Which Denomination Would Peter, Paul and John Join?
Let us put the whole question of denominational (and non-denominational) church organization another way. Suppose for a moment we could transport Peter, Paul, and John, and some of the others from the early church into our day. Let us suppose that we have brought them fresh from one of their meetings where they have been gathered unto the Name of the Lord Jesus alone (Matt. 18:20); where they have broken bread in remembrance of the Lord as a regular thing each Lord's day (Acts 20:7); knowing nothing other than the liberty of the Spirit in leading whomever He would to speak in the assembly in worship and ministry (1 Cor. 14:23-32), where they have maintained Scriptural discipline (1 Cor. 5:9-13; 1 Tim. 5:20; 2 Thess. 3:6, 14-15; 1 Thess. 5:14; Gal. 6:1, etc.), where they have endeavored to maintain the truth in practice that “there is one body” in matters of reception and discipline (Eph. 4:3-4), etc. From this, we bring them onto the streets of one of the major cities in North America where they see Christendom in all of its full-blown confusion, with the numerous sects and divisions, the evil and erroneous doctrines, the lavish and ornate buildings for worship borrowed from Judaism, the clergymen interfering with the simplicity of God’s order of worship and ministry, women in the pulpits preaching, women with their heads uncovered, the robed choirs, the orchestras, the world famous athletes testifying of their conversions, the rock concerts, gay persons in positions in church government, etc. We calmly pause and ask the question, “What denomination do you think they would join?” It does not take a great deal of discernment to conclude that they wouldn’t join any of them.
To put the question closer to home, if you walked with the apostles down the streets of one of these cities, having known something of the truth of God's order for the function of the church that Scripture shows, and seeing the confusion that they see as you look with them at these various so-called churches, “Which denomination would you join?”
"Should We Start Up A Christian Fellowship According To These Biblical Principles?"
After learning some of these principles having to do with the church and its order as found in Scripture, someone might ask, “Since we shouldn't be joining a denomination on account of its man-made order, should we then start up a fellowship following the true Scriptural order?” Our answer is no, because we believe that it may be an act of independency. We do not mean that new gatherings should not be formed, but that there is another principle that must be taken into consideration before such a thing would meet God's approval. Christians are to meet together on the ground of the “one body” (Eph. 4:4). To do this, a group of Christians needs to meet together for worship and ministry in fellowship with other assemblies of believers similarly gathered with whom they can express this truth practically, in matters of reception, discipline, letters of commendation, etc. A few Christians, who would seek to meet together in the Lord’s name independently, cannot practice this truth by themselves. To form a fellowship of Christians without this in view is really taking the ground of independency.
The Ground of the “One Body”
Before we speak of what exercised Christians ought to do, we feel it necessary that we establish the importance of the truth of the “one body.” God’s purpose is that the Lord Jesus “should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad,” so that there would be “one flock and one Shepherd” (John 11:51-52; 10:16). While these verses actually refer to the oneness in the family, they clearly show that God desires that His people would be found gathered together in a visible unity on earth. Matthew 18:20 also indicates this. It says, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” The passive tense (“are gathered”) indicates that a power beyond their own has gathered them together unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This power is that of the Holy Spirit. He is the divine Gatherer. But notice, not only does the Spirit gather believers unto the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, but that He gathers them “together” unto His name. This refers to a practical unity; and we learn from other Scriptures that this practical unity is not just in the locality where those believers meet; it refers to believers in other assemblies who are similarly gathered on that same ground (1 Cor. 1:2; 4:17; 5:3-4; 10:16-17; 11:16; 14:33-34; 16:1). Binding decisions made in one assembly are to be acknowledged and bowed to in the other assemblies, so that the truth of the “one body” will be practically expressed on earth.
If one local assembly should make a binding decision in putting someone away from its fellowship, the body at large is to act in fellowship with that local assembly and recognize the action. They are to bow to the judgment made in that local assembly, so that the person “put away” is regarded as “without” in other gatherings too, not just in the locality where he resides. We see this in 1 Corinthians 5:13, where the local assembly at Corinth was to put away that wicked person from their midst. But 2 Corinthians 2:6 tells us that the “rebuke” was “inflicted by the many.” The “many” here refers to the body at large as J. N. Darby’s Translation footnote indicates, citing 2 Corinthians 9:2 as an example of its usage and meaning. Hence the offender is made to feel the rebuke by more than just his local assembly. This shows that a binding decision made in one local assembly is really made on behalf of the body at large. What is done in the name of the Lord in one local assembly should affect the whole in practice. It is one of the ways the church is to “endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit;” and thus, give expression to the truth that there is “one body” (Eph. 4:3).
