Calvary Road Baptist Church
“THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST: ITS
IDENTITY”
The first of this series of the
messages dealing with the church of Jesus Christ was very simple and
straightforward, bringing before you for your consideration the mystery of the
church. As something previously concealed from us but always a concept in the
mind of God to be revealed at the appropriate time, the mystery of the church
of Jesus Christ is revealed only in the New Testament portion of God’s Word. As
well, since the church is declared to be a mystery, it also happens to be a
spiritual matter in that decisions reached by church congregations reverberate
in heaven, and the primary reason for the creation of the church (which is to
glorify God in Christ) is a never-ending and eternal purpose. These things
being true, for one reason or another this matter of the church will be
understood differently by different people, in part because the Holy Spirit’s
illumination of believers so we can comprehend spiritual things is different in
different Christian’s lives. The light of illumination is this side of heaven a
rather dim light, with each Christian knowing more about some things and less
about other things than other believers. Such is the case with the church of
Jesus Christ. Two godly members in the same congregation and under the same
instruction from God’s Word will always understand somewhat differently
different spiritual truths. This holds true with the doctrine of the church of
Jesus Christ.
This second in the series of messages
about the church of Jesus Christ is even simpler than the first, focusing on
the identity of the church of Jesus Christ. By identity I mean whose it is and
who owns it, who created it, and therefore by right of creation possesses it
and ought to control it. You will please forgive these initial messages about
the church of Jesus Christ for being so very basic and simple. This is because
there is so much confusion in the world about the church of Jesus Christ that
baby steps are very much needed to establish a solid foundation for future
instruction. What are some reasons for this confusion? The Roman Catholic
Church has their long-held view that they are the church of Jesus Christ, the
visible universal church of Jesus Christ. The various orthodox churches such as
Greek, Russian, and Armenian have their view of the church of Jesus Christ. The
Anglicans (known in the USA as Episcopalians) have their view of the church of
Jesus Christ. Even the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Church of Christ, and
Seventh Day Adventists add their confusing positions to the Mulligan stew of
what the identity of the church of Jesus Christ is thought by people to be. Then
there is the Protestant position that is also embraced by some non-Protestants.
If the identity of the church of Jesus
Christ reveals to us whose it is and who owns it, who created it and who
therefore by right of creation possesses it and ought to control it, then we
are faced with two considerations of the type that lawyers frequently talk
about, de facto and de jure. Don’t let these two Latin phrases discourage you;
they are simple concepts. De facto is Latin for “from the fact.”[1]
De jure is Latin for “sanctioned by the law.”[2]
These two Latin phrases will be the
framework under which we will consider “The Church Of Jesus Christ: Its
Identity.”
First, THERE IS THE DE FACTO OWNERSHIP
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
The Latin phrase “de facto,” literally
“from the fact,” refers to reality.[3]
You see, it is one thing, for example, for a contract to specify who under law
is authorized to call the shots, but it is quite another thing to observe who
is actually calling the shots, actually making the decisions, and actually
controlling the entire operation. Ideally, of course, “de facto” is the same as
“de jure.” However, that is sadly not the case in so many different situations.
Allow me to illustrate: We know from
God’s Word that the husband is supposed to be the head of his household, yet it
is commonplace for us to recognize and admit that despite what is written in
the Bible, and despite what oaths and promises are made when two people get
married, it is most common in our culture for the wife to be the “de facto”
head of the house and leader of the marriage. Whenever you have a married
couple with children and the wife and mother has final say concerning the
disposition of her children, be it their diet, be it their attire, be it there
education, or be it their discipline, then the mother is the “de facto” head of
the house and leader in the home for all practical purposes. Boy, does that
ruin not only marriages but also children.
Therefore, let us set aside for now a
consideration of what different Christian denominations and groups of so-called
Christians, and even congregations, claim about who owns the church of Jesus
Christ, who owns their church, so that we might actually investigate who is the
“de facto” owner of the church by a consideration of their function. Observe
and then conclude who actually, and for all practical purposes, owns and runs
what they insist is the church of Jesus Christ.
Without turning to any specific
passage in the New Testament at this time, I would like to pose a question for
your consideration: Does the church of Jesus Christ engage in any legislative
activity or is the church of Jesus Christ an entity that is purely executive in
its function? That is, does the church of Jesus Christ decide what is right and
wrong? Does the church of Jesus Christ, for example, decide who is and who is
not a saint? Does the church of Jesus Christ possess authority to depart from
the clear instruction of the Bible? Or is the church of Jesus Christ supposed
to be restricted to executive action, being restricted to doing what God’s Word
directs them to do? Our task then is to discover and then to do His will as it
is revealed in the Bible.
I am persuaded, and I hope you are
persuaded as well, that God, the Word of God, and the wisdom and guidance of
the Holy Spirit to discover God’s will in the Bible, makes the church of Jesus
Christ a creation of the Lord Jesus Christ that is supposed to be limited to
executive action, without any authority to legislate in spiritual matters. If a
congregation, or a denomination, or some religious body claiming to be the
church of Jesus Christ engages in spiritual legislation, actually decides what
is right and wrong, what is and is not sinful, such as who should be allowed to
marry who, then that so-called church of Jesus Christ is the “de facto” owner
of the church instead of Jesus Christ Himself.
