Session 5: Local Ecclesiology

Last session, we talked about the subject of ecclesiology, a study and doctrine regarding the church. We discussed the universal church, the spiritual organism made up up of all born-again persons in every place and from every time; that we are united by the Holy Spirit to the risen and ascended Son of God, Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of the Father, our Advocate and the great High Priest.

But we also began covering the question of the local church, that local churches were established by God for His purposes, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations for the ultimate purpose of discipling believers in accomplishing the great commission expressed in Matthew 28:19–20 by our Lord, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

And then, we started discussing the way we see scripture commanding us to proceed, with elders who lead rather than rule, and members who both consent to be led but also perform their God-appointed roles.

And so, today, we are going to look further into this great matter of the local church, and step beyond that simple overview to see the particulars as to how this is to work out.

For, when faced with the problems in Corinth when these things did not happen well, the Holy Spirit inspired the apostle Paul to write to that church,

1 Corinthians 14:40 LSB

But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.

And this is a pertinent warning to us, that when things are not done in an orderly manner, we, too, fall under this same admonition. We, too, can sinfully take what God meant for our good, for our protection, for our edification, and likewise despise the clear instruction from God.

This is why, after noting this very admonition to do all things properly and in an orderly fashion, in the preamble to our Constitution (or bylaws), we say this:

Being thus admonished in Holy Scripture, we the members of Hickory Corners Bible Church, of Hickory Corners, Michigan, do solemnly and sincerely set forth the following bylaws by which we willingly and cheerfully submit.

And so now, as we consider how we may thus operate, let us pray:

O Lord our God, Savior of sinners, Creator and upholder of all things, Your name is excellent, Your glory high above all else, Your compassions are unfailing and Your mercy is tender. We bless You for the happy moment when we each first saw Your law fulfilled in Christ Jesus, when Your righteous wrath against us was appeased, our sin was forgiven, and we entered into so great a salvation by faith in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. We praise You for the gifts given to us of apostles and prophets, of evangelists and pastors and teachers. Teach us today more of how You desire us to live not by our own strength and spirit, but through our union with Christ through Your Holy Spirit to the glory and honor of Your blessed Son. Amen!

Philosophy of Ministry

As we consider the “being done properly and orderly manner”, it is vital that we keep focused on the actual objective of the church. If you were to pull out your bulletin on any given Sunday, or visit our website, you will find this statement:

The objective of this church is to be used by God to glorify Himself through faithful ministry of the Word of God for the salvation of souls, the edification and equipping of Christians, and the world-wide proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

And you will note, that this includes a role for absolutely everyone involved with this local church in any way, and I am certain that if you were to look at any activity we as a church engage in, whether it is the Word of Life Sloptsticle event, or Caroling at the Corners during December, the senior luncheon the second Tuesday of every month, or our services every Sunday, you can trace a line back to this one objective. That is not by chance – every single thing we consider doing, the leaders of this local church ask the question “how does this relate to our objective?” This is the first portion of answering the need to do all things in an orderly fashion.

And so, you will find that even in how we spend our money, in how we pay our bills, in how we engage our community, all of these things pass through this rubric to determine not only the manner in how we do things, but whether we even do them at all. Anything that doesn’t help in this, rather than being considered neutral we consider to be detrimental. In a sense, this is a rubber-meets-the-road working-out of the regulative principle, that everything we do ought to be based upon a precept or example found within the word of God.

Questions:

Considering 1 Corinthians 14:40, why is it important that we lay out our philosophy of what the ministry of this church is meant to be so clearly?

Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 10:31 and 2 Corinthians 10:5 and Colossians 3:17, 23-24. Why is it that every ministry, activity, action, and thought of the believers, both collectively and individually, should be purposefully designed and directed to bring glory to God?

Membership

Here at Hickory Corners Bible Church, we believe that any discussion regarding the church established and maintained by Jesus Christ, absolutely must after a discussion of the work of Christ Jesus in salvation, turn next to the body of the church itself – its members. For anything further can only be based first upon the members of the church body. Evangelists exist to spread the word of the finished work of Christ Jesus, to introduce new believers to the church. Pastors and teachers exist to feed and shepherd the members. Deacons exist to serve the members. And all of these are to come from among the members of the body of Christ.

