Church & True Worship
Church & True Worship
It is my understanding that the word "church" is used three different ways in New Testament Scripture. First, it is used to mean the entire body of New Testament Churches in their visible organic form, (The institution). It is this usage that is found inMatthew 16:18, "Upon this rock I will build my church..." Secondly, in reference to a local assembly, (Without question, the most common usage). Several of the letters of the Apostle Paul as well as the letters to the seven churches of Asia are addressed to individual local assemblies. Thirdly, in a few places the word church is used in reference to the whole redeemed family of God, as in "Feed the church of God which he has purchased with his own blood...,"{Acts 20:28} and "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it." {Ephesians 5:25} To worship God is to "bow before him."Psalms 95:6says: "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker." To bow before God is to submit to him. It is to say, "Lord I am nothing and you are everything." In the Old Testament God’s people were given a pattern of worship that included regenerate and unregenerate Jews. Certain rites and ceremonies were required of all alike. Under the New Covenant of worship, only regenerate souls can truly worship God. I think this can be at least to some extent what is contained in Jesus’ statement inJohn 4:23-24. The question is, How do we best do that? Obviously the more we know about God, His being, His soverignty, His holiness and His many other attributes, the better we can worship him. Understanding the principles of divine sovereignty as we do as Primitive Baptists should make us better qualified to worship God. We should have knowledge enough to know that all glory belongs to him and none to ourselves. However, there is not in all God’s children this knowledge. Therefore, they worship Him according to the knowledge and light they have.
There is such thing as "individual worship," and also "corporate worship." A man may worship God at home or in other places in an individual sense. However, this is not all that God requires of us. He has had special places throughout history for the purpose of corporate worship. As an example: "But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come." {Deuteronomy 12:5;Deuteronomy 12:14} Of course, there was the tabernacle in the wilderness and then the temple at Jerusalem. In our day, we are required to bring our sacrifices (the sacrifice of praise,Hebrews 13:15) to the local assembly, the house of God.
Although I consider myself a strong "church man" I would never say that God is not doing anything outside the church. He is, and has always done so. He is still sovereign. Neither would I say that others outside the church do not, or cannot worship God. The church being the "pillar and ground of the truth," we do, or at least ought to, be able to offer up more acceptable worship on a more consistent basis then those outside the pales of the church. May God bless us to be about that business. To Him be all glory and praise, both now and forevermore. Amen. In the new birth God creates a new person in the inner man and doesn’t procreate through anything of this life, including the church. If God doesn’t need a church, bride, wife to produce children (and He doesn’t) then what is the church for? I notice that most of the time the church is spoken of as the "bride of Christ" or the "lamb’s wife" -not God’s wife or bride. If not to produce children then what is the purpose? As inEphesians 5:1-33the mystery of Christ and His church is the standard for husbands and wives, the purpose is companionship, fellowship, communion! And as Rebekah ofGenesis 24:1-67the church is to be the ‘mother’ of thousands of millions! What a view! What a calling and purpose! Oh how short we have come! This gives light to the understanding that life is there at conception and made known, manifest, at what we call birth.
We have been very inconsistent with our explanation of regeneration by using the day of birth as the moment of life -too late, life was already there! If the new birth only happens under spiritual manifestation (such as worship, praise, understanding, knowledge, etc.) then the gospel regenerational teaching is true.
God DOES NOT USE THE CHURCH TO PRODUCE CHILDREN! We are new "creations" in Him. Creations are spoken into life by the voice of God through Christ.John 5:23-25. The CHURCH has the privilege of ‘mothering’ the children of her Husband the Lord Jesus Christ!
Now, truly the word church does sometimes refer to the family of God, but I would say rarely. Many refer to a church in heaven not yet. If that includes the entirety of the family of God, then there is no church in heaven, simply because we are not all there yet. In the day the Lord Jesus delivers up the kingdom, (here family and church then) then there will be an "assembly" in the courts of heaven as never yet seen! For us to say that the Lord died for the church is true, but he died for all the elect. I believe He gave Himself, which implies to me more in life than in death, to the church.
I believe, and think definitions would agree, that the word church means most of the time a visible, tangible, local, called out, baptised, body of believers. In that body, on the roll if you please, are some that are there just in name only. While I can not disclaim their being one of the elect, I can say that there are some that follow the Lord with heart and soul. These are the ones, I believe, that the Lord recognizes as His bride, in the church (local assembly).
I believe the local assembly is recognized by God as the only "church" in that area because of doctrine and practice. The church, as such, is identified more importantly to God by what they have given them of Him to honor His Son. A body of people that does not hold to the faith once delivered is not a church of God! That to me involves the Word of God and Spirit in life! You can hang a name on any building or group of people, but God makes the distinction! When the Lord said "on this rock I will build my church"Matthew 16:1-28, I believe He meant that upon the unchanging truth of Jesus Christ the Son of God, our Rock and only salvation. The apostles were given that truth, but line up from Him the chief cornerstone. If we have any building to call ours today, it is built upon that foundation. I speak of building as lives. We stand or fall based upon these truths. We are lively stones built up as the house of God -not dead rocks! While I hold to the truth of the elect out of all peoples, I can not see an invisible church, I’m sure the Lord can, but I can’t!
I believe the light of the world was meant to be seen, not hid! A city set on a hill can not be hid- wasn’t meant to be! Who set us on the hill? You see I question the mentality of groups that call themselves churches and want to hide themselves and the truth. Sounds like holding the truth in unrighteousness to me. It is asking for the wrath of God.