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Wilkin Tom O'NealSeptember 16, 2010 at 9:21pm
Subject: article
The First Church a Model
L. 0. SANDERSON
The long-planned, heaven-born, blood-bought church of our Lord had its beginning on the first Pentecost after his resurrection, in the city of Jerusalem. Under the direct supervision of the apostles, who were guided into all truth by the Holy Spirit surely this church is a divine pattern for those who would build to please God and be preserved unto eternal life. The record of its establishment and practice will be found in Acts, chapters 1 and 2.
We observe the appearance of the word "church" more than a hundred times in the New Testament, and in most instances it refers to the local congregation or the assembly of Christians, and is always associated with the Son, Christ, or the Father, God. The apostles had no interest in a church or some church, they knew only the church; they knew that churches referred only to congregations of the same church. There was but one church planned; there was but one church born; there was but one church bought with the blood of Christ: and Christ is the head of that church. Many were the members of the body of Christ; many were the places where congregations were established. The apostles were trained by Christ and directed by the Holy Spirit in this work following the ascension, but they could only build on the foundation already laid, which rock was Christ.
Churches in different places were of the same faith and practice, they had the same doctrine to teach and practice, the same local organization, the same work and worship, and all these were strictly patterned after the one and only first church, the church at Jerusalem. Hence, a study of this first church will reveal what all others were and had to be, and it will guide us safely in the Lord's work in these modern times. The membership of the church was without local attachments or prejudices. God's pledge of blessings was to all nations; every nation under heaven was represented at Jerusalem on that memorable Pentecost. The rich and the poor, the great and the small, all became brethren in Christ at Jerusalem. For the first time there was an equality of believers, with all men possessing and contending for a common faith. These men and women were added to the church on the same conditions, possessing faith, they were told to "repent and be baptized, everyone of them, for the remission of sins" (Acts 2: 38). As many as "gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (2:41). In fact, "the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved (2:47). The government of the church at Jerusalem was local, congregational, then and forever afterward, as long as they remained the true followers of our Lord. The establishment of other churches later in no way affected the local autonomy, at Jerusalem or elsewhere. Never was the first church a mother church in the sense that it had any authority as to polity in other congregations. The only divinely-endorsed organization refers alone to the local church or assembly, and beyond one congregation the Lord has no arrangement for officers or directors. As to practice, the duties and privileges of the Jerusalem church are clearly set forth in Acts 2: 42, "They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." As to their weekday activities, the record is just as clear, "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising Gad and having favour with all the people" (2:46, 47).
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