THE FIRST TESTAMENT CHURCH

Part I

One may ask is there more than one church or assembly? Let us begin with this thought in mind, but let us first find the first assembly as we find it taught in God's Word.

In the very beginning we must understand that "church" and "assembly" are words meaning one and the same. If "to assemble" means "to collect together at one place at any given time," then "church" would mean "an assembly of people both local and visible." As it relates to the LORD'S CHURCH, it would of necessity mean an assembly of people that had been properly prepared and called together by the divine power and ordained of GOD HIMSELF.

 Now let us search the Word of God to find what this divine order is.

1. THE MAN JOHN
"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John." (John 1:6) "But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John." (Luke 1:13) Luke 1:60-63 shows how he was called John in direct opposition to tradition in that day, therefore we see the divine plan of God getting accomplished as Zacharias and Elizabeth were willing to carry out the command of the Word of God even though it meant standing against the majority and against tradition. Thus, we see the power of God Working out His divine order in the naming of JOHN.

2. THE WORK OF JOHN
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (Mat 3:1-3)

In Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1, we find the prophets testifying of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord."

Jesus said in Matthew 11:10 concerning John, "For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." Also, see Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4 and John 1:23. This same witness is recorded concerning John.

With these facts before us we would conclude John's work was preaching God's message to the people, so all that would hear might repent and be baptized. And thereby be prepared for the Lord as He was soon to appear to do the work the Father sent Him to do, and to finish it.

3. WAS GOD PLEASED WITH JOHN'S WORK?
"And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," Mark 1:9-11. Here we see the witness of God in the approval of John's work: first Jesus, then the Spirit, then the voice from Heaven.

In Luke 7:26, we hear the question of Jesus as He taught the people, "But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet," Verse 28 "For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist."

Jesus said in John 5:32-35, "There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light." Seeing these facts, our assertion would be that God was well pleased with John's work.

4. MANY OBEYED HIS MESSAGE
In Matthew 3:5, "Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan." Mark 1:5 "And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins." There is no way to determine just how many were obedient to the message, but from the language of these passages there were great multitudes.

5. REPENTANCE BEFORE BAPTISM
Luke 3:7-8 "Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." Here we see the multitude came to be baptized, but John called them a generation of vipers. We certainly could not say John was out for numbers, but, rather out for God.

Nor was he willing to let them come in on legal profession, for they began to say, "We are Abraham's children." Being baptized, or being legally right, or both are not enough to please God, nor was it enough to please God's man. Matthew 3:1-2: "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

True repentance is the only route men can follow to please God, and John demanded fruits to evidence their repentance before he would let them obey further in being baptized. Repentance is the condition of the heart toward God that causes man to confess his utter failure to measure up to God's standard of righteousness, and thereby finding himself condemned to eternal damnation, turn to the one that is able to deliver him from the sentence against him -- death. (II Corinthians 7:10, "Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation.") We can see John fulfilling the divine order and purpose for which God had sent him into the world.