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THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH
Spiritual Practical
By
Herbert McClellan Riggle, D.D.
Author of
Beyond the Tomb; The Cream of My Life’s Work;
Christ’s Second Coming and What Will Follow;
The Sabbath and the Lord’s Day;
Christ’s Kingdom and Reign
GOSPEL TRUMPET COMPANY
Anderson, Indiana
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PREFACE
I AM writing this on my sixty-fifth birthday
anniversary, having spent forty-four years in the active work of the
ministry. I am presenting to the reading public my eighteenth book. The
subject treated is today agitating the whole religious world. Among
genuine Christian men and women everywhere there is a growing
dissatisfaction with present conditions, and a decided trend toward a
closer spiritual fellowship and Bible oneness. Leading men of God are discarding
controversial and technical theological questions that have separated
the people of God for centuries and retarded the great task of the church
in its mission to evangelize the world. Many are rising above the narrow
denominational walls that have held them apart, and the Spirit of God is
effecting a warmer Christian love and a closer bond of union.
Observation and contact have fully convinced me that
the spirit of reformation is working among genuine Christians everywhere.
The outstanding question is:
What is the true basis of oneness for ALL God’s
people? What is the Bible standard of this unity? How can it be attained?
In this book I have endeavored to answer clearly these questions. With a
deep sense of gratitude to God I humbly acknowledge his presence and
direction, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the preparation of this
volume.
This book sets forth the Bible doctrines in a
definite, uncompromising manner. But instead of presenting a theoretical,
idealistic, picture-book, and blue-print church in outline, I have
endeavored to present the truth in a reasonable, practical way, and to
deal with the question down here on earth where we live and function. In
this respect you will find the contents just a little different from any
work that has been published on the subject.
At the time of D. S. Warner’s death, in 1895, he had
been engaged in writing a book entitled, The Cleansing of the Sanctuary.
His sudden departure left the work far from complete. Feeling the hand of
the Lord upon me to complete the same, I added 340 pages to the 200 he
had written. That work had a large sale and accomplished much good.
Later I wrote The Christian Church—Its Rise and
Progress. This book was published in 1912 and has been on the market
exactly twenty-five years. Copies will be found in every nation around
the world. The entire edition being sold, I felt clearly led of the Lord
to write the present work and bring it strictly up-to-date. This is not a
mere revision of some former book, but as a whole, its matter is
practically new. It is exactly what the title expresses. I am confident
that it clearly and reasonably presents the New Testament church,
spiritual and practical.
I humbly ask you to peruse its contents with
unprejudiced mind, and may the gracious Lord lead us all into the clear
light of his blessed and eternal truth.
Your servant and brother in Christ,
HERBERT MCCLELLAN RIGGLE
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Preface 
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The New Testament Church
CHAPTER 1
THE CHURCH IN PROPHECY
THE New Testament church is the visible product
of redemption, the crowning work of Christ, the world’s Savior. In 1st
Peter 1 :10-11, we read, “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired
and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come
unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ
which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the
sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” The Old
Testament prophecies are replete with predictions of the great redemptive
work of Christ, and portray in graphic language the beautiful church that
he would establish. Jesus said, “Abraham rejoiced to see my day” (John
8:56).
In the great covenant God made with Abraham, there
were two distinct sets of promises. First, a great nation, as numerous as
the stars of the sky in multitude; and to them was promised for an
inheritance, the literal land of Canaan. This was fulfilled under the Law
in the literal seed through Isaac, Israel after the flesh, one nation. To
them was given for a possession the literal land of Canaan.
But there was another set of promises that pointed
definitely to the coming of the Messiah at the end of the Jewish age. In
him “all nations,” “all the families of the earth,” were to be blessed.
The apostle tells us in his Galatian letter that the blessing of Abraham
should come on the Gentiles through Christ.. The inheritance to this
numerous seed, gathered out from all nations, both Jew and Gentile, is
spiritual, namely, full salvation from all sin. See Acts 3 :25-26; Luke 1
:72-75. The seed of the first set of promises was literal, and as before
stated, constituted Israel after the flesh. The seed in the second set of
promises is spiritual and is fulfilled under the gospel. These are a much
more numerous seed than the first, namely, all the redeemed in Christ
gathered out of every nation and kindred and tongue and people. This is
the New Testament church.
The Old Testament prophets, in foretelling the
beauties and glories of the New Testament church, used a number of striking
metaphors or symbols, such as a city— Jerusalem and Zion, and as a
mountain—the mountain of his holiness. Under this last figure is
presented the church’s stability, grandeur, and endurance. Turning to
Isaiah 2:2-3, we find the following prediction: “And it shall come to
pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be
established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the
hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and
say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house
of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk
in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the
Lord from Jerusalem.” This prophecy is fulfilled in the Christian
dispensation. The time of fulfillment is termed “the last days”; and in
Hebrews 1 :2 we are informed that the “gospel age,” ushered in by Christ,
is the last days.
The church here is presented under the figure of a
mountain and also the Lord’s house. This mountain “shall be established
in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills.” This
refers to the exalted position of Christianity. All other religions are
far beneath it. It is the only religion that saves man from sin. Christianity
mounts up above all else, and the Church of God above every other
institution.
