The restoration of the congregation to God’s original plan
God still speaks to people through the Word of the Bible, opening our understanding to comprehend His will. Luke 24:45. “He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” Isa. 50:4.
One subject that has been opened to those who pray is the biblical truth concerning the congregation. This subject now contains the message of Heb. 12:26,27: “Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.” The subject of this writing shakes religious structures.
The congregation according to the original model is the worst threat to the devil. Therefore he resists with the fury of his wrath the restoration of the congregation to God’s original plan. 1 John 2:24,25. But God will give us the mind of Caleb: “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” Num. 13:30.
Read the entire text. Only in this way can you understand the teaching of the writing. I often repeat the same things so that the teaching will surely get through. The matter in question is God’s vision concerning His congregation. Therefore this work of restoration of the congregation must not drift into happening under any organization. Nor is the putting into practice of this vision of God to remain the work of “great” people.
ON THE WAY TO THE BLESSINGS OF THE EARLY DAYS
God desires to restore His congregation to the glorious fellowship of life with the Lord of the congregation, Jesus. The Holy Spirit leads Christians living in that Life into mutual fellowship and activity, in which Jesus is present, saving, healing and filling with the Holy Spirit. Acts 2. He sends those who have come to faith to proclaim the gospel, to help those who suffer and to heal the sick. etc. Mark 16:15-20. Acts 1:8. After the gracious work of the cross, the main emphasis should therefore be on knowing the power of the Holy Spirit. “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” Eph. 5:18. Acts 2.
The most important thing in human life is to have one’s sins forgiven and thus become a child of the God of the new covenant. “For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” Rom. 11:27. This most important matter must not be hidden in the shadow of other important biblical teachings.
Thanks be to the Lord! “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Rev. 1:5,6. Thank You, Jesus! “For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” Rev. 5:9,10. The congregation is therefore a people purchased with the blood of Jesus, ONE congregation, His kingdom, whose purposes are exclusively spiritual.
Everyone who reads the Bible is able to understand what the true congregation is. The answer given by the Bible is very simple: PEOPLE who have come to faith are God’s congregation. Religions, denominations, church denominations, associations, etc. are not congregations. The born-again people in each locality form the local congregation of their place of residence. This must be the confession of everyone who has come to faith. From there begins the understanding of the matter as well as practical activity.
The Bible therefore mentions congregations in the plural only on the basis that believers are in many localities. = One city, one congregation. Titus 1:5. Two cities, two congregations. Seven cities, seven congregations. Rev. 1:11. etc. etc. But in the Bible the whole congregation is nevertheless mentioned in the singular, as one body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27), because Jesus is the only founder of the congregation! He founded the first and last congregation on the cross of Calvary. John 10:16.
The teaching CONCERNING THE NATURE OF THE CONGREGATION is a subject that has been badly distorted throughout mankind. The majority of people have swallowed the deceptive teaching that the congregation would be some church or institution founded by men. Along with that teaching, people have drifted outside the original Christianity in doctrine. And although the matter of the congregation is not a matter of salvation, its division is a serious fall. “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.” Jer. 23:1. Acts 20:29,30. By establishing new denominations, those “pastors” have broken the biblical fellowship (unity) and mutual love of believers. Therefore, thus saith the LORD: “Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God.” Jer. 3:22. In this way God calls His own back to everything good and right, including the original practices of congregational activity.
John 17:21-23. The teaching mentioned concerning us will be fulfilled: “That they may be one.” We shall therefore be “perfectly one.” It is not yet visible, but it must happen in this age. Otherwise the prayer of Jesus would have been empty words. – But awakening to reality and fellowship will CERTAINLY take place! Jesus says so. Matt. 25:6-12. It will happen by returning to the path of biblical teachings mentioned in this writing. “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17:17. The congregation’s return to the faith and truth of the apostolic age will take place before Jesus’ return: “Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” Acts 3:21. Heb. 13:7-14.
– Genuine repentance also includes the cleansing of the congregation from so-called “great men” who exalt themselves above others (including ordained clergy with their bishops, etc.). There is only one Great Person in the congregation. He is Jesus, the Chief Shepherd of the congregation. The time of the great prophets ended with John the Baptist. Matt. 11:7-14.
WHO BELONGS TO THE CONGREGATION
Only those who are genuinely born again and who, after coming to faith, have been baptized with baptism by immersion in water in the name of Jesus belong to the congregation. Acts 2:41. Genuine coming to faith means that you begin to live together with Jesus. From there the truth concerning the congregation begins to open. God desires to lead us, in experiencing this, onto the way of the blessings of the early days. Thus we understand that everyone who has come to faith belongs to one and the same flock of God, that is, the congregation. Nothing else is possible, because belonging to Jesus is the same as belonging to His congregation! Having one’s name in a membership register does not determine belonging to the congregation. Nor are membership registers needed in that sense. Luke 10:20.
