a right to try to bring God's people.
Herein lies the danger of any secular or semi-secular
projects being under taken in the name of the church.
Every such project must have support. Thus, immediately
group loyalty is sought to back it and to support
it. When such loyalty is given, it at once becomes
denominational, or sectarian. The reason is in the
fact that no matter what the merits of the projects
themselves are, there will always be just as good
people as we, who will not see nor feel like giving
their support nor cooperation. Then the tendency is
to bring bad feelings and in the end a lack of recognition.
No amount of ministerial voting can obligate the conscience,
or compel support of a human program. The ministry
may demand unity in Christ and His Word, but outside
of that there is no right nor ground for demanding
man's full loyalty. If such loyalty were to be had,
it could not possibly be accepted by all God's people
and thus it becomes a sect. When emphasis is shifted
to constitutions, boards, committees, and human setups
of any kind, the true center of unity has been lost
and consequently cannot be the church of the New Testament.
Isaiah
33:20-22 states: "Look upon Zion, the city of
our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a
quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken
down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be
removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be
broken. But there the glorious Lord will be unto us
a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall
go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship
pass thereby. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord
is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save
us."
Note: The subject here is "Zion," the church.
A prophecy of a time when she will no more be removed
or torn down is here referred to. Verse 21 states,
"There the glorious Lord will be unto us a place
of broad rivers and streams." It is the Lord
Himself who, figuratively of course, becomes the great
river and streams for the church.
On this river "shall go no galley with oars."
As we know, oars are man's means of propelling his
"galley." The Lord was not to become a lake,
but a "river." Rivers have currents. On
a river there is a need for oars. They are for the
purpose of going counter to the current. However,
the current in this river is the Holy Spirit, and
the time was to come, and is here now, when he who
launches on this stream, which is the Lord, will not
have any humanly propelled "galley," for
God intends to have a people who will go with the
current of His divine leadership and not be dependent
on humanly-formed boards, committees, etc.
"Neither shall gallant ship pass thereby."
Here are the great "Centralized Setups of Human
Church Machinery." They shall not be there. In
verse 22 we find the reason for not needing these
self-propelled conveyances. The verse begins with
the word for, which connects this thought definitely
with the preceding verse. "For the Lord is our
judge." Here is the judicial branch of government.
"The Lord is our law-giver." Here is the
legislative branch. "The Lord is our king."
Here is the executive branch.
Here are all three branches of government, and all
three are definitely stated to be in God's hands,
so what reason is there for any man-propelled boats
on this stream? Church, there is nothing left for
us, but to keep humble and low at His feet and be
willing to go with the current of this great stream,
which is Holy Ghost leadership. "But to this
man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a
contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word" (Isaiah
66:2).
F.
Allen
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