How Does the Eternal Govern Through Humans? Part 4

Pray and Pay?

Part 4 Preview: (Part 1?) Here is the most exhaustive study on “Church” Government that you will ever find. I was surfing for an article that was both “death” on the word “church” as well as Biblically thoro on the subject of “Church Government”. This covers the latter, and I happen to know the writer. If you have questions about the role (or lack of it) of the ministry in your life, there will be Biblical answers here! You can quit reading this as soon as you stop finding exceedingly uncommon truths that the churches don’t want you to know about (you won’t )! A major bonus of this “booklet” is the Greekdefinition of “ordination”. You don’t know what it really means, but you really should know!

Early church congregations had many of the same issues to deal with. Major decisions might involve the whole group, but it is not practical or sensible to vote on every little issue—like which tablecloths will be used each week. Congregations do need individuals with some authority. Some duties of those in authority would include designating who will speak in services, determining the time and length of services, taking action if someone is disrupting the service, managing the meeting place, accounting for locally-collected money, arranging for the care of books and other assets, etc. In a small congregation, one person may do all of these things. In a larger group, one or more elders may do each of the jobs. This authority can exist without being dictatorial. Those in authority must consider the needs of those they are serving.

Please note that it is possible for elders to also be evangelists and/or prophets. However, the most common teaching of the Scripture is for the Eternal to spread out gifts among the congregation. If the Eternal gives someone many gifts, they should certainly use them. But there is no reason for someone with strong gifts to strive for more. Far too many congregations have suffered too much from the “one-man pastorate syndrome”—the idea that one ordained man will have all the gifts and that everyone else just prays and pays.

Since we just mentioned “paying”, let us address the question of whether or not elders, overseers and/or pastors should be paid. The phrase “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor” (1 Tim 5:17) could possibly be translated “double remuneration”, though nearly every major translation says “honor” here. We should start with verses that are clear. Nobody should charge people who come to hear Gospel preaching. We quoted Titus 1:11, above, which says not to preach for dishonest gain. Also notice:

Freely you have received [the Gospel], freely give (Matt 10:8).

... useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself (1 Tim 6:5).

And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you (Luke 10:7-8).

Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him [Christ] from their substance (Luke 8:3).

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God (2 Cor 2:17, NIV).

These verses show that the preaching of the Gospel was always free to the individuals receiving it. If the Eternal is behind the preaching, He will inspire others with substance to provide a way for the work to be done. The following verse does show an established congregation should support those leaders who serve it:

If others are partakers of this right [to be financially supported] over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ (1 Cor 9:12).

However, there is not one New Testament scripture where a leader demands or begs more money from believers. There is no evidence of any Gospel preaching that left undone due to a lack of money. It seemed that those who were commissioned to teach and preach just went forth and did it. The Eternal took care of their needs.

In the last part of this section, we ask exactly how much authority do elders, overseers and/or pastors have, and how do brethren determine whether they will cooperate with a leader or not? For example, does an overseer have the authority to tell specific members of the congregation that they must come in on a certain day and wash the floor and walls of their meeting hall? Does he have authority to have them wash his private automobile, also? From questions like these we can see why the Bible does not attempt to exactly define the authority of elders—there would be no end of questions that one could ask. Instead, we see the general principles that those with authority are responsible to use it for the good of all involved, and the others should follow that authority unless they believe it is contrary to Scripture. The following passages are helpful:

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith (Heb 13:7, NIV).

Obey [peitho] your leaders and submit [hupeiko] to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Heb 13:17, NIV).

And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you [proistemi] in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves (1 Thes 5:12-13).

Note that the Greek peitho (“obey”) is usually translated “persuade” or “trust”—it contains the idea of becoming friends, cooperating. This word is not as strong as the Greek pietharcheo, used for obeying the Eternal or kings (Acts 5:29; Tit 3:1), which was not used here. The Greek hupeiko, (“submit”) is not a term of absolute submission, but one of peaceful cooperation. Finally, the Greek Proistemi (“over you”) is sometimes translated “manage” or “devote oneself” in modern translations. It is used for managing one’s family. (See Rom 12:8; 1 Timothy; 3:4,5,12,17; Tit 3:8,14 for all other uses).

