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Chosen and Justified
Chosen
We consider here something of the wonder of who we are in Christ. The nature of the extensive, in-depth change God’s regenerating work produces in our hearts is truly amazing. It is generally understood that Christians are different from unbelievers. The depth, though, to which these differences can extend is seldom fully grasped, even by most believers themselves. Come along as we look into some aspects of the effect of the faith on its highly blessed beneficiaries; you will very likely find it to be a pleasant and rewarding surprise.
Welcome to the Body of Christ, the most blessed group of people in the world; a group of which it is a great privilege to be a member:
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel (Heb. 12:22-24).
God tells us here that you, as a member of God’s ecclesia (His called-out people), are associated with: an innumerable company of angels, the saints of history, every true believer in the world today, and all the new arrivals yet to be reborn in this world. Breathe deeply, the air is precious!
The Christian’s new life should begin with an understanding of what has taken place within him as a person. Scripture tells us that we have been chosen:
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (Eph. 1:4)
Before He created the world, God chose each person that was to become a member of The Body of Christ! Their membership was validated by Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross and put into effect when The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Triune God came to reside within them. The Eternal God actually present within us! How is this possible? Of course, we cannot comprehend the magnitude of such a thing today but, God willing, one day it will all be made clear to us.
For now, we should appreciate that to be chosen by God is indeed a great privilege. It has eternal value and surpasses by far the greatest, most prestigious acclamation or award anyone could receive in this world!
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: (1 Pet. 2:9).
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 4:6)
Both apostles, Peter and Paul employ here the same analogy: from darkness to light; from the darkness of this world into the light of Christ. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ. He causes His light to shine in the previously darkened hearts of His chosen people. We were in darkness (ignorance) and suddenly light (knowledge) appeared and we could see (understand).
What great event is it that took place within us that it should require so dramatic a description? It included our release from Satan’s bondage:
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Heb. 2:15)
The fear of death is present in all unbelievers; it may be suppressed much of the time but it arises quickly in any life-threatening situation. We are told here that the Devil employs this fear to keep them in bondage for their entire lives. Christ delivers all those that God chose from this satanic bondage in which he holds the entire unbelieving world. This shows us something of the significance of God’s choice. Christians are called out of the darkness of this world into the marvelous light of Christ.
We need no longer stumble about in the darkness of our former ignorance but are now able to discern and appreciate God’s truth. We were chosen to be members of the Body of Christ, chosen by the Triune God before the worlds were made, before there was a universe! We were released from Satan’s bondage by God the Son on the cross, and then reborn, given new hearts, by God, the Holy Spirit, at the appointed time in our lives. We were chosen to show the world, by the kind of lives we live, what God has done for us. We are the seed of the woman that God spoke of in the Garden (Gen. 3:15); we are the ecclesia, the new, called-out people of the world, the born-again humanity in Christ.
Does this describe you? If so, you have been blessed with the greatest blessing anyone could ever receive in this world. Do not let your appreciation of the glory and magnitude of it fade, as it has with so many of God’s chosen. Don’t let your appreciation of this, the greatest of all gifts, be played down, even by those that claim to be God’s chosen ministers. Hold tightly to it; it is precious!
Justified
These chosen people of God were justified, made to be just (righteous) in God’s eyes. God sent His Son, the Second Person of the Godhead to become a man, to be born of a woman, to live as one of His own creatures in this world, and then to die in their place, the innocent for the guilty. What must we do to earn a place among God’s people? All we need to do is believe and have faith, true faith. We must believe in our hearts that there is a God, that He really and truly sent His Son to die in our place:
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Rom. 5:1,2)
How though, can we really and truly ever come to such faith. How can we be sure we’re not just deceiving ourselves in order to have this peace with God and receive this most precious gift, life eternal? Such doubts are real and true to life; we often practice self-deception, especially when the stakes are so high. The answer is, we cannot; we may believe it for awhile but, in time, doubts will arise and we will see more and more that it was only wishful thinking, only a desire in our heart and not true faith at all.
If true faith is unreachable, how then are we to be justified by faith? Very simply, we must ask God to give us this faith we so desperately need. He gives it to all that ask, truly ask from their hearts:
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:8.9)
Our God is truly a gifting God. He gives and gives and gives. All we need to do is to reach out in faith and accept the free gift. Why is it so very, very hard for some to just reach out and take it?
Unity
An important goal towards which each Christian should expend effort to advance is the Unity of the Faith:
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. (John 17:22-23)
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 fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; (Eph. 4:13,14).
When this is fully realized, every adult member of every ecclesia community on earth will agree on a common interpretation of every doctrine of Scripture. It might seem at first glance to be an utterly impossible and foolish goal. How could billions of people, of different cultures, speaking many different languages, and of very different basic cultures, even begin to understand, much less agree on every doctrine of Scripture?
The answer is that first, God does not give us impossible tasks. When He says: we must “all come in the unity of the faith,” and “henceforth be no more children.” He means just that! We are all to become mature, knowledgeable Christians that agree on all of God’s word. Second, given sufficient time and a persistent focus, any task that is not inherently impossible can be accomplished. The assumption in God’s word is that we will obey and continue to obey and that He will provide all the time we need. His days are a thousand of our years (Ps 90:4; 2 Pet. 3:8).
It might, though, require less time than we might think. The focus is first within the local ecclesia community and then throughout God’s ecclesia as a whole. They work toward this goal by promoting the study of God’s word with free interchange of ideas within and between ecclesia communities. They recognize this as a very long-term goal and understand that generations will pass before it is realized. This long-term perspective, coupled with the knowledge that this is God’s will for them, should result in the exercise of patience on the part of all involved and minimize the tendency to digress.
