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The Church as fulfillment of God’s Plan

It’s interesting to watch how changes spread through protestant churches from the point of the protestant revolution until now. At that time, everything was about doctrine: Martin Luther and those with him adhered to the doctrines of Sola Scriptura and Sola Fides, which went against the first 1,500 years of Christian teaching. But now, many protestants don’t understand the doctrinal arguments Luther made, but rather have a general belief system handed down from the pastor at their church. Lately, what I’ve seen a lot of is the insistence that the Church is unnecessary or completely spiritual (not literal Church). Dispensationalists even seem to teach that the Church was an accident – a unintended consequence of the Jews not accepting the Savior – that is temporary and not really God’s Will. These beliefs betray an ignorance of Scripture, which virtually requires that a Church exist in a singular form. There’s so much Scripture on this topic, that I can’t cover it all in a reasonable article, so I’m simply going to highlight the major points of interest.

To start, it’s important to note that from the earliest times of Christianity, the Early Church Fathers insisted that the church be a singular, physical organization. For example, St. Ignatius of Antioch insisted the church be one and undivided (Letter to the Ephesians). But, far more convincing is the Scriptural texts. This is the key passage:

Matthew 16:18. And I [Jesus] tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.

In this passage, Christ Himself says He will build His Church. Furthermore, Jesus clarifies by insisting that nothing will prevail against His church – it will not die, in essence. From this passage, you cannot deny that God Himself created a New Testament Church. Otherwise you ignore Jesus and the Bible.

Other New Testament writers agree and explain the nature of the church more clearly. Paul writes:

Ephesians 3:8-10. To me [Paul], though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

Paul is saying something important here: that the wisdom of God is made known through the Church. Also Paul indicates that the “plan” God has: to use the Church as His tool, which is the fulfillment of the “plan hidden for ages in God.” This is Paul’s way of saying that the Church is the fulfillment of God’s plan from the beginning; not an oddity in time. It also shows the necessity of the church: otherwise the “wisdom of God” would not be known – Paul doesn’t insist that the Holy Spirit directly imparts wisdom to every believer, rather he asserts that this wisdom comes through the church.

Another clear indication that the church should be singular in form comes from Jesus:

Matthew 18:15-17. [Jesus speaking] “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained a brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

Jesus assumes a legitimate church is in existence – this verse also implies the necessity of the church. In addition, Jesus’ analogy only works if there is one church. In a denominational atmosphere, your brother could simply switch churches (he may already go to another church), so why would he care? He could rationalize that your denomination thinks of this as a sin and his does not. Jesus’ teaching only works if there is one universal Christian church.

The term “household of God” is also used in the New Testament to refer to the church (this is mean to graphically show the familial nature of the New Covenant relationship). We can see this fact as evident in Paul’s writing:

1 Timothy 3:15. . . . if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.

Two things here. First, Paul calls the church the “household of God” – a key to understanding some other references. In addition, the church is the “pillar and bulwark of the truth.” If a church is not necessary, then where to we get truth? According to Paul it is the church that is our foundation of truth. In a denominational atmosphere (where all churches teach different doctrines), which church holds the truth? This is almost nonsensical in this type of atmosphere – we must try and identify which church is the “church of the living God,” which I would argue can only be seen through apostolic succession. And Paul agrees:

Ephesians 2:19-22. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and fellow members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple unto the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Paul indicates a way we can know the true church, the household of God: it is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets (which indicates the New Testament church as the fulfillment of the Old Testament church). Also note the physical words Paul chose to describe the church: as a building with a cornerstone and a foundation. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit to use these words to indicate the physical nature of the church – it is not simply a spiritual phenomenon. Earlier I wrote this article which tackles the Biblical need for a visible, hierarchical church.

The point in all of this is that the Church serves a very critical purpose in the life of a Christian. It not only offers us the wisdom of God and the truth (as Paul insists), it also serves as a tool used by God to offer us the Sacraments, which lead us closer to God. Often people view the church as oppressive, but this would be the same as calling God oppressive since He laid out the Ten Commandments. The church’s mission is to save souls, not make people happy or ensure that they have fun. In saving souls, the church must condemn sin, so that the followers of Christ know the difference between right and wrong. God choose to work through the church; we are wise if we choose to go to God through the channel He created for us (obviously His wisdom ensures this is the best possible channel to God).

In conclusion I think it’s important to finish with the prayer of Jesus:

John 17:20-23. [Jesus praying] “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

Jesus clearly intended for His Church to be “one,” “so that the world may believe”.

God bless,
Jay

Posted by Jay at March 7, 2004 02:43 PM | TrackBack