|
|
|
"..... they received the Word with all readiness and searched the Scriptures daily whether these things were so" . Acts 17:11. |
To Dr David Strachan, a true spiritual mentor, without whose instruction in righteousness this ministry could not have been undertaken, and to Sylvia my true helpmeet and support in the Lord's work.
INTRODUCTION:
The purpose of this website is to assist and promote the certain prospect of a spiritual remnant holding apostolic truth in the last days of this present Christian Dispensation of God’s grace. The content will be meaningful and instructive to believers of a mature spiritual mind who, as students of God’s Word, are more concerned with acquiring divine understanding than of holding to religious tradition.
The site is titled ‘The True Nature of Christianity’ because, in the first instance, it is necessary to distinguish between Scriptural Christianity and what is commonly considered to be Christianity – Christendom. The reference to Scriptural Christianity presupposes that the enquirer has long since recognised that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and thus the sole authority in all matters divine. Further, Scriptural Christianity is vested in local N.T. churches or gatherings of born-again believers, which are regulated by the Word and are independent of any human organisation, being responsible to God alone. Such believers gather to the name of the Lord Jesus under the presidency of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of elders, in the Scriptural manner. Scriptural Christianity owns no secular name whereas humanly-organised Christendom incorporates many names. The world of organised religion dismisses Scripture-based Christianity as fundamentalism, not recognising the inspired nature of the Bible.
In the second instance, it is necessary to distinguish between the spiritual and the natural , the eternal and the temporal. Scriptural Christianity is solely concerned with eternal, spiritual things, whereas Christendom is a naturalistic religious system concerned with improving human nature and making the world a better place through involvement in social and political issues. Recognition of this fundamental truth is critical to a right understanding of the divine system of Christianity.
The following articles are part of a continuing exercise of the Spirit which commenced in 1996 with the fellowship of leading teachers of the Word. Each is written as a stand-alone Paper with the view to publication and, as a consequence, the reader may become aware of some repetition. The Papers cover a variety of Scriptural themes and subjects and are written from the standpoint that God’s people in the Christian Dispensation of divine purpose are a spiritual people, with the corollary that the divine system of Christianity has to do solely with spiritual things. This fundamental principle has largely escaped the attention of believers the world over and is thus a principal reason for this website. It is the writer’s conviction that the true original, apostolic (spiritual) nature of The Faith must be held by a spiritually intelligent remnant prior to the Lord’s return for His people, and it is to this holy objective that this exercise is dedicated. Further expositions will be added as the Spirit leads.
Any comments please refer to the Visitors Book To Visitors Book
The Webpage of William F Laidle :-
E-mail: william.laidle7@tiscali.co.uk
List of Titles
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
The Unique Place and Divine Character of the Assembly in Divine Purpose |
|
|
That ye sin not (1 John 2:1) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
CHRISTIANITY – ITS ORIGINS AND IDENTITY
Christianity is commonly held to be the practice of the christian religion in a variety of denominational forms, a perception based not so much on any scriptural understanding as on social or religious tradition. Thus the christian community would be identified in the minds of many as those religious institutions collectively referred to as Christendom, Christianity and Christendom being regarded as one and the same thing. But what saith the Scriptures, the only authority that matters?
Christianity does not stand in isolation in divine purpose so we will trace its emergence in Scripture in the context of God’s dealings with His people through the ages.
Commencing in the book of Genesis, we observe that God made all necessary provision for the first man and woman. The garden planted eastward in Eden was the ideal environment for them. Designed and formed by God, it was the place on earth of divine presence and fellowship (Gen.2:8).
Then, following the failure of Adam and the judgment of the flood, we see that God called out a people for Himself through Abraham, the man of faith (Gen.12:1-2). He made provision for them also, first in the desert and then with their own land. We note in the book of Exodus that precise instructions were given to Moses concerning the camp and the tabernacle, whilst manna was provided to sustain them. Thus Judaism was established as the divinely-appointed religious system of gathering and meeting between God and His people. Significantly, God referred to this people as His garden (Isa.58:11).
