God's Blueprint for His Church - The Congregation

The Congregation

Introduction

It was in 1912 that music publisher Dr. Adam Geibel asked C. Austin Miles to write a hymn text that would be "sympathetic in tone, breathing tenderness in every line; one that would bring hope to the hopeless, rest for the weary, and downy pillows to dying beds."[1] From this request eventually emerged what is purported to be the Church’s most favorite hymn apart from The Old Rugged Cross. The hymn is “In the Garden”.

In the Garden

Verse 1
I come to the garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses; And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses.
Chorus
And He walks with me, And He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.
Verse 2
He speaks, and the sound of His voice Is so sweet, The birds hush their singing, And the melody that He gave to me, Within my heart is ringing.
Verse 3
I'd stay in the garden with Him, Though the night around me be falling, But He bids me go; Through the voice of woe, His voice to me is calling.

This hymn, that so many people love, makes me cringe. In excess of 12 times in 3 stanzas the personal pronoun is used. This hymn is riddled with neo-Gnostic, narcissistic sentimentalism. Now, already, I’ve probably disenfranchised half of my congregation. Hear me: it’s not that this hymn is not appropriate as relating to one’s own walk with the Lord; nor is it that the author ever intended it to be so (for he was recounting the story of Mary’s encounter with the risen Lord). No, the problem with this hymn is that countless numbers of people today equate this experience with Christianity. It’s all about, “Me and Jesus, Got a Good Thing Going” (Tom T. Hall)! It’s spirituality without the Body!

As I considered this concept, I started to think of the funerals that I have done for people who are not Christians. Nine times out of ten (with no exaggeration) the family of the deceased as taken pains to tell me that their loved one was not a “religious person – but was spiritual.” Translation? They didn’t go to church but they had a relationship with God.


Principle: It is an alien concept to the Word of God that a person is in relationship with Christ, but not His Body, the Church!

Brief Defense of that Principle:

Hebrews 10:23-25 tells us clearly that we should gather together and encourage and spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

In Ephesians 5:21-33, Paul tells us how husbands and wives ought to relate to one another. There, he teaches that Christ relates to the church as if it were His "bride." He always wants the best for her and loves the church so much that He gave himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25). To say, “I love Jesus, but I don’t want to have anything to do with Jesus’ Bride seems preposterous.
1 John 4:20 teaches us that to say we “love God” but we “hate” our Christian brothers, condemns the person as a liar. “Love in “word” is not real; it remains to be demonstrated.”[2]

Within God’s Blueprint for the Church, the congregation plays a key role. This morning I’m going to discuss this significant responsibility under three headings:

#1. Communion of Saints
#2. Priesthood of Believers
#3. Congregationalism

The first heading is going to tell us what it means to be a Christian. The second heading is going to tell us what it means to be a Protestant. The third heading is going to tell us what it means to be a Baptist.


#1. Communion of Saints

You probably recognize this phrase from the Apostle’s Creed. The last sentence in the Creed states:

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy *catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

A layman’s definition of this phrase might go like this: The Communion of Saints means that every person who is united to Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, through faith, is united to every member of the Church. The Biblical grounds for such a statement is found in 1 Corinthians 12 (page 136 in the N.T.)

Now Paul starts the chapter by discussing spiritual gifts. We conclude that first of all every Christian has been gifted by the Holy Spirit “distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”[3] Some of these gifts are listed in these first few verses. And these “gifts” are given for a vital reason: “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good,” says the Apostle.[4] The point is that you and I have been given gifts intended by the Architect of the Church to be a benefit to one another.

The Paul states the doctrine:

"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 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." (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

When you and I received Christ as our Savior, repenting and believing on Him, His Holy Spirit made us one with Christ and one with every other Christian. That’s the doctrine of the Communion of the Saints.

The people of God have been immersed into His Body and gifted to serve and care for one another. And no one can say, “I have no need of you.” Hear the apostle’s words again: “NO ONE CAN SAY I HAVE NO NEED OF YOU!” If you say to the church, “I have no need of you,” there is either a serious problem in your biblical understanding; or more seriously, it is unlikely that you have been born again (cf: 1 John 5:1-5)

To be a Christian is to be drawn into a dependent relationship on Christ the Head of the Church; and an interdependent relationship with His children! That is what it means to be a Christian!

