The Local Church in God’s Eternal Purpose I. Introduction A. We frequently discuss the importance of the church in God’s eternal purpose and how the church is to function B. Ephesians 3:10-11 1. The church is the manifestation of God’s manifold wisdom according to eternal purpose in Christ! 2. Ephesians 2:11-18, 3:1-7: the church features different people reconciled to one another in the blood of Christ 3. This stands as a witness and a testimony against the powers and principalities which divide and conquer humanity C. The church is described in the New Testament in many metaphors 1. The church functions as a body, many interdependent parts functioning independently and together (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-28) 2. The church relates within itself as a family, the household of God, with God as Father, Christ as elder brother, and Christians as fellow brothers and sisters (Ephesians 2:19, 1 Timothy 3:15, Hebrews 2:17) 3. The church is to manifest the holiness and sanctity of a temple, with each member as a living stone, in which the Spirit of God may dwell (Ephesians 2:20-22, 1 Peter 2:3-8) D. The church is its constituents: the ekklesia, the assembly of God E. And yet most of these descriptions are made specifically of the church universal: the one body of all Christians from all places at all times (cf. Ephesians 4:4-6) F. But what of the local church, the specific manifestation of the church universal in a given place and time? G. We do well to explore the local church and its place in God’s eternal purpose II. The Local Church and the Universal Church A. While the New Testament never uses the term “local” or “universal,” its usage of the term ekklesia in different contexts necessitates the nuance in understanding B. One body, which is the church in Ephesians 1:23, 4:4-6, yet churches of Christ in Romans 16:16 C. Different forms of organization 1. Universal: Christ as the head; Apostles as foundation; all members of equal standing, all connected to the head (John 15:1-7, 1 Corinthians 12:12-28, Ephesians 2:20-22 ) 2. Local: Christ is still the head, apostolic teaching still foundation, but elders commissioned to shepherd and oversee the flock, deacons to serve it (Acts 20:28, Philippians 1:1, 1 Timothy 3:1-12, 1 Peter 5:1-4) 3. As we rightly insist upon and often point out, there is no earthly level of organization established or appointed in the New Testament between the local church and the universal church: no authority for any kind of regional, national, or global official network or hierarchical organization D. And yet we should reflect on how the Apostles used the same term for the local and the universal, ekklesia, without making explicit distinction E. It is not as if the universal and local churches have nothing to do with one another: the opposite is in fact the case! F. The local church ought to be the manifestation of the universal church in a specific time and place 1. Throughout the New Testament it is presumed that the members of the local churches are members of the body of Christ (so Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-28, etc.) 2. Thus, Christians who walk with the Lord and are part of His assembly seek to assemble with each other for encouragement and to accomplish the work God has given them to do (Hebrews 10:25, 1 John 1:7) 3. Yet these local assemblies are to have specific definition, manifest in the expectation that there are elders shepherding and overseeing that particular congregation (Acts 20:28) 4. Thus, the local church is a valid institution, envisioned within God’s purposes for the Kingdom and within the universal church 5. Yet, as with all such things, we should not allow the real to deny the ideal: yes, it is possible that some of the people who associate with a given local church are not actually members of the body of Christ for some reason or another; visitors may assemble with a local church who are not part of the universal church; yet neither of these conditions negate the ideal standing of the local church as a manifestation of the universal church in a given place and time G. In fact, we cannot understand major aspects of God’s purpose for the local church in His eternal purpose if we do not recognize it as a manifestation of the universal church! III. The Local Church: Practical Outworking of Universal Truths A. The New Testament is full of powerful and encouraging passages regarding how the church is supposed to work: Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-28, and especially Ephesians 4:11-16 B. As we have noted, and for good reason, Paul has the one universal church in mind when composing these words: there is one body, and all of its members work together to glorify God in Christ C. And yet we do well to ask: in what context do we practically manifest these truths? With whom are we to weep and rejoice? Whom shall we edify? D. Even early Christians had opportunity to do these things for Christians in other local churches to manifest the unity of the universal body of Christ (1 Corinthians 16:1-3, 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:17, 1 Thessalonians 1:8, etc.); today with our technology we are all the more capable of encouraging Christians around the country and around the world, and this is a good work E. Nevertheless, the Apostles expected Christians to primarily work out these passages regarding the work of the church in the context of the local church: the truths are universal, but the outworking is local! F. Much of this is inherent in the word ekklesia: assembly 1. What assembly is there which does not assemble? 2. Yes, in Hebrews 12:22-24, we are invited to imagine ourselves as having all come together on Mount Zion as the assembly of the Firstborn, and this is true on a spiritual level, as we are presently part of the universal body of Christ if we are in Christ 3. Yet the universal church will not fully assemble in bodily form until the day of resurrection; from then on it will exist in glory in the presence of God in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelation 21:1-22:6) 4. Those who have departed to be with Christ assemble around the throne (Revelation 7:9-17); yet in the flesh, we come together as the local assembly, the local congregation, the local church (1 Corinthians 14:26, Hebrews 10:25) G. Our face to face association is to be primarily with our fellow members of the local church; they, therefore, are the ones we work most intensively to edify and encourage, and receive edification and encouragement from them in turn H. Thus, the practical outworking of the body of Christ is within the context of the local congregation 1. We work most closely with those around us; we are to rejoice when they rejoice, weep when they weep for certain! 