Session 4: Ecclesiology

In this Basics class, we have to this point been largely dealing with what are essentially first-order questions, meaning questions and doctrines which are absolutely essential to salvation, just as Paul explained to the Corinthian believers when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, saying “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” A denial of even one of these doctrines we believe, is to deny Christianity itself.

In other words, these doctrines represent absolutes – a person cannot become a Christian at all unless they believe that Scripture is the real, inspired Word of God, or in the existence of God and His trinitarian nature of co-equal distinct Persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; that God created the world and all things in it, including Man; that there is an adversary to God who is less powerful than He is; that Man, though created innocent, fell and is now not only placed under the dominion of sin but also sins by choice because each and every person is totally depraved from the womb; that Christ, the Son of God, came to earth for the purpose of saving sinners, and did so in the finished work of His death, burial, and resurrection; that we may become partakers in His righteousness by grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone; that because this is a work of God alone, including our turning to Christ in Faith, we now have great and eternal assurance of that salvation, that we who are saved may never be lost or cast aside, but we are kept eternally by both the Father and the Son.

And so, building upon that foundation, we now begin to consider what the salvation of people results in.

But let’s pray together before we do so.

Oh Lord our God, fountain of all that is good, You have commanded us to believe in Jesus Your holy Son, to seek no other refuge than Him, to build on no other foundation but Him, but you gave Him as head over all things to the church which is His body. For we have been united to Him, a mystery hidden from past ages, a bride being prepared by her husband to be presented holy and blameless. We have received precious gifts from Him, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, that we would be built up and matured. We pray that today for the church which He nourishes and cherishes as His own body, that we would be built up and equipped today for the work of service which You prepared beforehand that we would walk in, that we would bring glory and honor to Your blessed Son. Amen!

The Church

Now, we’ve just quickly reviewed the truth of salvation expressed in 1 Corinthians 15:3, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures”. We read of this giving Himself up in Ephesians 5,

Ephesians 5:25 LSB

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,

In Corinthians, Christ died for our sins, in Ephesians, “we” are identified as “the church”. And this is precisely what we are discussing today.

The technical term for today’s subject is “ecclesiology”, the study of the nature and structure of the Christian church. It comes from the Greek word ἐκκλησία, an assembly of people, followed by the “-ology” suffix, meaning “the study of.”

And it is called that, because the word you see in your Bible translated as “church” is the Greek word “ἐκκλησία”. It was a word used of an assembling of people, a gathering together of a particular, rather than universal, group of people. There was a bar or measure applied to those who would be part of this gathering of people. In the days of the Greek city-state, the city crier would “call out” the assembly for the conducting of public business, and the bar of membership was that they would be a land-owning free person of the city. If you were a slave, you were excluded. If you didn’t own land in the city, you were excluded. So, not everybody was part of the ἐκκλησία, whether it was used in the broadest sense, or in a more particular sense.

And, I hope that it is well-understood, that by “the church” we are not talking about a physical building or structure, nor are we talking about an impersonal, legal entity that we can refer to as something with its own character entirely disassociated from ourselves.

The Universal Church

When you look at the Bible, “ἐκκλησία” is the term that Christ first used in a new and unique way in Matthew 16, where Jesus had asked His disciples who they said He was,

Matthew 16:16–17

And Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

Now Christ didn’t simply say “yes, Simon Peter, you got it”, and then move on to the next subject. No, He went on, based upon this revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, saying:

Matthew 16:18 LSB

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

This is the first reference in the New Testament to the church, and it is very telling for us in the depth of what it reveals. And let’s not get carried away with the heretical idea that Peter is the one who Christ would build His church on, because this is all centered around the statement that Peter had made, which correctly pointed to the person and work of Jesus Christ, namely that He is the Christ, and further clarifying that He is God the Son.

And what God the Son says first, is that it is His church. Not Peter’s, not anyone else’s, but His and His alone. And He is the one that “will build” His church – something that we shouldn’t miss, and something where your minds ought to be going back right now to our doctrines on salvation – that it’s not by my choice, it’s not by my decision, it’s not by my actions, because as Paul reminds us in Ephesians 1:4 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love,” Ephesians 2:5 “even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—”!

But something else you should notice in this phrase – it is an entirely future-tense statement, “I will build My church”, first-person, future, active, indicative. When did this building start happening? Let’s consider Peter’s words to the council at Jerusalem in Acts 11, where he’s relaying to the Church filled with Jews and part-Jewish Samaritans the events that occurred among the God-fearing gentiles at the house of Cornelius, relaying in verse 15,

Acts 11:15 LSB

“And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning.

What is the beginning he’s talking about? The beginning of the church as recorded in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came like a violent rushing wind, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues.

