Christ's Plan for the Church - Part 2 — William MacDonald

Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. We're going to read a portion from there beginning in verse 12. 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 12. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ.

I'm just going to pause there and say that it really is, so also is the Christ. That's a unique use of the word Christ. Christ there means not only the head, but it means the head and the body. The Christ in that verse refers to the whole body of Christ.

Astonishing. Nobody but the Holy Spirit of God would ever put that in there. But it's required by the meaning of the verse. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is the Christ.

For by one spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit. For in fact the body is not one member, but many.

If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body?

If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them in the body, just as he pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be?

But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the foot, I have no need of you. No, much rather those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.

Those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty. But our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it.

That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. First of all, let's review a little of the material we went over in the last session. We talked about the assembly of God, and we came first of all to the definition, and we realized that the word means a called out company of people.

And when you specify it concerning the church, it's always indicated so in the scriptures. The word itself is quite a neutral word. It can be used of a heathen mob in Ephesus, or a mob of people traveling through the wilderness.

It means a gathered out company of people. We mentioned that assembly is really a better word to use than the word church, because when you think of an assembly, you think of people. When you think of a church, you think of a building, at least that's so in this country.

Definitions are important. Then we said that the church exists in two forms, the universal church and the local church. Universal church composed of all believers from Pentecost to the rapture. And the local church, a representation of the universal church.

It should tell to the world the truth of the universal church. We mentioned that there are various types of the church, or symbols or emblems of the church. It's a body, it's a bride, it's a house, it's a household, it's a garden plot.

It's a temple for worship. We went through some of those things. We closed our discussion with the importance of the assembly. It's important to God, it's important to Christ, it should be important to us.

Now we want to think of some of the great truths of the church. Christ is the head. Christ is the head of the church. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 23. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 23. It says, For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church, and he is the savior of the body.

Christ is head of the church. Every declarative statement in scripture carries with it an imperative. You say, what do you mean by that? Every statement of fact in the Bible carries with it an obligation.

In other words, God doesn't just tell us Christ is the head of the church as a simple fact. He tells us that so that we can make it real in our lives and in our church fellowship. Headship speaks of administration and control.

And Christ is the administrator of the church. He is the controller of the church. When you say that Christ is head of the church, that excludes any human headship. It includes any pope, archbishop, president.

It includes any one-man pastor or minister. And it even includes the elders. The elders are not the head of the church. Christ is the head of the church, and the elders are under shepherds in the church.

How do we make this practical in our church life? Answer, by living in such close fellowship with the Lord that he can convey to us what he wants to do. How do you do that? Well, first of all, you do it by immersing yourself in the Word of God.

I'm speaking particularly of the elders now. Their work would be to immerse themselves in the Word of God, in which we have the general outline of God's purposes for us and for the church. Immerse themselves in prayer, seeking the mind of God.

And then seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Will God reveal his will to you? Of course he will. And he will tell you exactly what he wants to happen in the church. I think Ray Stedman wrote very well on this subject.

He says, But Jesus said in the Great Commission, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. He's present not only in the church as a whole, but in every local church as well. He is present not only in the church as a whole, but in every local church as well.

Jesus himself is the ultimate authority within every body of Christians. And he's quite prepared to exercise his authority through the elderhood. The task of elders is not to run the church themselves, but to determine how the Lord wishes to run the church.

Much of this he has already made known through the scriptures. In the day-to-day decisions, elders are to find the mind of the Lord through an uncoerced unanimity. In other words, the elders get together.

They sought the mind of the Lord as the Lord is forming their intellect, emotions, and will as to his desire for the church. Thus, ultimate authority, even in practical matters, is vested in the Lord and in no one else.

The point is, no one man is the sole expression of the mind of the Spirit. No one individual has authority from God to direct the church. The title of the article from which that was taken was, Should the Pastor Play Pope?

Should the Pastor Play Pope? So that's a great truth. Christ is the head of the church, brought up very strongly in Paul's letter to the Colossians. He presented it in that way, perhaps in the most forceful manner.

Second truth that we want to look at, great truth of the church, is that all believers are members. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 11 through 22. Ephesians chapter 2, please. And verse 11. Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision made in the flesh by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus you who are once far off have been made near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us.

Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

And he came and preached peace to you who are far off and to those who were near. For through him we both have access by one spirit to the Father. Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the spirit.