Another beauty of this church is seen in the fact that
“all nations shall flow unto it.” This fact differentiates between the
old and new covenant churches. Under the legal dispensation the
privileges and blessings of God were largely confined to one nation, but
the new covenant church was to open her doors to every nation and the
saved of all the peoples of earth were to flow into it. Thank God, we
have the fulfillment of this today; for the gospel is now going forth to
all the nations of the earth, and such as are being saved are brought
from the dark valleys of sin to the mount of holiness, truth, and
salvation, and are flowing into the one church of the living God.
In Daniel 2:34-35 Christianity is presented under the
figure of a great mountain which “filled the whole earth.” Christianity
is the only universal religion, and the New Testament Church of God the
only catholic or universal church. Paul, in writing to the Hebrew brethren,
says, “Ye are come unto mount Zion” (Hebrews 12:22). Mark the fact that
in this we clearly see that in this dispensation of salvation and divine
grace we are not living in mere anticipation and expectation of enjoying
what the prophets foretold, expecting the same to be realized in some
future age, but we are now living in what is preeminently the
dispensation of fulfillment. This mount is the “mountain of God’s own
holiness.” The following clear prediction is now realized in the New Testament
era: “I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem:
and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the
Lord of hosts the holy mountain.” This is the beautiful Church of God.
King David, who also was a prophet, looked forward and
beheld the glory of the beautiful Church of God. “Great is the Lord, and
greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his
holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount
Zion.. . . the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a
refuge” (Psalms 48:1-3). This text may refer primarily to the literal
city, but since that was but a type or shadow of spiritual Zion, the New
Testament church, there is a beautiful application of this Scripture to
the people of God in this dispensation. As the saints gather on the
summit of Zion their shouts of praise and thanksgiving to God are heard,
and thus the gates of praise fly open, and God is glorified in the midst
of them, for here is the place where his blessings fall.
“And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make
unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of
fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined” (Isaiah 25
:6).
When those who have been famishing and starving on the
barren mountains of sin and down in the cold regions of dead, formal
churchianity get a clear vision of the one exclusive, divine Church of
God, and their privileges in the experience of perfected holiness, and
fully accept the same, they come to this mountain of holiness and truth
and find a feast of rich dainties, the very best that heaven can afford.
They experience the fact that the Lord “satisfieth the longing soul, and
filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”
Throughout all Christendom, particularly among
spiritually minded people, it is generally acknowledged that this happy
state has not always existed, and does not now generally exist among the
mass of professing Christians. In the morning glory of the church,
following Pentecost, God’s people abode in and enjoyed the blessings of
Mount Zion; and we are happy to say that in these last days the true
people of God are returning “to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon
their heads” (Isaiah 35:10). We are again privileged to enjoy the same
purity, oneness, and power enjoyed by the primitive church. This
prepares the church as a bride for the coming of the Lord, the
Bridegroom. The following prediction has a present glorious fulfillment.
“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain for
the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand” (Joel 2 :1). God’s
true ministers are now blowing the trumpet of eternal truth to all the
nations of the earth, and this trumpet assembles together all who are
willing to meet the requirements and conditions of the gospel. Thus the
bride of Christ is being made ready for the second advent.
We will now introduce another metaphor used by the
seers of old in describing the church of the new dispensation, that of a
city. “In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; we have
a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks” (Isaiah
26:1). The day here referred to is the gospel day. The strong city is the
New Testament church. Her walls and bulwarks are salvation. In ancient
days, a city’s protection was her walls, and in times of war the people
would gather inside these walls and feel secure. For example, the ancient
city of Babylon had a wall sixty miles in circumference, three hundred
and fifty feet in height, and eighty-seven feet thick. Ancient implements
of war differed widely from those of the present time, so these great
walls were the protection of nations and cities. The prophets drew their
descriptions from the times in which they lived.
In Isaiah 62:12 the church was prophesied of as
follows: “And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the
Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.” Again
in Isaiah 60:18 we read, “Violence shall no more be heard in thy land,
wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls
Salvation, and thy gates Praise.” Such a city the world had never seen.
This could not be strictly true of any literal city, and such language
can only apply to a spiritual city, a city constituted of saved men and
women, each individual a house in this city, for Paul says, “Ye are the
temple of the living God.” The gates of praise simply signify the songs
of triumph and the shouts of victory that emanate from the redeemed people
of God.
“Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy
beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there
shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.” Such
language cannot apply, and never did apply to a temporal city, but has a
spiritual application; and it is now fulfilled in the beautiful Church of
God. She is here seen clothed in “beautiful garments” which means
righteousness and holiness, and she is declared to be a “holy city.”
Under this figure, then, the purity of the church is presented. Christ is
her door, salvation the mode of entrance, and only such are members in
the true sense who have been born of God. Read Psalms 87:5.
Another striking prophecy is found in Isaiah 52 :8:
“Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they
sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again
Zion.” In Isaiah 1:26-27 we are told that “Zion shall be redeemed with
judgment, and her converts with righteousness.” As a result of this it is
said, “Afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the
faithful city.” Thank God, we have reached that time in the onward march
of years, and are living in the glorious fulfillment. In these last days
God is restoring judgment to his ministry and bringing Zion again to her
pristine unity and oneness, enjoying the experience of perfected
holiness. She is again occupying the same plane on which she stood in
the beginning. This fulfills Isaiah 4:3-4, “It shall come to pass, that
he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be
called holy, even every one that is written among the living in
Jerusalem: when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the
daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the
midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.”