Paul speaks of this same new and unique quality of the church in Colossians 1, starting by saying in Colossians 1:24 “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and I fill up what is lacking of Christ’s afflictions in my flesh, on behalf of His body, which is the church,” then after interrupting to mention his own role, continues speaking of Christ’s body, the church, in verse 26, saying…

Colossians 1:26–27 LSB

that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

So, the church is something new, it is separate and distinct from Israel, having began millennia after Israel at the day of Pentecost.

It is important for us to understand this new-ness, because many people just assume that the Church simply replaces Israel. It doesn’t – they’re different, and although there will be some Jews who are a part of the church both in the first century and now, as groups, God deals with us separately. And right now, we are in the middle of a mystery, the time of the Gentiles, “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in”, is how Paul explains it in Romans 11 while he explains that God isn’t done dealing with Israel as a people yet.

And so, now, it is necessary that we understand something about the church as its own, unique spiritual organism.

Here’s how we put it in a doctrinal sense:

We believe that the universal church is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons united by the Holy Spirit to the risen and ascended Son of God; that by the Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether Jew or Gentile, and thus being members one of another we are responsible to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, rising above all sectarian prejudices and denominational bigotry, fervently loving one another with a pure heart. Matthew 16:16-18; Romans 12:4-8; Ephesians 1:19-23; Colossians 1:18.

The “one Spirit, one Church” concept absolutely permeates the entirety of the New Testament, whether to the Colossian believers, saying that for all who have been made new “there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and freeman, but Christ is all and in all”, or to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 12:11-13, saying:

1 Corinthians 12:11–13 LSB

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For also by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

We are all built upon one foundation, and that foundation is no mere human. Paul had to refute such thinking as being infantile to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 3:4–6 “For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.” And he once again points us to Christ’s promise to build His church in Matthew 16, when Paul goes on to say in verse 7:

1 Corinthians 3:7 LSB

So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.

Let’s turn to Ephesians 4, to see how it is God causes this growth, starting in verse 4…

Ephesians 4:4–6 LSB

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

Again, notice the “ones” here, we need to not gloss over this universal element to each and every member of God’s spiritual organism, the Church!

Ephesians 4:7–10 LSB

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, And HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.” (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)

Again, the focus is always on Christ Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith! Let’s read on to see clearly how it is that He builds up His church:

Ephesians 4:11–12 LSB

And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ,

Ephesians 4:13–14 LSB

until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming,

Ephesians 4:15–16 LSB

but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ, from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

The goal, then, of Christ is not only to save His church, but also to nurture it, just like a person nurtures and cherishes the health of their own body.

Questions:

Read Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-16, John 17:16, and Acts 8:4 What are the primary duties of the church? What is the implication of the person who claims to be a Christian but does not do so?

Read John 18:36, 2 Corinthians 10:4, Romans 13:1-7, Luke 9:51-56, and Titus 3:1-2, and 1 Corinthians 5:12. Describe the relationship the church should have with the government and society.

But if we were to only look at and consider this universal nature of the church, as the community of all true believers in Jesus Christ in all time, we would be terribly deficient in our understanding of it. Just a quick review of the letters written in the New Testament gives us a better view, where we see letters addressed “to the church of God which is at Corinth” in 1 Corinthians 1:2 and 2 Corinthians 1:2, or “to the churches..” (note the plural!) …to the churches of Galatia” in Galatians 1:2, “to the church of the Thessalonians” in 1 Thessalonians 1:1 and 2 Thessalonians 1:1, or to particular leaders in particular churches such as Theophilus, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, or to Gaius, we see throughout Scripture an accompanying specificity and encouragement of the local churches.

Nor does the New Testament anywhere know anything of a believer who is not a part of their local church, 1 John 2:19 stating most explicitly for us, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they were of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be manifested that they all are not of us.”

The Local Church

So now, then, we must turn to the question of the local church. Let’s start with the doctrinal statement first:

We believe that the establishment and continuance of the local church is clearly taught and defined in the Scriptures. The local church has the absolute right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; with final authority in all matters of membership, of polity, of government, and of discipline. We believe the purpose of the local church is to disciple believers in accomplishing the great commission. Matthew 28:16-20 ; Acts 15:4, 13-22; I Corinthians 12:12-28; Ephesians 5:23-32; Colossians 3:14-17; I Timothy 3:1-13; 2 Timothy 2:2.

In the earliest days of the church, everyone – the whole of the church – did meet together, Acts 2:42 showing us most clearly,

Acts 2:42 LSB

And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.

This church grew and grew, and yet they still met together continually right up until Stephen was murdered at the end of Acts 7, and the aftermath is recorded in Acts 8:1, “…on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” But what we see is that one, great, massive multitude of thousands began to meet in their new villages, towns, and cities, and they began to multiply. And if Acts 18:27 is any indication of the norm, when church members moved to a new area they would if possible try to take a letter with them from their present church to the new one as a means of introduction, and were warmly welcomed by a new gathering of local believers.