The work would begin with the initial re-established ecclesias and as their numbers increase, inter-ecclesia communication facilities will be established and develop into multi-level structures that facilitate information exchange over large distances and populations. Concurrent with this, exegetical and doctrinal development will be progressing, first locally, then over greater and greater distances and eventually throughout the world. Over and above all this will be the hand of God that guides and directs His faithful followers in the way they should go. Truly, with God all things are possible; this can be accomplished and the world can be changed!
God’s purpose is best satisfied in an environment that gives much time to free interactive discussion. The class-oriented concept of one teaching all must be replaced by that of the discussion of ideas between peers. Adult individuals should be regarded as equals under God and treated as such. Even in a lecture format, the speaker’s attitude should be one of presenting ideas for the consideration of the audience, rather than one of teaching. The audience should feel that they are being addressed by an equal and being asked to consider the speaker’s opinions rather than simply accepting his word.
When the speaker sums up with words like “that’s my understanding of this passage; please let me know if you have anything to add or where you might disagree,” the audience is challenged and stimulated to study for themselves. Also, and most importantly, they are thereby lifted up and reminded that we are all one and all equal under Christ. They are discouraged when they lower themselves and encouraged to see themselves as God sees them, equal in Christ.
This should be the case even when the speaker is a well-known expert in his field. The audience, the ecclesia, must come to understand that their opinion is valued and needed. They must be lifted up and not put down for any lack of understanding. Why must this be so? It is because the purpose of the ecclesia, unity of the faith, can only be realized when the entire body understands all the teachings of Scripture. When anyone can say “I don’t understand that,” unity has not yet been realized and there is more work to do. It will take some individuals longer than it will take others but, in the due course of time, as the ecclesias mature and each member has been immersed in the faith his entire life, it may not seem to be such an impossible goal. Regardless, though, of how difficult it may seem to us today, it is the goal God gave us and one we must work to reach.
A problem today is that the great majority of God’s people have no real comprehension of the magnitude and greatness of who they are in Christ and of the extent to which the future of the world depends on them. They need to be made aware of these things but will never be if they continue to see themselves as unimportant, unworthy, petty and trivial recipients of God’s blessings. Yes, we are truly nothing in and of ourselves but Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords who has been given all authority in heaven and earth has delegated to us, His poor, repentant sinners the task of subduing His domain, the entire world, to His Law Word (Matt. 28:18-20). We must put away our fears and rise to the task God has assigned us. Victory is certain!
It is this message of the greatness and responsibility that accompanies God’s grace that those seated in the pews today must hear, truly hear with understanding, before they can become the force that God intends they become, the force that changes the world. This is of necessity a lengthy and gradual process as the knowledge base of the ecclesia matures generation by generation, but we can persist and not weaken in the knowledge that our success is assured.
Separate
God, who loves us with an everlasting love and knows us so much better than we know ourselves, tells us in no uncertain terms that we, as His chosen and greatly beloved children, need to reside in the right kind of environment. We are very different from unbelievers and must separate ourselves from them and become His unique and godly people.
Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. (2 Thess. 3:6)
Here we are commanded to withdraw ourselves from brothers, supposed fellow believers, that are behaving like unbelievers. There are two reasons for this: first, we must protect ourselves from their ungodly influence; and second, for his own benefit, the supposed “brother” must be shown his true condition and his need to repent.
If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. (2 John 1:10-11)
Here we are told that there is to be no fellowship with openly professing unbelievers. They should not be welcome into our homes and we should not encourage them in any way. When we do, their evil rubs off on us.
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. (1 Cor. 5:11)
Sharing a meal has a great deal of sociological significance. It approaches that of being members of the same family. To not eat, to not keep company with someone is to exclude that person from one’s circle of friendship.
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Cor. 6:14-18)
Here we see the great stress God places on the need for believers and unbelievers to be separate. The argument rests on the great and fundamental differences between true believers and the rest of mankind. Notice the contrasts God identifies between the two:
- righteousness with unrighteousness
- light with darkness
- Christ with Belial
- he that believeth with an infidel
- the temple of God with idols
They are absolute opposites! Believers have been so changed and have something within them that makes them so different from what they were before, and from unbelievers in general, that it’s expression taxes the limits of our vocabulary.
God’s word tells us that unbelievers are in bondage to Satan. When Adam rejected God’s rule over him, choosing to follow Satan’s advice instead of God, he and all his descendants with him became Satan’s slaves. Their ability to even see God’s kingdom (John 3:3) was lost and there was no possible way for man to escape this absolute bondage. Only in Christ’s sacrifice and His sending the Holy Spirit to indwell His chosen people is this condition of satanic bondage relieved (Isa. 14:12; Matt. 16:23; Mark 4:15; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; Heb. 2:15).
Because both believers and unbelievers are created in God’s image and are externally alike in many ways, their natural tendency is to minimize the significance of their differences and try to find some common ground on which they can agree. But this is just the danger, the thing that must be resisted. Believers are not just the same as unbelievers but with some minor differences. They are new creatures, very different internally; the Holy Spirit indwells them; they are His sons and daughters whom He calls-out from among the unbelievers of this world.
It is typically assumed that one is converted when he is born-again, that is, at the point that the Holy Spirit first indwells him. Conversion, though, is more than rebirth, great as that is! Rebirth is, after all, a birth, a beginning; with growth and development to follow. Conversion is a process that begins with the new birth, and goes on from there to produce significant changes deep within the individual.