Paul is telling here how in a wonderful way through the work of the Lord Jesus at the cross, he takes these believing Jews and believing Gentiles who are at enmity with one another. Many of the Jewish people believed that God made Gentiles as fuel for the flames of hell.

That's enmity. And it created a tremendous rift in humanity, that rift between Jews. It was actually established by the law, the law of God that set Israel apart as God's chosen earthly people. But now in the work of the Lord Jesus, believing Jews and believing Gentiles are made one in Christ.

And Paul is explaining how that has happened here in this marvelous passage of Scripture. What does that mean to us? We must recognize every indicative has an imperative. We must recognize the unity of the body of Christ.

That all true believers are one in Christ Jesus. This has to do with the reception policy of our local assembly. We must receive into our fellowship all of those who have the brand mark of redemption upon them without regard to their color, race, nationality, color, I say, or culture.

Of course, there are one or two exceptions to that. We would not receive someone who's under discipline from some other Christian fellowship, would we? That has to be taken place, has to be taken care of at their own fellowship.

The person really must be a believer, sound in doctrine, holy in walk, and not under discipline from some other assembly. The truth of oneship in Christ means we should love all believers. Love all believers.

Any who have been in the armed forces know this in a real way. What a joy it is to meet someone who names the name of Christ. Perhaps you're far from home, perhaps you're in the war, and all of a sudden someone comes along with a witness for the Savior.

You realize there's a bond there, a bond in Christ, and it's very real. We should love all believers. And remember that in the New Testament sense, love is more a matter of the will than it is of the emotions.

We think of love in this country today as something that comes upon you, some romantic idea that comes upon you like the flu or a cold or something like that, and you have no control over it at all. But that isn't the case at all.

Love is commanded. You say, well, how can I love? By giving. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Christ also loved the church and what?

Gave himself for it. And we can show our love to people by giving ourselves for them, laying down our lives if necessary for the brethren. We need all other believers because that's why I read that passage from 1 Corinthians 12, the members of the body.

We need the members of the body, don't we, in order to function properly. And this is true in the universal body of Christ. We need one another. And we can learn from other believers even if we don't agree with them doctrinally.

Let me just pause on that for a moment. All believers agree on the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. You say, what? Well, the inspiration of the scriptures. You know, if this book is not the word of God, we have nothing.

We might as well just eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. That would be the proper philosophy of life if this book isn't the inspired word of God. All believers agree in the inspiration of the scriptures.

All believers, true believers, believe in the Trinity. That, of course, includes the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's absolutely fundamental. Jesus Christ is God. The second person of the Godhead.

All believers accept the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. That he died for our sins. That he died as a sacrifice for us. That he died as a substitute for us. He died the death that we should have died because of our sins.

All believers believe he was buried. He rose again. The resurrection is fundamental. He ascended back to heaven. All true believers accept the gospel. Salvation by grace through faith and apart from works.

Fundamental. You start toying with that and you don't have the Christian gospel. You start adding to that, you don't have the Christian gospel. True believers accept the gospel. Salvation by grace through faith apart from the works of the law.

All believers believe in eternal life through faith in Christ and the eternal condemnation of those who reject Christ. These things are basic. There are many other things that Christians might not agree on prophetic matters.

We believe Christ is coming again but sometimes the details we don't always agree on. We can have very strong feelings on it but the fact remains that others don't agree with us. I can love all Christians.

I need all Christians even if I don't agree with them on some of these other things. They might not have a leg to stand on in some of these doctrinal matters but I can learn from their warmth. I can learn from their zeal for the Lord.

I can learn from their wonderful music. I can find good things. I can see Christ in them and I try to do that. I don't think I've ever met a believer that I couldn't learn something from and it has to be that way if we're all members of the same body and we should pray for all believers.

In fact, Paul says in 1 Timothy 2 we should pray for all men, all people but we should certainly pray for all believers. That speaks very loudly to me today when I think of how believers in various parts of the world are suffering unto death for their faith.

Sudan, Muslim countries in general, China and so forth. The persecuted church today. I hope in your fellowship you're faithfully remembering them. I hope you remember those three New Tribes missionaries who are held captive in Colombia and have been held for over five years now.

Imagine being away from their wives and family for five years and really their present status is unknown. We should pray for all believers. We should rejoice when Christ is preached by other believers even if we might not agree with everything they do.

