The
Nature of the Church
By
Wendell Rone, 1945
According
to the Baptists “There is no word in Christian literature whose primary
meaning is so fully agreed upon as the term translated Church; and yet there is
no word in that literature (not excepting Baptism) whose meaning has been so
perverted and made the basis of subversive error.”
The
term “Church” is used in the English Bible to translate the Greek word
ecclesia, from the verb ekkaleo, "to call together, to convene." Its
primary meaning, etymologically, is:
An
organized assembly, whose members have been called out from private homes or
businesses to attend to public affairs. The definition necessarily implies
prescribed conditions of membership.
This
meaning, substantially; applies alike to the ecclesia of a self-governing Greek
City-State (Acts
Ecclesia,
denoting the institution founded by our Lord Jesus Christ, and referred to by
Him as “My ecclesia” in contrast to that of the Jews and the Greeks, is
found in the New Testament a total of 109 times, and always it retains its
primary and simple meaning, a public assembly or congregation. No elaborate
proof of the meaning of the word translated “Church” is necessary as the
majority of Biblical scholars are agreed on it.
In
96 out of the 109 times the word ecclesia is used in a Christian sense in the
Greek New Testament, its reference is unmistakably to a local congregation or
assembly of Christ's people, in keeping with the primary and simple meaning of
the term. There is sharp division of opinion among Baptist scholars over the
meaning of the remaining 13 instances: Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 1:22; 3:10;
3:21; 5:23; 5:24; 5:25; 5:27; 5:29; 5:32; Colossians 1:18; 1:24; and Hebrews
12:23. From these passages many Baptist Bible students deduce that the term
“Church” refers to a “universal, invisible Church,” “the entire
community of the redeemed,” “the body of Christ,” and other kindred and
descriptive terms, all setting forth the concept of all believers of all time,
in heaven and on earth, as composing “the Church.” The author has always
rejected this view, believing that those who hold to it have confused the
A.
The Church referred to as an institution, i.e., in the abstract or generic
sense. Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 1:22; 3:10; 3:21; 5:23; 5:24; 5:25; 5:29; 5:32;
Colossians 1:18; 1:24.
But
in application the generic and abstract become particular, individual, and
concretely evident.
B.
The Church referred to as “in glory,” i.e., prospective rather than actual.
Ephesians 5:27; Hebrews 12:23.
This
“general assembly” has not met as yet, but it will meet in God's appointed
time. But the term “Church” still retains its meaning, a congregation or
assembly, and it will meet in a place, Heaven. The Greek term “Ecclesia” is
never used in Biblical or classical Greek in an unassembled sense.
The
Author makes the contention, furthermore, that the terms “body,” “temple
of the Lord,” “house of God,” “flock,” etc., are figures of speech,
and as such are applicable to particular congregations of the people of the
Lord, but these terms are never used to refer to all of the particular
congregations as a whole or collectively. It is highly doubtful if the notion of
universality (catholicity), either “visible” or “invisible,” is allowed
to attach itself to the term ecclesia in the usage of either the Apostles or the
early Christian writers.
The
two ideas; that of a local organism on the one side, and that of a scattered and
unaffiliated world-community on the other are too incongruous to dwell
harmoniously together under a common designation. To admit the idea of a Church
universal, at all, is to make that “The Church,” and relatively to derogate
from the importance of, and the honor due to, the local Churches. . . As
every idea seeks to embody itself, he who regards himself as a member of the
Church universal (either “visible” or “invisible” W. H. R.) will
naturally seek to adjust himself to the demands of the larger, as more important
than the smaller, body to which he belongs. John Henry Newman, smitten with
enthusiasm for the Church universal, which must from its very nature be one and
historically continuous, went logically to
Baptists,
believing that the “local” Church is the only one with which we can be
concerned in an active manner in this world, have stated that: “A visible
Church of Christ is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant
in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ;
governed by His laws; and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested
in them by His Word.”
New
Hampshire Conf. of Faith, Art. 13
The
individual Church may be defined as that smaller community of regenerate
persons, who, in any given community, unite themselves voluntarily together, in
accordance with Christ's laws, for the purpose of securing the complete
establishment of His Kingdom in themselves and in the world.
Baptists
hold that a Church is a company of disciples, baptized on a profession of their
faith in Christ, united in covenant to maintain the ordinances of the Gospel,
and the public worship of God; to live godly lives, and to spread abroad the
knowledge of Christ as the Saviour of men.
A
Church is a congregation of Christ's baptized disciples acknowledging Him as
their Head, relying on His atoning sacrifice for justification before God,
united in the belief of the Gospel, agreeing to maintain its ordinances and obey
its precepts, meeting together for worship, and co-operating for the extension
of Christ's Kingdom in the world.
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