← Back to sermon library

Heavenly Father, we rejoice in 
this new day. We rejoice in this Lord's Day. 
We thank you that you've woken us up on a beautiful day to behold 
your creation on you our great God, on the 
Christ of our salvation, and on amazing grace. And we do just 
pray in this hour prior to worship that you would help us as we 
engage in exercise of learning for your glory, that we would 
hallow your name, that our hearts would be attentive. to your word 
and we pray for that measure of your spirit in the context 
of teaching that our hearts and minds would be lifted up to a 
knowledge of our God and a knowledge of the truth that you would have 
for your people and we pray in Christ's name, amen. If you have 
a confession, you can turn to chapter 26. If you don't have 
a confession, you can't turn there. So if you need a confession, 
just raise your hand and the blue basket of joy will find 
its way to you. There we go. This morning, we're on chapter 
26. That is the doctrine of the church. We have been working 
through a section that is connected to the doctrine of Christian 
liberty. While this doctrine of the church 
isn't exclusively connected to the doctrine of Christian liberty, 
it is intimately connected to that, and we'll make a occasional 
note as we move through it. But of course, a very important 
chapter, largely speaking, beyond the bounds of the doctrine of 
Christian liberty, as it really does connect to the entirety 
of the confession, the church, is the church relative to chapter 
one of the holy scriptures that is born of the scriptures and 
the spirit. The church relative to chapter 
two, the doctrine of God, is the church of the living God. 
It is the church that worships that God of chapter two. As we 
consider the chapters three, four, and five, the doctrine 
of the decree, and how that decree is born out in creation and providence, 
should come to a realization that the decree, creation and 
providence, is unto the end that the church would be born by the 
perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Spirit. 
That there would be worshipers of the living and true God who 
give him glory by virtue of a great redemptive act wrought by the 
Son of God. And as we work through, of course, 
the following chapters, the doctrine of Christ as he is the foundation 
of the doctrine of salvation, we see that those chapters from 
effectual calling in chapter 10 all the way through to the 
doctrine of assurance in chapter 18, those, of course, speak to 
those who constitute the church of Christ, those who are born 
again by effectual grace are those who constitute the Church. 
Those who are justified, sanctified, are given faith and repentance, 
and in all of these things, those are they who constitute the Church 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. So it's a very important chapter. It's the longest chapter in the 
Confession of Faith. So I'll read all 15 paragraphs, 
and we won't look at all 15. We'll look at some of them as 
we consider an overview of the doctrine this morning. So chapter 
26, beginning in paragraph 1. The Catholic or universal Church, 
which, with respect to the internal work of the Spirit and truth 
of grace, may be called invisible, consists of the whole number 
of the elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered into 
one, under Christ the head thereof, and is the spouse, the body, 
the fullness of him that filleth all in all. All persons throughout 
the world professing the faith of the gospel and obedience unto 
God by Christ according unto it, not destroying their own 
profession by any errors averting the foundation or unholiness 
of conversation, are and may be called visible saints. and 
of such ought all particular congregations to be constituted. 
The purest churches under heaven are subject to mixture and error, 
and some have so degenerated as to become no churches of Christ, 
but synagogues of Satan. Nevertheless, Christ always hath 
had and ever shall have a kingdom in this world, to the end thereof 
of such as believe in him and make profession of his name. 
The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the church, in whom, 
by the appointment of the Father, all power for the calling, institution, 
order, or government of the church is invested in a supreme and 
sovereign manner. Neither can the Pope of Rome 
in any sense be head thereof. Just pause for a moment. But is that Antichrist, that 
man of sin and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the 
church against Christ, and all that is called God, whom the 
Lord shall destroy with the brightness of his coming? In the execution 
of this power wherewith he is so entrusted, the Lord Jesus 
calleth out of the world unto himself, through the ministry 
of his word by his Spirit, those that are given unto him by his 
Father. that they may walk before him 
in all the ways of obedience, which he prescribeth to them 
in his word. Those thus called, he commandeth 
to walk together, in particular societies or churches, for their 
mutual edification and the due performance of that public worship 
which he requireth of them in the world. The members of these 
churches are saints by calling, visibly manifesting and evidencing, 
in and by their profession and walking, their obedience unto 
that call of Christ. and do willingly consent to walk 
together according to the appointment of Christ, giving up themselves 
to the Lord and one to another by the will of God in professed 
subjection to the ordinances of the gospel. To each of these 
churches thus gathered, according to his mind declared in his word, 
he hath given all that power and authority which is in any 
way needful for their carrying on that order in worship and 
discipline, which he hath instituted for them to observe, with commands 
and rules for the do and right exerting and executing of that 
power. A particular church, gathered 
and completely organized according to the mind of Christ, consists 
of officers and members, and the officers appointed by Christ 
to be chosen and set apart by the church, so called and gathered, 
for the peculiar administration of ordinances and execution of 
power or duty which he instructs them with or calls them to, to 
be continued to the end of the world, are bishops or elders 
and deacons. The way appointed by Christ for 
the calling of any person fitted and gifted by the Holy Spirit 
unto the office of bishop or elder in a church is that he 
be chosen thereunto by the common suffrage of the church itself. 