In the broadest of terms, the purpose of an identifiable membership in a local church is to meet the demand of God that the church of Christ be holy and dedicated to God. Paul writes of this in 2 Corinthians 6, saying to the troubled church of God which was at Corinth,

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has a sanctuary of God with idols? For we are a sanctuary of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN, And I will welcome you. “AND I WILL BE A FATHER TO YOU, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” SAYS THE LORD ALMIGHTY. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

So although you will not read “thou shalt formally join a church” in any verse of scripture, for just as in the question of the Trinity, there is no simple proof-text verse demanding formal church membership. But also just as in the case of the Trinity, we also see that the doctrinal concept permeates the whole of the New Testament, and is referenced heavily here, but to show some of the breadth of the evidence, we could also include Paul’s admonition to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 14:23, “Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and uninformed men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind?”, which indicates to us that there is truly an awareness of others present who are not a part of the body. Or we could look to Acts 6 in which “there was grumbling from the Hellenists against the Hebrews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food”, there was an underlying affirmation that though they had been neglected, they were nonetheless part of the church. Or again in Acts 2:47, in which those who were part of the church were “praising God and having favor with all the people.”, this time seeing both an internal understanding of those were were a part of the church, but also the external viewpoint as well.

So, not only did the church itself know who was a part of the church and who was not, so also did the society at large understood this distinction. Further, if you were to look at the many churches listed in Romans 16, you will find many churches distinguished from one another, with their members known even to Paul.

Member Responsibilities

But in particular, this distinction between those within the body from those without of the body, even among those who happen to be in attendance, uniquely enable the church to fulfill eight certain, clear responsibilities Jesus Christ requires of His church.

Indeed, we believe that to properly execute these responsibilities, there must be a common agreement in those basic doctrines and agreement regarding what is the proper and an ordered manner.

So let’s look momentarily at these eight basic responsibilities one by one.

The first responsibility is to…

To affirm true doctrine, and condemn false doctrine. (Matthew 16:18-19; Galatians 1:8-9)

And in truth, you will see that the rest of the responsibilities really do start with this one. In both Matthew 16 and 18, Jesus uniquely in His earthly ministry speaks of his church, and does so in the context of the keys of the kingdom in binding and loosing – the individual “you” in reference to Peter of Matthew 16 replaced in the collective, plural “you” of Matthew 18. It is speaking of the authority to stand in front of someone claiming something about Jesus, and say whether the message they give is right or not, and thus whether the messenger is right or not.

We see the authority even more poignantly in Galatians 1, where we read Paul taking the churches of Galatia to task, after admonishing them in Galatians 1:6–7 “I marvel that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel, which is really not another, only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” And then he reminds them of the true measure of their authority in verses 8-9:

Galatians 1:8–9 LSB

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is proclaiming to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be accursed!

Paul is acknowledging here that the Galatian churches themselves have not only the right but the responsibility to remove even Paul as an authority on the gospel if he were to teach a wrong gospel. To recognize a wrong gospel means that they must therefore be able to recognize and affirm the true gospel; to recognize a fraud and treat it as such.

Closely related to this responsibility is the second responsibility, namely…

To affirm true teachers, and condemn false teachers. (2 Peter 3:1-4, 17-18; 1 John 4:1-6)

There is a serious flaw in that notion that because you feel something when a person speaks or teaches, it must be good. In fact, we are admonished time and again in the pages of holy Scripture to judge a person based on what they teach. Turn to 1 John 4:1-6,

1 John 4:1 LSB

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

1 John 4:2–3 LSB

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

1 John 4:4–5 LSB

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world hears them.

1 John 4:6 LSB

We are from God. The one who knows God hears us; the one who is not from God does not hear us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Again, judging the message, and also judging the messenger. It is for this that we read in 2 Peter 3:17, “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest you, having been carried away by the error of unprincipled men, fall from your own steadfastness”.

Likewise, the third responsibility is also related, namely we have a responsibility…

To affirm godly leaders, and to hold them accountable. (Acts 6:2-6; 1 Timothy 3:10, 5:22; Jeremiah 23:4)

Paul admonishes Timothy in 1 Timothy 3:10, “And these men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.” The “also” refers to a similar testing of elders. Test them. Try them. See if they are of the right quality and character demanded by God! If they are – affirm them! This isn’t just a simple acknowledgement, but also allowing yourself to be led by them, and to be served by them.

1 Timothy 5:22 includes a stark warning for each of us – “Do not lay hands upon anyone hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself pure.” Again, a straight line back to that basic purpose of meeting the demand of God that the church of Christ be holy and dedicated to God.

