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In these modern times, many who claim to be followers of Christ avoid the word “Church” like the plague. Even those who use it do so with a very different sentiment in mind than Yahshua and His apostles did. The truth is, this is a very important word; it is a Biblical description of the true believers when they are united in a single Body – and only when they are united in a single Body. Because of this, despite it having “fallen out of favor” with progressively-minded Christians in recent years, the concept of a “Church,” and a single, genuine Church, reveals the difference between those who are the true believers, and those who are not.
This is, I realize, a rather bold claim to make in this era of independent ministries, countless denominations, and self-sent messengers, so let’s get into the Biblical foundations of the statement.
We can begin by looking at some of the ways the New Testament describes the fellowship of the saints: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one Body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” (Eph 4:1-5)
Some might say, “Of course, there was only one Body when Paul’s ministry was active, because that was right after Christianity was founded, but nowadays there are many Churches, and many interpretations of various doctrines, so we need to update our understanding.” This is what I mean when I refer to progressively-minded Christians. And let me be clear, I am not against progress. I am all in favor of new light, and the deeper understanding of truth that Yahweh provides to His people through time and sanctification… but this is not progress towards Godliness. We note that even in this very passage, written when there was only one Church recognized, Paul says that the saints will be “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Any progress towards holy ideals will emphasize unity. It will emphasize the one-ness of the Body otherwise, despite current popular opinion, it is moving away from the calling that God has made. It is moving in the opposite direction than the character of Christ would lead.
And that’s just one passage. Let’s look at another:
“For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church. For we are members of His Body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.” (Eph 5:29-32) They “two” shall be one flesh – one Groom, and one Bride, not many. Keep that in mind going forward, because it will come up when we consider the role that Yahshua plays as a “King.”
When Paul uses the word “mystery,” he doesn’t mean we cannot understand its significance; rather it is too wonderful to be fully grasped by mortal minds. And yet, to the carnal man, it is a mystery in the fullest sense of the word. It is hidden from their hearts and intellect, and they cannot make the connection between the two.
Because the parallel between Christ and His Church to a man and a wife is a mystery to them, they allow themselves to accept that there may be more than one legitimate Church. But we do not need to follow the parable very far to see the wickedness in that claim. And I use a strong word, wickedness, not to condemn anyone who has this understanding, but because (knowingly or not) it slanders the character of Christ.
Hear what is said even of mortal high priests. This is from Leviticus, the Law for the Priests and Levites: “And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes. And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take; but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.” (Lev 21:10, 13, 14)
He shall take “a wife” in her virginity. Only one. She is to be pure. She is to be without fault. She is to be… well, a “she,” not a “they.” There is no law that permits a priest to have more than one wife, and even the Kings of Israel, though they sometimes had more than one, were permitted this because of the evils and injustices of the time, not because it was the true plan. Thus, even saying that since Yahshua is a King, He is permitted more than one wife… this takes a pattern from this sinful earth and applies it upward to divinity. This, I shouldn’t have to tell you, is a grave mistake in any attempt to understand Yahweh or His Word.
Yahshua does all things perfectly; He outlines the very concept of what it means to be a Bride, and what it means to be a Bridegroom: “And He answered and said unto them, ‘Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?”’” (Mat 19:4, 5)
We see the same theme again. Twain, two, become “one flesh.” A man and “his wife,” both singular, become a greater unity when they are joined together. The Pharisees, you see, tempted Christ with alleged inconsistencies about this… divorce and remarriage, marrying a widow, and so on. But Yahshua always spoke about the ideal, because it was the ideal that He represented, and the ideal that He fulfills. There is one divine Husband, and one holy Bride.
“But,” some might ask, “weren’t there multiple Churches mentioned in the New Testament?” In prophecy, yes, there are different church “ages” listed, but these are phases of spiritual development separated in time, not concurrent, differing bodies of faith. Also, geographically, there were different “Churches.” There was a Church in Rome, a Church in Ephesus, a Church in Thyatira, and so on. These were congregations called out of paganism by Paul and the other Apostles… but note that they were always ever one in faith and fellowship. The same apostles traveled among them all. The same Gospel was taught in every one of them. The same Spirit guided each of them, and there were no divisions in Lord, or faith, or baptism. When there were differences, letters were sent, counsels were called, and matters were settled. Whenever challenges arose, the Church would gather together to resolve them according to the Spirit of Christ; they would not split apart.
