What! No Church?

"The heavenly Jerusalem" supports my view.

The context is Jerusalem and the congregation there

This is not a judgment call. This is a statement of fact based on clear evidence. Is it possible that come Catholics are saved, despite the teachings of their church? Yes, of course. These saved Catholics however, embrace many of the RCC's doctrines, which are heretical.

Same for Episcopalians, Lutherans, the thousands of versions of Pentecostals, Methodists, etc. God has saved some of them. Yet they persist in error, which includes baptismal regeneration, other variations of works salvation. They are far from the truth. They are divided, fractured, broken from those who hold the truth.

It is evident that they are not unified in doctrine or practice.

Local congregations, on the other hand, are generally united in doctrine and practice. Not perfectly, of course, but one day we will all be at the Great General Assembly in heaven.

And the great chorus will shout, "yep, you Baptists were right all along."

 

Tom

You are entitled to your opinion. I just believe that Scripture supports my view.

One day all the redeemed will be the Chaste Bride of Jesus Christ in the New Heavens and New Earth.

Revelation 21:1, 2, 9, 10
1. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

9. And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
10. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

 

Why are you hung up on personal pronouns? Why would he have to use such personal pronouns. I am a missionary and as such write to many churches.

Dear Pastor,
Thank you for the opportunity....
Please thank the members of......Baptist Church for.....
No need to use personal pronouns. Why should I? Why should Paul?

 

In the passage Hebrews 12:18-24 the Apostle Paul is contrasting events at In the passage Hebrews 12:18-24 the Apostle Paul is contrasting events at Mount Sinai [an earthly event in which the law was given and the people could not approach the Mount] which represents the Old Covenant with the New Covenant instituted by the death of Jesus Christ and manifested in the Church. The Church as the total body of the redeemed is described as follows:

Hebrews 12:22-24
22. But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23. To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24. And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

John Gill, the greatest of Baptist commentators writes of the above passage from Hebrews as follows:

Verse 22. But ye are come unto Mount Sion, &c.] The Alexandrian copy reads, as in Heb 12:18 "for ye are not come"; which may seem to favour that interpretation of this passage, which refers it to the heavenly state; to which saints, in this present life, are not, as yet, come: but, by "Mount Sion", and the other names here given, is meant the church of God, under the Gospel dispensation, to which the believing Hebrews were come; in distinction from the legal dispensation, signified by Mount Sinai, from which they were delivered: and this is called Mount Sion, because, like that, it is beloved of God; chosen by him; and is the place of his habitation; here his worship is, and his word and ordinances are administered; here he communes with his people, and distributes his blessings and this, as Mount Sion, is a perfection of beauty the joy of the whole earth; is strongly fortified by divine power, and is immovable; and is comparable to that mountain, for its height and holiness: and to come to Sion is to become a member of a Gospel church, and partake of the ordinances, enjoy the privileges, and perform the duties belonging to it:

and unto the city of the living God; the Gospel church is a city, built on Christ, the foundation; and is full of habitants, true believers, at least it will be, in the latter day; it is pleasantly situated by the river of God's love, and by the still waters of Gospel ordinances; it is governed by wholesome laws, of Christ's enacting, and is under proper officers, of his appointing; and is well guarded by watchmen, which he has set upon the walls of it; and it is endowed with many privileges, as access to God, freedom from the arrests of justice, and from condemnation, adoption, and a right to the heavenly inheritance: and this may be called "the city of God", because it is of his building, and here he dwells, and protects, and defends it; and who is styled "the living God", to distinguish him from the idols of the Gentiles, which are lifeless and inanimate, no other than sticks and stones.

The heavenly Jerusalem: the church of God goes by the name of Jerusalem often, both in the Old and in the New Testament; with which it agrees in its name, which signifies the vision of peace, or they shall see peace: Christ, the King of it, is the Prince of peace; the members of it are sons of peace, who enjoy a spiritual peace now, and an everlasting one hereafter: like that, it is compact together, consisting of saints, cemented together in love, in the order and fellowship of the Gospel; and is well fortified, God himself, and his power, being all around it, and having salvation, for walls and bulwarks, and being encamped about by angels; and it is a free city, being made so by Christ, and, through him, enjoying the liberty of grace now, and having a title to the liberty of glory in the world to come; as Jerusalem was, it is the object of God's choice, the palace of the great King, and the place of divine worship: it is called "heavenly", to distinguish it from the earthly Jerusalem; and to express the excellency of it, as well as to point out its original: the members of it are from heaven, being born from above; their conversation is now in heaven; and they are designed for that place; and its doctrines and ordinances are all from thence.