These three verses cited above show the manner of the relationship between brethren and leaders in the congregation. Notice that these verses do not name “elders”, “overseers”, “apostles” or any other specific job, but apply to all who might be in a leadership role. One is to cooperate with those who:

1) Spoke the word of God to you. Does a leader really expound the Bible, or does he use a few token scriptures and then just preach “nice sounding things”? Religious groups often start out with a preacher full of zeal, but when he dies or moves on, he is often replaced by a bureaucratic type people, who mostly encourage brethren to keep coming and keep contributing.

2) Have produced observable fruits when you “consider the outcome of their way of life”. Does a leader have the fruits of the spirit? These fruits are not a “big office and organization”, but “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness [and], self-control” (Gal 5:22-23). Some leaders are so dedicated to “doing the work” that nobody can stand to be around them. Christ taught that leaders should be known “by their fruits” (Matt 7:15-20). It is even necessary to “try apostles” (Rev 2:2).

3) Have faith worth imitating. A leader may preach the power of Christ to live righteously, but then not overcome major sins himself. A leaders may tell members they must have faith to give the very money that they plan to live on, but he exhibits no faith that God will continue his ministry through tough financial times. Another leader may tell members they must trust God for healing, but then he quietly uses extensive medical help.

4) Actually work, admonishing and watching out for the souls of the brethren as if they were going to give account for it someday. Good leaders will genuinely care for their brethren. You probably do not want to accept a leader who needlessly puts brethren out of the congregation (3Jn 3-10), nor do you want to accept a leader who is so busy that he does not know when brethren are missing from services for months.

These points are an excellent way for a person to determine which leader(s) he or she will work with. The last 2 scriptures indicate that when a member accepts a leader, it should be joyful and without difficulty. He should treat them with respect. Sometimes, when brethren learn that the Eternal does not require them to follow some man to be saved, they become uncooperative, even with leaders whom they acknowledge might be leaders sent from the Eternal. As Hebrews 13:17 says, this attitude is neither joyful for the leader, nor good for the member.

Bible Teaches Christ-Directed Leadership, Not Government Form

When people form a new church organization, one of the first things that they do is decide on their government. If the new organization is hierarchical, the debate centers on who will fill all of the various positions in the hierarchy—who will have authority and who will have influence on those in authority. If the new organization is more democratic (congregational), the debate will be over the wording of the constitution, bylaws, and other founding documents. Later, there will be a debate over who is elected to which office, and who will be hired as “ministers”.

Do you realize that there is no section of the New Testament that deals with the government plan for a local congregation or a church organization. Yet from Acts onward, much of the New Testament is about the forming of congregations. The Romans had corporations and societies that were governed by detailed documents. Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls show that detailed governing documents were written by some of these obscure Jewish sects. Yet the New Testament never once refers to a list of hierarchical leaders or the governing documents of a congregation. It never mentions a list of “ranks” or of someone being “raised in rank”. No one is ever told to follow human orders “without question”.

It should be obvious that belief in Jesus as Messiah and Savior is an individual way of life. It is not just an excuse to build “church organizations”.

The New Testament books that are letters to congregations are addressed to the whole congregation—they do not address or even name “the top leaders in the congregation”. The Bible does not have a specific list of “positions” that each local congregation must have. We do not find a specific list of “headquarters” positions—we do not even find a term that means “church headquarters”. (The Acts 15 meeting was in Jerusalem, but Jerusalem was never called “the headquarters church” or “the primary church”.) We find more than one method in use for putting people into various jobs. With the exception of teachers (Tit 3:10), we do not find any specific formula for putting people out of jobs. It does not say if an overseer keeps his job for a term or for his entire life. (Obviously, he can be removed for flagrant sin or teaching doctrinal error).

We can be sure that a detailed government plan was not in place by looking at how various problems were solved in the New Testament. The believers most often recognized the task at hand, and appointed someone to do it. When widows were being neglected, they did not make a budget request to the “local relief committee”, but found seven men, full of the Holy Spirit, to take care of the problem (Acts 6:1-7).

