Vol.
XLI
The
Divine Pattern for the Lord’s Church (2)
The First Day of the Week
by Tom
McLemore
In the previous article, the fundamental
idea of the New Testament pattern was presented as the format for allowing the
New Testament to guide the Lord’s church in the service of God. Many today, even among penitent believers who
have been immersed in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, have
abandoned this idea.
Let us consider very carefully the
implications of this move. By
implication it ultimately is a rejection of the inspiration of the
scriptures. The scriptures themselves
advance the idea and utilize it, as clearly shown in the previous article. This
move is also a repudiation of the position of Christ Jesus as absolute Lord
over his people. The Jesus revealed in
the New Testament believed in the pattern approach
(Matthew 28:18-20). Abandoning the
pattern idea implies that both Jesus and his apostles (who believed in the
validity of, and urged the following of, this approach) were misguided,
unenlightened slaves of the invalid ideas of their primitive age.
Remember that it is upon the testimony
of these very apostles that our primary evidence concerning Jesus, his
teaching, and his resurrection fundamentally rests. If they were deluded when they urged the
following of the pattern approach, how can we be sure that they are not deluded
witnesses when they tell us that the crucified Jesus is the Lord Christ, that
he is the Son of God, and that they saw him alive after his passion?
If the things implied by the abandonment
of the pattern concept are true, then we are left with no reliable guidance for
belief or practice. The Christ with
which we are left does not deserve our trust, his apostles are not worthy of
our attention, and the New Testament itself can be dismissed as unnecessary
reading.
Please consider that we must either
accept the pattern approach or reject Christ. To accept Christ is to affirm the validity of
the approach that he followed and taught to his apostles and the approach that
they in turn applied (along with other inspired writers) in producing the New
Testament. To reject the approach that
he followed and taught his apostles to apply in their work is to deny him.
Jesus cannot be the infallible, divine
Son of God and a deceived, unenlightened teacher of invalid ideas at
the same time. He is one or the
other, but not both. We
affirm that he is the infallible, divine Son of God, and therefore, the pattern
approach which he applied in his teaching and urged his apostles to follow is
true, right, and valid.
Having stressed this matter and its
significance, in the several articles to follow, let us consider some of the
particulars that result from the application of this pattern approach. The first matter I wish to consider is that
of the assembly of the church.
From considering the New Testament, what conclusions can we draw with
respect to what Jesus commanded his apostles to observe on this matter?
First, we see clearly that the earliest
Christians, under the guidance of the apostles, met together on a regular
basis. From Acts, 1 Corinthians,
Hebrews, and James we are supplied with clear indications. These documents utilize this language: “...when we met...[w]hen you are
assembled...when you come together...when you come together as a church...when
you come together...when you come together...the whole church comes
together...when you come together...” (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 5:4;
That his disciples would meet together
as a church was assumed by Christ in Matthew 18:15-20. The matter of the impenitent church member,
who refuses to repent in response to all other measures enjoined by Jesus in
this passage, is to be brought before the church. The basic idea of word “church” is assembly,
and reading this passage leaves the impression that the matter is to be
reported to the church members in assembly. (One may compare 1 Corinthians 5:4 which
speaks of imposing discipline comparable to that in Matthew 18:15-20 “[w]hen
you are assembled...”).
Second, we can see clearly that the
early Christians met on the first day of the week. In Acts 20:7, Luke writes, “On the first
day of the week, when we met...” The
context distinguishes this day from others by indicating that upon arriving at
These facts are evidence that Jesus had
taught his apostles to meet on the first day of the week and to teach those
whom they would baptize (Matthew 28:18-20) to do the same. This is compatible with the idea that when
John referred to “the Lord’s day”(Revelation
Assembling every first
day of the week–this is our pattern.
When Christ’s people follow it, he is pleased to dwell among us (Matthew
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