THE CHURCH, THE BRIDE OF CHRIST

  The Church, the Bride of Christ                                            10.10.12                                                  
      Although  we do not  separate  the local Church  from the Church
universal,  there  is  a distinction.  When  we  receive  Christ and  are
Baptized into His Body, the Church, we become a part of the Church
 universal. We do, however; have a unique relationship and member-
ship  to  those with  whom we  meet on  a  regular basis  as  the  local
Church.  We should  never confuse these  two  distinct  relationships,
but it  is still one Church.  The next thing we must understand is,  the
building  in which the church meets is not the Church.  The building,
sanctified or set apart by a local congregation as a place  of  worship,
is merely a building and has no special  significance.  Men have set it
apart  through an actual dedication or  by  using  it  for  this purpose. 
The place is not sacred except for  it’s use and  is no  more  holy than  
anything else belonging to  those  of  us  who belong  to  the  Lord. To  
a child of God, all of life is sacred  but  even the body, “temple of  the
Holy Spirit,”  will  never inherit  the kingdom of  God.  Scripture tells
us to refrain from defiling our bodies.  So,  since the  building we use
for worship belongs in  His service,  we  do not  profane the building;  
it  belongs to God.  (To profane is  to take  something  holy and use it 
for a base or unworthy purpose.)

     Membership in the local church is a practical matter.  We will be
more  consistent  in our  lives in Christ  if  we  have  the  support  of 
like minded believers. There is also the matter of financial steward-
ship required for support of a local church and pooling of resources
for  local, regional, national and international mission efforts.  Whe-
ther membership as such  in a local body of  believers is required to
“fulfill  all righteousness,”  as in the ordinance of Baptism,  is  not a
known  fact,  but the Apostle Paul writes,  “Forsake  not  the assem-
bling of yourselves together...”   It is my  understanding  that  every
believer is a member of  the body of  Christ through the Baptism of
the Holy Spirit at the time of conversion.  Water baptism, required
for  membership  in  many  local churches and denominations, is an 
outward testimony of the inward experience of Holy Spirit Baptism
tism.   It was practiced  by the early church and has the approval of
our  Lord as even he was baptized by John the Baptist. So, Baptism
is not  required to "wash  away" sin  as  some  believe.   Christ  had
no sin.

      Another ordinance of  the church, n“The Lord’s Supper,”  called
“Holy Communion,” or “Eucharist” is  celebrated by believers,  as a
reminder that Christ died, was buried, was raised from  the dead has
ascended to the Father and will return in power and glory. It is prac-
ticed, observed, in many ways,  in varying frequency, but is required
of all believers in the Body of Christ. This is a serious matter.  Parta-
king of  the “Lord’s Supper”  in an unworthy  manner  may cause  ill-
ness,  even death.  Another  practice of  the church is the “Laying on 
of  Hands.”  This too,  may  be considered  an ordinance since we are  
instructed in Scripture as the outward sign the Lord has His hand on 
the recipient to set one apart for  ministry.   (Deacon,  Elder,  Pastor, 
etc.)

     One other informal practice for new members of  a local church is 
the "right hand of  fellowship."  When one joins with a body of  belie-
vers, that person is welcomed by having the members of the assembly
pass by and shake the hand of the new member.
     

      The officers of  the Church are  varied among the several  church
bodies, but usually are as follows:  Pastor or Bishop, (Overseer of the
local flock) Deacon.  (Men who serve the congregation physically, but 
have high degree of Spiritual qualification) These men were originally 
responsible for the distribution of necessities to widows.   In some con-
gregations,  the Elder is an informal office,  in others they  are chosen, 
but they occur in every congregation and are respected for  their  wis-
dom  and  Spiritual  leadership.  Normally  an elder would be a person 
of middle age or above.  
                                                                                                                           
     The organization of  the local church is  not specified in the New
Testament and there are many ways in which local bodies organize.
It  does not  seem to be a vital factor in the church.  It  is necessary,
 however;  that the congregation  be organized in order to  be effec-
tive and  to keep from a spirit of  confusion.  (Confusion is  a tool of
Satan.) 1 Corinthians 14:26-33

     The modes of worship in the various  congregations are highly dis-
tinctive.   Of  late,  many local congregations  have  two worship ser-
vices, dubbing one as contemporary and the other as traditional. The 
two terms refer normally to the kinds of  music used and the contem-
porary worship style is more spontaneous, the traditional more struc-
tured.  There are also variations  in traditional worship.  There is the 
High  church  and  "Low" church.  High church  refers to use of  for-
mal  hymns anthems, and chants  but the low church may use hymns, 
but normally uses gospel music, largely,  and  an occasional  anthem.   
There  are  many variations in  worship structures.   Some  regional 
while others are denominational.  Even  within denominations there 
is  a wide diversity  in all of this.  Then there is the charismatic con-
gregation which emphasize the phenomenon of "unknown tongues," 
healing services  and other  dramatic  practices.  These phenomena 
are questioned by some and may be controversial.

