Truth Magazine

By Jerry Parks

As Jesus traveled. through the coasts of Caesarea Philippi., He announced to the disciples generally; and to Peter particularly, plans for the establishment of His church. “And I. say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will -build my church; and the gates of hell shall rot prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). This is the first of many times that we read of the church in the New Testament. Luke provides us with ample evidence of the implementation of this purpose to build His church. Paul had much to say about the blood-bought body of Christ. “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it” (Eph. 5:25). Anything important enough for the Son of God to give up the glories of heaven and to die on the cross in order to bring into existence, ought to be important enough to hold the attention of each of us.

What was this church which the Lord was promising to build? What are we talking about when we use the word? Do we mean the same thing that Jesus meant when He used the word? We need to be informed of the meaning of this word, but evidence is to be seen on every hand that people are uninformed or misinformed concerning the nature of the church. Thus, we want to present information pertaining to the meaning of the word “church” and to consider the various usages of the word in modern society.

The Word Church and Its Usage

The word “church is an English word, but it is used to translate the Greek word ekklesia. The Greek word simply means to “call out” or to “summon forth.” According to the Englishman’s Greek Concordance, the word ekklesia is used 115 times in the New Testament. It is derived from the Greek preposition ek meaning “out” or “out from”, plus the Greek verb kaleo which means “to call” or “to summon.” Therefore, Thayer’s Greek Lexicon says that the term means “the called out.” Thayer also says that the word means “a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place: an assembly” (pp. 195-196). Thus, it is used in both a secular and a religious sense. Trench points out that the word was used to describe “the lawful assembly in a free Greek city of all those possessed of the rights of citizenship, for the transaction of public affairs” (Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, pp. 1, 2). In this sense; it has no religious significance at all. It might refer to an unlawful assembly as well as to a lawful one, or to a political rally as well as to a riot. Such an assembly is described in Acts 19. This passage records a scene in the city of Ephesus. A man named Demetrius stirred up a mob against Paul because his business of making silver shrines was being jeopardized by Maul’s preaching. The town clerk, trying to calm the angry, mob, stated that if any of these men had a matter against Paul and his fellow-workers, they should take it up in the proper “lawful assembly” (v. 39). The statement of the town clerk implied that the mob assembly was not a lawful one. The word used to describe this mob is ekklesia. This is the same word that, elsewhere in the New Testament, is translated “church.” There are at least three times in the New Testament where ekklesia is used to refer to an assembly that was not religious in character. In each instance the translators used the word “assembly” (Acts 19:32, 39, 41; also 7:38).

The word ekklesia was used by the Lord to refer to those who have been called out of one relationship into another. This expression “the called out,” designates the relationship of “people” to the world and to God: they are called out of the world into the fellowship of His Son. Jesus said, “If ye were of the world the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). R.L. Whiteside made the following observation: “Christ’s followers form a class to themselves, differing from everything else. They are in the world, but not of the world. They must keep themselves unspotted from the world (James 1:27). `Be ye separate.’ They have been translated out of darkness into the kingdom of Christ and those in the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Christ (Col. 1:13). There are two classes in the world, viz., those in the kingdom of Christ and those in the kingdom of darkness, the saved and the unsaved. Everyone who has obeyed the Savior’s invitation to come to him has crossed the line that separates the kingdom of darkness from the kingdom of light. He has been called out of darkness into light, and is therefore one of the `called out.’ He is therefore a part, a member, of the church, the ekklesia” (Doctrinal Discourses, p. 9).

The English word “church” is also of Greek derivation, with its root meaning going back to the word kuriakos, meaning “of, or belonging to the Lord.” This word is used twice in the New Testament: in reference to the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:20) and in connection with the Lord’s day (Rev. 1:10). In each instance, the meaning is that the “Supper” and the “Day,” in a special sense, belong to the Lord.

Keeping these definitions in mind, we should be able to understand what the church really is. It is “God’s called out”; it is an assembly of those who in a very special sense “belong to the Lord.” The church is “people” called by the gospel for the purpose of glorifying God (1 Peter 2:9; 2 Thess. 2:14).