We read of such an event in Acts 15, and how it was resolved. After the gentiles began to be converted, certain Church members who held to the Israelite conventions beyond what was appropriate began to teach that those coming in from other nations must follow certain rules in order to be “proper Christians.” In response, the Church leaders did not fragment, they did not denominate; instead, they gathered together and they had a discussion about what ought to be done.
At the very end of the meeting, James stood up and said, “Everybody, listen to me…” he recounted briefly the inclusion of the Gentiles under grace, that they were accepted without having to first become Jews, and then concluded: “‘Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God, but that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.’
“Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole Church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren. And they wrote letters by them after this manner: ‘The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia…” (Acts 25:19-23)
And then the body of the letter was given. Now, let’s try to apply that scenario to our day. A bunch of Seventh-day Adventists get together to have a conversation, and they decide to write to the Baptist Church down the street: “Greetings brothers in Christ. It has come to our attention that you have taken it upon yourselves to follow the Roman Catholic tradition of substituting the first day of the week for the Seventh, contrary to the 10 Commandments. We’ve had a long conversation about it, and we have decided that you should stop doing that. From this point forward, we expect you to submit to the authority of the elders gathered here, and reform your practices so that there may be unity among us going forward.”
I can’t imagine such a letter would be very well received. And there is a reason why. They aren’t the same Church. They have no unity of the Spirit, nor of doctrines, nor of practices, nor of belief. Christ is a different person to them. In fact, Christ is a different person to His Bride than to everyone else in the world. To the Bride, Christ is an in-dwelling Savior, a guiding Hand, and a Comforter who abides within. To the pretended wives, Christ is called Savior, but He leads them from without. They await His coming, thinking that the physical appearance of His body in the clouds is what will bring them salvation. But no, Christ has returned already, as The Comforter according to His promise, and as Adventists, we await the final appearance of His Person to complete the work that is already ongoing in our hearts. We are set free from sin. We are given the victory, and by faith (that one Faith that Paul describes) we lay claim on everlasting life this very day, and this very hour.
When Paul speaks of the “Churches” here and there, he is talking about a collection of fellowships all espousing the same principles and teachings. He is speaking of congregations of the One Church that was, is, and always will be, a single Bride, an identifiably unique Body of Messiah.
When beginning this examination of the “Church,” I specified the New Testament. This is because the Old Testament doesn’t use the word; however, the Bible does explicitly call the Nation of Israel a “Church,” and with good reason. Every principle that applies to the Church also applied to Israel as a chosen, called-out people.
This is the deacon Stephen speaking, just before he is stoned to death by the Jews that rejected Christ as the Savior, and here he is filled with the Spirit, giving his final testimony to the world. We read: “This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, ‘A Prophet shall Yahweh your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear.’ This is he, that was in the Church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers who received the lively oracles to give unto us; to whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt.” (Acts 7:37-39)
This is a key passage, for several reasons. Not only does it call Israel “the Church in the wilderness,” but it actually explains why… because it was “called out” of Egypt to serve Yahweh. That is what the word Church means, you know... Ekklesia, those who are called out. Those who rejected Moses surrendered their membership in this solitary Church, and because they were no longer “called out” they returned to Egypt, to the symbol of corruption and sin.
Today, those who reject the concept of a “Church in the wilderness” are doing exactly the same thing. They are not in the Church; they are not “called out,” thus they return to the worldliness and corruption out of which they have been called, and the result is confusion and destruction.
Everything that defines a Church in the New Testament also applies to Israel as a nation, except for the name of the Bridegroom being applied. This make sense, of course… it is not until the Bridegroom appears that the Bride takes His name.
