The Church of God

 •  9 min. read  •  grade level: 10
One is not surprised to find that Dr. Bullinger has originated teaching as to the Church of God peculiar to himself. He claims to have found out that which hundreds of spiritual teachers and scholarly men, who have studied closely and deeply the Holy Scriptures, have failed to find. He teaches that the Church of God was not brought into existence on the Day of Pentecost. He writes: "There can be no doubt that the Acts of the Apostles (as man calls the book) records the transitional history between the rejection of the kingdom and the preaching of the mystery, the church which is His body. It also removes another popular tradition that the church dates from Pentecost" ("The Mystery," p. 40).
Can Dr. Bullinger's statement be substantiated from Scripture? In the very Chapter in which we read of Pentecost we find these words, "And the Lord added to the CHURCH daily such as should be saved" (Acts 2:4747Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. (Acts 2:47)).
That is pretty early on in the Book. There are no less than seventeen references to the Church in the Acts of the Apostles. As a matter of fact Christians acted in a traditional way at first, continuing in the Temple for a time; but, mark it well, there is no transitional teaching in the Book, and that teaching would set them free from the Temple and Judaizing influences. See the Epistles to the Galatians and Hebrews, whose aim was to set the believers free from what is merely traditional.
There is no mistaking Dr. Bullinger's extraordinary teaching on this subject. He writes plainly: "Thus the Acts of the Apostles is, like the Gospels, a historical record of the rejection of the King and the kingdom by Israel, and this explains how it was that God rejected Israel for a season, while He revealed and made known His secret purpose concerning the church. Pentecost thus is shown to have nothing whatever to do with the church, and those who so think are such as neglect the teaching of the Holy Ghost in the later Pauline epistles" ("The Mystery," p. 41). "Pentecost... nothing to do with the Church!" So says Dr. Bullinger. To do so, he has to explain away the very words of our Lord, "Upon this rock I will build MY CHURCH" (Matt. 16:1818And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)). He tells us that Christ did not come "to found a Church." But this passage looks like it. If He built a Church, He certainly founded one. Does not Eph. 5:25-2725Husbands, 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. (Ephesians 5:25‑27) very definitely contradict this statement of Dr. Bullinger's? "Christ also loved THE CHURCH, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water by the Word, that 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." Was not the Church planned by the Father and the Son in the counsels of eternity? Did He not love the Church, and give Himself for it? Scripture says so. Then what are we to make out of Dr. Bullinger's statement?- "Christ's coming had reference to the Jew and Gentile, not to the founding of a church" ("How to Enjoy the Bible," p. 94). We believe what the Word of God says, rather than the theories of Dr. Bullinger.
It is very interesting to note that when a scripture is rightly interpreted, every other scripture bearing on the subject, rightly interpreted, only strengthens the interpretation of the first scripture used. On the contrary, a wrong interpretation of a scripture only makes a right interpretation of other scriptures bearing on the subject more and more difficult and impossible. This we have found in examining Dr. Bullinger's writings. He gets an idea into his mind, and then proceeds to twist and mangle scriptures right and left in order to square them with his misinterpretation, and ends by contradicting himself.
As an illustration of scriptures, rightly interpreted, being strengthened by other scriptures bearing on the subject, we get a good example of this in Lev. 23. Here we get the seven feasts of Jehovah. Two in particular demand our attention. We read, "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the Lord" (ver. 10). This was "on the morrow after the sabbath," that is, on "the first day of the week." We are told in 1 Cor. 15:2020But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (1 Corinthians 15:20) that Christ risen from the dead has become the first fruits of the great harvest, those that are Christ's at His coming. The wave-sheaf offering, "on the morrow after the Sabbath," sets forth the resurrection of our Lord.