But Israel also failed God and in the book of The Acts we see Judaism being set aside in divine purpose, consequent upon rejection of the Messiah and the testimony of the apostles. In parallel with this, God was calling out a new people, a spiritual nation comprised of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. This process began at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was manifested and Jews believed the gospel preached by the apostles (Acts 2). These early Jewish believers met in Jerusalem and then, as the gospel spread to the Gentiles, believers gathered in various localities such as Thessalonica, Corinth, Ephesus, etc. These local churches or assemblies were regulated by elders and by special spiritual gifts given by God in lieu of the completed Scriptures, all under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
So God had again made provision for His people, this time spiritually by way of divine revelation through the apostles and in particular Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Gal.2:7). Thus believers gathered in this simple way, to the name of the Lord Jesus, constituted the newly-designated place of meeting on earth between God and His people, a spiritual building now and house of God in character, the ideal environment for the new man. Significantly, this new local, spiritual edifice of believers is also referred to as God’s garden (1 Cor.3:9 – AV "husbandry").
This was Christianity at its inception, what it always has been in the sight of God and what it remains today – a divine system of independent local churches or assemblies subscribing to a body of doctrine (Jude 3) in corporate practice of the christian faith.
But what of Christendom, a conglomerate of man-devised religious systems using the Bible and the name of God but denying in practice the divine principles of Christianity laid down by God for believers? Clearly, by any Scriptural measure, it is not of God. More than that, it is a counterfeit of the real thing, designed by the adversary to lead astray and confuse believer and unbeliever alike, and in this it manifestly succeeds. We can therefore state, on the authority of God's Word, that Christianity and Christendom are not synonymous -–they are mutually exclusive.
It follows that all Christians should be participants in this divinely-appointed sphere of gathering – it is their birthright. Sadly, many are to be found in counterfeit Christendom. Part of the heavenly church, the body of Christ they are, but participants in Christianity, as God intended, they are not. The call to them is to come out of what is patently not of God (2 Cor 6:17).
Meantime, believers who do gather in the spiritual environment that God has provided for His people should value the privilege, being in the fellowship out of intelligent conviction, understanding that, had Christendom not been devised, there would only ever have been local churches or assemblies. There is a need for the trumpet to sound clearly (1 Cor.14:8) regarding this fundamental truth so that saints are in no doubt that, by the grace of God, they are in the right and only place on earth to worship and serve Him.
Back to Top
CHRISTIANITY – A HIDDEN MYSTERY
Christianity is the corporate spiritual presence and activity of saints gathered to the name of the Lord; it was that at its beginning as recorded in the book of the Acts, viz. local gatherings of believers, and it is so today.
A mystery in New Testament terms denotes that which can be made known only by divine revelation and in a manner and at a time appointed by God and only to faith (W.E.Vine, Expository Dictionary of N.T. Words).
The Lord Jesus said to the disciples, "To you it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God" (Mark 4:11), whilst to Nicodemus He indicated that the kingdom was hidden, a mystery that could neither be seen nor entered by natural means (John 3).
The apostle Paul referred to the church as a hidden mystery when writing to the Colossian saints (Col.1:26) and to the church at Corinth he wrote, ".… the things which are unseen (hidden) are eternal (spiritual)" (2 Cor.4:18). It was to the apostle that the revelation of the mystery, the divine system of Christianity, was given (Rom.16:25).
The inspired writer of the Proverbs tells us that "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing" (Prov.25:2). In the sense that the spiritual cannot be discerned by the natural (I Cor.2:9&14), it is clear that the spiritual system of Christianity is concealed from the natural faculties of men. The local New Testament church or assembly may be recognised by the world as a religious gathering, perhaps a Christian sect in the sense that Christendom is considered to be Christianity, but natural man has no means by which to recognise its true divine identity - the Kingdom of God in present spiritual guise.
