-
The Church: Organization
We live in a day when many are much opposed to what they call organized religion. Inasmuch as the Lord's church is organized, their hatred extends to the church and those who are members of it. It would seem that all would recognize that any group, religious, social, political or whatever, must have some form of organization and governmental control in order to exist.
There are many religious organizations in the world and many of them have brought such reproach against religion that everything religious has become their target for destruction. But the Lord's church is organized. Why are we organized as we are rather than the way other religious bodies are organized? Why do we differ from them?
The more we know about the church the better able we shall be to restore the Lord's church of the first century in our own time. The Lord established the church and it has been set in order according to His authority. People have not always adhered to the Lord's way. One of the great digressions from truth is in the area of the organization and governmental structure of the church. Throughout history men have taken it upon themselves to devise various church governments, changing, "improving," altering, restructuring God's plan. History has produced synods, councils, general assemblies, conferences, conventions and all kinds of systems by which men have chosen to regulate and control religious bodies. But what does the Scripture teach regarding the church of Christ? Did God ordain a certain system? Or did He leave it to man to decide and devise whatever system man chose?
Monarchy
The government of the church, according to the Bible, is properly called a monarchy. It is ruled by a single person, the one all powerful head who has all authority and absolute power. He is a King. This person is Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28.18; Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22,23). Christ does not and will not relinquish "all rule and all authority and power" (I Corinthians 15:24) until He comes again and delivers the kingdom to the Father.
The church is not a democracy and is not to be governed by majority rule. Men do not determine such things by vote or conference. Mankind has not been granted the right to legislate rule and regulations, doctrine or practice, for the church. Any attempt by anyone to assume such power is to usurp the authority of the head, Jesus Christ.
Delegated Authority
Did not the apostles make rules for the church? They revealed the rules that Deity has established, but they did not make them of their own accord. They used the keys of the kingdom to make known what the Holy Spirit informed them to reveal. Even then, they revealed not by their own authority, but by the authority delegated to them by Christ. He promised them that power and work (John 14:26; 16:13,14; Galatians 1:11,12). This right and power of revelation has never been granted to any but inspired men. It is not in the inspired Scripture (II Timothy 3:16,17). The early Christians continued in the "apostles doctrine" in the sense that they continued in what the apostles taught as they were guided by the Holy Spirit what to teach and reveal as the will of God through Christ.
Does the church not have a right to make laws for itself? Other organizations do. But there is no place in Scripture that allows the church to make or revise divine law. It has the duty to be the "pillar and ground of the truth" but not the inventor and instigator of "truth." The power of the church to legislate is an anti Biblical notion many have adopted.
What about what is called the Jerusalem Conference? Did not the church legislate on that occasion? No, it did not. Brethren came together, and under the guidance of inspired men as the Holy Spirit directed, they recognized truth they had not recognized heretofore, but they did not bring that truth into being at that time, nor did they do anything other than to insist that everyone accept the truth that God has already revealed. Paul declared what God had done. James said what was done seemed good to the Holy Spirit. The prophets of God had already foretold the inclusion of Gentiles as well as Jews into the faith of Christ. Christ had already been preached to people other than Jews. That gathering did not invent or legislate truth, but submitted to truth. There was never any need for revising, up-dating, or in any way tampering with the revelation God has given us on any subject Man is prohibited from doing this (Galatians 1:6-9; 2 John 9-11).
The Head and the Local Church
Christ is the head of the church, and after Him the words taught by His apostles according to His authority The first organic unit after that is the local congregation There is not a word in the Bible authorizing any super ecclesiastical body to govern the church that is larger than or superior to the local church. This must be accepted, not because of personal preference, but because this is the pattern Scripture authorizes.
This means that every local congregation is autonomous, self governing, under Christ Each is free and independent from other congregations to operate and manage its affairs and do its work without direction or interference from other congregations or some super body
Congregations may choose to cooperate and help each other, advise and counsel together, but always as equals, never with one assuming control or authority over another Attempts to set up authoritative and governing organizations to dictate or supervise the churches is a violation of the New Testament pattern
At the same time, this autonomous state is not to be considered as a license for local churches to teach and practice whatever they wish that is outside of the body of truth and then expect no comment or criticism from other brethren. Independence was never intended to provide a shield for error. Sonic have thought, because congregations are autonomous, that no matter what they say or do it is nobody's business but their own. This is a glaring error and an abuse of the divine government. The battle between truth and error is everybody's business, anywhere, anytime
Local Structure
How is the local congregation to be governed? Again, we remind ourselves that everything must be done "in the name of" Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:17), which means by His authority. The early congregations were overseen by men who possessed certain revealed qualifications (First Timothy 3; Titus 1). The apostle Paul ordained elders in every church (Acts 14:23). These overseers are called elders, bishops, pastors, shepherds, presbyters or overseers. They always exist in the plurality, each congregation having more than one to supervise the work and affairs of the local church. There is to be no one-man-rule in any congregation. For the preacher to operate according to some kind of one-man "pastor system" is not Biblical.
