The Reformers knew the Church.
They knew The Head of The Church.
They knew also The Foundation of The Church.
Matthias said of Christ, "Other Foundation can no man lay than that is laid."
Huss said: "I place myself on the immovable Foundation, the Chief Corner-Stone, which is the Truth, the Way, and the Life,--our Lord Jesus Christ."
"Christ Himself is the Rock which Peter professed, and on which Christ founded The Church, who will therefore come forth triumphant out of all her conflicts."
Luther said: "It is undeniable that St. Augustine has, again and again, said that the rock is Christ: and he may, perhaps, have once said that it was Peter himself.
"But even should St. Augustine and all the fathers say that the apostle is the rock of which Christ speaks. I would combat their view on the authority of an apostle--in other words, Divine authority; for it is written: No other foundation can any man lay than that is laid, namely, Jesus Christ.
"Peter himself calls Christ the chief and cornerstone, on which we are built up a spiritual house."
Zwingle said: "The Foundation of The Church is that Rock, that Christ who gave Peter his name because he confessed Him faithfully."
Long before either Paul or Peter wrote, the great evangelical prophet had written: "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste." Isa. 28:16.
Peter himself cites this prophecy as referring to Christ and not in any sense to Peter himself. He says: "Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded." 1 Peter 2:6.
There The Foundation of The Church. And every member of The Church is built on that Foundation. For so says the Word of God by Peter: "To Whom coming as unto a Living Stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house."
Whoever disallows Christ as The Foundation is of those "who stumble at the Word, being disobedient." But those who believe the Word, these believe on Him as The Foundation whom God has chosen and laid "for a foundation."
These coming to Him the Living Stone, and living from Him, and living by Him, and living in Him, are built up a spiritual house which is "The Church of the Living God." 1 Tim. 3:15.
And all these, built upon Christ who is The Foundation of apostles, prophets and all, grow unto an holy temple in the Lord, in whom all are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Eph. 2:20-22.
And other foundation can no man lay. Whoever thinks of any other foundation, or accepts of any other foundation, is only of the blind stumblers at the Word being disobedient. 1 Peter 2:8.
The whole building of The Church is from Christ only. "I will build My Church." Each stone in the building is one who first has come to Him the Living Stone, and from Him and by Him has become a living stone.
The same thought is expressed in connection with Him as The Head: "From Whom the whole Body fitly joined together, by joints and bands having nourishment ministered and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God."
And the consequence of having any other foundation or any other head, is only "voluntary humility," "worshipping of angels," "will-worship," "ordinances, commandments, and doctrines, of men" "and neglecting or punishing of the body." Col. 2:20-23.
The Lord Jesus "came to His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God: even to them that believe in His name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God." John 1:11-13. Note that it is those who receive Him--not those who receive creeds and doctrines of men about Him--to whom He gives the power to become the sons of God.
It is not even those who receive the Scriptures that tell about Him, but those who receive Him--the Personal Christ.
Those to whom He came had the Scriptures that tell about Him. They greatly prided themselves on being the possessors of the Scriptures, and being "the people of the Book." But they rejected and crucified Him.
He said to them, "Ye search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life. And ye will not come to Me that ye might have life."
"Ye search the Scriptures, and they are they which testify of Me; and ye will not come to me." John 5:39, 40.
They received the Scriptures, instead of by the Scriptures receiving Him. They put the Scriptures in the place of Him, and then against the Scriptures rejected Him.
There is no sonship of God, there is no Christianity, in any such way as that even with the Scriptures. How much less with the ordinances, doctrines, and commandments of men!
No. It is those who receive Him, the Personal Living Christ: it is those who receive Him in His own Personal presence by the Holy Spirit: it is only these to whom He gives power, it is only these to whom He can give power, right, and privilege, to become the sons of God. And to these He does give that power. "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."
He, as The Foundation and The Head, coming to us; the believer coming to Him; and thus each coming to the other in the fulness of the Spirit, the union is accomplished in which alone is the building of The Church.
And so it is written that in the preaching and ministry of the Gospel by the apostles "believers were added to the Lord." Acts 5:14.
Note that they were added to the Lord: not to The Church. Not by any man, not by any ministry of men, is anybody ever added to The Church.
By the preaching of the Word men are brought to believe on Christ, and to receive Him. Then by baptism in water the believer is joined to Christ in the spiritual union symbolized in the thought of marriage.
