This is Monday evening, October 7, 1974, in Richmond, Virginia. The ministry is given through Brother Stephen Kaung.
May I read from 1 Timothy?
The key verse for our fellowship time is found in 1 Timothy 3:15. Let us read that verse first.
In order that thou mayest know how one ought to conduct oneself in God’s house,
which is the assembly of the living God,
the pillar and base of the truth.
Let us go back to 1 Timothy 3:1.
Faithful is the word: If anyone aspire to exercise oversight, he desires a good work.
The overseer then must be irreproachable, husband of one wife, sober, discreet, decorous, hospitable, apt to teach; not given to excess from wine, not a striker, but mild; not addicted to contention, not fond of money; conducting his own house well, having his children in subjection with all gravity.
But if one does not know how to conduct his own house, how shall he take care of the assembly of God?
Not a novice, that he may not be inflated and fall into the fault of the devil.
But it is necessary that he should have also a good testimony from those without, that he may not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
Ministers, that is, deacons, in like manner, grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not taking gain by base means; holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
And let these be first proved; then let them minister, being without charge against them.
The women, in like manner, grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.
Let the ministers, or deacons, be husbands of one wife, conducting their children and their own houses well.
For those who shall have ministered well obtain for themselves a good degree, and much boldness in faith which is in Christ Jesus.
These things I write to thee, hoping to come to thee more quickly;
but if I delay, in order that thou mayest know how one ought to conduct oneself in God’s house,
which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.
And confessedly, the mystery of godliness is great:
He Who has been manifested in flesh,
has been justified in the Spirit,
has appeared to angels,
has been preached among the nations,
has been believed on in the world,
has been received up in glory.
We mentioned that this letter to Timothy deals basically with one thing: how to conduct oneself in the house of God. Here is God’s house, God’s dwelling place—a house which God builds for Himself, a holy habitation of God in the Spirit, a home for God where He can rest in satisfaction and where He is worshipped.
This God’s house is none other than those who are redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb. As we come to Christ, we are as living stones, being built up together by God into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
This is the house of God. We are God’s house, and we are in God’s house. For this reason, it is very important for us to know how to behave ourselves in the house of God.
We have mentioned in the past that this letter deals mainly with the government of the church. By the government of the church, it is concerned with this matter of how to conduct ourselves in God’s house.
Of course, the first thing we mentioned this morning is that the church, being the pillar and base of the truth, must maintain the faith which was once delivered to the saints—in other words, sound teaching. Timothy was left behind in the church in Ephesus not only to charge certain people not to teach other doctrine, but also to teach sound teaching according to godliness, according to God. That is to build up the church, as well as to build up himself.
This evening we would like to go on to the second point found in 1 Timothy: church government in office, and also church discipline.
Now, we know there is a very big problem whenever you come to this matter of church government and church discipline. It is tremendous.
First of all, perhaps let me quote somebody. There was a man—I do not know whether you have heard of him or not—whose name was William Kelly. He lived about a century before our time.
You may not have heard of him, but I think you must have heard of C. H. Spurgeon. Spurgeon spoke of this man and said, “William Kelly is a century ahead of other people.”
In other words, here was a man to whom God had given certain understanding that was a century ahead of other people. That is the reason why he was not understood in his time, and Spurgeon recognized that.
William Kelly once said that the Catholic error is to mix up gift and rule with priesthood, because they do not know the very nature of the gospel. The very nature of the gospel is that all believers are priests.
But the Catholic system mixes up gift and rule with priesthood. In other words, whether it is gift or government, they are all centered upon the priesthood—a special class of people. That is the Catholic error.
He said that the Protestant error is to mix up gifts with offices. You have the word gifts: all for the building up of the body of Christ. And offices in the church are to provide a good environment for these gifts to be exercised.
But when you mix up gifts and offices and center them upon the same person, that is where you find the pastoral system and the Protestant system. It leaves no room for other gifts to be exercised, and it does not understand what government really is.
Probably he was a century ahead of his time, but now we are a century later, so we ought to understand this.
Another thing I think we need to remember: when you speak of church government or offices in the church, you are speaking only in terms of the local assembly.
In the church universal, government is upon the shoulders of Christ. God has not established any one man to be responsible for the government of the church universal. That is what the Pope is supposed to be, but God has not made provision of that kind.
Why? Because, so far as the church universal is concerned, Christ is the Head of the church, and the government of the church rests upon His shoulders and upon none else.