Joining oneself to Jesus is joining the congregation. The Bible knows no other way of joining. It contains no concept that someone could genuinely be in faith but supposedly not belong to the congregation. Acts 2:38,41,42. You belong to His congregation if you live together with Jesus, that is, if you are in Christ and no longer in Adam. Being in fellowship with believers is another matter. And God desires His own to gather and work together in their localities. Heb. 10:25. / Acts 2:41,42.
Biblical fellowship is God’s will!
In every locality there is only one body of born-again people (John 3:3. 1 Peter 1:23, 2:9,10 / Titus 1:5), which has been redeemed “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” 1 Pet. 1:19. We may begin to build this congregation founded at the cross, locality by locality, continuing from where the apostles left off! Everyone may begin to carry out in biblical fellowship the tasks received from God. All forms of work received from God can and should be done in this fellowship mentioned here.
It is therefore good to press this fundamental truth into our hearts, that THE PEOPLE REDEEMED WITH THE BLOOD OF JESUS ARE THE ONLY CONGREGATION OF GOD. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;
Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Pet. 2:9,10. This was therefore written concerning all who “are born again..”. 1 Pet. 1:23. WE therefore belong to this ONE people of God, to the same congregation as all the saved of all ages; including Peter, James, John and Paul and the other Christians of the early days. Acts 20:28. 26:18. “One body!” Eph. 4:1-16. 1 Cor. 12:27.
No one has been given permission to divide this one company of saints by establishing new denominations or other sects with membership registers, “signboard congregations.” Matt. 24:35. Heb. 13:8. Rev. 22:18,19. Therefore we do not accept denominations nor participate in their activities. However, individual believers in them also belong with us to the same congregation of God and are with us in the same work of gathering people to God. In this we are all working together. But we must not accept the false doctrine that institutions founded by men are congregations, and that on this basis we supposedly belong to different congregations! So-called “interdenominational Christianity” is in reality acceptance of division, the ecumenical mixed religion of Babylon. The Bible knows no such thing.
HOW CAN YOU JOIN THE TRUE CONGREGATION?
Joining Jesus is the same as joining His congregation, the body of Christ. 1 Cor. 12:27. “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Gal. 3:26,27. “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 2:41,42.
One cannot therefore join this congregation as one joins worldly associations and religions: “Put your name in the membership register and you belong to the congregation. Remove your name from the membership register and you no longer belong to the congregation.” This is not what the Bible teaches. A person cannot join another person to God’s congregation. Nor can a person remove another person from the congregation. Removal from fellowship (because of sin) is a different matter. The Bible teaches concerning that: “Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” 1 Cor. 5:13. But removing someone from the congregation and joining someone to it are solely the work of God.
Now that we understand the nature of the congregation, we understand this as well. Writing a name in a membership register or erasing it does not determine belonging to the congregation! “Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:20. The Bible teaches no other “membership register.”
For people joined to Jesus, who have been baptized by immersion in water in His name, the next step is coming into fellowship. According to biblical teaching, only those who already belong to the congregation—that is, those who have genuinely come to faith and have been biblically baptized, believers joined to Jesus—can be blessed into fellowship with the local congregation! There are NO so-called “congregationless Christians.” Such false concepts must be removed.
NO NEW CONGREGATION!!!
There is no example or teaching in the Bible that during the apostolic age new signboard congregations were established, for which they invented new names, so that it could have been said, for example, that “there are many congregations in Corinth.” It is a mistake to believe that Paul supposedly went from locality to locality establishing new congregations. Paul did not establish new congregations in that sense; rather, the congregation founded at the cross SPREAD to new localities. Notice the word “spread.” It opens up the matter! / The one eternally undivided congregation of God spread into new areas in this way: Christians proclaimed the message of salvation through the substitutionary sacrifice on the cross and the risen Jesus; people came to faith, repented of their sins and had themselves baptized; and thus they became the congregation of their own locality. Acts 2:38,41. They began to gather together as an independent local congregation of their own locality. And each confessed that we are the congregation of God founded on the cross of Calvary in our own locality. John 2:19-22. It is good to emphasize this again and again by repeating it. The first congregation, founded at the Cross, remains the ONLY so-called ”early congregation”—of which all other local congregations are ”branch offices,” provided they operate according to the Bible. This is what we must all confess ourselves to be. And this is what we are now putting into practice.
