Posted by Rick | Bible Studies | newtestamentpattern.net/

In the 'New Testament' of God's Word the Holy Bilble, the word Church is always used to identify believers and NEVER refers to a physical structure, temple, or building.  " For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”  Matthew 18:20

Review: 

in part 1 we established the definition of Church; Universal and Local.

in part 2 we examined the roles given to Christians in the Church Universal.

in part 3 we examined the roles given to Christians in the Local Assembly.

in part 4 we'll discover more of the Bible's teaching for this church age.

                                     Children and the Church

Interestingly, there are no instructions in the New Testament regarding children in reference to either the Church Universal or the local assembly.  Therefore, it must be concluded that they are, essentially, in no different position from that of adults in this respect.  As previously stated, membership of both the Church Universal and the local assembly comes by means of a spiritual new birth in Christ.

Children, before this conversion to Christ, cannot be considered in the proper sense members of either.  Subsequent to new birth, regardless of what age this occurs at, they become full, and potentially, functioning members of both.  

There is, of course, still the need to develop into spiritual maturity, just as any adult who becomes a new-born babe in Christ.  Jesus said: “Suffer (allow) little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me.” (Mat.19:14).  We must never underestimate the ability of any child to receive salvation.  Children are the objects of God’s love, and, as such, need to hear without compromise, the Gospel of saving grace.

Is there any way at all in that a child may differ from an unconverted adult?  Yes, in the situation where the child has at least one believing parent: “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.” (1 Cor. 7:14).  The terms ‘sanctified’, and ‘holy’ are clearly not, in this instance, synonymous with salvation, because in verse 16 we read “For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?”  But a child with a believing parent(s) is, in some sense, a partaker with them of God’s temporal blessings. They are brought into contact with God’s people and His Kingdom.

So, what of these children prior to their conversion, where do they fit into the picture of local church life?  There is ample instruction concerning believing men and women and how they should “behave” in “a church of the Living God”, yet there is no instruction with respect to their children in a church meeting.  Like all subjects that are not directly dealt with in scripture there must be some latitude in our approach.  A simple logical surmising of this leads us to four possible options that are given here purely as food for thought.

Children whose parents attend the local church meeting could be:

1. Excluded from the regular church meeting.

2. Allowed to be present, whilst remaining silent.

3. Encouraged to be present and given some focus/attention.

4. Provided with a separate facility.

It is not within the scope of this study to speculate upon these options.  There are, doubtless, valid arguments that could be given for all, or combinations of the above, but without clear biblical backing we cannot be dogmatic about any of them.

If a church chooses either of the latter two options, this must not become an occasion to pander to fleshly, youthful desires. “... for childhood and youth are vanity.” (Eccl. 11:10). “Flee also youthful lusts (desires).” (2 Tim. 2:22).

The church must not dilute the things spoken or sung to accommodate unspiritual youth.  In our last section we touched upon the seriousness of role reversals for men and women.  When worldly youth is allowed to be a governing factor in the 

church meeting, it is a role reversal of the utmost folly.  I have emphasized ‘fleshly’ and ‘worldly’ youth.  To give balance here, it must also be mentioned that some younger people have been, and are, capable of immense spiritual maturity. When this is the case such young people must not be despised simply because of their youth.  It is a blessing to discover the riches brought to the Church by some of the saints of the past who bore much fruit in the days of their youth.

In the final analysis with regard to children and their attendance at meetings, the one binding principle is that the elders in each local congregation are accountable for the oversight of everything within the assembly.  This does not mean that they do not listen to and consider the wishes of other members but, in the absence of explicit biblical directives, it is their responsibility.

A serious biblical warning!

In respect of our last two themes: ‘Women and Authority’ and ‘Children and the Church’, we must take seriously a warning from the past.  In the days of the Old Covenant, God sent various chastisements on the children of Israel as signs and warnings of His displeasure in their rebellions.  Two such results of their erring are mentioned in Isaiah 3. “And I will give children to be their princes, And babes shall rule over them.” (vs.4) _ “As for My people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. O My people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, And destroy the way of thy paths.” (vs.12). 