But when you come to the matter of the local assembly—the local church—you do find the Head delegating His authority to certain people. The government of the church is upon them. I think this is something we have to make clear at the very outset.
Before we go into this matter of church government, it would be good for us to go back and review something of New Testament history.
In the Gospels there are only two places where our Lord Jesus used the word assembly, or church, even though He came into this world for the church. In the four Gospels there are only two places where our Lord Jesus uses the word: one is in Matthew 16, and the other is in Matthew 18.
Indeed, these two passages give us the two aspects of the church. There is only one church, but this one church has two aspects.
In Matthew 16, He gives us the universal aspect.
I will build My church upon this rock;
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
This rock, of course, is Peter’s confession:
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
In other words, the Lord said, “I will build My church upon Myself. I am the foundation. I am going to build the church upon Myself. I am going to build with living stones, and Peter is one of these living stones. Because I am building it, the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Here you find that it is all in the spiritual realm: “I will build upon this rock, with living stones; the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” It is all in the spiritual world. That is the church universal.
But then in Matthew 18, you find our Lord Jesus moving to the local church. He said, “If your brother sin against you,” then, out of love—not out of hatred—you go to your brother and point out to him wherein he has sinned.
If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. If he does not listen to you, your responsibility is not finished yet. Love always goes a second mile and even a third mile.
So you go and find one or two other brothers—not just any brother or sister, but perhaps brothers of some spiritual weight. Perhaps your spiritual weight is not heavy enough for your brother to recognize you. So you bring one or two brothers with more spiritual weight with you, and go to the brother and plead with him. Maybe he will listen to them.
If he does not, then you tell the church. You do not accuse your brother before the church, but you tell the church about the problem. The church takes it up and goes to that brother, trying to restore him. If he does not listen to the church, then you are to look upon him as a stranger or as a publican.
Now suppose I sin against you, and in love you come to me and try to tell me wherein I have sinned—not to vindicate yourself, but because you love me so much that you do not want me to continue in sin. Suppose I will not listen to you. I say, “Who are you?”
Then you go and find two brothers, and the three of you come to me. By the witness of two or three, every word shall be confirmed. But if I still will not listen, the Bible says you go and tell the church.
Let me ask you: where do you go? How do you tell the church? If it is the church universal, it is too big for you to tell. Where are you going to tell the church universal?
Therefore, what is meant here is the local church. That is to say, wherever you are with your brother in the same locality. Your brother in another locality cannot sin against you, because you are not together. There is no opportunity to rub against each other.
You can be in perfect harmony with your brothers and sisters in Alaska, but you may be rubbing against your brother and sister right here in Richmond. How can your brother sin against you if he is not with you? How can you go to him and try to restore him if he is not in the same place where you are?
Unless you are assembling together, you are not together. Therefore, when you say, “Tell the church,” it cannot mean the church universal. It means the church of which you and your brother are a part.
But even then, how do you tell the church, and how does the church go to that brother? Do you mention this brother in the midst of the congregation? When the whole church is assembled together, do you stand up and report it? That would be like accusing your brother.
Surely, telling the church means telling those who are in responsibility. Because they are in responsibility, the government of the church is upon their shoulders. You do not need to publicize the whole thing.
These brothers represent the church and go to that brother—not all the brothers and sisters descending upon him. No, it is those in responsibility who go and try to restore him.
If he really does not listen to the church, what happens? Then you look upon him as a stranger. In other words, it is still not the church that disciplines that brother; it is you. To you, he is like a stranger. It has not really entered into that serious situation of church discipline yet.
Anyway, in Matthew 18 it is the local church, and because it is the local church, there is government.
Then you come to the book of Acts. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the one hundred and twenty who were gathered together in the upper room.
These one hundred and twenty brothers and sisters were the elite of the disciples of our Lord Jesus. Why? Because at one time, you remember, five hundred brethren saw the Lord after His resurrection. Most probably, it was at the time when our Lord ascended.
But after our Lord ascended, only one hundred and twenty remained ten days in Jerusalem. They prayed together with one accord. They were the elite of the disciples of the Lord, but they were just a congregation of one hundred and twenty members.
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down upon the one hundred and twenty, and in one Spirit they were baptized into one body. No longer merely a congregation of one hundred and twenty members, they became a body with one hundred and twenty living members—a living organism.