Thus the biblical fellowship of believers has been resolved! John 17:23.
At the beginning of our congregation, believers who had come to faith and were under the guidance of the Holy Spirit were chosen from among them for various tasks, including Titus 1:5. Rom. 12:4-8. Eph. 4:11-16. “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 2 Tim. 2:19. 1 Cor. 3:11. They did not accept two or more congregations in the same locality. 1 Cor. 1:10-13 and 3:4,5. But there were many meeting places, as needed. In accordance with the same principle, this must still be done: in Helsinki there is the congregation of Helsinki. In Turku the congregation of Turku. In Tampere the congregation of Tampere. ETC. Rev. 1:11-20. And all these together are one worldwide congregation of God, which should not operate under different signboards (in division).
Every city needs many small groups in which those who have come to faith and have been baptized receive teaching whose direction is: “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 2:42. We must continue to remain in this same teaching of the first apostles. Their teaching is in the New Testament. There the biblical view of the congregation operates. 1 John 1:1-3.
– This teaching is therefore not about a new congregation, but on the contrary: leaving the new ones and returning to the oldest. –
Paul’s Commission to Preach the Gospel
“But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts 26:16-18. It was the Great Commission that Jesus gave to Paul and at the same time to all of us. Matt. 28:19,20, Mark 16:15-20. It means that a person who has come to faith and has been biblically baptized has moved from the power of Satan into the congregation of God and from Adam into Christ, and has thus come into the congregation. . Rev. 1:5,6. Rev. 5:9,10. John 3:3. Acts 2:38,41. Gal. 3:26-28. Rom. 8:9. The Great Commission is the principal task of the congregation.
BAPTISM
During the time of the early congregation, everyone who came to faith and received forgiveness of sins was baptized by immersion in water in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2:38,41. “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.” Acts 10:48. 22:16. Col. 3:17. During the early days of our congregation, not one person who came to faith remained unbaptized. The same must continue to be the case.
Baptism is a matter blessed by God. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” Rom. 6:4,5,11. The old life of sin was buried in the grave of baptism, and we began to live in the resurrection life of Jesus.
LOCAL CONGREGATION!!!
The congregation was therefore organized (not founded) to function upon the foundation of the apostles’ teachings. Acts 2:41,42. Eph. 2:19-22. Eph. 4:11-16. “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.” Titus 1:5. Do you notice? – First there was the congregation!!! Then the organization into a local congregation was carried out. And the boundaries of the locality were therefore the boundaries of the congregation. Rev. 1:11-20, among other passages, teaches that in Asia at that time there were seven cities, in each of which there was ONE congregation. And an organized local congregation does not break the ONE congregation into many, even though it has many meeting places and even though it is spoken of in the plural: For example, “the congregations of Galatia” is mentioned in the plural because there were many cities in the province of Galatia. Gal. 2:2. Acts 16:6. 18:23. 1 Cor. 16:1.
And the teachings of the Bible have been set as the spiritual boundaries of the congregation. “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” Acts 2:41 KJV.
Let this be repeated as many times as necessary for it to be understood: All genuine Christians of the same locality who have been baptized belong to the congregation of their own locality on the basis that they belong to Jesus. From this confession practical fellowship and gathering as a biblical congregation can then begin. No kind of fence should be built between believers, even though there are many meeting places. Biblical fellowship IS God’s will? 1 Cor. 1:10.
The Bible does not teach “interdenominational Christianity,” which means building fellowship among believers “across congregational boundaries.” The Bible teaches building fellowship without congregational boundaries. This is what we do!!!
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In Jerusalem there was ONE congregation, which had tens of thousands of members. Acts 21:20. RK. / 2:41. 4:4,32. 5:13-16. Nevertheless, the one congregation of Jerusalem had only ONE eldership. Acts 15:4. 21:18. But this one congregation already had numerous meeting places, in all of which ONE COMMON teaching of the apostles was received. “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 2:42. / 1:13-15. 12:12. 1 Cor. 1:10. etc… The same principles must therefore remain to the end: One congregation, one city. Two congregations, two cities. Seven congregations, seven cities. Rev. 1:11-20. etc. Titus 1:5. etc. And one local congregation can therefore have many meeting places, as needed. And meeting places are not congregations.
The early congregation gathered extensively in private homes. It was a good system. But they did not regard the homes as congregations, but as meeting places. Therefore it is not biblically founded to establish, for example, a “house-congregation movement” or a “house church.” May God preserve His own from such things as from all other movements of division founded by men. 1 Cor. 1:10-13 and 3:3-11.