If the local New Testament church, a gathering of believers, is in reality a hidden entity, then its constituents too are hidden in terms of their spiritual identity, the new man. The world can only identify the outward form of the Christian, no different to many of his fellows but with apparent religious inclinations, seen and known as children of men but concealed as children of God. Similarly with the Son of God veiled in flesh, known as Jesus of Nazareth but unknown as the Divine Son except to faith, God manifest IN flesh but not TO flesh, a mystery (Col. 2:2).
It is clear therefore that Christianity, the spiritual Kingdom of God, represented by local gatherings of believers, is unseen and unknown by the world of natural man as to its true identity; the world cannot see it or know it but can benefit spiritually from it. Only faith can discern the (spiritual) new man in the Christian and the divine nature of the local New Testament church. As the Lord said to Nicodemus, the only way to see the Kingdom of God is to be born-again. Unregenerate man says seeing is believing but the opposite is true in divine things, viz. believing is seeing. He has not the slightest idea what constitutes either a Christian or Christianity – it is a complete mystery, by design, for God would be unrighteous to reveal divine things to the unrighteous apart from faith.
It is the glory of God to conceal heavenly, spiritual things (from the eyes of unregenerate mankind), in type and shadow and in spiritual language. In terms of spiritual revelation He is dealing with the new man. Christianity, the hidden mystery, has been and continues to be revealed only to faith, whereas the religious systems of men are manifestly part and parcel of unregenerate man’s world.
The divine system of Christianity has always been for the eye of God and His saints, whereas counterfeit Christendom has always been for the eye of man.
Back to Top
THE UNIQUE PLACE AND DIVINE CHARACTER OF THE ASSEMBLY
IN DIVINE PURPOSE
For the believer who accepts apostolic doctrine and practice as his sole guide and authority in the christian pathway, the ground of gathering for fellowship and service is clearly identified in Scripture as the local church or assembly. For others, the tracing of divine intention in this regard may prove confusing, with common failure to distinguish in the New Testament between local testimony (1 Cor.1:2) and the church which is His body (1 Cor.12:13, Eph.5:23-27), sometimes mistakenly called the universal church. This in turn blurs the distinction between the scriptural pattern for local church testimony and the error of Christendom. (The church in its wider, heavenly, aspect includes all believers, and is essentially eternal in concept and character, the greater part of it being now in heaven awaiting completion and the day of presentation).
That God has pre-determined the nature of local christian gathering and everything pertaining to it, as He did for His earthly people Israel, would be hard to deny on the evidence of Scripture. The greater part of the New Testament (the letters to local churches) is devoted to the subject and its precepts and principles constitute the commandments of the Lord (1 Cor.14:37).
The Assembly Identified:
Whilst not a letter to a local church, the epistle to the Hebrews is helpful in tracing the divine pattern for present testimony, in that it treats of the new order revealed in the christian system, showing the necessity for the Hebrew Christians to go forth from the camp of (pseudo) Judaism in order to gather to the Lord (Heb.13:13). Though God-given Judaism had long been degenerate in the hands of the nation, it scarcely seemed credible to the new christian converts that their national religion had forfeited the right to divine presence and blessing. Its tragic decline was marked, significantly, by departure from the scriptural pattern laid down by God (Jer.9:13). When God left the Jewish system, albeit for a season, it marked a turning point in the outworking of divine purpose and the introduction of a new and spiritual order - Christianity. It is at this juncture that the believer can identify with the disciples in John 1:38 to ask, "Master, where dwellest thou?" The divine response, "Come and see", may be considered an invitation to the seeking believer to search the Scriptures in order to discover God's dwelling place in the present outworking of eternal purpose. Diligent searching of New Testament Scripture brings to light the relevant context of 1 Cor.3:9-16, in which the local church is revealed to be the place where God has set His name - it is His garden, His building and His temple. The divine credentials of the assembly are thus firmly established for all who are willing to acknowledge the primacy of Scripture in these matters (2 Tim.3:16).