The internal differences between believers and unbelievers are real and huge, but to begin with they are not clearly evident. There is usually an immediate recognition of a change within the new believer. He feels and knows he is somehow different from what he was before. The magnitude, though, of the changes that have taken place and that can continue to take place within the new believer is not immediately grasped. There is a potential for more, much more to follow. The new birth is a real change internally but it is also the beginning of a learning process, one that requires time and effort as the differences gradually become evident, first to the believer himself and then to others.
The born-again believer has a renewed outlook on life and is developing a new mind-set that is very different from the typical mindset of an unbeliever. In principle, it is God-centered as opposed to the self-centered outlook of the unbeliever. In practice, as he matures in the faith, the believer’s mind-set is becoming more and more conformed to God’s original and ultimate plan for His special creature, mankind.
The rate at which this change progresses is strongly dependent on the environment to which the new believer is exposed. Fellowship with unbelievers retards this development process; fellowship with other believers enhances it. Without the kind of protective and nurturing environment, such as is provided within an ecclesia community, the residual sin nature present in every believer will so impede personal development and motivation that progress will be slow and very few will grow to anything near the full potential they initially possessed.
The internal differences between Christians and unbelievers are huge and God is telling us here that the distance that separates them must also be great. How though, is this distance to be measured? God gives us fellowship, communion, concord, etc. as the sort of units we should use to measure inter-personal distances. We can take as an example God’s servants such as Moses, Daniel, David, the prophets, Paul and the Apostles. These men were set apart; they separated their lives to God’s service and are remembered in God’s word as His true and faithful servants. God does not call all to these extremes but He does call all His people to His service and this requires a degree of separation.
The Lord is not telling us in this passage to isolate ourselves from the world. We are told to make disciples and baptize them into the faith. Our charter is to teach the nations God’s truth and this entails example, contact and confrontation with unbelievers.
What God precludes is not communication but community, community with unbelief and unbelievers; we are instructed to not permit ourselves to remain immersed in the polluted environment of this sin-filled world. We know in our hearts that we are new creatures in Christ, very different on the inside, from what we were before, and from the unregenerate world around us. This is a precious gift, one that should be appreciated and employed in the service of the Giver. To obey Him: while not precluding a level of contact with the world around us, we also need to separate from our old surroundings and enter into a new and pure environment, one in which we can grow and mature in our new faith.
This need for separation may at first seem to be too difficult to bear and unreasonable as well, but we must remember that God’s wisdom is far greater than we can com. When without full comprehension, we place our trust in Him and take these difficult steps of faith He places before us, we may be uneasy and troubled with doubt. As we continue in faith, though, and grow in our knowledge of God and His word, this all changes. We gradually come to appreciate how the depth of His love and care for us is fulfilled in these, that appear to be, His more difficult and seemingly unreasonable requirements.
God
To come to a reasonable understanding of the purpose and duty of God’s people, we must first understand something about our Creator. Obviously, we can never know all about God or in this format even begin to express very much about Him. Scripture, though, does tell us everything we need to know about our God.
First, Scripture tells us that God is Love:
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)
Love is defined as what God is in Himself. To understand true love, we must first study God’s word and learn about Him. We read in that word:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
God’s love for His sinful creatures is so great that He gave His Son, first to humble Himself and take on our created nature. Second, to live amongst His creatures as a babe, a child and then a man, teaching us and demonstrating by His life, His deeds and His words what was real, right and worth far more than life itself. Third He suffered and died in our place, paying for our sin-incurred debt, so that we might live forever with Him.
All this is so magnificent, so very different from the usual life-events we ordinarily encounter, that we, coming on the scene two millennia later, would never have believed a word of it without a great deal of additional proof. Were we left to do so on our own we would, and have, simply rejected the whole story as absolute fiction. God, of course understanding us far, far better than we understand ourselves, sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within His chosen creatures, to free us from Satan’s bondage, and open our eyes, that we might perceive true reality, believe and live.
To assure us that all this is not merely temporary, God tells us that He loves all those that are in Christ with an inseparable love:
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:38-39)
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:11-13)
Second, we are told that God is infinite, eternally existent and never changes:
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. (Psalm 102:25-27)
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Mal. 3:6)
We are blessed by the stability of God; He has no beginning, no end and personally created and knows all things. They shall perish, but He remains forever. Because God is who He is, we can be sure of the future; He never changes His mind.
Third, we are told that God exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (1 John 5:7)
Our God is the Triune God. He exists for all eternity as three persons, and these three are one. There is total unity and total diversity within the godhead. The three persons each have total knowledge of all things and are in full agreement with each other. In their eternal being, they are all equal; there is no superiority or subservience within the Godhead. This relationship is emulated by Christians that normally and by preference live closely together in families that, in turn, exist peacefully in larger societies. The tendency for governments to grow too large and too intrusive is mollified and offset by these strong familial and societal ties.
Muslims and others that place their faith in a unitary god do not share these characteristics. They reflect the god they believe in and tend to be individualistic, living in polygamous families that lack the tightness and closeness typical of the monogamous Christian families. They as individuals tend to be loners; the societies they form tend to be monolithic. They lack the strong, self-governing family structures that temper the tendency of civil governments to grow without any effective constraints, into absolute, totalitarian forms. Their men, without the tempering effect of the close presence of a single wife, tend to be self-centered, aggressive and warlike.
We see then how plentifully God’s blessings flow, coming even from the very nature of His Being. The tri-unity of the Godhead makes a stable society possible. Without it, family ties weaken, civil governments become stronger, more oppressive, and ultimately totalitarian. With it, father, mother and children live together in a tight bond of love, one that tempers the tendency of central governments to grow without limits. God is indeed great! He knows us so much better than we know ourselves and, in His loving care, provides for our every need.