"Ye are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another: even to Him that is raised from the dead." Rom. 7:4.
Baptism is the marriage ceremony by which the believer and Christ are united, that they may live together and bring forth fruit unto God. "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:4, 5, 8.
The believer being thus "added to the Lord," then "the Lord added to The Church daily such as should be saved"-- "such as were being saved." For "God hath set the members every one of them in the Body"--The Church--"as it hath pleased Him." Acts 2:47; 1 Cor. 12:18.
And as by faith in Christ and baptism in water, believers are "added to the Lord," so by faith in Christ and baptism of the Holy Ghost, the Lord adds them to The Church.
"For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one Body"--The Church. And "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 1 Cor. 12:13; John 3:5.
No man nor any combination or association of men can ever by any possibility add anybody to The Church which is Christ's Body the fulness of Him who filleth all in all. That is accomplished only by the baptism of the Holy Spirit; and none but the Lord can baptize with the Holy Spirit.
No man can add anybody to The Church, and thank the Lord no man nor any combination or association of men can ever cut off, "excommunicate," or cast out, anybody from The Church.
It is The Church of God, it is The Body of Christ, it is the home of the Holy Spirit; and only God, and Christ, and the Spirit rule there. And these rule only in righteousness and holiness and in the tenderness of infinite love and compassion.
Men do add people to what they call "the church," as pleases them. And men do cast out of such "churches" those who do not please them. And so such things are only men's "churches," and it is far better to be out of all such things than in them.
Not so in The Church of the living God. For He himself says, "He that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." And of His Body "the Head cannot say to the feet" nor to any other member, "I have no need of you." John 6:37; 1 Cor. 12:21.
He has so much need of every soul that He gave Himself on the Cross for each one. And He never can say to anyone, "I have no need of you."
But men--cruel, hard-hearted, church-officials--can say it glibly and readily. These never died for anybody: and they never will. These feed themselves, but feed not the flocks.
These eat the fat and clothe themselves with the wool, and kill them that are fed: but they feed not the flock.
These strengthen not the diseased, nor heal that which is sick, neither bind up the broken, nor bring again that which is driven away, nor seek that which is lost; but with force and cruelty do they rule them.
These thrust with the side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with their horns, till they have scattered them abroad. Eze. 34.
But with the gracious Lord it is not so. When one is thus cast off and driven out by men, He immediately goes seeking for him. And when He has found him, He reveals Himself to him, and teaches him how to believe on Him and how to worship Him as never before. John 9:34-38.
And to such His gracious message is, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His word: Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for My name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified; but He shall appear to your joy and they shall be ashamed." Isa. 66:5.
Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
"Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy; for, behold your reward is great in heaven: for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets." Luke 6:22, 23.
In the Lord's Church, it is only after everything possible has been done to keep him in The Church, and when against all this he will go--it is only then that the fixed separation which he himself has thus made is sorrowfully recognized by the congregation and in The Church. Matt. 18:10-20; Gal. 6:1; Titus 3:10, 11; 2 Cor. 13:1.
Here, then, is the individual believer: by the ministry of the Gospel "added to the Lord" and by "the Lord added to The Church." Wherever any such individual may be, he is a member of The Church.
Wherever two or three of these may be together, He, their Head, is in the midst of them; and there is a church, and there is the church in that place.
Four times in the New Testament these are spoken of as "the church that is in their house," "the church which is in his house," "the church in thy house." Rom. 16 :3, 5 ; 1 Cor. 16 :19; Col. 4 :15; Philemon 2.
Not the church which meets in their house, his house, or thy house--not once. Every time it is "the church that is in their house," his house, thy house.
That is, Christians dwelling together in a house compose a church in that house.
This is seen certainly to be the truth by the facts connected with the several statements.
1. The first letter to the Corinthians was written from Ephesus. Chap. 16:8, 9. There was a church in Ephesus. Aquila and Priscilla were in Ephesus, and were members of that church. Yet in addition to this there was a church "in their house" in Ephesus.
2. When the letter to the Romans was written, Aquila and Priscilla were in Rome. There was a church in Rome. Aquila and Priscilla were members of the church in Rome. Yet in addition to this there was a church "in their house" in Rome.