Shallow plowing makes shallow Christians, while deep plowing will produce
genuine, well-grounded, and well-rooted Christians. The straight preaching
of the pure gospel is the only thing that will produce a clean, pure, and
separate church, distinct from sin and sinners.
Oh, thank God for the beautiful New Testament church
as portrayed by the pen of inspiration through the prophets of old. I am
sure they did not overdraw the picture. Those who have obtained an
experience of full salvation in a sound conversion and definite baptism
of the Holy Spirit in entire sanctification, and who have had a clear
revelation and vision of the beautiful, heavenly. divine Church of God
realize in actual experience all that the prophets foretold. Yes, not
only do God’s true saints enjoy these blessings, but “out of Zion shall
flow rivers of living waters,” and “out of Zion, the perfection of
beauty, God hath shined.’ The living waters, these crystal streams of
deliverance and salvation, flow out of the church to darkened hearts
around us.
The church is the medium of reflection. “But upon
Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness, and the
house of Jacob shall possess their possessions” (Obadiah 17). Thank God,
this city is filled with holiness, and this is what adorns the church.
“There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God.”
This is the river of salvation. Its streams are love joy, peace, light,
glory, and eternal life. Oh, the sweetness, the glory, and the grandeur
of the city of God, and what blessedness to dwell therein! The current
age is preeminently the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, the most
propitious age of grace and salvation that the world has ever seen or
ever will see. It is the last. There is nothing in the entire economy of
grace and redemption as pertains to the human soul but what is now
attainable through Jesus Christ our Lord, and all this is now reflected to
this dark world through the medium of the New Testament Church of God.
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CHAPTER 2
THE CHURCH IN TYPE AND SHADOW
BACK at the foundation of the world when man first
fell into sin, the infinite wisdom of God schemed the whole plan of human
redemption, and his infinite love provided it. The inception of the New
Testament church stands coeval in the divine mind with that of salvation.
Being the immediate result of redemption, it necessarily was inseparable
from it. Since, therefore, in the counsel and good purpose of God, Christ
was a “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8),
the church, redeemed through his blood, must have stood before the divine
mind parallel with the gift of his Son. All this is spoken of in the New
Testament as a “hidden mystery.” However, in the dispensation of the law
it cast a love-betokened shadow upon the earth. The good things
foreshadowed in that dispensation of types and figures included the New
Testament church. There must be a substance to produce the shadow. Listed
among the types that pointed forward to the Church of God in the
Christian era was Israel as a nation.
ISRAEL AS A NATION
As observed in the previous chapter, God made promise
to Abraham that a literal seed or nation should come out of his loins, as
numerous as the stars of heaven and the sand upon the seashore, and this
nation should possess the literal land of Canaan for an inheritance.
Through Isaac this promise was fulfilled. When Moses brought the children
of Israel to the borders of Canaan, he addressed them thus, “The Lord
your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars
of heaven for multitude” (Deuteronomy 1:10). In turning to Nehemiah 9
:23-25, we read, “Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of
heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst
promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. So the
children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them
the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their
hands, with their kings. and the people of the land, that they might do
with them as they would. And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and
possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and
oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were
filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.”
From these Scriptures we clearly see that the promise
God made to Abraham regarding the literal seed were actually fullfilled
in Israel after the flesh. Now to this nation God said, “If thou shalt
hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to
do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy
God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth” (Deuteronomy
28:1). And again, “Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy
nation” (Exodus 19:6). In a number of places we are told that it was
God’s design and purpose that this nation, Israel, was to be a clean,
holy people, separate and distinct from all the other nations of the
earth. In many respects this nation was a type of the New Testament
church.
1. It was a chosen generation, a separate and holy
nation unto the Lord. This is exactly what the New Testament church is.
In 1st Peter 2 :9-10 it is thus described, “But ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that
ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of
darkness into his marvelous 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.”
2. They were called out and separated from all other
nations as a distinct, exclusive people unto the Lord. This is true of
the New Testament Church of God. The injunction from the Almighty to the
church is, “Be ye separate.” She is a called-out, distinct, exclusive
church, separate from sin and sinners and from all human and false
religions of the earth. She is the divine ecclesia.
3. Natural birth constituted a person a member of
Israel. That is, a child born into an Israelite family was a citizen of
the Israelite nation. In the present dispensation the only way to become
a member of the New Testament church is to be born into her. “And of Zion
it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest
himself shall establish her. The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the
people, that this man was born there” (Psalms 87 :5-6). Just as truly as natural
birth constituted the people members of the Jewish church under the law,
spiritual birth, or regeneration, constitutes us members of the New
Testament church of God.
4. Literal Israel was called Moses’ house. In Hebrews
3 :2 it is said, “Moses was faithful in all his house.” In Acts 7 :38
Stephen refers to the Israelite nation under the leadership of Moses as
“the church in the wilderness.” Strictly speaking, this church was
organized by Moses. But to Moses God said, “A prophet shall the Lord your
God raise up unto you,” and, “Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever
he shall say unto you” (Acts 3 :22). This clearly refers to Christ, the
founder and builder of the New Testament church. “Christ as a son over
his own house; whose house are we” (Hebrews 3:6). This clearly shows the
typical and antitypical relation of Israel under the law and the
spiritual Israel under the gospel, the Old Testament and New Testament
churches. Another type clearly pointing to the church of the new covenant
is Zion, or Jerusalem.