Then, on that very same day, three thousand were added to the church. Here you find that the church had three thousand one hundred and twenty living members. The Lord added to the church daily.
Most probably, in the first few chapters, up to Acts 5 or Acts 6, the church in Jerusalem had more than ten thousand believers—or around ten thousand believers. Think of that.
Here was the church in Jerusalem. At that time there was no church anywhere else. It began with Jerusalem.
For so many believers to be together in one body, nobody said that anything was his own. They belonged to one another. They loved one another. They were just one body.
Because there were so many people, naturally you find that the government of the church in Jerusalem, in the beginning, was upon the shoulders of the twelve apostles.
When people were constrained by the love of Christ, they sold their property and laid the proceeds at the feet of the apostles. In other words, the government of the church in Jerusalem in the very beginning was in the hands of the apostles. The apostles represented the Head in the local church.
But because there were so many brothers and sisters, and only twelve apostles, no matter how spiritual or capable these apostles were, they could work day and night and work themselves to death, but there were so many believers and so many matters that had to be taken care of.
The first problem that arose in the church in Jerusalem was that the widows of the Hellenistic Jews were overlooked.
During that time there were many widows. We do not know why; probably life was very hard at that time. The church was supposed to take care of the widows.
The apostles were not only responsible for the spiritual ministry in the church; they were responsible for everything in the church. For about ten thousand people, these twelve apostles were simply unable to fulfill perfectly either their spiritual responsibility or the responsibility of administration and government.
They overlooked the supplies of the widows of the Hellenistic Jews. The Jews at that time were divided into two kinds: Hebrew Jews and Hellenistic Jews. Hebrew Jews were those born and reared in Palestine. Hellenistic Jews were those born and reared among the nations.
Many came during the feast, received faith, and remained there. The apostles knew more about the conditions of the Hebrew Jews because they were Hebrew Jews themselves. They did not know as much about the Hellenistic Jews and their condition. Therefore, in the supply of the Hellenistic Jews, they were overlooked, and murmuring began.
On the one hand, there was still restraint in the Spirit. They did not come out in open rebellion. But on the other hand, the flesh was working. There was murmuring, and the murmuring began to spread. More and more were affected.
Fortunately, it came to the ears of the apostles. Immediately the apostles called the whole assembly together. They acknowledged their weakness and said, “Choose among yourselves seven men, full of the Holy Spirit and of good reputation. Let them serve the tables, so that we may devote ourselves to the ministry of the Word of God and to prayer.”
The whole assembly chose seven men among themselves. There was much love. Of the seven men chosen, most of them—if not all of them—were Hellenistic Jews. There were more Hebrew Jews among the believers at that time, and yet they were not selfish in any way. It was a matter of love.
They were willing to choose seven Hellenistic Jews to take care of the tables. They were not afraid that their own widows might be neglected afterward. That was love.
You remember that the apostles prayed for them, laid hands on them, and these seven began to serve the tables. Thus the apostles could devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of God’s Word, and the Word of God increased. The Lord blessed.
In the beginning, the government of the church in Jerusalem was upon the shoulders of the apostles. But because there were affairs that needed to be managed, seven were chosen.
The Bible never says what kind of office these seven occupied or what title they had. There was no title. They were neither called elders nor deacons. As a matter of fact, they were not elders, because their work was service, not an executive or ruling position.
They were in managing positions, not in supervising or overseeing positions. Today, when people comment on the book of Acts, they usually call them “the seven deacons.” But actually, in the beginning, there was no such title. There was simply a need, and seven brothers were chosen to do the work under the supervision of the apostles.
The reason was that God’s work might progress, that both the spiritual and physical sides might be taken care of, so that God might be honored and glorified. There was no idea of organizing a system—not at all.
But when you come to Acts 11, you find Barnabas and Paul in Antioch. God began a work in Antioch, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
One day a prophet prophesied that there would be a great famine throughout Judea. These brothers and sisters of Gentile background, because they were one with their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem—even though they had been Jews before—were constrained by the love of Christ. In the church there is neither Jew nor Gentile.
They were willing to sacrifice themselves and to give. They sent Barnabas and Paul to Jerusalem to help the poor saints there. That is love.
But when Barnabas and Paul came to Jerusalem, what does the Bible say? In Acts 11:30, it says that they sent it “to the elders of the church in Jerusalem.”