Fourth, God created all things, the physical universe and everything in it: billions of stars, planets, all living things and the environments that keep them alive. Here are the Apostle’s words to the idol-worshippers of ancient Athens:
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (Acts 17:24-28)
To say that God is great is a gross understatement. He is far more than merely great; He cannot be an addition to the catalogue of great men and great things of this world. To do so is to detract from the reality of His Being. He is our ultimate environment: For in him we live, and move, and have our being. To push God into a corner of our lives as so many of even God’s people do today is the pinnacle of foolishness. How can we ignore, so much of the time, the One that giveth to all life, and breath, and all things?
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heav’nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.[1]
[1] Text: Thomas Ken, 1637–1711. Music: Louis Bourgeois, ca. 1510–1561. From Genfer Psalter, 16th century.
The Salvation of Mankind
Two Tasks
The ecclesia, God’s people, the salt of the earth and the light of the world, have been called to two tasks, tasks that will so change the world that it will never be the same again:
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matt. 28:18-20)
These words hark back to the mandate given to Adam and Eve to take dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:28) and raise up a godly progeny that would fill it to God’s glory (Gen. 1:28). Jesus says that He now has all power in heaven and earth. Heaven and earth here denotes that His power is over men and angels, both spiritual and earthly; it is not limited to the spiritual only, as some seem to believe. He has been given all power over all people and over all the nations of the world.
Christ commissions His divinely empowered delegates to announce the good news, the Gospel message that He is now the King of kings and Lord of lords. All things are subject to Him; all people, all governments and all man’s institutions, both religious and civil, are under Him and must obey Him.
It is one commission and one Gospel in which God’s disciples were given two tasks:
- Go and make disciples (Gr. “matheteusate”) in all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Triune God.
- Teaching (Gr. “didaskontes”) them to obey all my commandments.
In the first task Jesus gives His disciples the authority and responsibility to go out with the Gospel message, to bring the nations the message of His marvelous grace, and baptize them into the Christian faith. This commandment is echoed in: Mark 16:15,16, Luke 24:47,48, John 20:21, and Acts 1:8 but with a difference. It differs in that in Mathew the word nations is used, implying that whole nations of people are to be baptized.
In the second task, His disciples are commissioned to teach them to obey God’s commandments. This was done so well that the entire Western World was changed. In the ensuing centuries the great majority of its nations were converted, adopted God’s law, and declared themselves to be Christian nations.
The true Gospel then, includes both grace and law. Both are necessary aspects of this commission. Baptism signifies God’s grace and forgiveness. God’s Law teaches the converts how to live as individuals, as families, and as nations. The two activities work toward a single end result: a world of Christian nations full of Christian people. Both are necessary to take dominion over the earth for Christ. He is the rightful ruler and lawgiver to all the nations in the world and all must obey His commandments. Every aspect of life, including the laws that govern life, must be brought into conformity with God’s requirements. The second task for His disciples then is to work toward this end. All the nations are to come to abide by all His commandments; they are to become Christian nations. Jesus has assigned these two tasks to all His disciples; it is their life-work (Matt. 6:33).
Sadly, most of today’s churches do not do justice to the Matthew passage; they have reduced the Great Commission to the proclamation of a message of personal salvation. The first task is generally recognized, but the second task that speaks of obedience to Jesus’ commandments is ignored.
Without the second task, the new converts lack the guidance they need to live for Christ and simply continue to live as they did before. Their faith may have changed but it is a faith without any content. They, in effect are told that there is no need to change how they live. To promise this is to tell them they can disobey whichever of God’s commandments they please and still go to heaven when they die. This is nothing but the Devil’s lie. Jesus said:
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matt. 7:21-23).
We see here that a true conversion is one which results in obedience to God’s will. Those that continue to work iniquity, even after a profession of faith, are not admitted into God’s kingdom.
To work iniquity is to disobey God’s law. This is not to say that salvation is gained through works of obedience. Rather, it says that those that are truly converted also obey. The others hear these saddest of all words: I never knew you: depart from me. Both tasks are necessary. As we fully obey God’s directions, new disciples are added, they exercise their influence at every level of society, the unbelieving world begins to pay attention, and the character of the nations becomes more and more Christian.
Christ did not give us impossible tasks; they are well within our ability to perform. All that is needed to realize glorious success is that we work diligently (as unto the Lord) and faithfully (carefully following His directions); when we do so, our visible obedience will draw in more and more disciples. When we cut corners, as we have done and continued to do, we fail, lose hope, and trim Christ’s Commission down to a half-hearted attempt to save a few. Partial obedience (which is a form of disobedience) demonstrates that we are unfaithful servants. Full obedience, a consequence of true faith, rewards us with the knowledge that we are faithful servants and have done what our loving Master required of us.
Jesus says: teach all nations. What sort of teaching is it that Jesus requires of us here? Is it a superficial form of teaching limited to expounding the law so that the nations can hear God’s requirements? Is it just to warn them of the consequences of disobedience? No, we are to teach them; just as a tutor of children is expected to continue to teach the children until they actually learn their lessons and cannot cease teaching until they do learn, so the nations are to be taught until they actually come to know, obey and enforce all Christ’s commandments. The charge to all God’s people in this commission is first, to know and obey Christ’s commandments themselves and second to teach, really teach, the nations to do so. It is the salvation of the world that we have been charged with that is in view.