#2. Priesthood of Believers

The second important topic that one needs to consider as part of God’s Blueprint for His Church is this phrase: Priesthood of Believers. (Now last October (07) I preached on this topic so I won’t go into the kind of detail that I ought.) Christians take this doctrine primarily from 1 Peter 2:9:

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Of course this text is originally from the Old Testament. It is a marvelous passage to show some degree of continuity between the People of God in the Old Covenant and applied to the Church in the New. The Bible clearly calls the Church a royal priesthood. The concept was re-born in the Reformation by Martin Luther who opposed the Church’s view of clergy and priests. The importance of this doctrine to Protestant churches is to affirm the truth of Scripture that every single born-again child of God is EQUALLY granted such grace that they themselves can know God individually and follow God’s will. The executive word here is equally not individually.

Now one important point to be made though is that the Reformers took great pains to call this doctrine, The Priesthood of Believers! It is plural. Peter wrote it as plural. It is this congregation of the redeemed that are a chosen race – a race of people after the second Adam. It is this assembly that is the priesthood, a nation, and a people.

Being a priest in the Old Testament meant offering worship to God, interceding for people. The priest was a minister. Every child of God has been placed into ministry the moment you are saved. You are enrolled in a priesthood. In the Old Testament the priest brought a sacrifice. In the New Testament the priest IS the sacrifice (cf: Romans 12:1,2)! Contextually Peter makes it very plain:

“But you are . . . a royal priesthood . . . so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”[5]

The New Testament priesthood is a people of God on a mission. “The word show forth (Greek: exangellō) means literally “to tell out,” and refers to the “preaching” of the gospel, the good news, or praises of God. His marvelous light (see I2 Corinthians 4:6) is probably a reference to Isaiah 9:1, and Christ as the “Light of the World.”[6] Does this not conform to the Great Commission of Christ, the Head of the Church (see Matthew 29:19-20)?

The doctrine of the priesthood of believers teaches us that as a member of Christ’s body we have a job – we are ALL ministers within the household of faith; and we are ALL evangelists!. As a member of this priesthood we are to go out into the world “as though God were making an appeal through us; [begging men and women] behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”[7]

Summary:

What have we said so far? To be a Christian is to be related to the local church; to use your gifts to the building up of others. To be a Protestant is to be a minister. You cannot rightly call yourself a Christian if you are not connected to His Church; nor can you call yourself a mature Christian if you do not see yourself as a minister. What of the third category? What does it mean to be a Baptist?

#3. Congregationalist

Although I started to introduce you to this term last week, some of you may not be familiar with the term Congregationalist. Others of you may think you know what it means, but your idea may be skewed somewhat. In simple terms, to be a congregational church means that the local congregation is independent and self-governing. Churches started to call themselves congregational, primarily during the Puritan movements, when people broke away from the state run, hierarchical forms of church government. Baptists, of course, are not the only congregational type churches.

Congregational churches are different that Episcopalian churches that are governed by a hierarchy of bishops; or the Presbyterian churches that are governed by a higher assembly of congregational representatives (a presbytery).

We believe that congregationalism is biblical. In our Church Statement of Faith we write: “We believe it [the local Church] is sovereign, independent body, exercising its own divinely awarded gifts . . . under the Lordship of Christ.” The Scriptural support for such is taken from the following places:

#1. In Revelation 1 local congregations, typified in perfection (The number 7) are represented as independent churches with Christ Himself being the Divine Superintendent. Revelation 1:12-20 reveals to us, “12 . . . And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 13 and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man . . . 16 In His right hand He held seven stars . . . 20 “As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
#2. Revelation chapters 2 and 3, the infamous Seven Churches are represented as unique and separate entities and instruction was given directly to the church authority by the Lord Jesus Christ.
#3. As we have stated earlier, the local congregation is to ordain its leaders ( e.g., Acts 6:3-6). It is the local church that commissions people for specific ministries (Acts 13:1-3). They are also to discipline their own members (Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13).
#4. Furthermore, Christians in New Testament times resisted the efforts of governmental and religious authorities to dictate religious belief and practice (Acts 4:18-20; 5:29).