The Church General and Particular (Universal and Local)

Sometimes the church is spoken of in the New Testament in general terms without reference to a particular location (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 1:22, 23; etc). In such passages, the reference is to the saints, disciples, or people of God in general. When a person obeys the gospel of Christ, the Lord adds that person to His church (Acts 2:47). In this sense, it includes all the saved of all the earth. It has no earthly organization. It has no earthly structure or arrangement by which it can function. There is absolutely no legislative body or governing council with earthly headquarters. Christ is the only head of His church (Eph. 5:23). There are a number of terms that are used in reference to the “universal church.” If we are thinking of the governmental aspect, it is the “kingdom,” with Christ as its king. If we are thinking of the family feature, it is the “house of God.” If we are thinking of the worship feature, it is the “temple of God”; if we are speaking of the unity feature, it is the “body of Christ”; if we are referring to the work feature, it is the “vineyard of God.”

Not only do we use the word “church” in the universal sense, but we also use the word in a local or congregational sense. Thus we find reference to “the church of God which is at Corinth” (1 Cor. 1:2). Paul referred to the “. . . saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi” (Phil. 1:1). The local church is a material, earthly “gathering together.” It is people working together, engaging in specific activities and with functions assigned to them – functions which are not assigned to the church universal.

When this distinction is not recognized, the result will inevitably be apostasy. This was the fatal error which led to the development of Roman Catholicism. They sought to make the church universal into a functional unit, in precisely the same sense as the local church is a functioning body. The results are evident. This tragic mistake has been made over and over. Protestant bodies have sought to activate the church universal through their councils and synods; others among those sympathetic to the restoration plea have sought to activate the universal church through missionary societies and brotherhood elderships. Thus, history continues to repeat itself.

How The Word “Church” Is Misused

Because people have lost sight of what the church is, many false concepts have arisen. To many people, the word “church” simply means the building, a house made of brick and mortar. The building is not the church; it is simply a place where the church meets. Christ did not die for a building but for people. I received a notice in the mail the other day stating information concerning a church that was for sale. Obviously, the word “church” was being used in an unscriptural way. I realize, of course, that by a figure of speech known as metonymy the word “church” may be used to designate the building; but literally and scripturally, it is something far different.

There are others who use the word “church” to refer to human denominations, such as “the Baptist Church” or “the Methodist Church.” The Bible, however, does not use the word in this way. These references are to religious bodies which, if part of the church at all, would be smaller than the church universal but larger than the church in the local sense. The word “church” is simply not used with reference to a human denomination. The word “denomination” is defined as “a class distinction; name; epithet; appellation.” As the word is used in the religious world, it refers to making distinctions among people in regard to religious matters. It is a word that is synonymous with division. This is exactly what Paul condemned in Corinth. Some were saying, “I am of Paul; and I am of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; lest any should say that I have baptized in mine own name” (1 Cor. 1:12-15).

The Catholic church teaches that the church is a “law-making” organization. Catholics teach that God did not intend that the Bible alone should be a guide to salvation. They ignore the fact that this was the claim being made by the inspired apostles in such passages as 2 Tim. 3:16, 17 and 2 Pet. 1:3. To show that I am not misrepresenting the Catholic position, let me quote from one of their catechisms. Under the heading, “The Church,” Question no. 1, “Did God intend that the Bible alone should be the guide to salvation? No, because certain things in the Bible can be misunderstood, and because the Bible does not have everything God taught” (A Catechism For Adults, by W.J. Cogan, p. 51). The proof texts given to support this position are 2 Pet. 1:20 and 2 Pet. 3:16. Even a casual glance at these verses, shows that they have been perverted. Peter was saying in 2 Pet. 1:20 that Scripture did not originate with man, but rather, with God. The context is talking about the origin of revelation, not forbidding man from drawing conclusions in regard to scripture. The Catholic Church would have us believe that only the “infallible church” through the “infallible pope” can interpret the Scriptures. Those who draw such conclusions would do well to read again 2 Pet. 2:16 as it relates to distorting the Scriptures.

Again, from the Catechism, Question no. 2: “What did Jesus do to make sure that His teaching would never be misunderstood? He established a church (1 Tim. 3:16)” (Ibid., p. 51). Here again, they have perverted the Scriptures. The passage says that the church is “the pillar and ground of truth,” but that is a far cry from saying that the church is the Lord’s agent to infallibly interpret Scripture. If this was the case, the church has done a poor job because there have only been approximately eight passages of Scripture “infallibly” interpreted by the Catholic Church, but she has been busy making and binding many man-made laws. This sinful action is predicated upon a faulty concept of the Lord’s church.