Philippians 1 15 -18. Philippians 1 15 -18. Paul says here and this is written from prison, you know although there isn't the smell of a prison about this letter it's victory and rejoicing. He says in verse 15 some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife and some also from goodwill.

The former preached Christ from selfish ambition not sincerely supposing to add affliction to my bond but the latter out of love knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way whether in pretense or in truth Christ is preached and in this I rejoice yes and will rejoice and we can rejoice when Christ is preached even if we can't do everything that those people do.

I think of a great gospel crusade in which converts are sent to sent back to apostate churches to Jewish synagogues. I can rejoice that Christ is preached but I couldn't become a part of that. It just would conflict with the principles of the word of God as far as I'm concerned.

We have to draw a line we speak about loving one another needing one another it's true but we have to be true to our own principles as well. Moody said I wouldn't put live chicks under a dead hen. When people are saved he wouldn't put them someplace where they weren't going to be fed the word of God and grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Savior.

I think C .H. Macintosh said it quite well he said the idea is to draw a tight circle around ourselves as far as our faithfulness to the word of God is concerned but draw a wide circle as far as love for the Christians are concerned.

That's good. Draw a tight circle around yourself as far as faithfulness to the word of God is concerned. Don't compromise. Compromise is defeat but then draw a wide circle of affection and love as far as other believers are concerned.

All members of the body of Christ there are brothers and sisters in Christ. Not alone that but all believers are gifted. All believers are gifted and that's why I read that passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 especially verses 7 and 14.

If you're here today and you know Christ he's your Lord and your Savior you have a gift or gifts. I will not embarrass you by asking you if you know what your gift is just raise your hand. But I know that not all hands would go up in the meeting.

We should know what our gift is. How can you carry it out if you don't know what it is? It's very important. You say, well how would I know what my gift is? Well, I think Bill Gothard said it's that service for the Lord in which you have maximum effectiveness with minimum fatigue.

That's not bad. Maximum effectiveness with minimum fatigue. You engage in various forms of Christian service and some of them it's just not your cup of tea. You realize that. But others, yes, you feel quite at home and the Lord seems to bless.

Sometimes the advice, the counsel of elders is very, very helpful in a case like this. You might ask your elders what do you think my gift is? Sometimes elders are a better judge of that than a person himself.

A young fellow might think he's another answer to world evangelism. But his brothers might realize that it's not quite yet anyway. It hasn't developed to that extent yet. Every believer is gifted. We should know what our gift is.

It's not pride to say what your gift is. It's not pride. It had nothing to do with it. It was a sovereign gift of the Holy Spirit. You didn't pray it in. You didn't earn it. God gave it to you the time you were saved.

And so I don't think there's anything prideful to say what your gift is and most people would know anyway. In the local assembly there should be liberty for the exercise of gifts. Turn to 1 Corinthians 14 and verse 26.

It gives you an interesting little insight into churches in the early days. 1 Corinthians 14 and verse 26. How is it then brethren whenever you come together each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation that all things be done for edification.

Seems that in the early days of the church there was a meeting at least in which there was liberty for the brothers to exercise themselves in the ministry of the Word of God in praise, in worship, in adoration of the Lord, in giving out a psalm, a teaching are one of the gifts of the Spirit to exercise it in that way.

There should be liberty for the exercise of the gifts. The gifts were given not for self-display but for the benefit of the body. 1 Corinthians 12 verse 7. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.

Seems that in the early days of the church people would have the gift of tongues for instance. Without ever studying Italian a man could get up and speak fluent Italian. And sometimes they paraded that.

Sometimes they paraded that and they were saying in themselves I hope these people will be impressed as I stand up here and speak in Italian. They didn't care whether it was interpreted or not. In other words, friends, they were showing off.

And that's why Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 12. The gifts were given for the profit of all. Not for self-display but for the benefit of the church. Good thing for us to exercise our gift for the benefit of others.

The names of the gifts are given three places in the New Testament. There's a list in Romans chapter 12. There's a list in 1 Corinthians 12 here at the end of the chapter. And also in Ephesians chapter 4 there's a list as well.

And I'd like to think with you now about that list in Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. And this is very basic as far as I'm concerned so we're going to dwell on it for a little. Ephesians 4, 11.

He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive but speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things to him who is the head, Christ from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Now, when we read that at first to some of you that might just be a holy jumble of words but it isn't that at all so I'm going to go back and see if we can clarify it just a little. Let's go back to verse 7.