Many people here are familiar with the grand statements in 1 Corinthians 12 in which Paul speaks clearly and plainly about the unity necessary in the body of Christ, yet forget that he is not so much talking about the universal body of Christ, but the local body, “the church of God which is at Corinth”, first and foremost, before speaking to all who in every place call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They needed this unity in their local church, they would have understood his words in a local context. For they were in the midst of a debilitating problem, they were divided and were strife with quarrels.

And it was into that context that Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:12,

1 Corinthians 12:12 LSB

For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

It is in that context that he wrote 1 Corinthians 12:18

1 Corinthians 12:18 LSB

But now God has appointed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.

The teaching and admonishment and exhortation and encouragement Paul wrote to this church at Corinth applies to each and every local church. And of necessity, those within that body and those around that body ought to be able to tell where it begins and where it ends, just as a person can, by both the boundary of their skin and the senses of their being, tell which leg or hand is their own.

Questions:

Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-28 and Philippians 2:1-5 in light of the local understanding of the need for unity. Does attendance alone accomplish true unity? Does membership alone (hint, see James 2:17 and Ephesians 5:2, 21) constitute true unity?

Read John 15:17, Hebrews 10:24-25, and Romans 12:1-13. What are the things that Christians are to do for and to one another? Describe the degree of intimacy with one another necessary to do this to God’s glory.

Read Acts 20:28-30, 1 Corinthians 12:14-26, Ephesians 5:22-32, 1 Peter 2:4-5, and 1 Peter 4:17. What are the metaphors used to describe the church? What common things do they teach us about the nature of the church?

Read 1 John 2:19, Jude 4, and Matthew 18:17. How can a person “go out” from a local church, yet remain physically present? What does this tell us about the difference between the visible and true churches? Why is this important?

Our Ecclesiology

A major element of how we have come to so strongly view the doctrine of the local church is in a working-out of the many teachings we find everywhere throughout the New Testament in the commands and roles given to the church.

We must begin any discussion about the church with the understanding that Jesus Christ is its head and authority, Matthew 28:18 recording some of Jesus’ final words to His disciples,

Matthew 28:18 LSB

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Now if you think for a moment, we just read that Christ Himself gave us gifts of prophets and apostles, who in Ephesians 2 are identified as the foundational pieces built out from Christ the chief cornerstone, and then some evangelists, and then finally some “pastors and teachers”.

Now the word “pastor”, in Greek ποιμήν, in a technical sense means a shepherd, and we start seeing what their role is in 1 Peter 5,

1 Peter 5:1–2 LSB

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion, but willingly, according to God; and not for dishonest gain, but with eagerness;

1 Peter 5:3–4 LSB

nor yet as lording it over those allotted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

These Elders have been charged by Christ Jesus to oversee and to shepherd the congregation among whom they serve, the congregation that God has entrusted to them.

And so, as we have been working through these things, reviewing our constitution, we have recognized that this is precisely what Jeff, and Rich, and Brian, and myself have been doing, this is how we have been operating. So, we see that in addition to being independent of any authority other than Christ Jesus, we are also an elder-led church.

But to leave it at that would be to rob the church members of their responsibility. Quickly turn over to Hebrews 13:17, where we read…

Hebrews 13:17 LSB

Obey your leaders and submit to them—for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account—so that they will do this with joy and not with groaning, for this would be unprofitable for you.

Just as the elders are charged to oversee and to shepherd, the church body is charged to submit to being overseen, to being shepherded.

The goal is one that we’ve already discussed in 1 Corinthians 12 – namely, that each person within the church is to work together willingly in mutual submission to one another, in unity for the good of the whole body.

In this, we are also describing a congregational assembly. We come together in unity of spirit and unity of purpose; that both groups, the elders and the congregation, are called to come together and work together.

So, we can summarize this thinking in this manner, a preview if you will of the coming proposed bylaws in which we are better aligning our constitution with our existing practice:

We believe that we are called to be an independent elder-led congregational assembly under the headship of Jesus Christ. Matthew 28:18; 1 Peter 5:1-3; Hebrews 13:17.

Questions:

Read Acts 20:28-31, Hebrews 13:17, and 1 Peter 5:1-4. Why is a purely congregational approach to a church, without elders, dangerous to the church members?

Considering these same verses, why is it vital for elders to be in and among the congregation, as opposed to aloof or far off?

Considering these same verses, why is it important to distinguish between “elder led” and “elder ruled”? (You may find 1 Timothy 3:1-7 helpful here.)

So, Lord willing we will come back at the next session to discover just how this works out here in this local body, as we delve more into these roles and their respective responsibilities.

Let’s pray!