When the poor brethren in Jerusalem needed help, three times groups of people simply volunteered to help on their own (Acts 11:28-30; Rom 15:26; 2 Cor 9:1-15). One time, Paul asked people to collect (1 Cor 16:1-3). All of these collections were taken directly from the givers to Jerusalem. We never read about a “middle man”—there is no appeal to “increase your giving to the poor fund because the situation in Jerusalem is draining its reserves”.

We know that the brethren regularly assembled together, but we never read one word about the planning or construction of a building for services. Rather we read that brethren met in homes (Rom 16:5; 1 Cor 16:9; Col 4:15; Phlm 1:2) and in one place, a school (Acts 19:9).

What about Gospel preaching? Christ had given a very general plan in that Peter was clearly the main apostle to the Israelites, and Paul was the main apostle to the Gentiles (Gal 2:7). But did the apostles design a detailed evangelism plan? Was the Acts 15 Jerusalem meeting a good place to finally “organize the Work”? Look what happened right after this meeting:

Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. 8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them (Acts 16:6-10).

Direct revelation from the Eternal seemed to be common for the apostles. We will not print the many other stories, but they are well worth reading (Acts 8:26,29,39-40; 10:1-20; 13:2-4; 18:9-11; 20:22-23; 23:11; 27:23-24; 1 Tim 4:1). One cannot read all of the above scriptures and believe that first century evangelism was carried out by a humanly devised master plan.

We have mentioned that the Bible does not give any detailed plan for Church government and programs. However, the Bible has much to say about what Christ does and how we should have His attitude.

Christ told His followers that He was treating them as friends, not servants (John 15:14-17). All converted people are forbidden to “lord it over” others, but are to be servants (Matt 20:25). Our Savior treated so many people so kindly that He was known as “a friend of publicans and sinners” (Matt 11:19). (Would people say that about you or the leader of your group?) The Eternal referred to Abraham and Moses as “friends” (Ex 33:11; 2 Chr 20:7; Isa 41:8). Notice our Savior’s example for us:

... fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Phil 2:2-8).

Everyone must be careful to avoid causing a new or weak person to stumble. “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt 18:6). 1 Corinthians 8 explains how a strong person with proper knowledge may eat meat offered to an idol because the idol is really nothing. Paul concludes the matter in verses 11 to 13: “And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

When giving another person instructions, there is not one case where a converted leader used a “do it because I said so” approach. Either the purpose is obvious in light of Scripture or there is an explanation given. Also, there are no instructions to Church leaders about how to “maintain their authority”. For example, some modern-day “ministers” have insisted they be addressed as “Mister” (even by people much older than they) to command respect. Matthew 23:10 (KJV) shows leaders should not insist on being called “master”, which is essentially the same word as “mister”. A leader who is genuinely serving will have the respect and cooperation of other converted people—he will not need to “maintain his authority”.

While leaders should be humble, there are times for them to speak strongly—when someone is trying to deceive the brethren. “For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. One of them, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.’ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith” (Tit 1:10-13). Again, please notice, that these trouble-making men were not “cast out of the congregation”, but corrected so they could be “sound in the faith”.

No New Testament Leader Ever Named A Successor

When a modern-day religious leader dies, the first question people have is, “Who is going to succeed him—who will continue to run his ministry, pastor his congregation, etc.?” This is a perfectly reasonable question to one who believes that spiritual authority comes by human “ordination”. Sometimes successors are named by the religious leaders before death, other times they are named by a group’s board of directors or other governing body. After the new leader is accepted, the next question often is: will he teach the same thing as the person he replaced, or will he make changes?

The hope of a successor is that he will carry on the practices of the original leader or organization. Indeed, even when the death of a specific individual is not at stake, the whole concept behind “ordination” is to authorize individuals to teach the same doctrines and practices as the people doing the “ordaining”.

We do not have space to delve into the history of specific religious groups here, but it is worth examining what typically happens in religious groups over a long period of time. Our scenario could apply to something as big as the Protestant churches splitting off from the Roman Catholic church, to the breakup of a worldwide church organization, to the dividing of a local congregation where you live. The point is to demonstrate the logical difficulties associated with succession of church leaders.

