Address—R. Reeves
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Let's sing together.
The first verse of #172.
#172 just the first.
Burst.
The four teachers for.
My classmate.
Holy Land.
All 3.
I.
Love.
That's great.
Of this meeting this afternoon is.
A meeting that has caused me a lot of.
Concern.
I feel that we.
Who are gathered through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Are in great need.
Of taking another look.
At the basic principle.
Upon which we meet.
I'm going to try to.
Review some of these basic principles.
As you know.
God did a special work in this world.
In the early 1800s.
When there were believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, who?
Looked around.
In the Christian testimony that existed at that time.
And they were not able to find.
A fellowship that was according to the scriptures.
Well, God began a new work.
Because individuals began to meet.
On the early principles of the scriptures.
And there was number attempt in those days to form a new church.
But it was rather a movement of the Spirit of God working in the hearts of God's people.
To return to the first principle.
Of the truth of Christian fellowship.
As found in the Word of God.
Now my brother-in-law.
Ken Harmon.
Who lives in Altona, MB, Canada?
Have been going through some of the papers that were left.
By my father-in-law, A Dan Anderson.
And he found some very interesting things.
And he made some copies of some of the things that he found.
Among the papers of my father-in-law.
And he gave me a copy of a booklet called Matthew 18 and 20.
Which I thought I'd tell you about.
This is.
Book written by a man by the name of Frank Gill.
Frank wrote this book for his children.
To have.
I have seen it before.
And it's quite interesting.
And it gives a lot of the history of.
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The concerns that.
Christians had.
In those early days when they began to return to the first principles of Christian fellowship.
And meet only in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I have decided to read you a couple of small.
Excerpts from this book.
Because I thought you find it interesting as I have.
Here's the first one.
On page 25 it says.
In the winter of 1827 and 1828.
Four Christian men who had for some time been exercised as to the condition of the entire professing church.
Agreed after much conference and prayer to come together on Lord's Day Morning.
Before the breaking of bread, as the early Christians did.
Counting upon the Lord to be with them.
Their names were Mr.
John Nelson Darby.
Mr. Cronin, who is later known as Doctor Cronin.
Mr. JG Bellit.
And the Mr. Hutchinson?
Their first meeting was held in the House of Mr. Hutchinson.
Located at #9 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin, Ireland.
They had, for a considerable time, along with others who attended their reading meetings, been studying the scriptures.
And comparing what they found in the Word of God with the existing state of things around them.
But they could find no expression of the nature and character of the Church of God.
Either in the national establishment.
Which we know is the.
Church of England.
Or in the various forms of dissenting bodies which we would think of as the denominations, such as the Baptists and the Quakers.
Another.
This brought them into the place of separation from all these ecclesiastical systems.
And LED them to come together in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Owning the present and sovereign action of the Holy Spirit in the midst.
And endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Matthew 18 and 20.
And Ephesians 3.
43 to 4:00.
Here's a comment by Mr. Darby.
Writing about that, he said we began to meet in Dublin, Ireland, in 1827 and 28 and I found that wherever two or three.
Meet in Christ's name, He would be in our midst.
And acted on the promise with three other brothers, brethren, and the wife of one of them.
And we never thought to go beyond this meeting the need of our consciences and hearts according to the word of God.
But God was doing a work.
I have no idea of myself and it spread over the world.
Beloved brethren, here in Sully.
This is the beginning of the movement that you and I are connected with as Christians, gathered through the name and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that testimony has continued down to the present day.
Here we are.
April 19, 1992.
That's a long way down the road, isn't it? But I've read to you what was the beginning of the movement.
Which we believe to be of the Spirit of God.
And that movement which has contended till the present corner, I'll read you something else.
This book is very interesting.
And if you know the Gill family, you'll find it especially interesting.
I have.
The little company of believers in the Lord Jesus gathered through his name in Dublin, Ireland, continued to meet in Frances Hutchinson's house until the winter of 19 of 1829.
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Or the spring of the next year.
When, at the insistence of John Parnell, a large auction room in Algiers St. was secured for the meetings on each recurring Lord's Day.
For one thing.
The numbers gathering together was increasing.
And two, it was felt that the fine house in Fitzwilliam Square was somewhat of an hindrance to persons in the humbler walks of life.
