A Prayer of Jesus I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will.
ON THE CHURCH AND THE CHURCHMEN
FROM THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS
FOREWORDIt is difficult to find specific references to the Church in the gospels. What we call "the Church" was and is clearly of little concern to Jesus. But, if we search his words carefully, we can find numerous references to entities that must correspond to the Church, both past and present. When he speaks of the "many" who are seeking to enter into life, he must envision the Church because it is only in the Church that there are many seekers. But we also find that he speaks of another gathering, that of "the few." These are the ones, also characterized as "two or three," who find the way and enter into life. This gathering cannot be the Church, by similar reasoning, because it, again, consists of the many. I must conclude that Jesus foresaw two different sorts of gatherings in his name:
- The gathering of the many, that is the Church both past and present.
- The gathering of the few, designated his "little flock." I will not call it "the Church," for that name is much too sullied.
Matthew 7:13-16 L
13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
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15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?
LMatthew 7:22-27 L
22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.'
24 "Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock;
25 and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
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26 And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand;
27 and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it."
LMatthew 16:13-19 L
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?"
14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
LMatthew 18:15-20 L
15 "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
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LMatthew 24:10-12 L
10 And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another.
11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
12 And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold.
LMatthew 25:41-46 L
41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;
42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
44 Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?'
45 Then he will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.'
46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."Commentary L
The "few" cannot be the churchmen, for they are many. Only they can qualify for the many who enter at the wide gate.It is only the "few" who enter into life!
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And where are the many who are seeking to enter, except in the church? Outside the church men are not concerned, except for the "few."
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And where are the false prophets, if not in the church? Do we know of any prophet outside of the church?
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Yet again, where are the many who are casting out demons and doing mighty works in the name of the Lord? Are they not all in some church?
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It can only be the few who both hear and do the words of Jesus. Do you know of "many" who love their enemies? Who turn the other cheek? Who do not resist the evil person? This can refer only to the few, for they are few indeed who both hear and do his words.
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Yes, and were are they who hear the words of Jesus and do not do them? The churchmen often hear the Sermon on the Mount, for example, but who takes its commandments seriously and seeks to do them? They must therefore be in the church!
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Only here and in Matthew 18:17 below does Jesus use the Greek ekklesia that is found often in the New Testament and universally rendered "church." It is usual therefore to think that he meant to build the Christian Church as it exists in the world. But is that what Jesus meant?
The word literally defines a called out assembly, or gathering of persons. The context of Matthew 18:17 (let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector) reveals that he had in mind a gathering of Jews - a synagogue! That he meant to indicate the same gathering in both places is strongly indicated by the fact that he applies the same loosing and binding statement to both. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that he anticipated the gathering of an assemblage of Jews who believed in him, defining this as his ekklesia. Then, verse 18:20, For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them, universalizes the concept, applying it to a gathering of any two or three, Jew or Gentile, anywhere. The small number, "two or three" is consistent with "the few" and "the little flock" in the other utterances listed here, but it is not consistent with the huge Gentile gatherings across the world that men call "the Church." To find that we must look to the category that Jesus labeled "many."
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If you seek to find many prophets, true or false, leading many astray, where must you look? Is it not in the church? Prophets outside are, again, very few! "Most men" is the majority of men, therefore, the many.
This prophecy finds fulfillment in the Christian Church.L
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Many churchmen feed the hungry in the name of the Lord, and they alone face the judgment in the assurance that they have ministered to him. Theirs must therefore be a case of mistaken identity. To feed hungry, poor people is good, but not the same as feeding the Lord himself! It therefore carries no Judgment Day benefit. See the paper on this site entitled, "Sheep and Goats."Luke 13:22-24 L
22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.
23 And some one said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them,
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24 "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
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LLuke 6:47-49 L
47 Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:
48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
49 But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."
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LLuke 12:32-33L L
32 "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys
FROM THE FOURTH GOSPEL
John 10:14-1614 I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me,
15 as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.John 17:20-26
20 "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word,
21 that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
23 I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, the world has not known thee, but I have known thee; and these know that thou hast sent me.
26 I made known to them thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."Return to Logos email Return to Home Page