The Audience
An important question here is: to whom are these words addressed? It cannot be limited to the eleven disciples that were physically present for a) they would not be here to the end of the age and b) they were clearly incapable of teaching all the nations in their lifetimes. Some say it is only directed to the pastors and missionaries that have undergone specific training in the presentation of the Gospel message. This, however, is not supported in Scripture, nor does it begin to address the second requirement of teaching the nations to obey God’s law, a societal and political task involving every aspect of life. It can only be a command to undo the damage Satan introduced and do what Adam failed to do: to make this world a Christian world. This is a task requiring the full effort of all Christians in every walk of life. Clearly, it is every true, born-again believer that Jesus speaks to in this Great Commission. Only they, working as the salt of the earth and the light of the world, are adequate to fulfill this great task (Matt. 5:13-16).
Finally, in our text Christ promises to be with His chosen people unto the end of the world. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, so this presence is not in bodily form; He is with us in the presence of the Holy Spirit that indwells all believers (John 14:16,17). This factor should not be trivialized; the presence of the third Person of the Holy Trinity within the believer is a source of power that can overcome every obstacle. It can make giants of the lowest and weakest of men and can empower them to conquer every enemy that attempts to impede this commission (Phil. 4:13).
The Goal
Christ came to undo the damage caused by the Fall; He came to save the world, the entire world, not just a few sinners:
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:17).
The Great Commission is His command to put into effect the consequences of the victory He won at the Cross. It cannot be limited in any way, such as by reducing it to a call to evangelism. Every aspect of man’s existence on earth is affected by his response to Christ.
Jesus instructs us to baptize the nations; this certainly includes, but is not limited to the people of the nations. How, though, is a nation to be baptized? It can’t be dipped in water, can it? No, but baptism is a symbol of cleansing and a nation is baptized by cleansing its laws and its culture. God is a holy God and cannot abide sin in any form. Every aspect of man’s life on earth must be cleansed of every trace of sin and all must gleam in perfect shining whiteness before He will be satisfied. His disciples must not do this in a perfunctory manner, as if to satisfy the minimum requirement. It is to get actual results and actually bring the laws of the nations into conformity to every detail of God’s law. This is nothing less than a requirement to make the nations of the world Christian nations and to make the world a Christian world.
We see here that King Jesus brings with Him a complete salvation, one that encompasses the entire world. It isn’t just a rescue operation that saves a few from a perishing world. This is exactly what God commanded Adam and Eve to do and what they failed to do because of sin (Gen. 1:28). God’s intentions, though, are never frustrated; He sent His Son, the second Adam, into the world to do what the first Adam failed to do. This Christ did on the Cross by paying the sin-debt of every believer and thereby creating His body, the new Eve. Here, in this commission, Christ commands His Bride, all the faithful, to give birth to a wholly new world, the very world Adam and Eve failed to produce. Christ will succeed where Adam failed, producing a world that glorifies God. The result is certain; the time-frame is in our hands.
God’s people are charged, not just to communicate a message, they are charged with the task of rebuilding the world. This involves forming their own communities in which they can prepare themselves and cooperate with one another in the kingdom-building task God has assigned them. When the ecclesia is obedient and abandons the follow-the-leader, clergy-laity system, each individual believer becomes an independent agent working for God’s righteousness, involved in building God’s kingdom and thereby defeating the gates of Hell (Matt:16:18).
This is the goal Christ has set before His chosen followers, one that needs to be taken seriously. It is nothing less than perfection. It may seem impossible! How can sinful man ever realize such a lofty ambition? On his own he cannot but he is not alone; the Holy Spirit is within and for Him nothing is impossible. We must put aside our fears and stop worrying about our inadequacies. We are not alone; God is with us and will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5).[1]
God created man in His image and expects much from him. He has placed on him the responsibility for his own future. Adam and Eve were told that their lives depended on their obedience to God’s commandments. This was true for Adam and Eve and is still true today. We see from history that when God’s commandments are obeyed, man has respect for his neighbors, there is peace, and prosperity abounds. Where the Ten Commandments are cast aside, selfishness reigns and society degenerates into lawless anarchy, inevitably followed by oppressive, totalitarian rule. We have never seen the extremes but the end points of these two alternatives are life and death, respectively. Man is given a choice: he can obey God and live or disobey and die. It’s as simple as that but without Christ he is unable to make the right choice. He, in Satan’s bondage, blindly insists on being his own master and living according to his own wishes. It is only true Christians that are able obey God and that God uses to bring the nations of the world into obedience. Their involvement is critical to the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
As independently governed agents, the people of God cannot be misdirected by false or inept leaders and in the aggregate, they become a truly irresistible influence. They, governed by the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of each individual within the ecclesia community, are thereby made virtually impervious to subversion, misguided direction and the foibles of sinful leadership. Yes, some will go in the wrong direction but as they mature in the faith more and more will do what is right. What will not happen is what has happened repeatedly throughout history, great segments of the Christian population being led in a direction contrary to God’s word. Men may think they have the ultimate solution to advancement or for dealing with problems but God’s way is always the best and really, the only effective way.
[1] This verse contains a precious promise; the word translated “never” is two words, “not” and “no” so we have here a double negative. This in the Greek connotes great emphasis; the Spirit is giving us His assurance that there is no possibility whatever that He will ever depart and place us on our own.
Law as Liberty
God’s new creatures are new in that the Holy Spirit dwells within him. They have yet to go through a life-long process of sanctification and development as world-changers for Christ. They are diamonds in the rough with great potential but very likely they don’t yet have a sense of how great it might be and how useful their contribution could become. These new creatures still need to develop and mature in their newness of being. Basic to this, is the need to learn to “walk in good works.”
