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'Come, Follow Me!' Part 2

Chapter 2

A Church Divided

“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

(1 Corinthians 3:11)

 

 

 

By Michael Pelc

How are we, the professed followers of Christ, to know that it is He that we do indeed follow, and not chasing after a course of man invented religion or self-designed faith?  This process of knowing our course begins with turning our individual focus and attention to the path we walk.  Fundamentally, where are we placing our spiritual feet as we progress in faith, whether legitimate or presumptive?  Each of us must know and be aware that if our course points or leads anywhere but to Christ, then anything we may attempt to add to our faith, despite its scriptural merit, will be a labor in fruitless futility.    

Do you profess to be a Christian, a believer in Christ?  If so, then could you answer, “Where, now, is your God?”  This is a simple enough question, at least at first glance.  Where is the Lord in the life that you live?  Where is He truly placed . . . and when is He ‘placed’?  What is the form, function, and practice of the faith you possess . . . do these align with the scriptural design of faith as given by Christ—are you absolutely sure?  Are the answers to these questions based on biblical truth; do they reveal the true nature of your heart, whether in obedience or disobedience before the Lord . . . and do they glorify God by His definition of glorify?  These questions are repeatedly answered through the witness of our life to true fellow brethren . . . and to a world that has rejected God. 

For any member of Christ’s church that is examining areas of belief, doctrine, faith, or practice (including areas that are long held or supported as biblical truth, but may actually be in error or outright false) in preparation for a defense (1 Peter 3:15—apologia), there must be a heart preparation to allow the Holy Spirit to guide and instruct, enabling a believer to be better equipped to respond.  Each man or woman that is of Christ must understand what he believes; why he believes; who or what his belief (faith) rests upon; as well as what the actual, tangible evidences that confess him to be a follower of Christ are.  And finally, he must then be able to humbly and scripturally articulate his beliefs, “with gentleness and reverence [respectfully, fearfully]” (1 Peter 3:15).   When such a heart is readied “as though seasoned with salt . . .  [he] will know how [he] should respond to each person” (Colossians 4:6).  A believer, among other acts of faith, is called to be a witness of Christ Jesus in word and deed (James 1:22; 1 John 3:18), to confess Him (Matthew 10:32) and His gospel (2 Corinthians 9:13), to defend His gospel (Philippians 1:7, 16, 27), and to teach the word of Christ (Hebrews 5:12; also, Deuteronomy 6:7 Colossians 3:16; 1 Peter 3:15).  Who are these admonitions for? . . . These are for every child of God, including you if you are His—for there are none that are of God that are excluded or exempt.

As we begin, please have your Bible available so you may examine what is shared for truthfulness and accuracy (Acts 17:11). A concordance, Bible dictionary, and lexicon would be excellent additions as study aids and to help navigate through your Bible.  Always keep in mind that Scripture must be the guide and standard used to investigate, interpret, and confirm the accuracy of difficult areas that we will be discussing.  Before reading further, I also ask that you spend some time studying 1 Corinthians chapter twelve—become familiar with it—as it will weigh heavily in the understanding of this discussion.  Prayerfully submit to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and teaching.

The Holy Spirit is able to bring understanding to you regarding the truths “freely given to us by God,” (1 Corinthians 2:10-13), including the appearance and function of the body of Christ, His church.  Do not, however, rely upon feelings, emotions (both of which are horribly deceptive), personal history, or your religious affiliations. Place your reliance and confidence upon the knowledge of God as He has given, and not the natural propensities we each possess, for “a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (v 14).  Allow the Holy Spirit to guide and instruct you in accurately examining and investigating the written word of God. 

In the last issue of “What Mean These Stones?”, we examined the scriptural support for Christ’s church being a living, breathing organism. We found that biblically, such an organism is unable to be institutionalized or denominationalized as it has been (taking on its present appearance and expression), without adding to or taking away from the scriptural design and functionality of the church as is given in the word of God.

Where denominations (read divisions) exist and are man’s representatives of Christ’s church, the body of Christ is not, nor can it be united in His truth. Through its expression and by man’s own defining, denominationalism (or schisms) is divisions and factions clearly warned against in Scripture; as is the fashioning of a mutative ‘Christ’ designed by man to fit specific cogs within the machinery of these separated groups, yet labeled as Christian.  Denominationalism cannot be mistaken to include only familiar church or belief groups such as Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Messianic Jews, etc. Independent and what are often known as non-denominational churches, as well as a great many, if not the large majority of home church groups may also be denominated, despite the defining of the category or classification they align under.  And we see divisions along specific doctrinal lines of belief and practice; such as advocates of the necessity of baptism of infants, baptism for salvation, Calvinism, Arminianism, ‘Jewish roots’ and the ‘holy name’ movements, biblical law adherents, King James Only advocates, validation of salvation through the speaking in tongues, etc, etc.  Denominationalism is also found solidly affixed in the individual hearts of many Christians who indeed do possess a genuine saving faith.

It was asked in our previous issue, “Is Christ divided?”  The response to this question was, “The simple but true answer is no.  Christ cannot be divided or denominated by the church or man—He is indivisible.  However, what is typically believed to be His church has divided and is repetitively recasting what it claims to be Christ.  Each sect has devised and developed its own ‘Christ’ to fit its designed faith and purpose.”  And each faction possesses an often exaggerated level of certitude, convicted that it is they that have the correct practice, Bible translation, or interpretation of truth . . . that it is they who are the ones walking approved.  Is it not unreasonable to conclude that ‘they’ all cannot be right . . . that error and confusion must be among most, if not all of these unique groups?

