"O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand." (Psalm 95:6) "Know you not that the Lord He is God; it is He that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." (Psalm 100:3)
Who are His sheep? Is it just those who acknowledge and serve Him? or is it all? Evidently the latter; for in the Psalm whence the first text is cited, the exhortation follows, "Today if you will hear His voice, Harden not your hearts." (Psalm 95:7-8)
And the other text intimates that His sheep consist of those whom He has created.
Still more positive proof that all men are originally considered as God's flock, is found in: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6)
Everyone who has gone astray, and every one for whom Christ died, belongs to His flock. "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10)
The Lord Jehovah is the Shepherd. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." (Psalm 23:1)
Jesus says, "I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep." (John 10:11)
Christ died for all, "that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." (Hebrews 2:9)
So we see that all people on earth are rightfully His sheep. Ah, what infinite comfort there is in that thought, when it is accepted; every one who will allow that he is one of the Lord's flock can say with confidence, "I shall not want." (Psalm 23:1)
Sad to say, not all will acknowledge the Lord as their Shepherd. We cannot tell who they are, who by their own unbelief take themselves out of His flock; but He knows. Jesus says, "I am the good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine." (John 10:10)
To some He said, "You believed not, because you are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:26-27)
Jesus stands and calls, and those who hear and follow Him thereby prove that they are indeed His sheep. Those who gather to Him at His call form what is commonly termed His church; for the Greek word that is rendered "church" is composed of two words which means literally "called out."
The words "church" and "flock" are used interchangeably, as in the words of Paul to the elders of the church in Ephesus: "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He has purchased with His own blood." (Acts 20:28)
The word which is used in the Old Testament, however, and which ought still to be used instead of "church," is "congregation." It would be vastly better if "congregation" were always used when speaking of the body of Christ, and the word "church" were wholly abandoned.
The word "congregation" comes directly from the Latin word which means "flock." It means literally, "flocked together," and aptly designates those who gather together from all directions, at the Shepherd's call.
When the Lord calls, His sheep hear His voice, and flock to Him. Thus being "called out" of this present evil world, they form one body, a congregation. Of course they are not all in one single place on this earth; so there are many little congregations, and yet only one congregation, since they are all one in Christ.
Since the flock has come in response to the Lord's voice, they will not, after having assembled, listen to any other voice. "Hear Him" is the command from above. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him." (Matthew 17:5)
If any other voice is listened to, the only result is the dividing and scattering of the flock. Remember that the only test of whether or not any are Christ's flock, is the voice of Christ. All who listen to it are His sheep; those who will not hear it are goats that are at last to be separated from the flock. Matthew 25:31-32. And those who use other than Christ's voice, that is, His words, are "grievous wolves" or else thieves and robbers.
It will readily be seen that the flock of God, "the congregation of the righteous," (Psalm 1:5) is not a law-making, but a law-keeping body. The flock does not rule, but is ruled. The ruling, however, is by Christ, the great Shepherd, whose ruling consists in feeding. Compare Micah 5:2 with Matthew 2:6, margin. It would manifestly be most absurd for a flock of sheep to lay down rules for its own guidance; much more to presume to be rulers of others.
From this we can see the impropriety of the use of the word "church," as applied to the Lord's flock. That word means "lordly," and came into use with the rising up of the men of whom Paul gave warning,--men "speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." (Acts 20:30)
These men began to lord it over God's heritage, and soon the idea became prevalent that they themselves constituted the church. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, introduced or at least gave prominence to the idea, which soon became prevalent, that: "The church is founded upon the bishops, and every act of the church is controlled by these same rulers...Whence you ought to know that the bishop is in the church, and the church in the bishop; and if anyone be not with the bishop, that he is not in the church."
As a consequence, the bishops, instead of considering themselves as under-shepherds, soon claimed to be "the church," that is the lords of the people. Instead of giving their lives for the flock, they slaughtered the flock for their own pleasure. But lordship is not a thing that has any place in the house of God. To us there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ. Him will we hear. From any other voice than His we will flee.
The word "church" has obtained such a foothold, that it is not at all probable that it will ever be replaced by the rightful word, "congregation;" but when we use it we must remember that the church of Christ is not a house of lords but is a flock, feeding on the words of the "one Lord."
How much better this position than the former. If we assume the lordship, we have all the burden and worry, with the fear, nay the certainty, of making mistakes; while if we are content to be humble sheep, led by the good Shepherd, we are sure to be kept safe, and brought into the everlasting kingdom. With what confidence we may rest! "Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His armshall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He shall feed His flock like a Shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." (Isaiah 40:10-11)
His own life is answerable for the life of each member of the flock. Therefore, "The God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working inyou that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21)--Present Truth, May 19, 1898--Psalm 95:6-8