Doctrine #54: Church

Chapter 2 started the 6th (and current) Dispensation: Pentecost. God administrated this dispensation by grace to individuals by the Holy Spirit upon our hearts. Everything prior to this (excluding the Book of Genesis and including the four Gospels) documented the 5th Dispensation. So, the first book of the Bible covered the first four dispensations. The next forty-two books of the Bible covered the 5th Dispensation. This book was the first of twenty-three books that covered the current 6th Dispensation.

Doctrine: They continued steadfastly in the four causes of how church ought to be:

1. Apostle's Teaching (Doctrine),

2. Fellowship,

3. Breaking of Bread,

4. Prayer.

They steadfastly did these things, "steadfastly" meaning: "intentionally and continually". Notice, these four causes were mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical. These four causes were done during the Last Supper by Jesus according to John's Gospel Account. (See comment after John 17:26.) The first New Testament Church service was at the Last Supper.

Verses 43-47: the effects the church will have when they do the causes from verse 42.

Respect for God and supernatural manifestations were the first effects that were mentioned: Spiritual.

Unity and Love were the second effects that were mentioned: Emotional.

Notice, both a temple and home were mentioned as places for "church." Teaching was done in the church and at home: Mental.

Praising God and having favor with all people were the third causes that were mentioned. These were the First Command (Love God) and Second Command (Love people). The fourth and final cause was the number of people who believed increased day by day: Physical. The church does not need to focus on adding to the church. The focus ought to be the four causes of church from verse 42 and an effect will be that "the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved."

One of the scribes asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment.

Jesus stated the greatest of the commandments. First Command: Love God with your whole being: emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically (respectively). Second Command: Love your neighbor as yourself.

During this time there were "great debates" regarding what was the "greatest" of the commandments. The debates were really an attempt to find out which commandment would be the cause of the others. Jesus stated that the First Command was the cause and the Second Command was the effect. This would make these two commandments one: halves of a whole.

The scribe said that Jesus spoke the truth. The scribe stated "understanding" in the place of "mind." He recognized loving God with your whole being was the cause and was more than offerings and sacrifices.

Jesus saw this scribe answering discreetly (wisely) and said he was not far from the Kingdom of God - eternal Salvation. Jesus' conclusion caused everyone to stop asking questions. So, Jesus had a question...

The "Sermon on the Mount" continued. In this chapter, Jesus got more specific as to how to intentionally gain Reward.

Verses 9-13 recorded what was known as "The Lord's Prayer." God's Will happened through believers. If God could make His Will happen without us, Jesus would not have said to pray for His "will be done." Notice the usage of pronouns in this prayer: "us, we." This seemed to be a corporate prayer or a prayer that believers ought to be in agreement about. A shorter version of this prayer was presented in Luke 11:2-4.

The final example Jesus gave to intentionally gain Reward in this chapter was fasting. Again, He gave a wrong HOW/WHY: with sad countenance so they could be seen of men.

Two were better than one because they would have more reward. Did Solomon see reward as long term (Reward) or only short term?...

...or, was Solomon presenting a circumstance that was less vain? It was unprofitable to live alone, and less unprofitable to live in misery with another person. Was it even less unprofitable to live in misery with two other people?

Yes, Solomon believed living in misery with two others was less unprofitable than living in misery with one other. "A threefold cord is not quickly broken" is often used in traditional wedding ceremonies. The threefold cord being God, husband, and wife. However, do you believe that all marriages were put together by God? Were all marriages a "threefold cord"? Was this Solomon's meaning behind that statement?

The Church is given the following gifts via the Holy Spirit:

• apostles,
• prophets,
• evangelists,
• pastors, and
• teachers.

Remember, Paul stated the Church was built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, which were the first two gifts that Paul mentioned. These five gifts, often referred to as the Five Fold Ministry, were the Positional Spiritual Gifts. Different from the Motivational Spiritual Gifts (Romans 12) and the Manifestational Spiritual Gifts (1 Corinthians 12). Everyone has specific motivational gifts they are in control of and can even use to destruction. These gifts never change for the individual because they are the Being (Mind/Soul) of the individual. Any of the Manifestational Spiritual Gifts are able to be done by anyone who is open to the Holy Spirit because these gifts are initiated by the Holy Spirit. Some people have one of the positional gifts mentioned in verse 11. While the gift requires the Holy Spirit to work through the gift, the person holding a positional gift can initiate the gift. For example, any believer can manifest a prophetic word if they are open to the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit initiates this through the person (Manifestational Spiritual Gift). However, a person with the Positional Spiritual Gift of prophet would be able to intentionally get a prophetic word from God via the Holy Spirit.

Verse 12 was the purpose of the Positional Spiritual Gifts. Notice, verse 11 was an example of a "1" - the individual's uniqueness. Verse 12 gave two examples of a "2" - the fellowship (exchange in love) between two individuals according to their uniqueness. The third part of verse 12 was an example of a "3" - the entire community as a whole, the body of Christ which was the Church. Jesus gave these specific gifts to the Church so that individuals would be matured by serving each other so that the entire Church would be built up. How long would the Church need these gifts?

