The Assemblies Of The Early Believers - Part 2 - Finale

[Reformer]

The Assemblies of the Early Believers
[Theirs and Ours]
(Part 2 – Finale)

Pre-Explanation

Nowhere in the New Covenant Scriptures do we find an example of any man being imported by a congregation of believers to function as THE minister, THE pastor, or THE preacher. And that is because the early believers ministered to and edified one another. They didn't find it necessary to import a professional ecclesiastic to do their ministering for them. They exported men to evangelize, and supported them financially, but no one was ever imported to do what all believers should be doing—ministering to one another. In our contemporary scene, we hire and pay big bucks to a specialist to function as a proxy, the exact opposite of what the early believers practiced.—Buff.

Who Breaks The "Bread of Life"?

A "Church Bulletin" from Colorado tells it all. The "evangelist" announces his resignation and expresses his appreciation that God has granted him the noble opportunity of "ministering to the saints." He has been with them five and one-half years and feels it is time to move on to other "evangelistic fields." In his concluding remarks, he states, "We pray you will find a suitable man to break the bread of life unto you."

The modern-day picture is conspicuous. The bread of life cannot be broken without the employment of a professional ecclesiastic. The saints would suffer from spiritual malnutrition without him. He's the minister, the priest, the preacher, the pastor, and the orator. Shades of hallelujah, how far we have drifted! We now demand to be spoon-fed by a special feeder. We have not matured to the point of feeding ourselves. So we all gather at the church corral on Sunday mornings to warm pews while an imported hireling prepares our spiritual food and spoon-feeds us. Is it any wonder we haven't matured in the faith?

Let's Get Down To Brass Tacks

Any principle or practice we introduce in our assemblies today that either denies or interferes with the reciprocity of the saints, such as our "one another" exchanges or joint participation—as the scriptures define it—is a grave innovation. We ought to be reminded that if a congregation can import a man and pay him a big salary to do all or most of the public speaking, the same congregation can import another man and pay him a healthy salary to do all of the singing, and still another man to do all of the praying—for a salary, of course. Well, you get the idea. The principle that allows one allows the others.

To state it more explicitly, if importing specialists to feed the flock is heaven's way, all of our gifts can be performed by proxy. As a result, all we need do is warm a pew and wait till heaven arrives. For, after all, we're paying others to do our ministries.

The universal biblical principle, found throughout, is that in the assembly of the saints, all gifts are to be shared mutually. The "hired hand" interferes with and disrupts this principle. Do you suppose Paul had the professional minister in mind when he told the Roman believers they were "able to instruct one another" (Rom. 15:14)? Surely he was not referring to a one-man instructor! And was Paul coming off the wall with a lot of nonsense when he told the believers at Colossae they were to "teach and admonish one another" (Col. 3:16)? The one-man admonisher was nowhere to be found.

The Rule In Each Assembly

In the early assemblies, there was a mutual exchange of praises, teaching, sharing, and singing. No one person did it all. The Thessalonians were told to "encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing" (1 Thess. 5:11). And there's more. The point is: When we substitute this "one another" arrangement with a counterfeit system, such as the professional minister, we are guilty of disrupting heaven's blueprint for spiritual growth. There's no way to avoid this conclusion.

Take a look at our "house assemblies," commonly referred to as "house churches." Where's the pulpit minister? He's not needed! Why? Because all attendees contribute their share, as God's grace abounds within them, and as He confers a diversity of gifts among them. Now tell me: Why in heaven's name are we incapable of conducting our "church services" in the same fashion? The reason is because we have gone professional. We have abandoned common ground in favor of skilled specialists. We want the world to know how sophisticated and refined we have become. So we go all out to import the best and build the fanciest edifices. We have adopted idolatry, just as surely as we have substituted a bogus system.

The End Or The Beginning?

When will it all end? In the trash-heap of by-gone religions unless we wise up and address our deficiencies and get back to the basics of edifying and strengthening one another. The situation will not improve until and unless we rediscover the one another arrangement, as is so clearly defined in scripture. May God open our hearts and minds to do just that.

[Red Baker]

Very good! where part one?  Send it to my email   dwredbaker@bellsouth.net

[garee]

The Assemblies of the Early Believers
[Theirs and Ours]
(Part 2 – Finale)

Pre-Explanation

Nowhere in the New Covenant Scriptures do we find an example of any man being imported by a congregation of believers to function as THE minister, THE pastor, or THE preacher. And that is because the early believers ministered to and edified one another. They didn't find it necessary to import a professional ecclesiastic to do their ministering for them. They exported men to evangelize, and supported them financially, but no one was ever imported to do what all believers should be doing—ministering to one another. In our contemporary scene, we hire and pay big bucks to a specialist to function as a proxy, the exact opposite of what the early believers practiced.—Buff.