The Assembly and Christendom:
The nature of the christian system as an identifiable entity now becomes clear; it has been enshrined by God in the simple yet spiritually profound local gathering of believers meeting in accordance with the divine pattern laid down in the New Testament. This is the wisdom of God and, as such, proves to be a stumbling-block to many. If, therefore, the practice of Christianity is revealed to be assembly-based by divine decree, it follows that all organised "Christian" activity outside this God-ordained sphere is not strictly speaking Christianity at all, despite its posturing as such. Rather it is humanly-devised religion utilising the Bible and the name of God to suit its purpose - it is Christendom. For those who have not hitherto recognised that Christianity and Christendom are quite different and wholly opposed systems, it should now be made clear that Christendom describes the sum of professing christian sects and denominations popularly supposed to represent Christianity in the world. Their common ground is that they count religious tradition more important than the divine revelation of Scripture. On account of its counterfeit nature, Christendom is identified in Scripture as a satanic agency that will one day be the subject of God's wrath and judgment (Rev.18:21). It is freely acknowledged that there are many believers in Christendom, and it should not be thought that they will be subject to this same judgment. If they do not come out beforehand in response to such divine promptings as 2 Cor.6:14-18 and Rev.18:4, they will be separated by the direct intervention of God at the coming of the Lord for His church (1 Thess.4:16-17).
Divine Character:
As we have seen, I Cor.3 presents the assembly in three distinct ways - as God's husbandry (tillage) or garden, as His building and as His temple. Now, the things of God are spiritually discerned (2:14) and it is thus that we approach the context of this chapter for spiritual instruction. Viewed as the divine garden, the assembly takes its place in the line of God's gardens from Eden to Revelation (a most profitable study), showing us that God ever had in view the ideal environment for the new man, a divinely appointed place for growth and fruit-bearing, a sphere in which He could function as Father to His people (2 Cor.6:17-18) and in which fulness of blessing could be known.
The assembly as God's building brings before us the truth of believer-location, the place for living stones (I Pet.2:5) showing that the local church is a spiritual building composed of believers, an edifice for and of God. (That the building in I Pet.2:5 may be considered by some to be the wider church of all believers, the mystical body of Christ, does not alter the fact that the same truth applies equally to the local church; the offering of spiritual sacrifices is an assembly exercise). It is not enough, therefore, to have been placed by God into the heavenly edifice; our present calling is clearly to the local sphere of God's purpose on earth, the assembly.
Then thirdly, the assembly has the character of God's temple, teaching us that it is the place of divine presence, God in the midst of His people, the appointed sphere of service where worship is wont to be made. God has made a spiritual habitation for His people in the present outworking of divine purpose, and its position is clearly defined as being outside of and separated from the camp of man's religious system. Happy indeed are they who find it and become purposeful for God in Christian service that stands the test of His Word; this is genuine and demonstrable leading of the Spirit.
Preserving the Character:
In studying the Bible it is most important to distinguish the things that differ. Having identified three entities, the assembly, the Church which is His body, and Christendom, we are able to clarify important truths having a practical bearing on the christian's walk in assembly fellowship. For instance, we see that the only qualification for membership of the Church, the mystical body of Christ, is divine life and that being a part of it is not a matter over which we exercise any choice; once we believe, we are in it by God's choice. With the local church, however, it is quite different, for we find that fellowship is based on light (I John 1:17), that body of truth - the apostles' doctrine - referred to in Jude 3, and membership is a matter of personal exercise and choice within that framework.
Again, the believer cannot be excommunicated from the body of Christ, but he can be put out of the local church (I Cor.5:13, 1 Tim.1:20). Confusion over these differing entities inevitably leads to error.