We need these gifts until the Church is unified, fully matured in knowledge until we are equal to Christ! This was a tough verse until one remembered that if Christ is going to marry the Bride, why would Christ marry someone who was not His equal? This was a general measure from Paul, however, Paul continued to give specific measures.

We will need these gifts until we are no longer acting like children who are unstable when it comes to Doctrine and interactions with deceivers. Verses 13 and 14 were examples of "1" - the individual.

Verse 15 began with our job description in eternity: speaking truth in love.

• First, "speaking" meant words. Words are important.
• Second, truth is a right WHAT with a right HOW/WHY...which creates.
• Third, love is an exchange that is the ultimate in profitability.

Paul went into detail about the importance of love leading to profitability in 1 Corinthians 13. We will spend eternity speaking truth in love to each other. This is the ultimate example of "2" - the fellowship (exchange in love) between two individuals according to their uniqueness. The goal is for all of us growing up into Jesus who is the Head of the Body (Church). Again, this was an example of "3" - the community as a whole.

Paul concluded this Meaning of Life sentence with a "3-2-1," then "1-3-2":

3: "all the body"

2: "fitly framed together and knit together"

1: "which every joint supplieth"

Then, 1: "according to the working in due measure of each several part"

3: "maketh increase of the body unto the building up of itself"

2: "in love"

Half of the Meaning of Life is the Bride/Church, which is the new Jerusalem. The Bride will be made up of all of us who will be in the part of the Body we were designed for, so that we speak the truth in love to the other parts we are joined to, with the overall result being the building up of the Body for eternity.

A lot of people think heaven/the new Jerusalem is a HAVE (possession) or a DO (activity):

• HAVE example: "I can't wait until I have a Cadillac in heaven."
• DO example: "I can't wait until I can play golf every day in heaven."

Some people see church today as the same thing:

• HAVE example: "We have a big building."
• DO example: "I like singing in the choir."

Eternity with Christ is about an ARE, it's about fellowship, sharing, speaking truth in love to each other. Churches today ought to have the same focus. Possessions and activities cannot increase in eternity. Fellowship and love can continually increase in eternity. Love can result in more in eternity because God's mercy will endure. When you give to me and do not expect anything in return, you are owed. If God's mercy ceased in eternity, He would equal this out immediately. However, because God's mercy continues, I would feel compelled to pay you back. If I paid you back according to uniqueness, then something that cost me little would be valued by you as more, especially if God put us together in the Body because our uniquenesses are mutually profitable. My giving you something I valued little and you valued a lot will cause you to give me something you value a lot, and that I value enormously. This exchange could continue into eternity and always result in more.

God's Will is that all are saved.

Verses 15-17 covered the process of how to deal with a believer who trespasses against you. The first step a believer is supposed to take after being trespassed against is different depending on if the person was a believer or an unbeliever. Christians are taught, by Jesus, to confront believers and forgive non-believers. The measure for when the confrontation of a believer is complete is when they hear (understand) you. Agreement is not the measure. If the believer will not hear you, even when the church is present, then the person has ceased to be a believer. At that point, the church ought to physically do what already spiritually exists: physically put the person out of the church as an unbeliever.

The first doctrinal issue dealt with the division within the church because of a fornicator posing as a believer. The second doctrinal issue dealt with division within the church because of a dispute between two believers.

Doctrine: Believers will judge angels. Angels have not been judged yet. Also, believers should be settling disputes within their community. Other believers should be able to resolve a dispute you are having. The church should not have to go to the world to settle internal disputes. The point here was that if believers would judge the world and judge angels, shouldn't believers be wise enough to judge matters between themselves? Believers ought to be examples of judging matters well.

Here was an example of Paul speaking something in order to shame the reader. Paul asked if the Corinthians had even one wise man among them. Remember, Paul was writing to the church of Corinth. It seemed that they had no leaders. A believer who can judge between other believers is considered wise.

Paul did not say going to law against a brother was wrong. Paul was disappointed (and saw it as a defect) that they could not settle the disputes themselves. Paul said it was better to be wronged or defrauded than to have a lawsuit with another believer. Notice, Paul was referencing Reward through Justice. Paul stated it would be better to allow a brother to take advantage of you and get Reward at Final Judgment. However, a first step in doing this is to first understand if you have been defrauded. We ought to confront the brother who sins against us (Luke 17:3 and Matthew 18:15-18). If they do not hear us, we ought to continue the process for their benefit and take it to the church. If they do not hear the church, they fall under the process from the previous chapter. If they hear and do not repent, then we ought to act as mercy towards them and receive whatever Reward we are due on Judgment Day.

Paul warned the believers that handling this issue incorrectly could put them in danger of not inheriting the Kingdom of God, of no longer having Salvation and returning to the condition they were in before becoming believers. Paul transitioned from his original topic to the concept of fornication. Paul did this to set up the next chapter. Pay close attention to Paul's thought process because it was critical to understanding the rest of this letter to the church in Corinth.