Then, THERE IS THE DE JURE OWNERSHIP
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
To refresh your memory, “de jure”
literally means “sanctioned by law.”[4] Thus,
regardless of who actually decides how the money is to be spent, how the
children are to be corrected and trained, and where the family will go on
vacation year after year, the husband is in fact and according to the Word of
God the actual head of the household. Thus saith the Lord. What we are
interested in, therefore, is not who acts like they are the head of the church
of Jesus Christ by redefining what is and what is not sinful, by choosing what
commandments to ignore and to obey, and by selecting what portions of God’s
Word they will explain away. Such conduct is legislative and should have no
part in church life. I maintain that churches are strictly limited in God’s
Word to executive action, to doing what our Lord and Savior directed us to do
as He gives us grace to do it. Only then is a congregation acting like what the
Bible declares to be true, with Jesus Christ owning and governing His church
because He created it, He sustains it, and He makes it grow.
That said, what can we find in God’s
Word that provides information for us regarding the church of Jesus Christ’s
relationship to Him? We begin with Matthew 16.18, where our Lord makes a
statement which shows both ownership and intentions concerning His church:
“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.”
After that passage demonstrating His
ownership and intentions, notice next Matthew 18.15-20, showing His
instructions to His church:
15 Moreover
if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between
thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But
if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more,
that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 And
if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he
neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a
publican.
18 Verily
I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again
I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing
that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20 For
where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of
them.
Now turn to Matthew 28.18-20, where we
are given the Lord Jesus Christ’s authorization, commonly referred to as the
Great Commission, revealing His authority over His church:
18 And
Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven
and in earth.
19 Go
ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with
you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
We next turn to Acts 2.47, where, on
the Day of Pentecost, we see the Lord adding to His church:
“Praising God, and having favour with
all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be
saved.”
We now turn to the epistles, where the
Apostle Paul declares Christ to be the head of the church:
Ephesians
1.22: “And hath put all things
under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to
the church. . . .”
Ephesians
5.23: “For the husband is the head of the
wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the
body.”
Colossians
1.18: “And he is the head of
the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that
in all things he might have the preeminence.
Clearly, the Apostle Paul was inspired
to present the Lord Jesus Christ as the head over everything to His church, Who
is the Savior of the church, and that He should have preeminence with respect
to His church in every way. Our final resort is Revelation chapters two and
three, where we find seven letters written to the angels of the churches in
Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Read
each of those letters and one thing stands out above all else; the Lord Jesus
Christ in those letters exercises sovereign rule over the men placed by Him in
positions of spiritual leadership. In other words, He is in charge in His
church.
Who does the Word of God show to be in
charge of the church of Jesus Christ, as its Creator, as its Lord, as its Head,
as the one who provides direction to the church for dealing with sin in our
midst, as the one who possesses all authority in heaven and on earth and
therefore gives to us our marching orders in the form of the Great Commission
so we will know how to serve Him, and who also holds our spiritual leaders
accountable because He holds those church pastors in His hand, Revelation 1.16,
20?
What I have described to you from
God’s Word shows to us the “de jure” head of the church, the one who on paper
is supposed to be in charge. How then does it come to be that the “de jure”
head of the church is the “de facto” head of the church? That is, how is the
legal head of the church shown to be the practical and the actual in reality
head of the church? Only when the church functions as the executive body it is
shown to be in the Bible, actually doing what the Lord Jesus Christ in His Word
directs us to do.
Christians sometimes sing the tune,
“He is Lord. He is Lord. He is risen from the dead and He is Lord.” Those are
wonderful words to say, though merely singing those words announces that Jesus
Christ is the “de jure” head over His church. What reveals Him to be the “de
facto” head over His church is when His church is following His direction,
obeying His Word, yielding to His Spirit, engaging in the fulfillment of His
Great Commission. The church in Ephesus recognized the Lord Jesus Christ as the
“de jure” head of the church, by our Lord’s own testimony, in Revelation 2.2-3,
without of course using the Latin phrase:
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and
how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say
they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake
hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
However, what was the cause of the
Lord Jesus Christ not being the “de facto” head of that church, according to
the Savior, in Revelation 2.4?
“Nevertheless I have somewhat
against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”
We know from Second John 6 that love
is obedience. Therefore, any congregation that does not comply with the
Savior’s wishes has left their first love, and has become the “de facto” head
of the church. Thus, what damage, what sin, what an outrage it is when we do
not love our Lord enough to obey Him.
The church of Jesus Christ is His and
we ought to conduct ourselves as though we truly are His. His marks of
ownership should be all over us, in our countenances, in our praises, in our
devotional lives, in our evangelism, with everything we do reflecting that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. That properly displays
our identity as the Lord Jesus Christ’s church.
[1] Eugene Ehrlich, Amo, Amas, Amat And More,
(New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1985), page 97.
[2] Ibid., page 98.
[3] Ibid., page 97.
[4] Ibid., page 98.
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