Chapter 3: The Church Throughout the Ages

The Church was in God's Mind throughout the ages Eph 1:9; 3:3,5; Col 1:16,26

The Church was birthed on the Day of Pentecost Acts 2:1-33

The primary theme of our study is the "local church" and not so much the spiritual "Body of Christ" or "The Church." More will be said on the topic of "The Church and churches" later on, but it is important to express at the beginning of this chapter the difference between "The Church" or "Body of Christ and the "local church".

The Church was birthed by the Holy Ghost in Acts chapter 2. This is a spiritual and not physical "Body" whose head is Christ. In this sense, there is only ONE Church.

The local church is a group of believers that gather together (those "called out") for the purpose of worshipping God and fulfilling God's will on earth. In this sense, there are MANY local churches.

Even though the Church (the Spiritual Body of Christ) was in God's mind since the beginning, it did not literally come to existence until the Holy Ghost was given. Types and Prophecies of the Church are given in the Old Testament to foreshadow the Revelation that the Church would be built by God and Jesus Christ would be the Chief Corner stone with the disciples and prophets making up the foundation.

Eph 2:20—And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

Old Testament Israel was not the Church or a part of the Body of Christ. There are many references to Israel in the New Testament and none of them directly mention the Church. The term Israel is used twenty times. The term church is used nineteen times, and these two groups were usually kept distinct. It was right to leave Judaism and become a Spirit filled Christian and be a part of the Body of Christ but it was never right to leave Christianity for Judaism.

The Church consists of those who are full of the Holy Ghost. (ONE Church)

The local church is a particular assembly of Believers. (MANY local churches)

The Local Church in the Wilderness

Acts 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wildernes s with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

The Old Testament only foreshadows the spiritual "Church" with its types, but we can see a local church or assembly in action in the accounts of Israel. Israel was a ‘church in the wilderness" in the sense Israel was the people God gathered together for purpose of worship of God and fulfilling God's will on earth. This local church in the Old Testament consisted only of Hebrews. (With a few exceptions.)

The Local Church in the New Testament

The New Testament Local Churches consisted of both Jewish and Gentile Believers, something unheard of before. This is what Paul called a mystery among the Gentiles (Eph.3:5, 9). The Gentiles are in focus, because this mystery involves them (Rom.16:25) being united with believing Israel. The content of this mystery is Christ in you, the hope of glory Col 1:27. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. The fact that the Messiah now indwells every believer is the Old Testament mystery revealed in the New Testament.

The N.T. local churches and "The Church" had nothing to do with Judaism as practiced in Jesus' day but instead "continued in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in the breaking of bread and prayers." (Acts 2:42)

Acts 2:47: "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." At first, the New Testament local church was based in Jerusalem and consisted mostly of Jews.

The Feast of Pentecost

The feast of Pentecost is now being fulfilled in Acts 2:1-4 through the Birth of the Church

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and instructed them for 40 days, after which he ascended to heaven. Lu 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Jesus' words were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. The disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:4), and the apostle Peter preached his first sermon, urging men to repent and believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (verse 38).

Pentecost is named after the Greek word pentekostos, which means 50th. It is the Mosaic festival observed by Jews, Shavuoth, sometimes called in the Old Testament the Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22; Leviticus 23:15; Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 16:9-12).

Other names are the Feast of the Harvest and Day of First Fruits (Exodus 23:16; Numbers 28:26).

Pentecost was to be observed in ancient Israel on the 50th day after the priest waved a sheaf of the first grain that had been harvested in the spring (Leviticus 23:15-21).

Seven weeks elapsed between the day of the wave sheaf offering and the beginning of Pentecost, thus the name of the festival — the Feast of Weeks. This festival had come to signify for Jews the commemoration of the giving of the Law of Moses (the Torah) at Mount Sinai 50 days after the Exodus Passover (Exodus 20â€"24).

The Holy Spirit first came specifically on the Jewish day of Shavuoth, or Pentecost, to signal that God had now moved to write the Law not on tables of stone, but in the hearts of his people through the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3).

The Indwelling of the Spirit into human hearts and minds on that Day of Pentecost in the early 30s was God's sign that in Christ he was building His Church — a new Israel — an Israel of the Spirit (Galatians 6:16) that included Jews and Gentiles alike.

Many types of the church are seen in the Old Testament

The Boards of the Tabernacle Ex. 26:15-29; 35:11; 36:20-34; 38:7; 39:33; 40:18

Ex.26:15—And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up.

The Boards of the Tabernacle represent Holy Ghost filled Believer's

The boards are used for the framing system for the tabernacle.

(15-25) Boards for the sides of the tent.

Many Prophecies concerning the church are seen in the Old Testament.

Eph 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

Jews and Gentiles are partakers of the same promise and the same body (Hebrews 11:40, Ephesians 3:1-11).

When Paul speaks to the church as a "mystery", he isn't saying that the church is mysterious, only that it was hidden, unrevealed, in Old Testament times. The truth was there even if those who lived at the time didn't comprehend it. Now it has been revealed by his spirit.