That is the first time you find the elders of the church in Jerusalem mentioned in the book of Acts. In the beginning, responsibility seemed to rest upon the apostles. When they were overburdened, seven brothers were chosen to take care of certain things. There was no idea of organizing anything.
But gradually, as the church was being established, elders were appointed in the church in Jerusalem. Nothing is said about how these elders were chosen. Nothing is said. We are not even told who these elders were.
We only know that some of the apostles probably were also elders of the church in Jerusalem. Peter calls himself an elder, and John the apostle calls himself an elder. But not all of the apostles were elders of the church in Jerusalem, and some of the elders in Jerusalem certainly were not apostles.
How do we know? Because when you come to Acts 15, you find that during the council in Jerusalem, it says, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us,” and the apostles and elders are mentioned. In other words, in the church in Jerusalem there were apostles and there were elders.
Gradually, as the church was established, the responsibility for church government moved from the apostles and rested upon the eldership.
Paul and Barnabas then began to travel among the Gentiles, and God began to raise up His churches in the places they visited. When Paul and Barnabas came to Iconium, Lystra, and Antioch, they preached the gospel. The power of God worked there, and many people came to the Lord.
These believers were gathered together unto the Lord. Then, within a year, when Paul and Barnabas came back and revisited the assemblies, they appointed elders in these localities.
Elders were appointed to take care of the government and supervision. Yet we are not told what the qualifications of the elders were. We only know that elders were appointed by the apostles, and the apostles committed them to God, that they should take care of the flock.
This continued during the ministry of the Apostle Paul. Even after he was released from the Roman prison, he visited Crete. In different cities, different assemblies came into being, so he left Titus behind to appoint elders in each city.
Dear brothers and sisters, the government of the local assembly rests upon the eldership.
Church government is local in nature. It is never universal in nature. The elders of a local assembly supervise only that local assembly. They never go beyond the local assembly.
If government should go beyond the local assembly, gradually you come to what you have in the Catholic system: the Pope. The Pope becomes the head.
The government of a local assembly rests upon the eldership, but only for that local assembly. Church government is limited to local government—never beyond the scope of local affairs. I think this is the reason why, in church history, we have gone astray.
If the government of the church were limited to local assemblies, we would not find Christianity as we see it today. The same thing is true of discipline. Discipline rests within the local church. If you extend discipline beyond the limits of the local church, you find all the problems that have happened in church history.
The Word of God is very clear, very gracious. The government of the church rests upon the eldership. Furthermore, in Scripture, elders are always an eldership—never one man alone.
God never allows one single person to be in charge of a local assembly, because He is the Head. When God raises up an eldership, it is always a plural number. It is collective leadership under the headship of Christ.
There is no such thing as a presiding elder. It is a development of history. Gradually, even among the elders, one who presides becomes a presiding elder, and this presiding elder gradually becomes a bishop. Then he begins to rule not only the local assembly but also other assemblies, and it develops into the Catholic system.
There is no such thing as a presiding elder. Yes, someone may preside. For instance, in the beginning, Peter was definitely the leading brother in the church in Jerusalem. But later on you find it was James, not Peter. There was no arrangement; it was a matter of spiritual fact.
When a church is established, the government of the church rests upon the elders. Because of that, you have the true independence of the local church. There will be spiritual relationship, fellowship, and affiliation between churches because we are one body; yet, so far as government is concerned, every local assembly is independent.
By independent, I mean independent of interference from other assemblies, but dependent directly upon the Head. That is how the independence of the local church is maintained.
Even the Apostle Paul was used of God to raise up the assembly in Corinth. But when there was a problem in Corinth, Paul could not come back, push aside the elders, and begin to deal directly with the situation. He could not do that.
As soon as there was eldership there, even Paul respected the authority of the local church in the eldership. He could only try to stir up the conscience of the elders and the conscience of the congregation. They had to act. He would act with them, but not independently of them. Why? Because the Founder of the church is Christ.
The Bible makes it very clear that, when you come to the local assembly, for the building up and independence of the local assembly, Christ has delegated authority to the eldership, and they are responsible before God. Even the apostles had to respect them.
Why should there be church government? It is not difficult. When God’s people begin to increase and grow up together, you need order to direct the whole thing.
When God begins to build up His church, there has to be a divine order. God is the God of order, not of disorder. Because God is the God of order, He sets up His order.