ZION, OR JERUSALEM
While strictly speaking Zion was one of the mountains
upon which the city of Jerusalem was built, yet the terms Zion and
Jerusalem came into general usage as referring to the capital of the
Jewish nation, and are, therefore, used interchangeably in both the Old
and New Testaments. Under the old covenant this city was set apart as the
city of God, the holy city. In it the Lord placed his name and dwelt
there. Here he met with and blessed his people. Here they offered
sacrifices to him, and upon them he poured out his glory. When an
Israelite in a far-distant country prayed to Jehovah, he always turned
his face toward Jerusalem. This is why Daniel, when a captive in Babylon,
raised his window and prayed toward Jerusalem.
All this clearly pointed forward to the Church of God
in the Christian dispensation. She is now the city of the great King, the
holy city of this dispensation. In her be dwells. The church is now,
through the Holy Spirit, the dwelling place of God as he says: “I will
dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall
be my people.” So it is actually true as expressed in Hebrews 12:22-23,
that we are now “come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living
God, the heavenly Jerusalem to the general assembly and church of the
firstborn, which are written in heaven.” In the Galatian letter (4:26),
Paul denominates the Christian church: “Jerusalem which is above is free,
which is the mother of us all.” The church is the heavenly Jerusalem come
to earth, the dwelling place of God where he pours out his blessings
upon his people and where they offer “spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to
God by Jesus Christ” (1st Peter 2:5).
THE TABERNACLE IN THE
WILDERNESS
When God chose Israel for his peculiar people and
separated them unto himself, he desired to be with them. Thus it came to
pass that God ordered Moses to build him a sanctuary and sanctify it for
his dwelling place. “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying . . . And let
them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all
that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern
of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it” (Exodus
25:8-9). “The first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a
worldly sanctuary” (Hebrews 9:1). This tabernacle was the place of God’s
residence as king of Israel, and he filled it with his glory. “Then a
cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled
the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the
congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord
filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34-35). Here is where the Jews offered
their sacrifices and worshiped God. This building was constructed with
extraordinary magnificence and at a prodigious expense, so that it might
be in some measure suitable to the dignity of the great King of heaven,
for whose palace it was designed.
The value of the gold and silver alone used for this
work was immense, about $888,467.17. See Exodus 38:24-25. The building or
tent was about 55 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 18 feet high. As to its
construction, see Exodus 26:18-29; 36:23-24. This sacred tent was divided
into two apartments or rooms, by means of four pillars of shittim wood
overlaid with gold. These pillars stood in sockets of silver (Exodus 36
:36), and on the pillars was hung a veil (Exodus 26:31-36). There was
also an outer veil—the first veil, or door (Exodus 36:37-38). There were
no windows in this tent; hence, a lamp was kept burning continually.
There was also a court which surrounded the tent.
We read in Exodus 40:17 that this tabernacle was
reared up on the first day of the first month of the second year after
the Israelites left Egypt. When erected, it was anointed, together with
its furniture, with holy oil (Exodus 40:9-11) and sanctified with blood
(Hebrews 9 :21). When the King of heaven entered it, he dedicated it with
his glory.
We inquire, what is the antitype of this ancient
tabernacle? What has now taken the place of that sanctuary pitched by
Moses in the wilderness? The answer is found in Hebrews 9 :1: “Then
verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a
worldly sanctuary.” Continuing down to include verse 8 we have a brief
outline of that tabernacle and its furniture and services. Now in verse 9
we read, “Which was a figure for the time then present.” A figure of
what? In verse 11 is the answer: “But Christ being come an high priest of
good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made
with hands, that is to say, not of this building.” Continuing through
verses 12-14 the writer shows the superior blood and services in the new
and more perfect tabernacle carried on by our everlasting high priest,
Jesus Christ himself. A description continues through the entire chapter
and on through chapter 10 as well.
The literal tabernacle of the wilderness in which the
priests and high priests ministered was the house of God for that time.
But the writer in these chapters treats on the superior priesthood,
covenant, and tabernacle of this dispensation. The greater tabernacle of
the New Testament, in which Christ now officiates as high priest, is
declared in Hebrews 10:21 to be “the house of God.” We have then but to
ascertain what the house of God in this dispensation is, and the whole
question is settled. The answer is found in 1st Timothy 3:14-15 : “But if
I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself
in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar
and ground of the truth.” Thus the church of the living God is the
sanctuary of this dispensation.
As the tabernacle and temple shadow forth worlds of
precious truth respecting Christ, his great salvation, and glorious
church, let us enter these sacred places and gather the gold, rubies, and
pearls that were treasured up there for us. Let us go in and feast our
souls upon the rich things that were hidden from the eyes of the high
priest, who sprinkled the typical blood upon its holy altars and mercy
seat, and burned incense there unto the Almighty. They “could not
steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished.” They but dimly
saw the great antitype of all their sacrifices. A holy secret was hidden
within the beautiful curtains of the tabernacle, which has only been made
known to us who stand today in the presence of God, within the holiest of
his more perfect house. And now, since the veil of mystery is drawn aside
and we have “come to the innumerable company of angels” that once spread
their wings in symbolic cherubims on the veil of the temple and over the
priest’s head, let us go back and carefully view that ancient depository
of the entire gospel system. Yea, and such we will indeed find it.
I will give but a brief outline of that ancient
structure and what it foreshadowed. First, it contained two rooms, the
holy and the most holy place. Sometimes the inner or second room is
termed “the holiest of all.” This is also known as the most holy place.
