Chapter 10 - Summary
Matthew 16:15-18 – [Jesus] saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter [a piece of rock1], and upon this rock [a mass of rock2] I will build [future tense] my church [ekklesia – called-out ones]; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against [overcome] it.3
What is plainly evident here is that it is Jesus Who is building the ekklesia. Those of dominionist and reconstructionist persuasion today (a very large segment of the Pentecostals and Charismatics, and a growing segment of the general Evangelical community) see themselves as building the church so that, when they have finished their work, the Lord can return to receive it. How presumptuous to take on a task that Jesus said that He would do.
Acts 14:21-23 – And when they had preached the gospel to that city [Derbe], and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
The spiritual oversight of the local assembly of called-out ones was placed in the hands of a plurality of elders, those who were mature in their understanding of the doctrines of God. There is no indication of terms of office, no indication that their appointment came through the democratic voting of the people, and no indication of a hierarchy of authority.
First Peter 5:1-4 – The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
The elders are to lead by example, not from any kind of positional authority. Jesus condemned positional authority in Matthew 20:25-28 and Revelation 2:6 and 15. This places much of the structure of modern Evangelical and Fundamental churches under the Lord’s condemnation.
Ephesians 5:25-27 – Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
It is clear that the ekklesia that Jesus is building, will be sinless, totally set apart unto Him through Whom we are redeemed. Herein is perhaps the greatest disparity between the ekklesia of the Scriptures and the churches of today; the former is holy and pure, made up of those who have been redeemed by the Lord, the latter is a conglomeration of saved and unsaved who have given their approval to a constitution or creed of man’s design.
Psalm 5:4 – For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
We, who will dwell with God for all of eternity, will be sinless, for nothing less can abide with God.
The contrast between the Lord’s ekklesia and today’s churches, whether Liberal, Evangelical or Fundamental, is sharp. There has even been a general failure on the part of those who would adhere to the text of Scripture to discern the instructions and example regarding the assembling of God’s called-out ones. For the most part, today’s churches are fashioned according to tradition, with either no regard for the instructions of the Word of God, or a fear to consider what the instructions of Scripture would do to their programs and property. Pastors will avoid examining the Bible in this matter for fear of becoming unemployed; pew-warmers today don’t examine the Scriptures regarding anything – they simply accept, without question, what they are told. Churches today are caught between those who are willfully ignorant (some pastors and leaders) and those who have been lulled into a false sense of security (many pastors and leaders, and everyone else). Neither is where the Shepherd of the sheep would have us to be; we are to be vigilant, ever alert to the dangers that will come (1 Peter 5:8), and we are to be students of the Word, permitting the Spirit of truth to guide us into His truth (John 16:13; 2 Timothy 2:15).
If this study has done nothing other than cause you to return to the Word of God and search out whether these things are so, then I will consider this time well spent. It is our God-given responsibility to be discerning and vigilant to the dangers that will approach us, and the evil that often lurks among us.
____________________
1 Strong's Dictionary.
2 Ibid.
3 Strong’s Online.
Matthew 16:15-18 – [Jesus] saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter [a piece of rock1], and upon this rock [a mass of rock2] I will build [future tense] my church [ekklesia – called-out ones]; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against [overcome] it.3
What is plainly evident here is that it is Jesus Who is building the ekklesia. Those of dominionist and reconstructionist persuasion today (a very large segment of the Pentecostals and Charismatics, and a growing segment of the general Evangelical community) see themselves as building the church so that, when they have finished their work, the Lord can return to receive it. How presumptuous to take on a task that Jesus said that He would do.
Acts 14:21-23 – And when they had preached the gospel to that city [Derbe], and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
The spiritual oversight of the local assembly of called-out ones was placed in the hands of a plurality of elders, those who were mature in their understanding of the doctrines of God. There is no indication of terms of office, no indication that their appointment came through the democratic voting of the people, and no indication of a hierarchy of authority.
First Peter 5:1-4 – The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
The elders are to lead by example, not from any kind of positional authority. Jesus condemned positional authority in Matthew 20:25-28 and Revelation 2:6 and 15. This places much of the structure of modern Evangelical and Fundamental churches under the Lord’s condemnation.
Ephesians 5:25-27 – Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
It is clear that the ekklesia that Jesus is building, will be sinless, totally set apart unto Him through Whom we are redeemed. Herein is perhaps the greatest disparity between the ekklesia of the Scriptures and the churches of today; the former is holy and pure, made up of those who have been redeemed by the Lord, the latter is a conglomeration of saved and unsaved who have given their approval to a constitution or creed of man’s design.
Psalm 5:4 – For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
We, who will dwell with God for all of eternity, will be sinless, for nothing less can abide with God.
The contrast between the Lord’s ekklesia and today’s churches, whether Liberal, Evangelical or Fundamental, is sharp. There has even been a general failure on the part of those who would adhere to the text of Scripture to discern the instructions and example regarding the assembling of God’s called-out ones. For the most part, today’s churches are fashioned according to tradition, with either no regard for the instructions of the Word of God, or a fear to consider what the instructions of Scripture would do to their programs and property. Pastors will avoid examining the Bible in this matter for fear of becoming unemployed; pew-warmers today don’t examine the Scriptures regarding anything – they simply accept, without question, what they are told. Churches today are caught between those who are willfully ignorant (some pastors and leaders) and those who have been lulled into a false sense of security (many pastors and leaders, and everyone else). Neither is where the Shepherd of the sheep would have us to be; we are to be vigilant, ever alert to the dangers that will come (1 Peter 5:8), and we are to be students of the Word, permitting the Spirit of truth to guide us into His truth (John 16:13; 2 Timothy 2:15).
If this study has done nothing other than cause you to return to the Word of God and search out whether these things are so, then I will consider this time well spent. It is our God-given responsibility to be discerning and vigilant to the dangers that will approach us, and the evil that often lurks among us.
____________________
1 Strong's Dictionary.
2 Ibid.
3 Strong’s Online.