The Incomparable Church
The Church is a unique institution, established by God, and its worship and order must be according to God's revelation.
G.W. North emphasizes the unique nature of the Church as it transitions from its Jewish roots to a Gentile fullness, as illustrated by the writings of Luke and Paul. He argues that the Church must adhere to the inspired form of worship and order established in the New Testament, particularly in Paul's letters, to avoid misguided human interpretations. North asserts that the Church, like God, is incomparable and should not deviate from its divine institution. Any attempt to create a church that strays from this model is fundamentally flawed and cannot match the original intent of God. Ultimately, the true Church must strive to reflect the nature and order that God has ordained.
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As we know, Luke was a Gentile converted to Christ, and Paul was a Romanised Jew, brought up amid Gentile culture. In their writings both present a Church emergent from Jewish beginnings into Gentile fullness, moving unto its consummation as the whole Israel of God in the New Creation. In process of this they reveal its growth through and out of the form of neo-Judaism into which it early developed, and for a while remained in perilous uncertainty. Paul especially tells us what the true Church should be; Luke shows us what it then was. Through them we see what it should now be, and continue to be, throughout the entire age 'until the fullness of the Gentiles be brought in'.
So it is that in this Corinthian letter Paul sets out a form of worship and function which must surely be acknowledged as the only officially inspired form of Church worship and order on record. Therefore, however spiritual one may be, to have spent one's life establishing or building up a church to function in any form or order other than this must surely have been misspent labour. In many respects the Church is like God, and partakes of His nature, so that the same kind of things that are said of God may be said also of the Church. For instance, concerning Himself, God says that there is none other God but He, nor was there any before Him, nor any like Him, nor is there any beside Him. All this may be said also of the Church, for like its Creator it is unique; there is none other like it, nor beside it, even as there was none before it.
Taking up the point that there is none like it, it must be conceded that any attempt to create a Church which is anything other in manifestation than what God instituted is unwarrantably human, and totally misguided. How can any other way be other than man's way if it be not according to God's way? It cannot be better than this, so if it be different from it, it certainly cannot be equal to it either. However faint a representation of the original it may be, any church which at least attempts to function according to this revelation must surely be of the right order, even if for some reason it be not quite of the same Spirit or of equal power.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Church's Jewish Beginnings and Gentile Fullness
- A. Luke and Paul's writings reveal the Church's growth
- B. The Church emerges from Jewish beginnings into Gentile fullness
- II. The True Church
- A. Paul describes the true Church in the Corinthian letter
- B. The Church's worship and order are inspired by God
- III. The Church's Uniqueness
- A. The Church is like God, with a unique nature
- B. The Church is one of a kind, with no equal
- IV. The Importance of Following God's Way
- A. Any attempt to create a Church other than God's way is misguided
- B. The Church's order and worship must be according to God's revelation
Key Quotes
“In many respects the Church is like God, and partakes of His nature, so that the same kind of things that are said of God may be said also of the Church.” — G.W. North
“There is none other like it, nor beside it, even as there was none before it.” — G.W. North
“How can any other way be other than man's way if it be not according to God's way?” — G.W. North
Application Points
- We must be careful to establish Churches that are according to God's way, rather than our own human ideas.
- The Church's uniqueness and purpose are rooted in its relationship to God and His nature.
- We must seek to understand and follow God's revelation in establishing and leading Churches.