The Church: The House of God and the Body of Christ
Privileges in the Church have never been greater than they are now in 1994. Also evident failure surely has never been more manifest. Understanding about the Church as the body of Christ and as the house of God would have prevented some failure, therefore, we write the following: Judgment and discipline are connected with the house of God and not with the body of Christ.
“The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory... hath put all things under His [Christ's] feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all." Eph. 1:17, 22,2317That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: (Ephesians 1:17)
22And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (Ephesians 1:22‑23). "For through Him [Christ] we both [Jew and Gentile] have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." Eph. 2:18, 1918For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; (Ephesians 2:18‑19).
The Church as the body of Christ has Christ as its head and is the fullness of Him who is over all things. Each member of the body is linked to the head and to one another by the indwelling Spirit (1 Cor. 12:12, 1312For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12‑13)). God has set the members in their place and function in the body as it has pleased Him, tempering them together into one whole (1 Cor. 12:18, 2418But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. (1 Corinthians 12:18)
24For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked: (1 Corinthians 12:24)). The Church as the body of Christ is the object of His love and care and He is the Savior of it, laboring that He may present it to Himself a glorious Church, holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:25-3025Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (Ephesians 5:25‑30)).
On the other hand, the Church as the house of God is the place where God dwells among His people, a place of individual and collective responsibility where holiness is to be maintained and failure is judged. "Ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit." Eph. 2:2222In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22). "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." 1 Tim. 3:1515But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:15). "Judgment must begin at the house of God." 1 Peter 4:1717For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17).
When the Church is viewed as His body, it is relationship to Christ which is paramount. When it is the Church as the house of God, it is relationship to God. Privileges and responsibilities result from these relationships. As members of the body of Christ, I believe we are the most privileged people who have ever lived, particularly in view of the nearness of the Lord's coming. But with this privilege comes our responsibility to "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith [we] are called.”
Not only is there privilege and responsibility in the body, but in the house of God too, because we are builded together for an habitation of God by the Spirit! God by the Spirit dwells both in His house collectively and in us individually.
The Church as the House of God
1 Cor. 3 takes up the Church as a building, the house of God.
“For we are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." 1 Cor. 3:9-159For we are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. 10According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (1 Corinthians 3:9‑15).
This chapter instructs us as to our responsibility in God's building. The foundation has been laid by Paul as the wise master builder. Every man builds on that foundation. The results of his labors are varied; some, when tested, receive the approval and reward of the Architect and some do not, the laborer suffering loss.
In Matt. 16, Christ said, "Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." He is that rock! When He finished His work, He returned to the glory and sent down the Holy Spirit. Since then ministry by the Spirit has been carried on in the building. All that is of the Spirit is of Christ and is perfect.
Paul speaks of himself as a wise master builder. How did Paul build? By his doctrine and teaching, with Christ using him to complete, as to doctrine, the Word of God. The foundation is laid; it is the apostles and prophets; it's the New Testament epistles; it is Jesus Christ.
With the foundation laid and the mind of Christ made known through the Bible, we are responsible builders in the house of God. We are exhorted, "Let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.”
How are we building? Are we building with those truths that come down from the apostles and prophets? That is the only construction we can do that will pass the test of fire. It has to be according to God's Book!
We have failed much by not understanding that judgment is in the house of God, not in the body of Christ. Peter, addressing believers, establishes this fact when he says, "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God." 1 Peter 4:1717For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17).
Simply put, believers in the house of God come under the administration of that house. My own father's house illustrates the point. In my father's family were nine children, so eleven of us sat at the same breakfast, dinner and supper table for many years. I thank God for that. There I learned that if I displeased my father or mother, I would be sent away from the table and not be permitted back until I met their approval. My father and mother had discipline in their house and at their table. God does too.
The Church as the Body of Christ
The Church viewed as the body is a different thing from the house. "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." 1 Cor. 12:12, 1312For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12‑13).
Our entrance and place in the body of Christ is absolute. You and I did not bring it about; it is all of God. What I do and what you do, and what I say and what you say can never ever change that.
The truth of the oneness of the body of Christ started to come out when Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus to persecute the Church! When God arrested him, he fell on his face before that light from heaven and said, "Who art Thou, Lord?" Jesus answered, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." To persecute the believers was to persecute Jesus, for Christ and His body are one.
We may suffer persecution, but it's not from Christ. What Paul was doing was not from Christ. Christ does not persecute His own body. He does not judge His own body!
Discipline is not in the body of Christ-it is in the house of God. We must keep these things separate. God by the Spirit judges His house, and our conduct in it is very important. We have heard much truth. It makes us exceedingly responsible, being under the authority of the Lord, in His house. We come under His government. Yes, the time has come when judgment must begin at the house of God. The more light one has, the more responsible one is to walk according to it. Those who have more truth get more discipline, for they are more responsible, having the privilege of enjoying more of the sweetness of the intimate communion that goes with obedience to the Word of God.
Believers come under that government, but, "What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" When God takes up unbelievers in judgment, you know what their end will be.
Authority Comes From Above
Authority comes down from the head; it does not come up from the body. Consider your natural body. The members of your body obey the head. The power of authority is from the head. Your hands will do what the head tells them to do when there is a good connection. A spastic person has an interference in the commands that come from the head and cannot control his body well.
Authority and direction in the body of Christ come from the head in glory. Have the members of the body of Christ gotten mixed up in their connection with the Head in glory and not known how to perform well? You know the answer to that question.
Authority in the Household
When a young man and a young lady think of getting married, it's good for them to remember that the head of every woman is the man. Adam was created first, then Eve. God, speaking to Eve, said, "Thy desire shall be to thy husband," and she was subject to her husband. There's authority in the marriage; it is still God's way. The world has sought to throw that authority overboard, and is a catastrophe in every home where it's not practiced.
