Assembly Care and Discipline
When the assembly is gathered together, two or three may minister, one following the other. We do not find in the New Testament any instructions for the Church to appoint speakers. The Holy Spirit guides as to who should speak and what should be said as in all things in the assembly.
“The elders which are among you I exhort. . . . Feed [shepherd] the flock of God which is among you.” 1 Peter 5:1,2.
The Holy Spirit made the elders in Ephesus overseers to care for and shepherd the assembly (Acts 20:2828Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28)). The shepherd has a responsibility to God’s sheep (which make up the assembly) to feed, guard and protect them and deliver them from evil. His credentials must be according to Scripture. “If a man desire the office of a bishop [overseer], he desireth a good work.” 1 Tim. 3:1.
The overseers (elders) should practically take on the character of a shepherd, not by compulsion but willingly. In their walk, they should practice the very things that would cause the sheep to follow the Lord (1 Peter 5:13). The believer is exhorted to obey his leaders and be in submission, the state of soul that loves to obey (Heb. 13:1717Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. (Hebrews 13:17)).
The kingdom of heaven in its present phase is the sphere of Christ’s authority on earth by the Holy Spirit while He is absent in heaven. It supposes discipline and order. The keys of the kingdom of heaven were placed in the hands of the Apostle Peter.
In Matthew 16 we have a definite account of the counsels of God, first the Church built upon Christ, then the kingdom of heaven —the sphere where the Church is formed. The kingdom of heaven and the forming of the Church go alongside one another as two connected yet separate things.
The Father revealed to Simon that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that He with life-giving power would build His Church. Christ in virtue of His power and authority gives to him the name of Peter, for he was a living stone in the Church to be built. He also confers upon him special authority relating to the kingdom, saying: “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Peter was in the assembly in Jerusalem. He, as an apostle, had the authority to bind and loose. This means that he could put one away from the Lord’s table or receive one at the table. In many cases the acts of an apostle give a pattern of action for the assembly in a day when there would be no apostles. The assembly in Jerusalem was a sample of the assembly in each city where it has been or will be formed.
There is always the opposition of Satan in the kingdom where the Church is being formed, as the Lord spoke in Matthew 11:1212And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12), “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” Satan brings in difficult and questionable ideas that only a spiritual mind can discern, leading the Spirit of God to provide overseers to guide, feed and guard the flock (Acts 20:2828Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28)). Those who walk with God and read His Word learn to submit to their leaders, even though, sometimes, some things are hard to understand.
If evil arises in the assembly, the one who has brought it among the believers must be put away. It must be done in the name and by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. The holiness that becomes God’s house requires it; the one put away needs “the destruction of the flesh”; and the leaven of evil must be purged out or the whole assembly will be leavened.
In spite of the ruined state of the Church, two or three gathered unto the Lord’s name still have the authority and responsibility to follow Scripture in dealing with evil. The Lord’s presence in the midst of believers so gathered and the explicit authority given by the Scriptures to act in His name have been preserved in spite of the failure to the Church to keep the unity of the Spirit. When the Lord promised to be in the midst of two or three gathered in His name, He told them, “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matt. 18:1818Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18:18).
The assembly, not individuals (except the apostles), have authority to bind and loose. The putting away or receiving back are sanctioned in heaven. The assembly in a place represents the whole body and acts for it. The Spirit of God through Paul said to the assembly in Corinth, “Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” 1 Cor. 12:27.
If evil arises in the assembly, the facts concerning the evil must be determined. In 1 Cor. 5:11, a list of evils is recorded. They are a sample of what is “evil,” but they are not an exhaustive list. Occupation with evil defiles, so it is wise for overseers to be the ones involved in determining the facts of a case. There may be details that would be improper to bring before the whole assembly, but the general facts should be available to all.
No one person should call the assembly together for a special meeting. Two or more elders might do so. In Israel two trumpets were needed to call the assembly to assemble themselves before the Lord (Numbers 10:2424And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. (Numbers 10:24)).
Setting facts concerning the evil before the assembly and subsequent actions must be carried out only after and with much prayer. A certain period of time should be allowed for the conscience of the assembly to be exercised, then one from the assembly (an overseer) should take the responsibility to make known to the assembly what the Lord’s mind is.
If there is no valid opposition, the judgment should be declared before the assembly and, when necessary, communicated to other assemblies. An invalid objection, which would hinder the exercise of the discipline considered, would not be for the glory of God and should not be tolerated.
Since the Lord, the Head, is in the midst and since, in the oneness of the body, the assembly in a place is viewed as the whole and acting for it, there is no higher and no other authority to appeal to. In the case of personal trespass taken up in Matthew 18, the order of resolution was “between thee and him alone,” then “one or two more,” and finally “unto the church.”
The assembly must never allow known evil to remain in its midst unjudged. If evidence of evil is discovered, the assembly in which the evil is found is responsible to “purge out . . . the old leaven.” The assembly in Ephesus was told by the Lord, “Repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” Rev. 2:55Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. (Revelation 2:5).
An example of discipline is found in Matthew 18:1517. It was not gross moral evil (as in Corinth) or doctrinal evil (as in Galatia), but it had to be dealt with, or there would be no order or peace in the assembly. If a brother has been offended by another, he should go to him alone and tell him what he has done wrong, and if his brother receives him, the matter is settled. If he does not take the correction, one or two more should accompany the offended one as witnesses, but if they are not heard, then the matter should be told to the Church. If the offender does not listen to the Church, he is to be as a publican or a heathen. This means, we presume, that the assembly has put him away from the Lord’s table.
Seventy years of studying the Scriptures and of observing the actions of the assemblies in many different places have helped in understanding how discipline and putting away have been and may continue to be done “decently and in order.” First and above all, it is important to remember that the glory of the Lord has the priority, not our own thoughts or our own wills.
The crafty foe may further thin
Our ranks if left down here.
Fightings without and fears within
Draw forth the sigh and tear.
Yet, Lord, on Thee we may depend,
Though of all else bereft,
For Thou wilt graciously defend
Thy people that are left.