Church of Christ Studies

The Church: It's Establishment

I am quite conscious to-night, my friends, of the wonderful responsibility that rests upon me in trying to talk to you about things that pertain to the hereafter—not upon matters that are purely passing and earthly in their nature, but upon issues that are vital to the eternal happiness or eternal misery of mankind. Woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel; for I am certain to make an impression of some kind, and all the worse for me, as well as for those upon whom it be made, if it be not in harmony with God's great truth.

 

I want to begin tonight a series of talks regarding that institution for which Christ died, that which he bought with his own precious blood and Filled with his Spirit.

 

For four thousand years God Almighty guided humanity through the patriarchal and Jewish dispensations, and finally established that institution over which Christ became the glorious head. We ought to congratulate ourselves because of the firm belief that it is possible for us to become members of that organization. To-night's talk shall have to do with the time of its establishment.

 

The phrase, "the kingdom of heaven," is used in the Bible in different senses. The particular use of it is clearly determined always by the context. Sometimes that expression refers to the ultimate state in the glory land; again, it is used as characteristic of those attributes that belong to the people of God; and, again, it has reference to the church established upon this earth. That such an institution is in existence is scarcely questioned. Perhaps ninety-nine per cent of this large congregation here assembled believes that God does have now upon the earth an organization properly styled the "church." This institution, as viewed from different points, presents to us different phases. For instance, from the viewpoint of its government it is very properly called a "kingdom.' it is not a government like Tennessee, which is a representative democracy. In the making of its laws the people have no voice. The church of God, from the point of law and government, is purely a monarchy. Christ Jesus is the absolute director thereof. In him are vested all the departments-legislative, judicial, and executive.

 

So perfect is that organization with reference to law that it needs no council—State, national, or ecumenical—to revise, to amend, or to strike out any of the laws connected therewith. With reference to its organization, this institution is very properly called a "body," based upon the physical likeness of our human tabernacle in which we dwell. it has a Head, from which all the members get their authority and to which every faithful member must be in strict obedience and accord, as much so as any member of my body is subject to the head that governs and directs the movements of the same. it was intended, therefore, that perfect harmony and perfect symmetry, oneness, and unity be everywhere characteristic of it.

 

As to its relationship to the world, this institution is very properly called the "church," which means the "called out," the "separated," the "distinct from;" and hence, friends, it depends on what angle you want to view it from, and from what consideration you desire to study it as to what it should be called.

 

Briefly reviewing, if you are interested in the government side of it, think about it always as a kingdom. If your interest is with reference to its organization, consider it as a body, with Christ as the head and Christians as the members. If you are studying it with reference to its relationship to the world, remember that Christ said that his kingdom, his government, or his church, was not of the world; and, therefore, it is an "ecclesia," or the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. With reference to the time of its establishment, there are various theories on which important issues depend .

 

I have had it suggested to me more than once that it makes no difference as to when the church of God was established; but I beg to differ with the man who thus thinks, for proportionate to the time rest some doctrines, either true or false, as determined by the origin of this institution. There is a theory extant that the church was begun long before the morning stars first together sang or ever the sons of God clapped their hands for joy; that back in the eternal purpose of God it was launched in all of its fullness and every member was determined, so much so that from that hour until this it has neither been increased nor diminished by a single soul. Growing out of that theory comes the doctrine popularly known as "Calvinism," or the doctrine of election and reprobation. Following this is another theory, a little bit more popular in this country, the advocates of which suggest that the church was established in the days of Abraham; and while they have been working at it for a long time, they have never seen fit to agree as to just when in the lifetime of Abraham, consisting as it did of one hundred and seventy-five years, the church was established. Now, then, based upon that theory and that assumption is the fundamental idea and ground of infant church membership. As there were infants in the family of Abraham and as the male infants were circumcised, so in the church to-night there is room for the babies, and all of them ought to be sprinkled. Just how they jump a cog and make the connection I fail to be able to understand, for be it remembered that circumcision in Abraham's day was not an initiatory right into the fellowship of the family, but the male children born in his house were circumcised because they were so born. How is it, then, that they step from that to sprinkling and make it an initiatory rite by which the little ones are brought into the church and made lively members of the same? Just why the baby girls should be sprinkled is not quite clear, since back in Abraham's days none of them were circumcised; but when a theory demands some kind of a support, the same is not wanting, and can be manufactured even though no ground for it exists.

