Exalting The Church
Exalting The Church EXALTING THE CHURCH
By M. C. CUTHBERTSON In this age when it seems that men are prone to forget God, and the things that belong to God, it has seemed wise to me that our minds be called to the importance of the one divine institution, religious in its nature, that God has given to the world. I therefore plead for a thoughtful and prayerful heart from you while we at-tempt to exalt the church, or body of Christ, in our hearts and minds.
“Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28). Something of the greatness of the church may be gained from a careful study of the above passage. I mean by the word “church” that one universal body or kingdom over which Jesus Christ rules as King and Lord; which institution exists in a local sense as a con-gregation of the body of Christ, when assembled and working according to the divine plan, this body being the only one that has the right to offer salvation to a lost and dying world by divine authority; and the only body over which Jesus Christ rules as head and lawgiver. I mean by “exalt”- to elevate, to raise on high, to glorify and extol the church or body of Christ above all else in the world, both in our hearts and before the people; to the end that in all that we think, do or say, Christ and his church may receive the glory. The church cannot be exalted by a people that do not know what it is. It mast be exalted by people that know and understand its worth and value. There is but one way to know this, and that is to study the word oil God with all diligence. “Give diligence to pre¬sent thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)). “Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11). Then if you would exalt the body of Christ, you must be willing to study with care the truth of God. You must have in your heart a true understanding of the church, if you would fully appreciate it. Then you can¬not convey to another the beauty and importance of the church unless you know the facts concerning the church. The church must be elevated m your own mind, as to its importance and its work. The church as an insti¬tution is all important; so much so, that if there were no church, there would be no salvation for man, for the work of preaching and saving people with the truth of God has been committed to the church. “These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly; but if I tarry long, that thou ma^est know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:14-15). “And ye shall know the. truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32).
We must exalt the church in our Christian work and worship. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
with grace in your hearts unto God. And whatsoever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17). To do a thing in the name of Christ is to do what we do by the authority of Christ.
We cannot stress the above statement too much. The world is doing a great many things of a religious nature today, but how is it doing them? Not through the church but through man-made organizations; then not by the authority of Christ. Let the church, not man¬made institutions, be that through which we do our work for the cause of Christ. Indeed, we can glorify Christ only through the church, the body of Christ, in which we are to work out our salvation. (Php_2:12).
We are a part of the body and therefore must work in order that the entire body may be at work. “Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: but each • shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow-workers: you are God’s hus-bandry, God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:8-9). If we do not work as a member of the body, then we have no “own” labor and no individual reward. “But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave unto us the ministry of reconciliation; towit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not reckoning unto them their trespasses, and having committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). From this we learn that God is in Christ, but we are also in Christ, there we meet God.
We are to exalt the church in our teaching. We must point out to the world the true position of the church and its saving power and influence over men. In Acts, chapter two, we find the apostles teaching the people; convicting them of sin. They cry out, “What must we do?” The answer is given, and when they have obeyed, the Lord, not man, adds them to the church. The apostles preached the gospel, men believed and obeyed, and the church was increased three thousand souls. Not only was this congregation enlarged, but the Bible says, this church had favor with all the people, hence the church was exalted.
Conversation in which we direct the minds of others to the church and its work is but another form of teach-ing. Pure Christian people will always avail themselves of this opportunity to exalt the body of Christ. Much of the teaching of Christ was done in conversation. The woman at the well, and the many such incidents, serve to show the use that we should make of opportunities of this kind. Our state is now being dotted with splendid church meeting houses. Not only do they appear well from the outside, but they are well arranged for real work and development of the congregation. But how did it hap-pen that these buildings are here? They are not here just by accident. But they are here because brethren have decided to exalt the church with a portion of the money that God gives to them. The local congregation can be kep£ down, kept away from the notice and favor¬able comment of the people, through lack of money. It is also possible for a congregation of people to become a mighty power for God and good in the community, when brethren desire to lift the church up through good works, good buildings and good preaching.
Financing the work is one of the greatest problems confronting the congregation. The work of the con-gregation is limited unless the proper and Scriptural method of financing its work is used. Men will not give as much as they can afford to give, when they give with¬out any system, hence the apostle said: ‘‘ Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collection be made when I conic.” (1 Corinthians 1 G:2). The purpose of giving, that is cause for which it is to be used, may change, but there is no good reason why the method of collec¬tion should cease.
We need to give systematically, but we need also to spend with system. It is just as wrong to spend the Lord’s money without good judgment and wisdom as it is not to give as we should. And much of the failure to give as we should has been brought about by failure to spend correctly. Brethren are frequently given a free spending hand in a congregation simply because they are known to be honest. Certainly a man should not be entrusted with the Lord’s money who is not honest, but that alone is not sufficient. You would not employ a preacher just because you felt that he was honest, but he must be able to do the work that should be done. If the money given is to exalt the church, then it must be handled in a business-like way. It is wrong to let a dollar given to the Lord’s work earn only one-half its worth, just as it is wrong for a child of God to do only one-half of that which he is capable of doing. Brethren, let us exalt the church of Jesus Christ by giv¬ing of our money freely and by spending wisely.
“And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6). From this chapter we may learn many very important truths and lessons. We learn that we may attempt to exalt the church in all the ways that we have mentioned, and in many others also, but if we do these things without love, they cannot exalt the church as they should. Jesus said: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Love is not just a lip service, but love is a mighty principle that is daily expressing itself in our thoughts, words and deeds. It is mighty in its influence over men.
If you love the church, it shall be exalted by your love, for your love in behalf of the institution that Jesus gave his blood to purchase, will lead you to so live and do that the world will know and see that the body of Christ is the object of your love and affection. Love will lead you to attend every service that health and strength will permit, in order that you may encourage others in the Master’s work.
Love will lead you to pray daily for the work of the entire church, and also for the congregation that you are working with, so that it may stand before the peo¬ple as the greatest institution in the world. Love will never allow you to get in the way of the work that God expects the congregation to do. Love will make you cherish that work above your own life; if it does not, then you do not love the church as Jesus did, for he “loved it and gave himself up for it; that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word.” (Ephesians 5:26). Your love, then, for the church is measured not by words alone, but also by your work and service for it. _
Finally, brethren, remember that we need to exalt the church and body of Christ, not ourselves, or others. The church must be held up with pure hearts and clean lives. Such lives can preach and live the truth and so glorify the cause of Christ. This must be done with love and firmness. The world must be taught that the church is not a denomination or a church among churches, but that it is the one body spiritual of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as there was one ark and salvation in, not out, of the ark, so there is one divine institution commissioned by the Lord to preach and proclaim salvation to a lost and dying world. Help the world to see and know the one and only hope for men, that is the Lord Jesus Christ.