Which Church Should I Join

Which Church Should I Join?
Tim Haile, for the Parkway church of Christ

Membership in the universal church is a simple matter. Acts 2:47 tells us that God adds all penitent, baptized believers to the body of the saved, which is the church; "the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Eph. 1:22-23). Colossians 1:13 puts it a little differently, but the same thought is contained in that verse. It tells us that after "rescuing us from the power of darkness," God "transfers" us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son. Notice that this transferal is God's doing, and is predicated merely upon our obedient faith. Local church membership is somewhat different. It involves human agreement. People of like precious faith (2 Peter 1:1) enter an agreement with one another to work and worship together. One simple, approved, apostolic example will suffice in making this point.

Immediately following his conversion to Christ in Damascus, Paul "stayed with the disciples some days" (Acts 9:18-19). Upon hearing the news that the Jews were plotting to kill him, Paul left Damascus and moved to Jerusalem. What was the first thing Paul did upon his arrival? Acts 9:26 tells us that Paul "tried to join himself to the disciples." The word "join" or "unite" as some versions have it, means "to join firmly; to glue or cement together." Paul’s actions prove that local church fellowship is a responsibility. But which local church do I join? There are some Bible guidelines:

1. Look for a church that holds forth the New Testament as its exclusive guide of faith and practice. It should be obvious to all that fewer and fewer churches are placing their faith and confidence in the Bible as their exclusive standard for determining right from wrong, and truth from error. Even though Paul said to "beware of human philosophies" (Col. 2:8), yet these philosophies are steadily replacing divine precepts in many pulpits. The members of many churches are so drunk on the charm of their charismatic speakers that they fail to notice the absence of Scripture in the sermons.

We are commanded to preach the perfect, simple, understandable, instructive, God-breathed, and powerful word of God (2 Tim. 4:2; Jas. 1:25; 2 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 3:4; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Rom. 1:16). We are to do this respecting the actual language of God. We are to "speak as the oracles of God"(1 Peter 4:11). Either the failure or refusal to "speak according to this word" means that the speaker "has no light in him" (Isaiah 8:20). This means that God will not favorably countenance those who disregard His holy word, substituting their own thoughts and musings for God’s wisdom. Christians must remember that their faith is built and based upon God's infallible word. Be sure and look for a church that demands book, chapter, and verse preaching, and will settle for nothing less! More to come…

View past articles at http://parkwayarticles.blogspot.com. Please join us for worship and Bible study at our building located at 125 Hilltopper Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101. We meet each Sunday at 10:00AM and 6:00PM for worship, and Sundays at 9:00AM and Wednesdays at 7:00PM for Bible study. Our radio program is aired each Sunday morning at 8:00AM on the WKCT 930AM band. Phone: (270) 842-2049 – Email: timhaile@mac.com.

Deity of Christ 4

The Deity of Christ (4)
Tim Haile, for the Parkway church of Christ

John’s gospel opens with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1). “Word” is capitalized for a very good reason – John tells us that the “Word” is a person of “God.” The “Word” is not the only person of God, for along with being God, this person of “the Word” is also “with God.” John 1:1 thus references two distinct persons of God. Interestingly, by factoring in Peter’s description of the Holy Spirit as God (Acts 5:3, 4), we see that the Bible identifies three distinct persons as “God.” Though the words “trinity” and “triune” are not found in the Scriptures, yet the concept of the triune God (God in three persons) is fully biblical. Three distinct persons share in the state or condition of being God. They occupy the God-class, or as the Bible calls it: Godhood or Godhead (Acts 17:29; Rom. 1:20; Col. 2:9). That is, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all persons of God. Each possesses the attributes and characteristics of deity. They have different roles and functions, but they are nonetheless God.

John’s gospel went on to describe a change that took place in the life of God the Son that allowed him to “dwell among” humans. We call this “incarnation,” or the embodiment of the spirit-person of Jesus Christ in human flesh. Still talking about this person of “the Word” – the Logos, John said, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The word “dwelt” is from a word that means to “tent” or “tabernacle,” suggesting that the Son of God clothed himself with a fleshly body when he came to the earth. Speaking of the redemptive mission of Christ, quoting from Psalm 40, the writer of Hebrews says, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me.” The “me” of the passage is Jesus Christ. The “body” is the body of “flesh” that John mentioned in John 1:14. According to Matthew 1:18-23, the Holy Spirit worked a miracle upon the virgin Mary that resulted in the spirit-person of God the Son entering a fleshly state of existence. The self-existent and eternal spirit of Jesus took the place of the human spirit in the person of Christ. This resulted in the condition of “Immanuel, which means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23). Jesus is God.

View past articles at http://parkwayarticles.blogspot.com. Please join us for worship and Bible study at our building located at 125 Hilltopper Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101. We meet each Sunday at 10:00AM and 6:00PM for worship, and Sundays at 9:00AM and Wednesdays at 7:00PM for Bible study. Our radio program is aired each Sunday morning at 8:00AM on the WKCT 930AM band. Phone: (270) 842-2049 – Email: timhaile@mac.com.

