Exalting The Church

Exalting The Church EXALTING THE CHURCH
By F. L. Young “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church .and gave himself for it”, (Ephesians 5:25).

We learn from sacred history that' Jehovah God made one perfect man and one perfect woman. They were just as good in body, soul and spirit as He wanted them. They were the result of infinite love, wisdom and power. When he took a survey of this marvelous creation, he pronounced it “very good.” As to how long this blissful condition lasted we do not know. In the domain of creation there was one being who envied the close relation that man sustained to the creator, so he planned to sever that relationship. Into the heart of man was sown the seed of falsehood. Where trust and confidence had dwelt, now is found doubt and distrust. Man sins. He voluntarily wanders away from God. He is deprived of the fruit of the tree of life, and start's on his long journey down the “valley of the shadow of death.” No sooner had the gates to that Edenic home closed than Jehovah began to plan for man’s return, not to a “Paradise Lost”, but to a “city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” As a parent leads and instructs the child, even so Jehovah led and instructed the race. Seers, prophets, priests and wise men were the teachers. Signs, symbols and miraculous manifestations were methods of appeal.

It is said that in the beginning Jehovah walked in the cool and beauty of earth’s fairest garden, and that afterwards he flung the robe of his glory over the misty cloud-land and arched the heavens with the bow 
of promise; that from the burning bush he proclaimed his holy, memorial name; that his mighty arm rose before the hosts of Israel as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night that his mighty voice shook the mountains. As a climax to all these miraculous manifestations, with his own fingers, he inscribed his law upon tables of stone.

Amid all these signs, symbols and wonders no one had beheld Him, tor not yet had the glory of the Lord been revealed. How long suppose you, it would take a burnish bush, or a pillar of fire, or commandments engraven on stone, to purify the heart and bring back man into fellowship with Him against whom he had rebelled, and whose law he had violated?

However, these wonderful awe-inspiring manifesta-tions had not been in vain. By appealing to the emotion of fear the Almighty had been enthroned in the heart. Fear is the first and lowest element of our nature. That is why, in the Old Testament, we find so often the expression, “Fear God.” Its language, is sacrifice.
The sublime and picturesque ritualism of the Hebrew worship was an appeal to admiration. In the heart of the worshipper was enthroned the All-Wise. Its language is praise, so manifest, in the Psalms. A third appeal was made to gratitude. The All-merciful was enthroned in the heart of the worshippers. This emotion found expression in incense. The highest, holiest and most powerful emotion of the soul is not fear, nor admiration, nor gratitude, but love. The language of love is service and self-sacrifice. At last the All Loving occupies the throne. In the fullness of time the Almighty, the Allwise, the Allmerciful and the All-loving was fully manifest-
ed in' Jesus, the Son of Mary. He was the “brightness of the glory of God and the express image of his person.” He did for man what types, shadows and symbols could not do. He opened up the new and living way back to the Father’s favor. The climax of his mission was the building or establishing of the church, which is his spiritual body, the fulness of him that fill- eth all in all. The purpose of this study is the exaltation of the church. In the midst of so many conflicting and rival institutions, the origin, purpose and mission of the church have almost been lost sight of. By many the church is spoken of as a superfluous or non-essential institution; that one can obtain God’s favor and enjoy all the benefits of salvation without being a member of the church. This shows a gross ignorance of God’s revelation. For four thousand years Jehovah had been planning the church and preparing the world for its reception. It has been asked, “If the church is so essential, why did not God establish it in the beginning?” There may be many reasons, but one is sufficient. The world was not ready or prepared to appreciate the spiritual relationship that exists between the Savior and the saved. The world had to exhaust all human means of salvation before it could rightly appreciate the divine. After all the manifestations of mercy, grace and love as seen in the simple teaching of Christ and his apostles, even after all this, the world lapsed into gross darkness, and for ages the true church was almost unknown. When men, groping their way in darkness, began to remove the rubbish so that they might restore the church, they were persecuted and cast out as evil doers.