It is actually quite common for religious groups to change in doctrine over time. There are church organizations with doctrines and practices nearly opposite to the ones held when the group was founded. Sometimes these changes are good (toward Bible truth), but more often they are bad (false doctrine and corrupt practices). No matter how bad the changes, it seems that some ministers and members will always stay with the original organization (let us call it “Group A”), and others will leave to form a new church organization (“Group B”). We will use the term “minister” for the leader in each group, but the name could easily be changed to “priest”, “pastor”, “board member”, or whatever a group uses.

All of the ministers in Group A were trained and ordained by other ministers in Group A. However, some of them do not like the doctrinal changes in Group A, so they leave to form Group B. Both Groups A & B say a lot of bad things about each other in an effort to draw more of the members to themselves, but that only serves to drive members away from both groups. In spite of all the disagreement, Group B’s official method of recognizing a minister is one “ordained” by Group A—they do not have their own training program yet. Group B tells its members that all of its ministers are “chosen by God”, yet they were taught and “ordained” by the exact same process as all of the “apostate” ministers still in Group A. The leaders of Group B seem little concerned that some of their ministers did not join Group B because of doctrinal conviction, but did so when they realized that most of their members were joining Group B.

Even stranger, suppose that a minister stays in Group A for two years after the split, and then decides to accept Group B’s doctrines. He will probably be readily accepted as a minister in Group B. Why should a minister take two years longer to figure out the doctrinal problems than the members that he was supposed to be teaching?

What is even more unusual, is that the ratio of members to ministers in a group split often stays about the same in both groups. (For example, if 30% of the members go to group “A”, then about 30% of the ministers will also.) If “ordained ministers” were somehow commissioned by the Eternal and more full of his spirit, would not we expect a high percentage of the “ordained ministers” to join Group B (the “good” group) and primarily the “unspiritual members” to stay in Group A? But in nearly every case, that does not happen. Someone might say “that statement doesn’t disprove succession of ordination because the Bible says there will be false ministers”. Yes it does. If we regard all of the ministers in Group A to be false ministers, that means that the ordination process is no better at finding righteous leaders than simply picking them out of the congregation at random. If a large number of the “ordained ministers” turn out to be false, then “ordination” is of no value. It just means that brethren cannot rely on a man simply because he is ordained—he is still just as likely to go astray as the “un-ordained” man. With or without ordination, brethren are still left to look at the fruits of a minister before deciding to trust him. It would be much better to skip the false practices of naming successors and “ordination” and simply encourage brethren to work with leaders who are apparently gifted from the Eternal and bearing good fruit.

The Scripture says that the Eternal grants spiritual gifts as it pleases Him (1 Cor 12:18). He never promised to grant spiritual gifts to “successors of leaders” or leader’s organizations. Nor does he tell leaders to name successors. Let us study this subject in the Bible.

There are examples of “named successors” in the Old Testament, but they came about as the result of men’s specific requests. Nearly all the Israelite kings had successors—usually their own sons. However, these cannot be used as a good example because nearly every King was evaluated as “bad” (see books of Kings and Chronicles). The system of genealogical succession was never intended by the Eternal, the Israelite people demanded it (1 Sam 8:6-7).

Moses asked the Eternal to appoint a successor to lead Israel, and Joshua was appointed. (Num 27:15-17). Of interest, when Joshua died, the Eternal did not appoint a successor, but left “the elders” in charge (Jdgs 2:7). The final example of a successor in the Bible is Elisha succeeding Elijah (2Kngs 2:9-14). Both Joshua’s and Elisha’s succession were confirmed by the word of the Eternal and great miracles. It was not a matter that their predecessors simply appointed somebody to replace them, it was a matter of the Eternal deciding He wanted someone to continue in the same role.

Matthias was chosen to replace Judas in Acts 1:15-26, but this was before the Holy Spirit came and before Judas ever really functioned as an apostle. Except for this incident, no successor of any apostle or any other leader is mentioned in the New Testament—even when the leaders are telling the brethren that they probably will not see them again.

For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified (Acts 20:29-32).

Paul clearly told these Ephesian elders that they should be able to withstand the coming attacks themselves. He does not tell them that anyone will “take his place”. Also, in 2 Timothy 4, Paul shows that he expected to die soon. He talks about numerous people and what they should do, but does not name a successor. How could he? Who else was trained by Christ in the same way as Paul? In the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, Christ says nothing about following the apostles or their successors—He only commends the Ephesians for finding the “false apostles” to be liars—It looks like Paul’s teaching (above) was effective!