That means voting. And solemnly set apart by fasting 
and prayer with imposition of hands of the eldership of the 
church, if there be any before constituted therein. and of a 
deacon, that he be chosen by the like suffrage, and set apart 
by prayer, and the like in position of hands. The work of pastors 
being constantly to attend the service of Christ in his churches, 
in the ministry of the word and prayer, with watching for their 
souls as they that must give an account to him, it is incumbent 
on the churches to whom they minister not only to give them 
all due respect, but also to communicate to them of their 
good things according to their ability, so as they may have 
a comfortable supply without being themselves entangled in 
secular affairs, and may also be capable of exercising hospitality 
towards others. And this is required by the law 
of nature and by the express order of our Lord Jesus, who 
hath ordained that they that preach the gospel should live 
of the gospel. Although it be incumbent on the 
bishops or pastors of the churches to be instant in preaching the 
word by way of office, yet the work of preaching the word is 
not so peculiarly confined to them, but that others also gifted 
and fitted by the Holy Spirit for it, and approved and called 
by the church, may and ought to perform it. as all believers 
are bound to join themselves to particular churches when and 
where they have opportunity so to do, so all that are admitted 
unto the privileges of a church are also under the censures and 
government thereof according to the rule of Christ. No church 
members, upon any offense taken by them, having performed their 
duty required of them towards the person they are offended 
at, ought to disturb any church order, or absent themselves from 
the assemblies of the church, or administration of any ordinances, 
upon the account of such offense at any of their fellow members, 
but to wait upon Christ in the further proceeding of the church. 
As each church and all the members of it are bound to pray continually 
for the good and prosperity of all the churches of Christ in 
all places, and upon all occasions to further it, everyone, within 
the bounds of their places and callings and the exercise of 
their gifts and graces, so the churches, when planted by the 
providence of God, so as they may enjoy opportunity and advantage 
for it, ought to hold communion among themselves for their peace, 
increase of love, and mutual edification. In cases of difficulties 
or differences, either in point of doctrine or administration, 
wherein either the churches in general are concerned, or any 
one church, in their peace, union, and edification, or any member 
or members of any church are injured in or by any proceedings 
in censures not agreeable to truth and order, it is according 
to the mind of Christ that many churches holding communion together 
do, by their messengers, meet to consider and give their advice 
in or about that matter and difference, to be reported to all the churches 
concerned. How be it these messengers assembled 
are not entrusted with any church power properly so called, or 
with any jurisdiction over the churches themselves, to exercise 
any censures either over any churches or persons, or to impose 
their determination on the churches or officers. So it's a long chapter, 
but a very good chapter, and we ought to appreciate the depth 
to which our forebears went to ensure a proper articulation 
of the church for the glory of God, for the honor of Christ, 
for the good of the church itself, and for the protection of those 
within the churches. So we certainly can't cover everything 
in one session, so we'll just do an overview of some things 
relative to this particular chapter. We could sort of divide the chapter 
in a number of different ways, but largely speaking, we have 
from paragraphs one to four what the church is, and then from 
chapters 5 to 15, what the church looks like and how it operates. 