The Exercise For Every Believer Now is to Seek The Fellowship of the Existing Testimony to The Truth of the One Body
We find in Scripture that when the Spirit of God began a work in some in regard to the truth of gathering, He was careful to link them together with others on the same ground, so that the “unity of the Spirit” would be kept in expressing the truth of the “one body.” It says of the Thessalonian saints, “For ye brethren became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 2:14). The Thessalonians followed on after the assemblies in Judea, being linked to them in practical fellowship, even to partaking of the sufferings of the gospel. It was not that the assemblies in Judea were more important or more spiritual than the Thessalonians; it was simply that the Spirit had begun His work of gathering souls to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ first in Judea. As others were saved they were linked on in practical fellowship to what the Spirit of God had already begun.
This principle is borne out in Acts 8:4-24. Many in Samaria had come to believe on the Lord Jesus through Philip's preaching, yet the Spirit of God did not own them as being on the ground of the “one body” until they had practical fellowship with those whom He already gathered unto the Name of the Lord Jesus in Jerusalem. In seeking to keep the “unity of the Spirit,” two representatives came down from Jerusalem and laid hands on those in Samaria (an expression of practical fellowship—Gal. 2:9), whereby the Spirit of God identified Himself with them. C. H. Brown said, “God did not permit the Samaritans to get official recognition as belonging to the church (assembly) until they got it from these emissaries that came down from Jerusalem.” We see here that great care was taken by the Spirit of God to link these believers to those in Jerusalem so that there would be one practical expression of the “one body” on earth.
When the Apostle Paul came across a group of believers at Ephesus who were unaware of others with whom God had worked, he found that the Spirit of God had not owned them as being on the divine ground of the assembly (Acts 19:1-6). They were not recognized as being on the ground of the "one body" until there was practical fellowship (the laying on of hands) with those whom the Spirit had already gathered. In reference to this group of believers C. H. Brown said, “They needed something. They had to be brought into the same unity that already existed. They could not be owned as occupying a different ground to the rest of them. Paul could not say, 'You folks are not on the same ground as the folks up at Antioch, or at Jerusalem, but you have a lot of truth, and I will just go on with you.' Oh no. He is going to see that they are brought onto the same ground as the rest. They were brought into the same thing that had been formed before they ever heard of it.” Again we see the care and wisdom of God in maintaining “the unity of the Spirit” so that there would be one practical expression of the truth of the “one body.”
It is true that these two examples cited from the book of the Acts are cases where the people did not yet have the Spirit, and therefore were not yet properly on Christian ground. But as brother Brown has shown, they give us an important principle upon which God works in respect to maintaining the practical expression of the truth of the “one body.” And thus, by them, the mind taught of the Spirit will learn God's thoughts in these collective assembly matters.
This point is typically illustrated in Ezra 7-10. God had begun a fresh work in bringing His people back from Babylon to the divinely appointed center of that day which was Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:32; 14:21). Some 42,000 returned under Zerubbabel and Jeshua (Ezra 1-3). However, about 68 years later, others were similarly stirred up to return to Jerusalem (Ezra 7-8). When they returned they found that God had been working in a similar way with others long before they were exercised about such things. And when they got to Jerusalem they did not find a perfect group of Jews there (Ezra 9), but they knew that it was the only right place for God's chosen people to worship, so they identified themselves with the already existing testimony in Jerusalem. There was no thought of establishing an independent testimony apart from that which was already there.
We believe that this gives us an answer to the question as to whether people should start up a Christian fellowship. Since God’s objective is to gather His saints on earth together in one unto the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ on the ground of the “one body,” we do not believe that the Spirit of God would lead persons to go out and practice these truths on the ground of independence. We realize that some are doing it; but we do not believe that it meets the Lord’s approval, for in doing so it is only furthering the outward division that should not be in the Christian testimony.
What we need to understand is that the Spirit of God has already begun a work in the Christian testimony in the early 1800s in gathering believers out of the denominations unto the Name of the Lord Jesus. He is still working with Christians to that end today. We believe that He is willing and able to guide those whom He has shown the truth, into fellowship with that which He has already begun. We believe that the Spirit of God would not be satisfied until He completed His work in not only showing believers the Scriptural way to gather, but also in associating them practically with those whom He has gathered so that they too could be on the ground of the “one body.”
Should there be a group of Christians under such exercise in an area where there is no gathering of Christians on the ground of the “one body,” they still should not take the ground of independence, forming an independent assembly. They need to get in contact with those who are on the ground of the one body, so that the Lord’s table could be spread in that locality. In doing so, the “unity of the Spirit” would be kept. From the principles of Scripture given above, we believe that this is the way new gatherings should be established. When the Lord's table is spread in a new locality it should be done in fellowship with other assemblies already on the ground of the “one body.”
Another Sect?
Perhaps someone might say, “If we did all that you say, and began to meet with those who meet on Scriptural ground, wouldn’t we just be joining another division or sect in the church?” The simple answer to this is that obedience to God's Word can never be schism. It is what Christians should have been doing all along. If Christians meet together in obedience to the Word of God, according to the truth of the one body, they can never be a sect, even if there were only two or three that took that ground. If they are gathered by the Spirit around the Lord Jesus they are not on the ground of sectarianism: they are at the divine center, for Christ is the gathering center of His people (Gen. 49:10; Psa. 50:5; Matt. 18:20; 1 Cor. 5:4).