The church in Ephesus had elders (Acts 20). First Peter 5 called the elders, shepherds, pastors, literally feeders of the flock. These identifications convey the multi-nature of the work. The duties of these man are taught in Acts 20:28, 35; Titus 1:9; First Thessalonians 5.12,13; James 5:14; Hebrews 13:17; and First Peter 5:2,3. They are to take heed unto themselves and the Pock, feed the church spiritually, help the weak, exhort in sound doctrine, convict the gainsayer, admonish the disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, be longsuffering to all, exercise oversight, not lording it over the flock, visit the sick, watch in behalf of the souls of the members of that local church, rule the church and see that the mission of the church is performed by the authority of Christ and under their supervision.
These are God-appointed duties, a delegated work. They cannot make, alter, nor revise God s rules, but are to see that God's ways are followed. In matters that call for human judgments, they have the authority and responsibility to make the choices on behalf of the congregation.
Deacons
Another group of special servants of the local church are deacons. The word "deacon" means a servant or minister. Again, there are specific qualities a man must possess before being appointed to this office or work. Their duties are not as specific as those revealed for elders, but they are servants for the church, operating under the oversight of the eldership as do all members of the local congregation.
A female deacon, a deaconness, that refers to a permanent office in the church that is a female counterpart to a deacon, is not taught in Scripture. That women could, did and should serve is not disputed. That they can violate the limitations God has placed on women leading in the church is absurd, but often violated nonetheless. Therefore, they cannot serve as elders or deacons in the church.
Unlike many religious organizations, the governmental structure of the Lord's church is relatively simple. It does not give place to human ambitions of glory, honor, titles, positions and superiority when the work is rightly considered and properly executed. If and when people are content with God's order, the work God gave the church to do is done efficiently and Biblically. Only when people think they can "improve" on God's pattern to the problems often experienced in church affairs arise to the surface.
Place of the Preacher
Since many religious bodies give authority to their preachers (calling them pastors, a term the Bible uses for the elders or overseers), it is worth our investigation to note the place of the preacher in a local church. There is no reason that only one man be "the" preacher Many brethren can and do preach But usually one man does most of it. He is a preacher, having no more authority to oversee the church than any other person of the church. He has the authority to preach the word (Second Timothy 4:2), but he neither has the authority to operate the church, nor should he be called upon to do so. Too many elderships want the preacher to do their work while the elders do the work of deacons and the deacons given very little to do, and many members doing nothing at all This is not what God intended nor designed.
If it were not for the practice of many turning such power into the hands of preachers, or preachers seizing this power for themselves, these comments would be unnecessary It is the fault of many preachers to attempt to dominate the affairs of the church, run the church, and manipulate others for his own purposes. When he does this he is outside his realm of work But neither is he to be looked upon as just "hired help" and be treated by the eldership and members in ways they would treat no other member. The abuse many preachers suffer at the hands of his brethren is something every preacher of many years knows first hand, unless he has been exceptionally fortunate. Sometimes he avoids any abuse by simply compromising the truth he should preach in order to stay in peace with brethren. This is a contemptible excuse for a preacher.
Preachers and all members of the church need to be warned against those false teachers who, for reasons of promoting innovations and false ways, have attempted to remove authority from elderships Only in that way can some of their seminary, college trained, professional clergymen get hold of the church and promote their error. The preacher is in an influential place. He is expected to be as influential as he can be. His advice and counsel is usually worth hearing. But he has no more authority than any other simply by virtue of being a preacher, except to preach the word with all authority of Christ behind him.
Lest We Forget
Keeping these matters before us, these issues of major concern in the effort of restoring New Testament Christianity in our own age, will prevent us from digressing from the divine pattern. While we are aware that some deny the New Testament is our blueprint, we contend such positions only further the advance of apostasy and the design of some to rule their own way. As to the kind of government the Lord's church is to have is determined by asking, "What does the Bible teach and authorize?" Once God has spoken that settles it, and we ought to believe it and follow it.