Posted by Rick | Bible Studies | newtestamentpattern.net/

In the 'New Testament' of God's Word the Holy Bible, the word Church is always used to identify believers and NEVER refers to a physical structure, temple, or building.  The Church is the Body of Christ - people - saved sinners who love the Lord Jesus, because He first loved them.  The Lord Himself told us that the Church is the Christians and never a building.  " For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”  Matthew 18:20

 “And no man puts new wine into old bottles; else the new wine does burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be ruined; but new wine must be put into new bottles.”
[Mark 2:22] 

Bottles in the above quotation is referring to the old leather type, otherwise known as wineskins.  These were once used to produce and store wine  in.  The science is simple – the freshly trodden grape juice is mixed with a  little yeast and poured into the new wineskin.  The fermentation process  takes its course producing gasses that expand the supple container.  Put this  new wine into a skin which has been used before and both the contents and  its container are wasted.  

The spiritual principle here can firstly be  applied to the individual’s need of being made into a completely new  creation in Christ (the 'New Birth') in order to be a fit vessel for God’s life within.   However, the life of Christ is not only placed in individual human hearts,  but God has also chosen to manifest His presence in this world through the  Body of people which is known as His Church.  It should not be surprising  then to see that, along with the many other revelations of Scripture, God’s  Word contains an abundance of references to the nature and order of the  container of His own precious life. 

THE BIBLICAL PATTERN FOR THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH

The following study is an overview of the ‘outward shell’ of church-life  based upon the New Testament teachings.  There are many profound and deeply  spiritual ways that one could approach the subject of His Church, the very  life-blood of Christ, the new wine, runs through this company, but here the  focus is mainly upon the ‘wineskin’ (the 'container').  

This study follows a simple progression  of thought seeking to answer, from Scripture, some basic questions on the  pattern for the New Testament Church.  This is a Bible study and as such is  ideally intended to be read in order and digested slowly.  Search the  Scriptures to see whether these things be so.  It may be helpful to start by  reading Appendix 1 – ‘Inspiration of Scripture’.   Everything within this  study is based upon the premise that God has preserved in His Word a pattern  for all churches in all places at all times.  

    What is a biblical church?

What I so desire for us to take hold of here is the fact that God’s primary purpose on the day of Pentecost was to create/prepare a 'Bride for His Son' - a body of genuine 'Born-Again believers - and NOT a human/worldly institution. 

This new 'Body' of 'saved human beings' would honour His Son and display God's Divine order and grace to a fallen/perishing humanity.

His 'Church' would proclaim the Gospel of the 'Good News' that Christ died for our sins - according to the Scriptures -, was buried, and raised from the dead on the third day for our justification - according to the Scriptures - and ascended back to heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father on the throne of divine majesty and glory, as the Supreme Head of His Church and High Priest-ly ministry.

The following study is an overview of the ‘outward shell’ of church-life based upon the New Testament teachings.  There are many profound and deeply spiritual ways that one could approach the subject of His Church, the very life-blood of Christ, the new wine, runs through this company, but here the focus is mainly upon the ‘wineskin’.  This study follows a simple progression of thought seeking to answer, from Scripture, some basic questions on the pattern for the New Testament Church.  This is a Bible study and as such is ideally intended to be read in order and digested slowly. Search the Scriptures to see whether these things be so.  It may be helpful to start by reading Appendix 1 – ‘Inspiration of Scripture’.  Everything within this study is based upon the premise that God has preserved in His Word a pattern for all churches in all places at all times.

"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” (Romans 8:9)

Important Note

In the New Testament the Church is revealed in two ways:

1. The One, ‘Universal Church’ (meaning worldwide).  The specific biblical term for this is really the One Body: “There is one body …” (Eph. 4:4); “For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body …” (1 Cor. 12:13).  In this study this is referred to as: Church (capital ‘C’), The Church & The Universal Church.

2. The ‘local churches’.  That is the separate gatherings of God’s people in various locations around the world.  These are referred to as: church (small ‘c’), the churches, local church, also as congregation, fellowship or assembly.  These terms are all used interchangeably simply for variety.

The ‘Church’ and the ‘churches’

WHAT is the Church? (singular)

The word ‘church’ (singular) appears seventy-seven times in the Inspired Scriptures and thirty five times in its plural form ‘churches’.  With only one exception, each time the word church(es) occurs it is translating the same one Greek word – ‘EKKLESIA’.   EKKLESIA is also translated on three occasions as ‘assembly’.