There are scriptures that tell us that the Eternal gives some people leadership gifts. There are scriptures that tell us the qualifications of leaders. There are scriptures that tell us to look for fruits in leaders. But there are no scriptures telling us to look to people occupying “church offices” or to people who were “ordained” by a previously gifted leader.

Christ’s Work Can Be Accomplished Without a Formal Structure

Entire books have been written about the good and bad points of various forms of Church government. We cannot go into that much detail here, nor can we prove that the best government is one where members seek to recognize spiritual gifts. This method will not succeed because it is a superior system—it will only succeed because Christ directs it. If He does not direct it, it will probably fail. We include the follow summary to show how it can be successful for those who submit to Christ.

What Can an Individual Do Today?

This is not an easy matter. It is simply difficult to think about “religion” or “church” without “church buildings”, “ordained ministers”, outreach programs, non-profit corporations, boards of directors, and things like this. We are not saying that the Eternal has not or does not work through such things sometimes. We believe He has. But that is not the way He did His marvelous and miraculous work during the first century.

The first thing a person must realize is that it is his responsibility to decide between good and evil leaders:

You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut 13:3).

For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you (1 Cor 11:18).

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them... (2 Pet 2:1).

I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars (Rev 2:2).

Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you (Rev 3:9).

From the last three scriptures, we can know that some men will conspire, lie and secretly bring false doctrines into the Church. Furthermore, we cannot simply assume that a man who was a righteous leader at one time will continue to be so in the future (Heb6:4-6; 10:26-27 ; 1Pet 2:20-22). Even the apostle Paul admitted that he could go astray if he did not keep himself in subjection (1 Cor 9:27).

If the Eternal did command us to follow church leaders without question then either the leadership must be infallible, or we are commanded to follow what we know to be error! The Eternal does not ask us to obey any man without thinking—that would be idolatry. Unquestioned obedience is only for the Eternal (Deut13:4 ; Acts 5:29). He gave us a number of scriptures to help us determine who are false teachers (1Jn 4:1-3; Jude 10-12,16-18; 2 Pet 2:1-4,19-22; 2 Jn 7-11).

But even when people realize they need to change their lives, there is a tendency to look to some other “established church leader” to form a new congregation. Unfortunately, nearly every “established church leader” of today was “ordained” by older established church leaders. So if a few church leaders leave that endless process, form completely independent congregations, but then die without leaving a successor, will not the movement simply die out? If we were simply trying to create another human movement, the answer would be: “Yes”! But Christ promised that his Church would continue (Matt 16:18). He will see that it does continue! The question is, do we want to look to Christ, or do we want to insert an “ordained person” or “church organization” between ourselves and Christ?

The purpose of this paper is not to simply build a new “church organization”without “ordinations”and successors. The purpose is to help people understand what the Bible says about church government, to encourage people to study their Bible directly, to look to Christ for guidance, and then to do what the Bible and Christ say. He will build His Church!

Only after one is first committed to the above principles does it make sense to look for a place to fellowship with other believers, and to begin to try to help and teach others. Where can you get started?

1) Ask Christ what you should do. Obviously, you have prayed before. But you will probably find that you have to make decisions for spiritual purposes that will have a great impact on your life. If you are seeking Christ’s will, He will show you. He is not afraid to answer in a miraculous way, if you will use this miracle as guidance, and not as a matter of spiritual pride. Gideon’s request for a sign is a good example (Judges 6:36-40). He asked for the dew on the ground and on a fleece to be opposite from each other. This miracle would completely dry up as the sun rose—it was not something he could show off or even prove to his friends. Of course, if the Eternal miraculously gives you His decision, you must be prepared to do it.

2) Seek wise counsel. Talk to other wise people whom you know—whether you think they will be in favor or against the ideas that you are thinking about (Proverbs 11:14; 12:15; 15:22).

3) Begin a regular program of personal Bible study. The best method is to read through the Bible in an organized plan: either straight through, New Testament first or some other manner. Using a Bible study course or a “study Bible” (the NIV Study Bible, Scofield Bible, the Companion Bible) will clear up some difficult scriptures, but may also give you a few interpretations of Scriptures that are not really in the Bible.