According to the divine order, the government and administration of the local church rests upon the elders. It is just like a family. The husband and wife are equal. So far as life is concerned, they are equal. But for the operation of the household, God has set the husband as head and the wife as the body, so that by cooperation the family may prosper before the Lord.
As the church begins to grow, out of the life of the church there comes the eldership, with responsibility for the government of the church.
But that does not mean that, because God has raised up an eldership, all the other brothers and sisters are no longer responsible for the church. Human beings are such that, when God begins to raise up an eldership, it is very easy for us to sit back and say, “Now there are the elders. They are responsible for the church. We are not.”
If wives sit back and say, “You husbands are the head of the family and we are not; therefore, we will not cooperate and we will do nothing,” what will happen to the family?
The same thing is true with the church. The elders are raised up by God to lead, to supervise, and to take care. But every brother and sister, as a member of the body of Christ, must function under the leadership of the eldership. Otherwise, the church is broken up.
Let us remember this: it does not mean that because God has raised up an eldership, all the rest of the brothers and sisters can sit back and be passive.
On the contrary, through the eldership they should be brought into function in the body of Christ, so that everything will work together as one body—not independently and in isolation from one another.
Dear brothers and sisters, if you can really see what the Lord is after, it is beautiful. It is beautiful.
In the book of Acts, we are not told what the qualifications of elders are. We are only told that elders were chosen. Surely, the apostles did not simply go to any city and pick out the people who appealed to them. That was most un-apostolic.
Therefore, in Acts 20, when Paul called the elders of the church in Ephesus to meet him at Miletus, what did Paul tell them? Paul said, “The Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers.” Not Paul—the Holy Spirit.
The reason why the apostles did not appoint elders in the very beginning was that they gave the Holy Spirit opportunity to make known who was really taking up spiritual responsibility.
They gathered believers together and told them, “Come together, fellowship, seek the Lord together, worship the Lord together.” Then they left. Why? They gave the Holy Spirit opportunity to manifest those who were taking up spiritual responsibility.
Eldership is not a position; it is a spiritual responsibility. As believers come together, naturally there will be some who receive a burden from the Lord and begin to take up spiritual responsibility without being asked—not as a position, but as a service.
When the apostle comes back, it is evident whom the Holy Spirit has manifested. The apostle simply recognizes it. It is the Holy Spirit who appoints the elders as overseers.
When we come to 1 Timothy and Titus, we are told what the qualifications of the elders are. I think that is beautiful.
If we wanted to do something about elders, we would first lay down the qualifications, and then begin to look around and say, “Now, who fits these qualifications? Make him an elder.” That is a system. That is a system.
The Holy Spirit keeps this prerogative to Himself. He does not tell people in advance who the elders are. Nobody knows. The Holy Spirit works in people, and after they have been manifested, then we ought to recognize them.
Before we go into the qualifications, perhaps we should ask: what is the work of the elders? If anyone desires oversight, he desires a good work.
In the Bible, bishop and elder are one and the same person. Bishop refers to oversight—to the office. Elder refers to the person. In Acts 20, Paul called the elders, and then he told them that the Holy Spirit had made them overseers.
It is the traditional corruption in the church that separates elders and bishops. Certain systems use Episcopalianism—the bishop system—and others use Presbyterianism—the elder system. But in the Bible, bishop and elder are one and the same person.
In 1 Peter 5:2, Peter exhorts the elders among the people as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, who is also a partaker of the glory about to be revealed.
Shepherd the flock of God which is among you.
The work of the elders is to shepherd the flock of God. You see the picture of the shepherd shepherding the flock, doing everything for the good of the flock, even giving up his life, to see that the flock is nourished, protected, and taken care of. That is the work of the elders.
The second work is exercising oversight—not by necessity, but willingly. They are to oversee, to supervise, to watch over the flock, and to help them grow.
They are to see where the need is, where people need encouragement, where they need to be instructed, where they need to be warned, and so forth. This is the work of supervision and oversight.
In order to oversee, you have to see a little further, so that you can oversee.
The third work is found in 1 Peter 5:3:
Not as lording it over your possessions,
but being models to the flock.
The elders are to be examples to the flock of God—not lording it over them or merely giving commands, while failing to set a good example.
The elders are not supposed to do everything for the body. If they do everything for the body, they monopolize the work, and that is against God’s principle. The elders are to supervise, lead out, administer, and help; but certainly all the brothers and sisters are to do the work.