Deity of Christ 3

The Deity of Christ (3)
Tim Haile, for the Parkway church of Christ

In last week’s article I pointed out that before he came in the flesh, Jesus was identified as God "the Word." And during his time in the flesh, he was also known as God "the Word." He was exactly the same person of "the Logos" during his days in the flesh that He was before the flesh (Jn. 1:1; 1 Jn. 1:1).

Other plain passages agree with this comparison. Colossians 2:9 says, "For in Him (the person of "Christ") dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." 1 Timothy 3:16 tells us that it was the person of "God" who was "manifest in the flesh." During his days in the flesh Jesus was given the additional name "Immanuel, which being translated is God with us" (Matt. 1:23). He is "God our Savior," and "God blessed forever" (Tit. 2:13; Rom. 9:5). He so perfectly and completely shared the attributes of the Father that he is identified as the "exact representation" of the Father's "image" (Heb. 1:3). While in the flesh, Jesus retained possession of every divine attribute. We know this because he was called "God." God cannot exist apart from His attributes. To see Jesus was to see the Father (Jn. 14:9; 12:45). While in the flesh, Jesus was so completely God that his actions were a constant "declaration" and exegesis of the Father (John 1:18).

“Alpha and Omega”

The book of Revelation often describes the divine character of Jesus, and it discusses many of his divine activities. The saints that are addressed in the book of Revelation were facing intense and relentless persecution from their government and others in society. Physical life was quite precarious and uncertain. These saints needed reassurance that the faith was worth the fight. John’s Revelation (a letter of letters) provided this comforting reassurance. One of the ways that this was done was to show Christians that their Savior-King possessed far more power and exerted far more control than any human king could even imagine. Their king was more than just a man: he was God!

Revelation 1:8 and 21:6 speak of God, the Father as being “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end…” These phrases emphasize the eternality of God. Interestingly, these same phrases are used of Christ (Revelation 1:17; 22:13). Things equal to the same thing are equal to each other. We must conclude that Jesus is God, and that his intrinsic nature is just as eternal as that of the Father. (More to come…)

View past articles at http://parkwayarticles.blogspot.com. Please join us for worship and Bible study at our building located at 125 Hilltopper Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101. We meet each Sunday at 10:00AM and 6:00PM for worship, and Sundays at 9:00AM and Wednesdays at 7:00PM for Bible study. Our radio program is aired each Sunday morning at 8:00AM on the WKCT 930AM band. Phone: (270) 842-2049 – Email: timhaile@mac.com.

Deity of Christ 2

The Deity of Christ (2)
Tim Haile, for the Parkway church of Christ

As noted in last week’s article, Jesus preexisted Abraham (John 8:56-58). It should also be pointed out that though John the baptist was older than Jesus in his physical existence, he affirmed that Jesus existed “before” him (John 1:30). We are reminded of Micah’s prophecy of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem: “His goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

Some people refuse to even consider the question of the nature of Christ, but Jesus invited thought on this question. He asked the Pharisees, “But what do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” When the Pharisees answered that He was “the son of David,” Jesus responded, “How then did David call Him Lord?” These Pharisees were unable to answer this question (Matthew 22:42-46). However, honest Bible students can confidently do what these biased, tradition-oriented Pharisees refused to do if we will consider the evidence. As with all Bible subjects we must limit our answer to what is authorized and demanded by God’s Holy word. We must speak as the oracles of God (1 Peter 4:11).

The writer of the book of Hebrews described Jesus as being “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). One is reminded of Malachi 3:6: “I am the Lord, I change not.” Jesus Christ was, is, and forever shall be, God. He possesses uninterrupted deity. He was the same person during His days in the flesh that he was before coming in the flesh, and he is presently that same person in heaven. This fact is demonstrated by John’s use of the term “logos” to describe Jesus at all of these phases of his existence.

1. John’s gospel describes Jesus as “the Word” who was with God “in the beginning” (John 1:1). This described Christ’s pre-incarnate state.

2. John’s first epistle says that John and others had “seen, looked upon, and touched the Word of life” (1 John 1:1). He later describes the “word of life” as being the person of Jesus. This described Christ’s incarnate state.

3. John’s Revelation describes Jesus as the conquering commander “whose name is the Word of God” (Revelation 19:13). This describes Christ’s post-incarnate state.

It is significant that the apostle John described Jesus as the person of “the Word” in all of these circumstances. It emphasizes the continuity of his nature from everlasting to everlasting. Truly, “From everlasting to everlasting, you are God” (Psalm 90:2). (More to come…)

View past articles at http://parkwayarticles.blogspot.com. Please join us for worship and Bible study at our building located at 125 Hilltopper Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101. We meet each Sunday at 10:00AM and 6:00PM for worship, and Sundays at 9:00AM and Wednesdays at 7:00PM for Bible study. Our radio program is aired each Sunday morning at 8:00AM on the WKCT 930AM band. Phone: (270) 842-2049 – Email: timhaile@mac.com.