02.06. The Place of the Church in the Plan of Redemption

VI THE PLACE OF THE CHURCH IN THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION

I

THUS far in our studies, almost nothing has been said about the Church, and for the reason that we have been dealing chiefly with the Old Testament, in which the Church is not named. The Kingdom of God is there in evidence, the Church being reserved for the present age.

Paul refers to this interestingly in the last chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, at Romans 16:25-26. He is speaking of his Gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, and alludes to it as "the mystery which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made . . . known to all nations for the obedience of faith." In other words, it was not revealed in the Old Testament; but for reasons already touched upon, and to be more particularly explained later on, it was kept until the occasion and the need for it appeared, after the rejection of Jesus Christ as the King of the promised Kingdom. In his Epistle to the Colossians (Colossians 1:23-27), the same apostle touches upon it from another angle. In the sufferings incident to his ministry he is filling up “that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ for his body’s sake, which is the Church." Of this Church he was made a minister according to a special “dispensation" or “stewardship" given him of God for the Gentiles, "to fully preach the Word of God." This fuller preaching meant the revelation of that "mystery which had been hid from all ages and generations, but now is made manifest to the saints." And if we ask what that mystery is, we find it to be the indwelling of Christ in His believing people. Nor does this mean merely His indwelling in the believer as an individual, but, and because of that, His indwelling in the Church, considered as His mystical body, of which the individual believer is a member by faith.

Even more clearly does he express this in Ephesians 3:3-9. This "mystery" had been given to him, Paul, by revelation, which in other ages had not been made known unto the sons of men. And as to its essence, it was this: "That the Gentiles [with the believing Jews] should be fellow heirs and fellow members of the Body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus, through the Gospel."

II A little reflection will lead us to see a kind of parallel here between Israel in the Old Testament and the Church in the New.

After the world may have been said to have rejected God, as instanced at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-32), He then chose the nation of Israel (as yet in the loins of Abraham), to be His witness to the world and His instrument in the execution of His original promise of redemption (Genesis 3:15). (See our second study on "God’s Covenant with Abraham."). And so now, after the world has again rejected Him in the person of His Son Jesus Christ, He chose the Church, which is called the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23), to be His witness to the world and His instrument in this later age for the execution of that promise. In other words, the Church did not come into being until after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Its birthday, indeed, was Pentecost (Acts 2:1-47). So says the distinguished church historian and theologian, Dr. Philip Schaff, in his admirable catechism, where he puts and answers the question:

"Who founded the Christian Church?

"Our exalted Saviour, on the fiftieth day after His resurrection, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon His disciples at Jerusalem. Refs.: Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 3:11; Ephesians 2:20." And to the same purport the Methodist standard theologian, Richard Watson, says, in commenting on Matthew 18:17 : "The apostles who followed Christ may be considered as the elements of His Church at the time, but it could scarce be considered as constituted until after the day of Pentecost, when regular assemblies under apostolic direction were formed, the worship of God arranged, the Supper of the Lord administered, and the terms of communion mutually acknowledged. Christ therefore must be understood as speaking prospectively(i.e., in Matthew 18:17)."

We like the way Dr. Schaff expresses it, because the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was absolutely essential to the forming of the Church into the body of Christ. For example, in Matthew 16:18 we find Christ saying, evidently with reference to the future, "I will build my Church, " while subsequent Scriptures show that He proposed to build it not from the outside but from the inside. As carrying out this thought, note that on the night in which He was betrayed He said to His disciples that the Holy Spirit who then dweltwiththem would bein them (John 14:17). Again, after His resurrection He commanded them to remain in Jerusalem until they should be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). Is it not reasonable to suppose that the event at Pentecost, ten days after His ascension, was the fulfillment of both of these promises in one (Acts 2:1-4)? As they were thenfilledwith the Holy Spirit, had He not come to dwellin them, and was not this equivalent to baptizing them?

Take Paul’s testimony as to this, in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13. There he speaks of believers as being one body with Christ, and affirms that we were baptized into this body by one Spirit.

It was like this: The believers were all assembled with one accord in one place, ready to be made an organism, ready to be incorporated into Christ, He, the Head of the proposed organism, was on high, but He now sends down His Spirit to dwell in every one of them. His Spirit is one, and since He dwells alike in every believer, He necessarily unites them to the Head, and in doing so unites them one to another in the Head. Thus the body is formed, for "he that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:17).

Now, this body of Christ has a particular, and, in a sense, a limited, work to do on the earth. Several of the Pauline Scriptures refer to it, but just now we choose Ephesians 4:1-16.

Passing over the opening verses, which instruct us how to keep this unity of the Spirit which Christ has made for us, we come to Ephesians 4:7, where the gifts are spoken of which the Head of the body bestows upon the members. These are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11). And for what purpose were these gifts bestowed’ "For the perfecting of the saints," is the answer (Ephesians 4:12). And why are the saints perfected’ "Unto the work of ministering for the building up of the Body of Christ" (R. V.). This last is deeply interesting. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, considered as gifts to the Church, are not in themselves an end, but only a means to an end. Their purpose is to equip the whole company of believers to engage in the work of Christian ministering, each according to his or her capacity. And the object of this general ministry on the part of all is “the building up of the Body of Christ" the increase of its membership, the completion of it as an organism, "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”(Ephesians 4:13). The "perfect man” in this case does not mean the individual man, but the corporate man rather. It means that MAN we conceive of when we think of Christ as the Head and the Church as His body. When that MAN is perfected, that mystical organism complete, in other words, when God has called out from among the nations all whom He intends in order to form the Church, then Christ shall have attained, and we in Christ shall have attained, the measure of the stature of His fullness.

QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 1. Why has not the Church been mentioned hitherto?

2. How does Paul speak of the Church in Old Testament times?

3. How does he define the" mystery" in his epistle to the Colossians?

4. How is the definition enlarged upon in Ephesians?

5. When did the Church begin its history?

6. Have you carefully examined Matthew 16:18; John 14:17; Acts 1:5; Acts 2:1-4; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13?

7. State in your own words the teaching concerning the Church as the Body of Christ which those Scriptures set forth.

8. What is peculiar about the work of the Church?

9. Who is the source of Christian ministry? 

10. What are such Christian ministers called?

11. What is meant by the" perfect man" in this case?

12. Have you carefully examined Ephesians 4:1-16?