There were two successive veils. The first separated between the court
and the holy place, and the second hung between the holy and holiest of
all. Before the first veil stood a brazen altar called the altar of burnt
offerings. Between this and the veil stood the laver. After offering
their sacrifice for sin, the priest and high priest, before entering
through the first veil, washed their hands and feet at the laver, and
then passed into the holy place of that ancient house of God. In this room
was found a table of shewbread (2nd Chronicles 2:4). Also the golden
candlestick (Hebrews 9 :2). Then just before the second veil stood a
golden altar. It was the altar of incense. The high priest, when he
offered his sacrifice on the brazen altar, took some of the blood in a
basin, and before entering the holy of holies poured a portion upon the
horns of the golden altar, and with this blood entered through the second
veil into the holy of holies. Here is where God dwelt, and the high
priest was conscious of being in the immediate presence of Jehovah. The
furniture of this second room consisted of the ark of the covenant,
inside of which was deposited the tables of the covenant. In the side of
the ark was deposited the golden pot of manna and Aaron’s rod that
budded. On the top of this ark was the mercy seat, and over it the
cherubims of glory.
These two rooms clearly typified two definite,
distinct works of divine grace wrought in the human heart and life in
this dispensation of full salvation and redemption. The holy place
pointed forward to the state of justification by faith, the glorious
experience of conversion, or regeneration. The holy of holies
foreshadowed the experience of entire sanctification in the baptism of
the Holy Ghost, the state of Christian perfection. Here we reach the
climax of full salvation as pertains to the redemption of the human soul.
This is the experience in which “he hath perfected forever them that are
sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us” (Hebrews 10
:14-15).
The court that surrounded that ancient structure into
which the children of Israel were admitted was a clear type of the
convicted state of the sinner. Here is the place of definite decision,
and it is here that a line of clear distinction is drawn between the
penitent seeker and the world of sin from which he turns away forever.
The brazen altar typified Christ our Savior, his cross, and the world’s
only hope for salvation. Just as the penitent Jew brought his sin
offering that was here sacrificed, so now the guilty sinner falls at the
foot of the cross pleading the merits of Jesus Christ, our everlasting
high priest, for mercy and forgiveness. Here is where every sin must be
confessed and forsaken forever. Here is the place to make restitution to
those whom we have wronged; the place to forgive those who have wronged
us, for Jesus said, “If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will
your Father forgive your trespasses.” Nothing but a deep, thorough
repentance will ever satisfy God and admit us into his house. After such
repentance with a broken and contrite spirit, the seeker passes through
the laver of regeneration, at which time and place he hath “washed us
from our sins in his own blood.” By faith we pass through the veil,
namely, Christ, into the holy place of the Church of God. Jesus said in
John 10:9: “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.”
This is the only mode or manner of induction into the true New Testament
church. All such who thus enter are saved. They are translated from
darkness into light, and are now called “the children of light.” This is
what was prefigured by the golden candlestick. Christ, their Savior and
Deliverer, is also found to be the living bread of life, which, if a man
eat, he shall live forever. The shewbread pointed forward to this
heavenly feast of rich and good things in the kingdom of grace.
But as we examine the furniture of this first room in
the Jewish tabernacle, we discover that there is no chair or seat of any
kind, no couch or place to stop and recline. The thought would be: Move
on; this is not your abiding place. Walk in the light. The command is:
“Go on unto perfection.” To these newborn babes who are now “in Christ,”
the Scriptures speak: “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.”
Having been soundly converted, these brethren constitute the holy place
of the New Testament church. To them Paul would say, “And now, brethren,
I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to
build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are
sanctified” (Acts 20:32).
In the eighth chapter of Acts we are informed that
Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ unto the people. Philip
was an evangelist. The result of that meeting was that “the people with
one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake” (vs. 6).
Unclean spirits and devils came out of people, and the sick were healed
(vs. 7). “They believed” and “were baptized, both men and women” (vs.
12). The result of all this is thus expressed, “And there was great joy
in that city” (vs. 8). The fact is Philip had an old-fashioned revival of
genuine religion in Samaria, and a goodly number of people were soundly
converted and received Christian baptism, and thus a congregation was raised
up for God. These were members of the New Testament church. They
constituted the holy place or first room of this spiritual structure.
After Philip closed his meeting he went south unto Gaza (vs. 26).
After a time the church at Jerusalem “heard that
Samaria had received the Word of God,” and “they sent unto them Peter and
John: who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might
receive the Holy Ghost: (for as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only
they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then laid they their
hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost” (vs. 14-17). Now observe
that under Peter and John they received the Holy Ghost, “being sanctified
by the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:16). This is the order without a single exception
throughout the New Testament since Pentecost, and is a striking parallel
to the two rooms, two veils, and two altars of the Jewish
tabernacle.
Now turn to Hebrews 10:19-20, “Having, therefore,
brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a
new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil,
that is to say, his flesh.” Thank God! Under the Old Testament none but
the high priest could enter the holiest of all in that literal sanctuary,
but now under the gospel, in the antitypical, beautiful New Testament
Church of God, “brethren” (mark you, not unregenerate sinners) but
BRETHREN, those already converted, can enter “THE HOLIEST” by the blood
of Jesus. A sinner is in darkness. When regenerated he is translated into
the light of God. Christ becomes his light. Now “if we walk in the light,
[that is we who are saved] as he is in the light, we have fellowship one
with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin” (1st John 1:7). Thus we enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
namely, our hearts are made pure.