To each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. If Christ gives you a gift, and he does, he gives you grace to carry on that gift. It's very important. If God wants you to do something he'll give you the power to do it.

God's will never leads us for his grace does not empower us. If he wants you to do it he'll give you the power to do it. That's what verse 7 says. Therefore he says when he ascended on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.

This means that when the Lord Jesus ascended back to heaven after his work at Calvary it was a tremendous victory. He passed through the atmosphere through the hosts of evil ones Satan and all his minions.

He led captivity captive. It was a triumph over his foes and he gave gifts to men. Now it says in the psalm where this is quoted from, Psalm 68, 18 he received gifts for men. Apparently as one of the fruits of his labors there at the cross of Calvary God gave him gifts.

He turned around and gave them to men. Paul elucidates that here in this passage. Now that he ascended, what does it mean that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? Here it speaks about the ascension of Christ.

Christ had been in heaven from all eternity. How could he ascend? Well of course it presupposes his coming down to earth, doesn't it? That's what happened at Bethlehem. The incarnation of the Lord Jesus when he took upon himself a human body.

So Paul is saying here now when it says he ascended, what could that mean but that first he had to descend? He's saying yeah, but what does that mean into the lower parts of the earth? That is a difficult thing.

But if you'll turn to Psalm 139 I think you get a little light on the subject. Psalm 139 is one of the other passages in the scripture that uses that expression the lower parts of the earth. And in Psalm 139, David is speaking about his birth, his conception and his formation in his mother's womb.

Psalm 139 is really one of the most beautiful psalms I think in the entire book and they're all beautiful. Psalm 139. So I say here you have the formation of the fetus in the mother's womb. Now he says in verse 14, I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Marvelous are your works and that my soul knows very well. My frame, that is my skeletal structure was not hidden from you when I was made in secret. That's in the womb. And skillfully brought in the lowest parts of the earth.

What does that mean? Well, it means the womb. Where was the formation of his body took place? It's a poetic expression. It really helps sometimes in reading scripture to have the soul of a poet. Now I would never have put that together.

I would never put the lowest parts of the earth together with Mary's womb. But that's what it means. That's what it means in this passage of scripture. The lowest parts of the earth. So it says here, when Christ ascended, what does it mean that he also first descended into Mary's womb there and was born in Bethlehem.

He who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill all things. And then he turned around and gave these gifts to men, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers.

I'd just like to say, I don't think it means that every one of us here today has one of those gifts. I believe these are special service gifts. To be somewhat distinguished from the lists in Romans chapter 12 and 1 Corinthians chapter 12, these are special service gifts.

First of all, apostles and prophets. Apostles were men who witnessed Christ in resurrection and whom he sent forth. The apostles in the primary sense of the New Testament are not with us today. We don't have apostles in that sense today.

The prophets were men of God in the New Testament period who gave us the word of God, gave us the New Testament. The apostles and prophets gave us what we have today in the pages of the New Testament.

In the primary sense of the word, we don't need apostles and prophets today because we have their ministry right here. Now in a weaker sense of the word, we may have apostles and prophets. We may have men that go out and God blesses their work in a marvelous way.

I mentioned some last night that I would think of an apostolic ministry, but not really apostles, not with the power and authority of apostles. We have men today, prophets, not men who give the word of God.

We wouldn't accept anybody who professed to give us the word of God, but men who expound the word of God, who explain the word of God. Prophets in a weaker sense today. But the other gifts we certainly have today, evangelists.

Evangelist is a man who goes forth with the gospel. The parish is the world, not the church. The parish of the evangelist is the world, going into all the world. And he goes where the fish are running.

Pastors, I believe in this sense, were itinerant pastors. That is in its plural, you remember. I think in that sense that Timothy was a pastor. He went and ministered among the churches. Titus was a pastor.

Certainly Paul had the heart of a pastor. And teachers, men again, who expound the word of God. Now verse 12 is a crucial verse. Why did he give these gifts? For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry.

In the King James Version of the Bible, this is a little confusing. It says for the edification of the saints, comma, for the work of the ministry, comma, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Sounds like three different purposes.

No, no, no, no. That misses the whole point. For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry. Look carefully at the verse, and to whom is committed the work of ministry? Anybody? The saints. The saints.