Finally, courageous men, whose hearts had been' fired by rays of light from God’s revelation, began to push their investigation beyond Philadelphia, beyond Lon-don, beyond Geneva, even beyond Rome, into the very gates of Jerusalem. There they discovered the origin of the church Christ established on the first Pentecost after the resurrection. On their banner was inscribed the slogan, “Where the Bible speaks, we will speak and where the Bible is silent we will be silent,” or, in biblical language, we “will speak as the oracles of God speak.” With this as their battle cry they went forth conquering and to conquer. To exalt the church we must emphasize its relation-ship to Christ. T'he chief sin of denominationalism is its failure to recognize or to appreciate the relation that the church sustains to Christ, its head and the Savior of the body. When the apostle says, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church” he is expressing the nearest and dearest relationship known to man. One cannot disparage the wife without reflecting on the husband. Neither can one exalt the husband without the wife sharing in the same. In a model family they rise or fall together. Such a family the apostle had in mind when he said to Timothy, “I hope to come to you shortly, but’ if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

There are some who speak in the highest terms of Christ, exalt' his name to the highest heaven, but disregard his plain teaching. This is very inconsistent, for no one can exalt the Christ and slight his teaching. They stand or fall together. Jesus said, “Why do you call me Lord and do not my commandments.” In like manner Christ and his church stand or fall together. When the Holy Spirit said “Glorify Christ in the church he evidently meant to teach that all religious activities should be done in his name—by his authority. As a citizen of the state one is called upon to respond to many benevolent calls. What shall he do? “Do good to all men as you have opportunity.” One does not have to join something to do this. Respond as one that “submits to the powers that be.” “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” does not deprive one from rendering to Christ the things that are his. The hungry can be fed and the needy supplied by Christians without joining any human institution. A destitute family was found sick and sorely in need. Their every want was supplied. The family was astonished when they learned that no society or fraternal order had done this, but that it’ was the work of the church functioning through its members. As a result of this service the family was won to Christ. I shall never forget the night the mother made the good confession. With her face radiant with joy she said, “I want to live and worship with a people who do all things in the name of Christ.” In this one deed she saw the church exalted. The good women who were the hands and feet of the church in supplying her needs said, “All this is yours,* given in the name of the church of Christ.”

We used to sing, “Don’t exalt the preacher.” Have we forgotten that admonition ? From the posters, pictures, and flaming advertisement, it would seem that we had. The presence of Doctor So-and-So, the world famed “spellbinder” has overshadowed the simple message of the Cross. Any advertisement that exalts the messenger above the message or the church that holds up the message is misleading. The church and its message first, then the messenger. Who are Paul or Apollos, or Dr. So-and-So, but the ministers by whom we believed.

God does not make nor recognize a distinction be-tween clergy and laity as man does. God’s people are a royal priesthood, a holy nation and one built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit. The people of the world recognize a distinction. And why? They reason that a man who studies his Bible constantly, preaches earnestly and prays often and fervently should imbibe more of the Spirit and should partake more of the divine nature than the one who does not do these things. I often think of a question asked Sidney Smith, “How many genders are there?” “Three, masculine, feminine and clergymen.” In the sight of the world it is even so. Preachers are in a class by themselves. One preacher can do more to bring the church into disrepute than a dozen ordinary church members. In olden times it was said, “Like priest, like people.” In modern times it is like preacher, like people. Oh, the power of example!

Wendell Phillips, in speaking of the power of exam-ple, said, “Put an idea on two feet, turn it loose and it will revolutionize a continent.” He lived to see this fulfilled. His one idea was abolition, the abolition of chattel slavery in America. From his view point', to put an idea on two feet, meant to make it concrete, in-corporate it into one’s life, make it the arterial blood of one’s very existence.

We are what we are, not because of some ethical or spiritual formula, but because we have seen ideas and truths manifested in somebody’s life. These ideas thus manifested we consciously or unconsciously imitate. Man needs a concrete model. That is why the apostle says, “Be ye followers of me as dear children”, and again, “Be ye imitators of me and mark them that so walk as you have us for examples.” The early disciples did not deny the good done by an individual or human institution. Their contention was that everything done religiously in word or deed should be done in the name of Christ. Thousands today do deeds of kindness and acts of benevolence who make no pretension to Christianity. The spirit that prompts such deeds Is not known where the name of Christ has not gone. They receive the applause of the world, but deny the source or power that prompts the action. Many good men sing the praises of fraternalism, and even say they would give up the church rather than the fraternity. I would not disparage a single good deed done by any fraternity, but we should remember that no institution, whether human or divine, will function by itself. They are only agencies through which men and women act. There is not a helpful deed, word or ministration that cannot be done through the church, if only members function as they should. The church would have more power and influence if all of its members functioned as they should.

