How
should the Church of God be organized?
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Key
Verse: And when it was day, he
called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he
named apostles; [Luke 6:13] |
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God the Creator
When God created the heavens and earth
He set all things in motion according to His design. Observe the
course of the sun and moon, the precision of their paths that bring on
the seasons and tides necessary to sustain life on this earth.
Gaze through a microscope at a flower petal and you will see the
smoothest edge. Man's most accurate tools cannot approach God's
creation for beauty and design. God, the great architect has
organized His whole creation to work in harmony. All life dependent one
upon another.
Our Creator also has a great plan for His church. Every member
rightly fit together so the whole body can function in a healthy
productive manner.
There is one body, and one Spirit,
even as you are called in the hope of your calling; One Lord, one
faith, one baptism. [Ephesians 4:4-5]
Unraveling the mystery of the how the church is organized allows us to
make choices to assure we are part of the body of Christ.
Jesus Christ the Head
First we understand God's redemptive plan was to send His Son, Jesus to
die for our sins that they may be forgiven. Jesus was taunted as
they put a crown of thorns upon his head:
And they clothed him with purple,
and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, [Mark
15:17]
See also: John 19:2, John
19:5
Christ rose from the dead after 3 days and ascended to the throne on
the right hand side of the Father.
Which he wrought in Christ, when he
raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the
heavenly places? [Ephesians 1:20]
Looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured
the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the
throne of God. [Hebrews 12:2]
This is significant! If Jesus is alive and at the right hand of
the Father, then he has authority:
And hath put all things under his
feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the
church, [Ephesians 1:22]
For the husband is the head of the
wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of
the body. [Ephesians 5:23]
And he is the head of the body, the
church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all
things he might have the preeminence. [Colossians 1:18]
Therefore Jesus occupies the seat of authority over the church, his
church and his body. He is the head. Since he is alive no
other can be in that seat of authority without working against Christ.
Who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called god, or that is worshipped; so that he as god
sitteth in the temple of god shewing himself that he is god. [II
Thessalonians 2:4]
God planned to exalt Jesus from the
foundation of creation and make him head of his church:
For unto us a child is born, unto us
a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his
name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his
government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David,
and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and
with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of
hosts will perform this. [Isaiah 9:6-7]
The Twelve and the Seventy
While Jesus ministered on this earth he
organized the church and chose twelve disciples to work with him:
And when he had called unto him his
twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast
them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of
disease. [Matthew 10:1]
These twelve Jesus sent forth, and
commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into
any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: [Matthew 10:5]
And it came to pass, when Jesus had
made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to
teach and to preach in their cities. [Matthew 11:1]
And he ordained twelve, that they
should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
[Mark 3:14]
And he called unto him the twelve,
and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over
unclean spirits; [Mark 6:7]
And when it was day, he called unto
him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named
apostles; [Luke 6:13]
Then he called his twelve disciples
together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure
diseases. [Luke 9:1]
Jesus appointment of the twelve followed the same pattern as Moses:
These are those that were numbered,
which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve
men: each one was for the house of his fathers. [Numbers 1:44]
After Jesus appointed the twelve apostles he chose seventy:
After these things the Lord
appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face
into every city and place, whither he himself would come. [Luke
10:1]
And the seventy returned again with
joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy
name. [Luke 10:17]
Once again Jesus set his church ministry after the same pattern as
Moses:
And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather
unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the
elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the
tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with
thee. [Numbers 11:16]
And Moses went out, and told the
people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders
of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. And the
LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit
that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to
pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did
not cease. [Numbers 11:24-25]
The role of the twelve and seventy is spiritual. They are to
judge with the very Word of God and therefore are responsible for
governing the Church according to the will of God as set out in
scripture. The body of the church must follow the direction of the
head, which is Christ. The Spirit, the very power emanating from the
Father through His Son to His people, leads these men.