This lack of unity in Christ was of great concern to Paul in his writing to the Corinthian church.  In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes, “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.  For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you.  Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, ‘I am of Paul,’ and ‘I am of Apollos,’ and ‘I am of Cephas,’ and ‘I am of Christ’” (1 Corinthians 1:10-12).  This statement is not to be taken lightly as it is a serious charge, an indictment against the heretical and spurious practices being found and exposed within this young church.  Paul then asks the disconcerting question, “Is Christ divided?” (1 Corinthians 1:13a, KJV).

What is labeled as the Christian church, Christ’s church, has been divided, and divided again, and again, into multiple fractions called sects (factions) or denominations—the very meaning of the word ‘denomin’ or denominate, from which denomination is derived, is to divide what is whole and complete into fragments (sects, factions or denominations), as discussed in issue three of “What Mean These Stones?”. The result is always, and without exception, different than the original, the first. It is always less. If there is a departure from that original which Christ founded, it can be nothing but a mutated copy, a cheap imitation.  How can anyone ignore Christ’s own words, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand” (Matthew 12:25), when such devastation lies around us? Who are those that continually ‘heal the brokenness of God’s people superficially’ saying, “Peace, peace”, when in reality “there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14), but division, discord, and separation within His body . . . which ultimately results in religious men being rejected by God?† (Jeremiah 6:30; 7:2, 29; Hosea 9:17; Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 11:21-22; Revelation 3:16)

It is in the very name of the Holy One of God, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, that Paul implores the struggling Corinthian church, “the same thing you all speak” (1 Corinthians 1:10 – UBS The New Greek-English Interlinear, 4th Addition)—in other words, to all agree; to come alongside of him and each other . . . to be of the same mind . . . and of the same heart in unity.  Paul’s usage of these words are intended to give no latitude for self-purpose, individuality in faith, or the reconfiguration of the grace God has bestowed, . . . lest ‘Christ’ be divided in them. 

It is in Christ’s name that he warned the church that there are to be no divisions among them.  In writing, “kai me o en umin scismata,” translated, “and that there be no [not] divisions [schisms] among you,” Paul was emphatic in letting this worldly Corinthian church know there is no self-autonomy within the singleness of the body of Christ, whether in structure or purpose. Division within His true church in any form or measure is intolerable; it is disobedience to the Christ they claimed to follow. In invoking Christ’s name (“I exhort you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ our Lord” v 10) in his stern reprimand, Paul is speaking with Christ’s authority in pressing home the significance and the source of unity . . . and disunity.

After his forceful insistence that there be no divisions within the church of Corinth, Paul then admonishes these straying, wandering sheep to be “made complete” (v 10, NASB). A better rendering of the Greek compound verb, katartizō, is found in the KJV and NKJV Bibles, reading “perfectly joined together.” The basic understanding for this term is the putting back together or knitting together, that which had become separated, torn, or fractured. It is a mending and restoration from their current condition to that which they had deserted. They are not to be divided, but knit together “in the same mind and in the same judgment” (emphasis added). This is ultimately the necessary starting point for any that seeks this unity commanded by the word of God. And true unity, biblical unity, can only come through willful, humble, and prayerful submission to the guidance of the written word of God and the Holy Spirit.

Unity is a foundational, replicating pattern established by Christ and then built upon by His apostles.  It is the foundation and pattern each child of God is mandated to follow . . . and yes, it is no less for His church today.  Paul appeals to and admonishes the Philippians to an adherence of what has already been given, “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.  For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things” (Philippians 3:17-19). Paul is clearly differentiating between what is to be imitated and what is inimical to the body of Christ. This ‘following the pattern of Paul’ (as well as other New Testament writers), to be imitators of his example, and to faithfully reproduce this example before all believers, is repeated numerous times in the New Testament; stressing the significance and boundaries of a single united course in faith and practice (1 Corinthians 4:16; Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7; 2 Thessalonians 3:7, 9; 1 Timothy 1:16; Hebrews 6:12; Hebrews 13:7; 1 Peter 2:21;  etc.). 

To follow any other path but what has already been laid by God in His word, is to walk a course that leads away from God, away from Christ, and away from the obedience that is practiced by those that abide in Him. If any “says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6). Following in obedience to Christ is a result of salvation, being an external evidence of a genuine believer (though it is not causative of salvation).  “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him” (1 John 2:4).  Yes, such words are without doubt very strong. I believe these words were spoken with such candid force to unambiguously stress the importance of what is being stated.  Some would categorically state they are caustic, divisive, unloving, and judgmental if one were to repeat them in any format . . . yet this is clearly and repetitively taught in the word of God (consider James 2:14-26; 2 Peter 2:4-11, 14-18).  Euphemism is not employed by Christ or the inspired writers, leaving no question as to the gravity of what is being spoken. A line of distinction has been drawn. There are but two courses to choose from. It is our responsibility as His church, the pillar and support of truth, to know the desire and intent of Christ for His church and then respond appropriately.

Paul speaks of a unity that is first internal—spiritually united in a belief and faith that is sown, germinated, and nurtured through hearts given unto Christ; and secondly, unity is external—expressed through visual harmony in conduct, doctrine, practice, and in fellowship . . . biblical fellowship (1 John 1:3-7).  True love of Christ enables cohesive obedience and ‘one another love’ (1 John 2:5, 10; 3:14; 4:7-21) with a heart’s desire to be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).  For there is but “one body and one Sprit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6; emphasis added).  The extent of oneness in confessing Christ leaves no remnant for a course of individuality and self-direction.  Oneness is completeness.  When in Christ even two distinctly unique and separated people groups, Israelis and the Gentiles, are united as “one new man . . . reconciled . . . in one body to God through the cross” (Ephesians 2:15-16), with Christ as its single head.  Denominationalism will not and cannot exist in such unity. 