Consider for instance the practice of some assemblies which receive believers from Christendom to the breaking of bread meeting. Their claim is that life in Christ, or in some cases new life plus baptism, is all that is required. Now this is at odds with the doctrinal basis of fellowship and with the divine statement that worship must be "in Spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). Others suggest that the scripture, "Let a man examine himself …." (I Cor.11:28) implies that the responsibility for participation at the breaking of bread lies solely with the individual believer, and that anyone can therefore take part. That this is a travesty of the truth and represents abdication of responsibility on the part of overseeing brethren will be apparent to many. Clearly, the apostle is addressing those already in fellowship, and the examining has to do with ensuring a right appreciation of the spiritual nature of the emblems, something the Corinthians were signally failing to do at the time of the apostle's warning.
Believers from Christendom, who judging by their associations do not subscribe to God's order and have no intention of doing so, may by all means attend the meeting for the breaking of bread, but it should be made clear that their place is that of an observer and not a participant in a fellowship with which they have so little sympathy. In thus beholding godly order it may be that they will be convicted by the Spirit as to the truth of the assembly position.
Responsible Service:
Assembly fellowship ("walking in the light, 1 John 1:7) carries with it responsibility to uphold the scriptural pattern thus embraced (Jude 3) and so effectively precludes any thought of participation in the denominational activities of Christendom. A believer can hardly claim to subscribe to the truth of the assembly position with its implied condemnation of all else and at the same time have fellowship with a system that is contrary to the mind of God. Notwithstanding, some have sought to justify preaching the gospel on denominational platforms by appealing to the universal commission of Mark 16:15. It must be pointed out that such an interpretation of this scripture contradicts the servant's responsibility to do God's work in God's way, that is, to serve within the framework of scriptural church principles. It was never divine intention that the gospel should be seen as a frenetic activity discharged at any price and regardless of circumstances to the compromising of both Scripture and servant. There is no scriptural warrant whatever for those who have taken the assembly position to dabble in the sects and missions of this world, no matter how socially and evangelically excellent such work may appear to be. To engage in this type of activity is to betray and deny all that God's assembly represents; perhaps it is not too much to say that it is rebellion.
This principle applies in fullest measure to such activities as the "Mission England" crusade, spearheaded by Christendom's foremost evangelical instrument of ecumenicalism. Responsible brethren are accountable to the Chief Shepherd to see that the assembly and all it stands for in divine purpose is not compromised by involvement in any of these excursions. The believer is not seen in Scripture as a freelance agent doing his own thing. God is not to be trifled with in matters affecting His temple, and the principle of judgment beginning at the house of God must ever be borne in mind when weighing these issues (1 Cor.11:30-32).
There is a mode of spiritual conduct befitting assembly fellowship (1 Tim.3:15) that is all too little in evidence in these days of gross departure. The truth that Christ died for the church, His bride, is equally true of the assembly. How exceedingly precious, therefore, is the local church to God (Acts 9:4-5) and how correspondingly faithful we should be in handling assembly matters. Slackness in divine things leads to spiritual degeneration. So, on the authority of God's Word we can state unequivocally that the assembly is God's uniquely appointed place of fellowship and service for believers, heaven's declared sphere of christian operation on earth.
Sovereignty and Service:
There is little doubt that some will have difficulty in reconciling these truths with the obvious fact that God uses the sects and campaigns of Christendom to the saving of souls, and blesses initiatives of faith outside His appointed sphere of operation. How then can they be wrong if God's approval appears, on this evidence, to rest upon their efforts? It is an apparent contradiction that requires an answer. This view supposes that divine blessing is indicative of divine approval; it also poses the question of how a righteous God can use an unrighteous instrument for the accomplishing of divine purpose in salvation, without compromising His righteousness.
The answer, primarily, is that God, unlike the believer, is sovereign and so has the ability and the right to take up whom He will for His purpose; believer or unbeliever, obedient or disobedient, even one in outright opposition. Is He not the God who used Pharaoh for His purpose (Rom.9:17), who gave blessing despite the disobedience of Moses (Num.20:8-12) and who has said that His gifts and calling are without repentance (Rom11:29)? He is indeed. The failure of believers to respond aright to divine revelation will never cause divine purpose to be frustrated.