We have concerns with respect to the universal church at the 
beginning, and then extended from that and through it, the 
visible church. The universal church, who is 
it that makes up the people of God? As the confession brings 
out, it is those who are believers, those who are born by amazing 
grace and made alive in Christ Jesus that constitute the universal 
or Catholic church, or the invisible church. The visible church, then, 
are those selfsame people who then congregate in and are members 
of local churches. So we're going to try and breeze 
through nine things this morning, not to the disservice, hopefully, 
of any doctrine, but just with the time that we have. And the 
first thing that we want to look at is the church and its relation 
to time and to Christ in paragraph one. We have, and maybe just 
a general note, the Lord Jesus Christ appears 12 times in this 
chapter, which ought to stir up in our minds the reality that 
the church is so constituted in order to bring glory to the 
one who is their head, even the Lord Jesus Christ. So when we 
think church, we ought to think Christ, the church as the bride 
of Christ, the blessed, the Blessed Bridegroom of the Church is the 
one to whom the Church looks for its multitudinous blessings 
and its honor. So first off then, the Church 
and its relation to time and Christ. Notice first off the 
name of the Church as Catholic or Universal. We see here the 
Catholic or Universal Church. That term Catholic has largely 
been stolen by the papists as a good word that simply describes 
the universal nature of the church. As the confession will go on 
to say, the church consists of the whole number of the elect 
that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one under Christ 
the head thereof. That is the Catholic nature or 
universal nature of the church is that it is constituted of 
true believers who are gathered into one, one body under Christ, 
the head of the Church. So, Catholic is a good word, 
simply meaning, as the Confession says here, going on to qualify, 
the Catholic or universal Church. And there are, I think, a number 
of things that constitute what that means as Catholic, and we 
have one of them in here with regards to the Church and its 
relation to time. We have another one in the second 
paragraph that we'll note. But secondly, so we have the 
name of the church as Catholic, and secondly, we have the connection 
between the church and the spirit, that parenthetical statement 
that we have there in the first sentence, the Catholic or universal 
church, which, with respect to the internal work of the spirit 
and truth of grace. So the church is, or those who 
constitute the church, both of those things, the church is born 
of the spirit. As we sang there in the hymn 
this morning, we're born of the word and the spirit. We are, 
the church is, brought forth by the spirit of God. That's 
why there is such a such an important and a vital link between the 
doctrine of salvation and the doctrine of the church, or the 
doctrine of salvation and who constitutes the church of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. The doctrine of effectual calling, 
the doctrine of amazing and victorious grace, is that which is foundationally 
behind the doctrine of the church. In other words, it is all those 
who are effectually called who are born again, who constitute 
the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is where the 
Baptists differ when we get on to a few more paragraphs here, 
specifically paragraph three, we'll note a difference between 
the Baptists and the Presbyterians, or the larger Reformed. The Church 
is constituted of those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who 
have been born again by the Word and the Spirit. And notice, thirdly, 
the all-time nature of the Church. This is, thirdly, under the first 
head, the Church and its relation to time in Christ, the all-time 
nature of the Church. The language here is that the 
Church is constituted of the whole number of the elect that 
have been, are, or shall be gathered into one. So the church is constituted 
not simply of those who presently live, but all those who have 
presently do and who will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. From 
the outset of the fall in the Garden of Eden to the last breath 
drawn from the last living Christian, those are they that constitute 
the church. From the fall to the consummation, 
we have the Church constituted of those who have been born by 
the internal work of the Spirit. And this speaks to, again, to 
the Catholic nature of the Church. The Catholic Church, the small-c 
Catholic Church, as it pertains to time. There hasn't been a 
time where the Church has not existed. Now, of course, in this 
New Testament era, we have sort of a a more fuller definition 
of what the church is. From the expiration of that theocratic 
environment, the Mosaic institution or the Judaic state as chapter 
19 refers to it as, the old covenant community, we have a further 
clarification under this New Testament era as to what the 
church looks like, how it functions and that sort of a thing. But 
the church existed prior to the New Testament. The Church of 
the Lord Jesus Christ was first constituted, if we take the narrative 
concerning Genesis 3 and following, but Adam and Eve were the first 
of those who constituted the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
They were covered with They were provided with a covering by God, 
and they, subsequent to that, offered up sacrifices to their 
God in anticipation of the hero born of woman who would crush 
the serpent with his heel. And so, all of that to say, the 
church is constituted of all those throughout time who before, 
after the fall, now, in this current time, and those following 
us who will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice as well 
in this first paragraph, and lastly, under the church and 
its relation to time and Christ, the value of the church. So, 
the number of the elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered 
into one under Christ, the head thereof, and notice this description 
of the church, and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of him 
that filleth all in all. This is one of the many instances, 
not only in the confession, but as the confession is borrowing 
biblical language, the Bible speaks to the high value of the 
church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So those who profess to be Christians 
ought to likewise hold in high value the church of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. It is the spouse, it is the body 
of the head, it is the communion of those born by the Spirit, 
those brought forth by Christ. And if Christ, and he does, holds 
the church in high value, it is terrible as an army with its 
banners, as we noted last Lord's Day, then we should also love 
the church. Christ loves it, his people should 
love it and hold it in high regard. Secondly, and largely then, we 
have the church and its relation to geography and gospel profession. So notice first under this the 
universal nature of the church as it pertains to the world. 