And to an innumerable company of angels; which are created spirits, immaterial and immortal; very knowing, and very powerful; and swift to do the will of God; they are holy, and immutably so, being the elect of God, and confirmed by Christ: and saints now are brought into a state of friendship with them; and into the same family; and are social worshippers with them; and they have access into heaven, where angels are; and with whom they shall dwell for ever: and, in the present state of things, they share the benefit and advantages of their kind offices; who have, sometimes, provided food for their bodies; healed their diseases; directed and preserved them on journeys; prevented outward calamities; delivered them out of them, when in danger; restrained things hurtful, and cut off their enemies: and, with regard to things spiritual they have, sometimes, made known the mind and will of God unto the saints; have comforted them under their distresses; helped them against Satan's temptations; are present at their death, and carry their souls to glory; and will gather the saints together, at the last day: and, as to the number of them, they are innumerable; they are the armies of heaven; and there is a multitude of the heavenly host; there are more than twelve legions of angels; their number is ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands: and this makes both for the glory and majesty of God, whose attendants they are; and for the comfort and safety of saints, to whom they minister, and about whom they encamp: a like phrase is used in the Apocrypha:

``Before the fair flowers were seen, or ever the moveable
powers were established, before the innumerable multitude
of angels were gathered together,'' (2 Esdras 6:3)

Verse 23. To the general assembly, &c.] A "panegyris", the word here used, was a public and solemn assembly of the Greeks, either at their games, or feasts, or fairs, or on religious accounts; and signifies a large collection and convention of men; and sometimes the place where they met togethers {i}; and is here used, by the apostle, for the church of God, consisting of all his elect, both Jews and Gentiles, and the meeting of them together: they met together, in the infinite mind of God, from all eternity; and in Christ, their head and representative, both then and in time; and at the last day, when they are all gathered in, they will meet together personally; and a joyful meeting it will be; and a very general one, more so than the assembly of the Jews, at any of their solemn feasts, to which the apostle may have some respect; since this will consist of some of all nations, that have lived in all places, and in all ages of time:

and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven; by the "church", is not meant any particular, or congregational church, nor any national one; but the church catholic, or universal, which consists only of God's elect, and of all of them, in all times and places; and reaches even to the saints in heaven: this church is invisible at present, and will never fail; of which Christ is the head, and for which he has given himself: now the persons, that belong to this church, are styled the "firstborn"; who are not the apostles only, who received the first fruits of the Spirit; nor the first converts among the Jews, who first trusted in Christ; but also the chosen of God, who are equally the sons of God, and born of him; are equally loved by him, and equally united to Christ, and interested in him: they have the same privileges, honours, and dignity, and shall enjoy the same inheritance; they are all firstborn, and are so called, with respect to the angels, the sons of God, as Christ is with respect to the saints, the many brethren of his: and these are said to be "written in heaven"; not in the earth, Jer 17:13, such writing abides not; nor in the book of the Scriptures, for the names of all are not written there; nor in the general book of God's decrees, which relate to all mankind; but in the Lamb's book of life, kept in heaven; and is no other than their election of God: and this way of speaking, concerning it, shows it to be personal and particular; that it is firm, sure, and constant; that it is out of the reach of men and devils to erase it; it denotes the exact knowledge God has of them, and expresses their right to heaven, and the certainty of their coming there: now all such, who are truly come to Sion, are openly come to this assembly and church, and appear to be a part thereof, and are among the firstborn, and have their names written in heaven:

Continued in the following post.

 

In the passage Hebrews 12:18-24 the Apostle Paul is contrasting events at In the passage Hebrews 12:18-24 the Apostle Paul is contrasting events at Mount Sinai [an earthly event in which the law was given and the people could not approach the Mount] which represents the Old Covenant with the New Covenant instituted by the death of Jesus Christ and manifested in the Church. The Church as the total body of the redeemed is described as follows:

Hebrews 12:22-24
22. But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23. To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24. And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