    Another practice within the “Pentecostal”  bodies and of  late the
mainline denominations, is that of using female pastors. This is also
a  controversial practice,  but seems to be  more  accepted today for
better  or  worse.   In my experience,   these are sincere and  honest
women who claim distinct call  and  ordination from  the Lord to min-
istry.   Many  women were greatly used  of  the Lord  in Bible times.
It is also true today.  It is not our  responsibility to make  judgments 
in “controversial” matters,  but  to reserve  judgment  for  the Lord 
before  whom  everyone of  us will  stand to give an  account for the 
deeds done in the flesh.  (Scripturally, judge yourself...not others)

      My experience in “church,” for a  lifetime has been with only mar-
ried,  male pastors with children.  There are as many philosophies for
church pastor as there are forms of worship, music and church polity.
The church families which have seen the most growth, however; have
pastors who are dominant figures taking  authority with strong, firmly 
held conservative beliefs. These men are also well versed in Scripture
ture and are outspoken  about their stand on the authority and infalla-
bility of  Scripture .  They apply the Word of  God to every  aspect of 
life and teach Bible doctrine as answers for all questions. There is one 
weakness I see;  some are impatient  with anyone who  does not share 
their view  to the letter and will brook little if any questioning of  their 
authority.  They tend to be inflexible and quibble,  at times, over some
matter  that  not  Biblically  based.  The pastor I favor,  has  the  same 
standards as this man,  but is more flexible when it comes to  non-doc-
trinal matters.   He is also a lover of people, holding higher standards 
for himself  than he holds for others.  I believe a man called of God to 
the ministry will  be the one who wins the lost and  disciples them  for 
service in the power of the Spirit, not his own ability. This man  is wil-
ling to work with  persons who may  have  differing views on the non-
essentials,  but tries to  show  from  the Word why  his  view  is  best,  
or listen to another's view without condemnation.  
                                                
            Since we are discussing Pastors, for better or worse, 
                 there is one that should not be countenanced:
  
The pastor who is unable to  give a straight answer to a sincere ques-
tion, is not a  pastor to  follow.   If  the man is  either unfamiliar with 
Scripture, or does not have enough faith in the Word of God to hang 
all things on it, he is not  worthy to pastor or even stand  behind the 
pulpit. The man will, at times miss quote Scripture or express doubt 
about it’s authority or credibility.  At times he has a hidden agenda 
to move a Bible believing congregation to a more liberal view. Some 
will  interpret or criticize Scripture,  raising  questions  they can  not  
answer.  They also  are apt  to try serve a people,  and hold them at 
arms length at  the same time.   Privileged  to  worked  with  pastors 
over the past 55 years on staff of a few  local  congregations, I have  
found  it  impossible to serve a people you do not love and for whom 
one  is not willing to sacrifice time,  means and self.

      The mystery of the church was concealed in the Old Testament 
and was revealed in  the New  Testament.  The  principle  revealed  
about the bride of  Christ  is as follows: Man,  created in the image 
of God, who who stated early in  Genesis that it is not good for man 
to be alone. Since man  was created  in the image of  God, the same  
must be true of  God.  
   The original intent in the heart of  God was for the church,  made 
up of mankind, his own creation, to become the bride of the Son of 
Jesus Christ. God has taken it upon  Himself to perfect  that bride,  
allowing  persecution,  deprivation and other means  brought about 
by Satan,  who works  through the world  system.  These elements 
will  succeed  and our Lord will deliver Himself a bride, the church, 
“without spot or  blemish” cleansed in the blood of the “Lamb, who
was slain, ” purified by "washing of  the water of  the Word."  The 
cause behind the process begun before the foundation of the world 
was  to  provide  God's  Son a  bride to be at  His side for eternity;  
Our hope is to be a part of the bride, by the way of  the Cross. Our
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ makes us acceptable to Him.   

"World without end, Amen." 

edited,  donporter 10.26.12,  2.06.15,  3.18.17

PS:  The term Pastor is a masculine term..  Thanks...