That must have been apparent to all, that removal to another place would become necessary in the event of continued growth.
But the action of young Parnell was rather reluctantly conferred in by some. Mr. Darby was not in Dublin at that time, but Mr. Bell believed that the change was prompted chiefly by Parnell's purpose to let the Lord's table be in the midst of us, become somewhat more of a testimony.
Well, I read those things to you.
To let you know that.
The movement that we are connected with had a beginning at that time and has continued to this day.
And I believe with all my heart that you and I, who broke bread, either here at Sully or Intelli this morning, are truly gathered.
In the name.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that the basis of our fellowship is on that same basis.
Which is a return.
To the first principles of the Word of God.
Now, brethren, we are at this moment.
As a testimony gathered through the name of the Lord Jesus facing a supreme crisis.
And we need to be prepared to face into the issues of the truth and the basic principles of the truth.
We will all be tested.
As to whether we really believe?
And the principles of the truth.
That God has given to us we are going to be tested on these basic principles.
And with this in mind.
It is on my heart this afternoon to share with you as best I know how.
And some of these basic principles.
What are the first principles?
Of the truth of God that lie at the very roots.
Of the fellowship.
So that you are a part of.
And that I have been a part of.
With joy.
Since the age of about 17.
This has been my life.
And I have never had a desire.
Since the age of 17.
About soon be 65.
I have never had a desire.
To be connected with any other fellowship.
Other than the fellowship that God has brought me into.
Of those who are gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As a meat only in his name and his authority.
I've had no I've had no desire for anything else.
But I feel at this moment that we need you and I need.
To get a fresh glimpse.
Of the basic issues of what it means to be.
Gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we need to take another look at these first principles.
That lie at the root of our fellowship.
This is an enormous subject.
And in 40 minutes I don't think I can do justice to it.
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But if I can plant the seeds in your heart and my own.
Of interest.
To take another good look at this first principles of truth.
Then we'll all be blamed.
Well, now, where are we going to find the first principles?
Of Christian Fellowship.
Nowhere else.
Nowhere else but in this precious book, God's Holy Word.
It must be here or it will not be of God.
It must be here.
So in this hand I hold the answer to our search.
Now of course, I am not going to be able to go through the full Bible this afternoon.
But I'm going to pick out a few things that I think will be good for us to look at Square.
I'd like to ask you first to turn to.
Acts Chapter 2.
If we want to return to the first principles.
Then let's go to the early days of Christianity.
And find out what happened first.
Among God's beloved people.
When the church began.
Now most of you know here this afternoon that.
There was Number Church in the Old Testament.
There was number such thing as a church in the Old Testament.
There was a congregation of God's people.
God's earthly people, there was.
But there was no such thing as a church.
And there was number such thing as a church.
Or an assembly.
Because you see that word church means assembly.
It's from an original word, which means those who are called out.
There was Number Church.
During the life of the Lord Jesus.
In this world either.
No church in the Old Testament. No church during the earthly life of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ.
No church.
And there did not become such a thing on earth as a church, Oregon, an assembly of God's people, until after our Lord Jesus Christ had died on the cross.
And had risen from the grave, and had ascended back to heaven, and had sent the Holy Spirit down.
To indwell all believers into one body. Now. Until that time there was number church.
But the first day of the church occurred on the day of Pentecost.
When believers were united into one body.
By the Spirit of God.
They were united into one body so that they were united to each other, and they were united to a glorified Christ in heaven by that same spirit.
And so great was that work of God.
In bringing to pass on the earth a thing called the Church.
So great was that work.
That in one day over 3000 souls were added to that church.
And now the question is, what did they do?
After that happened. And that brings us to the subject of my.
This afternoon. What did they do?
And I think as we find out what they did.
We're going to get a little vision of what we should do.
Acts Chapter 2.
Verse 41 Then they that gladly received his word.
Were baptized.
And the same day they were added unto them about 3000 souls.
And they continued steadfastly in the apostle doctrine.
And fellowship.
And then breaking of bread and in prayer.
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Now, beloved brethren, I believe that verse 42 is the key to our meditation this afternoon.
We see in this verse 42 of Acts chapter 2.
What these early believers did and were going to see the first principles.
