"My Church" And "The Little Flock"

by L. Burrows, Kingston upon Thames, U.K. | Category: Never Man So Spake - Great Truths From The Lord's Min | Oct 1985

(Please read Mat. 16:13-20)

Why did the Lord go to Caesarea Philippi to disclose momentous dispensational changes to His disciples? Most of the Lord's teaching took place in Judea or Galilee, but one day Jesus and His disciples left the familiar places behind them for a while and "came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi". What the Lord said to His companions there was of supreme importance, foreshadowing the beginning of a new era in which Gentile and Jew could enjoy divine favour on equal terms. Perhaps the fact that the Lord should visit a largely Gentile area and there introduce a highly important aspect of God's purposes would prepare the disciples to accept something which was very far from their minds, namely major Gentile involvement in the great changes about to burst upon them.

These men little realized they were soon to spearhead a movement which would eventually sweep away the religious prejudices and vain traditions of their time, offering new life in Christ to all who believed the gospel message, whatever their nationality or social background. The Lord's humble followers were to preach "Christ and Him crucified" to the ends of the earth.

THOU ART THE CHRIST

The subject was introduced in quite a natural way when the Lord asked His disciples about public opinion as to His identity, then of their own opinion about Him. Peter the spokesman exclaimed, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God". The rulers and teachers of Israel steadfastly refused to accept this divine revelation, as do the leaders of public opinion today. When confronted with the ineffable mystery of the Deity they, like the rabbis, place supreme confidence in their own fallible intellects. But Peter's confession of this fundamental truth came by divine revelation, it owed nothing to human logic. The Lord commended Peter saying, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it". His hearers may have grasped but the fringe of this truth, but to us, with the complete New Testament in our hands, the Lord's words mark the introduction of:

the mystery which from all ages hath been hid in God who created all things; to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the Church the manifold wisdom of God (Eph. 3:9,10).

The Lord's statement needs careful examination to determine in particular the meaning of "This Rock" and "My Church".

THIS ROCK

Strangely the NIV marginal note against "Peter" says, "Peter means rock", whereas the RV and other translations make it clear that Peter and rock are different words in the original Greek. W.E. Vine, in his Expository Dictionary of Bible Words says, "Petra denotes a mass of rock as distinct from petros, a detached stone or boulder ... the distinction between petra - concerning the Lord Himself and petros the Apostle, is clear".

Some have said that the rock is Peter's statement of faith, always the prerequisite of the new birth (John 20:31). Others, see it as referring to the Lord Himself, as W.E. Vine puts it in the quotation above. Paul says (1 Cor. 10:4) that Israel in the wilderness drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ. Again, "The Rock" is frequently used in the Old Testament of God, particularly of His character as Saviour and Redeemer (Psa. 18:1,2,31, 46; 19:14 etc.). For this reason the disciples, knowing the Old Testament Scriptures, would not contemplate the use of the term "Rock" for any other than "the Son of the living God".

MY CHURCH

It is widely held that "the Church" (a term variously interpreted) is built upon the apostle Peter. This, as we have just explained, is seen to be patently false when the true nature of the Church the Body of Christ is appreciated, but it is still propagated as loudly as ever and is accepted without question by millions of unsuspecting people in many lands. Indeed, some outside Rome's sway suggest that it is unnecessary to discard this view, for it just implies that Peter was the leader in the establishment of the early churches. But again, this idea overlooks the true nature of "My Church" and fails to distinguish it from the "Little Flock", a point which we shall explain later in this article.

This magazine has consistently taught that "My Church" is the inviolable Church, the Body of Christ, which the apostle Paul has much to say about in his letters to the Ephesians and Colossians (e.g. Eph. 1:22,23; 5:22-33; Col. 1:18). We understand from these and other scriptures that all who are born again by faith in the saving work of the Lord Jesus on the cross are baptized in one Spirit into one Body (1 Cor. 12:13). The building by the Lord of this unseen Church commenced on the day of Pentecost, although the preaching was the work of the apostles. This work of the Spirit of God will continue

as long as the gospel is preached, until that day of unsurpassed joy when the Lord will present the Church to Himself "not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing".