If, in a church, there exists the situation of female leadership and/or an overemphasis on youth culture, remember - it is a sign of God’s displeasure!  

As with the situation in the Garden of Eden, ultimate responsibility for these compromises will fall to the man.  Men who are in authority will be held accountable if they allow the prevailing spirit of the world to become the standard for the churches in which God has made them overseers.

 Let us be warned in our age!

                                            More on the local churches

As we consider the remainder of this study, we shall leave behind the subject of the Universal Church and seek to answer, from Scripture, some simple questions on the local church. 

What were the original principles that governed the gathering together of the early churches?

Where should a church meet?

At the outset of the book of Acts we find the Christians gathered together in the outer court of the Jewish Temple (Acts 2:46, 5:42).  This should not be surprising, since we know that the earliest converts to Christ were all from the Jewish religion.  As the gospel spread to include Gentiles, and as persecution came from Jewish leaders, there was a move away from the temple and from Jewish things. From then onwards, all further mention in Scripture of church gatherings indicates clearly that the New Covenant believers congregated in their various homes: (Acts 5:42, 8:3, Rom. 16:5, 1 Cor. 1:11, 16:19, Col. 4:15, Phil. v2)

Nowhere is there any hint of special buildings dedicated to church meetings. 

The inspired Scriptures have furnished us with numerous examples, which are quite sufficient for answering this question.  Without any ambiguity whatsoever we see that the normal, regular meeting place for a local church is in the believers’ homes.  

Because of the nature of the Church we cannot rule out the possibility of some exceptional circumstance that might give rise to the need for a church to meet in some other place for a time.  However, that which is shown to us at least seven times in God’s inspired Word can only be considered the normal pattern.

As for reasons why we should meet in our homes: the first one is quite simply because this was the established principle of the New Covenant churches.  In addition to this there are two types of benefit that are gained in following the scriptural pattern.  

The following thoughts are by no means exhaustive:

Some of the spiritual benefits

In the New Testament the Church is likened to a family; families do not usually congregate in large public buildings to share their most intimate moments.  The local church meeting is not a public matter; it is for the family members*.  The home environment is far more conducive to encouraging everyone to participate in a meeting, whereas a public building is more likely to inhibit the shy and less confident person. In our next section (How should a church meet?) we shall see that God desires to speak and work through all the members of His family.

Also, people, especially our children, see that communion with God is not something we reserve for special occasions, in special places.  Our mighty creator wants to be worshipped in our homes and to be at the centre of family life. Also, consider the impact this may have on our unbelieving neighbours, if praise and prayer were heard from houses all over the district!

* Note: Contrary to the popular practice of many of today’s ‘church systems’, the early disciples did not encourage the unconverted to attend their meetings.  All references to evangelisation in the New Testament teach that the Christians must ‘go out’ into the world in order to preach the gospel.  Paul allows for the possibility of an unbeliever coming in, to a church meeting in 1 Cor 14, but we are not instructed to ‘get them in’ as a normal course of trying to reach the unconverted. In Acts 5, we read that God was working in signs and wonders and judgement. We all know what happened to Ananias and Sapphira!  Following this incident we read in verse 13: “And of the rest (i.e. the unconverted) durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.”  A church that is spiritually ‘hot’ will not usually be something attractive to unbelievers unless they are seriously seeking God.

Some of the practical benefits

There is no cost for the hire or purchase and maintenance of a building.  All of the church’s collection can go to the needs of others and not be consumed by the building.  It eradicates the confusion in the minds of the ‘untaught’ regarding what is the Church.  Even many Christians still think of the building as being ‘the church’, some attributing to it Old Testament temple connotations.  There is no burdensome ‘set-up’ routine to go through before and after meetings, particularly those in rented buildings.  With a variety of homes to choose from there is greater flexibility in accommodating people geographically/practically.  Of course, some arguments could be put forward in defence of a larger, public building on a practical level, but either way, the spiritual benefits and adhering to the God given pattern are overwhelmingly the more important issues.