The one exception where the word ‘church’ is used but the Greek word in the original texts is not EKKLESIA is in Acts 19:37.  Here we find the phrase “robbers of churches” (Authorised Version of the Bible).  On this occasion an entirely different Greek word is used [HIEROSULOS], and it is referring to the ‘despoiling of temples’, that is, the ransacking of buildings especially set apart for religious use.

The word EKKLESIA, on the other hand, in no way at all implies anything to do with buildings of any kind, or any type of place dedicated for religious purposes. Its meaning is – ‘an assembly’, with an underlying meaning of – ‘separated’, that is – ‘a body called out’.   If God were to call-out, or separate a group of people for Himself for some special purpose this would be an EKKLESIA.   This is exactly what God has done.   The churches, which received apostolic letters, were addressed as – “called”, “chosen” and “sanctified” (set apart).

Called from what to what? 

This is perhaps best simply expressed in these words written in 1 Pet 2:9-10:

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar (purchased) people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in times past were not a people, but are now the people of God.”

Peter goes on to talk about our being strangers (foreigners) and pilgrims (people just passing through on a journey).

If God is our Father, if we have been born from above, if the life that is in us is a heavenly life (as opposed to an entirely earthly one) then we do not belong to this world, we are in it but not of it - we are the EKKLESIA.  The word CHURCH has nothing to do with any earthly place or building, it is simply the collective term for all of the people of God. We are the Church.

WHAT are the churches? (plural)

The Church (Universal) can be simply defined as the worldwide body of believers at all times and in all places (from the day of Pentecost until the rapture). Interestingly, many of its members are not on earth today but are alive in Heaven. Bodily death does not forfeit one’s membership. 

The churches (local) on the other hand, refer to much smaller groups of believers gathering together in a given locality.  They are limited by their geographical location, reduced in number when their members die (though new members may be added) and unable to singularly contain every gift and ministry that God has given to the wider Church.  Also, we see in Scripture that it was not necessary to have any ‘office’ filled in order to qualify as a church. (See glossary for notes on the words ‘ministry’ and ‘office’).

His Church

A good illustration of this last point is found in the book of Acts: when Paul and Barnabas founded churches in Asia Minor, it was not until some considerable time later that Paul returned to these churches and elders were appointed.  The estimated time gap between these churches being founded and Paul’s return visit is up to two years (read Acts 14 along with a good commentary in order to gain some understanding of the time lapse in this period).  The Bible does not mention any special offices being in operation in those churches during the intervening period, yet they were still considered to be churches.

This is not to say that churches do not need elders, at some stage in their development they do, but it is not the fulfilment of special offices either that legitimises a church.  It is the gathering together of the believers that constitutes a local church.  Jesus promises to be “in the midst” when just two or three are gathered in His name (Mat. 18:20).  This does not mean that every gathering of Christians for fellowship is a church.  However, if needs be, it would be sufficient to qualify as such (albeit an undeveloped one) if those gathering were seeking to fulfil the role of a church under God’s leading.  The local gatherings of such people are the churches.

Was there a Church in the Old Testament?

Before we move on to give fuller consideration to the elements and functions of the Church in the New Testament era, we need to deal briefly with this question. There is a difference between the order of things under the Old Covenant and the specific order of things under the New.  To understand the answer to this question we must first of all believe the inspired word of the Bible and secondly, rid ourselves of any preconceived notions of what the word ‘Church’ means, remember, it simply means ‘a body called out’.

The answer then, is quite simply yes; there was a Church in the Old Testament. Stephen, recounting Israel’s history, mentions “the Church in the wilderness” in the days of Moses (Acts 7:38).  The New King James version uses the word ‘congregation’ in this instance; it is the same Greek word - EKKLESIA.  When God formed Israel into a nation under Moses’ leadership the whole assemblage was referred to as an EKKLESIA.  In fact, according to Paul in 1 Cor. 10:2 “they were all baptised unto Moses....”.   So we see in this great man Moses, a wonderful pre-figuring of Christ.  It is by our baptism (complete immersion) into Christ (not water) that we become a part of His nation.  Interestingly, the people were referred to as being a “mixed multitude”, that is, not all of them that came out with Moses from Egypt were physical descendants of Jacob.  The Church of the Old Testament comprised both Jew and Gentile proselytes.

Israel was called-out from Egypt and called-to the land of promise; they were to be different, set apart, from all the other nations around them.  Israel’s repeated sin was their desire to be like the other nations around them.  This is certainly a warning to the Church in the New Testament era.  We are commanded by God, as they were, not to conform to worldly views and modes of behaviour.  Rather, we are instructed that our way of thinking must be transformed, that is, that we should have a completely new way of thinking and behaving “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. 12:2).  We should not model ourselves according to the methods of an ever-changing world around us.  All the fashions of this world are going to pass away. God’s Church should see, believe and conform to the pattern that He has given us that is preserved in Scripture.