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matt. 5:16)
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10).
God created us to begin with, and after we sinned against Him, He forgave us and re-made us as new creatures in Christ. How can we do anything less than what He asks of us? And what is that? What does God really ask of us? What are these “good works” He requires of us?
To do good works is to obey God. He simply asks us to obey Him, to obey His law, His Ten Commandments. These simple but highly effective rules for living are all the laws a faithful people need to govern all of life; they provide a complete legal system in the most compact and easily understood form possible. In addition, they are given to us from an extra-worldly source, one that cannot be changed by man. This gives us protection against the perpetual propensity of man to make changes; it provides a law system anyone can learn and teach their children, knowing it cannot be changed and will serve them, their children, and their children’s children as well. It will last and provide its blessing for as long as God’s law is revered and obeyed.
This is the legal system God gave the nation of Israel and that made Israel the only free people in the ancient world. The people of the nations that surrounded Israel were not free; they lived at the mercy of their absolute, totalitarian rulers. The Israelites on the other hand governed themselves through God’s Ten Commandments and, to the extent they obeyed God, they did not require a strong hand over them. They were thereby set free from oppressive rule.[1]
The alternative to God’s law is man’s law. Anarchy (no law) results in chaos, an intolerable condition that always creates a demand for a return of law and order. To satisfy these demands, a legal system is soon re-established, perhaps occasionally, a benign government with checks and balances. Even such a careful system, though, cannot survive the continual demands of the people for what they consider to be a more righteous order, one that provides for all their needs. This inevitably leads, as we are seeing in the United States today, to ever increasing law by man, and eventually to totalitarianism in one form or another. This situation, in turn, eventually becomes intolerable and foments revolution leading to a temporary return to anarchy. This cycle of anarchy to ever increasing law, to slavery, and back to anarchy repeats itself ad infinitum.
So you see, the right perspective is not law versus freedom but freedom through law! Without law there is no freedom. Without God’s law, we are at the mercy of man’s law that always vacillates between anarchy and the slavery of totalitarian government. Man, without God’s law, is destined to repeat this cycle continually. His only relief is found when God’s law is respected and obeyed by the majority of the people. We need to understand that to put God’s law aside is not to gain freedom, but rather, to give away whatever freedom we have. There is just no freedom possible from any substitute for God’s law. God knows us so much better than we know ourselves and in His love for us has given us His unchanging law, the only path we can take to true freedom.
Sadly. much of the Christian population of the world today is Antinomian (against law). They rightly reject God’s law as the way of salvation but go on to wrongly reject it as a way of life. In doing this, they have done what even Ancient Israel never did. In giving up God’s law, they are in the process of losing their freedom. These people, many of which are God’s children, true believers, fail to see that our great need is not freedom from law but freedom in the law of God. The former destroys true freedom; the latter assures it. Their desire for the freedom to sin (perhaps just a little, now and then) without actually breaking any law from God is leading to, and will result in, the destruction of all their freedom.
The great majority of today’s churches, catering to the wishes of the people, do essentially nothing to counter or correct this error. This has led to the huge growth in the size and power of governments we have seen in the past century. This is not likely to change much until God’s people learn who they really are, repent of their foolish and sinful disobedience, and turn back to God’s law, the only possible source of true and lasting liberty for individuals and for nations.
Whenever and wherever God’s people revere and truly obey God’s law, they become an irresistible force for liberty. Their obedience to God’s law requires that they resist man’s law wherever it conflicts with God’s law; but they also work to reduce it wherever it is in excess of God’s requirements. The result is a return to liberty.
Christians are called to use their liberty in service to God:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Rom. 12:1-2)
Reasonable service! we are saved for a reason, not because God saw something good in us but rather something he wants us to accomplish in His name. The true Christian is very different from what he was before. The difference though, is not always immediately visible or apparent. It is potential and needs to be developed, which requires effort. We are told here that it is reasonable to so completely dedicate our lives that it is described as presenting ourselves as living sacrifices to God. This dedication begins with a deep desire, first to hear and understand God as He speaks in Scripture and then to obey Him.
As we grow in our knowledge of God, through the study of His word and the application of it in whatever environment God has put us in, God gives us more and more responsibility. We may feel stretched to our limits at times but we are strengthened and grow by it. With growth comes yet more responsibility as God persists in increasing our ability to serve. The sincere Christian’s life is one of continued growth in knowledge and in the ability to serve. All this, though, is not a life of drudgery; rather, it is a life that rewards its recipient with the satisfaction of knowing that he is a significant person, one that is continually being promoted to positions of increased trust and responsibility. This is the meaning and these are the rewards of continual growth in grace. Responsibility then, is another of God’s gifts to His faithful followers; it gives them a way of deriving satisfaction from the employment of their built-in desire to take dominion (Gen. 1: 28).
[1] See “An Informed Faith,” by R. J. Rushdoony, Chalcedon/Ross House Books, P. O. Box 158, Vallecito, CA 95251, page 860
Godly Purpose
God’s ecclesias, armed with a strong sense of purpose, accomplished much. They saw themselves as the initial outposts of the kingdom of God, the kingdom that would supplant all the kingdoms of this world (Rev. 11:15). Fortified with this determination, they overcame tremendous obstacles and finally conquered Rome, thereby initiating the process whereby the Christian faith was spread throughout Europe.
They began well but the subsequent centuries of clerical rule over God’s people and its compromise with worldly government had all but buried this goal and their sense of purpose. It was revived briefly by the early Puritans but for most of the Christian era it was neglected by the majority of God’s people.