A note in conclusion

In conclusion of this I want to pre-empt any argument that says “the Church has developed further since those early days and it has since become necessary to evolve with it and accommodate everyone in large buildings.”  When it was said that they (the Christians) had “turned the world upside down” it did not seem to imply that they were few in number!  The New Testament writings cover a period of up to 60 years.  If it was ever God’s intention that the Church should build or hire public buildings it could have been easily achieved over much of the known world within that time.  Even 1 or 2 years is a very long time to get organised on a building program – particularly if God was with you on the project!  No, God’s New Testament Church and His principles for it were entirely formed and complete within that time (See Appendix 1 & 2).   Regardless of whatever else has been done, the Holy Spirit chose to record for us seven times that Christians met in their homes. 

How should a church meet?

“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.  For we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and everyone members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity ...” (Rom. 12:3-8).

“the head (Christ), from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.” (Col. 2:19).

“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).

“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. 10:24,25).

“How is it then, brethren? When ye come together, everyone of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.” (1. Cor. 14:26).

As previously mentioned, it is not the exclusive responsibility of a few select individuals to do “the work of the ministry”.  It is quite clear from the above references, and many others contained in the New Testament, that every child of God is intended to be a contributor within the Body.  There is an expectation that every believer present at the meeting will participate in some way.  One of the effects of meeting this way is that it produces an alertness of every individual gathered in the meeting.  It gives a strong sense of dependency on communion with God in order to be able to give aright.  This focused, spiritual attention is not limited just to the duration of the meeting but affects the heart and mind both before and after, giving each one much to contemplate concerning his or her contribution.  By this I do not mean the premeditation of our words, the important factor is the preparation of the messenger not the preparation of the message. 

What Paul is describing in 1 Cor. 14:26 is not prepared messages but rather the spontaneous expression of the Spirit.

Let us look further on in the passage of Scripture in 1. Cor. 14. Verse 31 reads, “for ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted”. 

Let us here simply consider the principle of what is being said rather than getting caught up on the topic of prophecy.  For the purpose of my point, we will think of the term ‘prophecy’ as being equated with any oral contribution to a meeting, such as in all of the above quotations.  If it were simply the hearing of such a word that brings the ‘learning’ (ministry to the understanding) and ‘comforting’ (ministry to the spirit) then it would only require that one person should exercise any oral gift in the meeting, or perhaps even a few people for variety, but no - Paul says, “ye may all ...”   In other words, it is not the hearing only that edifies but also the active taking part.  Even in the realm of natural things we know that, if a person teaches something to others, that message is more firmly imprinted in the mind of the one teaching.  How much more so is this a principle in spiritual things.   Also, each person has his or her own unique personality that comes through in their participation, even as the various books of the Bible frequently affirm the same truths, but in different ways.

There are two keynotes I would like to mention here concerning how a believer makes his or her contribution to a meeting. 

Firstly, it should be “with simplicity” (Rom. 12:8).  There is no need to add ‘religious’ tones to our voices, nor should we adopt the mannerisms of others whom we may esteem.  God desires many sons, all uniquely showing forth the image of His Son.  He does not want us to be clones of one another.

Secondly, we must remain “within our measure” (Eph. 4:7).  Where the Bible talks of us having a ‘measure’ it simply means limitations.  The warning is to be careful not to exceed these so that we do not fall foul of the ‘roaring lion’.

In what ways then may a Christian verbally contribute to a meeting?  First of all, in all of the various ways already contained in the quotations at the beginning of this section.  One may add to these; prayer, praise, the reading of Scripture, personal testimony and perhaps others.  The key principle here being that we gather together in order to “build one another up in our most holy faith”.  The encouragement to all is to participate at some point, in one or more of these ways.  It is not making a legalistic rule that every individual must say something in order for the meeting to be considered complete.  This would be rigid and ritualistic and would not create an environment of true freedom.  The atmosphere of a meeting should be both reverent and joyful, there should be fear and liberty - “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17).  The Greek word here means (by implication) ‘freedom of access to God’.  In saying ‘fear’ I mean godly reverence, which is shown by people taking care not to use this liberty as a platform for the flesh.