2. We must get to know one another to work together effectively 3. We are accountable among one another I. So, yes, all the “one another” passages are about Christians universally, yet practically they are worked out in the context of the local church 1. Love one another as Jesus has loved us (John 13:34, 1 John 4:7-21) 2. In honor preferring one another (Romans 12:10) 3. Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16) 4. Not judging one another (Romans 14:13) 5. Edify one another (Romans 14:19, 1 Thessalonians 5:11) 6. Receive one another as Christ has received us (Romans 15:7) 7. Teach, admonish one another (Romans 15:14, Colossians 3:16) 8. Greet one another (Romans 16:16, etc.) 9. Care for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25) 9. Not provoking, envying one another (Galatians 5:26) 10. Bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2) 11. Forebear/tolerate one another in love (Ephesians 4:2) 12. Be kind to one another (Ephesians 4:23) 13. Forgive each other as Christ forgave us (Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13) 14. Submit to each other (Ephesians 5:21) 15. Do not lie to each other (Colossians 3:9) 16. Exhort/encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 3:13, 10:25) 17. Stir one another up to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24) 18. Show hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9) 19. In humility serve one another (1 Peter 4:10, 5:5) 20. Have fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7) J. These things are what the local church ought to be primarily about! 1. We have taught and preached continually on the work of the church in terms of its corporate responsibilities in terms of benevolence, evangelism, and edification 2. But those works of the corporate collective, while they ought to be done, ought not be seen as the purpose of the church 3. The church is the assembly of the people of God; those people are to work to build up one another in love in the ways we have discussed 4. Those are also the work of the church even though, by necessity, they are not the work of the corporate collective K. Thus, Christians work together in and as the church primarily within the local church: as Christians participate in this work, they build up the universal body of Christ in love IV. The Local Church as Contextual A. An investigation of the churches of the New Testament would testify to the variety and uniqueness of the churches 1. No two churches are exactly the same 2. The same doctrines are taught in all of them (1 Corinthians 4:17); nevertheless, each church has different messages emphasized, different struggles, different strengths 3. Jerusalem is not Antioch is not Rome is not Corinth is not Ephesus is not Laodicea! 4. Whereas vigilance must always be maintained lest Christians conform to the world and are not transformed to Christ (Romans 12:2), local churches nevertheless maintain different internal cultures and relationships to the culture at large, with attendant strengths and weaknesses B. The Beauty of Autonomy 1. We teach and preach the autonomy of the local church in relationship to fellow local churches 2. In truth none of us and no church are truly autonomous; we are all subject to Jesus (Romans 6:14-23, Ephesians 5:22-33) 3. While Christians had relationships with fellow Christians beyond the local church, and Apostles and other evangelists would go about encouraging different local churches, the New Testament betrays no hierarchy or expectation that one local church has the right or standing to involve itself in the work of another local church 4. There is no inkling of some kind of formalized association among local churches in the New Testament; each congregation has its own elders (or, in the absence of elders, affairs run by the members of the congregation), and does its own work 5. While the chaos of autonomy is often pointed out by its detractors, it also maintains its beauty: it allows each local church to address its own needs and its own particular cultural context 6. What may seem good, right, and conventional in one context may not be that way in another context! 7. Far too often humans are tempted to make what are really cultural conventions into matters of righteousness and sin, and to confuse discomfort for offense 8. Autonomy has never meant a lack of care or concern: if a local congregation is truly straying from the Gospel, Christians who have influence on fellow Christians there ought to exhort them as they have opportunity to stand firm in the faith (Romans 15:14)! 9. Yet autonomy is beautiful because it does not handcuff the people of God into uniformitarianism: it allows them to faithfully serve Jesus in their context, and do what can be done to bring others to Jesus in that time and place C. Absorbing Change 1. The Gospel does not change; the faith was delivered once for all the saints (Jude 1:3) 2. Furthermore, the general disposition of humanity does not change (Ecclesiastes 1:9) 3. Whereas at many points in history social and cultural change was imperceptible, we presently live in a time of great disruption and constant change: each generation’s existence looks quite different from the ones that came before it; societal values are shifting; local communities are undergoing profound transformations, for good and for ill 4. Christians in local churches must stand firm for the Gospel revealed once for all the saints in their specific context: they must strive to meet the people in their community, let alone one another, where they presently are! 5. Thus, even as local churches are contextual and embodied, they must take care lest they become ossified or fossilized; it does a church little good to be living as if it is the 1950s when it is the 2010s! 6. Christians in local churches must absorb many of the changes in their community: they have to make sure they still stand on the rock of the Gospel, but may have to be more accommodating of different languages, cultural expressions, attitude among generations, etc.; they must have a word to deal with life as it is lived today 7. Thus, the autonomy of the local church is as much temporal as it is spatial: just as a church in one place is not beholden to observe the customs of a church in another place, so the church at one moment in time is not beholden to observe the customs of a church of a previous time! 8. For that matter, no local church is automatically beholden to continue the customs or the perspective of those who came before them as part of the same local church: perhaps there is wisdom to be gained from previous experience, and