Of Christian Fellowship.
It says they continued steadfastly in the apostles.
Doctrine and fellowship.
That means that they listen to spiritual teaching.
The word doctrine, you know, means teaching.
They listened to the teaching of the apostles.
These are the men that God raised up and to whom he gave his thoughts.
And His revelation. And they listened to what those apostles said, and they believed what those apostles said.
And they were in fellowship with those servants of God.
It says they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship.
Their teaching was the teaching that the God had given to his servants, the Apostles.
Now I want to talk quite a little bit about that.
I would like to tell you the names of some of those men.
And I would like to concentrate on some of the things that they taught.
That were the first principles of Christian fellowship.
But because that will take us a little bit longer, I want to pass on to.
The last two items in that verse first and Justice, say a word about them and then go back to the subject of the apostle doctrine and fellowship.
But they continued in the breaking of thread.
Now that's what they did in the early days.
Now they didn't really know exactly how to do it.
And really didn't have any instructions as to where to do it.
In verse 46 it says that they continued daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house. They all broke bread in in individual houses.
Well, these were the early days, but one thing that they did was they broke bread and remembered the Lord Jesus Christ in his death according to the principles that he had given his disciples that they were to do that in memory of his death on the cross.
They did that right away.
Right away.
The breaking of bread is the only meeting.
That expresses the fellowship of God's people.
A meeting like we're in right now does not express the fellowship of God's people because there's no visible thing that ties us together.
But in the breaking of bread, there's a loaf of bread that's passed around, and believers take a little bit of that loaf of bread and eat it, and there's something that they all have in common.
And it's an expression of the oneness of the body of Christ. And if someone comes to that meeting and doesn't take any take a piece of that bread, they are not demonstrating that they belong to the body of Christ at all.
And its confusion.
And it's really disobedience for a Christian to come to the break of their bread if he's a real Christian or if she's a real Christian and not for fake of the bread because they don't demonstrate that they're part of the body.
Doesn't make a bit of sense. But when the bread is passed and I take a piece, and you take a piece and she takes a piece and he takes a piece, we demonstrate that we're one. We all could take part of that one bridge. And we remember that our Lord Jesus died on the cross for us and suffered for us, and that we're members together. And it's the only meaning there is. It expresses the oneness of the one of your friend.
Now, isn't it wonderful to see that in the early day here?
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They broke thread.
And it says in prayer.
There's one thing that a Christian wants to do is to pray.
Prayer for a Christian, a real Christian prayer is like this.
The breadth of his spiritual life and the person that tells me that they're not, that they're a Christian and don't pray.
They're saying something that's hard for me to believe.
Because prayer is that communication.
With God.
And it's an absolute necessity for the new life.
Well, we see that early among believers and.
That first principle is still with us today.
The breaking of bread and but now I want to go back and say more about.
The Apostles doctrine and fellowship.
Now who were some of those apostles?
Well, the one that comes on the scene.
The first is Peter.
And we do thank God so much for this apostle.
Because to him was given much of the truth of God.
So that he could communicate the truth of God to God's people. And Peter was a wonderful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In fact, it was Peter's sermon to these people.
All of whom were Jewish. It was his sermon that led to the salvation of 3000 souls on Monday, and he told them that God has made that same Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ. And people got so stirred up in their hearts they said, what are we going to do? And he told them to repent and to accept the Lord Jesus Christ.
And their sins would be forgiven.
All Peter was a servant of God, and he had a.
We had a wonderfully free gospel.
Why? He said Believe on the Lord Jesus and your sins will be forgiven.
And God will give you this spirit.
Well, Peter was one of the apostles, and these early disciples listened to what he taught them.
And Peter continued his service for quite a while.
He was very useful.
And in fact, he later on wrote a couple of books.
Which are called in our bibles one Peter and two.
And they're wonderful book.
And they have a kind of a Jewish flavor because they're written mostly to believing Jews.
And Peter writes to those believing Jews, and he says to them.
Oh.
Now that you have accepted the Lord Jesus as your savior.
You have got.
A heavenly inheritance instead of an earthly inheritance.
And you've got a life that's hid with God and.
You've got something far better than you had, just as being Jews.
And you've got a Kingdom that can never be destroyed, and you've got a life that cannot be corrupted because it's.
