The Church Of God

by Stewart, W. H. | Category: The Jews, The Greeks, And The Church Of God | Nov 1955

Its authority to bind or loose is because of its divine constitution; a church of God acting according to the will of God can bind or loose men. In Matthew 18.18 we read, "Verily I say unto you, What things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." The man who was not willing to be reconciled to his brother was excommunicated, and to this God set His seal. It is a solemn thing when a church of God, acting for God with all the power of our Lord Jesus, excommunicates a person, delivering him to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.

There are other sins for which a person may be put away from a church of God.

"I wrote unto you in my epistle to have no company with fornicators: ... but now I write unto you not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no, not to eat.... Put away the nicked man from among yourselves" (1 Corinthians 5.9, 11, 13).

Within a church of God is the rule of God. To be put outside and delivered to Satan is solemn in the extreme. This does not mean that the person is outside the Church the Body of Christ, and eternally lost. The purpose of the act of discipline by the local assembly is that it may lead the sinning one to repentance; that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 5.5).

Some of the above sins may be practised in secret, but God says, "Be sure your sin will find you out." When any one of the above sins becomes known, then the church must act as God's executive. The overseers must look into the matter, and if the thing is certain, then it must be brought before the church, when they are gathered together. When the church is again gathered together, no objections to excommunication having been received, the sinning one is dealt with, and it is expected that all will say "Amen" to the action. "Not to keep company," "not to eat," are the Lord's injunctions, and the person who does so with the excommunicated person is going contrary to the word of the Lord. "Neither be partaker of other men's sins" (1 Timothy 5.22).

If God grants repentance to the person who has been put away from the church, and it is evident that the Lord has forgiven, then the church forgives, and the man is loosed and restored to his place in the church.

The churches of God were not a federation; they were a fellowship. They were divinely joined together. Each being a building of God (1 Corinthians 3.9), they were in Christ Jesus, the Chief Corner Stone, fitly framed together with other buildings, thus forming a dwelling for God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2.21, 22). They were in the Fellowship of God's Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, and being so they acted in fellowship and not in independency. They were a holy nation, a together people; cared for, ruled and guided by Godgiven overseers. So if a person was put out of one church of God, he was out of all. He could not go to another church of God and have fellowship with those therein. He was bound on earth, and bound in heaven. A letter of commendation was needed by those going from one church to another (Romans 16.1, 2; 2 Corinthians 3.1).

No church should receive one who has been put away from another church, without due repentance on the part of the wrongdoer and communication with the church from which he was put away.

In the book of Judges, there were men of the tribe of Benjamin who committed a heinous moral sin, and they took shelter in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the tribes of Israel gathered themselves together and inquired into the matter. Then they sent men to the tribe of Benjamin saying, "What wickedness is this that is come to pass among you? Now therefore deliver up the men, the sons of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel" (Judges 20.12, 13). The result was that the Lord smote Benjamin before Israel. God dealt with Benjamin by the other tribes of Israel. So if a church of God shelters a wrongdoer, then other churches of God would search into the matter, and if it were true, and that church refused to put the matter right, it would require to be dealt with, and the case righteously settled.

A church of God is brought into being in fellowship with other churches of God (see Acts 11.19-20). So also is the removing of one. God acts through human instrumentality. The churches concerned would act together for God in judgement (Revelation 2.28).

If it is clear that God has rejected a church, and He will make this plain, then those who fear the Lord should outpurge themselves from it.

When the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram was at its height there was a call from Moses to the congregation, "Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins. So they got them up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan and Abiram on every side "(Numbers 16.26, 27).

Coming to the New Testament we see the same principle in operation. In 2 Timothy 2 we read of Hymenaeus and Alexander, men who concerning the truth had erred, and their false doctrine had eaten into the hearts of the saints of the Church of God in Ephesus. The majority had turned aside. Through the apostle Paul, God's call is sounded. "Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness."

What a blessing there were some who obeyed the call and outpurged themselves! For when the apostle John writes to the seven churches in Asia, there is still a golden lampstand in Ephesus.

Stewart, W. H. | Nov 1955
The Jews, The Greeks, And The Church Of God