The church was instituted by Christ-it came into being through the Life and Ministry of Christ himself. The entire message of the church was centered on Christ from the very beginning (Genesis 3:15; Revelation 13:8).

As we look into the life and ministry of Christ we see God's revelation of His Eternal Purpose. For example Christ writes in Hebrews 1:1,2 "God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in times past unto to the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom, also he made the worlds."

When Jesus said, "I will build my church," in Matthew 16:18, he was leading us from the type to the anti-type, from the shadow to the substance, from the natural to the spiritual. This is nothing more then the fulfillment of the natural order of events. Contrary to the belief of some, the rock upon which Christ was to build his church, was the revelation of who he was and the public confession that Peter referred to when he said, "thou art Christ, the son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). With this revelation, the foundation of the church was laid. Our task is to build upon this foundation, keeping in mind that Christ is both the foundation and chief cornerstone of a great Building, the church.

All natural barriers cease to exist when the church came into existence. Now all Holy Ghost filled believers are a part of that building. Everyone baptized into the body of Christ are living stones within the house of God. There is no longer a separate plan for Jew and Gentile. All the saved are one family in Him, all the Holy Ghost filled saints are one body in him. There are still prophesies to be fulfilled, which pertain to certain nations, but these will not take priority over God's plan for his Church and they will in no way hinder the progress of God's great building, THE CHURCH, THE BODY/BUILDING of Christ is the center of God's plan.

Just as the church was portrayed in the Old Testament and instituted by Christ, the Holy Ghost is structuring it today. In the same way old wine skins can not hold new wine, it is necessary to provide new structure for the church. This new structure is seen as an organism. The church throughout the New Testament is portrayed as a body.

For a body to be effective each member must function properly. The ministry of the body depends on the whole body and not on one or even just a few members of the body. Christ is the head of this body, the King of the Kingdom. We make up the entire body and are a part of him. The head is unable to function without the rest of the body and, in like manner, the body can not function without the head. Our relationship with him is often likened in scripture to the husband and wife relationship. The body of believers complement Christ and are to become complete in him.

Christ dwells in the church by His Spirit. As Christ dwelt in a fleshly body to become the sacrifice for sin, today he dwells in his body, (The Church) for the purpose for rescuing sinners. Are we allowing him to accomplish this great mission through His body, which body we are a part?

The church is a living organism. Adam, as God's son (Genesis 2:7) is a type of the church today. The church is made up of believers who are the children of God with the promise to become fully matured sons of God (1John 3:2). As the bride was taken from Adam, while he was in a deep sleep (Genesis 2:21), so the bride of Christ will be taken out of the church while the church is asleep. Could this be the day?

Jesus said, concerning the living organism of which the church is to be, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.". Also, the apostle John, in first John 5:11,12 wrote that:

" this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his son. He that hath the son hath life; and he that hath not the son of God hath not life." Obtaining life and proclaiming life to others is what the church is all about.

In an analogy of the church as the body of Christ, the work of the Holy Ghost can be seen as similar to the work of the circulatory system. His job is to give life to the body by flowing through all of the believers. In the same way as God gave man a skeletal system, God has also given the church a set form. The skeletal system of man provides him with shape and form and sets all parts in their appropriate place, so God has provided an organizational structure for the church to follow which allows the body to function effectively.

Just as the blood flows through our natural bodies, the Holy Ghost flows through the body of believers. The scripture tells us that "the life of all flesh is the blood (Leviticus 17:14)?". It is the Holy Ghost that gives the spiritual body life.

It is only as each member permits the spirit to flow through him or her, that health and the ability to function effectively will be maintained in the entire body. It is the Holy Ghost that keeps each member healthy and active in the Work of God. The body can only function properly if each member is capable of accomplishing his appointed purpose within the body. This can only come to pass as individuals allow the Holy Ghost to flow through them with both gifts and graces to minister to the needs of the rest of the body.

For anybody to function properly it not only needs the flowing of life spoken of in the previous paragraph, it must also have a set form.

In Genesis 2:7 it is stated that "the LORD God formed man". This refers to the fact that the LORD shaped man with organization. Even a casual observation of the human body comes up with the conclusion that man is truly, "fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalms 139:14), man is put together in an organized fashion. The organization of the church provides her with shape and form, just as the skeletal system does for the physical body. It supports the organs, holding each in its place, enabling them to relate to the other properly. Just as the skeletal system is necessary for life, organization is necessary for spiritual life in the church.

The organizational structure within the church must be kept as simple as possible and in accordance with the pattern revealed in the scripture. However, if we ignore organization all together we are disobedient to God's order. The scriptural pattern for the organization of the church is very basic. The groups of officers of the church are called elders and deacons.

The elders are always presented in the scripture in the plural form. For example, it is stated in Acts 14:23 that, "they had ordained them elders in every church."17There should be more then one elder in each local church. They must be qualified scripturally (1Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9) before being placed into the governmental leadership of the house of God. Elders may follow into one of five ministerial categories or perform multiple of any or all of these ministries, presented in Ephesians 4:11 "and he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers."