A life of God was born by the word of God.
So Peter had a lot of good things to say.
And he was one of these.
And we thank God for him. Now what's the name of another one?
I'm going to reserve the most important until last because I got a lot more to say about him. But the next one that I think about, that's quite prominent among these apostles that these people listen to was the Apostle John.
And what do we learn from him?
Oh, we learned a lot.
You see, he wrote 3 letters called I, John, 2 John, and Three John. And his teaching was that everyone that believes on the Lord Jesus Christ has a new life, which is the very life of Christ, and every believer is a child in God's family. And throughout John's teaching we learn that believers have a life that's the life of God.
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But they have the joy of living out in this world and I would like to sat and listen to God.
And he dropped it. But now?
The most prominent apostle.
That we want to talk about this afternoon is a man by the name of Paul.
Now Paul was not present on the day of Pentecost.
Paul was not even saved at this time.
Paul was not baptized into the body of Christ on the day of Pentecost. Why? Because he wasn't even saved.
How could you give that faith into the body of Christ if you not see it Impossible.
And later on in the book of Acts.
This man, Paul.
Without to stamp out the name of Jesus.
From the minds of people.
And he heard a voice from heaven.
And he was saved on the road to Damascus.
By a voice from the glorified Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, he was saved, and he saw light brighter than the noonday sun, and he fell to the ground.
And he said, Lord, what do you want me to do?
And God saved that man.
And then he told him in that same.
Chapter wherein we find his salvation, he says. Paul, you're a selective vessel. I've got a job for you.
And he said, You're a chosen vessel for me.
And you're going to spread a precious message.
To people everywhere.
And Paul became a special servant of God later on to give us the apostles doctrine.
To the church.
Now this is the teaching of the apostles.
That I have especially on my heart today.
Beloved brethren, it's the teaching of Paul that's vitally of importance to us right now.
Because it's the teaching on the Church.
Of which you and I are apart as believers in the Lord Jesus.
It's the teaching on the Church that we need to get a good grip of.
And in order to get a good grip of it, we have to go to the writings of this man, Paul, because it was to him that this truth was given.
Now I want you to turn with me, please, to Ephesians Chapter 3.
Where we get a glimpse of the importance of falls.
And I want to say it as clearly as I know how.
You and I will never understand the basic principles of the truth.
If we don't listen to the teaching of Paul, we must listen to what Paul taught.
God's people in order to know anything about the church and in order to know anything about Christian fellowship today.
We must listen to him.
Chapter 3.
Verse two says, If you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given me to you, word notice brethren, given me to you.
Do you want the kitchen of the apostles?
Do you want the truth of God?
Here's a man that said I haven't been given this truth for you.
Which three says how that by Revelation he made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before on a few words?
For by when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ.
Which in other ages was not made known under the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.
Whereof I notice I was made a minister.
According to the gift of the grace of God-given unto me by the effectual working of his power unto me.
All who am less than the least of All Saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world has been hidden, God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. Now I read those verses with you.
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To point out that it is absolutely necessary for us to listen to Paul's teaching.
That we are going to return to the basic principles of Christian.
Fellowship.
We must listen to Paul.
Now let's turn to 1St Corinthians chapter one.
Where we have some of the teachings of this dear man of God and teachings that we need so badly at the moment.
So badly doing it.
First one is chapter one and 1St Corinthians.
Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God and softeners our bread, and through that Church of God.
Which is at current. Please stop there.
The Church of God which is at client.
The Church of God, which was a crime.
Take all, brethren. There's no such thing, according to the word of God, in a place as more than one church.
The Church of God, which is a carpet.
Just one shirt.
To them that are sanctified or made holy in Christ Jesus.
We see in this one verse that.
There is just one Church of God demonstrated in a locality just once, and we see that they are holy.
And one may say to me, brother Ron, do you believe in holiness? And I say yes, I do.
Because God tells me about holiness and the holiness.
Sanctification characterizes God's people.
Called to be Saints.
With all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, both theirs and ours.
So everyone, wherever they are on the face of the world, who calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a part of the Church sanctified in Christ, made holy, and.
Are Saints as well.
That part of Paul's teaching?
Now notice what he says in verse 9.