Paragraph two, all persons throughout the world professing the faith 
of the gospel. are and may be called visible 
saints. So the gospel, gloriously so, 
or the church, gloriously so, is not confined to one particular 
geographical area. It's not the religion of Britain, 
it's not the religion of the continent, it's not the religion 
of, it's not the church of North America, it's the church of the 
world where every tribe, every tongue, every people and nation, 
representatives of those have been brought forth by the internal 
work of the spirit, by their champion Christ to constitute 
the church. So no restriction to time and 
no restriction to geography. And with regards to this, the 
church as we call it Catholic, And as it pertains both to time 
and geography, we have more than two texts, but two texts that 
we could think of in the Bible. One of them would be Matthew 
28, 18 to 20 in the Great Commission, where Christ says, all power 
and authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 
Go therefore and disciple the nations. So we have Christ at 
the Great Commission speaking with respect to the grand evangelistic 
and missionary endeavor of the church to go therefore and make 
disciples of all the nations. And we see this reality, the 
second text, in Revelation that we've already noted, Revelation 
5. We see there people brought forth by the Lord Jesus Christ, 
covered by his shed blood, from every tribe and tongue and people 
and nation." So Christ promises in Matthew 16 that He'll build 
His church. Post-resurrection and pre-ascension, 
he gives this commission to his disciples based upon the Matthew 
16 promise to go, therefore, and build his church, well, under 
Christ's building be those disciples who participate in the building 
of the church, and then we see the reality borne out. Those 
from every tribe and every tongue and every people and every nation 
are brought forth by Christ in spirit to be worshipers of the 
triune God. So the universal nature of the 
church as it pertains to geography. And then we come across something 
here where we see the constitution of the church, who makes it up? 
And this brings a stark contrast to the Westminster Confession 
of Faith. Not the Savoy, because the Savoy 
is very close to the Baptists here. In fact, the Baptists follow 
very closely, I should say, the Savoy. before them, but the difference 
between the Presbyterian or the larger Reformed confessions of 
faith, notice the constitution of the church here in paragraph 
two. All persons throughout the world professing the faith of 
the gospel and obedience unto God by Christ according unto 
it, not destroying their own profession by any errors averting 
the foundation or unholiness of conversation, are and may 
be called visible saints, and of such ought all particular 
congregations to be constituted. So the key clauses there, all 
persons throughout the world professing the faith of the gospel, 
and the further negative statements there qualify that professing 
the faith of the gospel with the reality that it is a true 
profession of faith. And then it says that all of 
those are those who may be called visible saints. Now notice the 
difference between that and paragraph two of the Westminster Confession 
of Faith. The Westminster Confession of 
Faith reads this way. The visible church, which is 
also Catholic or universal under the gospel, not confined to one 
nation as before under the law, consists of all those throughout 
the world that profess the true religion together with their 
children. and is the kingdom of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is 
no ordinary possibility of salvation." Now, that paragraph is good, 
with the exception of the clause, together with their children. 
The Baptists completely deviate from the Westminster Confession 
of Faith. Following the Savoy at this paragraph, nothing is 
the same. It's a completely new paragraph, and it's a completely 
new paragraph because of the proper doctrine, well, because 
of three things, we could say. A proper doctrine of covenant 
theology, a proper doctrine of baptism, therefore, and a proper 
doctrine of the church. And so there's a difference here. 
It is not the case that unbelievers can constitute the church of 
the Lord Jesus Christ, whether they are adults or whether they 
are children. They are not such as who constitute 
the invisible church, and so they are not such who can constitute 
the visible church. Now, that's not to say if little 
Johnny came up to you and said, hey, you know, am I part of the 
church? No. we wouldn't want to have to have this mean doctrinal 
stance against little Johnny, but we would draw a distinction 
between who constitutes the church, you know, truly and properly, 
and who is such as who gathers together on a church for Sunday 
to, you know, to hear the word preached in the context of a 
gathered assembly. But suffice it to say, though, 
the importance is such that the invisible church is constituted 
only of believers, and so too is the visible church constituted 
of believers. We would not say that the children 
of believers are members of the Church of Christ if they are 
unbelieving children. And this is important as it connects 
with the doctrine of the covenants with respect to chapter 7, and 
as we'll see afterwards as it connects to chapter 29 of baptism. So all of that to say, the Constitution 
of the Church, in opposition to our fellows and friends and 
brothers from other traditions, is exclusively those who believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ and have a true profession of faith 
flowing from a heart regenerated by amazing grace. This particular 
clause in paragraph 3, we would say 
we would join that together with chapter 7, chapter 29, and also 
the Westminster's chapter 31, which has to do with synods and 
assemblies. And we would say that those are 
the biggest differences that separate that separate the Westminster 
Confession of Faith with the Second London Confession. Largely 
speaking, everything else, there is affinity, there is a deliberate 
part, a deliberateness on the part 
of the particular Baptist to make sure that they show their 
affinity with and their doctrinal alignment with the Westminster 
Confession of Faith. Just in a few parts, they show 
their distinction based upon the commitment to the truth of 
the Word of God. Thirdly, then, and largely, the church and its 
abidingness under Christ. Notice the church and its abidingness 
under Christ, and this is in paragraph four. or excuse me, paragraph three, 
just to speak with respect to an abidingness of the church 
connected to its head, the Lord Jesus Christ. The purest churches 
under heaven are subject to mixture and error, and some have so degenerated 
as to become no churches of Christ but synagogues of Satan. And 
then this nevertheless. Nevertheless, Christ always hath 
had and ever shall have a kingdom in this world. To the end thereof, 
of such as believe in him and make profession of his name." 
