The Local Church.

[Alan]

The Local Church

I Timothy 3:15, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

The “house of God” that Paul is referring to the local assembly of the believers. The Apostle Paul is admonishing Timothy to behave himself in the local assembly of believers; the church. The local church was an assembly in an area of a community. It was the visible assembly of the saints in the New Testament. The church may be in a house, a rented building, or a building that was bought for the purpose of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In 1 and 2 Timothy Paul the Apostle give Timothy, and every saint in the New Testament, instructions “how” to behave himself in the local assembly of believers in the church.

This behavior includes the following two offices in the local church:

 

1. The qualifications of the pastor, or bishop, in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, and called an elder in 1 Timothy 5:17. These qualifications are for the pastor of the local church.

2. The qualifications of the deacon and his wife, 1 Timothy 3:8-13. These qualifications are for the deacon(s) of the local church.

The local churches were Independent in Authority and Fellowship

Colossians 4:15 and 16, “Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.”

Nymphas had a church in his house. This assembly was local in scope, visible, and limited in authority,

There was another church, or another visible assembly of believers, in Laodicea. Paul admonished the two assemblies to share in the reading of the Epistle of

Colossians. There were no "bishops," or denominational headquarters, over the two assemblies.

Denominations & the so-called “Universal” Church

There are no denominations in the New Testament. All of the denominations, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, etc… have a starting

point in history, a leader, and a religious hierarchy that is unknown in the New Testament scriptures.

There is no “universal church” in the New Testament. There is a “General Assembly,” in heaven of all the saints, “But ye come unto mount Sion, and unto the city

of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in

heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.” Hebrews 12:22 and 23

 

All of the assemblies mentioned in the New Testament are visible, local and independent. The Apostle Paul gave detailed instructions for the qualifications of the

pastor and the deacon as the visible head of the local church. 

 

Edited December 3, 2020 by Alan
grammer (2) added the word "instructions" spelling format

[Pastor Scott Markle]

3 hours ago, Alan said:

The Local Church

I Timothy 3:15, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

The “house of God” that Paul is referring to the local assembly of the believers. The Apostle Paul is admonishing Timothy to behave himself in the local assembly of believers; the church. The local church was an assembly in an area of a community. It was the visible assembly of the saints in the New Testament. The church may be in a house, a rented building, or a building that was bought for the purpose of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In 1 and 2 Timothy Paul the Apostle give Timothy, and every saint in the New Testament, “how” to behave himself in the local assembly of believers in the church.

This behavior includes the following two offices in the local church:

 

1. The qualifications of the pastor, or bishop, in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, and called an elder in 1 Timothy 5:17. These qualifications are for the pastor of the local church.

2. The qualifications of the deacon and his wive, 1 Timothy 3:8-13. These qualifications are for the deacon(s) of the local church.

The local churches were Independent in Authority and Fellowship

Colossians 4:15 and 16, “Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.”

 

Nymphas had a church in his house. This assembly was local in scope, visible, and limited in authority,

There was another church, or another visible assembly of believers, in Laodicea. Paul admonished the two assemblies to share in the reading of the Epistle of Colossians. There were no "bishops," or denominational headquarters, over the two assemblies.

Denominations & the so-called “Universal” Church

 

There are no denominations in the New Testament. All of the denominations, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, etc… have a starting point in history, a leader, and a religious hierarchy that is unknown in the New Testament scriptures. 

 

Brother Alan, since you posted this, I am left to assume that you do indeed wish to continue discussing the point and that you do not wish to remain silent on the subject.  Even so, I am now choosing to engage with you --

I AGREE with EVERYTHING that I have included in the above quote from your posting.

However, concerning the following portion of your posting, I have some questions:

3 hours ago, Alan said:

There is no “universal church” in the New Testament. There is a “General Assembly,” in heaven of all the saints, “But ye come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. To the general assembly and church of the

firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.” Hebrews 12:22 and 23

 

All of the assemblies mentioned in the New Testament are visible, local and independent. The Apostle Paul gave detailed instructions for the qualifications of the pastor and the deacon as the visible head of the local church. 