This Acts 7 passage also demonstrates the falsehood of those who separate Israel from the Church. There are those who believe there will be a pre-tribulation rapture, in which all the Christians will be taken to Heaven during the Time of Trouble. During this period, they say, the 144,000 will be formed out of biological Jews who turn to Christ. The Book of Revelation tells us that this group will be sealed by “tribes,” and this is one of the reasons for the misunderstanding. However, Yahshua said that His followers would “sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel,” (Mat 19:28) and since a number of His followers were directly related, and thus of the same genetic heritage, this completely eliminates an Old Testament understanding of how these “tribes” are to be divided.
As for this Jewish 144,000 according to this scenario, because of their previous infidelity they are punished by needing to endure the Tribulation, but ultimately they will be sealed and join the Church in Heaven.
Stephen’s testimony reveals the deception in this idea. There was only ever one Church. It was originally an en-churched Nation of Israel, called out to serve Him. When it rejected Christ, the promises passed on to Spiritual Israel, no longer identified by the flesh, (1Cor 10:18) but identified by the Spirit. Nevertheless, the 144,000 will arise from that same Church, from this same Church that today takes the Gospel to the world. God did not change His mind. He did not have a “backup plan.” This IS the plan, except that those who were originally called to participate gave up their opportunity to do so. Some people seem to believe that the Plan of Salvation depended on Israel, as if Yahweh could not bring about His purpose without them… but when they fell, He called a new set of workers, and proceeded as intended. The parable of the Workers in Matthew 20 points this out quite clearly.
The Nation of Israel is, actually, the first manifestation of the One True Church. It is written of Israel, and thus Christ’s Church in the wilderness: “For thou art an holy people unto Yahweh thy Elohim; Yahweh thy Almighty hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.” (Deu 7:6)
The Almighty said that to His Church then, and He says that to His Church now. His principles do not change. His means of dealing with mankind do not change. In fact, if anything they have become more focused, more specific. We have a complete Bible, to which each member has full access, which outlines for the Church the principles of Christian living, the agencies by which Yahweh perfects His people, and a map of spiritual events until the end of days. We have no excuse for misunderstanding that to which we are called, and those who misunderstand do so only because they do not know the Savior. They think He is different than He actually is, and thus reveal their lack of intimacy, their lack of Bride-hood, towards Him.
Here is what Yahweh has said to the Church of the Old Testament, too plain to honestly misunderstand:
“And [Moses] said unto [Yahweh], ‘If Thy Presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.’” (Exo 33:15, 16)
The presence of Yahweh with His people separates them from everyone else in the world. And while some modern Christians say that God is with all the churches of the world, they deny the very description that Paul provides for what he thinks of as a “Church:” A people, sharing a common faith, a common method of initiation in baptism, the same Savior, and a striving for the preservation of “unity.” Moses understood this. Paul understood this. Modern Christians… struggle here.
Here is another relevant verse: “Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My Covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.” (Exo 19:5)
I want to point out that anyone may claim to be a member of God’s people. Anyone may claim to be among the only true Ekklesia, or alternatively that such a Church does not even exist; but Exodus 19:5 doesn’t give any credit to that claim. There IS such a Body of Believers, but Yahweh does not say, “Anyone who identifies with Me and with My Son is among my particular people.” No, He says, “Obey My voice, and keep My Covenant.” We need to avoid the error of legalism when we discuss Yahweh’s Law and His Covenant, but we must also understand these things in order to know Him, and to understand His will for our lives. What is Yahweh’s Covenant? It is the faithful obedience to His Law, which has never changed, and the accomplishing of it by receiving of His Spirit within us. That Spirit, the Spirit of His Son, is better known in Christian times, but it is not foreign to the Old Testament by any means.
“And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them.” (Ezek 36:27) Do you know what that is? That is righteousness by faith. Because we are filled with Yahweh’s spirit, we walk in His statutes. It is not because we try really hard. It is not because we’re good at holiness. No, it is because we believe in the Word, that Yah places His Spirit within us (and today, we understand that it is because the Son dwells in us) and this “causes” us to obey. It almost sounds like He controls us, and to an outside perspective, it may seem that way.
But with our cooperation, with our trusting, loving assent, we let His Spirit guide our thoughts, and words, and actions… and because of this, because of this, we are His particular, chosen, unique people, separate from all others on the earth.
