To my gracious wife whose keen interest in prophecy and history often has spurred my sometimes flagging zeal. Her searching ques-tions have sent me again and again to prayerful study of the facts.
If this volume can pass her searching examination, it will be presented to others whose interest it might evoke.
If one so kind and mild of manner as she can find such a passionate interest in history-prophecy as it concerns the church, then I am persuaded that an interest must exist in the heart of every child of the King.
Preface
The interested have many volumes available for deeper study into the history of the church from its beginning to the present. There is no lack of information at the present time, but the careful reader cannot fail to notice that many modern writers of history have a strong tendency to soften the hard facts concerning persecutions brought upon the church in ages past. Many history books now being used as textbooks in the public schools leave the impression that Roman Catholicism is the oldest and truly apostolic church. Television, radio, and movies are offering more and more plays that are built around the Roman Catholic religion with garbed priests and nuns. These plays almost invariably place the church officials in the very best light as heroic souls representing the one true church. This, on the surface, may seem unimportant to some, but when we consider that communism and other godless philosophies have undermined the faith of people and instituted godless ways of living, we are made to believe that it is a good thing to keep the records straight.
One does not have to be a seer to know what would happen in our country if the historic record of the church were lost or perverted. The flood of television shows, movies, and other media is fast educating a multitude of Americans to a totally new attitude toward Roman Catholicism. None of these gives the truth about what happens and is happening in countries controlled by the Roman Catholic Church today. Americans should be grateful to such men as Paul Blanshard and others who attempt to inform us. We should be appreciative of the information supplied by courageous organizations and editors. Only those willing to be deceived need be.
This brief volume is not intended as an authoritative treatise, but as a provocative epistle. It is prayerfully hoped that it might stimulate such an interest that those who read it will search more deeply into the truth about God’s church.
If a treatise on prophecy is desired, may I refer you to such excellent books as Revelation Explained and What the Bible Teaches, printed by the Gospel Trumpet Company, Anderson, Indiana.
While I have studied many, many volumes of history, as well as the writings of such reformers as Wycliffe, Huss, Luther, and others, of course, let me restate that this volume simply is intended to give the average layman a running sketch of the history of the church with the hope of stimulating a deeper interest and concern for the church as God intended it from the beginning.
Harold W. Boyer
Springfield, Ohio
Chapter 1
The Apostolic Church
In the city of St. Louis a few years ago I happened to come into a class where a very fine and competent teacher was teaching a lesson to boys and girls on the way we got our churches. Her method of teaching was to build a church tree. She did this by drawing a picture of a tree and then naming the trunk of the tree Jesus Christ. Each large branch was called by the name of one of the major denominations within Christendom. The smaller twigs were named after the smaller sects in the world. When she saw me enter the door, she was delighted, because, she said, “We have all the churches on the tree except the Church of God, and we just do not know where to put it. What church did your denomination split off from, Reverend?” When to her utter amazement I explained that we did not split off from anything and that she had better just leave us off the tree, she was obviously confused. I tried to explain that the church of the New Testament, called the church of God, could not have split off from anything, because there was nothing for it to split from and that the purpose of this present reformation movement is to re-establish or restore that church of the New Testament.
We are often a misunderstood people because we do not unreservedly align ourselves with the whole of Protestantism. Protestantism, as a system of religion, is not in complete harmony with the New Testament, and we cannot strive for the New Testament pattern and align ourselves with anything else. To discern this truth and embrace it is a very humbling experience, and those who see the message and dedicate themselves to uphold it must bear the cross of being misunderstood. However, we remember that Christ was the most misunderstood of all, and so we sing “In the Cross of Christ I glory” as we press forward in the work to which we have dedicated ourselves.
That much confusion exists within Christendom today goes without argument. We are encouraged that in our day serious effort is being put forth to achieve better understanding and hope for ultimate unity. There are bitter conflicts within Roman Catholicism and Protestantism as well as conflicts between the two. Out of these conflicts you often hear the term “apostolic church” tossed about rather recklessly. There are many groups, all the way from the ritualistic Roman Catholic Church to the extremely informal groups popularly called the “tongues churches,” claiming apostolicity. We recognize, of course, that all cannot be right. There are wide differences in the teachings of these groups, as well as the dates and circumstances concerning their origin. This writer does not claim any special insight or ability to interpret scripture or to pierce the mysteries of an unknown future. He does claim the ability to read the history books along with the Bible and in this simple way discover beyond any reasonable doubt what the apostolic church was. In knowing what it was, we ought then to be able to determine what a church must be today if it is to be justified in claiming to be apostolic.