 

There is another theory that the church of the New Testament was established in the days of John the Baptist. There used to be people who had courage enough to announce that and affirm it; but, for reasons best known to themselves, no longer are there men upon the earth willing to assume a proposition of that kind, for it has been tried, tested, weighed in the balances, and found wanting.

 

I announce to you, ladies and gentlemen, that the church of the New Testament could not have been in existence previous to the time when the New Testament itself became effective. Paul very distinctly says in Heb. 9: 16, 17 that where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of the man who made it, for a testament is of force after men are dead. It is, therefore, a contradiction of terms to talk about the church of the New Testament having been in existence previous to the effectiveness and force of the New Testament itself. Let us also bear in mind that the organization of which Christ Jesus is the head and in which the Spirit dwells is not a continuance of the organization back in Abraham's day. It is something new, distinct, and separate from that congregation back in the wilderness during the days of Abraham and of Moses, for Paul said (Heb. 8: 6-13): "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: and they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away."

 

Therefore, that organization, that covenant, and that institution under Christ Jesus is a new affair and quite different from that characteristic of the days of the fathers when they were led out of Egyptian bondage.

 

Verifying the same thought, Paul said to those at Ephesus (Eph. 2: 13-16): "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were afar off [alluding to the Gentile world] are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; [note] for to make [an expression which, expanded, means that he might make, for the purpose of making] in himself of twain [Jew and Gentile] one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby."

 

The institution, my friends, of which so much is said was established, inaugurated, and set up on the Pentecost following the resurrection of the Christ. So far as I know or have had right or reason to believe, practically every scholar who has written regarding the matter has come to acknowledge and admit that Pentecost marks the birthday and the beginning of the church of Christ.

 

There are many lines of argument that might be suggestive of this idea submitted. I call your attention, in the time allotted, to some very simple statements, believing that always they are the best for our consideration.

 

About 600 years before Christ, in the days of Daniel, old Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, dreamed a dream, but in the passing of the shadows forgot it. His magicians were unable to recall it and to make known the same. Daniel was at last brought into his presence, and made known to him that which he had formerly dreamed, together with the interpretation thereof.

 

Daniel said: "Nebuchadnezzar, thou beheldest a great image, which stood before you. The head thereof was of gold, the breast and arms were of silver, the belly and thighs were of brass, the legs were of iron, and the feet and toes were part of iron and part of clay. There is the vision. The object of it is to make known unto you that which shall come to pass hereafter." As certain, therefore, as Nebuchadnezzar had the dream, we cannot go back of 600 B.C. to find the interpretation and the significance. Daniel said: "I will tell you what it means. That head of gold represents Nebuchadnezzar himself, the Babylonian empire. After that shall another rise, represented by the cheat and arms." This was the Medo-Persian empire, 536 B.C. After that came Alexander the Great, represented by the belly of brass. After seven years, his kingdom was divided among his four generals, but only for a time, until it merged into the Egyptian and Syrian, represented by the thighs of the great image. Then came the Roman army, which swept over all the earth and swayed the scepter from her city of seven hills. The Caesars are on the throne, and the Herods are over Palestine. Daniel Says that in the days of those kings—in the days of the Caesars and the Herods— shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. Therefore, according to the chronology, according to the rise and fall of nations, God's government was established upon the earth, while the Romans held sway over the civilized affairs of mankind.

 

Then it is said that in those days—in the days of the Herods, in the days of the Caesars—came the forerunner and the harbinger of Christ, announcing to the world to make ready, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Thus John announced the approach of the kingdom.

 

After John was cast into prison and his labors ended, Jesus taught his disciples to pray as follows: "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come" etc. Certain it is that Christ would not teach them to pray for that which already had come. Many people thoughtlessly repeat that petition, but now it should be: "Thy kingdom continue." In Matt. 18: 3 we have an account of where the Savior rebuked the disciples, saying: "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Surely they​ were not in it at that time, for the very simple reason that it was not yet established.