Fourthly, there is a responsibility…

To protect this local church and its witness. (Genesis 2:15; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13)

In the Garden, Adam’s principle, priestly duty was to cultivate the garden and to keep it in the sense of guarding it, just as later the priests and Levites were to serve the service of the tabernacle and to guard the people from sinful thinking. Adam was their model in this.

In the same sense, we as a body of believers are called to cultivate the church, and to guard and protect its witness. 1 Corinthians 5, in its entirety is to judge its members – saying in 1 Corinthians 5:11 “But now I am writing to you not to associate with any so-called ‘brother’ if he is a sexually immoral person, or greedy, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.”

1 Corinthians 5:11–12 LSB

But now I am writing to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is a sexually immoral person, or greedy, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Are you not to judge those who are within the church?

Now, it’s important again that we note what was written in verse 4 – “…when you [plural, you the church which at Corinth] are assembled”. This isn’t the leaders, this isn’t just a couple, this is the whole body being involved. Paul’s comment in 2 Corinthians 2:6 that a “punishment … was inflicted by the majority” further underscores that the whole church was involved here.

Let’s also note why this was important in 1 Corinthians 5:6–7 “…Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened…” There is a duty to protect the local church and its witness.

Fifth, we are called…

To integrate with each other’s lives in meaningful ways (1 Corinthians 12:24-26) under recognized leadership (Acts 20:28).

Sixth…

To humbly submit to one another and their elders out of respect for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21; Hebrews 13:17; Philippians 2:4)

Seventh…

To gather together in order to be taught, admonished, and built up in the truth of Scripture in an orderly and doctrinal fashion. (Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 10:24-25)

And finally eighth,

To extend the knowledge and recognition of the kingdom of God through evangelism and discipleship. (Matthew 16:18, 28:18-20)

We believe that it is important that we know what our responsibilities as believers are before God as we gather together in a local body, but also to recognize that we have these responsibilities whether or not a person has formally joined themselves to a church membership or not. And although you may be able to somewhat fulfill some responsibilities God has given you as a believer by merely attending, where there is not a true joining and committing to each other and to the body as a whole, as opposed to someone who is just visiting, even if that visit is fairly regular, prevents you from fulfilling your biblical responsibilities given by God.

We as Christians must both know our responsibilities as believers, and to actually do them. But, we should be careful to note, that although we affirm these as responsibilities of all Christians everywhere of every age, even the doing of things, without repentance and belief in Christ Jesus as Lord, cannot ever make a person a Christian in the first place; in fact we hold and affirm that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone. No act we can do can make us more saved than that, and no failure to act can make us less saved than that. To add anything as a requirement to salvation being by grace through faith in Christ is a denial of the gospel, and in fact is no gospel – no “good news” – at all!

Questions:

Consider all of the responsibilities of believers identified above. Read through all of the Scripture references. In your own words, in light of those responsibilities why it important for the local church to know who is a part of the church, someone who just happens to be there?

These responsibilities exist whether or not a person is a formal member of a church. What are the implications for the person who refuses to join a church?

What are the implications for the person who refuses to attend a church? Should 1 John 2:19 be applied to such a person?

Elders

And yet, it is clearly outside of God’s will expressed in Scripture that we be merely a headless congregation. Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, write to Titus 1:5 “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you”. In other words, a body of people without human leaders is incomplete and lacking. They are unable to rightly function, being swayed into false teaching and false doctrine. Paul had gone on to describe the wretched condition of that church as a result of this failing in Titus 1:10–11

Titus 1:10–11 LSB

For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain.

The church members need shepherds – many, not just one. Whether in Jeremiah 23, or Acts 14 and 20, or 1 Thessalonians 5, or the classic texts in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, we never see a solo shepherd, but a plurality of shepherds. So although Elders act jointly and share equally in responsibility and authority for the leadership of the church, not all are equal in their gifted-ness, biblical knowledge, leadership ability, experience, or dedication. There will be a “first among equals” with a group of Biblical elders who will be primary leader and teacher of the church, but they all have various responsibilities and gifts according to what the Holy Spirit has given them.