Some elders work themselves to death. They do everything for the church, and the church has nothing to do. That is not the work of the elders.
They ought to supervise. Yet, if you want to supervise, you have to set an example. You cannot say, “I am a supervisor, therefore I just stand here and supervise. You go ahead and do this, and you do that,” while you do nothing. If you do that, nobody will follow you. You have to set a model for the flock.
In 1 Timothy 3:5, we read:
But if one does not know how to conduct his own house,
how shall he take care of the assembly of God?
The elder is to take care of the assembly of God, just as a father is to take care of his family. That involves a great deal.
In 1 Timothy 5:17, we read:
Let the elders who take the lead well be esteemed worthy of double honor,
especially those laboring in word and teaching.
The elders are to lead. They go ahead to lead the brothers in the right direction. If you want to lead, you have to go a step ahead of the others.
Some elders are to teach—not all elders, but some elders are able to teach, and they shall receive double honor. All these things are included in the work of the eldership. Is that not good work? Surely it is good work.
The qualifications given in 1 Timothy and Titus may surprise you. You might think that to be an elder, a person must certainly be very gifted. But no. Of all the qualifications given in 1 Timothy and Titus, almost nothing is mentioned about gifts.
The overseer must be irreproachable, husband of one wife, sober, discreet, decorous, hospitable, apt to teach, not given to excess from wine, not a striker, mild, not addicted to contention, not fond of money, conducting his own house well, having his children in subjection with all gravity, and not a novice.
All these descriptions and qualifications are concerned with character. Why?
Only one qualification probably has something to do with gift: apt to teach. But being apt to teach does not mean teaching as a gift. It is not necessarily the gift of teaching as such. It is an attitude—an attitude, not a gift.
It is a readiness, whether privately or publicly. An elder may not have the gift of teaching, but because he knows the Lord, he can counsel people privately.
All the qualifications have almost nothing to do with gift. Of course, if you read Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, you find, “He that ruleth, with diligence,” and you find the gift of governments.
Most likely, the gifts elders have are the gift to rule and the gift of governments. Those would be corresponding gifts for elders. That is true. But in the qualifications, nothing is mentioned about gift; it is character.
You see the difference between government and ministry. If it is ministry and gift, gift is very important. But because this is government, it does not minister as such. Therefore, character is most essential.
With Christians, character is more than morality. Character is spiritual. A moral person might be the husband of one wife and very hospitable, and you may find such a person even among unbelievers. Does that mean an unbeliever can be an elder in the church? Not at all.
The character mentioned here is not natural character. It is because the life of Christ Jesus produces such character. Therefore, the qualification of an elder is spirituality, not mere natural morality.
The work of elders is to lead, to govern, to be examples, to take care, and so forth. Because of that, there is plainly room for gifts to be exercised.
Gift and government are two separate things. That is why you find the Protestant mistake of mixing gifts with government. It leaves no room for gifts to be exercised.
God gives gifts to the body, and in each member of the body of Christ there is plenty of room for these gifts to be exercised, to minister one to another. This is body ministry.
Government is to provide the best atmosphere for the exercise of the gifts that God gives to the body in its various members. You find these two things working together. It is never God’s will that anyone should monopolize anything in the church.
There are different responsibilities, but everyone is drawn into the building up of the body of Christ.
There is government in the church—not only elders, but also deacons and deaconesses. With deacons and deaconesses, again, it is character, not gift, that is most important.
In the world, if you want someone to do a certain work, you look at ability. You do not mind what kind of character he has. You do not go to his family and investigate family relationships. You look at his learning, experience, and ability. If he is able, you give him the work to do.
But in the church it is different. Even though deacons carry out the work under the supervision of the elders, again it is character that is important. Why? Because the whole matter of the church is a testimony—to testify to the Lord.
The church is not an organization. It is not an institution. It is not merely a piece of work. It is a testimony. Because it is a testimony, character is the most important fact.
We have mentioned so far only church government. Perhaps let us say very briefly something concerning church discipline.
Concerning this matter of discipline, of course we find many abuses in church history. Because of that, people are afraid of discipline.
Just as in a family, if there is no discipline, that family will be broken up. Yet we also find abuses in discipline, so people go to one extreme or the other.
But, dear brothers and sisters, where God’s people are gathered together, there will be discipline. Unless there is discipline in the church, the church is not established, just as a family is not established if there is no discipline in the family.