The Premillennialist would have us believe that the church is an afterthought in the mind of God. The teaching is that Jesus came to the earth to set up an earthly kingdom, but because He was rejected by the Jews, He postponed the establishment of His kingdom and substituted the church in its place. What does this concept do to the church? It relegates it to a position of virtual insignificance. The Bible, however, teaches that the church was a part of God’s eternal plan (Eph. 3:10, l1). Obviously, the theory of Premillennialism cannot be true if Jesus has already established His kingdom. The Hebrew writer states that we have received a kingdom (Heb. 12:28); Paul said that people were being translated into the kingdom during his lifetime (Col. 1:13). Jesus said that it would be established during the lifetime of some of those who were standing there listening to Him (Mk. 9:1).

There are some who think of the church as nothing more than a “sanctified social club.” If one has lost faith in the Bible as the word of God, then it logically follows that he will have little interest in the statement of Paul in 1 Tim. 3:15 concerning the church being the “pillar and ground of truth.” Therefore, many have sought to transform the church into an institution with no loftier purpose than to provide for the physical and carnal wishes of her members. That is why we hear so much about church ball teams, church exercise classes, church day-care centers, etc. Obviously, many are struggling to find some meaningful reason for the church to exist. They have simply forgotten that the church consists of people who are called out of the world into a new relationship with Christ and who band together in local congregations with a specific function to perform, spreading the gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world.

From the beginning of time, God planned and purposed a spiritual body for man’s development and preparation for an eternal home. Jesus died on the cross to bring this church into existence. That one church still exists as long as people respond to the call of the gospel and submit to the sovereignty of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Your salvation, your relationship to Christ, your eternal hope depends upon your being faithful as a member of that church.

Questions

1. The word “church” comes from the Greek word ekklesia. What does it mean?
2. How was the word ekklesia used in Acts 19:32, 39, 41?
3. What is meant by the term “local church”? (Cite examples of this usage.)
4. What is meant by the term “universal church”? (Cite examples of this usage.)
5. Name several terms used to describe the church.
6. Why is it important to recognize that the lord intended for His church to function through the local congregations?
7. Is the word “church” ever used in the New Testament to refer to a building?
8. Why does the word “denomination” not fit the description of the New Testament church?
9. Which denomination teaches that the church has been given the responsibility to “infallibly” interpret Scripture?
10. What effect does the “social gospel” have on the church?

Truth Magazine XXIV: 1, pp. 2-5
January 3, 1980

By Mike Willis

I am happy to present this special issue of Truth Magazine as the first issue for 1980. We hope that this will mark the beginning of another exciting year for our readers as this weekly paper comes into their homes with material exalting and glorifying God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We plan to exalt the Christ through teaching His work with respect to every religious issue facing the world today.

The denominational world around us continues to minimize the importance of the blood-bought body of Christ. Denominational preachers continue to tell their members that they can be saved without ever becoming a member of any church; they tell them that they can stay saved without ever joining their particular denomination. Consequently, literally thousands of Americans who consider themselves to be Christians are deciding to be saved and go to heaven when they die without ever associating themselves with organized religion.

Added to this is the disgust which many feel toward organized religion. The average American is disgusted to see some of the things practiced in the name of the church which he sees going on around him. He sees drinking sanctified into a means of raising money for the church; he sees drinking sanctified by religious organizations which produce the product; he sees religion charlatans preying off the ignorance of the unlearned and milking their membership of thousands of dollars through “faith healing” which preys off those in destitute circumstances. Firms which should be paying taxes from the products which they market are excluded from taxation because they are “church” organizations. These things have caused many Americans to become disgusted with organized religion.

The result is that many are ready to throw the baby out with the bath water. The abuses of which denominationalism has been guilty have caused many to completely dismiss any need for the church. These abuses are generally the same apostasies which gospel preachers have been condemning for centuries. The time has come for men everywhere to reject modern denominationalism and return to the church which they can read about in the Bible – the blood-bought body of Christ!

With the hope that we can restore an appreciation for the church for which Jesus bled and died, we present this issue of Truth Magazine. We hope that you will read it and pass it on to your friends and neighbors. Through the proclamation of the word of God with reference to the church, may Christ be exalted and God glorified!