All decisions taken on behalf of the body are not made by one carnal
man but are brought by the twelve through prayer to the Father.
Decisions taken are not by majority vote but are unanimous amongst the
twelve. Every time the twelve work together the unity of God's
Spirit is demonstrated.
Till we all come in the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto
the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. [Ephesians
4:13]
And so the church is built up as the very body of Christ, with His
knowledge we become perfect in Him. To be "in the unity of the
faith" we must all be in agreement. The doctrine must be pure,
untainted so it may feed the body. With God's plan for church
government there is no bickering over who is the greatest since Christ
is the head and the twelve and seventy are chosen by God's lot.
God's plan and design for us to grow in the fullness of Christ. How
different from worldly governments!
Financial Matters
In the early days of the church the
money was put together and carried in one purse. Dispersement of
the monies was made according to the needs. A dispute broke out
about the financial caring of widows. The apostles did not become
embroiled in the worldly dispute but realized that the church had to
operate financially therefore they appointed seven men of good repute to
handle the financial affairs of the church:
Then the twelve called the multitude
of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should
leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore brethren, look
ye out among you seven men o honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and
wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give
ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
[Acts 6:2-4]
God's Choice - The Lot
And so the government was set over the
church, twelve apostles, seventy and seven. As God foreshadowed in
the Old Testament, Jesus instituted in the new. Moses representing
a "type" of Christ making intercession for God's people when they sinned
but Jesus intercession being complete.
And God hath set some in the church,
first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that
miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of
tongues. [1 Corinthians 12:28]
After Judas betrayed Jesus and
committed suicide, this left 11 apostles, therefore it was necessary for
the apostles to fast, pray and cast lots before the Lord so He could
appoint another man for the work of the twelve. See how this
position is filled without worldly favoritism since men could not be
appointed or elected by carnal methods. Only through God's
choosing as shown by falling of the lot.
And they gave forth their lots; and
the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven
apostles. [Acts 1:26]
And so the lot system is the method for choosing God's twelve and
seventy even today. This is the church government that God
preordained in Moses, established in Jesus and carries forward into his
kingdom when Jesus returns to this earth with the New Jerusalem.
But unto the Son he saith, Thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the
sceptre of thy kingdom. [Hebrews 1:8]
And she brought forth a man child,
who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught
up unto God, and to his throne. [Revelation 12:5]
And the wall of the city had twelve
foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb. [Revelation 21:14]
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I
say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when
the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit
upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. [Matthew
19:28]
Christ Rules - The Future Government
From the foundation of the earth God
appointed His Son to rule the nations.
But
unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a
sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. [Hebrews
1:8]
And
she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of
iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
[Revelation 12:5]
Jesus will resurrect His true believers. He told His twelve disciples
to follow him in the resurrection to be appointed to rule in His
government during the millennium on this earth. And so we see the same
government organization with Jesus as the living head and the twelve
appointed to rule with Him.
And
Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed
me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of
his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel. [Matthew 19:28]
And
the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of
the twelve apostles of the Lamb. [Revelation 21:14]
And
there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun,
and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
[Revelation 12:1]
And it
shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's
house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. [Isaiah 2:2]
Download the tract "
The Second
Coming of Jesus" (Coming Soon) for more information on His return
to set up His kingdom on this earth with His saints.
Conclusion
Jesus Christ is the head of the Church
of God (7th Day). Jesus set the organization of the church to have
twelve apostles who are responsible for governing the church and seventy
ministers to help spread the gospel. Seven stewards were then
choosen by the apostles to oversee the financial matters of the
church. Members of the twelve and seventy are to be chosen by God
through the casting of lots.
Let us be joined to the body of Christ and serve in His ministry in
this world and the next. Understand the mystery of the body of
Christ governed by Jesus as the head, the twelve, seventy and
seven. God's great plan revealed.
And ye are complete in him, which is
the head of all principality and power: [Colossians 2:10 ]