This common sharing [GK. KOINONIA] principle of meeting is what I am referring to in this study where I have used the terms, the ‘normal/regular’ church meeting. This does not imply that there is not liberty in every congregation for the elders to arrange many types of meeting with various purposes, such as for: prayer, teaching, evangelism etc, but meetings that take any other form than the above mentioned, must only be in addition to the regular [fully KOINONIA] church meeting and must never replace it.

The norm in so many situations is for the church meeting to be ‘man led’.

First of all a ‘worship leader’, usually a musician, leads the congregation in singing etc.

Next it is the turn of the ‘minister/pastor’ to give his ‘sermon’.  All this combines to make what people refer to as a ‘church service’.  The concept of the religious service has no place in this Covenant where every individual should function spiritually as a priest.  A ‘service’ is when something is done for you.  There is no two-class structure in the Church - the doers and the done to.  The worship leader and choir/musicians* are all practices adopted from the Old Covenant.  The Old Testament was of an entirely different order from the New with regard to all of its ordinances and practices.

All of the rituals and practices from the Old Covenant have, according to the writer to the Hebrews, “passed away” (Heb. 8:13) and should no longer be a part of the New Testament era.  The believer, under the New Testament, has been brought into sonship and does not need to come to see God through any intermediary or ritual.

*Note: Nowhere in the New Testament are we told to ‘worship’ God with musical instruments.  [Please read ‘Note on worship’ under the section on ‘What is the purpose of the churches’ for further explanation of what is fundamentally meant by the word ‘worship’].  However, equally we are not told that the use of musical instruments for any purpose is forbidden.  We have already seen that ‘singing’ and ‘making melody’ are New Testament means for God’s people to praise Him and encourage one another (Col. 3:16) & (Eph. 5:19).  Of course, singing can be done a-cappella and there is absolutely no reason why it shouldn’t be.  However, if a church does choose to have some musical accompaniment, it must be just that – accompaniment, not a means of ‘leading’ or dominating the meeting. Anything other than simple accompaniment would detract from the KOINONIA principle of meeting.  We need to be acutely aware too that, as with any gift used by anyone in the Church, if the person using such a gift is not walking with God in a crucified life it will minister death to the spirit and feed the flesh instead!

Church order

“Objection!”  I hear.  The Bible says “... Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40).  To some minds the only concept of a total participation meeting is total chaos.  This notion presupposes that if a human being does not entirely direct the proceedings then no one will.  “Is there not danger involved with churches meeting in this way?” -  “Yes”, is the simple answer, but it is not our place to reorganise the churches in order to give the appearance of spiritual stability.  If there is danger involved in abandoning ourselves to God and His Holy Spirit in this way, it cannot be compared with the detriment caused by departing from the New Testament pattern.  The above quotation is Paul’s ending to a detailed discourse that sets out the manner of church meetings in the way I am describing here.

The true Author of a meeting is the Holy Spirit.  He gives men “utterance”, and “moves” them to speak, or to keep silent, - see Acts 2:4 and 2 Pet.1:21.  Jesus himself is in the midst of the gathering - Mat.18:20 and Psalms 22:22 (this psalm is all prophetic of Him).  The Father is the one to whom, essentially, we direct our praise and worship - John 4:23, but also remember John 5:23.  Ultimately, the Three are One, but the essence is this: it should be from God, through God, to God.

Though we are all sons and all have the Spirit, this does not mean that we are all fully mature in spiritual things by any means.  Therefore we are given three specific guiding factors with regard to the keeping of order in a church meeting.

 1 Cor. 14 gives us much of this guidance.  This is not at all surprising since one of the reasons for which Paul was writing to this church was because there had been to some extent a breakdown of order.

 Vs. 32 tells us: “And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets”. This means that as God fills our hearts we are not compelled to speak out at that very moment, if at all.  The Holy Spirit resides in every born-again believer and part of His fruit is self-control.  This not only means control of obviously sinful desires but it is the control of everything within us.  This includes all of our thoughts, ideas and potential contributions of spiritual things.