4) Find a group of similarly-minded believers to fellowship with. This could take days or years to achieve. If you are with a group, the Eternal might lead you to continue with them for now. You may want to share this knowledge with some of them—some of them may understand it and want to do it with you. On the other hand, you may be led to visit other congregations to see if there are other individuals interested in the Biblical way.

Do not be afraid to start your own service if Christ leads you in that direction. You do not need a building, any paperwork, or people with titles of any kind. You can sing praises, study the Bible, share experiences and encourage each other with a group of people in a home. That is closer to the services described in the Bible than most of the services run by Church organizations. The purpose of services is to learn and to build a community of believers to which the Eternal can grant spiritual gifts and use for his work.

This paper is not a call to “do-nothingness”. It is a call to be ready for a big job in a very real way.

This Christ-centered Church government worked for the first-century congregations. It allowed local groups to continue functioning after the apostles were martyred and after Jerusalem was destroyed. Those who looked to the Scriptures and to the power of the Holy Spirit were able to recognize and leave groups that had been infiltrated and taken over by deceivers. The Eternal’s Church continued through the centuries, often persecuted by Rome and various civil governments. Its history is often difficult to trace, because there were few organizations or buildings to write about.

While the Eternal did raise up some great leaders at various times to further the preaching of the gospel, His Church was never dependent upon a single headquarters or man—these are things the enemy could easily destroy. We find no great dynasties of leaders succeeded by their sons or even great teachers succeeded by their able students. If we desire that kind of government, we must look to the Roman Catholic Church. The Christ-centered government has been in use throughout this century, and still works today.

Today, the fields are white for harvest (John 4:25). There are millions of people who are “turned off” to organized religion. They have seen corruption or error in organized churches and they will not go back. There are millions more who attend churches, but are not satisfied with their relationship there. Other millions have never heard an accurate presentation of the message of the Bible. There is so much work to be done.

In numerous places, the Scriptures teach that believers are called to a way of life, and that we should all be bearing fruit—being a “shining light”. We should all be helping, serving and teaching others—as they are ready to hear. We should all bear fruit.

The scribes and Pharisees understood a lot of Biblical truth—so much so that Christ recommended that the Jews of his day do what they taught (Matt 23:2-3). But He also said that their personal practices were so bad, that those few people they converted were “twice as much a son of hell as yourselves” (Matt 23:4,15).

We live at a time when much of the population of the world could be destroyed in any number of ways—maybe even by accident. Jesus Christ said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt 24:14). We cannot expect a big, miraculous work of the Eternal to be done through “ordinations” and organizations that He never set up. We need to be ready for Him, no matter where He may take us.

There is much positive work for every person with the Holy Spirit to be doing now:

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find him so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, “My master is delaying his coming,” and begins to beat his fellow servants [attack other church leaders or brethren?] and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt 24:45-51).

I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever (John 14:12-16).

These promises are given to individuals, not to congregations or corporations. “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen” (2 Pet 3:17-18).

Conclusion: Why This Information Is Essential for the Future

When they are honest, the leaders of most church organizations will admit that their group is far away from the New Testament church—which was full of great miracles, powerful messages and people who gave their lives for what they believed. They will admit that the members of their group have numerous sicknesses, family problems, and other difficulties. Some groups will make excuses and say that those early miracles have been replaced by the modern “miracles” of radio, television, printing and transportation. Indeed, church organizations and ministries everywhere tell their members that they could really “get the Gospel preached” if they just had more money.

But church organizations have literally spent billions of dollars on mass evangelism, and none of them believe the job is anywhere finished. If you can find the leader of a church organization in a thoughtful mood, ask him this: “Which would be more helpful to him to reach the world with the Gospel, another million dollars or the ability to completely heal paraplegics—or persons with AIDS?” If the leader is thinking, he will recognize the latter. A million dollars buys only so many hours of TV time or so much literature—which people may pay attention to, or may simply ignore. Those who witness miraculous healings never forget them—and these miracles could easily capture the attention of the world without costing a cent!