What a wonderful thing that we have there. As we look upon the 
landscape of the church, it can and ought to grieve us how in 
many places the church has deviated from from the doctrine of the 
triune God, from a proper doctrine of Christ, from a proper doctrine 
of salvation, and are in essence no churches at all, but social 
clubs and gatherings where Christians, Jews, Catholics, and pagan pseudo-spiritualists 
can gather together and celebrate some measure of spiritual ambiguity. We can look upon the landscape 
of the church and in many places see things that are not good. But we ought not to lose heart 
because nevertheless Christ always hath had and ever shall have 
a kingdom in this world. And that ought to greatly encourage 
us. You know, it's easy in our humanity, 
it's easy with our remaining corruption to be downcast and 
to have a feeling of loss and woe in the face of things. And 
I shouldn't maybe necessarily say remaining corruption because 
with the reigning regeneration that we have by virtue of the 
Spirit and the ascended Christ, we ought to be vexed righteously 
and wholesomely vexed at the state of the church throughout 
any era, but we ought to immediately fly to the one who has already 
had victory and who increasingly has victory in his ascended state 
as he has promised to build his church, as he commissioned those 
to participate in his sovereign building of the church, as we 
get the biblical report that there is a church of every tribe 
and tongue and people and nation, and as we read here a summary 
of the biblical reality that nevertheless Christ hath and 
always shall have a church in this lower world, unto that great 
end of time when the consummation will occur. So we have the blessing 
abidingness of the church, and we ought to get from this as 
well that there is no perfect church. The purest churches under 
heaven are subject to mixture and error. There won't be a perfect 
church until the consummation, until the eschaton, until we're 
brought into that heavenly Jerusalem, until the everlastingness, the 
life to come. There won't be a perfect church 
until then. And if we can remind ourselves 
of that in this lower world, I think we'll be better off in 
our Christianity. Would we love to see a perfect 
church in this lower world? Absolutely. But the doctrine 
of total depravity, the doctrine of remaining corruption are such 
that we know that there will not be a perfect church until 
Christ comes again. And though we ought not to abandon 
the endeavor to together, under the headship of Christ, seek 
to have a church that properly worships God and that properly 
engages in measures of doctrinal purity. Fourthly, the church 
and its proper head. This is fourthly and largely 
the church and its proper head. Notice that the head of the church 
is not the state. The head of the church is not 
the Pope. The head of the church is not 
a collection of families. But the head of the church is 
the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the 
head of the church. And this comes, just that simple 
clause, would come against a number of models of ecclesiology that 
would have obtained prior to that and at the time of the writing 
of the Confession, one of them being the Roman Catholic Church, 
one of them being the Church of England, and others to be 
sure, but more notably, those two. In the Roman Catholic Church, 
the Pope was the head of the church. In the Church of England, 
the monarch was the head of the church. But in the Church of 
the Lord Jesus Christ, the name itself, who is the head? It is 
the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Notice, in whom, by the appointment 
of the Father, all power for the calling, institution, order, 
or government of the church is invested in a supreme and sovereign 
manner. And I think it would be good 
for us just to take a brief pause on this statement. Notice that... 