We have now reached the place of security and
protection typified by the ark. Here the law of the Lord is indelibly
written upon the fleshly tables of our hearts, and as a result, like
Aaron’s rod that budded, we bear the much more abundant fruit of the
Spirit of God. We feast our souls, as a result of his superabundant grace
and overcoming infinite power, upon the heavenly manna typified by the
golden pot of manna. Upon the golden altar beneath the cherubim of glory,
our happy redeemed souls have found an eternal Sabbath of rest. Since
God in the typical sanctuary dwelt underneath the cherubim of glory, we
now “enter into HIS rest,” and abide in the place described by David in
the following language: “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under
his wings shalt thou trust.” Who enjoys this glory, this rich experience
of complete redemption in Christ? Answer, “He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High” and abides under the shadow of the
Almighty.”
Just as truly as that ancient tabernacle of the
wilderness had two rooms, the New Testament church, its anti-type, must
have two definite apartments in Christian experience and life. The altar
at the door of the tabernacle, as we have seen, pointed forward to the
sinner presenting himself for mercy and salvation. The golden altar
before the second veil clearly pointed to the believer’s offering and
complete consecration to God for entire sanctification. Thus the New
Testament church is composed of two classes of believers, the justified
and the sanctified.
THE TEMPLE OF GOD AT JERUSALEM
When the children of Israel were fully planted in the
promised land and God had fullfiled the covenant made to their fathers
and chosen Jerusalem for his habitation, David expressed a desire to
build a house to be the Lord’s sanctuary. While David himself was not
permitted to build this house, God promised him that his son should carry
out the project (2nd Samuel 7 :12-13). This was fullfilled in Solomon,
who built the first temple at Jerusalem. Much of the material for this
structure was taken out and prepared before David’s death, and the
pattern was given him from God (1st Chronicles 28 :19). The outline of
the inner, real house of God was similar to that of the original
tabernacle pitched by Moses. The utensils for the sacred service were
also the same as those used in the tabernacle, only several of them were
larger, in proportion to the more spacious edifice to which they
belonged. I would here suggest that the reader lay down this book and
carefully read 2nd Chronicles 3—5. There you will find the entire account
of the building of this temple by King Solomon. Then, in chapter 6 of the
same book we have an account of the dedication of this temple. At the
close of the ceremony, when “Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire
came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the
sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests
could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord
had filled the Lord’s house. And when all the children of Israel saw how
the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed
themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and
worshiped, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy
endureth forever. Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices
before the Lord” (2nd Chronicles 7:1-4).
When Moses, assisted by the priests and high priests,
dedicated the original tabernacle with blood, the glory of the Lord
filled the structure so that the priests could not minister, and God
sanctified it with his presence. You will note that the same thing
,occurred at the dedication of the Temple at Jerusalem. What a beautiful
parallel we have in the New Testament church. As recorded in Matthew
16:18, Jesus said to Peter, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” On the great Day of Pentecost
at Jerusalem, we have one hundred twenty assembled in an upper room,
having spent ten days in consecration, prayer, and praise to God, all
waiting for the promise of the Father. This was dedication day. Suddenly
the Holy Ghost was poured out in all his fullness, and the glory of the
Lord filled each heart, and from that moment until now the church is
“builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit,” and
“groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2 :20-22). In
praying for the sanctification of his disciples, Jesus, in addressing the
Father, said, “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that
they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17 :22). The same glory that
once filled the typical sanctuary now fills the church.
The Temple at Jerusalem was the house of God in that
dispensation. Now whatever takes the place of that ancient house and
temple, and is God’s house and temple in this dispensation, is the true
antitype of that ancient structure. This the word of truth points out to
us in Unmistakable language. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1st Corinthians 3 :16). “If
any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple
of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1st Corinthians 3:17). “What? know
ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,
which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1st Corinthians 6:19).
“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the
temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and
walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2nd
Corinthians 6:16). ‘Now therefore ye are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of
God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the
building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the
Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22). Here we have five positive declarations that
the temple of God is his church right here in this world. Nothing can be
plainer than this fact. The house of God in the Old Testament
dispensation was a literal building composed of literal temporal
material; but the New Testament house of God is composed of saved men and
women. “Ye are God’s building” (1st Corinthians 3:9). “Ye also, as lively
stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1st Peter 2:5).
“But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we” (Hebrews
3:6). This is “the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man”
(Hebrews 8:2). The shadow agrees with the substance in every detail. The
first was holy, so was the second. God was the designer of the first, so
is he of the second. The first was his dwelling place on earth, and
likewise the church now is the “habitation of God through the Spirit.”
The first was a place to offer daily sacrifices, and now the church, as a
spiritual house made up of a holy priesthood of saved people, offers up
continual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to God. God sent down the
fire from heaven upon the altars of the first sanctuary; he now baptizes
his church with the Holy Ghost and fire. Yes, God does dwell in his
church here on earth. And so we might wend our way back through all the
beautiful objects we have been looking upon, and then complete them as
shadow and substance in the ancient and present sanctuary of the
Almighty.
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CHAPTER 3
THE ADVENT OF THE CHURCH
IN THE year 606 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
marched his armies to Jerusalem, destroyed the city and house of God,
took the vessels of the Temple and the remaining Jews and carried them
away captive into Babylon. Among these captives was Daniel, who
especially was endued with wisdom from on high. It was during this time
that the king had a remarkable dream. In his dream he saw a great image.