Since our Father in Heaven is serious about preaching the Gospel to the world, why does not He grant His people such miracle-working power? We can best answer this question with a couple of questions. Suppose such miracle working power were granted to people in the church groups that you are familiar with. Would these groups tell those who witnessed these miracles to repent and begin living by the Bible? Or would they tell them to join their church group because “God is working there”? Indeed, thousands, maybe millions of Christians would try to join the church group that had a person who was repeatedly used to perform miracles that are obvious to everyone.

The need is for the miracle-worker to tell these people: “I have no organization to join. You need to repent and live by the teaching of the Bible with the guidance of the Holy Spirit in you. You can fellowship with other believers wherever you can get together. You can help teach others in whatever way Christ leads. But consider yourself a member of the One Church, a spiritual body of believers—never a member of some human church organization!”

After nearly two thousand years of church organizations, a massive effort will be required to undo what so many people have come to accept. But if Jesus Christ is most concerned about people who want to be members of His flock and look directly to Him, it is not likely that He will pour out His powerful spiritual gifts to those who will use them for the glory of a particular church organization.

All of us need to overcome the past and “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call” (Phil 3:14). We realize that we are responsible for far more than finding a church organization where we can “pay, pray, obey and stay.” We are all going to be judged by what we say and do (Matt12:36 ; 2 Cor 5:10). We all can read the Bible. Christ will ask us why we did or did not follow Him, not about which church leader we followed. We need to ask for spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:31); we need to use them (1 Thes 5:19). “While day lasts, we must be busy with the work of him who sent me; night comes, when no one can do any work”(John 9:4, Moffatt). May the Eternal strengthen all of us as we seek to obey Him!

At this point, our exposition of government from the Scriptures is finished. We would be interested in prayers, comments, and corrections from our readers. We have, and hope to continue, to revise this article based on what we learn from others. The final sections deal with answering questions about specific teachings or scriptures that have been used to support the governments within various church organizations.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: ANSWERS TO SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

If Everyone is Free to Disagree, Can Anything Be Accomplished?

As there is no place in the Church for self-seeking high-handed authority, so there is no place for self-seeking, uncooperative brethren. It is the duty of believers to follow their leadership as much as possible within the commands of the Bible (1 Cor 11:1; 1 Thes 1:6).

We then who are strong ought to bear the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself... (Rom 15:1-3).

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others (Phil 2:3-4).

The Jerusalem meeting recorded in Acts 15 is a good illustration of the right working relationship. The leaders in Antioch realized they had a difficulty—some people though circumcision was necessary for salvation, others did not. So they decided to go to Jerusalem. The brethren were invited to attend the meeting as long as they were orderly (Acts15:22 ). Hopefully, they were not continually complaining about the place, time, or hard stone chairs! Those who felt moved to express their opinion could do so (v 7). When the apostles, elders and brethren came to a decision, everyone was expected to accept it.

People who resist the work of the Holy Spirit in others are tearing down the Eternal’s work, rather than building it up. A person who disagrees with a church leader should have a sound scriptural basis. Saying, “I would do it differently,” is not enough. We all are responsible for the work that we do, good or bad.

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor 3:11-15).

The man in the parable of the pounds (Luke 19:12-27) who does not try to do any work at all loses his eternal life.

Disagreements will occur between brethren, but they can be resolved. Issues should be discussed, but people should not be attacked. 2 Peter 2:10-11 and Jude 8-9 inform us that even angels do not bring reviling accusations against Satan for his evil deeds. When Paul had a disagreement with Peter, he went directly to him (Gal 2:11).

Romans 14 shows that it is not necessary to “solve” all doctrinal differences. The main example here is about whether or not to eat meat, however the observance of days is also mentioned and the principles can certainly be extended to many issues. The teaching is clear: “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things” (Rom 14:1). When people believe a doctrine, they should practice it—not try to get everyone else to practice it. It is wrong to try to force someone to practice a doctrine they are not convinced is Biblical. “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin” (Rom 14:23). Also, note verses 12 and 13: “So then each of us shall give account of himself to the Eternal. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore....”

Sometimes, serious problems of one believer affect other believers. Examples might be flagrant personal sins, teaching of heretical doctrines, or continual unwanted attempts to solicit brethren as business customers. Christ provided a specific procedure for resolving these situations:

Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church [ekklesia]. But if he refuses even to hear the church [ekklesia], let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them (Matt 18:15-20).