that should be received and appreciated, but there also might be cultural or temporal baggage there which is best unloaded D. In these ways the local church ought to be: it maintains autonomy relative to other local churches, past and present, so it may best glorify God in Christ in its particular time and place V. The Local Church as Transient A. We have seen how local churches represent the manifestation of the church universal in a given place and time, and for that reason is the locus of the practical outworking of responsibilities toward one another and is specifically contextual to its time and place B. Likewise, as with its individual members, so with the local church itself: it ultimately proves transient 1. The gates of Hades will not prevail against the universal church (Matthew 16:18), but the fact of the matter is that local churches can and do move or die, just like humans move or die 2. Even if one of the local churches of the New Testament maintained perpetual existence from its apostolic founding until the day the Lord returns, it would at that moment cease existing for eternity: there will be no more local churches on the day of resurrection, for then the universal church will remain assembled for eternity (Revelation 21:1-22:6)! 3. Churches can move or die because its constituents move or die, or their place is removed by the Lord Jesus (cf. Revelation 2:5) C. Therefore, while the work done in local churches is of great importance to God’s eternal purpose, the continued existence of any given local church is not critical or necessary for God’s purpose to be accomplished D. The Double Edged Sword of Legacy 1. Legacy is a powerful force and influence with people 2. A local church which has a legacy in a community might well be in a better position to reach those without more effectively 3. A local church with a legacy can be an inspiration for a member to carry on the proclamation and embodiment of the Gospel there 4. But legacy has as much potential for difficulty as it does benefit 5. A legacy of division or ungodliness takes years to overcome 6. Legacy can lead to nostalgia, paralyzing any attempts to work effectively in the present (cf. Ecclesiastes 7:10) 7. Legacy, therefore, can empower, but it can just as easily enslave E. We do well to remember that part of the apostasy which marked Christianity in the first millennium involved putting priority on specific local churches and their heritage: the argument that certain local churches preserved the knowledge of the truth made into dogma even after those churches radically changed what had been taught by the Apostles F. Thus the local church is an important part of God’s purposes in Christ in this age, but no individual local church is all important to those purposes! G. So it can be that a local church can move, or die, or become seed for a new local church; it may be cause for lament, but it can also be a catalyst for new life! VI. Conclusion A. We have explored the local church in God’s eternal purpose B. The local church is important because it is the local embodiment of the universal body of Christ in time and space C. Christians primarily work out their responsibilities to one another within the local church D. Each local church, and churches in different times and contexts, ought to hold firm to the Gospel and the faith delivered once for all but will look different in terms of cultural conventions E. Individual local churches may come and go, live, move, die, become seed, etc., without disparagement to the universal Body of Christ; the local church has its place in God’s purposes here and now, but such does not guarantee the perpetuation of any one individual church; in the end, all the local churches will vanish away, and the universal church will finally assemble for eternity on the glorious day of resurrection F. May we all participate in the local church as members of that universal body of Christ and so live in faith to obtain the resurrection on the final day! G. Invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: To the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ephesians 3:10-11). God’s manifold wisdom is made known in the church; such is God’s eternal purpose He established in Jesus. This wisdom is manifest in the universal church, the one body comprising of people throughout all time; it is also manifest in local churches, expressions of that body in a given time and place. In Christ God has reconciled people who would otherwise be at odds against each other. May we maintain the unity of the Spirit and glorify God in Christ in His body, the church! 2: Wherefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as also ye do (1 Thessalonians 5:11). The Apostle Paul frequently spoke of the church as the body of Christ, emphasizing its unity. And yet, practically, the actual working of the church to maintain and grow in unity is done within the context of the local church. As Christians our primary responsibility is to our fellow Christians in the local congregation; most of our energy in fulfilling the commands to “one another” ought to be directed there. May we build each other up to the glory of God in Christ! 3: Salute one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ salute you (Romans 16:16). Churches in the New Testament were to all observe the same practices and had the same doctrines taught in them, yet they were all unique congregations. Each congregation is a unique mix of people and culture; each has its strengths and weaknesses. We affirm that local congregations are autonomous in relation to one another in both time and space, and there is beauty in this autonomy. A local church ought to uphold the Gospel and the faith in its particular time and place. There is no reason to impose the conventions of another place and/or time so as to hinder a local congregation from embodying Jesus to the community. May we all serve God in Christ, holding firm to the faith, and proclaiming the Gospel to all in the early 21st century! 4: “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead’” (Revelation 3:1). Jesus promised that the gates of Hades would not prevail against the church (Matthew 16:18); He meant the universal body. By its very nature every local church is transient. If it remains until the Lord returns it will exist no longer afterward; well before then a local church may move, die, or become seed for another local church. Such events may be cause for lament and distress; they may lead to new life. We do well to remember that the fortunes of the Kingdom are not dependent on any one particular local church. May we serve God in Christ and encourage one another as fellow Christians!