John Gill, the greatest of Baptist commentators writes of the above passage from Hebrews as follows:

and to God the Judge of all: the Ethiopic version reads, "the Judge of righteousness", or the righteous Judge: some think that Christ is here meant; who is truly and properly God, and is the Judge: all judgment is committed to him; he is Judge of all; he is ordained Judge of quick and dead; for which he would not have been fit, had he not been God: true believers come to him by faith, and that, as their Judge, King, and Governor; and it is their privilege, that Christ is and will be the Judge of all at the last day and hence is his coming to judgment desirable to them. But since Christ is spoken of in the next verse, as a distinct person, to whom the saints come, God the Father seems rather to be designed here: and it is one of the privileges of the saints, in the present life, that they have access to God: all men are at a distance from him, in a state of nature; and they naturally run further and further from him, and have no desire after him; and, when they are made sensible of sin, they are afraid and ashamed to come to him; nor is there any coming to God, but through Christ; and this is a fruit of God's everlasting love, what follows upon electing grace, is an effect of Christ's death, and owing to the quickening grace of the Spirit; it is performed in a spiritual way, and is by faith; it is a coming to the throne of God, even to his seat, to communion with him, and to a participation of his grace: and it is their privilege that they have access to him as the Judge of all; not only as a Father, and as the God of all grace, but as a Judge, and a righteous one, to whom they can come without terror; for though he is just, yet he is a Saviour, and the justifier of his people, on account of the righteousness of his Son; whose sins he pardons in a way of justice, through the blood of Christ; and is their patron, protector, and defender, who will right their wrongs, and avenge their cause:

and to the spirits of just men made perfect; which may be understood of the saints on earth, who are "just men"; not naturally, for so no man is, but the reverse; nor in opinion only, or merely externally, as the Scribes and Pharisees were; nor by the deeds of the law; nor by obedience to the Gospel; nor by faith, either as wrought in them, or done by them, though by the object of it; nor by an infusion of righteousness into them; but by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ unto them: and these are "made perfect"; not as to sanctification, unless in Christ, or in a comparative sense, and with respect to the parts of the new man, but not as to degrees; for no man is without sin, and the best stand in need of fresh supplies of grace; but as to justification, Christ has perfectly fulfilled the law for them, and has perfectly expiated their sins, and perfectly redeemed them from all sin, and has procured a full pardon of them; and they are completely righteous through his righteousness; and the "spirits", or souls of these are only mentioned, because the communion of saints in a Gospel church state lies chiefly in the souls and spirits of each other, or in spiritual things relating to their souls; and their souls are greatly affected, and knit to each other: though the saints in heaven may be here intended, at least included; whose spirits or soul's are separate from their bodies; and they are the souls of just men, for none but such enter into the kingdom of heaven; where they are made perfect in knowledge and holiness, in peace and joy; though they have not their bodies, nor as yet all the saints with them. Now, believers, in the present state of things, may be said to be come to them, being come to the Church below, which is a part of that above; as also in hope, expectation, and desire. The apostle seems to have respect to some distinctions among the Jews: they divide mankind into three sorts; some are perfectly wicked; and some are perfectly righteous; and there are others that are between both {k}: they often speak of Myrwmg Myqydu, "just men perfect" {l}; and distinguish between a just man perfect, and a just man that is not perfect {m}; as they do also between penitents and just men perfect; see Gill on "Lu 15:7".


Verse 24. And to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, &c.] Of the new covenant, and, of Christ's being the Mediator of it, See Gill on "Heb 8:6". See Gill on "Heb 8:8". Coming to Christ is by faith; and is different from a corporeal coming to him in the days of his flesh; and from an outward attendance on ordinances; it is a coming to him under a sense of want, and upon a sight of fulness; and is the produce of God's efficacious grace; and souls must come to Christ as naked sinners; and without a Mediator, without anything of their own to ingratiate them; and it is free to all sensible sinners to come to him, and is the great privilege of saints: it is the blessing of blessings; such are safe, and settled, and at peace, who are come to Jesus; they can want no good thing, for all are theirs; they have free access to God through him, and a right to all privileges:

and to the blood of sprinkling: that is, the blood of Christ; so called, either in allusion to the blood of the passover, which was received in a basin, and with a bunch of hyssop was sprinkled upon the lintel and two side posts of the doors of the houses, in which the Israelites were; which being looked upon by Jehovah, he passed over them, and all were safe within, so that the destroyer did not touch them, when the firstborn in Egypt were destroyed, Ex 12:1-49 which is the case of all such as are sprinkled with the blood of Jesus: or else to the blood of the covenant, sprinkled by Moses on the book, and on all the people, Ex 24:8 or to the several sprinklings of blood in the legal sacrifices: and the phrase may denote the application of Christ's blood to his people, for justification, pardon, and cleansing, which is their great mercy and privilege:

that speaketh better things than that of Abel; either "than Abel", as the Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions render it, who being dead, yet speaks; and who was a type of Christ in his death, and the punishment of it; for as he was slain by his own brother, who was punished for it, so Christ was put to death by his own nation and people, the Jews, for which wrath is come upon them to the uttermost: but the efficacy of Christ's blood for the procuring pardon, peace, reconciliation, and the redemption and purchase of his church and people, shows him to be greater than Abel; and it speaks better things than he did, or does: or else, "than the blood of Abel", as the Arabic version renders it; Abel's blood cried for vengeance; Christ's blood cries for peace and pardon, both in the court of heaven, where it is pleaded by Christ, and in the court of conscience, where it is sprinkled by his spirit: or than the sprinkling of the blood of Abel's sacrifice, or than Abel's sacrifice; which was the first blood that was sprinkled in that way, and the first sacrifice mentioned that was offered up by faith, and was typical of Christ's; but then Christ's sacrifice itself is better than that; and the sprinkling of his blood, to which believers may continually apply for their justification, remission, and purgation, and by which they have entrance into the holiest of all, is of greater efficacy than the sprinkling of blood in Abel's sacrifice; and calls for and procures better things than that did; which sense may the rather be chosen, since the apostle's view, in this epistle, is to show the superior excellency of Christ's sacrifice to all others, even to the more excellent of them, as Abel's was, Heb 11:4.

 

Coming out of BB retirement for this one post:

The Church is an assembly, but not just a common assembly. And it's not accurate to define ekklesia as "an assembly" without including the fact that it is a "called out assembly".

The Church assembles in local assemblies on earth, and is also being assembled in heaven. Some day it will be altogether assembled in heaven.

The visible church is that body made up of both those that actually posses the new birth and those that only profess the new birth.

The invisible church is that body of the elect whom God is gathering from the four corners of the earth. They are God's people - those that actually have the Spirit and will inherit the blessings.

While there are good reasons to use "assembly" instead of "church" in certain places in the translation, there are also good reasons to use "church" instead of "assembly" in certain places, such as Acts 19 where the greek "ekklesia" is better translated "assembly" as that riotious bunch certainly was not a "church".

Hebrews 12:23 is an ideal place for a word-study on paneguris (πανήγυρις) and ekklesia, both of which could have been technically rendered "assembly" (the modifier "general" is added to the root in the translation), but would not have made much sense.

The bottom line on Heb 12:23 is that there is no way you can get the local assembly out of that passage unless you add it in. We are not come to Mount Sinai, but to Mount Sion; not to Moses, but to Jesus; not to old covenant Israel, but to the new covenant, "The Church of the Firstborn".

 

Thank you very much.

You should stay out of retirement for a while and hang around a little!

 

I agree with your statement "One day...." The New Jerusalem, a new heaven and a new earth--all future.

 

I've been reading your posts - you're doing fine without me! But I do look forward to some day getting back to BB on a regular basis. Maybe when I retire from my job (about 3 years). !!!

 

Correction to my previous post: Upon further review, I think the modifier "general" HAS to be added to "assembly" in translating the greek word "paneguris", so it would not be technically correct to translate it just as "assembly".

Anyway, my conclusion stands - the passage would not make clear sense if translated "the general assembly and assembly of the firstborn", so "church" works better there IMO.

 

Excellent post, particularly your remarks that the Church is a called out assembly.

 

Thank you well said. :thumbs:

I just smile when I read of some that take an either one or the other approach to the use of the word ekkelsia. just like the church of the firstborn, when Jesus said I will build my church and that the church is purchased by the Blood of Jesus, there is no mistaking the intended meaning of the use of the word.

Matt 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my LOCAL churchES; and the LOCAL gates of hell shall not prevail against THEM (it). :smilewinkgrin:

Darren

 

:thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:

 

I think we have covered all the ground which can be covered this side of heaven.

Thanks to all for a stimulating debate. I learned.
I'm glad the conversations were peaceful for the most part.
I'm also glad that there can be what the world calls "diversity" (of opinion) and yet the participants remain in the bond of the unity in Christ.


HankD

 

Dittos Hank........:thumbs::thumbs::thumbs: I LOVE peaceful reasoning/sharing in the Word; in fact it's the reason I'm here!! (even though I, like anyone else, can be overly passionate about my 'pearls')

 

:).......:thumbs: Brother!

 

Remember that throughout the scriptures the singular is used abstractly, or institutionally.

For example:I Cor. 11:3: "The head of every man is Christ."

The Christ of the Bible can as easily be the head of every (true) church as He can be the head of every man, and so He is. ​

 

Agreed, also sticking "local" in there doesn't help the case either.

Darren