Advice for various matters is still sought from the early congregation of Jerusalem. Acts 15: “Whose faith follow.” Heb. 13:7. 1 John 2:24. Their counsel is in the Bible.
FOUNDATION
Paul preached the gospel, thus laying a foundation in people’s lives. “I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 3:10,11. Thus, from the people who came to faith, “the congregation of God” was born in the city of Corinth, among other places. This happened when “many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.” Acts 18:8. / 1 Cor. 1:2. Acts 2:41. 1 Thess. 2:14. Thus they came onto the Jesus-foundation!
The company of saved people is the temple of the new covenant built of living stones, the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27), the corrupting of which has always been a sin of the gravest kind: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Cor. 3:16,17. Eph. 2:19-22. Heb. 3:6. We therefore are the “lively stones” mentioned. 1 Pet. 2:5.
JESUS IS THE ONLY FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION
He founded His own congregation through His work of salvation in three days:
“Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
But he spake of the temple of his body.
When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.” John 2:19-22.
T H E C O M P L E T E C O N G R E G A T I O N
The congregation was complete at the end of the apostolic age, around AD 100. At that time all the completed Scriptures of the Bible, 66 Books, had been gathered and were in use by the congregation. Also the teachings concerning the practices, doctrines, ministries (so-called offices of the congregation), etc. of the congregation were complete. But above all, everyone understood the nature of the congregation as ONE body of Christ. 1 Cor. 12:27. “One body.” Eph. 4:4.
No one has received a task from God to establish new congregations.
Concerning this “one congregation” form it is written: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together..” Heb. 10:25. The teaching means that we are to identify ourselves with one local congregational fellowship, from which we operate under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, supported by the prayers of our own congregation. This is a teaching given by God to prevent division, for our good. It must now be put into practice again. And one local congregation may gather in as many places as the need determined by the number of members requires; provided that no meeting place separates itself from the other believers of the same locality to become a separate sect. Peter himself also went around with his wife teaching among all. Acts 9:32. 1 Cor. 9:5.
The complete congregation of the early days has been given as such as an example to Christians of all times throughout the world. 1 Cor. 1:10-13. 3:1-11. Heb. 13:7,8,9,13. etc.
EVERYONE IS INVITED TO JOIN
In addition to individual believers, denominations founded by men can also join the congregational system presented in this writing. HOW? – They must stop acting independently and stop teaching what separates believers from one another, and renounce the principles of division. Among other things, different signboards and membership registers must be removed, and then they must confess themselves to be functioning in fellowship with the ONE congregation of God. “They went out from us.” 1 John 2:19. – Should not those who have gone out return? –
We therefore no longer consent to using unscriptural names for the congregation, because the congregation belongs to God. Notice the ownership:
– “Unto the congregation of God which is at Corinth.” 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1.
– “Give none offence … neither to the congregation of God.” 1 Cor. 10:32; 11:16; 15:9.
– “ .. neither the congregations of God.” 1 Cor. 11:16.
– “ .. or despise ye the congregation of God?” 1 Cor. 11:22.
– “… how that beyond measure I persecuted the congregation of God.” Gal. 1:13.
– “For ye, brethren, became followers of the congregations of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thess. 2:14.
– “that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the congregation of the living God.” 1 Tim. 3:15.
Naming according to the locality is also biblical. For example, 1 Thess. 1:1. But man-made signboards over meeting places are elements of division, which every believer must remove from his own life, so that he no longer operates under such things. And amen.
WE are not Lutherans, Pentecostals, Baptists, Adventists, Free Church people and interdenominational Christians, and such people and -ists. We are not Catholics nor Protestants… We are only children of God purchased with the blood of Jesus.
We have separated ourselves from sectarianism.
Now, in every locality in Finland as well, the congregational activity according to the model of the apostolic age mentioned here must be begun. Meeting places must be obtained which are common meeting facilities for all believers of the same locality. And when biblical congregational activity has then been started, a new “congregation” can no longer be started in that locality. That would then be starting division again. 1 Cor. 1:10-13. 34-17. We will certainly need new meeting places!
Our common task is to gather people into that form of faith and doctrine in which the first Christians were, into the teachings of the Bible. Acts 2:41,42. “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” Psalm 50:5. This is the message of the last days. Joel 2:16.
Take part in this by looking at the suffering and dying Jesus and understand that “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” Heb. 10:19.
This is God’s vision of His own congregation.
Blessings,
Weijo Lindroos