 

In this portion of your posting, you indicate that the "General Assembly" is (1) "in heaven" and that it is an assembly (2) "of all the saints."  I myself AGREE COMPLETELY that the "General Assembly" is in heaven, and ONLY in heaven.  Furthermore, I would contend that ANY man-made attempt to reproduce a form of this "General Assembly" on earth is UTTER FALSEHOOD (which is why I UTTERLY REJECT any form of episcopal hierarchy, any form of denominational hierarchy, and the teaching of ecumenicalism).  However, my questions to you focus upon your indication that this "General Assembly" is an assembly "of all the saints."

1.  When you use the phrase, "of all the saints," are you including New Testament believers that are presently on the earth at this very present time?
2.  When you use the phrase, "of all the saints," are you including only New Testament believers that are presently in heaven (through death) at this present time?
3.  When you use the phrase, "of all the saints," are you including both New Testament believers and Old Testament believers together?

[Alan]

20 minutes ago, Pastor Scott Markle said:

Brother Alan, since you posted this, I am left to assume that you do indeed wish to continue discussing the point and that you do not wish to remain silent on the subject.  Even so, I am now choosing to engage with you --

I AGREE with EVERYTHING that I have included in the above quote from your posting.

However, concerning the following portion of your posting, I have some questions:

This study is just on, "The Local Church." I do not not want to continue the debate on the previous thread.

4 hours ago, Alan said:

Denominations & the so-called “Universal” Church

 

There are no denominations in the New Testament. All of the denominations, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, etc… have a starting point in history, a leader, and a religious hierarchy that is unknown in the New Testament scriptures.

 

There is no “universal church” in the New Testament. There is a “General Assembly,” in heaven of all the saints, “But ye come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. To the general assembly and church of the

firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.” Hebrews 12:22 and 23

 

All of the assemblies mentioned in the New Testament are visible, local and independent. The Apostle Paul gave detailed instructions for the qualifications of the pastor and the deacon as the visible head of the local church. 

I simply pointed out that there are no denominations in the New Testament nor does Hebrews 12:22 & 23 have anything to do with the local church on the earth.

 

4 hours ago, Alan said:

in heaven of all the saints,

 

20 minutes ago, Pastor Scott Markle said:

1.  When you use the phrase, "of all the saints," are you including New Testament believers that are presently on the earth at this very present time?
2.  When you use the phrase, "of all the saints," are you including only New Testament believers that are presently in heaven (through death) at this present time?
3.  When you use the phrase, "of all the saints," are you including both New Testament believers and Old Testament believers together? 

I did not quality the term "of all the saints" (nor do I intend to do so in this thread), as it is dealing with the "general assembly" that is in heaven and does not refer to the local church on the earth.

Who, "all of the saints" are is a study in itself. Maybe you can start a thread on this subject. This thread is only about "the local church" not "the general assembly."

20 minutes ago, Pastor Scott Markle said:

In this portion of your posting, you indicate that the "General Assembly" is (1) "in heaven" and that it is an assembly (2) "of all the saints."  I myself AGREE COMPLETELY that the "General Assembly" is in heaven, and ONLY in heaven.  Furthermore, I would contend that ANY man-made attempt to reproduce a form of this "General Assembly" on earth is UTTER FALSEHOOD (which is why I UTTERLY REJECT any form of episcopal hierarchy, any form of denominational hierarchy, and the teaching of ecumenicalism). 

I whole-heartedly agree with you and am grateful for your stand.

Edited August 9, 2018 by Alan
grammer

[Alan]

4 hours ago, Alan said:

The local churches were Independent in Authority and Fellowship

Colossians 4:15 and 16, “Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.”

 

Nymphas had a church in his house. This assembly was local in scope, visible, and limited in authority,

There was another church, or another visible assembly of believers, in Laodicea. Paul admonished the two assemblies to share in the reading of the Epistle of Colossians. There were no "bishops," or denominational headquarters, over the two assemblies.