Fornication was reported to Paul. "Fornication" meant "to commit idolatry." One effect of fornication is sexual relations with your father's wife, as Paul used in the example in verse 1.

Critical Point: Paul judged the action (stumblingblock) of this man. The rest of this chapter is easy to misinterpret if the following points are not understood:

1. Paul judged an action (WHAT) that had no possible right HOW/WHY. The son was having sex with a woman who was married to his father. There was no possible combination of events that would make this not sin.

2. Paul was speaking to the church, not to the fornicator. Some will state the rest of this letter was Paul addressing the fornicator and miss the fact that Paul was actually addressing the church, the believers.

3. This sin was so widely known, not only within the church, but the information had made its way to Paul. Paul was upset with the church that a well-known fornicator was allowed to remain in the church, as if he was a believer.

We will see Paul's response to the church, but first Paul instructed them what to do about the fornicator.

Paul said that this person (the fornicator) was to be delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. This was done with the hope that this man can be saved in the day of the Lord. Delivering this man to Satan was actually for the man's benefit. The idea was that since he did not learn from understanding, he would end up learning through experience by being in the devil's snare. Paul also presented this Doctrine in 2 Timothy 2:25-26. This involved removing this man from the church and ceasing to pray for him.

This process did not involve prayer. Some believers think this process involves prayer. To whom would the believers pray? Satan? (I hope not.) God? What would that prayer look like? It would not involve God doing anything. If anything, it would involve God not helping this person, which would be prayed for in what manner? Judging is the equaling out of Justice. Paul used the word "judge" in the beginning of this chapter, and now we see an action was taken to equal out Justice: the fornicator would be removed.

Summary: Paul wanted these people to remove the fornicator from being influenced by the Spirit, which could only be coming from outside the individual (church) because he was no longer a believer that had the Spirit within him.

This man would make the entire church of Corinth unprofitable through his fornication, especially because the church was "glorying" in the fornicator remaining among them, and making their ability to get an influence from the Spirit through the church unprofitable.

Purge out the old leaven meant they should have put away (remove from community) the fornicators (unprofitable cells in the church body). Delivering the fornicator to Satan meant removing him from church, which was an action that would result from "judging."

Paul had already written them to not keep company with fornicators. Notice, this meant that this first letter to the Corinthians was actually not the first! Paul had previously written this church. How many letters did Paul write that we do not have access to? Would the "church" today consider those epistles to be inspired by God if they were found? What is your measure for something being scripture; for something being inspired by God?

Doctrine: Believers need to separate the fornicators from community (church) so that believers can go out to the world to interact with them (fornicators). Paul clarified that having no interaction with fornicators did not mean never interacting with fornicators...otherwise, believers would have to remove themselves from the world. Paul clearly stated that the church ought not to have interactions with fornicators within the church.

Critical Point: If the church knows a person is a fornicator and the church recognizes the person as a believer, the church needs to put the fornicator out of the church so that the individuals in the church can reach out to the fornicator...and so that the fornicator is removed from the influence of the Spirit experienced from the church. Major problems come when a fornicator (unbeliever) is within the church and deceives people into thinking he is a believer.

Doctrine: Believers should not judge unbelievers. Believers do not judge those outside of community (unbelievers). Believers do judge those within community (believers).

However, it should be judging between believers: the issues between believers, the conflicts between believers, the stumblingblocks between believers...not the believers themselves, as individuals. The behavior is judged, not the person. Paul's point was that the church in Corinth was putting a stumblingblock in the path of other believers by declaring a fornicator as a believer.

Theme of Chapter 5: Paul addressed the first doctrinal issue. Paul encouraged the church in Corinth to put away the known fornicator, who was seen by the church as a believer, so that other believers would not stumble in their faith. Paul stated the way to interact with fornicators was to remove them from the church so the fornicator and the church knew they were dealing with a fornicator.

Matthew 18:15-17 and this verse are intended to result in more agreement. These verses are intended to be a benefit to the church! Here's how:

• If your brother (another believer) trespasses against you, rebuke (confront) him for his benefit.
• If he repents, forgive him.

This means that if he hears you and does not repent you ought to extend him mercy because he is a fellow believer and believers are all part of the same body (all connected).

Notice, Jesus said we must confront a believer that sins against us. When unbelievers sin against us, we are supposed to instantly forgive so they are judged and we get Rewarded. Notice, we only forgive a believer who hears us if the believer repents. Forgiving the believer who does not repent will result in the believer getting judged, and since we are in community with them, it would result in the community being negatively affected. We ought to be mercy to the believer and let God sort out the situation at Final Judgment with Reward through Justice.

Confronting the person is actually trying to facilitate their repentance now, physically, so they do not lose value to us at Final Judgment, spiritually. From Matthew 18:17, this person could only forfeit their Salvation if they did not hear even when they were confronted in front of the church. These verses were intended to help believers who were falling away as well as resolve misunderstandings that could potentially turn into division.

Notice, again, we forgive each time as long as the sinning believer repents, not just confesses.