Certainly we will not be united on all fronts. This is a given as we all still struggle in varying degrees with a fleshly nature. Such carnality contends with godliness in its attempt to suppress righteousness. However, the common good and care for one another disallows division, and is repulsed by sectarianism.

In contrast to biblical oneness is selfness—a loving of self (2 Timothy 3:2) and striving after the insatiable desire to satisfy personal will and purpose (Philippians 2:21).  In selfness, there is the false assumption that completeness is within the individual or ones personal affiliations, whether such is personally recognized or not.  Selfness is “boastful pride of life.”  It “is not from the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16). Most within Christendom, even the self-elevated, would admit when pressured that selfness must be set aside to be one in Christ, united as a single body with Christ alone as its head. However, selfness and imaginative entrepreneurialism in faith is widely accepted as biblical as long as the man or woman claims Christ and is wrapped in an acceptable piety; which can be nothing but a “form of godliness” (2 Timothy 3:5).  Such men and women, by the Lord’s very word, are “lovers of self” (2 Timothy 3:2) with no love for Christ, are “depraved” (v 8) and will bear the just wrath of God. But through Christ alone, we are enabled to be overcomers of the flesh that once enslaved us (2 Peter 1:2-4; 1 John 5:4-5).

To Speak the Same

The word ‘confess’, or words derived from it, are commonly used in the New Testament to stress the importance and means of being in one accord with Christ, to speak the same thing as He; a confession that is also used to describe the unity that His church is admonished to practice and express.  The Greek word homologeō (translated as confess), as W. E. Vine defines, is “lit., ‘to speak the same thing’ (homos, ‘same,’ legō, ‘to speak’), ‘to assent, accord, agree with’”*.  To be in one accord with Christ is to acknowledge (confess) Christ as Lord, Master, and Saviour in truth, belief, and practice. It is to surrender one’s personal will (read selfness) in exchange for seeking, finding, and acting upon the will of Christ and His purpose.  This is ‘to confess’ Christ . . . and this all before men as a public confession that is lived out as His witness (Acts 1:8) in the ‘real’ world—“Therefore, be imitators of God . . . do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:1, 17).

However, as shown in Issue three of “What Mean These Stones?”**, a common confession (“to assent, accord, agree with”) within what is called His church, is far from reality as there are so many differing and transforming confessions, creeds, statements of faith, etc., used to state the vast array of beliefs and practices by the ever expanding collection of Christian religions.  No, Christianity is not one faith, but an amalgamation of many faiths, many divisions, and many schisms, loosely mortared together under an ambiguous banner of ‘Christian.’  This was a specific concern that Paul addressed in his letter to Titus.  Men “profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed” (Titus 1:16).  This denial of God was not from indifference to religion; quite the contrary, but was of men “paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth” (Titus 1:14).  Though these men (and women) were often quite religious, they were in rebellion against the very God they claimed to profess.  Their words had no value in truth. They were deceivers (Titus 1:10; Isaiah 29:13) . . . their confession was counterfeit as they used ‘faith’ as a means of personal gain and self-pleasure.  Yet they were allowed to teach free of reproof or discipline from the church, even though they were subverting and destroying whole households with their words (Titus 1:11).

To Deny Him

What is recognized as historical Christianity, and is also representative of today’s Christianity, is not united together in Christ, speaking the same (confessing) in one accord—leaving us with the antonym of confess, which is to deny.  W. E. Vine defines deny as:

“‘to say . . . not, to contradict,’ ‘To deny’ by disowning a person, as, e.g. the Lord Jesus as master . . . ; or, on the other hand, of Christ Himself, ‘denying’ that a person is His follower . . . ; or to ‘deny’ the Father and the Son, by apostatizing and by disseminating pernicious teachings, to ‘deny’ Jesus Christ as master and Lord by immorality [sin, decadence, corruption, wickedness, etc.] under a cloak of religion . . . ; to ‘abrogate, forsake, or renounce a thing, whether evil . . . or good; ‘not to accept, to reject’ something offered . . . ‘refused.’” 

It is critical to keep in front of us the essence of a denial of Christ; it is much more than just a refusing to recognize Him as He claims He is. Again, to deny Christ is to “‘deny’ the Father and the Son, by apostatizing and by disseminating pernicious teachings, to ‘deny’ Jesus Christ as master and Lord through immorality [sin, decadence, corruption, wickedness, etc.], under a cloak of religion.”  It is counterfeiting His truth . . . and Him.

To Confess Him

The clear line of division between ‘to confess’ and ‘to deny’ and their absoluteness in a man’s eternal relationship with God, is self-evident in Christ’s own words, “Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.  But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).  We are left with but two paths, two choices . . . there is no middle ground for conciliating a religion of many faiths.  