Brethren,

It is my contention that Paul the Apostle, as he preached the gospel, and folks were saved, he then had these saints assembled together in a local assembly: a church in a local area.

This thread is to follow Paul, by giving examples, as he, and the other apostles, obeyed the Great Commission in seeing souls saved and churches established.

Alan

 

[Pastor Scott Markle]

5 minutes ago, Alan said:

This study is just on, "The Local Church." I do not not want to continue the debate on the previous thread.

I simply pointed out that there are no denominations in the New Testament nor does Hebrews 12:22 & 23 have anything to do with the local church on the earth.

I did not quality the term "of all the saints" (nor do I intend to do so in this thread), as it is dealing with the "general assembly" that is in heaven and does not refer to the local church on the earth.

Who, "all of the saints" are is a study in itself. Maybe you can start a thread on this subject. This thread is only about "the local church" not "the general assembly."

I whole-heartedly agree with you and am grateful for your stand.

Brother Alan,

I do apologize, for I misunderstood.  Because you included some discussion concerning Hebrews 12:22-23 and concerning the "General Assembly," I was under the impression that you were open to further discussion thereof.  Now that you have clarified the intention of this thread discussion as being strictly about the local church, I shall withdraw my questions concerning the membership of the "General Assembly."

I shall look forward to any further study that you do herein concerning the New Testament's teaching on the local church.

[Alan]

1 minute ago, Pastor Scott Markle said:

I shall look forward to any further study that you do herein concerning the New Testament's teaching on the local church.

And, I also look forward to your participation, and the participation of others, on this noteworthy subject.

[Jim_Alaska]

Oh goody, one of my favorite subjects! I am looking forward to this study also, thank you for starting it Bro. Alan..

[John Young]

A big contention against local autonomy is Acts 15 were they say the "Jerusalem Council" is determining doctrine for "the whole church" but to me it seems to be a case for local autonomy. As it started out with certain men trying to force the gentiles in Antioch to live as Jews for salvation but they went to Jerusalem to resolve the issue because the offending people were members of the Jerusalem church. While some of the apostles weighed in with guidance on the matter, it was James, the pastor of the Jerusalem church and not the apostles that passes sentence on the matter and the letter is written by that church as a clarification of their doctrine and as a request, not as a decree. Its basically Matthew 18 but with automatons churches, showing us how issues between churches should be resolved and not showing a denominational church hierarchy.

[Alan]

5 hours ago, John Young said:

A big contention against local autonomy is Acts 15 were they say the "Jerusalem Council" is determining doctrine for "the whole church" but to me it seems to be a case for local autonomy. As it started out with certain men trying to force the gentiles in Antioch to live as Jews for salvation but they went to Jerusalem to resolve the issue because the offending people were members of the Jerusalem church. While some of the apostles weighed in with guidance on the matter, it was James, the pastor of the Jerusalem church and not the apostles that passes sentence on the matter and the letter is written by that church as a clarification of their doctrine and as a request, not as a decree. Its basically Matthew 18 but with automatons churches, showing us how issues between churches should be resolved and not showing a denominational church hierarchy.

John,

Thank you for bringing out that Acts 15:1-32 does not infer that a "Council" or a "denominational hierarchy" has any authority over the local church but that is was a good example how churches can get together in unity for fellowship and seek counsel with one another in order to discuss common issues. All of the local churches in the New Testament were autonomous and there was no denominational authority over any local church.

We will be discussing Acts 15:1-32 in more detail (with an emphasis on Acts 15:4, 13, 19, 22, 23, 25 & 30), later as I wanted to discuss a passage of scripture to show how Paul conducted his ministry in starting churches.

Alan

 

[Jim_Alaska]

I am of the belief that what we see happening in Acts 15 is nothing more than sister churches clarifying their doctrinal stand on issues of keeping the law. For ease of typing this morning I am going to cut and paste a lesson I did for my church that speaks directly to this issue. I do this because it it is early morning and I am preparing to leave of a trip, I just don't have the time to look it all up again.