A further consideration in this matter is that God has committed power for the outworking of eternal purpose to His Word, so that no matter who may use it and in whatever circumstance, it is powerful and effective. God may righteously use whom He will because He is God, and is committed to honour His Word and the principle of faith, irrespective of the circumstance. Clearly, God's sovereign overruling in Christian failure in no way signals that we may embark on indiscriminate service; far be the thought! Rather, it is the case that blessing in gospel work and full-time endeavour that is contrary to the pattern of Scripture demonstrates the sovereignty of God operating in circumstances to which we are not called.
Despite this, it is not uncommon to hear brethren state with conviction that they have been led or called to some particular work outside the sphere of the assembly. In the light of Scripture we can say with respect that such convictions are wholly mistaken, for God never calls or leads anyone contrary to His Word. That is not to deny that many who have ventured forth in admirable zeal and enthusiasm have seen blessing, but then as we have seen, Moses had to learn the bitter lesson that blessing is not indicative of approval.
Let us see to it then, that we abide by the divine pattern in our service, having first been prepared for it by God and then ideally commended to it by our brethren. Need, of itself, never constitutes a call.
True Service:
Finally, it is no coincidence that the context of 1 Cor.3 includes reference to the divine evaluation of christian service in a future day. God clearly counts obedience - the true nature of the believer's call - to be vital in the matters of the faith. Gold, silver and precious stones are what He desires. The reality of service is often so very different - worthless wood, hay and stubble, the stark result of pseudo-christian activity. Zeal and enthusiasm are admirable qualities but they will never be acceptable as substitutes for doing God's work in God's way. In all our movements for Him, therefore, God would have us to be motivated by intelligent appreciation of the divine pattern, that way of simple obedience that bespeaks our recognition of the obligations placed upon us by the words of our Lord, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). So will we gladden His heart and be able with confidence to contemplate that soon-coming day of appraisal.
Back to Top
SERVICE IN PERSPECTIVE
Christian ability to serve God in any meaningful way is dependent on acquiring spiritual discernment to understand God's ways in service. Today there is a dearth of spiritual discernment among God's people and this explains why so many seem oblivious to the spiritual departure that characterises assemblies in our time, Matt.16:3. It is the widespread inability to discern between good and evil in spiritual things (spiritual blindness) that permits subtle changes to take place in assemblies so that a climate is produced in which the New Testament pattern for service in the house of God is superseded by a natural order with spiritual evil regarded as good and spiritual good as evil (Matt.12:24, Jer.4:22, Rom.16:19). This state of affairs has arisen in part from failure to teach assembly truth or New Testament principles clearly, consistently and unequivocally to each new generation of believers. As a result, those who make their presence felt at every level of assembly activity are sometimes men who have very little understanding of God's way relative to His assembly. In such circumstances divine principles count for little, including those regulating christian service.
The Origin of Service:
The Roman epistle contains Scripture's definitive treatise on the doctrine of the gospel, a setting forth of the mind of God to the intent that believers may be firmly grounded for spiritual growth and service. It has been said that without proper recognition of God's purpose in the gospel it is virtually impossible to discern the nature of the faith as revealed in the epistles; thus the role of this letter in Scripture is emphasised by its position as the first letter to local churches. How important it is then to understand that true service proceeds from a right appreciation of God's purpose in the gospel. If we are well-founded as to our gospel preaching we shall have little difficulty in tracing God's ways relative to further truths that are built upon it. Romans chapter 12 marks the beginning of a section dealing with practical aspects of fellowship and service.