Truth Magazine XXIV: 1, p. 2
January 3, 1980

By Mike Willis

With this issue of Truth Magazine, twenty-three years of publication will be completed. In accordance with our mailing agreement which states that there will be no mailing the first week of July and last week of December, Truth Magazine will not be printed this week. The Lord willing, we will be back the first week of January with our thirty-two page special issue which is entitled “The Blood Bought Body of Christ.”

I think that you will not want to miss that issue of the paper. Here is a list of the articles and authors for this coming issue. I think that you can see from this list that this special issue of the paper is the kind of issue you would like for every member of the church where you worship and many of your non-Christian friends to have the opportunity to read.

What Is The Church? by Jerry Parks

Metaphors of the Church by Dennis Abernathy

The Organization of the Church by Darrel Haub

Departures From New Testament Organization: By Modern Denominations by Karl Diestelkamp

Departures From New Testament Organization: By Those Among Us by Jimmy Tuten

The Establishment of the Church by Earl E. Robertson

The Names of the Church by Bill Cavendar

The Names of the Saints by Johnny Stringer

The Work of the Church by Ron Halbrook

The Social Gospel by Mike Willis

The Worship of the Church by Keith Sharp

Apostasies in Worship by Leslie Diestelkamp

Terms of Membership by Irven Lee

The Church and Salvation by O.C. Birdwell

Can The Church of the First Century Be Restored? by Dan King

Is The Church of Christ A Denomination? by Leonard Tyler

Is Modern Denominationalism Acceptable to God? by Ron Halbrook

Unity In The Church by Irvin Himmel

The Blood Which Bought the Church by Bob Buchanan

I hope that you will enjoy this special series of articles. Having proof-read this material, I can assure you that the material in it is excellent.

As has been our custom in the past couple of years, Truth Magazine plans to publish at least two more special studies in the coming year. I have received enough comments regarding these special studies to know that our reading audience appreciates the extra work which goes into these issues. Frankly, I think that they have upgraded the content of Truth Magazine.

This issue of the paper contains our “Index.” To some of our readers, this is wasted space; to others, it is indispensable. Without an index, the material which is published in a periodical such as Truth Magazine becomes useless because it is not readily accessible. Though our index is not the best in the world, it is helpful to those who need to locate material published in 1979.

Building The Circulation

The circulation of Truth Magazine has remained rather constant throughout 1979. This has been caused partly as a result of changing printers; there were just too many other details to work out to bother him with the confusion of advertising mailing. Now that the problems of adjusting to Truth Magazine have been worked out, I anticipate doing more work toward increasing the circulation of the paper.

However, I will need your help. I need our readers to recommend Truth Magazine to their friends; I need them to send me names to whom I can mail sample copies of the paper; I need those who think that what we are publishing is worthwhile to send gift subscriptions to their friends or to purchase bundles for distribution. Will you help?

Walking With God Revision Available Soon

During this past year, we have rather quietly been working on a revision of the first twenty-four books in the Walking With God series of literature. This material covers the pre-school and first through third grade levels of workbooks. The material has been completely re-written; new artwork has been prepared. The lay-out of the material is designed to be used in conjunction with our Truth In Life series. However, we think that it has some features which will make it even better than the Truth In Life series.

In addition to having questions in the workbook for the parents to work with their children at home, this series of literature has some in-class worksheets over each lesson which the student will not have seen until he comes to class. We are not aware of any literature published among brethren which has this feature in it.

We are anticipating that Year 1, Books 1-4 will be available within a couple of weeks. We are publishing these books in this fashion because the teachers manual for the entire year will be published in one volume. The material for the series of literature is practically completed in its writing stage; we lack typesetting, artwork and printing. However, we anticipate no lengthy delays in getting this in print. Watch for announcements to the effect that it is now available.

Book Business Is Appreciated

We continue to appreciate the volume of book business which brethren are sending to Truth Magazine. Without your book business, Truth Magazine could not continue to be circulated on a weekly basis. I would like to remind you that Cogdill Foundation is a non-profit organization. This simply means that whatever profits are made through the sale of books must be reinvested in producing more material; it cannot accrue to the benefit of its board members. Consequently, everytime that we make an extra dollar, we use it to publish more good literature for Christians to use.