Actually, when we use the term “apostolic,” we mean that which was taught and established by the apostles. Thus, when we say apostolic teaching, preaching, practice, or church, we are claiming that the thing to which we attach the word “apostolic” is given to us directly from the apostles of our Lord Jesus.
The writer has some reservation about the term apostolic church, because I do not believe the apostles would have wanted the church to bear their names either individually or collectively. They preached Christ, and the collective body of believers who accepted him did not bear the name of the apostles, but the name of God. That early church was simply called the Ekklesia, the church, or the church of God. Christ alone was recognized as the head of the church. Ephesians 1:22–23: “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.” Colossians 1:17–19: “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell.” As worthy as the apostles are of all honor, when names are changed meanings shift with the change; to shift the emphasis in the name of the church from its rightful head will tend to shift also the allegiance of the people. Therefore, it is only because of the popular usage of the term and as a convenient historical designation that we use the word “apostolic” in this discourse.
With all respect to that early church, it is a bit wearisome to hear the uninformed speak of it as though it never had a fault, never a disagreement, and never a failure. Such was not the case. By way of illustration, hear the Apostle Paul as he wrote to the church at Galatia, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth.... Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:1–3). Hear the same apostle as he wrote to the church at Corinth, “For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, … that there are contentions among you” (I Cor. 1:11).
We must not comfort ourselves in our shortcomings by the knowledge that such conditions as these existed in the early church. They were wrong then! They are ten times worse now! The early church did not have the New Testament. The church was young, and it was persecuted. To be a Christian was to risk your very life. In most instances that early church walked in all the light it had. But the church today is nearly two thousand years old, and it has both the New Testament and the full presence of the promised Holy Spirit. Therefore, it should do much better than the early church was capable of doing. If this seems to cast any reflection on the early church, remember the words of our Lord who said of his own works, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12).
We will do well to remember the background of the early church. It was composed of converted Jews and converted pagans whose backgrounds were worlds apart. Christianity was in the making. The New Testament was in the process of being written, but it would be many years before these scattered writings would be assembled into one book and recognized as the New Testament of God to man. It was impossible for the early church to be perfect either in theology or action. It is never safe to judge your fellow man by his actions; he may not know any better. It is never safe to judge him by his theology; his heart might be right even though his theology is wrong. It is always safe to follow the scriptural injunction, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Matt. 7:1–3).
The early church did not have the benefit of the full New Testament. Many people today have the Book, but know little of its contents. To some, the contents of the Bible have never been explained. Others refuse to accept its teachings because an acceptance of the teaching demands a change of heart and life. God will judge both our stubbornness and slothfulness. Proverbs 18:9: “He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster:” Whether or not men accept it, the Bible alone is the perfect guide, a lamp unto our pathway, a light unto our feet.
There is no such thing as a perfect church, at least as men judge perfection. Men’s opinions on perfection are as different as the men who give them. A perfect worship service to one man is to sit in quiet meditation; another wants to leap and shout, and still another is at a complete loss to worship apart from the liturgy. If we were to ask, What is a perfect building, a perfect person, a perfect anything? we would get many answers We cannot discover our imperfections by comparing ourselves with another imperfect thing. Second Corinthians 10:12: “But they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise:” We cannot become a perfect church by comparing ourselves with the so-called apostolic church; it, too, has many imperfections. We can find ourselves only by searching the Bible which sets forth God’s perfect plan for his church. In all our strivings we should not have as our goal or model the so-called apostolic church; rather we should look to the plan God set forth for his church in the New Testament. A church that recognizes Christ alone as its head and the Holy Spirit as its governor is patterning after the New Testament standard. If I compare myself with John Wesley, Daniel S. Warner, or some other great Christian, I do not see myself as I ought. We must see ourselves as compared with our Lord. The same is true of the church.
In spite of its many obstacles, the early church enjoyed a phenomenal growth. Three thousand souls were added to the church in one day (see Acts 2:41). Very soon churches were established not only in Jerusalem but in hated Samaria, in Ephesus, Galatia, Philippi, Corinth, Colossae, Rome, and many other places. Paul began his writings, which under God were to form so large a portion of the New Testament. James wrote, as did Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Peter. More and more disciples were won to Christ. Churches sprang up in many places, and God called ministers to serve them. That early church was destined to make licentious Rome tremble in her boots. Men from every walk of life, both Jew and pagan, were converted. The sick were healed. Demons were cast out. Great were the miracles of the early church. One is made to ask why. How could a church, so young and with so little, accomplish so much?
With the question must come also an honest answer. The early church was possessed with a holy boldness. Young men like John Mark, Timothy, and Titus came to ask not for entertainment but to be allowed to go along and suffer with the ministers for Christ’s sake; in turn they became ministers of his gospel. Young women also dedicated their lives.