Then we read that a new meat offering was to be offered unto the Lord fifty days after the wave-sheaf had been offered. We ask with interest, What event of importance took place fifty days after the resurrection of our Lord? We know He spent forty days on the earth establishing the great fact of His resurrection in the minds of His disciples. Then the disciples were bidden to tarry in Jerusalem till they were "endued with power from on high." Then we read in Acts 2:11And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (Acts 2:1): "And when the day of Pentecost [a Greek word meaning the FIFTIETH] was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." Then was poured out on the disciples the great gift of the Holy Spirit. Is that not the fulfillment of the type of the "new meat offering?" It was to consist of "two wave-loaves of two tenth deals," evidently setting forth the bringing in of Jew and Gentile to the Church of God. So we read in Scripture, "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 Cor. 12:1313For 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 12:13)). We see how the type and the antitype answer the one to the other, as the glove fits the hand.
That Dr. Bullinger sees a difficulty in finding Scripture to substantiate his position is seen in the following quotation: "It seems impossible for us to fix the date of the revelation of the mystery to Paul, or to say in what part of the Acts it should be placed. From 2 Cor. 12:1-71It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 5Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. 6For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. 7And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. (2 Corinthians 12:1‑7) it would appear that 'the abundance of the revelations' was given 'fourteen years before.' This was written about A. D. 60, and fourteen years before would bring it to A. D. 46, which would synchronize with the important dispensational Chapter, Acts 13, where we have the solemn epoch-marking words pronounced to the Jews, 'It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you and judge your selves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles' (verse 46). The Gentiles, as such, had been blessed and brought in long before this. But now a special work connected with the mystery was about to be commenced, as is clear from verse 1, where Barnabas and Saul had been SEPARATED by the Holy Ghost Himself for the work 'whereunto (He says) I have called them' (verse 2)" ("The Mystery," p. 40).
We would imagine that such a supremely important matter, viz., that the Church in its peculiar sense was founded years after Pentecost-the Apostle Paul being, according to Dr. Bullinger, the chosen vessel for the revelation of it-would be clearly specified in God's Word as to how and when it took place. But this is not so. Even Dr. Bullinger could not find any such specification. Even he with all his ingenuity can only make vague guesses.
On the contrary, Pentecost was indeed an arresting phenomenon. Coming fifty days after the Lord's resurrection, brings it into striking accord with Lev. 23, as we have seen. The disciples all gathered with one accord in one place, the descent of the Holy Spirit accompanied by the sound of a rushing mighty wind; the appearance, as it were, of cloven tongues as of fire; the miraculous gift of tongues; about three thousand souls being added to the believers in one day, and the Lord from that day adding to the CHURCH daily such as should be saved, was an arresting spectacle. Coupled with the fact that the Holy Spirit baptized Jew and Gentile into one body, as we have seen, clearly establishes the fact that the CHURCH, the CHURCH that our Lord said He would build, was brought into being on the great day of Pentecost, and there is NO OTHER CHURCH IN EXISTENCE in the Word of God.
Now what does Dr. Bullinger make out of the Church which Christ said He would build, and which the gates of Hades should not prevail against? He writes, "Isaiah also crieth CONCERNING ISRAEL, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, A REMNANT SHALL BE SAVED" (Rom. 9:25-2725As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. 27Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: (Romans 9:25‑27)). This Remnant is the Ecclesia mentioned by the Lord in Matt. 16:1818And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18). The gates of hell will strive against it, as Rom. 9:2828For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. (Romans 9:28) testifies, but the remnant shall be saved. This future Ecclesia of Israel is to be built UPON Christ, the Messiah, as the Foundation Stone.
Dr. Bullinger here uses the Greek word Ecclesia, which most know means, "called out," and is generally translated by the word, Church. It occurs 115 times in the New Testament, and out of that number it refers 112 times to the Church of God, or in the plural to the Christian assemblies in their local character. The three exceptions refer to the unlawful riot in Ephesus of the heathen devotees of the temple of the great goddess Diana, when the tactful town clerk dismissed the assembly (ecclesia).
"Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them" (ver. 20),
is proof of His absence, for its states His omnipresence wherever and whenever two or three should be gathered to His name. On earth the disciples were with Him personally.