Ecclesiology
The Church’s Mission
Lesson XXXI
August 2, 2007
.
The
following is copied from notes by M. MacRitchie. I have added as many of the Scriptures as I
could remember, in some cases my comments were added when typing the paper. But credit for this article must go to Brother
MacRitchie. From where he gathered or
quotes it, I do not know. - LOP
TEXTS
1 Corinthians 15:5-8
(5) And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
(6) After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren
at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen
asleep.
(7) After that, he was seen of James; then of all the
apostles.
(8) And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one
born out of due time.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52
(51) Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all
sleep, but we shall all be changed,
(52) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
1 Thessalonians 4:17
(17) Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught
up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall
we ever be with the Lord.
Revelation1:7
(7) Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall
see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall
wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Hebrews 6:5
(5) And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers
of the world to come,
The
dispensation of grace began secretly when Christ arose from the dead and
ascended up into heaven. (Based on the fact that as far as the record in the
Bible is concerned, only believers handled his dead body and only believers saw
Him after His resurrection.)
1
Corinthians 15:5-8 “And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. After that, he was seen of above five hundred
brethren
at once: of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen
asleep. After that, he was seen of James, then of all the apostles. And last of
all he was seen of me…”
Then
He sent the Holy Ghost at Pentecost and the Church was born. (In other lessons,
I gave my view that the Church became active at Pentecost.- LOP ) The age will end
secretly (and may end at any moment) by the Coming of the Lord Himself in the
air. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). This fact
being based on the words: “Behold, I shew you a mystery: We shall not all
sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye”. How
much can been seen in a ‘moment’? Or an
eye twink, not even an eye wink? 1 Thessalonians 4:17 “Then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…”)
It
will end publicly when the translated Church shall come with Christ to set up His
Kingdom and every eye shall see Him (Revelation1:7) “Behold, he cometh with
clouds, and every eye shall see him…..”
This
age differs from all which preceded it (the age of law). It
differs from those which shall follow it (the present age of grace and the age
to come).
Hebrews 6:5 “And have tasted the good word of God, and the
powers of the age to come.”)
1.
In this age, God is not calling upon men to believe in His existence as
a personal God. There is no need that He should do so. In yonder nightly sky His Name is written in
every shining star. Each star is but a
letter of His Name. Each mountain peak
of earth, each river. The sea thundering
on the shore, each blade of grass, each growing fruit tree, the successive
seasons. The earth flying on its course
about the sun and returning whence it came to start afresh. The power and
authority and order proclaim the living, the eternal, self-existent ,
self-sufficient and ever efficient God.
Isaiah 40:26-31
(26) Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath
created these [things], that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them
all by names by the greatness of his might, for that [he is] strong in power;
not one faileth.
(27) Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My
way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
(28) Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the
everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not,
neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding.
(29) He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that
have] no might he increaseth strength.
(30) Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the
young men shall utterly fall:
(31) But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their]
strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be
weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.
(Isaiah
40: 26, 28 “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these
things, that bringeth out their host by number, he calleth them all by names by
the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth….vs
28 Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting
God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is
weary? There is no searching of his understanding?”)
Psalm 14:1
(1) The fool hath said in his heart, [There is] no God.
They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, [there is] none that doeth
good.
Psalm 53:1
(1) The fool hath said in his heart, [There is] no God.
Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: [there is] none that doeth
good.
There
is no need to invite men to believe in a Supreme Being. Only a fool in his heart can say there is no
God (Psalm 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, there is no
God…”, also in Psalm 53:1)
Romans 1:19- 26
(19) Because that which may be known of God is manifest
in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them.
(20) For the invisible things of him from the creation of
the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
[even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
(21) Because that, when they knew God, they glorified
[him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations,
and their foolish heart was darkened.
(22) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
(23) And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into
an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and
creeping things.
(24) Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness
through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between
themselves:
(25) Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and
worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for
ever. Amen.
(26) For this cause God gave them up unto vile
affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is
against nature:
Paul
declares in Romans 1:20 that they are without excuse because the might and
majesty and the power of God are clearly seen in the work and manifestation of
all surrounding creation.
2.
God is not calling on men to believe in the Holy Spirit. There is no need that He should do so. The operation of the work of the Holy Spirit
is manifested every day in contrast to the spirit of lawlessness, wickedness,
evil with the mad riot of sin which would win its way were it not for the
hindering and presence of the Holy Spirit.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-8
(1) Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him,
(2) That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled,
neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of
Christ is at hand.
(3) Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day
shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition;
(4) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of
God, shewing himself that he is God.
(5) Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I
told you these things?
(6) And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be
revealed in his time.