Why do ‘confessing’ believers so freely, and without question, accept and follow these vast arrays of serpentine religious traditions of division as if they are something of God?  Why can’t we see these divisions and factions for the destructive nature that they are when so much of Scripture was written to specifically address these heretical practices?  Why do we turn a blind eye to the indisputable disunity that is clearly disobedience, and is evidence of not professing, but instead, denying Christ?  Do we live so much to unite ‘a faith’ in this life with what is acceptable to the world, possibly in fear of being accused of being divisive or judgmental?  Have we moved so far from Him that we cannot perceive this sin and its consequence  . . . a consequence that is eternal?  It must be clearly understood that such blindness or indifference, despite its broad acceptability and prevalence taking place within His church, is never to be an attribute of one following Christ.

A pure faith, a genuine saving faith, lived in obedience to Christ causes no divisions within His body. It is a shared faith, a common faith in the community of His church (Titus 1:4).  Obedience to Christ and division of His people are incompatible!  They are not synergistic but antagonistic and polemic to each other!  The command given by the Lord to Judah “Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people” (Jeremiah 7:23), is not given to Israel of the Old Testament alone, but is clearly taught throughout the New Testament as evidence for genuine saving faith; a faith not “with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18). 

In deed and truth a follower of Christ is to obey Him as His witness and as a living testimony to the love one possesses for Christ (John 14:15, 23-24; John 15:14; Colossians 3:17; 1 John 3:24).  Without obedience (obedience being a meter that indicates one’s love for Christ [1 John 5:3]), visible goodness and professions delivered even in sincerity are meaningless; Christ is not nor can He abide with such a man (1 John 2:3-4; 1 John 3:1-10 etc.).  Professed words of unity, despite how strongly they are believed, are as vacuous yet lethal as the seducing mythical sirens (see Proverbs 9:13-18), when unity is not gauged by the word of God.  Unity in “deed and truth” is not subjective, ambivalent, or conciliatory; but is objective, observable, and testable—being fixed in scope and boundary by the word of God.  Scripture is clear that submission to a standard other than His will, leads to a surrendering to practices that cause division within the body, and the dividing of the ‘Christ’ denominated Christian’s presumptuously claim to love, worship, obey, and submit to.

“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Corinthians 2:14).  The natural man remains in—yes, in—even the children of God as they linger in this world.  We have an innate desire to be recognized, to have a sense of value and acceptance in the eyes of others. All believers will contend in this battle (but must not and cannot succumb to it) until the separation of soul and spirit from the flesh of this body.  Flesh cannot be victorious over what has become a possession of God.  You, as a child of God, are equipped through the Holy Spirit as He abides in you, to be an overcomer (1 John 5:1-12) of this sin nature of the flesh.  Nevertheless, Satan effectively offers specious attractants to this seducible nature, deceiving men, tempting them, luring them into a love affair of individualism and selfness.  While many who confess to be Christian succumb to these inveiglements, there is a torrent of others swept away in surrender to afflictions, persecutions and worries of the world (Matthew 13:20-22), exchanging the truth of God for a lie (Romans 1:25).  “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God . . . and their foolish heart was darkened” (Romans 1:21), as they willfully separate from the unity in Christ. 

The spirit which is present within all of man (separating mankind from the common beast), enables him to recognize the existence of God, witness the manifestation of His power, and extends an ability to seek Him; “. . . for God made it evident to them” (Romans 1:19).  God is not a reclusive or hidden God.  “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).  Being without excuse leaves a man liable in rejecting what God has given.  There is nowhere to lay blame . . . except upon self.  The spirit within each man allows him to seek the Lord and to make a decision to hear and respond to the most high God—and likewise, to make a decision to reject Him.  Remember, rejection of the Lord is to not receive Him as He states that He must be received!  Man does not, nor is he able to, devise mechanisms to know and to be obedient to God . . . despite how righteous the means, effects, or purposes of these methods may appear, or how appealing they may be to mind or spirit.  Man cannot appease God by attaching His name to contrived religions.  As each man and woman has the evidence before them that God does indeed exist, that He is real, that He is knowable and not hidden, and that He is available to those who truly seek Him, there are none that are exempt from eternal punishment if the salvation of God is rejected. 

Today, as it has been since the birth of Christ’s church nearly two thousand years ago, true believers struggle to sever their fleshly bonds completely.  Though cleansed by the blood of Christ through His victory over death, resulting in a new birth for those that believe, the severed umbilicus to worldliness seeks to reattach to the familiarity of the wallows of fleshly desires.  Such desires place stumbling blocks in a man’s personal life, as well as in the life of the church.  Unlike so many today, Paul discerned this hindrance to the work of the Holy Spirit in Corinth, saying, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh [Greek-sarkinos; of the flesh—Vines, “signifying the substance or material of a thing.”], as to infants in Christ.  I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it.  Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly [Greek-sarkikos; carnal, sensual, worldly].  For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly [Greek-sarkikos], and are you not walking like mere men?  For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another ‘I am of Apollos,’ [i.e. denominated] are you not mere men?’ (I Corinthians 3:1-4).  Unity in Christ—as He has given through His written word—is antagonistic to denominational divisions entwined within what is called Christianity.  Denominationalism is a byproduct of carnality, sensuality, and worldliness.  Discernment between goodness (a godliness which is of the Spirit), and evil (which originates from the flesh and is of the devil), is in dire need throughout Christ’s church, and is the call for all of His people (Hebrews 5:14).

