When
communicating an unenthusiastic critique on the present-day or local expression
of Christ's church, besides citing deficiencies, it is appropriate to make
recommendations for improvement based upon reliable sources.
It
was impossible to plan for and to launch the earliest church assembly. It was
entirely a God-thing. In the documented history of the earliest church assembly
are features which when brought to 2015, can become the qualities of another
impossible church.
The chosen apostles of Jesus were
witnesses to his life. Some were spectators at his death. All of them observed
and listened to, and some touched the resurrected Christ. They were convinced
about this person's genuine and divine identity. This persuasion was foundational to their
establishment as a church.
As they watched their Master ascend and
vanish into the clouds, their incredulity was replaced with hope that this same
departing person would on some future day return. This optimism was foundational
to their formation as church.
Before leaving, Jesus instructed
them to wait together in Jerusalem until his Father delivered the promised gift
about which he had spoken earlier. Whatever
it meant, and however the gift would be bestowed, the Holy Spirit would come on
them with the result that they would effectively bear witness to Jesus in the
city, in the district, in the country and all over the world. They obeyed. They
waited with anticipation together with many other followers of Jesus, including
men and women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, one hundred and twenty in total. They
prayed continuously during these days. This prayer-filled obedience was
foundational to their inauguration as church.
Ten days later the Spirit of God invested
with each one of them, the spectacles of raucous wind and flames of fire, the
supernatural presence of Christ, the unfamiliar facility to speak in an
unlearned language. This phenomenon was foundational to their commencement as
church.
Sincere practicing Jews who filled
the street during the celebration of Pentecost, recognized this verbal jabber
as definite languages articulating the miracles of God. Peter explained that
this vocal marvel was not due to drunkenness but rather was the fulfillment in
their time of one of the Jews' own prophet's predictions concerning the arrival
of Messiah Jesus, whom they had crucified but who rose from the grave and at
that moment was sitting in his glorious place of honour from where he had sent
this occurrence that they were seeing and hearing. This good news declaration
was foundational to their assignment as church.
During this miraculous
demonstration, Peter continued to enlighten listeners that the once crucified
Jesus was the LORD, the Christ, the Messiah. This broke the hearts of listeners
and terrified them until they asked how they could be saved, to which Peter
replied, "repent of your sins, and be baptized as a testimony of your
personal faith commitment in Christ, and your sins will forgiven and you will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit." This redemptive prescription was
foundational to their mission as church.
Peter told them that this promise of
forgiveness and the invested Holy Spirit applied to them, to their children, to
their grandchildren and to every other person anywhere at any time whom God
calls. Then Peter issued the call on God's behalf, pleading with them to save
themselves from a corrupt generation. Approximately three thousand people
believed his message, trusted Jesus and were baptized. This outcome was
foundational to their commission as Christ's Church.
These thousands of people dedicated
time to several key activities, the lessons by the apostles, the interaction,
solidarity and companionship of other believers, eating meals together and praying,
sharing material goods and meeting one another's needs. These behaviors were
foundational to their operation as church.
The miracles and surprises regularly
accomplished by the apostles captivated all of these believers. People were
glad and their hearts were sincere and authentic as they praised God and
embraced one another in a trusting harmony and developed reputations of
integrity. Every day God added other new believers to their number. This
increase was foundational to their emergence as God's Church.
Those observations are lifted from
the first two chapters of the ACTS of the Apostles as it speaks about ekklesia
or assembly, commonly called church which always implies a plurality and when
that assembly is Christian, that is, when each person of the assembly is a
believer in Jesus, Jesus himself is present and that assembly possesses
incredible potential for seeing God at work. That is his promise. Matthew 18:19 "Again, I
tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will
be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come
together in my name, there am I with them."
A church today, if it is to
experience the potency of that early church, must be one that is persuaded that
Jesus is divine and that he rose from death and is alive; that is optimistic
that Jesus is reigning now and will one day return to earth; that is obedient
to Christ's word and engaged in continuous prayer; whose members are recipients
of the Holy Spirit; that consequently openly declares Jesus' identity and
saving mission; that makes heartfelt proclamation of the gospel; whose behaviour
is in keeping with a communal identity; that is excited by regular
demonstration of God's miracles and enjoying regular additions of new believers;
that trust one another and care for one another's needs; that experience God's
ongoing multiplication of their numbers as they live righteous lives, pray, and
obey.