"You People Think You Are the Only Right Ones!"
Sometimes we are faced with people asking us, “Will you come to our church with us?” It is hard to refuse them, knowing that they mean well, and especially when they do not understand the force of our conviction. When we answer, “No, we do not believe that it would be the Lord's will,” they are often offended. Sometimes we are charged with bigotry and exclusiveness. They say, “How is it that you don't mind us coming to your meetings, but when we ask you to come to ours, you refuse? You people think you are the only right ones! You don’t love the other members of the body of Christ!”
On our part, we believe that it could not be the will of God to desert Scriptural ground for unscriptural man-made order. Therefore, it is not the want of love for souls in these denominations that keeps us from going with them to their services, but the fear of sin.
We wonder if these people have ever weighed what bigotry really means. Mr. Kelly said that it is “the unreasonable attachment, without solid divine warrant, to one's own doctrine or practice, in defiance of all others.” We ask then, “Is it bigotry to give up one's associations with the denominational churches to go with those who desire to meet together for worship and ministry according to the Word of God?” If indeed these denominations are marked by the confusion and departure from the Word of God as we have described in the earlier part of this book, then how could anyone expect us to be so inconsistent with our convictions as to go with them to these so-called churches from which we have separated? “If I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor” (Gal. 2:18).
Mr. Kelly also said, “Surely he is a bigot or worse, who would urge or expect me to join him against my positive conviction, that in so doing I should sin against God. Sin is a man doing his own will, or another's, which is not God's. If you ask me to depart from what I know to be the will of God, it would of course, be sin in me to comply.”
This reminds us of the old prophet of Bethel (1 Kings 13). He attempted to get the prophet from Judah, who was sent by the Lord to cry against the unscripturalness of the worship at Bethel, to have fellowship with him in the very place which he cried against! The old prophet did this, so that his conscience might be eased, because then he could say that other prophets were there with him. When the prophet from Judah complied with his wishes, a lion met him in the way and killed him. We take this as a warning for ourselves.
As we have said, very often there is animosity on the part of those who reject God’s order toward those who want to obey God's Word. To choose to remain in a man-made system of worship in Christendom is one thing, but surely one cannot rightly fault a person for wanting to be among Christians who want to practice God's order. After all, they are only doing what is in the Word of God!
If a Christian desires to remain in a man-made system of church order, and if he is going to try to use the Word of God for the support of such an order, he will have to infer things into the plain statements of Scripture. For instance, he will have to infer that the Old Testament tabernacle is indeed the pattern for Christian worship; that head coverings were only for women in the local church at Corinth; that women preached in the church gatherings; that hands were laid on those that were ordained, etc.
On the other hand those who simply accept the things of Scripture as God has written it, will have the quiet confidence that they are doing God's will. This is because there is a peace that comes from doing God's will that is known only to those who walk in it. To return to simple Biblical Christianity without all the frills of modern Christianity is a privilege indeed!
An Appeal
As the reader has seen, we have presented a different order for Christians meeting together for worship and ministry from what is traditionally accepted in the so-called churches. What more needs to be said in regard to the differences? We have sought to prove from the Word of God that the order in the denominational churches in general is simply not Scriptural. We have shown that there is a simple pattern in God’s Word for Christians meeting together for this purpose. And that faith and obedience are necessary to practice these Scriptural truths. If we call ourselves Christians and claim that the Bible is the Christian's guide, then why not go by the Bible when it comes to the subject of Christians meeting together for worship and ministry?
Having completed our examination and exposure of the unscripturalness of traditional church order, and have presented God’s order for Christians meeting together for worship and ministry, our prayer and hope is that the reader will not misunderstand our purpose in this book. We have not sought to criticize the various church denominations in the Christian profession just for the sake of criticism, but to faithfully—and we trust lovingly—point out the error of the whole thing. From the outset our desire has been to make known the truth, so that all God's people may know true Biblical Christianity, if their hearts are willing.
We trust that through all the many things we have touched on, that there can be seen a genuine love and concern for the whole family of God. We also realize that regardless of how many loving words of grace that we couch in the presentation of these truths, it will not be enough for some. They still will reject it because they think it is unkind and unfair. Sad to say, it appears that the real reason is that their will is at work, and they simply don’t want it. It would be useless to try to tone down these things to suit such people. They simply do not want anything that will touch their consciences. With such, we can only leave them with the Lord.
We now appeal to the reader to heed the truth herein compiled. Our prayer is that each Christian that reads the material in this book will be honest, spiritual, and mature enough, to see and acknowledge the truth as it has been presented. May God give us the grace to do His will.
B. Anstey
5th Edition – August 2018