 

When Christ gathered the disciples away from the multitudes, he took them to the city of Caesarea Philippi and asked of them what the people thought regarding his identity. They reported that some said he was "John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets." He then asked what they thought about it. Being the speaker of the crowd, Peter said: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, saying: "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: 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, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Upon what rock? Not upon Peter; for be it remembered that he occupies the position of gatekeeper, and not the foundation; but upon the great truth confessed— viz.: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Upon that solemn statement and sublime truth as a foundation I will build my church.

 

It is, therefore, the church of Christ, the church belonging to Christ. it is his by virtue of the fact that he built it, that he bought it, and that he became head over it in all things. it is the church of the first-born.

 

Christ said: "I will build my church." If at that time he meant for us to get the idea that already said institution was in existence, he has deceived the human family, and in our English tongue there is no certainty or definiteness with reference to our speech; for if in the schoolroom a student should parse the verb "will build" as past tense, past perfect, or any other than future, I would suggest that very poor teaching, indeed, had been done. Every school-teacher on earth, regardless of his theology or his denominational prejudice, knows that "will build" is future tense. "Will build" could not refer to enlargement or embellishment, because Christ calls attention to the fact that "I will build" it right from the foundation. it does not mean, therefore, the adornment, the embellishment, the decoration, or the addition to some building, but refers back to the foundation; and upon that as a great rock Christ said: "I will build my church."

 

But note another line of reasoning presented by the Savior. In Mark 9: 1, the Savior, talking to the disciples, has this to say: "There be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." There are two or three things necessarily implied right on the surface of that declaration. First, that the kingdom to be established is not in the very far distance; that some of you disciples to whom I am now talking will not have tasted death until the kingdom of God comes—that is to say, it will come in the lifetime of some of you now living; not only that, but when it does come, here is one of the evidences by which it shall be known: it will come "with power." Therefore, God's government, God's institution, upon the earth is to be characterized at its coming with power from on high.

 

Holding that thought for a moment, Christ said to the disciples in giving the world-wide commission: "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." At the time, therefore, he said the kingdom would come they did not have the power, but were directed to Jerusalem, that there they might wait until power from on high came upon them.

 

They went after his ascension to the city of Jerusalem, and there tarried for about ten days; and when they were come together, they asked of him: "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israeli" He answered: "it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

 

Now, watch the thought. The kingdom of God was to come within their lifetime. it was to be characterized by the power which accompanied it. They were to receive the power after that the Spirit is come upon them. Hence, if I can find when the Spirit came, I will thereby determine when the power came, and likewise settle the time when the kingdom came; for these three things—the kingdom and the power and the Spirit—were to be simultaneous in their coming. The day of Pentecost dawns, and the disciples are assembled of one accord in the city of Jerusalem. "Suddenly there came a Bound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues Like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

 

Therefore on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came; with the Spirit there came also the power, and, with the power, the kingdom, according to the promise of Christ. As a matter of fact, on that memorable Pentecost, God's organization, the church of the first-born, was established upon the earth. On that day Peter stood in the midst of a great concourse of people and preached to them the gospel for the first time in the name of the risen King. After having explained the outpouring of the Spirit, he said: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it."

 

Next he speaks of David: "That he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day." Christ is, therefore, raised up to sit on David's throne. "Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

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The time has now come; the knock has been sounded; it is the time and the hour for Peter to inject the key, unlock the door, and swing wide the same. That he did when, in response to their direct query, he said to those believers, those who were already cut to their hearts: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." Having continued steadfastly, that chapter closes with the announcement that "the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved;" and from that time on the church is spoken of in the Bible as a historic fact rather than a promised or a prophetic institution to be established.

 

I come tonight, my friends, and ask: Are you not ready, those who have not already obeyed, to do as did those under the preaching of Peter on Pentecost? Do you not by faith and obedience to-night desire to be added to the church of Jesus Christ? If such be the will and the wish of any of you who have not as yet yielded obedience, it is a genuine pleasure to me once more to extend to you the gospel call.