This procedure is very effective, but it is almost never used as specified. As Paul went to Peter (Gal 2:11), the person who perceives the offense should try to work it out directly with the person(s) involved. Resolutions in this manner create fewer problems for everyone. If that fails, then get one or two witnesses—people who have seen or know about the problem at hand. Never simply look for friends who you think will see things your way. The effort here is to find truth, not to prove yourself right. Elders are not required at this point. Any mature believer with the Holy Spirit should do this (Gal 6:1). If that fails, take it to the entire congregation. (Some will claim that this scripture means “go to the ministry” or “elders”—however Matthew wrote ekklesia, specifying “congregation”or “assembly”.)

Taking a problem to the entire congregation produces many positive effects: (1) Silly or groundless complaints will disappear because people will be embarrassed to take them in front of the whole congregation. (2) A man will have a chance to be heard by a large, hopefully unbiased group—greatly reducing the chances of being “put out” unjustly. (3) The congregation receives a chance to use the Bible and learn to judge justly. (4) If a person has a righteous cause, but the leadership is wrongfully trying to “put him out”, the entire congregation will know the true reason and have the opportunity to leave the corrupt congregation and continue to work with the righteous man.

When the Scripture specified “the church”, it implies those who assemble; you do not need every last person to make a decision. Even in very small congregations where only two or three are gathered together [besides the accused and accusers], a binding decision can be made. The principle of “two or three” does not mean that a man can hand-pick two or three friends and expect to be heard by them. When an issue is taken before the congregation, everyone who wants to hear it should be permitted to hear it.

Will Congregations Fragment Without Strong Leadership?

Before we answer the above question, it is important to realize that sometimes congregations needlessly fragment because of strong leadership. When real, sincere problems or doctrinal disputes arise in a church group, strong leaders sometimes solve them by “putting out” everyone in the group that disagrees with the leader’s teaching. This often results in many people—even whole congregations—being forcibly separated from the main church group. This writer knows of a case where this happened when some members and ministers in a big organization were trying to have one doctrine changed. The organization “put out” many. A few years later, the big organization accepted the doctrinal change. Did they welcome back all of those whom had been “put out” a few years earlier? No—they would be living proof that the organization had made a big mistake. Usually, the better individuals can explain their belief from the Bible, the more quickly they will be “put out” (church leaders who maintain the air that “God is working through me” do not like to be proven wrong).

However, in organizations where members study little on their own and rarely challenge the leadership on doctrinal issues, strong human leadership does tend to keep the group together. But what does Christ want? Does he want unity with a few strong men and many people who do whatever they say? If a group is not being led by Christ and not growing in His grace and knowledge, does it matter if they stay together in a man-made unity? Would it not be better for the group to break up, and for all of the people in it to realize that they need something different than what they had?

The purpose of a group of believers is for encouragement and training each member to be a priest to the Eternal. We must consider that the Eternal may want groups to break up and re-form so that His purpose is accomplished. (The Eternal often works in rather catastrophic ways—He allowed a massive persecution to come upon the Jerusalem congregation which caused brethren to be scattered everywhere preaching the gospel (Acts 8:1,4; 11:19).

However, the Scriptures also teach that brethren should strive to be unified and work together (John 17:22, 1 Cor 1:10). Not every division is from the Eternal. Satan causes them too. Brethren should make every effort to live at peace with and help other believers (Rom 14:19). There are three major kinds of problems that cause divisions in congregations and three solutions from Scriptures:

(1) Some members of a congregation want to leave it for a wrong reason—either they are pursuing a false doctrine, or are falsely accusing a person of blatant sin. Mature members of the group can try to help those in error understand, but they would be better to let them depart, than try to hold a group together that will be in a continual “fight”.

(2) A person is causing great difficulty among your group, either by personal sin, antagonizing others, or false teaching. If this person will not change after applying Matthew 18:15-17, they will have to be asked to leave the congregation.

(3) Most of the members of a group (or the leaders of a group) are pursuing a false doctrine or a sin. Those who see the error can try to show them, but they will probably have to leave the group.

Now for Part 5