This is revolutionary, friends. Not to a select group of clergymen, but to the saints. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the work of ministry is committed to you. You see, the problem is with that word ministry.

Whenever you find, for instance, a young man today, and he has a special love for the Word of God, and he spends his time studying the Word of God, and he's growing in the things of God, people say, well, he should go to seminary and study for the ministry.

It's completely wrong, that type of thinking. If he's serving the Lord, he's already in the ministry. So are you, men and women. Saved by the grace of God, you're in the ministry. This is revolutionary.

It really does away with so much of what has come down through the years in the church of Christ. For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. You see, the church, let's say, is young.

And how is it going to grow? Well, think of that baby in the crib. The baby is in the crib and its legs are jumping all around and it's flailing its arms and it's yelling, exercising his lungs and that.

And you say, what a waste of energy. No, that's part of the growth process. If he didn't use his arms, they would atrophy by his side. He wouldn't be able to use his arms. And that's the way it is with the church.

Unless the gifts are exercised in the church, they become atrophied too. And we have a lot of that, I'm sorry to say, in the church today. And it goes on to explain that till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect, that means a mature man, a grown up man, a well built man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

God wants the church on earth to be a good representation of the Lord Jesus. That's what it means. And he wants every believer to be such that when people meet him, they think, he makes me think of God.

Unsaved people. They say, he makes me think, she makes me think of Jesus. Something about her that makes me think of Jesus. How do you get this? By the exercise of the gift in the church. Not by paying some man to do it for you.

That's what has arisen in Christendom. Paying somebody to do your religious duties for you while you go into the business world and make a fortune. Not the New Testament way at all. The work of the ministry is committed to every believer in the Lord Jesus.

Every believer in Christ is in the ministry. Notice what it says in verse 14, that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to meet.

What it's saying is if you, if Christians don't exercise their ministry in this way, they become prey to every crazy cult that runs along, that comes along. Somebody knocks at the door and he's carrying a Bible.

He's carrying a Bible, he must be good. He'd know better than that if he knew his Bible better. And they're taken in by cultists, by people who deny the deity of Christ. And they don't know any better.

But speaking the truth in love may grow up in him to all things who is the head, even Christ. This is God's program for the growth of his body. I think verse 16 is beautiful, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

In a way, what it really means is that the ideal church, instead of having one man doing all the work and all the rest of the people sitting in pews, contributing their money in the offering, and then just going about their work during the week.

Instead of that picture, it's a picture of a church where every person is an evangelist. Every person is witnessing for the Lord Jesus. Every person is a Bible student, growing in the knowledge of the Lord.

Every person is exercising his gift for the glory of the Lord. And that's why I feel this is such a revolutionary passage of Scripture. This is the passage of Scripture, more than any other, the reason why I work with simple New Testament assemblies today.

When I was in the Navy, the question came to me, why are you in that assembly? Is it because your father was in it? Would you be just as happy in a denominational church? And I said, that doesn't. I said, Lord, I'm going to go to New Testament and see the truth for myself.

And I went, and I really believe as I stand here today that God led me to Ephesians chapter 4, and I saw this truth, that the gifts were given for the perfecting of the faith unto the work of the ministry.

And that gave me convictions. We all need to get convictions. Not from your father, not from your mother. From the Word of God, get convictions. And when you get convictions, stick to them. They really are important.

All believers are a gift. And the passage we read today excludes the idea of a one-man ministry. Absolutely excludes it. We're so used to it, it's hard to think in terms of it. It's hard to think that God's will for the church is to have a group of elders as overseers in the church.

Under shepherds in the church. But that is God's will. Not one man, but a group of elders exercising their gift and their work in the local church. So, we will go on and study this more. We're going to be thinking about the priesthood of all believers, and then we're going to listen to the voices of men who say that's what this passage of Scripture means.

And yet they themselves were ministers of churches when they said it. It's going to be the great enigma of this conference. Lord, bless His Word to our hearts. Father, we pray that Your people might be a people of the Book.

That we might go back to the Bible more and more. Not be guided by tradition. Not be guided by centuries of practice of the church. We might go back to the Word of God and find Your will for the church.

Help us all to know, Lord, what our gift is. And live it out to the hilt. For Your glory. For the salvation of sinners. For the edification of saints. And for the progress of the work of God here on earth.

We pray in the Savior's name. Amen.