Who Breaks The "Bread of Life"?

A "Church Bulletin" from Colorado tells it all. The "evangelist" announces his resignation and expresses his appreciation that God has granted him the noble opportunity of "ministering to the saints." He has been with them five and one-half years and feels it is time to move on to other "evangelistic fields." In his concluding remarks, he states, "We pray you will find a suitable man to break the bread of life unto you."

The modern-day picture is conspicuous. The bread of life cannot be broken without the employment of a professional ecclesiastic. The saints would suffer from spiritual malnutrition without him. He's the minister, the priest, the preacher, the pastor, and the orator. Shades of hallelujah, how far we have drifted! We now demand to be spoon-fed by a special feeder. We have not matured to the point of feeding ourselves. So we all gather at the church corral on Sunday mornings to warm pews while an imported hireling prepares our spiritual food and spoon-feeds us. Is it any wonder we haven't matured in the faith?

Let's Get Down To Brass Tacks

Any principle or practice we introduce in our assemblies today that either denies or interferes with the reciprocity of the saints, such as our "one another" exchanges or joint participation—as the scriptures define it—is a grave innovation. We ought to be reminded that if a congregation can import a man and pay him a big salary to do all or most of the public speaking, the same congregation can import another man and pay him a healthy salary to do all of the singing, and still another man to do all of the praying—for a salary, of course. Well, you get the idea. The principle that allows one allows the others.

To state it more explicitly, if importing specialists to feed the flock is heaven's way, all of our gifts can be performed by proxy. As a result, all we need do is warm a pew and wait till heaven arrives. For, after all, we're paying others to do our ministries.

The universal biblical principle, found throughout, is that in the assembly of the saints, all gifts are to be shared mutually. The "hired hand" interferes with and disrupts this principle. Do you suppose Paul had the professional minister in mind when he told the Roman believers they were "able to instruct one another" (Rom. 15:14)? Surely he was not referring to a one-man instructor! And was Paul coming off the wall with a lot of nonsense when he told the believers at Colossae they were to "teach and admonish one another" (Col. 3:16)? The one-man admonisher was nowhere to be found.

The Rule In Each Assembly

In the early assemblies, there was a mutual exchange of praises, teaching, sharing, and singing. No one person did it all. The Thessalonians were told to "encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing" (1 Thess. 5:11). And there's more. The point is: When we substitute this "one another" arrangement with a counterfeit system, such as the professional minister, we are guilty of disrupting heaven's blueprint for spiritual growth. There's no way to avoid this conclusion.

Take a look at our "house assemblies," commonly referred to as "house churches." Where's the pulpit minister? He's not needed! Why? Because all attendees contribute their share, as God's grace abounds within them, and as He confers a diversity of gifts among them. Now tell me: Why in heaven's name are we incapable of conducting our "church services" in the same fashion? The reason is because we have gone professional. We have abandoned common ground in favor of skilled specialists. We want the world to know how sophisticated and refined we have become. So we go all out to import the best and build the fanciest edifices. We have adopted idolatry, just as surely as we have substituted a bogus system.

The End Or The Beginning?

When will it all end? In the trash-heap of by-gone religions unless we wise up and address our deficiencies and get back to the basics of edifying and strengthening one another. The situation will not improve until and unless we rediscover the one another arrangement, as is so clearly defined in scripture. May God open our hearts and minds to do just that.

I would offer. It would seem the real question many avoid is this:What is the Church—the Bride of Christ?

Not a building.--Not a system--.Not a spectacle made for the eyes of the world. But something defined by the Word itself.

Our Holy Father promised a people a bride drawn from all nations.And in the book of Acts, that people were given a name:

Acts 11:26"The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."

A beautiful name. Not after a city of man...but after Christ—the founder, the husband, the head.

Christian — belonging to Christ citizens of His kingdom His bride, bearing His name

So what is the Church?Christ Himself gives the pattern:

Matthew 18:20"Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

That is the living definition.

Not a colosseum filled with spectators.Not a monument of stone.

But:

Two or three----gathered in His name--under the hearing of their Husband (Christ in us)

The world looks for something visible—grand, structured, impressive. But the Bride is known another way: by her faithfulness to His living abiding Word---by her hearing and doing His living will---by His presence in the midst of her

So let the name be made great again :Not "church" as a place men go—
but the Bride who hears her Husband. Not crowds without understanding—
but a remnant gathered in truth.

The Church is not built by hands. It is gathered by Christ...
and called by His name.

[DaveW]

Where is "part 1?"