I will tell you, unapologetically, that does not sound anything like the state of what the world calls “Christianity” today. The Christians of today, and I include Seventh-day Adventists and its various independent ministries, do not know Yahweh’s Law beyond its letter. They know nothing of the Faith of Yahshua since the rejected it in 1888 (in the case of SDAs) and they never, never speak of His Covenant, His Sure Covenant. But this is what a Church is. It is a group of people who, because of their faith, have received the Father and Son dwelling in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and thus are “caused” to obey His Voice. That is what a Church is. It is not a club that one may join and leave at a whim.
It is not a collection of possibilities that one tries on like clothing, to see if there is “the right fit.” It is not an institution designed to provide for the Christian’s social needs, although that is one of its blessings. It is not always a comfortable place, but it is provided to us for our perfecting. This means there will be discipline, learning, and sometimes rebuke. The Church is not always a place where pleasant feelings are pursued as the highest ideal, but it is always a blessing for our best good, for our ultimate long-term joy.
Now, I’ve come quite a way into the study, and I haven’t yet touched on the concept of being “un-churched,” other than to provide a title. Inspiration tells us that when the Jewish Nation rejected the Savior, and united with the Roman government to have Him Crucified, they “unchurched” themselves, and were no longer the people of God. [Manuscript Releases, Vol. 12, p. 388]
While the word “unchurched” does not appear in the Bible, it is described explicitly. We read of this interaction with the Pharisees: “Yahshua saith unto them, ‘Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner; this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?’ Therefore say I unto you, The Kingdom of Yah shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this Stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” (Mat 21:42-44)
A Kingdom is given to a Nation. It was always one; Yahweh’s people are always One. But those who reject the Savior un-Church themselves, and those who un-Church themselves reject the Savior, because they are no longer His people. Yahweh’s people are a Church. In fact, without the Church, there is no Covenant, and without the Covenant, as Exodus 19 tells us, one cannot be among Yahweh’s people.
We read, “And I will give them an heart to know Me, that I am Yahweh; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return unto Me with their whole heart.” (Jer 24:7)
We use 1 John 3:9 a lot, because it clearly spells out that “whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin,” but the prophet Jeremiah is saying the same thing here. I will give them a heart to know Me. They will be my people and I will be their God for (because) they will return to Me with their whole heart.
This is what it means to be in the Bride of Christ, to be His Church. We have returned to Him with our whole heart. A whole heart is not divided against itself. It gives no occasion to the flesh, nor to the temptations of the Enemy, to lead it into the commission of sin. A bride, full of love for her new husband, does not entertain the idea of spending the night with another man. The very idea, the very conceiving of the idea, is hateful and disgusting. She rejects it immediately, and clings to her beloved. This is the heart that is returned to Yahweh wholly. It hates sin with a perfect hatred. It clings to Him exclusively, and He to her in particular. There is absolutely no realistic possibility of betrayal.
But this is not the testimony given by the Churches of the world! This is not the testimony given by the independent ministries of the world! They do not react with disgust to the idea of committing known sins, as a faithful bride would react to the idea of infidelity against her husband. They reveal their un-Churched status by their testimony, and therefore they are not the Covenanted People that the Word describes, those for whom the promises are intended.
But we are the Bride of the Son of Yahweh. To the carnally minded, that declaration might easily become a point of pride. “We are the chosen ones, we are the righteous ones.” This was the downfall of the Pharisees. We are not proud of ourselves because we have been chosen, but we are very proud of who the Bridegroom is. As Jeremiah again writes, “Thus saith Yahweh, ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this: that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am Yahweh which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight,’ saith Yahweh.” (Jer 9:23, 24)
Now, why do we accept, believe and teach such things, that there is only one Covenanted People recognized by the King of Heaven? Is it because we are directing worship toward the Church? Is it because we are exalting an earthly group of people? Is it because we believe merely being a member of a specific Church saves one’s soul? No, it is none of those things. It is because we love our fellow men with the same love with which Yahweh has loved us. Because He loved us, our Father drew us to Himself, and placed us in His Covenant, where we would be refined, challenged, blessed, and perfected. It is He who saves us, and places us in connection with His particular People.