THE LITTLE FLOCK

(Please read Luke 12:31,32)

It was also to the apostles that the Lord said on another occasion "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom". But was He referring to "My Church" under a different figure? It is often said that these two things are identical, but it is not difficult to show that, although related, they have major differences. We believe that a clear grasp of this point is vital for the right understanding of the purposes of God for His people today. Leaders of the religious world make light of the distinctions we are underlining in this article and claim that membership of the Church the Body is the basis of church gathering and worship. This is a fundamental error, a teaching which cannot be justified from Scripture.

Israel was God's flock, but in the main they strayed away from Him and refused to obey the Shepherd's insistent calls to return. They crucified the Lord of glory and forfeited their right to be called God's flock. So He abandoned them for a period and looked for others to take their place. Amazingly that apparently defenceless little band of disciples was to be the nucleus of the new movement.

THE KINGDOM

What did the Lord mean by the kingdom being given to the little flock? The clue is found in Matthew 21:43. The Lord there recounts to the Jews the parable of the vineyard and the unfaithful workers who refused to render the fruits of their season; they ill-treated their employer's servants and killed his son. Those who heard the parable were in no doubt that the proper punishment for such greed and malice was to dispossess the wicked men and replace them by faithful ones. But the haughty chief priests and Pharisees among the listeners found themselves being fearlessly accused by the Lord of doing precisely the same thing with their vineyard, which was Israel, God's kingdom until then. Then follows the historic statement, "the kingdom of God shall be taken away from you and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof".

This great change in divine purpose is closely linked with, but in many ways distinct from, that announced at Caesarea Philippi. In the forty days between the Lord's resurrection and ascension He taught His disciples "the things concerning the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). In the following chapters of Acts Luke recounts how this teaching was spread throughout the Roman Empire, and churches of God were planted in many places, through the selfless labours of the apostles and others. The apostle Paul preached "the kingdom of God" (Acts 19:8, 28:31) and so did his helpers (Col. 4:10,11). So the little flock became the kingdom of God, which in turn comprised the churches of God, made up of saints obedient to the teaching of the apostles.

STRAYING SHEEP

These churches of God, although divinely instituted, sadly had imperfections, in contrast to "My Church" against which the gates of Hades are powerless. But proper division was made to cope with human failure. Gross sin was to be dealt with by excommunication (1 Cor: 5). A church might even cease to exist through persistent sin (e.g. Rev. 2:5).

The Lord Himself referred to this matter in Matthew 18:15-20. The problem of an aggrieved saint who could not win back one who had offended against him or her, either privately or with the help of one or two others, was to be resolved by the church under the guidance of its overseers. If the sinning one could not be persuaded to repent, he was to be put out of the church: "let him be to thee as the Gentile and the publican". The "binding" and "loosing" of verse 18 refers to the action of the church under the godly leadership of its overseers. In view of the heavy responsibility involved it is a necessary' assurance to the saints that heaven recognizes putting away from, and restoration to, a church of God, if done under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This action in no way affects the disciplined saint's status in the Church the Body or his eternal security. Local and individual matters normally affecting a single church are related to the public testimony of disciples in their collective witness; they bear no relation to the eternal inviolability of the Church the Body of Christ, although of course the saints involved would all be members of the latter Church. It may be noted here that the "binding" and "loosing" of Matthew 16:19 have a different emphasis. They refer to the preaching of the gospel by Peter, and afterwards by others. By such preaching, then and now, souls are born again, loosed from their sins. Those who refuse to hear remain bound.

TODAY'S LESSON

The "little flock" survives only by the constant vigilance of the shepherds and the obedience of the flock to the Word of God. Israel, God's original flock, failed to continue in God's kingdom because both shepherds and sheep failed times without number (Jer. 23:1.4; Ezek. 34:1-10). In His earthly ministry the Lord constantly warned the Jews and their leaders against unbelief, pride and religious formalism (Luke 4:24-30 ; Mat. 21:33-46; 23:1-39). We have already seen, in the teaching about the parable of the vineyard, that the rejection by the nation of the divine warnings resulted in the kingdom of God being taken away from them. The solemn word to us is "Be not high-minded, but fear". For human nature does not change; we are liable to make the same mistakes and allow the evil one to lead us in wrong paths. The word of God (Jude 3) pleads with us to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

L. Burrows, Kingston upon Thames, U.K. | Oct 1985
Never Man So Spake - Great Truths From The Lord's Min