THE visible Church of Christ in the world includes within its borders and among its members, from generation to generation, many who did not love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, but possessed merely a profession of godliness, while denying the power thereof in their life and conversation, being all the time conformed to this world; that is, conformity to the desires, views and practices of the openly irreligious, unconverted and Christless. This is illustrated in cases such as Eli’s sons, who wickedly perverted the priesthood; Judas, the betrayer of our Lord; and Demas, of whom Paul writes: “Demas hath forsaken me, have loved this present world.” The Church of whom we would write presently and more particularly, is comprised of those who, while of course in the visible Church of Christ in the world, are His true, spiritual, converted people who are savingly and vitally united to Him as the Great Redeemer and divine Head over His body the Church, by a holy, living faith. Whatever may be seemingly true regarding members generally of the visible Church in the world as to an apparent attachment to Christ Jesus, and a superficial participation in the activities and experiences of the Church; yet what we shall observe hereafter respecting the Church in the world, has vital and fundamental application only to those of whom the Son of God asserts in His prayer to the Father, “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word . . . For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me,” (John xvii, 6 and 8).
They are a living Church.
Inasmuch as they have been “born again” in Zion, out of this new birth there arises and continues the life of faith upon the Son of God who loved them and gave Himself for them. They live upon the infinite worth of His most precious atoning blood which cleanseth from all sin, upon the overflowing abundance of His love and mercy, and upon the sincere milk of His most holy word. They desire not only to live upon Christ Jesus, but for Him and His cause of truth in the world, that He might have the pre-eminence and honour of which He is worthy.
They are a teaching Church.
Their commission to teach, and what they are to teach, sinners and saints who come under their influence and jurisdiction, in the divine providence, is concisely given and indicated by Christ in Matthew xxviii, 19, 20: “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” No survey of the “all things,” which include doctrines and practices, can be given in a limited article of this nature. But let us at once state that the Church in the midst of a dark and ignorant world, are conscious that it is a first and supreme duty to teach and preach the whole counsel of God, regardless of the carnal opinions and feelings of men. And to-day, there is increasing need, not to alter the terminology of Scripture to supposedly make Scripture terms more understandable to the “man in the street,” but to expound the meaning of, for example, the Fall, that man is lost; that he has a desperately wicked heart; everlasting punishment; the atonement; the new birth; justification by faith; sanctification, and so on; and all in the light of the Bible, and by comparing spiritual things with spiritual. The gospel, watered down and weakened by weak men in the faith, or of no faith, on account of the fear of man and to please men, is a useless and Christ-dishonouring service.
They are a suffering Church.
“As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.” The Church is Christ’s love and bears resemblance to Himself as “the lily of the valleys.” Believers bear and manifest a measure of likeness to their Redeemer, Lord and Beloved, Jesus Himself. The “thorns” of hatred without a just cause, were felt and experienced by Christ as part of His sufferings. The wicked men of the world brought to bear upon Him their enmity to truth, holiness, and the revelation of His Father by and in Him. In a word, the world hated Emmanuel, and does so still. No marvel then if His Church is a hated and suffering company, being so intimately and spiritually bound up with, and engaged in manifesting forth, the Name of their Lord and Master. This is what He says on the matter: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you,” (John xv, 18, 19). And so these words have been fulfilled to the letter, down through the history of the Church from the time of believing, witnessing and suffering Abel. Cain was of that wicked one and slew his brother Abel; because his own works were evil and his brother’s righteous, (see I John iii, 12). Read the Acts of the Apostles and therein also learn of the true people of God, the disciples of Christ, and of their sufferings of varied kinds for His name’s sake. To-day in Britain, the Church also suffers, not maybe in the same manner as in past ages. But what of the abandonment of the worship of God by the masses; the disregard of the Church’s witness for truth by all classes of society; the indifference and enmity shown to-day towards the true and precious gospel of Christ crucified, which the Church seeks to preach; the desecration of the Lord’s Day to such a lamentable extent; and the betrayal of the cause of Christ by erroneous teaching and false doctrine on the part of professors of the Christian religion, etc.? These, among other things, are as thorns to the minds and hearts of believers; and are evidences of the hatred of the world towards what is precious to the Church and, of course, to the Church itself.
They are a contending Church.
They are enjoined to contend and war a good warfare for the faith once delivered to the saints; and to graciously put on the whole armour of God to this end. Against sin in all its activities and wherever it operates; against Satan and all his wiles and workings in the world; against worldliness in the visible Church, of which there is a flood to-day; against the ungodliness of wicked men; and against the man of sin, popery: the Church is to contend as the Lord will enable, guide and strengthen. Compromise by the Church in matters of Christian principle and practice is fatal, cowardly and dishonouring to Christ, and virtually casts to the four winds any worthwhile testimony for Christ and His truth, in a world which is already dark and desolate enough, morally and spiritually. Nehemiah contended for righteousness and against evil in his day. He records, “Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath Day?” (Nehemiah xiii, 17). The Lord Jesus Christ, our divine example, cleansed the temple of God of worldly men and their worldly practices, in buying and selling there. He contended with them indeed. Then let the Church hear and obey the words of truth, “Fight the good fight of faith,” which was the Apostle’s gospel war-cry to all like-minded with himself. And so, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might,” (Ephesians, vi, 10).
And finally, they are a hoping and expecting Church.
As they look beyond this present world to the world to come, they graciously and humbly hope to be with Christ and to behold His glory when their labours, sufferings and contentions come to an end here. This is well grounded upon the promises and intercession of the Head of the Church. He prayed on their behalf: “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me . . .” (John xvii, 24).