Now here is where there is a lot of confusion: Is the congregational church democratic? There is a huge similarity between congregationalism and democracy. Some of the similarities include:

1) (As stated previously) It is the membership that is the “final court of appeal” (in a human sense) on matters of discipline (Not the elders and deacons.)

2) Every member is practically given a voice and in most congregational churches – a vote!

3) Every member is called upon to give input to matters such as the church constitution (because the church is autonomous); and the selection of leaders.

4) And every member bears a responsibility for the doctrine that is expressed in the assembly.

But in a very real sense congregations are NOT democracies. In addition, one should never be able to say that congregations are governed by:

A human monarchy – rule by one! When one person dominates the decisions of a congregation you have a dictatorship. It is manipulative.
An oligarchic rule – rule by a few!
An aristocratic rule – rule by the fittest.
An anarchic rule – rule by no one!
A democratic – rule by all!

Congregations are THEOCRATIC! Congregations are ruled by King Jesus! And King Jesus has given us His royal constitution: The Word of God! And King Jesus has appointed delegates to rule under Him in this Kingdom. That means that where the Bible calls for the congregation to exercise authority they are to do so. It also means that where the Bible calls for elders and deacons to exercise authority they are to do so. Congregationalism, practically exercised in this life is called “Rule With Consent”[8]. Consent is given in two ways:

#1. Implicitly. Where the Word of God gives direct application to the faith and practice of the congregation authority is understood.

#2. Explicitly. Where the congregation has given authority and responsibility to the elders manage the affairs of the church. Such explicit authority is given through constitutional and/or congregational decisions.

In such cases the congregation is called upon by the Word of God to obey and honor its leaders (Hebrews 13:7). The beauty of congregationalism is that “Elders do function most biblically in the context of congregationalism; but congregationalism also functions most biblically under the godly, wise, loving authority of biblically qualified elders.[9]”

APPLICATION

So let’s get down to where we live. You are hearing this today as a Christian. I challenge you in the light of God’s Blueprint for His Church to some penetrating questions:

1. If you say that you are rightly related to Christ; the are you also rightly related to His Body - the Church?
   
2. Are you interdependently living and serving the Body of Christ with the unique giftedness He has given you by His Spirit?
3. 
   Are you living as a minister of Christ every day?
   
4. Are you a person that can be found in the Holy of Holies – in His Presence, before His Word?
   
5. Are you walking in the Spirit?
   
6. Are you intentionally proclaiming the Gospel to the community around you?
   
7. Are you living responsibly in the Church by sharing in the decisions and living in respect to those who will give an account for your soul?
   

You see beloved, the governance of the Church is certainly the responsibility of the elders. There is no biblical doubt about that; but it is to some degree shared governance[10]. There are those that love to criticize those in authority (and the Lord knows we sometimes deserve it!); but the question is: Are you holding up your end? The next time you point at a church leader, look at the 6 points above that are pointing back at you!

[1] http://www.joyfulministry.com/inthegart.htm
[2]KJV Bible commentary. 1997, c1994 (electronic ed.) (2638). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (1 Co 12:11). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (1 Co 12:7). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (1 Pe 2:9). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]KJV Bible commentary. 1997, c1994 (electronic ed.) (2607). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (2 Co 5:20). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8] Sing, Poh Boon, The Keys of the Kingdom: A Study on the Biblical Form of Church Government, Good News Enterprise, Malaysia, 1995, Chapter 9.
[9] Quoted from an article from Paul Alexander entitled Is Congregationalism a Democracy? http://sites.silaspartners.com/CC/article/0,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2008886,00.html
[10] Phrase taken from a paper by Dr. Larry Perkins, The Delicate Dance of Congregational Government, Northwest Baptist Seminary, 2007