(7) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only
he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.
(8) And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord
shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-8
“Now
we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our
gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind , or be
troubled, neither by spirit, nor by
word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you be any means: for that
day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin
be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all
that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the
temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these
things? And now ye know what withholdeth
that he might be revealed in his time.
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he who now
letteth (old English-withholdeth)
will let (or withhold) until he
be taken out of the way, and then shall that Wicked be revealed….”
(It
is generally agreed that it is the Holy Spirit’s ministry in the world today, in
the Church, that is restraining, or holding back the tide of evil. And as the Church becomes more conformed to
the world, the less restraint of the Spirit there will be in the Church and
therefore in the world. )
3.
God is not dealing with men today on the issue of sin. God gave His estimate
of man as a sinner long ago, as a sinner by nature and by transgression. God enforced His estimate by the flood which
took away all but the chosen eight. (2
Peter 2:5…bringing the flood upon the world of the ungodly, but spared Noah )
2 Peter 2:5
(5) And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the
eighth [person], a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the
world of the ungodly;
John 16:7-11
(7) Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient
for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto
you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
(8) And when he is come, he will reprove the world of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
(9) Of sin, because they believe not on me;
(10) Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye
see me no more;
(11) Of judgment, because the prince of this world is
judged.
Romans 3:22
(22) Even the righteousness of God [which is] by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no
difference:
Romans 1:32
(32) Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which
commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure
in them that do them.
At
Calvary, He judged the natural man and this world.
(John
16:7-11 “Never the less I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go
away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you: but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the
world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
(Please
note: it does not say ‘judgment to come’)
Of
sin, (not sins but one sin) because they believe not on me. (that is, the sin of sins in this age of
grace)
Of
righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; (that is, the Spirit reveals the fact that by
the finished work of Christ a righteousness from God has been provided, Romans 3:22, “even the righteousness of
God which is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe…”)
Of
judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”
(The
Spirit does not convict of a judgment to come, all men know that, Romans 1:32, but of a judgment already
past - the judgment for sin and Satan.)
The
cry of agony from the victim, “my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me”, till
the Dove which would now fall upon the world did not from Calvary hold back the
individual judgment and permit men to live under the grace of a suspended
sentence.
Had
God dealt with men on the issue of sin but for a single day, all would be
driven from His presence and the glory of His power.
The
issue is not now sin “but God’s love”.
(1 John 4:10 “herein is love not that we
loved God but that He loved us…”
Ephesians 3:18-19 “may be able to
comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length, and depth, and
height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge….”)
The
great and all important question is not the sin question but the “Son question”: What think ye of Christ?
That
is the question the Son Himself asked.
That is the question God the Father is asking. “What think ye of My Son?”
(Matthew 22:42-45 What think ye of Christ,
whose Son is He …?)
He
is sending the Church out to ask that question.
That is why the Church has been created and this is its mission to set
this question before every soul.
To
ask insistently, “What think ye of Christ - whose Son is He?”
The
Church is commanded in this age (and this age has been marked out and set apart
that the Church might fulfill this command).
The
Church is commanded to climb the mountains, cross the plains, search the valleys,
sail the seas, tread the wilderness, enter the villages, towns and cities, and
ask every creature in all the wide world, what each one thinks of Christ (Mark
16:15).
By
and through the gospel committed to its charge, God is calling on men to
believe in His Son. To believe on Him at once, without delay.
(John 6:29 This is the work of God that
ye believe on him whom He hath sent).
4.
God is not asking men to believe in His Son as a mere man. He was a real man. He began His human life as a babe. He lay upon a woman’s breast with a babe’s
need and a babe’s weakness. He grew in
strength of body, in stature, in knowledge and favour of men.
(Luke 2:52 note the four-fold development.
Intellectual, physical, spiritual and social.
He
worked and toiled as a man. He wrought as a carpenter. He earned his bread in the sweat of his brow.
(Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter’s son…?)
He
went forth at thirty years of age to preach the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew
4:23).
He
was led by the Spirit (Matthew 4:1).
He
had all the experiences of men. He was tempted
(Matthew 4:3-8). He was sorely tried. He
hungered. He thirsted. He grew tired and weary (John 4:6).
He
endured poverty. The foxes had
holes. The birds had nests. There were times when He had no place to lay
His precious head (Matthew 8:20).
He
was sensitive. When they brought Him to
the woman taken in sin, He bent down and wrote with His finger in the sand,
this worthlessness because of the hypocrisy of their charge (John 8:6-11).
He
was full of sympathy. He wept at
Lazarus’ grave. He was so keenly
sensitive when they came to arrest Him.