Because He loves others as well, He has called on us, who have begun to receive His gifts already, to cooperate with Him in securing their salvation. This is not the work that the worldly Churches are doing in their divisions and disunity; and we can demonstrate this Biblically, that the many denominations and diverse doctrinal positions are the work of the Enemy.
We read, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies...” and the list goes on a bit longer. (Gal 5:19, 20) I want to highlight a few of those words that aren’t all that common these days, at least not in their original meanings. Variance is obvious… it is contentions about beliefs and understandings. Seditions specifically means “divisions,” splitting apart, and “heresies,” which is used these days to mean “false beliefs” doesn’t specifically mean that. The word “heresy” means choosing a different opinion, resulting in disunity.
These things are identified as works of the flesh: contentions, divisions, and choosing diverse opinions rather than the Word of Yahweh. In another verse, Paul writes, “That there should be no schism in the Body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.” (1Cor 12:25)
Never should we treat people poorly because they have a different opinion than we do. Never should we accept the temptation to place ourselves above others. Because we have been chosen by Yahweh as a particular people, we have been called to be priests to the rest of the world… servants. We are raised up as Christ was, raised up to wash the feet of others, to sacrifice for others, and to be their examples. But Christ knew that the only way to the Father was Himself. He was humble, He was gentle, He was kind…but He also spoke boldly when He revealed what His Father had said, that He was the one chosen to be the Captain of mankind’s salvation.
Here also lies the balance for us. We serve others, but a part of that service sometimes involves telling them the truth without apology or compromise. Schisms are a work of the flesh. Divisions in Christianity, the various Churches, and faiths, and ministries, they are born from works of the flesh, and they exist only because of the Enemy, because of sin. We cannot condone a subversion of Yahweh’s design; we know that our Heavenly Father always and ever intended to have a single Bride for His Son.
Every split, every division in Christianity except for the one directly connected to Christ by the Biblical Covenant is the result of transgression of the Law. Now, that may be a hard saying for some. As may rightly be pointed out, there are wonderful people, who love the truth as they understand it, in many denominations and Churches. That’s true... but there are wonderful, moral, kind people in every religion in the world, even those that have nothing to do with Christ. It doesn't mean they are in the right place. It doesn’t mean that they are safe. Their character may be as good as it can be, and perhaps even a “law unto themselves” so that they might be saved in the end, but they cannot reflect Christ to the world. They cannot bring anyone else with them to the Inheritance, and that is a true tragedy. They never have the opportunity to know the Savior in this life as He desires to be known.
When we find such people, we do not reject them. We fellowship with these ones, who love the truth and have been living up to their light. We minister to them. We speak in their Churches when they invite us. We work with them to make their lives and their spiritual understanding better. But we teach them as well, as they are able, that there is a Bride, a unique, called-out people that are separate in Spirit from all others in the world. We have a Character, we have an identity, and we have a name that our Father has called us: “Creation Seventh Day Adventists.”
It is not love to leave people in darkness and ignorance, rolling the dice as it were on their salvation. It is not love to let pass without comment the idea that there are many brides of Christ. That is not Biblical. That is not a proper testimony of the nature and character of our Redeemer.
But we love the unchurched. We love – not the principles of this world, but – those who are in the world, just as our Father first loved us. We have a message for them, a message that perhaps most will not receive kindly… but the promise of a cold reception did not deter our Savior from doing what He did for our sakes. We, in whom He dwells by His Spirit, cannot, and will not, do any less.
I will conclude, then, with a promise given to us through the Prophet Ezekiel. While it was given first to Israel, to Yahweh’s Church in the wilderness, today it is for us, The Church in the midst of another kind of wilderness, that of Spiritual Babylon. We read, “Therefore prophesy and say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord Yahweh: ‘Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.’” (Eze 37:12)
Let us cooperate with our Father in Heaven, and with our beloved Savior, to bring those who are in darkness, but who are willing to be made willing, to the place that Yahweh has prepared for them.
David.