Young man, if you are going to get married, take your place as head of the home. Young lady, if you're going to get married, submit to your husband.
“Children obey your parents in the Lord." When children are born into a home, they likewise are under authority. They are under the authority of their parents and come under their discipline and training. I know of nothing better in this world than to be brought up in a faithful, Christian home. The home and the assembly are two sanctuaries that God has put here to help His people through a wicked world.
Authority in the World
When young people grow up and find work, they immediately learn that their employer, who gives them the paycheck, is the boss. That's another authority: the relationship between masters and servants.
When born in a land, we are immediately under the authority of the government that rules it. The Lord has put authority in the civil government, and we are definitely instructed to obey these "powers that be." That is another authority. God, the supreme authority, has delegated authority to man.
Authority in the Lord's Ministry
When the Lord taught the people, "He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Matt. 7:2929For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Matthew 7:29). Later, while teaching in His Father's house, they quizzed Him about His authority, saying, "By what authority doest Thou these things? and who gave Thee this authority?" Matt. 21:2323And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? (Matthew 21:23). Though unrecognized, He was the Lord of that temple. Do we recognize the Lord in His house today? Do we submit to His power and authority there?
Authority in the Assembly
In a democracy the people choose who they want to rule over them. Authority in the assembly is not democratic. It doesn't come from the members of the body of Christ. Authority comes from the Lord. He delegates it. We dishonor His name when we seek to take away His authority or put it where it does not belong.
In Matt. 16 the Lord said, "I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." In Matt. 18, He put authority and responsibility in the collective hands of the builders in the house. He decreed that His authority would remain in the house and would be exercised with His sanction even by just two or three gathered unto His name with Himself in the midst.
In 1 Corinthians from chapter 1:1 to chapter 10:15, the view put before us is the assembly as the house of God. It is a holy place and those things not suitable to the One who dwells in that house are to be removed. There we submit to the Lord who is the supreme authority. In His name and by His power all is to be kept in an unleavened state, suitable to His table and presence.
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) says, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account." This verse teaches that we are to obey living persons-the guides who know and can show us the way and walk with us in it. In verse 7 it says to remember those-persons now dead-who have spoken unto us the good Word. We are instructed, "Whose faith follow." We are to think about them and follow their faith.
The Results of Mixing Authorities
In the early days of the Church, bishops (overseers) began to give to themselves additional authority. They decided to have archbishops over groups of bishops. Inverting God's order that authority comes from above, these archbishops chose to put over themselves cardinals and finally a pope. Such organization loses sight of the sovereignty of the Lord in raising up those who should take the oversight to administer in the house of God locally. It is man usurping the Lord's authority in His house.
When Constantine converted to Christianity, he used his power as emperor to set up a worldly rule in the Church. He mixed the Church with the world and in the process mixed the two authorities as well. What confusion he introduced by mixing God's civil authority with His authority in His house. The mixture was not of God at all. It was complete ruin for the Church.
Through Constantine the world ruled in the Church. Through the pope the Church started to rule in the world and still does. If you notice what happens in the world, you know that Rome has great power in many nations to rule religiously and politically. It's a horrible mix-up, worse now than in Constantine's day. We need to leave authority where God has put it and submit to it.
Don't interfere in the headship of a man with his wife. A man has authority over his wife and they have a beautiful relationship; leave them alone. Don't try to interfere between parents and their children. They have beautiful responsibility and privilege in that relationship, and you have no business to assume authority in it at all, nor does the assembly. The assembly is not to rule in the home, and the wife is not to rule over the assembly, over her head, or over civil authority.
While authorities are not to be mixed, they may have to deal with the same person at the same time. But each must do so only within the sphere of its own God-given authority. Suppose a boy living at home robs a bank. His father may discipline him in the home. The assembly may have to put Him away from the Lord's Table. The local government may have to put him in jail. But notice that none have the authority to do what the other can and should do. And none of the authorities are to try and set aside or interfere with the authority of the others.
Agreeing with the Lord
Matt. 5 gives us a verse that is very helpful in understanding the importance of receiving doctrine from the Lord and agreeing with Him.
“Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." Matt. 5:25, 2625Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. (Matthew 5:25‑26).
The Lord presented Himself to Israel as their Messiah. He came preaching and teaching about the kingdom. But finding they would not agree with Him, He took the place of an adversary, teaching them the need to repent and subject themselves to the King in order to enter into the kingdom which was coming. Yet they rejected and cast Him out. In spite of His rejection, He finished His work on earth and returned to heaven.
The Lord is coming back to deliver that people to the judge (Himself). The judge will give them to the officer (Himself), and they will be cast into prison (the great tribulation). They will pay the ultimate price nationally to get out of that place.
While waiting to return, He is working in another way. He is building His house down here. We are to agree with His teaching for the house now It's the teaching of the New Testament; it's the mind of Christ as revealed in the Word of God and we are to agree with it. It's a serious matter to oppose Him by agreeing with men's reasonings. I believe that when we obey His Word, we are "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
I Will Be a Father unto You
We will conclude by looking at 2 Cor. 6. The exhortations are beautiful, especially because, when we heed them, we enjoy our relationship with God our Father and our place as His sons and daughters.
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?" None! "What communion hath light with darkness?" None! "What part hath he that believeth with an infidel?" None! The Lord Almighty has said, "Touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters.”
It is a difficult day, but let's walk with God and agree with Him. Let's get our pure doctrine out of His Book and practice it. More than once I have heard some say, "Why can't we just agree to disagree?" Brethren, let us never agree to disagree, and let us never agree to agree. Let us agree with the One who wrote the Book!
Ed.