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      "The Church"
      Selected Scriptures
      Theme: The church is the work and program of God in this age whereby men are being reconciled to God.

        1. The Character of the Church

          1. The Living Organism - "We believe that the Church, which is the Body and the espoused Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age."

            1. The Character of the Church -

              1. The Church is defined as those who are called out of the world and joined together in Christ through the Baptism of the Spirit of God.
              2. As such, it is not merely an organization but a living organism – deriving its life and structure from the Head which is Christ Jesus – cp. Ephesians 1:22-23
                1. This analogy is that the Church is the Body of Christ – defines its character as being a living, dependent, inseparable part of Jesus Christ – cp. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14
                2. Even as He is the Lord of Creation – he has a parallel sovereignty as Head over the new spiritual creation which is His body, the church – Colossians 1:18
              3. The second analogy in defining the character of the church focuses on the love relationship that exists between her and the Lord Jesus Christ – she is His Bride – cp. Ephesians 5:25-27
                1. Thus, the church is to be in subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ and is not free to exercise herself as she sees fit.
                2. Such an identity demands absolute faithfulness on the part of the church to her "husband" – the Lord Jesus - 2 Corinthians 11:2.

            2. The Composition of the Church -

              1. The church is composed of all born-again persons of this present age – cp. Ephesians 2:11-16
              2. The distinction between the Church and Israel must be preserved as the church is a Mystery – that is, it was not revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures – cp. Ephesians 3:1-6; 5:32
                1. God’s purposes for Israel is to show the everlasting faithfulness of the Covenant God despite the unfaithfulness of men –
                2. The Covenant made with Abraham must necessarily be fulfilled if God is to maintain His reputation of faithfulness – Genesis 12:1-3
                  1. This Covenant made three basic provisions:
                    1. A Personal Blessing of Abraham
                    2. A National Blessing on Abraham’s physical seed – the nation of Israel
                    3. A Universal Blessing on the Gentiles
                  2. It is elaborated upon through the unconditional subordinate covenants made with Israel:
                    1. The Palestinian Covenant develops the "land" aspect promised to Abraham and his descendents – Deuteronomy 30:1-10
                    2. The Davidic Covenant develops the "seed" promises given to Abraham – that from him will come forth nations and kings – 2 Samuel 7:12-16
                    3. The New Covenant develops the "blessing" aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant as salvation from sin and spiritual life is promised to Israel – Jeremiah 31:31-34
                3. All of these provisions must be literally fulfilled and demands that we see a future for national Israel which means that the church and Israel are distinct.
              3. This is further demonstrated in that in order for a person to be "in Christ" (and therefore part of the church), one must be baptized into that Body by the Spirit of God who was not given until Pentecost.
                1. Thus, the duration of the "present age" or the Church is clearly established as unique.
                2. The church began when the Spirit of God came to indwell believers –
                  1. Jesus indicated the essential difference in the role of the Spirit - John 14:17
                  2. Jesus indicated that the church was a "future project" - Matthew 16:18
                  3. Jesus indicated after His death that the beginning of new role of the Holy Spirit was not far away - Acts 1:5
                  4. The Holy Spirit was poured out and the church began - Acts 2:1-4
                  5. Peter identifies Pentecost as the "beginning" confirming that the church was born when the Holy spirit was poured out - Acts 11:15-16.
                3. The Church will conclude with the major change in the role of the Holy Spirit again – the event concurrent with the Rapture of the Church – cp. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

          2. The Local Order - "We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures."

            1. The church finds its expression in local assemblies established through evangelism and teaching of God’s Word – Acts 14:27
            2. Thus, the church is organized in various places as believers assemble under the leadership of spiritually gifted men - cp. Acts 20:17, 28-32
              1. The spiritual qualifications of these leaders are given in Scripture as requirements – 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11
              2. Their purpose is to equip the saints of the local assembly so that they are able to exercise themselves according to their giftedness to the edification of the body of Christ – cp. Ephesians 4:11-16
            3. Therefore, individual believers are called of God to assemble themselves together on a consistent basis on the first day of the week in order to be edified and to edify – cp. 1 Corinthians 11:18, 20; Hebrews 10:25; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; Revelation 1:10

        2. The Control in the Church – "We believe in the autonomy (i.e. self-rule) of the local church, free of any external authority or control."

          1. Autonomy Does Not Mean Impulsiveness

            1. As mentioned above, the supreme authority for the church is Christ Jesus – Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18
            2. Within the context of each local church, Christ has sovereignly set leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship as He determines.
            3. The leadership that God places in each local church lead or rule as servants of Christ and therefore have His authority in directing the church – 1 Timothy 5:17, 22; Hebrews 13:7, 17
            4. Thus, in stating that we believe the church to be autonomous we do not state that it is free to do whatever it wishes – it must remain yielded to the direction of the Chief Shepherd who leads it through His undershepherds – cp. 1 Peter 5:2-4.

          2. Autonomy Does Mean Independence

            1. Thus the emphasis of autonomy is on the freedom from external authority, control or interference by individuals or organizations – Titus 1:5
            2. It is appropriate for local churches to cooperate with each other for the presentation and propagation of the faith; however, each local church – through its elders and their interpretation and application of Scripture – should be the ones determining the extent of such cooperation.
            3. Thus, denominationalism – a system of hierarchical authority imposing itself upon local assemblies – is not biblical since it violates the biblical authority of local eldership.

        3. The Corroboration of the Church – "We believe in the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as Scriptural means of testimony for the Church in this age."

          1. The Demand by Christ

            1. The Lord Jesus insisted before He left for Heaven that the church give testimony of the Gospel through two commanded rituals:
              1. Water Baptism – the practice by which a believer gives public testimony of salvation by immersion in water – cp. Matthew 28:19-20
              2. The Lord’s Table – the practice by which believers celebrate the death of Christ by partaking of symbols of His body and blood – cp. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
            2. Both of these practices were commanded by the Lord and therefore the obedient believer will obey –
              1. The act of obedience in Baptism is to be performed once as a tribute to the newness of life gained through the salvation provided by the work of Christ
              2. The act of obedience in the Lord’s Table is to be performed "often" as we celebrate His accomplishment of redemption and confront the sins of our hearts.

          2. The Demonstration by the Church

            1. Thus, the church is to provide testimony through these rituals as prescribed by Christ Jesus Himself.
            2. Baptism portrays the Gospel by picturing the experience of the believer who has been able to receive newness of life – identifying with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection:
              1. The death is pictured by means of being lowered into the water.
              2. The burial is pictured by means of being underneath the water.
              3. The resurrection is pictured by means of coming up out of the water.
            3. The Lord’s Table portrays the Gospel by picturing the work of Christ itself as His love is pictured in the sacrifice of Himself:
              1. The bread pictures the Body of Christ
              2. The cup pictures the Blood of Christ.

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