The Sphere of Service:
In Rom.12:1, the apostle beseeches believers to present or yield themselves once-for-all (aorist tense) to God as a living sacrifice. Some students of Scripture have thought that this exercise is far from being solely individual in its meaning and application. They see in this verse, many bodies but only one sacrifice, that is, the idea of believers yielding up themselves in a corporate sense to God and this being an intelligent service in response to the compassion of God. Whether we agree with this application or not, the truth of it is enshrined in other New Testament Scriptures (e.g. Phil.1:27, 2:27, 1 Thess.1:7 R.V.) God's purpose for the saints of this dispensation, in a corporate sense, is the assembly and the individual believer's yielding up of himself in a sacrificial sense should be within that divinely appointed sphere; this calls for spiritual intelligence and discernment. The aggregate of this individual exercise, becomes therefore a corporate spiritual sacrifice, fulfilling God's intention that the local church should be His bondslave. To make progress therefore in the things of God, it is important for us to recognise that service is scripturally centred in the assembly context and is therefore corporate in character. The compassion or mercy of God is extended to men for the principal reason that He desires a people for Himself in the image of His Son. That desire will find fulfilment in the church as the bride of Christ, but meantime it finds expression in the assembly, there being no other sphere of christian service envisaged in Scripture. It should, of course, be a matter of common knowledge and understanding among us that the assembly is God's appointed sphere of fellowship and service for all believers, the embodiment and manifestation of Christianity. This constitutes, or should do, the reason for our being in it.
Misdirected Service:
As we have noticed, there are those in assemblies who have little or no appreciation of local church principles so that both assembly fellowship and service are regarded in a casual way; as a result these saints feel free to participate in non-assembly activities such as denomination and mission work. (The distinction between denomination and mission is necessary in view of strenuous efforts being mounted on a widening scale to promote direct links between City Missions and assemblies). Then there are those who know the truth bearing on these matters but who pursue their own course, apparently determined to 'serve' on their own terms. Even more incongruous is the spectacle of 'overseers' and 'leaders' among the saints actually encouraging these unscriptural links or at best turning a blind eye to them. The plain fact is that true elders do not guide the flock of God contrary to divine principles. Departure on such a gross scale leaves little scope for the assembly to retain its distinctive character. Believers in assembly fellowship should recognise God's eternal purpose in the gospel and yield themselves in corporate unity to dedicated service in and through the sphere that God has devised for this purpose.
Meaningful Service:
If we sincerely desire to serve God then we will want to do so in His own way, that is, in and through the assembly. This corporate dedication should be an act of unison - one hear, mind and purpose (Phil.1:27) - in which the saints demonstrate total commitment in service, intelligently recognising the divine purpose and corporate nature of their calling. It represents a position of spiritual maturity on the part of an assembly, where unity of purpose based on the willing submission of saints to the divine pattern prevails. The practical outcome of such submission tot he will of God will be a like-minded people (John 17:21) and this is what God had ever in view in the proclamation of the gospel. Ideally, the assembly is a corporate, living sacrifice inseparably identified with Christ, who in the days of His flesh was a living sacrifice wholly committed to rendering service to God in accordance with His word. This spiritual stance on the part of the local assembly is described as holy - separated to God - conveying the thought that saints in this condition before God are separated from all that is evil and thus acceptable to Him.
Service and the Gospel:
It is a sad fact that believers in our day appear to have little appreciation of either the nature or scope of the gospel. The general view seems to be that the gospel is an entity in itself, an isolated presentation of the issues of salvation, the means whereby sinners are saved and added to the Church - the mystical body of Christ. This unconnected view of the gospel is not only widespread in the evangelical circles of Christendom but also has its adherents in assemblies. Such brethren take the view that the gospel may be preached without regard to the divine pattern for service. The error of this will be apparent to all who recognise that the gospel is an integral part of the faith (Jude 3), that deposit of doctrinal truth that is inseparable in Scripture from the local assembly. Clearly then, gospel testimony in New Testament terms is a function of the local church and not an activity independent of it. Further, it is not an end in itself but always has in view baptism and assembly fellowship with all that this implies doctrinally (Acts 2:41-42).