Pastor

“. . . and He gave . . . some as pastors and teachers.”  (Ephesians 4:11)

Designed Division

As discussed in Issue 3*, the common preservative of that which has been denominated is institutionalism.  For an institution to exist there must be adherence to its conventional thought.  Its belief, doctrine, and purpose must be disseminated and perpetuated to be viable.  For an institutional church, this existence is most recognized and enabled through a specified mediator or promulgator . . . the face and voice of the institution.  Christendom most often recognizes this person as the one filling the office or role as a pastor—with an assumed affirmation of this ‘title’ from the above verse (Ephesians 4:11).  (If more than one pastor is affiliated with the church, the lead or head pastor, often titled senior pastor, is most likely to be the one recognized).  His title and name are often quite prominent as they are displayed on the church sign at the road frontage, in the Sunday ‘worship’ service bulletin, in the church newsletter, and on the front page of the church’s website.  Some churches display his photo or portrait near the main entrance to be viewed by all that pass by.  And it is ‘this’ pastor that is anticipated and expected each Sunday morning before the church body to teach the word of God.  In other groups under the Christian banner, he (or she) may be recognized by other names often used to imply a similar office or position, including minister (diakonos), priest/priesthood (hierus/hierateuma), and clergy (kleros) . . . all of which are scriptural designations not for a special class of religious authorities, but are descriptive of each believer, each man or woman within His church.  We will briefly touch on these in a moment.

Within Christendom, it is assumed that God has established numerous divisions or positions of authority as a hierarchical structure within His church. We take for granted that what we see is a correct portrayal of God’s design, as this is what we are familiar with, and without question, is perceived as normative for His church.  And, it is believed, or at least accepted, that there is biblically established and biblically supported offices and officers for the governance of the ekklesia, or assembly of believers.

Let us briefly look at a number of pastoral related terms that are used in traditional Christendom, yet are confused in meaning and biblical context through wrong defining and misapplication in their usage within the church . . . and in some cases, even in our Bible translations. Being redefined, these force authoritative, hierarchical structures that compromise the Christ designed church.   Recognizing their biblical applications will provide an understanding that would potentially be obscure in what will be shared later in this article.

Office, or ‘office of’: First, when examining 1 Timothy 3:1 in Bible versions such as the NASB, KJV (both the 1611 and modern version), NRSV, ASV (1917), there appears to be support for such doctrine as offices and officers positioned to govern the body; “It is a trustworthy statement; if any man aspires to the office of overseer . . .” (NASB).   Each of the listed Bible versions uses the phrase, “office of.”  However, there is no manuscript evidence for adding the term ‘office.’  There is no word representing ‘office’ in 1 Timothy 3:1 (nor is there in vv 10 and 13 where the word “office” is also found in the KJV Bible, but absent in the Greek texts in reference to diakoneō.  Diakoneō literally means to serve or to minister, and not “the office of a deacon” as rendered in the KJV, or implied in others).   The Greek Texts available (Novum Testamentum Graece, Textus Receptus, and the Majority Text) from which we derive our translations, reads, “Pisto;ß oJ lovgoß. ei~ tiß ejpiskoph'ß ojrevgetai . . .,” literally, “Trustworthy [is] the word, if anyone overseership aspires to . . . .”

Overseer: Episkopes, translated literally as “overseership,” is a charge or entrustment into a specific service or ministry conferred upon a man by Christ alone.  Overseership, then, is a role or function of oversight within a local assembly; and, which we will discuss later, is a gift of Christ to men already qualified to serve in such a capacity.  It is not a position of employment, business, an ecclesiastical order, sacerdotalism, rule, or a position of governance (hierarchical authority) conferred by men to be filled.   Overseership is a Spirit enabled function of godly oversight as a servant to the local body the man is a member of. 

Clergy: is derived from the Greek term klēros (a noun), having two primary meanings or applications in Scripture.  The first is an object (klēros) such as a small piece of wood, stone, or small potshard that is cast or drawn in a selection process, i.e., ‘lots.’  Such was the process of distributing the clothing of Christ at his crucifixion (Matthew 27:35), and the selection of Matthias, to replace Judas Iscariot, as an apostle (Acts 1:25-26).

The second usage of klēros is that which is obtained or acquired by the casting of lots, which is an “allotted portion.”  It is used “like klēronomia,” an inheritance; and “it is used of the part which one will have in eternal salvation among the sanctified, Acts 26:18” (Thayer).  Klēros is also used “of eternal salvation itself . . . i.e. the eternal salvation which God has assigned to the saints, Colossians 1:12” (Thayer), or, the allotted portion (klēros), given to an heir (klēronomos). With this application of meaning, it is from and for the heirs, the klēronomos that the care and oversight has been charged (klēros) by Christ to specific men He has gifted with overseership as shepherds (1 Peter 5:3; Ephesians 4:11, poimēn), with the shepherd himself being a member of the ‘lot of Christ.’

Priest/Priesthood: (hiereus/hierateuma-nouns) is one set aside (1 Peter 2:9) for specific service (Exodus 28:41; Numbers 16:5-7) to minister unto God (Exodus 28:3, 4; 29:44) possessing the power and authority to administer and perform religious rites and make sacrificial offerings (Leviticus 1:1-17; 1 Peter 2:5; Hebrews 10:11).  With Christ fulfilling the sacrificial laws of the old covenant (Matthew 5:17), the members of the body of Christ, His church, are to now “present [their] bodies [as] a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is [their] spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1). The New Testament knows of no sacerdotal class distinct and separate from the body of believers since the fulfillment of the Law in Christ. Largely, the biblical usage of the term priest, its application, and function of one with a priest identity, from the Greek hiereus, has largely been lost within Christendom since the early fourth century.