Being an idolater, an image was an object that would at once command his
attention and respect. It troubled him, but the image went from him;
therefore he called all the magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers, but
none could reveal or interpret the dream. Finally God revealed the matter
to Daniel, who made known to the king his dream as follows:
“Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This
great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the
form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast
and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of
iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a
stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that
were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the
clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and
became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind
carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that
smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth”
(Daniel 2:31-35).
These five short verses open one of the most sublime
chapters of human history. It is so comprehensive that the period which
it covers, beginning more than twenty-five centuries ago, reaches from
that far-distant point, past the rise and fall of kingdoms, past epochs
and ages, over into the eternal state.
In Daniel’s interpretation of this dream as recorded
in chapter 2 (vs. 36-40), it will be seen that the image represented four
universal kingdoms that reigned one after another in ancient times. The
head of gold represented the Babylonian kingdom; the breast and arms of
silver, the Medo-Persian kingdom; the belly and thighs of brass, the
Grecian kingdom; and the legs of iron with the feet and toes part of iron
and part of clay represented the Roman kingdom, both in its united and
divided state. The two legs represent the Eastern and Western divisions
of the Roman empire, and the ten toes the ten divided kingdoms which grew
out of it. Here then we have four universal pagan monarchies that reigned
one after another in ancient times.
In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream a stone appeared “cut out
without hands” which smote this image upon its feet, broke it to pieces
and became a great mountain which “filled the whole earth.” This is
interpreted by Daniel (vs. 44) as follows: “And in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be
destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it
shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand
forever.” This language is so clear it would seem impossible to misunderstand
it. “In the days of these kings” —kingdoms. Only four kingdoms are seen
in the image. Only four are spoken of in the interpretation. Now, in
their days, or before they should pass off the field of action, the God
of heaven would set up his everlasting kingdom. In other words, while
they yet held dominion the stone would be cut out and would smash them to
pieces.
How wonderful the fulfillment! It was when Rome, the
fourth of the above kingdoms, had reached the summit of its glory and
power; when its domain was so large that it was denominated “all the
world” (Luke 2:1); when Augustus Caesar was an absolute sovereign, ruling
over three hundred millions of people—it was then that there was born in
the village of Bethlehem, Judea, a babe, who, though he was cradled in a
manger and his infant cries were no doubt mingled with the lowing of oxen
and the bleating of lambs, was destined to establish this everlasting
kingdom. Without fagot or sword, without war and bloodshed, with no
weapons but the gospel of Christ, the blood of the Lamb, and burning
testimony, this kingdom marched onward with conquering power, until the
heathen kingdoms of darkness were broken in pieces. The lion-hearted
rulers of nations handed over their scepters to the “Lion of the tribe of
Judah,” whose throne is forever and ever; and “a scepter of righteousness
is the scepter of his kingdom” (Hebrews 1 :8). In fulfillment of Daniel’s
prophecy, “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom
of God, and saying, The time is fullfilled and the kingdom of God is at
hand” (Mark 1:14-15). The dispensation of the glorious gospel of infinite
mercy and manifestation of eternal truth by Jesus Christ was now to be
fully opened to all mankind. This is called a kingdom because it has
laws, all the moral precepts of the gospel; subjects, all who believe in
Christ Jesus; and a king, the Sovereign of heaven and earth.
From the above Scripture we learn four things: First,
that everything that is done is according to a plan laid by divine
wisdom, and not performed till the time appointed. Second, that the
kingdom and the reign of sin were to be destroyed, and the kingdom of
grace and heaven be established in their place. “Where sin abounded,
grace did much more abound.” “Sin shall not have dominion over you: for
ye are . . . . under grace.” Third, that the kingdom of God and his reign
begins with repentance of past sins. Fourth, that this reign of grace is
at hand, and it began with Christ’s ministry when the time was announced
“fullfiled.” And now nothing but an obstinate perseverance in sin and
impenitence can keep a soul out of it. Now is the time to enter in.
Christ came to establish his church of which he is the
everlasting head and governor. He set up a government and kingdom which
is eternal. Revolutions may destroy the kingdoms of earth, but the gates
of hell and death shall never be able to destroy the kingdom, or church,
of Christ. His is the only dominion that shall never have an end. In the
language of Adam Clark, “The kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory
form the endless government of Christ.” This was the stone that smote the
image upon its feet and broke them in pieces. And, as portrayed in this
prophecy, pagan Rome finally was broken in pieces under the iron rod of
the gospel of Christ, and fell A.D. 476. That iron kingdom, which once
ruled the earth, crumbled to pieces under the fire of gospel truth and
holiness, and the Church of God triumphed. Christianity became the fifth
universal kingdom. Rome was the last of the earthly kingdoms that ever
swayed universal authority, or ever will. But Christ ‘s kingdom is
universal. The uttermost parts of the earth are his possession. In every
nation are to be found disciples of Christ. Kings and magistrates bow
before him and do him homage.