Service and Fellowship:
It follows that the pattern God has laid down in His Word for gospel testimony precludes its preaching in circumstances that compromise divine principles. In the light of this, is it not incongruous for us to have fellowship with gospel effort in the missions and systems of Christendom, all of which have no basis in Scripture? Surely such activity is a contradiction of assembly fellowship and what the assembly represents. Whilst it is recognised that many who engage in such 'service' may be unaware of the nature of their behaviour, the effect nontheless is to disobey God's revelation whilst professing His name. Those who assume local stewardship, leaders of the flock of God, have responsibility to ensure that divine principles are not flouted in this way. However, it has to be recognised that there are elders today who seem only too ready to associate themselves and the assembly with these unscriptural activities. There is no such thing in God's Word as serving in two camps; it's either the assembly or Christendom, it cannot be both. The same is true of freelance preaching, the idea that believers are free to please themselves how and where they 'serve'; this is a product of the natural mind that finds no place in Holy Writ. For those who claim fellowship in God's assembly there can be no compromise with spiritual evil, no matter how dressed up it may be in order to appear either socially or spiritually good. A return to godly order in the churches is long overdue.
The Challenge to Service:
So the aim of the gospel in this present age is to produce saints who recognise the corporate nature of divine purpose and intelligently yield themselves to service in and through the assembly. In this way we are separated unto God from the spiritual evil of Christendom and the related institutions of men (2 Cor.6:17-18). The clarion call of God's word has ever been to separate ourselves from spiritually evil associations in order to serve Him in the appointed way. It is surely the desire of every servant that his work finds acceptance and abides in the day of testing (1 Cor.3:13), but if this is to be achieved then reassessment of individual service may be called for in the light of the divine pattern (2 Tim.2:15). It is clear then that nothing less than wholly dedicated commitment to God's ways will meet the divine requirement for service and that is only possible if we contribute to a corporate, holy sacrifice in the divinely ordained sphere of service, the assembly.
Back to Top
THE HIDDEN MAN
The Lord Jesus was God manifest IN flesh but not manifest TO flesh.
To the world of natural man He was Jesus of Nazareth, made like His brethren, apparently the same as they, a man amongst men.
He was in the world ................ and the world knew Him not (John 1:10), because that which is natural cannot discern that which is spiritual (1 Cor. 2:14).
Natural faculties could not penetrate the veil of His flesh to behold the Christ, the Son of God; only faith could do that (Matt. 16:16,17) (Heb. 11:1) for God’s dealings with mankind are on the basis of faith, not the flesh.
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing (Prov. 25:2) and He did so with the eternal Word, the Logos, in a body prepared for Him: hidden by God, unseen by men, revealed to faith.
What was true of the Lord Jesus in this regard is true also of the believer; the world knows us not because it knew Him not (1 John 3:1). We are also eternal life in flesh, a spiritual entity concealed in a body, a new man (Col. 3:10) and a hidden man
(1 Peter 3:4) (Col.3:3).
Further, as the Apostle shows in chapters 6 and 7 of the Roman epistle, the believer is two identities in one body, the natural or old man and the spiritual or inward man; the one is visible to the world in secular life, the other invisible to natural faculties.
We are seen and known as the sons and daughters of men and as religious folk, but hidden and unseen as sons of God.
Consequently, the world’s perception of what a christian is bears no relation to divine reality, nor can it considering the circumstances outlined. The corollary is that unregenerate mankind considers that any good-living person, displaying good works, possessed of a kindly disposition, perhaps a churchgoer, is a christian.
Put another way, being like Christ in the flesh is what constitutes a christian in the world’s view - it should not be ours (2 Cor.5:16). It is not the purpose of Christianity to make people better citizens, though in some instances they may become so, nor to make the world a better place; that is the aim of Christendom.
The reality is that a christian - a new (spiritual) creation - is about being like Christ spiritually (2 Cor. 5:16,17), like the Man who was faithful and consistent in His spiritual service, walking in God’s ways, obedient to divine precepts and principles, in glad subjection to God’s will, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Significantly, He was unceasing in His efforts to raise the minds of God’s people above the natural and temporal, to engage the spiritual and eternal, a work no less relevant today.
Because the world can only know a natural Christ, its notion of the christian and of Christianity