Now it’s important to note that being a shepherd doesn’t absolve a person of also being a sheep, of being part of the body – both Paul in Acts 20 and Peter in 1 Peter 5, that shepherds are taken from within the body and called to be shepherds in addition to being a part of the body itself. Peter writes that they are not to “lord it over those allotted to” them, but in 1 Peter 5:2–3 they are to “shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion, but willingly, according to God; and not for dishonest gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to you, but being examples to the flock.” Part of the example, part of the task, is to likewise submit to the other elders. The idea of the lone pastor or shepherd who does everything, who controls everything, who stands aloof from his congregation, who can’t be questioned or confronted, is simply not found in Scripture – anywhere!

Elders are charged with the responsibility of shepherding God’s flock through the preaching and teaching of the Word (1 Timothy 3:2, 2 Timothy 4:2), praying for the sheep (James 5:14), and overseeing the affairs of the church (1 Peter 5:2).

There is a rather short collection of Greek words used somewhat interchangeably that describe the various aspects of elders, from ποιμαίνω (meaning “to shepherd”, the Latin translation being where we get the word “pastor” from), to ἐπισκοπἑω (meaning “to oversee as a guardian”), to πρεσβύτερος (meaning “elder”, or “someone dignified who has seasoned judgement”), to διδάσκαλος (meaning who formally or informally teaches), to κηρύσσω (meaning “to proclaim or to herald”). Each of these are roles specifically charged to a group of people most commonly identified as “elders” in the New Testament.

Questions:

What are some dangers if Biblical Elders are not present within a local church? (Hint, see Titus 1:10-11)

In your own words, what is a primary function of Elders? (Hint, see Titus 1:5, 9-16 in addition to the Scriptural references above).

Elder Qualifications

Something that is critical to recall, however, is that the role and function are what is important here, as opposed to a mere title. People who are not qualified as Elders should not be given the responsibilities or authority of Elders! So while there must likewise be opportunities to train and test those being considered for such roles within the body, as 1 Timothy 3:10 says speaking primarily of deacons, but also referencing the consideration of elders, says “And these men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.” We believe that the same is true of potential elders – they must be tested and considered carefully.

It would be wrong to put someone forward as an elder who is unqualified for the role, whether due to disqualification according to Scripture, or due to a lack of desire on their part to fulfill that role.

Acts 20:28 LSB

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

It is important for us, then to recognize that elders are not called by men, but by the Holy Spirit. We need to recognize and test those who we think we see the Holy Spirit calling them into this role, and confirm them according to those responsibilities of members we talked about previously. 1 Timothy 3:10 serves as an admonishment to us,

1 Timothy 3:10 LSB

And these men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.

Get that? let them serve in the capacity God has called them to if they have been tested and meet the qualifications!

So let’s consider the qualifications of Elders.

An Elder must be a man who meets the character qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9.

First and foremost, we must not neglect the clear instruction of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, which can be summarized entirely by saying that an Elder must be above reproach. And we should be clear here, according to 1 Timothy 2:12 and 3:2 we believe it is abundantly clear, that women may not serve as elders.

An Elder must shepherd the congregation in spiritual matters through lifestyle, teaching, instruction, and guidance through scripture. He will seek to strengthen the weak, guard the vulnerable, rebuke the obstinate and bear with the difficult. (Jeremiah 23:4; 2 Tim. 2:24-25; Acts 20:28; 1 Thess. 5:14)

An Elder must be one who prays over the congregation and cares for their needs (James 5:14; Acts 20:35-36)

An Elder must be one who oversees the affairs of the church as one who will give an account to God. (1 Peter 5:2; Heb. 13:17)

And finally,

An Elder must be one who is a member of the church not under discipline. (1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 10)

Discipline, a responsibility of the church toward its members in all matters of sin, is one of the truly defining elements of a church; in fact, it has been rightly said that it is the true differentiator of a Biblical church from any other Christian endeavour. And if a person is under discipline, they are at that time not above reproach.

Questions

Why is it important to consider all of these purposes and considerations for a potential Elder, rather than just those in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1?

Why is it important that everyone who is a member understands the purpose of an Elder?

Read Acts 20:28 and Hebrews 13:17 and Acts 6:2-6 and 1 Timothy 3:10. Why is it important to understand that God appoints Elders and the church is to confirm them?

Read Acts 20:17-36, 1 Timothy 3:10, and Titus 1. Why is it important that Elders be allowed to lead their local congregations in truth, not simply “on paper”? How does church membership play into this?

Our time is now gone, but I think here today you have learned something of what we see as the Biblical requirements for us as a local body, and next time we will learn more about how we believe the Bible calls us to live as Christians in this present age.

Let us pray!