He protested, not at the arrest, but at the manner of it. He said He had openly taught in their
synagogue. He had done nothing in
secret. Why then should they come
against Him with lanterns and staves as though they had come against a thief (Mathew
26:55, John 18:3)?
He
deeply drank the cup of sorrow. He said
‘my soul is exceedingly sorrowful unto death (Matthew 26:38). He died as other men die. He was wrapped in a shroud and laid in a
grave as others are laid. He was a real
man. The record is plain enough.
Matthew 27:57-60
(57) When the even was come, there came a rich man of
Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:
(58) He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then
Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
(59) And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in
a clean linen cloth,
(60) And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn
out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and
departed.
But
God is not sending the Church out specifically and supremely to demonstrate
that, to ask men to believe that.
5.
God is not calling on men to believe Him merely as a good man. He was all that. He was
much more than good. He was sinless.
2 Corinthians 5:21
(21) For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no
sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
He
challenged those who knew Him best to convict Him if they could, of a single
sin. None took up the challenge. And none has taken it up since. His sinless-ness, His divine, His miraculous
holiness is so self-evident, so far above assault that it needs no excoriation
to believe it.
6.
God is not calling on men to follow the earthly example of His Son, to
copy it in order that they may be saved.
Take the best man you know. A man
who is so perfect that his praise is in every mouth and place that man
alongside of Christ and he shall be unclean and repellent as this black and
most repulsive ditch. All our
righteousness in His sight are as filthy rags.
Take him who follows Christ more clearly than any other man on this
earth and he shall seem as near to actually following and being Christ as the
crawling worm is to the
7.
God is not calling men to match themselves with Christ or make Him
merely perfect model for their natural lives.
8.
God is calling on men to believe His Son, not as He walked the earth,
but as He died on the Cross. Our Lord Jesus Christ came
into this world that He might go to that cross.
The cross was the objective of His birth. He was born to die on the cross. Continually He told His disciples He was
going up to
This
was Paul’s theme when he stood there in Corinth surrounded by Greek
culture. Being himself a scholar, in
simple downright terms he said:
1 Corinthians 2:2
(2) For I determined not to know any thing among you,
save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
2 Corinthians 5:16
(16) Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh:
yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we
[him] no more.
9.
Through the Church, God is calling men to believe in the Christ of the
cross. He is not telling the Church to preach the
earthly life of Christ. Take and turn
over the sermons of the Apostles. Read
their letters to the Churches. They are
not taken up with how he lived and what he did on earth. No.
They are occupied with what He did on
10.
God is calling men to believe on Christ on that Cross as a sacrifice as the fulfillment of all the
sacrifices and offerings that had gone before.
The burnt offering, peace offering, sin and trespass offering. He is calling men to believe in the empty grave,
in the resurrection to offer Him as sacrifice provided by infinite love and
measureless grace to claim Him as personal substitute, to own Him as Lord, as
God, as Saviour and only Redeemer.
11.
This is the invitation. This is the function of
the Church. But it is more than invitation.
It is the law; as much a law as the law at Sinai. Men are commanded to believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. It demands obedience, the
obedience of faith as it is written.
Romans 16:25-26
(25) Now to him that is of power to stablish you
according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
(26) But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of
the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known
to all nations for the obedience of faith:
The
preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which was
kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest and by the
Scriptures of the prophets according to the commandments of the everlasting God
made known to all nations for obedience of faith (Romans 16:26). We have no choice in the matter. It is not open to discussion. The gospel does not preach a theme for
debate.
12.
The Christian Minister is an ambassador of Christ to preach the gospel
and present it to all nations. To the one who accepts
and believes, the result is immediate. To
the one who does not believe, the result is just as marked. No
The
Holy Ghost alone can do it. He alone can
convict man of that sin of all sins, the sin supreme, the sin of refusing to
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and on Him as the only Saviour through His
redeeming blood.
That
is why the Holy Spirit, personally, is down here in this age. Our Lord said when the Spirit, whom He calls
the Comforter, should come, He would convict the world of sin, of righteousness
and judgment. And note the words: “Of sin because they believe not on ME.” The Holy Spirit did not come into the world
to convict men of the sins of lust, lying, cheating, theft, robbery,
drunkenness, profanity, murder. The law
of the State will do that. The accusing
remorse of man’s conscience will do that.
That is not the work of the Holy Ghost.
13.
The Holy Ghost came into the world to convict man of sin. One sin.
The sin of dis-believing in and rejecting of Christ the crucified, risen
Son of God.
As
it is written,
1 John 5:10
(10) He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness
in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he
believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
14.
God Himself cannot save an unbeliever!
John 3:18
(18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he
that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God.