I hope by doing this I am not stepping on Bro. Alan's toes with his study on the local church. Hopefully what I write will simply fortify what he is teaching.

I have to apologize because the forum formatting is changing my lesson formatting and the text does not make sense. I have to leave and just don't have time to reformat the lesson because i have t leave.

I'll try it again this evening.

Sorry   

[Alan]

Jim,

I am sure that the lesson that you have planned for us to view on Acts 15 will be a blessing to us all and fortify the study on the local church.

As with a lot of the scriptures, denominational leaders mis-use Acts 15 to try and control their churches.

Alan

Edited August 11, 2018 by Alan
grammer

[Jim_Alaska]

OK, it is "this evening" and I still cannot copy and paste my lesson without the forum scrambling the formatting. I use MS Word and evidently it is not compatible with how the forum formatting sees it.

Perhaps it may be better to just include the lesson as a downloadable file attached to this post. I'll try to do that now. So look for a file you can click on in this post.

This lesson is done in MS Word format, hopefully your word processor can hold the MS Word formatting, or you have MS Word on your computer.

Acts 15.doc

[Jordan Kurecki]

21 hours ago, John Young said:

A big contention against local autonomy is Acts 15 were they say the "Jerusalem Council" is determining doctrine for "the whole church" but to me it seems to be a case for local autonomy. As it started out with certain men trying to force the gentiles in Antioch to live as Jews for salvation but they went to Jerusalem to resolve the issue because the offending people were members of the Jerusalem church. While some of the apostles weighed in with guidance on the matter, it was James, the pastor of the Jerusalem church and not the apostles that passes sentence on the matter and the letter is written by that church as a clarification of their doctrine and as a request, not as a decree. Its basically Matthew 18 but with automatons churches, showing us how issues between churches should be resolved and not showing a denominational church hierarchy.

I have a couple questions.

1.How do we know the Judiazers were members of the church at Jerusalem? I don't recall reading that.

2. How do we know James was the Pastor of the church at Jerusalem? I also don't recall reading that but I do recall hearing a few preachers say it.

[Jim_Alaska]

Bro. Jordan,

The answer to your first question is found in verse1 and 2. They came down from Judea and Paul and Barnabas determined to go to Jerusalem about the matter that they had brought up.

I can't find the exact scripture about James being the pastor right now, but will look for it later.

[Alan]

Jim,

I liked your study on Acts 15 and felt it was noteworthy to copy and paste in its entirety on this study. I changed only one thing; the spelling of Barnabas.

Acts 15

Country Baptist Church

May 23, 2012

By James Foley

 

Paul and Barnabas have returned from their first missionary journey. At this point in time they had been at Antioch fellowshipping with the church there a long time. This short time of relative ease is about to come to an end. Paul had, in the past, no small disputation with some of the church members at the Jerusalem Church who had been holding on to their Jewish customs. This situation is going to become a point of contention, as well it should be; keeping the law has no place in regard to salvation or in the teaching of the Lord’s church in regard to salvation. Romans 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

 

Ver.1 These men were members of the church at Jerusalem. There can be no doubt that these were pretenders. Paul had dealt with this problem in the Jerusalem Church before. Galatians 2:1-6

 

These men were not even good at being pretenders. This church at Antioch was a sound church; to hear from members of a sister church that they believed that salvation was of the law would cause quite a stir.

 

Ver.2 This is a very good example of an incident that never should have happened. The very fact that they came down to Antioch and taught, tells us that they were teachers in the church at Jerusalem.

 

We need to be very careful about who we put in a place of instruction in our churches. Teachers need to be well grounded in the faith and very spiritually minded; Godly men.

 

We have ample instruction for just such situations. 2Thess. 3:6 “Now we command you,

brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.”

 

The church at Antioch could have decided this matter themselves, why didn’t they, why go to the church at Jerusalem?