Presently, we have the following items being prepared for printing: (1) a biography of John T. Lewis written by Otis Castleberry; (2) a series of lectures on the grace-unity heresy which was originally delivered in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by such men as Tom Roberts, Wayne Partain, Bill Reeves, Robert Gabhart, Pat Farish, and others; (3) a 70 page manuscript by Tom O’Neal on the grace-unity heresy; (4) a commentary on First Corinthians by me; (5) a series of sermons by Irven Lee. Perhaps there are other works which I cannot immediately recall. However, you can see that we are concentrating on putting and keeping good literature in print. We appreciate your book business because it enables us to serve you in this manner; we think that your appreciate the kind of material which is being put in print.

More of the Same In 1980

As 1979 comes to an end and we face the beginning of a new decade, we who are associated with Truth Magazine are resolved to continue writing the same gospel message which we have been writing for these last few years. There is no conscious effort being made to change the thrust of the paper. We shall still be teaching, to the best of our ability, what is revealed in the Bible. We shall still be calling for book, chapter, and verse for those things which we see practiced in the world of religion. We shall still be exposing sin and commending righteousness. If you appreciate these things, I think that you will enjoy Truth Magazine in 1980.

Truth Magazine XXIII: 50, pp. 803-804
December 20, 1979

By John McCort

‘

Sectarian and denominational terminology should have no part in the language of Christians. In the last few years I have noticed a definite increase in denominational shibboleth among brethren. If we are going to effectively teach the world about the undenominational nature of the Lord’s church we are going to have to clean up our sectarian language.

Recently I heard a gospel preacher say, “We have even got that in the conservative church.” There is not such a thing as the “conservative church.” The Lord’s church is one body (Eph. 4:4-5). To fragment the Lord’s body into the “conservative church” and the “liberal church” and the “one cup church” is to make the Lord’s church fragmented into various denominations of which the conservative church” is one faction. (I am not trying to imply that the liberals are in the Lord’s church.) All I am saying is that the Bible teaches there is only one body. We are either in the body or out. Let us not confuse people in our preaching and writing by using denominational phrases.

I also heard the statement made, “Mon of our leaden in the conservative brotherhood are sick or are fading out of the picture. Some new leaders are going to have to fill the void.” Where in the New Testament do we read of having leaders in the conservative brotherhood? The New Testament church had inspired apostles but the only authority they had way in relation to what the Holy Spirit inspired them to say. The New Testament authorizes elders, deacons, evangelists, and teachers (Eph. 4:11-12) but it nowhere authorizes “leaders of the conservative brotherhood.” In reality no such office exists. It exists only in the sectarian minds of some politically minded brethren.

One brother said, “We only have big preachers for our meetings.” Several years ago we had an evangelist hold a meeting that was in great demand to hold meetings. When the subject of pay was brought up one of the elders said, “We have got to pay Brother ____ more than we normally do because he is a big preacher.” 1 know that most evangelists do not expect more pay just because they are more in demand for meetings than other evangelists, but this kind of mentality is just another example of sectarian thinking. 1 recognize that because of ability and experience some men are going to be more influential than others. This is only natural. But the idea that we have got to pay a man more for a meeting because he is a “big” preacher is creating distinctions that the Lord did not create. I feel we should judge a man on the basis of faithfulness and dedication to the Lord’s cause. We need to get away from this “big preacher” and “big church” syndrome. This caste system has a negative effect on the Lord’s work because it tends toward sectarianism.

There are some terms that are less than expedient. For example, “Brotherhood papers, brotherhood colleges, preacher training schools, church of Christ preachers, church of Christ colleges.” The scope of some church sponsored, “Schools of Preaching” go far beyond the scope of the local church that oversees the work. I know of one church that cancelled its “preacher school” because they could not get anybody but their own members interested in it. Because of a lack of national interest in the; program it was cancelled. The original intent of the special training courses was to edify the “church universal.” (I use that phrase rather loosely.) It is not tile responsibility of a local church to edify the brotherhood but rather to edify its own members.

We all need to confine our emphasis to the local church of which we are members. File local church is the functional unit that God organized, not the brotherhood.

Truth Magazine XXIII: 50, p. 802
December 20, 1979