With the fulfillment of the old covenant sacrificial system and law in Christ, “all believers, from Jews and Gentiles, are constituted ‘a kingdom of priests,’ Revelation 1:6, ‘a holy priesthood,’ 1 Peter 2:5, and ‘royal’ v 9.  The NT knows nothing of a sacerdotal class in contrast to the laity; all believers are commanded to offer the sacrifices mentioned in Romans 12:1; Philippians 2:17; 4:18; Hebrews 13:15, 16; 1 Peter 2:5.”  W. E. Vine continues, “hierateuma . . . denotes ‘a priesthood’ . . . ‘a body of priests,’ consisting of all believers, the whole church (not a special order from among them), called ‘a holy priesthood,’ 1 Peter 2:5; ‘a royal priesthood,’ v 9; the former term is associated with the offering spiritual sacrifices, the later with the royal dignity of showing forth the Lord’s excellencies.”

Thayer accurately states that hiereus is used, “metaphorically of Christians, because, purified by the blood of Christ and brought into close [communication or exchange] with God, they devote their life to Him alone (and to Christ): Revelation 1:6; v 10; 20:6, cf 1:5; v 9.”  This role is the function and character of each believer, it is who they are.

Minister: (diakonos-noun) is a person committed to advance the concerns, the desires, and the will of another, even at the expense and sacrifice of ones own interests.  In the New Testament, diakonos is translated as servant (John 12:26; Colossians 1:7; 1 Timothy 4:6), minister (Romans 13:4; 1 Corinthians 3:5; 2 Corinthians 3:6, 6:4, etc), and deacon (Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:8, 12).  

When we examine the biblical usage of the term ‘minister,’ it is found to be consistently distinct and separate from a ruling or hierarchal form of polity. Rather than implied or actual governance as a member of a ruling body, a minister supplies relief, or furnishes to the needs of another; this application includes physical needs, but is primarily focused upon the spiritual. 

Jesus states that rulers exercise authority over men, but among His disciples, the great of them will not be rulers or display and act with man devised authority, for they will be servants (diakonos).  “Jesus called them to Himself and said . . . ‘whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant (diakonos). . .” (Matthew 20:25-26). And again, Jesus “said to them, ‘If anyone wants to be first he shall be last of all and servant (diakonos) of all’” (Mark 9:35).  In fact, if anyone claims to be of Christ, to be His servant, they will likewise be a follower of Him; “And Jesus answered them, saying . . . ‘If anyone serves Me, he must follow me; and where I am, there My servant (diakonos) will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him’” ― (John 12:23, 26). There is an objective consequence in v 26 that is often overlooked.  Verse 26 possesses the conditional particle ‘if’ (έἁν) twice, in ‘if-then’ phrases.  If a man serves Christ, he will then (must) follow Christ—the ‘following’ is a condition of ‘serving.’ And secondly, if one serves Christ, God the Father will honor him—the ‘honoring’ is conditional, determined by an authentic and sincere ‘service’ rendered to Christ.  Godly service is always to be in accordance with the instructive word of God as given in the word of God . . . leaving no margins for creatively weaving into Scripture man designed mechanisms, definitions, or applications of service.

Not only was the servant life for the disciples following Christ, but He also identifies Himself as one that came to serve (diakone), saying, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28).  If Christ came to serve, should anything less be expected from one claiming to be a disciple and follower of Christ?

W.E. Vine (author of Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary) writes:

“That diakonos is a term used in the New Testament to express service in general is clear from these instances, and the word might well have been rendered ‘servant’ in all of them, rather than ‘servant’ in one place and ‘minister’ in another. Even in the two passages where in the English Versions the word is rendered ‘deacons’ there is no mention in the original of anything like an office in connection with the term. In the passage in I Timothy 3, which describes the qualities necessary for what are termed deacons (the deacons there referred to are those who render any service of a definite character in connection with a local church), ecclesiastical bias inserted the term ‘office’ in the Authorized Version, to suit the clerical traditions of Christendom. Hence the Revisers have rendered as follows: ‘And let these also first be proved, then let them serve as deacons,’ [28] ‘if they be blameless’ (v. 10). Even the phrase ‘Let them serve as deacons’ represents one word only in the original, and it would have been quite sufficient to translate by ‘let them serve.’ So again in verse 13, instead of the preposterous rendering, ‘They that have used the office of a deacon well,’ the RX. puts, ‘they that have served well as deacons.’ It would have been quite sufficient to say, ‘they that have served well.’” (Vine, The Church and the Churches, Chapter 12)

[28]  The word is diakoneitosan, which is a form of the verb diakoneo, to serve, and means "let them serve" in verse 13, the word is diakonesantes, which simply means "having served."

Before leaving this limited examination of a biblical minister, let us briefly look at what it is involved in following (akoloutheō) Christ, which is a condition of serving. Of the 78 times that akoloutheō is used in the Gospels, only once (Mark 14:13) is it used in reference to something other than ‘following’ Christ.  Akoloutheō, in John 12:26, is translated “he must follow” in the NASB, and, “must follow” in the NRSV.  The rendering of “let him follow” found in the KJV and the NIV must not be confused with a granted permission extended by one to another, hence allowing, or permitting one to follow, or not to follow, Christ.

To ‘follow’ is not passive, but is “to cleave steadfastly to one, conform wholly to his example, in living and if need be in dying also” (Thayer). This meaning is undeniable in Matthew 10:38, “he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”  And Matthew 16:24, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.”  Such committed devotion is repeated in Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; and Luke 14:27.   