The witness of the Holy Ghost to the individual reveals the ministry or ministries to which elders are called. Only then is it confirmed by the same spirit through gifts of the Holy Ghost and then shown unto other elders to the body.

The very title deacon implies the duties they will perform. The word itself means servant. They were called to serve in the temporal duties of church work (Acts 6:1-4). Deacons are to be spiritual men with a holy love for the body even though their work is to be more on the natural or physical level. The purpose of calling them into existence was to release the elders from temporal duties so that they could give themselves to the spiritual aspects of the work of God.

When the twelve apostles called for the selection of seven assistants, deacons, to perform the natural work that was claiming much of their work, they proclaimed in Acts 6:2 "it is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.".

It is obvious from the appointment of the deacons, that God is concerned with the natural every day needs of our life as well as with our spiritual needs. You will notice in Acts 6:1, that the widows were being neglected because the apostles were overloaded with not only the spiritual aspects of the work but also the natural.

This brings us to a truth, found in Acts 6:2, which is often neglected in our day of "super-spiritualism and mysticism". REASON or COMMON SENSE has a very important, indispensable, role in the work of God. Notice the wording of the apostles "it is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables". The results of dividing the natural and spiritual aspects of the word of God are recorded in Acts 6:7, "the word of God increased and the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith".

This confirms the wisdom of both the appointment of the deacons of the natural tasks, and the releasing of the elders for the spiritual work in the church. If we lack reason or common sense we are not spiritual at all.

The more heavenly minded you are the more earthly good you will become. There are those who lack common sense. The men chosen to be deacons were to be spiritual men, with a concern for the everyday needs for those within the church. Even though their work is temporal, the deacons must also be qualified scripturally (1Timothy 3:8-13).

The church, structured by the Holy Ghost, has been striped of her glory by false doctrine and spiritual decline. Historically, when Gods people have sinned by disobedience, rebelling, and unbelief, they have been given over to their enemies for chastisement. The church has surely had her dark ages. The climb in apostasy which was spoken of as coming upon her in the last days, has come upon us today. Apostasy and decline begin with leaders. In order to have any lasting restoration we must have restored leaders, "and there shall be, like people, like priests" (Hosea 4:9). As leaders of God's flock we can not expect the flock to rise any higher then we are ourselves. During the period of time when Hosea wrote this passage, there was a dearth of the knowledge of God and an increase of sin and corruption seen within the priesthood.

God proclaims that, because of this lack of knowledge, not only leaders but the people would utterly fall (Hosea 4:6,14). Joel, in chapters 1 and 2 of his prophesies, presents us with a vivid picture of spiritual decline and restoration.

Revelations, chapters 2 and 3, are prophetic of different periods of times throughout the church age. The scriptures show some definite sin problems which progressed until complete corruption prevailed. These problems included but were not limited to, "loss of first love" (Revelation 2:4,) but fell into blasphemy in 2:9

The blessed hope that we have is God will have a people in the last days.

He will have a glorious bride to be united with, in that day.

As the powers of darkness increase in the world, we will see a greater manifestation of the authority and power of Christ. We are God's building and he is not going to have a rundown shack, but a temple fit for the king to dwell in. When he finishes with his church, how glorious it will be!

God has made every provision for his church to be built and restored as he would have it (Ephesians 4:9-15). The purpose of the five fold ministry of the elders is to bring his church to maturity, perfection, and completeness. It will be a glorious church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. We will give praise to him (Ephesians 1:12-14). 19 One thing that points to the fact that God will send a revival and restoration in these last days is the fact that Jesus hasn't returned which proves that there is still some restoration to be completed. Peter states, in Acts 3:20-21 that, "he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, since the world began".

The basic truth, associated with the tabernacle of David (Acts 15:13-17), is that there is to be a restoration of praise and worship. This restoration can even now, be seen transpiring before our eyes.

(Joel 2:23) "he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain in the first month".

The early rain refers to God bestowing on us the power of the Holy Ghost which the early church had, while the latter rain refers to God pouring out upon us the power which this last century church has experienced, especially in the early 1900's as seen in men like smith Wigglesworth.

• The early rain was for the purpose of preparing the soil for the sowing of the seed
• The latter rain was for the purpose of ripening the crop for harvest.

Joel is telling us that we will experience all that they had in the first century church and all that they had in this last century church at the same time.

This out-pouring will bring about both a great sowing and a great harvest just prior to the fulfillment of God's purpose for this dispensation.

This is what God is speaking of in Amos 9:13 "behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed.".

In this time of a great falling away, God is going to have a people.

Right now there is a great shaking going on, which is definitely ordered of God, if you can be shaken you will be shaken.

2 Thes. 2:2-3—That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Heb 12:27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

He is not only calling his people out of the harlot church and her daughters, (Revelation 18:4) but he is also calling them out of their spirit of lethargy and compromise (2Corinthians 6:14-17).

Will you heed the call and let God do the work and restoration he desires to do in your life and ministry?