The Church of the Old Testament was of a very specific order.  God gave to Moses verbatim instructions on all His requirements encompassing the law, ceremony and buildings (i.e. the tabernacle and all its utensils).  Everything was to be followed to the strictest letter.  This special people had a special calling from God.  Their task was to provide a framework of moral, religious and civil authority, which would be the backdrop into which the Messiah would be born, so that, when he came and talked about sin, this people would have an inherent understanding of what was meant by the term ‘sin’.  When He spoke about redemption or sacrifice, people in that setting would have had some understanding of what these things meant.

We cannot in this study look at all of Israel’s purposes and blessings, failures and cursings during Old Testament history; suffice it to say that there was most certainly an EKKLESIA throughout the Old Covenant era.  In the broader picture, it would be true to say that such a group existed before the days of Moses, if we were to include all those individuals who were set apart by God in a special way such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and all those like them.  From before the foundation of the world God, knowing all things, always had it in His heart to choose a people especially for Himself.  Thus, throughout history and still today there have always been those who have heard God calling to them – “Come apart, be separate, be mine,” - “I will be your God and you will be my people.”

MEMBERSHIP of the Church

Now we shall move on from that very broad history of God’s special people, both before and under the Old Covenant, and from this point forward consider specifically this whole subject in relation to the Church of the New Testament age which had its beginning on the day of Pentecost nearly 2000 years ago.

So how does somebody become a member of God’s Church today?  Once again the answer can be found only in Scripture.  In the New Testament the Church has various analogous types; for example it is called a Body, a Bride, and a Building. Let us take just the first one: the Church is like a Body.  Paul writes, “for as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit are we all baptised into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.  For the body is not one member, but many” (1 Cor.12: 12-14). We are told in Eph. 4 that there is “one body, one Spirit, and one baptism.”

Note: Immersion into water is the accompanying demonstration of the ‘one’ spiritual baptism not the means by which we enter into union with Christ or His Church.

We automatically become members of God’s Church when we receive that ‘one baptism’ in the Spirit of God (the new birth).  The same act that regenerates, or re-births us, or whatever term you prefer to use, brings us also at one and the same time into membership of Christ’s body.  Scripture teaches no other route in and, regardless of where and with whom a person fellowships subsequently, he or she will always be a member of that One Body.  We are spiritually born into membership of God’s Church just as a child is born into membership of a family.

Membership of the churches

In contrast to the sublime statements referring to the believer’s new birth and simultaneous membership of Christ’s spiritual body, Scripture contains no reference to anyone’s becoming a member of a local church.  It would appear that, in those early days of simplicity and non-denominationalism, a member of Christ’s Church was automatically included in the fellowship of the local church. There was no inaugural ceremony, no creed to be read and no book to sign, a person would be received into fellowship solely on the basis of his or her new birth.  This however, does not mean that new converts were not soon made familiar with ‘the apostles doctrine’ (Acts 2:42) and ‘the principles (foundations) of the doctrine of Christ’ (Heb. 6:1&2).

Note: A person could be thereafter put out of fellowship (ex-communicated) on the basis of immoral conduct or other sins.  When this is done the aim is never to permanently exclude but rather to bring to repentance in order that the person can be accepted back into the congregation: read 1 Cor. 5 in conjunction with 2 Cor. 2:1-11.

There is no warrant for believers to take on themselves any special name that relates to the particular church they fellowship with, nor for that matter, any specific name that gives emphasis to a particular doctrinal viewpoint.  It is not my intention to offend anyone in saying truthfully and categorically that there were no Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Calvinists, Pre-millenialists, Post-millenialists etc.  

To make this point abundantly clear, there were no individuals or churches given any authority from God to use these names as a means of identifying themselves. In 1 Cor. 1:12 Paul writes: “Now this I say, that everyone of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas (Peter); and I of Christ”.  Read this passage of Scripture in context and you will find that the people saying these things were rebuked for being divisive.

Individual assemblies were simply identified by their geographical location and in Acts. 11:26 we read that the disciples were “called” CHRISTIANS.  This word ‘called’ [CHREMATIZO] conveys the idea of a Divinely revealed word.  It is possible that unbelievers may have coined this word initially, however it is clearly validated by the apostle Peter (1 Pet. 16).  This became the universally accepted title given to those who had received the life of CHRIST within.  Other Scriptural terms used to identify such people include ‘Saints’, ‘Believers’, ‘Disciples’, and ‘Followers of the/that way’.  Let us take deep into our hearts these words of wisdom - “I am a Christian or a believer or I will call myself by any other name approved by the Holy Ghost, but I will not give to myself names that will divide me from my brethren” (spoken by John Bunyan - quoted from memory).  Whatever local church we fellowship with we should be content to simply align ourselves with Christ alone and confine ourselves to such names as are ‘approved’ of God.