In Mark 1 :1 it is clearly stated that John’s ministry
was “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The
first announcement of John was “The kingdom of heaven is at hand”
(Matthew 3:2). Christ began his ministry by announcing that “the time is
fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand.” So the very time prophesied by
the seers of old and contained in Daniel’s interpretation of
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had now come. Not in a future so-called millennial
age, but in the very ushering in of the Christian dispensation, the
gospel age of salvation, both John and Christ definitely announced “the
time IS FULFILLED,” “the kingdom of God is AT HAND.” At the time of
Jesus’ birth the wise men from the East inquired, “Where is he that is
born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:1-2). Yes, Jesus was born a king. In
Luke 16:16 we are informed that “the law and the prophets were until
John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man
presseth into it.” The Christian era is preeminently the great day of
salvation (2nd Corinthians 6 :2). That which the Old Testament saints
enjoyed in type and shadow and prophesied of now reached its substance in
Christ, who ushered in the most propitious age of grace and glory the
world would ever see.
Since the beginning of time, one long age has
succeeded another until at last with “the voice of one crying in the
wilderness,” the morning light of a better day begins to break. Paul
denominates the gospel age “the dispensation of the fullness of times”
(Ephesians 1:10); that is, the dispensation when time is full. Time is a
measured portion of duration, and John informs us definitely that “it is
the last time . . . . we know that it [the present age] is the last time”
(1st John 2:18). The coming of Christ in this last and best dispensation
was a beautiful sunrise, and the prophets foresaw that at this time the
Gentiles would come to the brightness of his rising. In fulfillment of
all the Old Testament predictions, Christ came the Son of righteousness
and ushered in this last and best dispensation of light and salvation and
established his church. True holiness adorned her fair brow. Purity and
unity were her chief characteristics.
Before Pentecost, during the time of Christ’s personal
ministry, the new order of things was being established, the new dispensation
was being introduced, and the kingdom phase of the church was the
outstanding thing. Christ’s kingdom was present and his reign began. A
multitude of Scriptures prove this point. The material for the complete
organization and building of the church as a distinct New Testament
institution was taken out and prepared during the incarnation period. But
the new religion was confined largely to the Jews and was generally
looked upon as simply another Jewish institution, especially since Christ
claimed to be the Messiah and was regarded as the king of the Jews. As
before stated, during this time the kingdom phase of the church was
emphasized.
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CHAPTER 4
THE CHURCH ESTABLISHED AS A
DISTINCT NEW TESTAMENT
INSTITUTION
IN EPHESIANS 3:14-15 Paul speaks of “the whole family
in heaven and in earth.” This of course is the great universal church
that includes all the redeemed of ages, the saints from Adam down to the
end of time. The heavenly Jerusalem and the church in the new heaven and
new earth will include Israel, as well as the apostles of the Lamb
(Revelation 21 :12-14). In Hebrews 12:23 the apostle speaks of “the
general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in
heaven,” including the “spirits of just men made perfect.” Of course all
the saved in heaven and earth are here comprehended.
As recorded in Matthew 16:18, when Jesus told his
disciples that “upon this rock I will build my church,” he referred to a
new institution, a distinct Christian organization entirely separate from
the Jewish church that Moses organized in the wilderness. At the very
time that Jesus made this declaration and announcement he had many
followers, but the real building of his New Testament church on earth was
a future event. This ecclesia, as revealed in the Acts and the Epistles,
from the Day of Pentecost on, is a visible, organic body, institutional
in its nature.
From Pentecost on the church specifically and
definitely meant something more than merely God’s family in all the
earth. God has always had a family, both under the old and new covenants,
and if this is all that is meant by the church, then under the new covenant
it only means an extension or enlargement of the same family to include
the Gentile nations. Some religious bodies so define the New Testament
church. But mark well the fact that near the close of Christ’s earthly
ministry he made this ringing declaration, “Upon this rock I WiLL BUILD
my church.” Here Jesus announced something new, something future of the
time in which he was speaking, a church he was going to build. Of course
we understand that Pentecost was the date when the announcement of Jesus began
to be fullfiled, and from that time on the church of the New Testament
was an organized, visible, and distinct Christian community. While in
Jerusalem its membership was largely composed of Jews, yet the new
institution then and there established was no longer strictly Jewish, and
no longer were Moses and the law emphasized, but from this time on the
disciples of Christ continued in “THE APOSTLES’ doctrine and fellowship.”
This introduced the church as an organized, visible body, distinct from
Judaism and all other religions, a purely Christian church—so much so
that at a very early date the members of the church of God came to be
known everywhere under the term “Christians,” which meant disciples of
Christ.
Here we have introduced to us a distinct phase of the
church. It is now and from henceforth a real organized body in visible
form, an institution destined to carry the message of saving truth to all
the world. From the Day of Pentecost certain boundary lines were drawn in
the teaching and practice of the apostles that clearly distinguished the
Christians as a visible community apart from the Jewish sects, and
Gentile religions as well. They were known in the earth as a well-defined
body of people. Let us get a definite truth clearly defined. Before his
death Jesus declared he would build his church. This event was future.
But on the Day of Pentecost we have one hundred and twenty baptized with
the Holy Ghost, and as a result of Peter’s sermon delivered on that
occasion, “they that gladly received his words were baptized: and the
same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts
2:41). And from that day on “the Lord added TO THE CHURCH daily such as
should be saved.” (vs. 47) There is only one reasonable conclusion, and
that is that the fulfillment of Christ’s positive announcement began on
the Day of Pentecost. it is true that the church is a growing
institution, for we read in Ephesians 2 that this New Testament church
“groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded
together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (vs. 20-22). So the
building of the church continues throughout the entire Christian
dispensation, and will not be fully completed until the last convert of
the cross, before Christ’s second return, is builded therein.
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