Unity Through the Restoration of the Ancient Order

Why are there so many denominations and churches? This question surely has crossed everyone’s mind at one time or another. Sadly one begins to think that different churches are for personal choices, just like the different fashions in clothing. One picks out one that is suited to him and all of them are equally good choices. Though one might wish this were true, this is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible warns of false worship and false religions, showing that not all religions and churches are equally approved by God (Matt. 15:8-9; Gal. 1:6-9; Col. 2:8; etc.). This lesson is designed to give a brief religious history, concluding with an appeal for men to give up their denominational divisions so that we can be united as one in Christ by restoring the church revealed in the Bible.

The Church Established
In fulfillment of God’s divine purpose, the Lord established his church on the day of Pentecost following his resurrection (see Acts 2). The early church was established under the leadership and guidance of apostles inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Lord had promised to send the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles in all truth (John 16:13). Under divine guidance the church was planted on Pentecost according to God’s divine pattern. It was the tabernacle which “the Lord pitched, and not man” (Heb. 8:2).

The church was organized according to a divinely revealed pattern with God revealing the qualifications of the men who serve as its elders (also called bishops, overseers, pastors) and deacons (1 Tim. 3:1-13; Tit. 1:5-11). The work that these men are called to do and the limits of their authority are revealed in Scripture (1 Pet. 5:1-4; Acts 20:28; etc.). These men have no legislative authority to make laws, inasmuch as there is only one lawgiver (Jas. 4:12); hence, their work is limited to administration of the one divinely revealed law. Their work is limited in scope to the local congregation (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2).

The worship of the early church is also revealed. This is evident from the condemnation of unrevealed worship, such as idolatry and that based on human tradition or the will of man (1 Cor. 6:9; Matt. 15:8-9; Col. 2:20-22). Revealed worship consists of the following: (a) preaching apostolic doctrine  (Acts 2:42; 20:7); (b) the weekly observance of the Lord’s supper (sometimes called the “breaking of bread,” see Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:20-34); (c) collecting a contribution of freewill offerings (1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 9:6-9); (d) prayer (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 14:15); and (e) congregational singing (1 Cor. 14:15; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).

The church has a work to perform. Though many needs existed in the New Testament era, the church did not get involved in many social programs commonly practiced by modern churches. They were not the base of any political movement, did not build hospitals, colleges, benevolent institutions, or other institutions designed to do good works, did not provide recreational facilities for the children, and such like things. The work of the church consisted of: (a) evangelism to convert the lost (1 Tim. 3:15; Matt. 28:18-20); (b) edification to strengthen the saved (Acts 20:32; Eph. 4:12-16); and (c) benevolence to provide for the needs of its members (Acts 4:32-37; 6:1-6; 11:27-30; etc.).

The church as organized by Christ is all-sufficient to accomplish his will. Starting on Pentecost with 3000 conversions, the church grew rapidly in Jerusalem (Acts 4:4; 6:7; 21:20; etc.). The gospel began in Jerusalem, soon was taken to Judea and Samaria, and ultimately to the uttermost parts of the world, as recorded by the historian Luke in the book of Acts (1:8).

Apostasy From the Divine Order
The Holy Spirit warned the early church that apostasy from the divine order would soon arise. It is sometimes described as the “falling away” (2 Thess. 2:2). The inspired apostles foretold the following:

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. 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 (2 Thess. 2:2-3).

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth (1 Tim. 4:1-3).

That which was foretold came to pass. The apostasy occurred in several ways. An element of the church was influenced by contemporary philosophies who believed that flesh is inherently evil; they did not understand how God could be incarnate in human flesh. This movement denied that God literally became a man and asserted that Jesus only appeared or seemed to suffer (see Ignatius’ Trallians 9:1; Smyrnaeans 2:1; 4:1; 5:1; Philippians 4:3). This movement is known in church history as Gnosticism and its incipient forms are condemned in Scripture (1 John 1:6-10; 2:22-23; 4:1-6; etc.).

Another apostasy that had longer lasting results occurred in the organizational structure of the church. The New Testament describes the organized church as having a plurality of elders (Acts 14:23; Phil. 1:1) whose authority is limited to the “flock of God which is among you,” the local church (1 Pet. 5:2; Acts 20:28). These elders were called “presbyters,” “pastors,” “shepherds,” “bishops,” and “overseers” which terms describe  their spiritual maturity and function. In the course of time, local churches began to have a “chief elder” whom they designated as a “bishop” to distinguish him from the other elders. This trend is evident in the writings of Ignatius (A.D. 30-107): Ephesians 1:9; 3:6; 4:1; 5:4; Magnesians 2:1; 3:3; 7:1; 13:1; Trallians 1:5; 2:1; 7:2; 13:1; etc. Over the course of years, these bishops began to oversee all of the churches in a large geographical area known as a diocese. When the bishops began meeting, they elected a chief bishop presiding over them known as an archbishop. Soon the archbishops began meeting and electing their own head. Over the course of hundreds of years, this organizational trend continued until there was elected one person who was recognized as the head over all of the churches in the world. He assumed the role and title of pope. The first universal pope as head of the Catholic Church is generally identified as Gregory I (590-604) (Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church IV:212).

Church History
The church history that is written by uninspired men concentrates on the significant events affecting the organized religious bodies of which large numbers of people are members. The Lord’s people were not always popular and large in number, but inasmuch as the Lord’s kingdom is an eternal kingdom, no doubt there were humble believers in every age of men who made it their goal to live in obedience to God’s divine will (Dan. 2:44). These men may have left no traces for historians to record their existence even as one humbly obeying the Lord in baptism and joining himself to a church of 75-100 saints is little noted today.