WHAT is the purpose of the Church? (singular - universal)

It has already been mentioned that, above all things, the Church exists for God: “Thou has created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev. 4:11).  God loves all of His creation and it is not His heart’s desire that any should perish (Jn. 3:16 & 2 Pet. 3:9).  However, because of sin many will perish, but in Jesus God has made a way of escape.  God, is through all ages, calling-out a people to be co-heirs with His son.  This has implications both for our present lives on earth and forever in eternity.  He wants to share His kingdom because it is a kingdom of eternal love and fellowship.

Further more, the Church (universal) is the Body of Christ.  That is, all the while the Church continues to exist on the earth it is acting as a vehicle for Jesus to be expressed in the world.  He wants to reach out to a lost creation through His Body.  He could of course do this quite independently if He chose to but there are other agendas too.  God has to bring to a close the conflict with Satan and his fallen angelic followers and mankind, particularly the Church of Jesus Christ is bound up in this issue.

WHAT is the purpose of the churches?  (plural - local assemblies)

The local church is one tiny element of the entire Universal Church.  It is not a complete Body of itself, but one small part of the whole.  The work of the local assembly is largely limited to the location in which it gathers.  A church has the task of nurturing and edifying its members within.  Therefore, we are told in the letter to the Hebrews that we must not “forsake the assembling of ourselves together”.  

By forsaking the assembling of ourselves together we: 

1) miss out on the grace that the Lord wants to minister to us through the Body, and 2) we are not available to contribute our part to this process whereby we are intended to be the means by which God blesses others.

Incidentally, this latter participation is also a means of spiritual growth in ourselves.  We will be considering this in more depth under the section on ‘How should a church meet?’ Here we will see more clearly what ‘an assembling together’ means.

A note on ‘worship’: 

Many think that we meet in the church in order to worship God.  This is not the main emphasis given in the New Testament for gathering together.  The prime reason for coming together is for God to speak to us through one another so that the believers can be edified (built up) and matured.  Partly this misconception is due to not understanding the essential meaning of the word ‘worship’.  Worship is not fundamentally to do with singing and praying.  The first ever mention of this word in our Bible shows us its vital meaning, it occurs in Geneses 22:5.  Abraham was about to offer his beloved son to God as a sacrifice.  His ‘instruments’ of worship were a sharp knife, wood and fire.  This was not an occasion for a tuneful stroll up the hill.  The meaning of the word ‘worship’ is self-denying sacrifice in response to God’s demands on our lives.  This is primarily worked-out in everyday living as individuals.  The main purpose of the local gathering is to exhort one another to go and live such lives before God.  This, of course, does not mean that a church should not sing to the Lord together, Ephesians 5:19 says: “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord”.  It is important to notice in the above verse though that the singing isn’t solely “to the Lord” but also to each other - “to yourselves.”  This means that the songs we sing need to contain not only praises to God but also sound biblical instruction in order to play their part in the maturing of the members. (See ‘How should a church meet’ for more on this subject).

So, the local fellowship has a commitment to its own members within, “to build one another up in our most holy faith”, to nurture with milk the newly converted and to feed with meat the maturing members.  The following scriptures are a few that can be cited from the New Testament which give clear direction to the individual Christian and to the local church regarding the means by which God’s grace and blessing is ministered to us and through us:

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers” (Acts. 2:42).

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16).

“but exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13).

Paul writes to Timothy telling him “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee...” (1 Tim. 4:13).

Let us not limit these practices only to the times when the church gathers together but these gifts from God should be used wherever and whenever Christians meet one another in our daily lives.  We are told to “let our speech be always seasoned with grace” and that “men should pray everywhere.”

Every member of the local church has something to contribute within it and to the work with which it is involved.  Such contributions may be practical, spiritual, financial, the giving of time, effort, or whatever, however seemingly small.  The local church is a place where believers might give and receive and thereby grow in God.

Next, we will examine the pattern for: 'Authority and Function' in the Church.

To continue this study, go to: 'The New Testament Church Pattern - Part 2'

This page created by Peter Brenner on Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Some content is borrowed by permission from www.newtestamentpattern.net

FOR MORE BIBLE TEACHING VIDEOS SEE: Gospel Hall Audio | Homepage 

The church are the people of GOD - Christians - Christ's body in this world, born of the Holy Spirit - born again believers. John 1:7