The Lord Jesus Christ is head of the church, not exclusively 
because of his deity, though that is certainly the case, but 
by virtue of him being the mediator of the people of God. That is, 
that he is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only 
mediator between God and man. Because notice, the language 
of Him being appointed by the Father, in whom by the appointment 
of the Father all power for the calling, institution, and order 
in the government of the Church is invested in a supreme and 
sovereign manner. When Christ gives that great 
commission, He's giving it by virtue of Him as mediator. All authority in heaven and on 
earth has been given to me. He had it before, of course, 
as God always does have it and never loses it by virtue of him 
being the creator and the sustainer of all things, but peculiarly 
as mediator, he's given all authority in heaven and on earth, and so 
he is head and lord of the church in that regard, in every regard. And then there's this negative 
statement, which obviously bumps up against the reigning terror 
of the time, the Roman Catholic Church. So this negative statement, 
neither can the Pope of Rome in any sense behead thereof, 
but is that Antichrist, that man of sin, the son of perdition, 
that exalteth himself in the church against Christ, and all 
that is called God, whom the Lord shall destroy with the brightness 
of his coming. So, I mean, that would take five 
Sunday schools to talk about, but let's just land on the reality 
that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is head of the church, and 
blessedly so, that we have the Lord Christ as our head. We don't 
have man and his tradition and his impositions and his bindings 
of consciences over us as the head of the church. We don't 
have the Pope of Rome, that Antichrist, as head of the church. I mean, 
imagine having Francis as the head of your church. Oh boy. There has to be millions of Catholics 
that the doctrine of papal infallibility, they're probably questioning 
at this point. But the head of our church is the Lord Jesus 
Christ. What blessings we have in that, what Christian liberties 
and freedoms we have in that, what Christian joy and worship 
ought to come forth by the reality that the Son of God who took 
upon himself our nature for our redemption and recovery is the 
head of the church. Fifthly and largely, we have 
the local gathering of Christ's church. Notice in paragraph five, 
the local gathering of Christ's church. And the first thing we 
want to see here is the foundational and necessary Trinitarianism 
of the church. Notice in this first set of clauses, 
in the execution of this power wherewith he is so entrusted, 
the Lord Jesus calleth out of the world unto himself through 
the ministry of his word by his spirit those that are given unto 
him by his Father. The foundational and necessary 
Trinitarianism of the church, and just that small set of clauses 
before the end of a sentence even comes, we have the triune 
God set forth as foundational to the birth and the life of 
the church. There is no church of the Lord 
Jesus Christ that is not truly and thoroughgoingly Trinitarian. 
It is the case that the Lord calls out of the world by the 
Spirit those that are given unto Him by His Father. The Church 
is foundationally and necessarily Trinitarian. Secondly, the initiatory 
state for entrance into the Church is by the Spirit, through the 
ministry of His Word by His Spirit. We've already noted it, but who 
constitutes the Church? It is those who have been born 
again by the Spirit, attending the Word of God. We see that 
initiatory or that, you know, the instrumental means, the powerful 
and instrumental means by which church, Church Congregants are 
made. Let's just say Christians are 
made because Christians are those who constitute the church But 
there's a twofold reality to to how a Christian is made if 
we can use that language And it's by the Word and Spirit we 
have not been born again by corruptible seed but incorruptible through 
the word of God which lives and abides forever. James talks about 
the fact that we've been brought forth by the will of God, by 
the word of God. We're made by God attending the 
word of the living God. We're brought forth by the power 
of God through the word of truth, and that's how entrance into 
the church, if you will, is made, not by us, but by God working 
upon us by word and spirit. Thirdly, under this larger head, 
the local gathering of the church, we want to note the utility of 
the word in populating the church. Through the ministry of the word, 
it goes on to say that they may walk before him in all the ways 
of obedience which he prescribeth to them, in his word, and then 
we have the reality of this continued walking with mutual edification 
and the due performance of that public worship that he commands 
for us to participate in the world which comes, no doubt, 
by the word of God itself. So the utility of the word of 
God, not only in populating the church, but also in providing 
the lifeblood of the church, if you will, as she goes about 
in her lower sojourn. The word of God as being so absolutely 
vital for populating the church and feeding the church as she 
goes about her lower journey. Sixthly and largely the deliberate. 
and mutually assenting action of Christ's church. So the deliberate 
and mutually assenting action of Christ's church, what does 
that mean? Well, look at what we have in this language of paragraph 
six with regards to a measure of our responsibilities one to 
each other. The members of these churches 
are saints by calling, visibly manifesting and evidencing in 
and by their profession and walking their obedience unto that call 
of Christ, and do willingly consent to walk together according to 
the appointment of Christ, giving up themselves to the Lord, and 
notice here, and one to another. by the will of God in professed 
subjection to the ordinances of the gospel. When Pastor Butler 
welcomes new members into the church, paragraphs five and six 
are read. In order to bring to light the 
importance and the reality of one who is a member of church, 
not only with respect, which is primary, their obedience unto 
God, but also that which is secondary, their they're giving up of themselves 
to each other in the subjection to the ordinances of the gospel 
and in public worship. You know, we note often that 
when we get up, when we stand up, for example, and we open 
up to the given hymn book page, the psalm page or the hymn book 
page, we stand up and we sing, we're not only singing, well, 
we shouldn't be just singing to ourselves, We should first 
be singing unto God in worship, but we're also at the same time 
engaged in a horizontal reality. We're to sing to one another. 
