Church vs. Congregation

By Lee Carter Maynard

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     Most of us agree it was the Lord who built the church, while men in the church build congregations. It was God who purchased the church with the blood of his Son. The divine intention was to unite Jews and Gentiles in one body, and thus show the inhabitants in heavenly places the manifold wisdom of God (Ephesians 3:10). In Christ there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. They become members of the one body of which Jesus is the head.

     All Jews and Gentiles who are born anew become members of the family of Cod. Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone of the spiritual temple and all members of the church are stones in it (1 Peter 2:5). The church is espoused as a bride to the bridegroom, and waits for the redemption of the body when the wedding of the Lamb takes place in heaven. A beautiful preview of this is found in Genesis where Abraham sends his servant to find a bride for his son Isaac. Rebecca became a member of the household, not because she was worthy, but because she became the wife of Isaac. The church of our Lord is truly a fellowship of the redeemed, regardless of race, face or place, through belief, trust and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ.

     Since it was God who purchased the church with the blood of Jesus, and it was built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus being the chief cornerstone, it is reasonable to believe, and the scriptures declare that only God can add to or subtract from the church. What Jesus built was a spiritual fellowship. He did not build one congregation. The converts on Pentecost, being saved, became members of the church, but there was no organized congregation that brought them into the assembly.

     It was later, in Jerusalem, that the Jewish Christians organized along Jewish lines. No one was received into the Jerusalem group unless he met certain Jewish requirements. They worshiped on the sabbath, forbad certain meats, and practiced circumcision. It was several years before the Gentiles organized into congregations with bishops and deacons. The two groups had no fellowship with each other until certain of the Jewish leaders learned that God is no respecter of persons, and that the Gentiles were being received of him exactly as the Jews had been on Pentecost.

     Congregations began to spring up all over the world as the gospel was preached. It was not easy to tear down the walls which partitioned them off. They had to learn that in the Lord there was no difference for the same Lord was over all. They began to see that while the Lord built one church, men of the church gathered in congregations for mutual edification. In the organization there was strength and care could be taken of the poor, the widows and orphans. These congregations appointed their leaders, pooled their money, observed the Lord's Supper and proclaimed the gospel.

     From these organizational centers men were sent forth to reach souls with the gospel message. In the assemblies the leaders taught the converts the way of the Lord more perfectly. Each congregation was independent of others in so far as local matters were concerned, but all had a common interest in seeing people saved and in keeping the saved within the fold. The scriptures of the new covenant were not finished for many years after these congregations began to organize. The things the leaders had heard from the apostles were passed on orally.

     They did not have a book of rules but they had the Holy Spirit and they knew the love of God and each other. They had liberty in the silences to formulate a ritual which would make an orderly

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service. There was time for praise, for the offerings, for teaching and exhortation, and for the Lord's Supper. They had no buildings and met where it was convenient, in homes, synagogues, or in the open air. They had no bulletin boards or church papers, and were known only by their geographical locations. They were called the people of God, the Way, disciples, brethren, friends and finally Christians.

     From the beginning these congregations had troubles. Some had their favorite preacher, some of the members engaged in lawsuits with others, and some also engaged in immorality. Some quarreled over certain meats, some had one favorite day while others did not regard it as special. The problems began to create division and that trend has not been halted.

     But the early congregations counted their membership to be in the body of Christ. They were members one of another, with different gifts and functions. There is no indication they had a membership list or ever received or debarred one another from the fellowship. Converts were not baptized into the congregation, but into the church, the body of Christ. They knew nothing of open or closed communion, or of congregational membership. Everyone was welcomed and invited. The unsaved were made to feel at home among loving friends, and gladly responded to the proclamation of gospel preachers. There were no congregational man-made doctrines to prove. They knew nothing but Jesus and him crucified, who was now the living Lord who would come again for the meeting in the sky. It has been a long leap from the simplicity of those early assemblies to the modern institutions. Then the saints knew there was but one church, while there were many congregations.