I have pastored the same flock for thirty years and have observed that many people have a wrong concept regarding the Biblical teaching of the local church. I say local, because of the confusion that has been espoused down through the centuries, many believing the church to be a universal entity scattered worldwide rather than a local body of believers. A pastor is responsible for the flock God places under his care. He is to watch over the flock and care for the physical and spiritual well being of all set in that local visible church. He is responsible for challenging them consistently with the word of God, enabling them to grow into Christ’s likeness and live a Christian lifestyle conforming to the New Testament standard, bringing glory to God. They are not merely spectators, but participators in the local church, accountable to God, to the pastor who watches over them and to one another. The pastor is responsible to continually point them to Christ as Colossians 1:28-29 says; preaching, warning every man, teaching in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect, mature in Christ Jesus. To be unaccountable and to wander from place to place is typical of a spirit of independence which leads many down a road of frustration and discouragement, ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth. As a result, independence and a spirit of confusion manifests in Christians who misunderstand the mission and purpose of the church. Quote from P. B. Fitzwater’s Christian Theology: "Ignorance concerning the Church is the real secret of man’s indifference toward it. Many of the abuses of the Church can be traced likewise to man’s failure to understand its essential nature. Those who have come to know its real meaning prize highly the privilege of membership in it and have a definite passion to enlist others as members thereof." We must first understand how the term church is used in the New Testament before we can fully grasp the mission and purpose.

Basically there are three views of the church, two of which, in my opinion, bring confusion as to the will of God concerning all believers belonging to a local body:

1. Roman Catholic View: Catholicism believes in the universal visible church theory. This view is confused with the teaching of the Kingdom of God, which is universal. All who are saved are in the Kingdom of God. Catholicism identifies the church with the Kingdom of God and declares there is no salvation outside the Roman Catholic Church, which they believe is the only true church.
2. Protestant View: In 1520 Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church for his stand on justification by faith, creating a dilemma for himself. If he was no longer a member of the Roman Catholic visible church he had to find a way to solve this problem, so he created the mystical universal invisible church. His reasoning - "Jesus taught the Kingdom of God is within you, which means it is invisible. The Kingdom of God is also universal;" so he concludes, "the true church is both universal and invisible." Furthermore, he taught the local visible churches were also a universal invisible mystical body of Christ and all Christians are members. Most Protestants agree today with this misconception even though they have no foundation in God’s word to support it. This results is a shallow, indifferent attitude toward the local assembly and their responsibility to it.
3. Biblical View: The confusion regarding the church and understanding the Biblical view centers around the definition of the word "church." The English word "church" comes from the German word kirche, which means house or building. When we go to church we think of a building, but this is a misunderstanding of the New Testament meaning of "church." The New Testament Greek term for church does not mean a building or house. The Greek is ekklesia which means assembly of called out ones. This term is translated into English as church about 77 times, churches about 36 times and assembly 3 times in the New Testament.

In Matthew 16:13-19, Jesus asked Peter, "Whom do men say I, the son of man, am?" Peter answered, "The Son of the living God." Jesus said to Peter, "Upon this rock will I build my church." Note carefully as you read this from the original Greek that Jesus referred to Peter as - Greek - petros - meaning a piece of rock, a pebble; but upon this rock - Greek - petra - meaning massive rock, "I will build my assembly." Jesus was not comparing Peter to the rock he was contrasting him to the rock. What was Jesus trying to convey to Peter? Peter, upon this revelation of who I am, this is the rock upon which my church will be built. The true church is not built on religious premises of Catholicism or Protestantism but on the revelation that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ who has come to save all who have this personal revelation and experience the new birth. "Upon this rock I will build My assembly." Jesus called it His assembly.

If the church is a literal building, why would Paul, in Romans 16:3-5, greet some of the saints; and then say, "likewise greet the church - ekklesia - assembly, that is in their house - oikos - dwelling - meaning house. So a clear distinction is drawn between the assembly of people and a dwelling for people to gather in. Everywhere in the New Testament we find the messages written to "the church of" not a building, but people who assemble in a house or building.