God is faithful by whom you are called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Well, brethren, there is only one Christian fellowship that God knows about in the Bible, and that's the fellowship.
Of his Son Jesus Christ, although there is no other.
They're not a lot of different fellowships, just one. And if you and I are going to return to the basic principles of the truth, we've got to come back to the realization and practice of the Fellowship.
Of his Son Jesus Christ.
Our Lord, Lord, that's his authority. And beloved brethren, let me say this.
And I'm going to say it several times in the next few minutes.
The Lordship of Christ.
Is everything.
He is the Lord.
And he is the head, and we can acknowledge no other Lord but Jesus Christ.
And there's no such thing as a fellowship according to the Word of God which does not acknowledge the lordship of Christ.
Now around this are many divisions of so-called Christians.
And they don't come together, They don't go to the same meetings.
But listen.
Can two or more groups of Christians?
Which are not together, can they all not be acknowledging the lordship of Christ?
Absolutely not.
Absolutely not.
You cannot have two groups of Christians so-called.
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In a place who are not in fellowship with each other, and both of them acknowledging the lordship of Christ, it's an impossible situation.
There's just one way.
One minute and there is no such thing as two heads in the church.
The Lordship of Christ.
Do you know what has caused most of the trouble among?
Those who have been gathered through the name of the Lord Jesus through the years.
It's the rejection of the Lordship of Christ.
And it's the rejection of assembly decisions made in his name.
That has caused almost all our troubles.
And it still got in trouble.
I want to tell you, brethren, here, Sully.
If you get a letter.
In the next.
Short period of time from an assembly gathered.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, you have got to accept it because he is the Lord.
And one of the basic principles that we have been gathered.
Upon is this we accept assembly decisions which have been given to us from the Lord Jesus, and to deny an assembly decision.
Taken in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. To deny, that is to step off the ground of the truth.
You can't do it. There's only one Lord and there's only one fellowship.
That's according to the word of God, and that's a fellowship that acknowledged the worship of Christ.
And you can't be in that fellowship.
If you deny the picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now in Bush 10, it says, I beseech your brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You all speak the same thing, saying there could be no divisions among you.
Brethren is division.
There's division among God's people of God.
Is it a God?
No.
I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let you all speak the same thing, and there'll be no divisions upon you.
When divisions come among God's people.
Are they all right?
Are they all correct?
Can there be several groups of Christians and they all meet?
Separately from each other? Can they all be acknowledging the lordship of Christ?
Absolutely not. That's not the fellowship.
Based on the first principles of the truth of God.
One of the first principles that we must look at closely today is the headship of Jesus Christ. He is Lord, He has head of the body, and we must submit to Him.
If we're going to enjoy the fellowship.
But according to God.
And rather, we cannot deny an assembly decision made in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and still be on the ground of the truth.
You can't do it.
We must accept.
The headship of the Lord Jewish Weapon.
This is one of the first principles and when these early brothers met together.
In the early 1800s, they recognized that principle. There was only one Lord.
And that all of that confusion that existed around them was not of God at all.
And so they said, let's return to the first principles of the truth.
And we'll continue in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship just like those early Christians did.
Now I could do.
Easily carry on this meeting for.
A lot longer.
But I want to point out that one of the first principles and probably the most important principle of Christian fellowship.
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Is the acknowledgement of the lordship.
And beloved brethren, May God help us.
To get a good look at that first principle.
And let us never, let us never deny the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by refusing to accept a decision that has been made by an assembly gathered in Brisbane.
When an assembly meets together and makes a decision in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is a decision from Jesus Christ himself. He's ahead and we must accept it.
That's one of the first principles.
Of the fellowship of God speaking. Now, as I said, I could take a lot longer to go through Falls ministry, and it's so precious. I love it.
I could talk about his elaboration of the one body and all the members of the body helping each other. I could talk to you about his.
Telling us the proper way to enjoy the Lord's Supper. And I could tell you about that his precious.
Teaching about the coming of the Lord Jesus. Those are all wonderful things.
But before this afternoon, I thought that the most important thing that I had to share with you that is this.
You and I represent our testimony.
Which acknowledges the lordship of which.
And beloved brother, may we never, ever step aside.
From receiving.
The commands from the boy.