The significant religious events for church historians relate to massive groups of people and their institutions. Among the significant events recorded by church historians is a division that occurred in 1054 between two branches of the Catholic Church: the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox.

Another significant division in the Roman Catholic Church occurred during the period known as the Protestant Reformation (15-16th centuries). This division led to the establishment of various churches that protested (hence, Protestant Reformation) the corruptions they perceived in the Roman Catholic Church. Coming out of these movement were such Protestant denominations as the Lutherans, Presbyterian, Anglican (later they became known in America as Episcopalians), and Anabaptists, from whom descended the Mennonites and Baptists.

Once men began to see that churches can exist independently of the Roman Catholic church and other denominational organizations, fragmentation proliferated, resulting in the Methodists, Pentecostal groups (Jesus Only Pentecostals, Trinitarian Pentecostals, Assembly of God, etc.), and millennarian groups (Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, etc.). The result is what exists today: thousands of churches teaching different doctrines and practicing different kinds of worship, whether remaining independent and isolated from each other or participating with each other in ecumenical arrangements.

Unity Through Restoration of the Ancient Order
In the early nineteenth century in America, a number of men from different religious backgrounds began to work to heal the denominational divisions that existed in their time. They thought, “Don’t we all have the same Bible?  Don’t we all believe in the same Lord? Why then, are we divided?” As they began to analyze the situation, they became convinced that loyalty to denominations and their creeds separated believers from one another. They decided to throw aside the creeds written by denominational bodies and to follow only the Scriptures. They reasoned as follows: Any creed that contains more than the Bible contains too much; Any creed that contains less than the Bible contains too little; Any creed that contains the same as the Bible is not needed because we have the Bible.

These men understood that the word of God is the seed of the kingdom (Luke 8:11). When the pure seed of the Lord’s kingdom is planted in the hearts of good and honest men, it will produce in this century what it produced in the first century — Christians! In the first century, the preaching of the gospel did not produce Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, or Greek Orthodox. These names were unknown until centuries later. The preaching of the apostles did not make a person a member of the Baptist Church, Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church, Roman Catholic Church, Seventh Day Adventists, Lutheran Church, or any other denomination. Souls who were converted under apostolic preaching were added to the Lord’s church. The Lord’s church was called by such terms as “church of Christ” (Rom. 16:16), “church of God” (1 Cor. 1:2), “house of God,” (1 Tim. 3:15), and “kingdom of God” (Acts 8:12). If the same seed is planted in the hearts of men today it will produce just what it produced in the first century — Christians who are members of the Lord’s church. They reasoned, “If one named John Smith found wheat seed from the first century and planted it today, it would produce wheat, not children of John Smith, or Smithites. Similarly, if one named John Smith planted the pure seed of the Lord’s word in the hearts of men, it would not produce Lutherans, but Christians!” Only when a different seed is planted does one get Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists, and Catholics. To produce Lutherans, one must preach that part of the gospel that Luther emphasized plus Luther’s catechism; to produce Presbyterians, one must preach that part of the gospel that John Calvin emphasized plus the Westminster Confession of Faith; to produce Catholics, one must preach that part of the gospel that Catholics emphasize plus the Roman Catholic confessions and catechisms. Why not just preach the pure seed of the gospel and produce Christians?

Throwing aside loyalty to the creeds, these men preached the gospel of Christ as their basis for unity and fellowship. First of all, they made a commitment to God to love him more than their loyalty to denominations. Secondly, they resolved to quit preaching anything that is not authorized in Scripture by command, example, or necessary inference. Thirdly, they appealed to others to join them in forsaking denominational creeds and dogmas in order to be united on the Scriptures. Their intention was not to start another, better denomination, for they condemned all denominations. Rather, their intention was to restore the church one can read about in his Bible and to call upon all men to unite upon that ground. Typical of their preaching is this appeal from N.B. Hardeman:

I would God to-night that all professed followers . . . would be content to have but the Bible as their creed, their discipline, their church manual, their church directory, their rule of faith and practice throughout life. There would be oneness on the part of all the splendid people of this great country. . . . I pledge my word and promise myself to-night, if the man will thus show me that God’s book does not plainly demand it, I will gladly surrender and give that up that the cause of division may cease. . . . When I announce that platform, it is not narrow, it is not limited, it is not human; but it is big enough, broad enough, wide enough, and comprehensive enough for every son and daughter of God on earth to occupy and none feel that in so doing they have had to sacrifice a single principle of faith.

. . .Take your stand on God’s book and eliminate all things that are not plainly taught therein; and when you so do, I will gladly come to you and take my stand with you, if there be any preference as to which way the coming is done (Tabernacle Sermons II:185, 186, 187).

Thousands responded to this preaching in nineteenth century America and churches of these believers appeared in many different communities across the country. They called themselves “Christians,” and identified their congregations as “Disciples of Christ” or “churches of Christ.” What worked then will still work today when the pure seed of the gospel is planted in the hearts of good and honest men.

Conclusion
The same gospel message is still in our hands. It is the Bible. Its potency to save souls from sin is as strong as it was in the first century. When it is preached in its purity today, it will produce the same product it produced in the first century — Christians. Those saved from sin will be added to the same church as they were added to in the first century. Those who preach the gospel, without adding anything to it or taking anything from it, will have the same unity as those had in the first century. The preaching of different doctrines will create confusion and dissension among brethren, just as it did in the first century. That being the case, let us resolve to come to a unity of the faith by preaching and practicing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us protect our unity by rejecting and resisting every false doctrine and teacher who brings false doctrines in order that we might maintain the unity of the faith in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:1-3).
6567 Kings Ct., Avon, Indiana 46123 Mikewillis1@compuserve.com

Home Page | Top of Page | Archives Home | © Guardian of Truth Foundation