The Apostle Paul speaks about that or writes about that in 
two of his epistles, that we sing to one another in psalms 
and hymns and spiritual songs, that we are encouraging one another 
as we stand up to sing. You know, we're not standing 
up as just a collection of maverick Christians who come in, sing, 
and leave. We stand up and we sing as a 
band of brothers and sisters, brothers largely speaking, but 
brothers and sisters who have gathered together and who are 
singing to God, but also singing to one another. And the content 
of the Psalms and the hymns that we sing, they're not just fluff, 
they're rich with God, they're rich with Christ, they're rich 
with amazing grace. And so in that act, we're returning 
praise to God, we're giving praise to God, but we're also lifting 
up one another and encouraging one another in our walk by singing 
the praises of God to each other. And so this is, This is a vital 
aspect of church, the giving up of ourselves to the Lord and 
to one another by the will of God in professed subjection to 
the ordinances of the gospel. Seventhly, and largely, notice 
the independence of the local church. So this also, paragraph 
seven, rubs up against the Westminster 
Confession of Faith because it has a completely, I'm not going 
to say new chapter because they came before us, but a chapter 
31 that is not our 31. There's a difference in order 
as we kind of get to the end of the Confession of Faith, but 
they have a chapter on synods and assemblies. and it speaks 
to what they didn't refer to in chapter 26 of the church with 
regards to the presbytery, the synods and assemblies that actually 
do have power and authority over the constituting churches, whereas 
our paragraph 7 speaks to the independent, not the absolute 
independence of the church, and we'll make a note of that in 
our final point, but the functional independence of the church. Notice 
in paragraph seven, to each of these churches thus gathered, 
according to his mind declared in his word, he hath given all 
that power and authority which is in any way needful for their 
carrying on that order in worship and discipline, which he hath 
instituted for them to observe with commands and rules for the 
do and right exerting and executing of that power. So we see here 
that power and authority is given to that first clause, each of 
these churches thus gathered. So this is in distinguishing 
to, for example, in the Roman Catholic 
schema, a hierarchical granting of power and authority, first 
to the Pope of Rome and then descendingly to cardinals, bishops, 
and those sorts of things. So there's an important distinction 
here. And it's not just a distinction 
with regards to the Roman Catholic Church, but also our Reformed 
brothers and sisters who subscribe to a Reformed or Presbyterian 
model of ecclesial. I shouldn't say Reformed. who 
subscribe to a paedo-baptistic or Presbyterian form and Presbyterian 
form of ecclesiology, so where there is largely a synod, a presbytery, 
and sort of a descendingly hierarchical approach to church. The hierarchy that we have in 
the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is paragraphs four and 
the paragraph seven that we're currently treating. The Lord 
Jesus Christ as head of the church, and then those churches under 
him, these churches thus gathered according to the mind of Christ 
and according to the word of God, each of those churches thus 
gathered are given authority to go about the business of the 
church and to observe the commands of the Lord and the exercising 
of that power within the context of the local church. So there 
are important differences. just very briefly, and you could 
sort of ask me about these afterwards, or you can ask questions privately 
later, but with regards to how we would describe, and I think 
this comes from Jim Renahan, in his book, The Edification 
of Beauty, which is a great book on particular Baptist church 
eology, particular Baptist ecclesiology, what the biblical church looks 
like and how it's expressed in particular Baptist churches. 
But he would describe our model of church as plural elder-led, 
associational congregationalism. Now, I know that's a mouthful. 
I'll just say it one more time. Plural elder-led associational 
congregationalism. And this would be against sort 
of an Erastianism, which is a state-led hierarchical church. Episcopalianism, 
which is Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church of England, which 
is hierarchical from a church head or from a church collegial 
headship, as in the Eastern Orthodox Church, hierarchical down to 
lower levels, Presbyterianism, which is synod, presbytery, et 
cetera, or other synonymous uses in the Reformed Church at large, 
denominationalism, or a sort of brethren-led congregationalism. So those would all be opposing 
models, to use that word carefully. What we would hold and what the 
Confession is setting forth is a plural elder-led associational 
congregationalism, and that's what Chapter 26 brings out at 
that particular point. So the independence of the local 
church And then eighthly and moving towards lastly, the constitution 
of the church. And this is just a threefold 
thing under this head, the constitution of the church, what makes it 
up? So when I say constitution, not in this sense, the document 
by which we show various things relative to the church, how we 
do church and what we are to do in certain situations, but 
rather what makes up the church. Notice first off the definitive 
character of the local church. A particular church, gathered 
and completely organized according to the mind of Christ, consists 
of officers and members. So that is the definitive character 
of the local church with regards to who constitutes it. As we've 
noted before, it's believers, so it's those who have been brought 
forth from darkness to light by Jesus Christ, the power of 
spirit and word, and those are they that are either officers 
and or members. I shouldn't say and or, members, 
officers are also members of the church, but a church consists 
of officers and members, simply speaking. Secondly, the constituent 
character of the local church. Notice, and the officers appointed 
by Christ to be chosen and set apart by the church, so called 
and gathered for the particular administration of ordinances 
and execution of power or duty, which he entrusts them with or 
calls them to, to be continued to the end of the world are bishops 
or elders and deacons. There is a very blessed and biblical 
simplicity to this to this reality because in the mind of man and 
in the religious perversions of men or in the religious confusions 
and ignorance of men, the officers of the church are multiplied 
and multiplied with various titles, with various layers of hierarchy. The biblical simplicity is glorious. We either have elders or deacons. Bishop, overseer, elder, synonymous 
terms, pastor. So we have elders and deacons. 