Church discipline is a very serious matter.
I love the word of J. N. Darby. I will not quote him exactly, but I will give you the general idea. In one of his pamphlets, speaking of discipline, he began something like this: “Discipline is so serious. Who am I to judge my brother? I am a sinner, saved by grace. How dare I judge my brother?”
“I do not have the position to judge.” The only reason there can be discipline is because of love—of love. I like that.
Church discipline is a last resort. Brother Darby mentioned three different kinds of discipline. You do not bring everything to church discipline. If church discipline can be avoided, let it be avoided, because it is the last resort.
Before discipline is exercised by the church, it should first be exercised by the members of the body. He mentioned three different kinds of discipline: fatherly discipline, brotherly discipline, and church discipline.
Brotherly discipline comes first. If your brother sins against you, you go to your brother and tell him wherein he has sinned, in order to restore him. That is brotherly discipline.
You and the brother who sins against you are brothers. You are not in any way superior to the brother. That is a danger, because sometimes you think that you are.
Do not think that you are superior over him. Peter came to the Lord and said, “My brother sins against me seven times, and I forgive him.” He thought he was superior. The Lord said, “Seventy times seven.” You are not superior to your brother.
We are brothers, and because we are brothers, we love one another. If one brother sins against another brother, and you know your brother has done something wrong, he may not know it—or he may know it but will not admit it.
You are willing to humble yourself, go to your brother, and try to help him. Now, that is difficult. That is basic. But this is brotherly discipline, and its purpose is to restore him.
It is the washing of the feet of your brother. If that can be exercised effectively, the church does not need to discipline anybody. It can be avoided.
Then there is the second kind of discipline: fatherly discipline. In Galatians 6, we read:
You who are spiritual,
if you see any brother or sister in weakness, restore him
in the spirit of meekness,
considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Here you find that you are more spiritual than your brother. Your brother is in weakness, and he does not realize what he is doing because he is weaker. You are more spiritual, so as a father to a son, you try to restore him in the spirit of meekness.
That is fatherly discipline. Unfortunately, we do not have too many fathers in the church today. That is a real weakness in the church.
If the Lord should raise up more fathers in the church—not only more mature, but with more love—then the young ones and the weaker ones will be restored. Even then, it must be in the spirit of meekness, and you must be careful lest you also be tempted.
The third thing is church discipline. When fatherly discipline fails, and when brotherly discipline fails, then it is brought to the church as a last resort.
Remember, discipline is always for recovery, never for punishment—never. Discipline always looks forward to restoring and recovering.
When the church begins to exercise discipline, the whole church identifies itself with the person who is to be disciplined. There must be love before there can be discipline in the church.
We will not go into detail. There are many things concerning discipline, but I will leave it at that.
For the building up of the church, God has put in order that which comes out of life. If this order is kept, and every brother and sister knows his or her place in the church, you will find how the body of Christ—the church—will grow in grace and grow in God.
Just a few words about ministry. The elders are the governing body of the local assembly—government. But all the brothers and sisters, every one, are given a gift, and every member is to exercise that gift in coordination under the leadership of the elders.
This is what is called body ministry. Sometimes people think body ministry is going around to minister to the body. That is not body ministry. Body ministry comes from the body.
When the members of the body begin to minister to one another, this is body ministry.
For the building up of the body, body ministry is essential. For that reason, God gave certain people to the church to help provide the environment.
In Ephesians 4, these people are the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. These men are given to the body to perfect the saints, in order that the saints may function and build up the body.
Here you find a relationship between the ministry of the Word in the persons of apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, and pastors—shepherds—and the working of body ministry.
These two ministries come together. One is to help build up body ministry, and body ministry is to build up the body. The elders ought to provide the atmosphere, and the brothers and sisters are to function.
Then you find that the church will grow by leaps and bounds, and God’s purpose will be fulfilled.
Our heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee. Thou dost not only give us Thy life, a life that is shared by all of us, but, Lord, Thou dost set up Thy order in the church for the building up of the body.
May all the gifts that are given to the various members in the body function together properly and in coordination. Oh, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou dost involve every one of us in the building up of Thy body in love.
We do pray that we may see Thy plan, that we may see Thy work, that we may give ourselves to Thee for the building up of Thy body, that Thou mayest be satisfied and return to claim it as Thy right.
O Lord Jesus, come quickly. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.