The loss of purpose has stripped the ecclesia of their God-given, primary function in life, to “seek first the kingdom of God.” But God did not create man to be an idle creature; for him life must have a purpose; so he seeks it, even in pursuits other than the one he was created and designed to follow. This then becomes the norm; Christians pursue whatever goal, within limits, appeals to them and even the idea of a future Christian world is lost (). Consequently, the great majority of Christians, for most of history, have had little real purpose and little involvement in the building of God’s kingdom.
This is the case today. The ecclesia, God’s chosen instrument for world renewal, has lost its prime directive and is no longer pursuing the Creator’s purpose. All but a very few of today’s churches have discarded teaching what to them may seem to be the impossible goal of worldwide Christianity, as called for in the Great Commission. They instead promote a truncated version consisting of evangelism with the goal of personal salvation for a few. For these false teachers, civil law is no longer God’s law and is now the province of godless, secular government. The notion of God’s law as the higher law, a view that was popular less than a century ago, is no longer heard and is now considered obsolete. The law aspect of the commission, which is vital to the growth and vigor of the faith, has been grossly neglected in recent history. This has been expressed as a distorted commission, restated as:
“And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, but I am not going to exercise much of it for a long time. For now, therefore, just go and make a few disciples of each nationality, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe a select few of the things I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you, kind of, until to the end of the age, when I shall come back, and do it all myself.” [1]
Today’s Christian leaders and teachers seem to have lost all sight of the central purpose behind their very existence. They have forgotten that we were created as God’s instruments to renew all things and to make this world a Christian world (Rev. 21:5). They react to setbacks by lowering the God-given goal from world conquest to a rescue operation that attempts to save a few souls for Christ. Jesus’ words in The Great Commission have been distorted as follows: “Make all nations disciples” was changed to “make the people of the nations disciples.” This became, “make some of the people of all nations disciples,” then “make a few disciples in as many nations as we can,” and eventually to “just tell people about Jesus.”
Along with this, teaching full obedience to Christ in the Great Commission was gradually de-emphasized and is now rarely heard in the churches. The clear statement that Christ is the rightful ruler of the nations was abandoned and the Commission reduced to personal salvation for a few.
Why is this the case? Psychologically, it avoids the recognition of failure by substituting a lesser goal for the greater, supposedly unreachable, object. Purpose faded as a consequence of repeated failure and was followed by discouragement.
The people of God need to get their heads out of the sand and consider the reality that surrounds them. The world is in desperate need of God’s help and only they can supply it. God has placed the future of the world in their hands. They are the Body of Christ, the new humanity, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Once started, they will constitute an unstoppable force but they do need to get started! They must accept the responsibility God has placed on their shoulders and stop trying to transfer it to the full-time Christians or anyone else. God’s people need to resurrect a sense of God’s gift of purpose in their hearts, a purpose that was all but buried so very long ago.
God’s Gifts
God is a gifting God. He gives and gives and gives:
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23).
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (Heb. 2:14-15).
This gift, one most believers recognize and claim, is the gift of eternal life. It frees the believer from the fear of death that holds the rest of the world in bondage. There is another gift, though, that most believers are not fully aware of and do not reap its benefits. It is the gift of purpose.
A central purpose is an essential ingredient for a meaningful and productive life. Without it, the lesser goals lack coherence and it is all too easy to lose interest or become discouraged when the going gets difficult. The question: why am I doing this? needs an answer and finds it only in an overriding central purpose.
God has, in His love and mercy, supplied such a purpose to all His regenerate creatures. Every Christian is given a task, one that should be the central purpose in his life. It is specified in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) and prioritized in Jesus’ words:
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matt. 6:31-33)
Jesus’ states here in no uncertain terms what the Christian’s central purpose in life should be. It is to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness as his first priority, even before life’s basic necessities: food, drink, or clothing. It is to be so vital a part of the believer’s life, that deprived of it, life would become meaningless. With it every aspect of life is alive; every event experienced, every word spoken is connected to an eternal thread, ordained by God and filled by His creatures. Life has eternal significance for all but that significance is visible only to those that take His word as a personal letter from Him.
The Lord’s prayer reflects the priority that working toward the establishment of God’s kingdom should hold in the believer’s life:
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matt. 6:9-13)
We see here the first three petitions that refer to this central purpose, God’s gift to His chosen people; only after these do we see reference to personal needs.
Respect for God’s name, the establishment of His kingdom, and the doing of His will should be at the top of the prayer list of God’s people. They would then be the things most desired and, for the sincere individual, the things at the top of his priority list. They are ever on his heart and are the things he works to further whenever, and to the fullest extent, he can.
This sense of an all consuming life purpose, one that replaces the meaningless, purposeless wandering from one temporal and trivial goal to another, is God’s gift to His faithful servants. It is something they can devote their efforts toward, something that can give them lasting satisfaction. They will be able to tell their grandchildren that their life has had, and still has! an eternal and true purpose, one that filled their lives with meaning. They didn’t live the hollow, empty lives so many Christians do today, seeking wealth, pleasures, and other worldly pursuits that fade away so quickly. This is truly a magnificent gift, a gift that no one else could give. Another will be coming when we hear Him say: “Well done good and faithful servant…”
And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord (Matt. 25:20-21).
Ecclesia Assemblies
God instructs His people to assemble together:
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Heb. 10:23-25)
What sort of assemblies, though, are these? We are told to consider one another and to provoke unto love and good works. (Provoke: to incite or stimulate to action). We are told to exhort one another. (Exhort: to urge, advise, or caution earnestly; admonish urgently.) We are not told here to sit quietly and listen to a sermon that is being preached.
