Christian Congregation
[NSB Translation Notes]
FIRST CONGREGATION SANCTIONED BY GOD: The people of Israel were the first congregation (church) sanctioned by God. (Numbers 20:8) (Deuteronomy 4:10) They were referred to as the congregation of Israel. (Leviticus 16:17) (Joshua 8:35) (1 Kings 8:14) The Hebrew word “qahal” is a root word meaning call together or congregate. The Greek word “ekklesia” means to call out. It pertains to a group of persons called out or called together. (Acts 7:38) (1 Corinthians 12:28)
THE WORD “CONGREGATION:” The word “congregation” is found 184 times in the New Simplified Bible, 101 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and 83 times in the Greek Scriptures. Jesus Christ used the word at Matthew 16:18 and 18:17. The Apostle John recorded the passionate plea to the congregations revealed to him by the resurrected heavenly Jesus Christ at chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation. The Apostle Paul used the word “congregation” when describing God’s organization nearly 60 times in his many letters. Nearly all of them were addressed to the “congregations.” The word organization is not found in the Bible, but the word congregation is found there many times. Obviously the word congregation is a more acceptable Scriptural term.
HEADSHIP PRINCIPLE PUTS GOD IN CHARGE: “I would have you know, that the head (authority over) of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” (1 Corinthians 11:3) There you have it, God is at the top. He is the one in charge. After God is Christ. God appointed Jesus Christ as the head of the congregation.
NEED FOR UNITY: Before Jesus was put to death on the stake he prayed for the unity of his disciples. “I am no more in the world but they are in the world. I come to you Holy Father. Keep them in your name, which you have given to me, that they may be one*, even as we are. *(Greek: heis; united in purpose and love) (John 17:11) The apostle Paul highlighted the importance of unity, when he said, “Diligently try to keep the unity (oneness) of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling. There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. There is one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.” (Ephesians 4:3-6) Unity is emphasized throughout the Holy Scriptures. We are reminded that we should all believe the same. The fact is if each person believed different things there would be no Christian unity. When loving Christians believe the same we have a bond of perfection and unity. (Colossians 3:14)
The need for unity requires that there be someone in charge. The apostles and elders led the first century Christians. When a dispute or disagreement arose in the congregations the apostles met with the apostles and elders at the headquarters congregation in Jerusalem. After much prayer and discussion the matter was settled. Messengers were then sent out to all the congregations to make sure everyone believed the same. There was unity. (Acts Chapter 15) (Psalm 133:1) (1 Corinthians 1:10) There was indeed "oneness" of faith. (Ephesians 4:13)
WORD "ORGANIZATION" NOT USED: Even though the word "organization" is not used by the first century Christians it is obvious that unity in the congregations could not be maintained without the process of organization. It was important that Christians "go on walking orderly." (Galatians 5:25) (Philippians 3:16)
THE MAMMA BIRD CRAM DOWN APPROACH: The mamma bird flys out from the nest and catches the food. She returns to the nest and prepares the food in portions the baby can accept. Then the mamma bird gently pokes or crams the food down the throat of the baby. In a very real sense that is what the Imperial Church is doing to its members. The theory is that “mother knows best.” And who can argue with that! As long as the mother congregation offers the right spiritual food, direct from the Bible, all is well. But when mans’ ideas and opinions enter into the diet things go wrong.
PRIVATE INTERPRETATION DESTROYS UNITY: Down through the ages groups of people have banded together to form church organizations or congregations of believers. Many want their congregation to be very much like the first church organizations in the first century after Christ. In order to make it identical to the original they had to give the headquarters congregation supreme rule (authority) over its members. That way they could control the doctrines being taught in all the other congregations. (Matthew 24:45) (2 Peter 1:20, 21)
The Roman Catholic Church is the classic example of how this was done. They established a council of church leaders in Rome and gave them authority to control the teachings of the organization. They also appointed one man as the Pope to head the council. The Pope and his co-rulers of the church were given complete and absolute authority and power. That was where they went wrong.
Too much power corrupts and that’s just what happened to the Roman Catholic Church. There is an old saying, “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” These so-called holy men in Rome subverted and distorted the primary teachings of the Holy Scriptures and claimed that God gave them the authority to do so. They claim that church tradition gives them the right to develop beliefs and practices that are not Biblical. Jesus Christ never said tradition was a good thing. In fact he condemned the tradition of the Pharisees! The leaders of the Roman Catholic Church invented the man made doctrine of the Trinity. They refused to use the divine name in worship and include it in their versions of the Bible and they worshipped the saints, to name only a few of their serious errors.
All of these false teachings were presented in the name of God. The Roman Catholic Church claims that God gave them the right to interpret the Holy Scriptures the way they have interpreted it. They have completely ignored God’s warning at 2 Peter 1:20, “Know this first that no prophecy of Scripture is for private interpretation.” They do this by claiming that theirs is not a private interpretation, but comes direct from God.
This same corruption of the holy teachings from the Scriptures has occurred in all of the Protestant Churches as well. When men are in control men undermine the integrity of the Truth. Avoid religious organizations that have the “I’m Right and you’re Wrong Syndrome. When an organization tells you they are absolutely right study your Bible diligently to make sure they are right.
DO NOT TRUST MEN AND ORGANIZATIONS OF MEN… ONLY TRUST GOD’S WORD.
Psalm 146:3 “Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.”
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in Jehovah with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding.
Jeremiah 7:4 “‘“Do not trust in deceptive words. They say: ‘this is the Temple of Jehovah, the Temple of Jehovah, and the Temple of Jehovah.
Jeremiah 17:5 This is what Jehovah says: “Cursed is the person who trusts humans, who makes flesh and blood his strength and whose heart turns away from Jehovah.
Micah 7:5 Do not put your faith in your neighbor. Do not trust a friend! Guard your lips from her who lies in your bosom (is your intimate companion).
Psalm 56:11 In God I put my trust, I will not be afraid! What can man do to me?
LET THE BIBLE INTERPRET THE BIBLE: Use a comprehensive Bible concordance to find all of the Scriptures pertaining to the subject you wish to study. Don’t just read a few. Read all of them if necessary in order to get the proper understanding from the Bible interpreting the Bible. Keep your mind and heart open to God’s Truth.
Read the New Simplified Bible...links below:
 NSB 'OLD TESTAMENT' |
| NSB 'NEW TESTAMENT' |
| Home Page |
| Site Map and Languages |
| New Simplified BibleYahwist Version |
Yahoo Quick Search
Send E-Mail to: simplifiedbible@mail.comThis page created using the webpage creation facilities of Webspawner.
Copyright © 2009 New Simplified Bible. All Rights Reserved