Christ is not served by one that does not follow Him . . . and to serve Christ is to follow Him.  Not as we may desire or choose to follow, or as our religion or denomination may dictate, but as He wills, with Him as our example (John 13:15) and our foundation (Matthew 7:24-27; 1 Corinthians 3:10-11) 

Also, I want to just briefly mention that the verb form, diakoneō, signifies ‘to be a servant,’ as one in the service of, or waiting upon, another; whereas diakonia, a noun, is the work of diakonos, the service or ministry of a servant or minister.

Laity: originates from the Greek noun, laos.  Within Christendom, laity is widely known and accepted as the people distinct from the clergy or religious order.  However, such defining or understanding is not found in the New Testament. Literally, and in the context of Scripture, laos is ‘people.’  It is used of persons of a particular group, gathering, community, nation, race, language, or people as a whole.  It is used of believers as the people of God (Acts 15:14; Romans 9:25; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 4:9; 1 Peter 2:9-10).  Christ did not, nor did the writers of the New Testament, use this term or any other, in a positive or neutral sense, to indicate class separation between clergy/priest/minister and the general body of Christ, His church.  However there are two negative usages by John (Revelation 2:6; 2:15) when he uses the term Nicolaitans in identify, by inference, class distinction. Nicolaitans, or Nicolaitēs, are ones that follow Nicolaos.  Nicolaos is from the Greek term nicos, meaning to conquer or to have victory over; and laos, as mentioned, is people.  Nicolaos then, is “one that conquers the people.”    There are no God-ordained, or Holy Spirit gifted, religious surrogates functioning within the true church.  If there is one in the body you meet with, his position is not of God but of man.   

Upon briefly examining the usage of these common terms of today’s Christianity (clergy, priest, minister, laity) contextual and exegetical usage in New Testament, what we find is that all members of the body of Christ are His heritage (klēros), partakers of the inheritance (klēronomia), of the saints.  We are priests (hiereus), of a royal priesthood (hierateuma), that serve as His servants (diakonos), ministers (diakonos) in ministry (diakonia).  We are, for all those who believe, a people (laos) for God’s own possession . . . we are a people (laos) of God.

It should be quite obvious, or at least to draw into question, that the application and function assigned to these terms within Christendom is foreign to Scripture. Certainly, these words remain as biblical terms in usage within our churches, but are used with man’s applying the definition, meaning, and practice.  When man replaces what is of God with his own religious gymnastics, there can be but one outcome . . . the loss of virtually all of the biblical expression of the true church within the body of Christ.  A paralysis of the members of the body creeps in as the body ceases to function as designed by Christ and as taught by the inspired writers of the New Testament.

The

Biblical Pastor

Who or what is a pastor as is given in the word of God?  Is it possible to draw a clear understanding of the function and role of a pastor within the body of Christ from the Scriptures?  And, is it possible to determine whether this gift of Christ is being scripturally portrayed in Christendom today?  If you are of Christ, your response or answers to these three questions are determinate indicators to the spiritual health and vitality within the body of Christ, and its obedience to God . . . .

Paul writes, “He gave gifts to men . . . and He gave . . . some as pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:8, 11). These gifts (Greek-doma) in v 8 differ in application and meaning from the ‘free gift’ (Greek-dōrea) of grace given by Christ in v 7.  Doma, according to E. W. Vine, “lends greater stress to the concrete character of the ‘gift,’ than to its beneficent nature.”  The concrete character of this gift, its ‘tangibility or substance,’ is the equipping and the building up of the body of Christ (v12).  To what end? . . . “until we all attain the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (v13; emphasis added).  These gifts ‘of men’ are given “to men” as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors (shepherds) and teachers.  It is a gift of gifted men—mature, obedient, humble men, yet staunch defenders of faith—to His church. *(men [v8], translated from the Greek word, anthrōpos; meaning ‘peoples’; and is common gender)     

Only here in Ephesians 4:11, is the Greek word poimēn (a noun), translated as pastor (the person) in the more common Bible versions (NASB, KJV, etc.).  In fact, it is the only verse that poimēn is rendered as something other than shepherd; and it is the only verse that the noun poimēn is used to refer to anyone other than Christ (Matthew 26:31; Mark 14:27; John 10:11, 14, 16; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25), or, in a natural sense, a sheep herder (Matthew 9:36; Matthew 25:32; Mark 6:34; Luke 2:8 15, 18, 20; John 10:2, 11, 12).  This lack of biblical identification and recognition of a man or woman filling a pastoral ‘office’ is significant and telling, considering the weight and substance this title carries within Christendom.

Ephesians 4:11 alone, does not give the information necessary to identify who a pastor (a shepherd) is, or what his specific role (shepherding) is to be within the church.  (Note: spiritual gifts are given to individuals, however Ephesians 4:12-16 shows gifted men are also given to the church, and to mankind.)  The identity of a pastor is wrapped in the portrayal of specific function—this being the verb form of poimēn (shepherd) used elsewhere in Scripture, which is to act as a shepherd.   The Greek word for the ‘act of’ shepherding (poimainō) is used of Christ five times; in a positive sense of man three times; in a negative sense of man once; and in the natural (a literal sheep herder) sense twice.  Combining all of the usages of pastor (shepherd) and the act of shepherd(ing) regarding men (whether the noun poimēn or the verb poimainō is used), there are but five references, four positive and one negative—where as of Christ there are twelve, and where used in the natural sense, twelve also.