 

Situations like this create doubt, not doubt about what is right, but doubt about what a sister church might believe or teach. This would be of utmost importance to the church at Antioch because this church was started by the church at Jerusalem. Now to hear that the church that sponsored them might believe something contrary to what they had been taught was very troubling. It could even be cause for them to break fellowship with the sister church if what these men were saying was actually what the church at Jerusalem believed.

 

The church at Antioch was spiritual enough to decide this issue for themselves, this is why there was such a sharp contention regarding what these men were teaching; the church knew it was wrong. They sent men up to Jerusalem on a fact finding mission, it was imperative

that they determine what their sister church believed, the law or grace? So they send Paul and Barnabas to find out.

 

Ver.3-5 Notice in Ver.3 Paul and Barnabas are brought on their way by the church. This speaks volumes regarding church authority; these men did not go up to Jerusalem on their own, the church sent them. This is also not a question of one church having any authority over another. Each New Testament church is autonomous. This is solely a matter of fellowship between churches and their members.

 

In Ver.5 we see that there were men within the Jerusalem church that believed that the law must be kept to be saved. It says they were of the sect of the Pharisees, it also says that they “believed”. This is not to be understood as being saved. They believed, but it was a head knowledge not a heart knowledge. They believed Christ had come to save, but they also believed that once you were saved, you had to keep the law by being circumcised as Moses commanded.

 

This flies in the face of scripture: Romans 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” The Son of God is the only man that ever kept the law in its entirety. It is only through Him, understanding that He kept the law for us, that we can be eternally saved.

 

In Christ we keep the law that we could not keep on our own. Rom. 3:21 “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

 

Ver.6-12 After much dispute among the Church members at Jerusalem, Peter rose to speak and put the whole matter in perspective. In doing so, he made the beliefs of this church clear to all, including those who thought that the law had to be kept also.

 

Peter puts the pretenders in this church in their place by firmly showing that salvation was wholly by Grace, without any works of the law mixed in. Ver.10 He puts it in perspective by telling these pretenders that they are tempting God, and putting a Yoke on the neck of disciples by their Jewish teaching concerning the law. The yoke he speaks of is the law.

 

In Ver.11 He goes on to show all, including the representatives of the church at Antioch, Paul and Barnabas, that this church believed in salvation by Grace and faith in Christ. God has one Gospel for all and makes no distinction between men,whether they are Jew or Gentile.

 

There are those that say they are Christians today that believe that Baptism saves. This teaching is just another way of saying you have to keep the law to be saved. If Baptism saves, then there is something you must do to be saved…be Baptized. “This is another gospel.” Which Paul spoke of in Gal. 1:6 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”

 

Ver.13-21 Now the Apostle James has his say in the matter. He would put nothing on the new converts other than that they be Holy. Ver.19-20 He tells them that the Jews have many that preach the law, but this is not the job of a New Testament Church.

 

It should be noted here that this is not a “convention” as some teach, it is simply a meeting of two sister church’s to determine a point of doctrine. Conventions are foreign to the Word of God. Conventions are the product of associations and are strictly a modern invention brought about by those of no spiritual understanding. God’s Word teaches that churches are to be independent of each other and local in nature, rather than “universal.”

 

Ver.22-25 Now the church at Jerusalem has a business meeting and determines to send men to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas carrying news in a church letter that will clarify this churches doctrinal position.

 

We need to note in Ver.24 that although the pretenders went out from the Jerusalem church, they were not authorized to teach what they did. The church gave them no such instruction.

 

The words, “went out from us,” could have a quite different meaning than that they were officially sent out by the church at Jerusalem. It could very well mean that they went out from the fellowship of the Jerusalem church because of doctrinal differences and were no longer members of that body.

1John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”

 

Ver.30-35 There is always cause to rejoice over preserved fellowship that centers around God’s truth.

 

John Young,

If you would like to upload your study on Acts 15 please do so as you feel led.

Brethren,

I was planning to upload a study on Acts 14:21-23. I do want to reserve the right to upload that study at my discretion.

Alan

 

Edited August 11, 2018 by Alan
formatting spelling