The picture is one of vigorous, active communication between believers. These words show us something of the importance of communication. God says that we need to interact together with fellow believers, that we must not be isolated individuals that attempt to do God’s work alone. He says that we need each other, not just for company but also for the stimulation, urging, advice, caution, and admonition we can supply each other, as we discuss our thoughts and plans together.
This kind of communication is at the heart of the ecclesia community! It’s not restricted to special times or occasions; it’s ongoing at many different levels. It may be scheduled but more often spontaneous. Assemblies can be larger or smaller; even two or three gathered together in His name are awarded Christ’s presence (Matt. 18:20).
God created us as gregarious creatures that need each other for more than just moral support. We are diverse in many ways and have very different skill sets. Even two or three fellow believers interacting together can help each other to grow in the knowledge of God and to stay on track when we tend to wander off into foolish pursuits as we are wont to do.
God’s gifts are spread out among His people and their benefits are released in assemblies, especially assemblies in which all are free to contribute. The ecclesia communities provide an environment in which assemblies of varying numbers of individuals can form spontaneously.
They can meet as a plenary assembly to conduct any business that required a decision from the entire ecclesia. It should meet regularly, at least on each Lord’s Day, to discuss concerns or recommendations from the membership. This would likely include a time of praise and corporate worship.
Some meetings would be open to visitors and others restricted to members. Meetings should be structured so as to provide as much freedom of expression as possible to each member. The presence of the Holy Spirit within each member must be recognized and given the freedom to guide the discussion and the decision process.
The assemblies of the renewed ecclesia communities will differ from today’s typical church meetings in several ways. Some of the possible differences are:
• The assembly is not a forum in which a few individuals dominate and control the activity. Elders might be more visible but only because they are the more knowledgeable members and would likely do much of the teaching; they might also be responsible for presiding over most meetings.
• It is the forum in which issues involving the entire community are addressed and decisions are made. These may include differences of understanding or opinion on theological or other matters. There may be discussion and votes taken to determine the will of the community.
• It is a teaching platform for the presentation of viewpoints or information on any subject of interest to the community.
• It may be employed to present alternative theological perspectives, including the views of other ecclesia communities.
• Access to the speaker’s podium for preaching or discussing issues is open to all members. Elders, with the approval of the ecclesia, would prioritize and schedule accordingly.
• Meetings are scheduled with sufficient time available for issues to be raised from the floor. Meetings are not closed until there is unanimous agreement to do so.
Other differences based on the fundamental concept of the equality of all believers under Christ may be added.
Ecclesia
The word “Ecclesia” appears over a hundred times in the original Greek New Testament. The ancient meaning of ecclesia was the “called out” ones. In the early Greek culture, for example, the ecclesia of Ancient Athens consisted of all the male citizens from 20 to 60 years of age. The Greek Ecclesia, the highest governing body of the city, were “called-out” to meet together whenever governmental decisions were needed.
The Holy Spirit chose this word to describe the original bodies of Christians, formed by the apostles throughout the Mediterranean world. They were God’s ecclesia, His people, called out of the Pagan world of that day to be a special, God-governed people that committed their lives to serving God. In Scripture, an ecclesia is a reference to a body of people; specifically the reference was to the Christians of the days of the apostles in their assemblies. There was the ecclesia in Corinth, the ecclesia in Thessalonica, the ecclesia in Ephesus, etc. These were all relatively small bodies of Christians that separated themselves from their surrounding pagan environments and lived in accordance with the teaching of the apostles. They formed a new and distinct kind of culture, one that lived by God’s law and demonstrated that form of life to the surrounding pagan population. They constituted the origins of the Kingdom of God that eventually spread throughout the Western World.
In all but three places, Our English language bibles translate the word ecclesia as “Church.” This is a very poor and very misleading translation. A church is a place, a building or an institution. The ecclesia is a body of people, a very special body, called by God to come out of, or away from, their previous worldly environments and interests. A little thought can show us that these are very different things. It’s not about going to church; it’s about who we are as God’s special, called-out, world-changing work force!
The early ecclesias were very different from today’s churches in both name and form. They didn’t just meet as a body once or twice a week. They formed a separate culture interacting with each other informally throughout the week. There were no pastors; a plurality of elders guided but most teaching was very likely informal with each individual exercising his God-given gift for the benefit of a few or of all (1 Cor. 11). The persecution they faced made certain that there were very few false Christians among them. They were fully committed, true believers that gradually developed into a real, culture-changing force. They went on to so affect and convert the people around them that by the fourth century AD Christianity had become the established religion of the Roman Empire.
This didn’t last long though; the conversion of the ecclesias into churches began early. As this transition progressed, the original dynamic force began to wane. The laity became lazy and left God’s work to the clergy, a miniscule force by comparison. While there was still some progress for a time, it was compromised in many ways and led to the widespread falling away of the faith we see today.
We, as Christians, as God’s representatives and workers in this fallen world, have not done the work He has assigned to us. We are remiss; we have sinned and need to repent and ask God’s forgiveness for our foolish neglect of the responsibility He has placed on us. We have allowed our churches to lead us away from His word. They have told us that they and not we are God’s workers in this world, that all we need to do is come to their churches, listen to their sermons and pray that all will be well.
We are not to be merely the passive laity; we are the ecclesia, God’s kings and priests and need to face up to the great responsibility He has entrusted to our keeping (Rev. 1:6, 5:10).