Of the four positive usages referring to men as pastors/shepherds, three use the verb poimainō, which is a charge of function extended to specific men designated and distinguished to serve through the act of shepherding.  Of the three usages of poimainō, the first is Christ’s gentle firmness as He exhorts Peter in shepherding His sheep (John 21:16).  The only other two usages are admonitions of proper action and activity given once by Paul to overseers of the church (Acts 20:28), and once by Peter to elders of the church (1 Peter 5:1-2).  With these two verses being the lone references (which give specific instruction to those that provide oversight within the local church as elders) regarding the ‘act of shepherding’ (excluding John 21:16 which is directed to an apostle), it is logical, reasonable, and contextual to place pastor (shepherd/shepherding), within the identity and function of an overseer/elder.  And it is within the understanding of the role and function of elder/overseer that the purpose and intent of pastor/pastoring is based. Other than Paul’s instruction to the elders “to shepherd the church of God ” (Acts 20:28), and Peter’s exhortation to the elders to “shepherd the flock among you ” (1 Peter 5:1-2), there are no other usages of poimainō (the act of shepherding) in the New Testament text when used in the positive sense in reference to men (again, excluding John 21:16 which is specifically directed to Peter, an apostle).

The

Biblical Elder

If the identity, purpose, and intent of a pastor(ing) are confined to the role and function of an elder or overseer, what then is a biblical elder?

Elder: is translated from the Greek word presbuteros (not to be confused with the Presbyterian church groups which derives their names from this word. Presbyterianism is a blend of doctrine and teachings of Scripture and John Calvin, often labeled as reformed theology or Calvinism*—for an excellent biblical and historical examination, and treatise of Calvinism, see the book What Love Is This? by Dave Hunt; available at www.TheBereanCall.org).  Within the term elder, we find an inseparable union with what is called the episkopos, which is translated as bishop or overseer.  The relationship between elder and bishop/overseer is apparent in Acts 20:17-18, 28 (“. . . and called to him the elders [presbuteros] of the church, and when they had come to him, he said to them, ‘Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [episkopos], to shepherd [poimainō] the church of God . . .’”); and Titus 1:5, 7 (“. . . appoint elders [presbuteros]  in every city . . . .  For the overseer [episkopos] must be . . .”).  

Whereas the term elder indicates physical age accompanied with spiritual maturity evidenced and confirmed through understanding, practice and expression of intrinsic faith—being indicative of present function in obedience—overseeing is the character and type of work undertaken.  Therefore, a spiritually mature man is bound in godly love and obedience (elder), overseeing (overseer) and shepherding (pastoring) the flock (local body or church) of which he is a member.  The identification as an elder is extended to a man only as a result of the recognition of spiritual maturity and obedience that is already in place within him.  It is his very nature.  Simply, a man, even before being recognized as ‘an elder’ by the church body, serves within the local assembly as a shepherd and overseer.  (From here on in this article, elder will be used when either the term elder or overseer would be fitting.  The term pastor will be used independent of these.)

Godly qualities within maturing men are not job descriptive goals to strive towards once a man is recognized as an elder; but should be aspirations within the heart of all believing men . . . remember, Christ gives such men, already mature men, as a gift to the local body.  These godly qualities are a confirmation and affirmation of maturing, or maturation in faith.  Biblically, there is no warrant for a man to be democratically voted in or hired as a shepherd or elder (i.e. pastor), which are nothing more than devises of men.  Nor is a man to be recognized as pastor through ordination or appointment that is outside or beyond the guidance and boundaries of Scripture.  The scriptural defining of ordination and its application have largely been lost, being replaced with an apparatus that is acceptable to men; while in reality, such a mechanism that is used today for appointment of a shepherd is unknown to Scripture . . . except with negative connotations (1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 Timothy 4:3).

Paul instructs Titus to “appoint [some translations use ordain] elders in every city as I directed you” (Titus 1:5).  W. E. Vine states regarding this verse, “Not a formal ecclesiastical ordination is in view, but the ‘appointment’ for the recognition of the churches, of those who had already been raised up and qualified by the Holy Spirit, and had given evidence of this in their life and service*.” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary, © 1984, 1996 p 33)  Such a man “had already been raised up and qualified by the Holy Spirit.”  The attributes of an elder are functioning in their maturity within the man before he is ever recognized as an elder by the body.  To function as an elder within the church is not through the agency of man, but is the specific work of the Holy Spirit within him.  Such a man no longer lives according to the flesh or for self.  He is not a marionette or parrot for men, nor does he speak “as pleasing men, but God” (1 Thessalonians 2:4)—in fact, his witness and the words he speaks will bring condemnation and hatred upon him as it did Christ (Matthew 10:22; 24:9; John 15:18; 17:14); he is not ecumenical or conciliatory, but stands biblically and spiritually convicted in the Lord’s truth and love. 

As it was with Christ, he will not be popular, nor will he have a large following.  He will be one shunned and ostracized by the religious and pious. His circle of like-minded hearts will be small indeed.  (See The Saint Must Walk Alone by A. W. Tozer in issue three of “What Mean These Stones?”).  An elder already is an overcomer of worldly desires and passions (1 John 5:1-5).  Absent is the necessity to adorn himself with credentials as an external appeal for affirmation of his qualifications . . . he clearly understands the dangers for any of God to desire or strive towards such affirmation. What he does do is to earnestly contend in faith as an imitator of God (Ephesians 5:1), for it is now Christ that qualifies him through the instruction and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  He is separated unto the Lord—and the Lord alone—with the members of Christ’s church being the beneficiary of his love, devotion and obedience to Christ.

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