#5 Fundamental Foundations Of Faith (Identifying The New Testament Church By Its Organization) Series

Fundamental Foundations of Faith

Identifying The New Testament Church by Its Organization

INTRO.

A. In this series of lessons on the fundamentals of faith, we have studied the church,

and we saw that the church is the “called out.”

B. We also saw that in the New Testament, that Jesus and the apostles warned that the

church would fall into apostasy. It did!!!

C. Then in last week’s lesson, we saw that we could identify the true church by its

worship. The five acts of worship of the New Testament church- prayer, study, giving,

the Lord’s supper each and every Sunday, and singing without the use of instruments

of music.

D. According to the N.T. and the writings of Justin Martyr, that is what the Lord’s church

did each and every Sunday.

E. Today, we will see that we can also identify the New Testament church by its

organization. God gave us a pattern of authority in the New Testament that we are to

follow.

F. If we follow the pattern that God has given us in the New Testament, we will be the

first century or New Testament church.

1. I want to clarify what I mean by that because as you read the New Testament,

you will see that the first-century church had a lot of problems. Just read

1 Corinthians and you will see.

2. So, when I say that we need to be the first-century church, what I mean by that is

that we should strive to live up to the “ideal” of the first-century church as God

wanted it to be. We need to be the church that was established by the apostles

in the first century.

3. If we will follow the principles that have been handed down to us in the New

Testament, then we will be the first-century church, the original church, as God

designed it to be.

G. So, what is the pattern for the organization of the church that God has given us? If we

can identify that pattern of organization, we can help us identify the Lord’s church.

I. EACH CONGREGATION IS SELF-GOVERNING OR AUTONOMOUS

A. As we examine the N.T., we see that each congregation is self-governing Acts 14:23

“So, when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they

commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” A plurality of elders!

B. Nowhere in the N.T. are we instructed to have an earthly headquarters for the church.

On the contrary, the headquarters of the church is in heaven Phil.3:20

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the

Lord Jesus Christ,”

C. It is not this way with many denominational groups. They will have an earthly

headquarters, perhaps in Rome, or Nashville, TN, New York, NY. From that

headquarters, they set the doctrine and teachings for the denomination, and it is sent

it out to all of the congregations so they can start teaching what they have been told

to teach.

D. God, in His wisdom, designed the organization of the N.T. church so that no one from

one congregation can go into another congregation and tell the church what they

have to believe, practice, and teach. This helps to prevent the spread of false doctrine.

Just because one congregation goes off the rails, they can’t make other

congregations follow suit. Each congregation is autonomous, or self-governing.

II. THESE ELDERS OVERSEE THE WORK OF THE CONGREGATION.

A. Only qualified men were to be appointed as elders.

1. 1 Tim. 3:1-7

“1 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a

good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife,

temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given

to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not

covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission

with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how

will he take care of the church of God?); 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with

pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a

good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the

snare of the devil.”

2. Titus 1:5-9

“5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that

are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— 6 if a man is

blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of

dissipation or insubordination. 7 For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward

of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not