And this just isn't simply the particular Baptists of the 17th 
century saying, you know what, let's just boil the actual biblical 
data down to just elders and deacons. No, this is the biblical 
model. You can see two Two verses being 
set forth there, Acts 20 and Philippians 1, but we see that 
biblical model. We could also point to the book 
of Revelation as informing the church model. letters being sent 
to separate independent churches with regards to how they are 
to conduct themselves and the letters sent to the pastors of 
those churches. But suffice it to say, the model 
of church governance with respect to the local church is that it 
is simply in the hands of elders and deacons. This marks the simplicity 
of ecclesiastical or church organization. Man muddies it. Man complicates 
it with big hats and scepters and bulletproof golf carts. But 
the simplicity of a Protestant church-eology is elders and deacons 
in the context of a local church governing for the glory of Christ 
under his headship. And lastly and finally, we have 
the Christian commitment to associationalism. So we noted from paragraph seven 
that there is this independence to the local church She is equipped 
by Christ for her organization, for her local organization, but 
it's not an absolute independence in that the various churches 
are to be isolated islands unto themselves. Notice in paragraph 
14. as each church and all the members 
of it are bound to pray continually for the good and prosperity of 
all the churches of Christ, in all places and upon all occasions 
to further it, everyone within the bounds of their places and 
callings and the exercise of their gifts and graces..." So 
just pause there for a moment. We first have this responsibility 
on the part of churches to pray for other churches, and we do 
that regularly. It's a biblical model of coming 
to God in supplication and in intercession to pray not simply 
for ourselves, but to pray for all the churches of Christ. This 
is biblical, and we are called to pray for other churches, but 
then it goes on to say not but, and it goes on to say, so the 
churches, when planted by the providence of God, so as they 
may enjoy opportunity and advantage for it, ought to hold communion 
among themselves for their peace, increase of love, and mutual 
edification. So an associationalism, we noted 
that our church model is plural elder-led, associational congregationalism. So we are not to be an isolated 
body of believers, but those who do have communion with other 
churches. And it's not when we, as paragraph 
15 would go on to say, when we have communion with other churches, 
or when we associate officially, there is no additional layer 
of ecclesiology added to that. In other words, the association 
doesn't have authority over the churches, But similar to the 
fact that members constitute a local church, churches are 
members of an association. So there is no level of governance 
there where the head of an association can First of all, there is no 
head of an association, but that he can issue some sort of decree 
over those churches who have voluntarily decided to have communion 
with one another. It's simply a blessed opportunity, 
a biblical model where churches engage together for the interest 
of evangelism, for the interest of missions, for the interest 
of advancing Christ's kingdom, for encouraging one another in 
peace and in love, and also availing, paragraph 15, of godly advice 
and assistance in occasions that would call upon such things to 
be brought forth. So hopefully that's a helpful, 
very simple overview of some of the elements that make up 
the doctrine of the church for the Christian church, largely 
speaking, and in our particular Baptist tradition as well. Let's 
close in prayer, and then if there are any questions, feel 
free to ask away. Heavenly Father, we thank you 
for this time together, we pray that you would help us in our 
contemplation of the Church to see its beauty under Christ, 
to glory in our head, but also with the head of the Church, 
the Lord Jesus Christ, to see the value and the importance 
and the glory of the Church, even in spite of its many, many 
spots and wrinkles. We do pray that you'd help us 
to go into worship to sing with one another, to worship with 
one another, to encourage one another in our walk in this lower 
world as we seek to honor you, the one who has brought us forth 
from the deadness of sin to life in Christ. Do go with us and 
help us to worship you, our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
And we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Any questions at all about anything 
there? Questions, comments, curiosities, confusions? Any other C words? Okay. Yep. Yep. Thanks, everybody. 
Appreciate it.