Regardless of the inconsistent lives of some, let us exalt the church, because of its foundation, its creed and its worship. Its creed was predicted by the prophets, announced from heaven by the Father, preached by the apostles and confessed by every disciple. In the beginning the church was not’ a rival or competitor of any of the isms whether they were religious, social or political. One cause of so much persecution w’as that the church would not fraternize or compromise with any of the existing institutions. The church claimed to hold out the only hand from God to a lost and undone world. Like its founder, the church said, “If you are not for me, you are against me.” Much of the persecution today arises from the same source. One frequently hears such expressions as “uncharitable”, “intolerant”, “narrow”, and “dogmatic.” They should be met like the early Christians met them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye; we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” To compromise meant present ease and popularity, but they endured as “seeing Him who is invisible” and “accounted that the light afflictions of this present time were not worthy to be compared with the glory revealed in the hereafter.” The church should be as chaste and spotless as a virgin before him. How careful all should be to take heed how- they build. If the builders take heed and build according to the model on the foundation, gold, silver and precious stones, the material will stand the test when tried by the fires of persecution. The builder himself also shall be saved if he lives the message that he preaches.

Twice last Lord’s day I heard the same congregation sing, “How, oh, how are you living, my brother?” The question asked in the song was very suggestive. The sermon on the occasion was good. It was delivered by a godly man. The congregation that sang was spiritual and devout—above the average in many respects. Still the question, “How, oh, how are you living, my brother?” Are you exalting the church by your life? It is easy to preach the simple gospel, but how are you living, my brother?

After preaching a sermon on “The Badge of Discipleship”, a good woman said, “I want to ask you a question. Will you answer it? Do you practice what you preach?” I had answered many questions, pertinent and impertinent, but this one was unusual in that it demanded self-examination. My answer was, “When my preaching and practice are out of harmony I will quit preaching until my practice catches up." The apostle says, “When thou teachest another, teachest thou not thyself also?” When one teaches against lying, fraud, embezzlement, free love or adul-tery, does he not teach himself?. Here is a weight that keeps the church from being exalted. How may it be removed so that the church may “shine out as clear as the sun, as fair as the moon and as terrible as an army with banners”? Lift high the standard of living. Make discipleship mean something. Affability, suavity, personal magnetism are not to be compared with purity of life, spirituality and godliness. I would not for a moment discourage soundness in the faith, but I would encourage, yea emphasize consecration of life and spirituality in the assembly. “Whatever you do, do heartily as unto the Lord and not unto men.”

There are hundreds of consecrated preachers and multiplied thousands of members who are exalting the church by their devotion. Occasionally there is an erring one, the Diotrophes whose sin has found him out. When such a one is discovered, he grows penitent, comes back, confesses his sin with some apologetic mitigations. As the church of Christ, what should we do?

Forgive him, certainly, and pray for him. But should he be restored immediately to the height he had once attained? No, never. It took him years to attain that height. He fell. Now from the depth of humility let him begin and build again. The church has suffered because men of influence have tried to reinstate such characters before they gave evidence of genuine repentance. The admonition is “Bring forth fruit' worthy of repentance.” Were the fathers of the Restoration mistaken when they pleaded for unity ? Is it impossible to restore that model practice? There is not' a doubt but that the divine theory has been restored. Men today, like the apostles of old, are preaching the gospel by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven. Why then all this faction ? Somebody is not being led by the Spirit. If one has not the spirit of Christ', he is none of His. “Defile not the Church, the temple of God, for it is holy.” “He that defiles this temple shall be destroyed.” Christ said, “And I if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” The masterpiece of his power and con-descension is seen in that last act of humility—dying on the cross. One generous act of unselfishness is more uplifting than whole volumes of theory. When we have fought the last fight, kept the faith and finished our course, we may stand with that blood- washed throng and hear the Father say, “Well done.” Then the unfettered spirit, escorted by bands of angels, shall pass in triumph through the Gates into the morning land of God. While waiting, let us bow the knee, and give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, after whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. Then a day shall dawn whose sky no cloud shall darken and whose sun shall never set.