The Church
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The
church is the fulfillment of that which the historical people of Israel
served to foreshadow. God chose a people from out of the world to
Himself and to this chosen people He bound Himself by making the
covenants and the promises. The church - the “called out
ones” - consists only of those who have been justified by
faith. It alone is rightfully designated the body of Christ, a chosen
race, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, and a people for God's own
possession. It shall flourish despite persecution and strife unto the
end of the age.
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The local church is
to be self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating. It is ultimately
under the authority of Christ alone. Its purpose is to glorify God and
enjoy Him forever through the pure preaching of the Word, the proper
administration of the gospel ordinances, and the diligent exercise of
church discipline. It has been commissioned by Christ to proclaim the
Gospel to all men, being assured that God will not cast out any who
come to Him in true faith and repentance. A local church is a visible
manifestation of the body of Christ in a given geographical location.
Thus a local church is to be composed only of those who have professed
faith in Christ and who live lives in accordance with that profession.
It is consistent with the communion of the saints, to recognize and
fellowship with all members of Christ's body. Christ has given power to
His Church to receive in, and cast out, any member that deserves it;
and this power is given to every congregation, and not to one
particular person, either member or officer, but in relation to the
whole body, in reference to their faith and fellowship.
Every member of each church is subject to the discipline of the church,
and the church ought not, without great tenderness and care, and due
advice, but by the rule of faith, to proceed against her members.
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True worship is to be given to
God (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and to Him alone. Since the fall
of man into sin, worship cannot be offered to God without the mediation
of Jesus Christ, our great High Priest. Whereas in the old covenant era
there was a place of worship (i.e. the tabernacle and later the
temple), true worship in the New Covenant era is not confined to any
particular location or building. Believers are now the temple of the
Holy Spirit and they are to worship God in spirit and in truth all the
time.
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Though there are many gifts in
the body of Christ, there is only one Spirit who bestows them all and
that they are therefore to be used for the building up of the church
and not for personal gratification. The church, having been built upon
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, is no longer dependent
upon the miraculous and revelatory gifts which were present at its
inception. Though God is capable of intervening today with a miraculous
event, the miraculous gifts, as gifts, have passed away, their
significance having now ceased. With the completion of the New
Testament canon, revelatory gifts have also ceased; and that, of these,
tongues (known languages foreign to their speaker) signaled the
fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies foretelling the divine judgment
against Israel in the transition from the Old era to the New.
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Baptism and the Lord's Supper are
gospel ordinances properly belonging to believers alone. They are
external signs of internal, spiritual, and historical realities.
Baptism signifies the recipient's identification with Christ and
cleansing from sin but it neither guarantees nor accomplishes such
cleansing. The Lord's supper is a memorial wherein the death of Christ
for His people, instituting the New Covenant, is proclaimed visually as
a comfort to the saints until His return in glory.
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