The work of the church must be organized, and any organization that helps in the promotion of the cause of Christ is to be encouraged. It is when a church operates mainly to keep its organization going that it has lost its purpose. To see a church constantly fretting about its program is to be reminded of the little ship with such a large whistle that when the whistle was blown there was not steam enough to run the ship. The early church did not have much that could be seen. Often she had no church house. She had no New Testament. We are impelled to inquire, What did she have?
She had an experience. Her people knew “old things had passed away and all things had become new.” They forsook sin. They knew they were born anew. They knew they were sanctified, because the abiding power and presence of the Holy Ghost kept them holy and filled with power. Their power did not lie in nor depend upon people or things. Their power flowed from their inner experience with God. We honestly believe that this same old-fashioned experience of full salvation will produce the same kind of church today. It will take away man’s lust for pleasure. It will take away his timid fear of men and devils. It will take away his yen to argue theology. It will give him a holy zeal and power to fill the world with the gospel. It will give him the ability to win souls for Christ. How profound the words of Jesus, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
Not only did the early church have an experience with God, but she also had stalwart courage—courage that amounted to holy boldness. Her members openly declared, “We know we have passed from death unto life.” They had no fear or worry for the flesh and did not seek reputation or the world’s applause. “They loved not their lives unto death.” “They went everywhere preaching the gospel.” They declared with John, “We know we are of God and the whole world lies in wickedness.” There was romance and daring in the heart of the early church; she was filled with the warm glow of spiritual life and vigor.
If the church would go to her knees again, she would arise a witnessing church with power. So long as the church only grovels in the maze of her programs, bows to the opinions and authority of men, strives merely to attain a place of respectability with Babylon, she will remain powerless and anemic. She cannot rise to the standards of the New Testament while struggling with world mammon.
The members of the early church saw that every man was a prospect for Christ, and the church lost herself in an unselfish effort to share with all men what they had found in Jesus Christ. The church was highly successful because she did not put her trust entirely in human skills. Neither did her constituents appeal to civil authority; “they overcame by the word of their testimony and the blood of the Lamb.”
The faith of that early church was audacious. She feared nothing. Consider one of her very frequently mentioned heroes, Philip. Philip had been appointed to attend to the distribution of food, but his heart burned with such holy zeal to share his experience of Christ that he could not be kept at a “table waiting” task. He left Jerusalem and the safety of numbers to invade the enemy territory of Samaria with the conviction that Christ came to save all men. God, working through him, caused such a revival to break out that large numbers of people were swept into the kingdom of God. Philip was not an apostle, but he had the gift of the Holy Spirit. O God, grant us less dependence on ourselves and more on the Holy Ghost!
The church today is too centralized in its attitudes. This is true nationally and locally. The more a congregation looks to the local church building as the circumference of Christian service, the less vision it will have. Too often people’s concept of Christian service includes playing the instrument, singing a song, teaching a class, or some similar activity conducted or performed within the four walls of the church building. The early church had no such implements, and often she had no building. In spite of the many implements the early church lacked, the church turned the world upside down. Today the world has the church turned upside down. Church people sing and shout lustily as long as they are within the safety zone of their building. The early church took her message into the market place of life and witnessed to all men.
To be a congregation that reaches the New Testament standard, we must have full salvation. By full salvation we mean to be saved and sanctified. We must have courage. We are not here to please ourselves, but to serve God. We must have faith and walk in the faith day by day. We do not light a candle to put under a bushel; neither does God want a church whose activities never go from under the roof of its building.
Where does my church stand in the light of the New Testament church? The only way I can answer that is by answering the question, Where do I stand in the light of Jesus Christ? Have I been born anew? Have I received the Holy Spirit? Am I living a holy, spirit-filled life? Am I spiritually alive or just a dead weight doing more to hinder the ongoing program of God than to help it?
Jesus said the church was to do greater works than he did. Are we doing them? We must get our eyes off the world, off people, off self. We must die to sin and self and allow God to possess us, body and soul.
Too many of us have preconceived ideas of what we want. God wants us. The New Testament standard is attained when we as individual members of a local church seek and find this experience of complete surrender to God, and then collectively hold and practice the doctrine of the Bible.
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12–13).
In the great Day of Judgment all things earthly are to be destroyed. Since church books are earthly, they too will be destroyed, and every soul must stand before God to give an account of the deeds done in the flesh. There is just one really important question then: Are you saved? Is your name written in the Lamb’s book of life? Revelation 20:12 says, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead was judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”