Biblical Church Model

Biblical Model for the church What is the Biblical Meaning of Church 1 Corrinthians 12:28 THE BIBLICAL MODEL FOR CHURCH ORGANIZATION. Anyone who has studied the book of Acts and the epistles is probably aware that the modern church bears little resemblance to the first-century church, and it is no secret that the modern church, at least in the Western world, has many problems. We are prone to blame these problems upon our own apathy to spiritual things, to materialism, and to a plethora of other factors. Yet one factor which is seldom considered is that perhaps we have a mistaken idea of what the church is supposed to be, and how it ought to function. Over the centuries, from the time of the apostles to the present, there have been fundamental changes in the way we think about the church. The church was once a rather informal gathering of believers who viewed one another as a family and who met together to worship the Lord who had redeemed them, to study His Word and for corporate prayer and fellowship. But over the years, the church has been transformed into an institution which seems much too concerned with promoting itself and boasting of its growth. It seems so overly concerned with budgets, projects, programs and attendance, that it has ceased to function as a family and instead operates like a business. Churches today seem to be in competition with one another, and are often not very supportive of neighboring churches which are little different from themselves. And, why indeed do we see such a proliferation of churches which differ so little from one another? Surely, it is partly due to the fact that seminaries keep pumping out men who have a dream of pastoring a church and making it “great”. We seldom question whether such a goal is appropriate, because our concept of the church has been molded by centuries of misguided tradition. In this study, let us return to the Scriptures to see how the early church was organized. We shall see that the Lord placed many safeguards in the early church which, over the years, we have abandoned in favor of practices which, from a fleshly perspective, seem to have a semblance of wisdom. Point #1 ABSTRACT The Biblical church was an assembly of believers who shared a common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was much less formal than the church today Church decisions were typically made by the elders. On common matters, the elders might solicit the views of the congregation. However, spiritual matters, such as choosing a new elder, were left in the hands of those who were spiritually mature. Today’s church operates much like a business, but the Biblical church functioned more as a family. The church did not own property, and was not encumbered by mortgages and full-time salaries. There was no formal membership. If an individual evidenced a genuine faith in Christ, He was freely accepted as a fellow brother in Christ. The Biblical church was not a venue for entertainment. Singing was not used to entertain listeners; instead, the assembly joined together in corporate singing to worship their beloved Lord. The preaching ministry was not used as an opportunity for telling stories or jokes, nor for soliciting support for some social or political cause; instead, the elders preached God’s Word out of heartfelt conviction, a genuine love for the God who had redeemed them with His own blood, and a deep concern for the sheep whom the Great Shepherd had placed in their care. 2 Point #2 PREPARATION OF PASTORS. Paul preached in Ephesus for 3 years, which produced a church with many elders Acts 20:31. And this appears to have been one of Paul’s longer stays. He ministered to the church at Corinth for only a year and a half Acts 18:11. While it would surely have been blessed to be taught by one of the apostles, Paul did not give his students a formal seminary education. Their qualifications for leading the church were based upon the Spirit’s evident work in their lives, rather than upon any academic credentials conferred upon them by some human institution. Much of what is taught in seminaries today, while useful, should not be regarded as essential qualifications for a pastor. We must maintain a balance of acknowledging the value of seminary instruction without making an idol of it. Some men who have had no formal training may be well qualified to serve as pastors, while others with many degrees and credentials may, for all their education, be unfit to serve as pastors. The best place for pastors to be trained is in the local church. This is where Paul prepared elders, and his practice serves as the Biblical pattern for our obedience. In Scripture, how did a man come to be a pastor? When a church was started by an apostle, the apostle would appoint men from the church to serve as elders of the church Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5. The choice of who should be an elder was not an arbitrary choice, but was based upon the gifts and qualifications possessed by the men. There are two passages of Scripture which list the qualifications for an overseer.. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. The two lists are quite similar, covering matters of reputation, family managment, character and teaching. Because these qualifications are wrought by the Holy Spirit, the apostles recognized that it was the Holy Spirit who made a man an overseer (“the Holy Spirit has made you overseers”) Acts 20:28. 3 Point #3 IS WATER BAPTISM A BIBLICAL REQUIREMENT FOR CHURCH MEMBERSHIP? It was normal in Scripture for a believer to be baptizedimmediatelyupon exercising faith in Christ Acts 2:38-41; 8:36; 16:14-15,33. Thus, all the passage really proves is that these people believed in Christ and, as was normal for a new convert, were baptized. These new believers were welcomed into the church. But the passage gives no necessary cause-effect relationship between their being baptized and their being added to the church. The problem arises in our day when a person who believes in Christ is not immediately baptized, or is not baptized in a way that is deemed acceptable to certain brothers. What if this person is accepted into a church which does not require baptism, serves the Lord for many years, and later seeks to join a church which requires baptism? Should this person, who has repeatedly manifested the work of the Holy Spirit in his heart by faithfully serving the Lord for many years, be baptized as though he were a new convert? Or should a person be rebaptized just because his new church doesn’t agree with certain things taught by the church which originally baptized him? Whenever a church requires a believer to be rebaptized, it is saying in effect that there are two classes of Christians.. those who have been baptized the “right” way are first-class Christians.. every other believer is a second-class Christian. Yet, this is so contrary to all of Scripture.. those who are in Christ.. all of them.. are washed, sanctified and justified by the blood of Christ and by the Spirit of God 1 Corinthians 6:11. All Christians, whether baptized or not, have beenmade alive together with Christ, and raised up with Him, and seated in the heavenly places in Him Ephesians 2:5-6. The various passages which say that we are all members of His body speak of the union which all believers have with their Lord through the faith given to us by the Holy Spirit 1 Corinthians 12:13. Such passages are not meant to puff up certain Baptist brothers as though they alone were members of Christ’s body, and all other Christians were somehow detached from Christ. It would seem idolatrous to assert that the Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration does not make us members of Christ’s body, but that water baptism does. It also seems idolatrous for a group of believers to say that a Christian who has already been baptized unto Christ needs to be baptized again, into their local church. By saying this, they set their local church up as equal with Christ, indeed, greaterthan Christ, insisting that one’s former baptism unto Christ means nothing, and that what really matters is that we should be baptized intotheir church. CONCLUSION  Adam and Eve: Adam and Eve are entrusted with the care of all creation, with Eve serving as Adam’s “helper” (Gen. 2:18). After the Fall, due to sin, the husband becomes more of a ruler over, than a collaborator with, his wife (Genesis 3:16). One aspect of the Fall seems to be that Adam and Eve allowed their relationship to become skewed, with Adam shirking leadership. That would seem to explain why part of the Lord’s rebuke of Adam is that “you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you” (Gen. 3:17).  Noah: God leads His People to salvation from the Flood through one man who had God’s favor, Noah (Genesis 6:8) who led his family onto the Ark (Genesis 7:7).  The Patriarchs: Whether it be Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob, etc., we see God continuing to lead His People through specific patriarchs, individual heads of the family. Notice that the Biblical familial structure is monarchial. The mother and father are entrusted with the care of the family, while the children are instructed “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you” (Exodus 20:12). So children are subject to their parents. But responsibility ultimately rests with the husband and father, to whom even the wife defers (Ephesians 5:22).  Moses. God brings His People out of Egypt through Moses, Miriam, and Aaron, but final earthly authority rests with Moses. Miriam and Aaron get jealous about this, complaining “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” (Numbers 12:2). The Lord vindicates Moses, declaring that “he is entrusted with all my house” (Nm. 12:7). Miriam is cursed with leprosy until Moses intercedes for her (Nm. 12:13), and Aaron entreats Moses for mercy to avoid punishment (Nm. 12:11).