 In vs. 27 & 29 we are told that a person’s contribution should be limited to two or three times.  This more specifically relates to the bringing of prophecy but we have already seen that there is some underlying principle here, which can be readily applied to all of our contributions in a church gathering.  I am only suggesting the application of the principle not necessarily the figure of two or three, but it should be obvious to all, including the one continually speaking when someone is taking the floor too often.  This is a temptation as much to seasoned believers as to the less mature.  Some less mature believers may ‘rush-in’ wherever there is a space.  A more mature person may try to ‘step-in’ in order to fill an awkward silence.  Thankfully, being perfect at it is not what it is all about - He knows that we are but dust! Seeking to please God from a pure heart and motive is far more important.

 For the occasions when an individual, or even the whole meeting could be heading more directly ‘off-course’ we have (hopefully) some mature God-given leadership. This whole topic is inextricably linked with our earlier considerations of ‘Authority in the churches’. The elders have many functions in a local church and these responsibilities are by no means limited solely to the times of gathering together. However, in the context of the meetings part of the role of the elders is to act as ‘overseers’. When necessary, they must direct, redirect, correct, instruct, etc. yet remain as a part of the meeting and not the focus. This place is given exclusively to God. Christ must be pre-eminent in all things. A church meeting where the Holy Spirit is the author of all said and done will always leave us with the imprint of Christ on our hearts and minds, not that of any man. Let every elder beware of the danger of falling into the sin of Diotrophes - “... who loveth to have the pre-eminence among them ...” (3 Jn. 9).

Final considerations

As well as the various general contributions to a meeting there is, of course, a place for teaching and preaching by those whom God has gifted for this task. There is nothing in the New Testament saying that this is the job of just one person in a church.  For many good reasons, it is much more profitable for the growth of the assembly if this ministry has as many genuinely gifted participants as possible.  It is the elders’ responsibility before God as to whom they ‘allow’ or ‘disallow’ to teach in the church.

It would be too large a task to try to elucidate on every fine point on the subject of the ‘KOINONIA’ principle of meeting.  We are dealing with the movings of the Holy Spirit and we cannot dictate exactly where or how the ‘Wind’ blows.  All that has been touched upon above is consistently encouraged throughout the New Testament and is ultimately intended to be a platform for the ‘Voice of God’ in our midst.

A lesson from Sardis

“These things saith He that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou has a name that thou livest, and art dead.” (Rev. 3:1).

I hope this study has shown without doubt that God has given, and preserved for us a pattern for His Church.  But as with every biblical truth, we can still try and pursue the establishment of it in the flesh.  Those looking on from the outside evidently thought of Sardis as a live, spiritual church.  Perhaps those within that assembly thought of themselves in that light.  On the surface at least, they must have appeared to have had things right.  But the assessment of Jesus of them was: “Thou art dead!”

Does this mean that we may as well give up any attempt to fashion things on the outside according to the right way, for fear of being hypocrites?   Of course not. There is no alternative for those who want to please God in every way.  However,  we do need to have hearts that match our minds.  The correct outward form of church-life, in and of itself, cannot be equated with spirituality.  It is quite possible to follow all of the ‘form’ and be as dead as Sardis! 

A Short Summary

This work is by no means an exhaustive study on Church-life. Even if it were, no such thing could be treated as a how-to manual.  Praise God, He has preserved for us a trustworthy record of the Church in the New Testament.

These Church-life principles are intended to work as a whole.  They will not, by and large, produce much benefit if only some of them are applied in isolation from the fuller picture.  The New Testament furnishes us with a clearly defined ‘wineskin’, which God has designed as His vessel for the spiritual life of Christ – the New Wine.  As for any details not mentioned in Scripture, there must be liberty, only, within the bounds of sound, biblical principles.

The next question to be asked is of course “can churches today be established along these lines?”  I do not think that existing established systems are, in the main, likely to alter.  

For a new church it should not prove difficult if it is known from the outset that this is the intended pattern for development.  However, there may be strong criticisms, or worse from those within the existing establishments.  It will require an unswerving belief that the New Testament teachings are as applicable today as they were when they were first written (see ‘Appendix 1’).  I wish to make it clear that my desire for this return to New Testament simplicity is not primarily one of correctness of form, but an aspiration to know afresh the unhindered movings of God in HIS CHURCH.

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.

May the Lord's Word guide and direct us on this earthly journey to honour Him and to work diligently for His coming kingdom.

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

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