In 1 Corinthians 12:1f - Paul uses the metaphor of a body to reveal the relationship between Christ and His church. When he says "one body" he is not teaching a universal, invisible, mystical body, rather he is defining the church as a people from different ethnic and social backgrounds, educated and uneducated, male and female. These people are vitally united together as a result of the new birth and God places them in the local church where He wants them. It’s in the local church we learn we are members one of another. United together by His grace, we are connected just as the members of our physical body; eyes, ears, hands, etc. that work together in harmony. We all have different functions and gifts; but we are a local body assembling to the glory of God in a local community, a light set on a hill, a beacon for the lost.

What does this teach us? Simply, the church consists of born again believers who have been called out of the world of sin into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. How do these new converts relate to God’s plan and purpose for their lives?
Clearly, as you study the New Testament, the will of God unfolds. Each new convert is to be a part of a local visible church, functioning as a member within that local church. The New Testament reveals the church as a living organism, not an organization controlled by a board of directors and investors.

So many Christians are not a part of a local body but rather are apart from the body: independent, wandering to and fro never coming to maturity in Christ. They go from church to church saying God is leading them. How can God lead you from one to another, floating around in a state of confusion, when confusion is never His will? God leads us into His will and it includes being a part of a functioning local church where you relate to God and to one another, maturing in Christ and becoming a vessel qualified for use. God will use us but first He wants us to learn and mature. Yes, God will lead you to the local church where He wants you and when He sets you in a local church that is where you become a member, united to others in Christ and functioning to the glory of God.

What is the mission and purpose of the local church?

1. The mission of the church is to be a living testimony of the grace of God. We are called to shine as lights in a wicked world, witnessing to His saving power in our lives. Matthew 28:18f - we have been given a commission to go....not sit on the pew in the church. This doesn’t mean to run the world over but to shine in our own community where we live and work, ready always to give an answer of the hope that is within us. Mark 16:15f - again gives us a commission. His commission is our mission on this earth. Acts 1:8 tells us He will give us power to be his witnesses both in Jerusalem and then to go out; but it starts at home in your family and community. Not everyone can go to the foreign mission field, but we can support those who do. Most important and often overlooked is the vision and mission of the local church.
2. The purpose of the local church:
   1. The church exists for the manifestation of the glory of Christ. (John 17:10,22-23; John 9:5 with Philippians 2:15; I Peter 2:9; Matthew 5:14-16).
   2. The church exists for demonstration. We are called to display, show to the world Gods wisdom, grace and mercy in saving sinners. (Ephesians 3:8-11; 2:6-7; I Corinthians 1:18-31;) We are called to witness to sinners.
   3. The church is to teach new converts and disciple them to grow up in Christ in all things. (Matthew 28:18f; Ephesians 4:11-14).
   4. The purpose of the church is to make a people holy and ready for His coming, pure church. (Ephesians 5:25-27; II Corinthians 11:2, chaste virgin; Matthew 22:11-14, wedding garment; Revelation 19:7-8, bride made herself ready - outworked righteousness - obedience; I Corinthians 5:1-13, (which includes if necessary church discipline of sinning members).
   5. The church is to be an encouragement to all who are in this great battle to finish the race. (Romans 15:4; Romans 14:15, admonish; I Thessalonians 4:18, comfort; I Thessalonians 5:18, comfort; Hebrews 12:1f, lay aside weights; Hebrews 3:12-13, exhort.
   6. The church exists for fellowship with like precious believers of whom we are members one of another. (Acts 2:42; I John 1:3,6-7; II Corinthians 6:14f, warned not to fellowship with darkness).

 

 

Ten Shekels and a Shirt

By Paris Reidhead

(Transcript of Tape)
INTRODUCTION

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Ten Shekels and a Shirt