3. At Laodicea there was the church of the Laodiceans. In Laodicea Nymphas was a member of that church. Yet in addition to this there was a church "in his house."
These facts put beyond all question the truth that by the Scriptures Christians dwelling together in the same house compose a church, and are the church, in that house.
Next is the larger assembly of Christians in a place: instead of two or three there may be two or three dozen, or two or three score. These compose the church in that place: as "the church of God which is at Corinth," "the church of the Thessalonians," "the church that was at Antioch."
And now comes a remarkable fact. And though it stands all through the New Testament without a single exception, it is hardly recognized at all among Christians and denominations.
This is the fact that in the New Testament, Christians in private houses, and congregations or assemblies in cities or other places, are never spoken of collectively as the church: but always as "the churches." There is not one exception.
"Then had the churches rest." Acts 9 :31.
"So ordain I in all churches." I Cor. 7 :17.
"We have no such custom, neither the churches of God." 1 Cor. 11 :16.
"God is not the author of confusion; but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." I Cor. 14 :33.
"The care of all the churches." 2 Cor. 11 :28.
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches:" said the Lord Jesus seven times in the second and third chapters of Revelation.
It is not accident, it is not inadvertence, it is of design, and the design of Inspiration, that all the congregations or assemblies of Christians in the world are invariably spoken of collectively as "the churches."
And it being the invariable use, even in places where, if there were any such thing, it would be fitting to use the expression "the church," this proves beyond all valid question that in truth there is no such thing as all Christians and congregations in the world forming The Church. The Church goes far beyond all that.
Therefore, in the truth of the Bible all Christians and all assemblies and congregations of Christians in the world do not compose The Church of the Scriptures, and cannot be correctly spoken of as The Church; but only as "the churches."
This establishes the integrity and individuality of the single assembly, whether of "two or three" or more, as being of the divine order. And this single assembly, the local congregation, in the divine order has no earthly ecclesiastical organization above it.
And any person or any thing that ever in any way or under any plea or pretext comes in between "the churches" and "The Church which is His Body the fulness of Him" and is passed off as "the church" or the "administration" or "organization" is an iniquitous interloper, a fraud and an imposture.
It breaks up the divine order. It severs "the churches" and Christians from their Head and from The Church. It puts man between Christ and His churches, and between Him and His own members. It puts man in the place of Christ and of God. It is of Satan, not of Christ whom God gave to be The Head over all things to The Church.
In the divine order, the next step beyond the single assemblies which are the churches is--
"The Church which is His Body.
"The Church of the Firstborn which are written in heaven."
"The Church of the living God."
The Church of which Christ is The Head, The Foundation, the all in all, of which each individual is a member--being set in the Body by the Lord Himself as it hath pleased Him.
And just as the single assemblies of Christians are invariably spoken of by the Spirit of Inspiration as "the churches," so the expression "the church" as relating to The Church in general, is invariably used with sole reference to "The Church which is His Body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all."
Accordingly the divine order of God's building of The Church is this:
1. The Foundation-Stone--Christ.
2. Individual believers who come to that Foundation and "as lively stones" are built upon Him.
3. The church in a private house.
4. The church in a city or other place.
5. The churches of God.
6. The Church which is His Body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
7. The Head-Stone--Christ.
Christ is the Foundation; Christ is the Head; the whole Building is built upon Him and in Him; and so "groweth unto an holy Temple in the Lord."
The natural body of man is the divinely chosen illustration of the structure of the spiritual Body of Christ, which is The Church.
The natural body of man is "fearfully and wonderfully made." It is a mystery of God. Ps. 139:13-16.
The spiritual Body of Christ is more fearfully and wonderfully made. It is "the Mystery of God."
Only God through Christ by the Holy Spirit built the natural body of man. Only He could possibly do it. Gen. 1:26; Job 33:4.
Only God through Christ by the Holy Spirit builds the spiritual Body of Christ, which is The Church. Only He could possibly do it. Eph. 4:12-16.
Not all the ecclesiasticism of bishops, presidents, Popes, boards, committees, Councils, in all the ages could ever have taken the first true thought toward building the natural body of man.
Infinitely less could they ever have taken the first true thought toward building the spiritual Body of Christ, which is The Church. Isa. 55:8, 9.
The natural body of man is the crown of God's natural creation.
The spiritual Body of Christ, which is The Church, is the crown of God's spiritual creation.