1 Corinthians 12, verse 12 and
13. For as the body is one, and hath
many members, and all the members of that one body, being many,
are one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit are we all
baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether
we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one
spirit. I wanted to speak today, God
willing, pardon me, on the subject, the church. Now recently, having been engaged
in some conversation with some people back east, this thought of the church and
the subject of the church came up and I was made to look anew and to
consider anew this subject And there are many
that are misled and I think that maybe even many of us have been
at different times misled by some of the rhetoric and some
of the doctrines that are taught by some of the groups, religious
denominational groups in America. the Landmark Baptists being one
of them and Primitive Baptists having and holding basically
the same views as to the local church. There is a denial by
many that there is such a thing as the body of Christ, the one
true church, called by some the mystical body, called by others
the universal church, And many times, this particular truth
is lost sight of. This truth of the one body of
Christ, which we're all baptized by the Spirit into. And this is lost completely.
It's lost in all of the rhetoric. Nobody in the circles that I
came up in believed it. and yet in the bible it's evident
that it's taught and many years ago i was brought to see this
and see the error of my way my thinking of it and while i yet
believe in a local church because the bible certainly teaches it
we found that the local church is only an expression uh... found in this world of the one
body the one church the universal church the mystical body of our
Lord Jesus Christ and so this morning we won't be talking about
this one church, this church of our Lord Jesus Christ, this
holy church of our Lord, this one body of Christ. My burden
is that we might all belong to this one true church. I'd call your attention to verse
18 here in the 12th chapter of first Corinthians where it says
But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body
Which is the church the true church. This is the church for
which Christ died This is the church which for which he shed
his blood It tells us that God has set the members every one
of them in the body as it hath pleased him So if you become
a member or if you are a member of this body It is so because
it pleased God To set you in this body it pleased him to do
it It was an act of God that put you in it. It was not the
act of the clerk of a local church. It was not the act of the voting
by the membership of the church that put you into the body of
Christ, the true church of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was an
act of God that put you in it. And to the church, this church,
there is no salvation outside of it. There is no church, there
is no salvation, let me make that clear to you, outside of
having been sent in to this body, into this church, by a sovereign
act of God's elective grace. There is no salvation apart from
it. I do not ask where you go on
Sunday. I am, of course, interested where
you go on Sunday. I only ask, though, and the real
question of my heart is, do you belong to this one church, this
body of Christ, which our text speaks of this morning? For as
the body is one, hath many members, all the members of that one body,
being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit
are we all baptized into this one body, whether we're a Jew,
whether we're a Gentile, whether we be born, whether we be free. We have all been made to drink
into one spirit, for the body is not one member, but many. And so that brings me to say
this morning that there's some questions that we need to ask
and try to answer about this church. Where is this one true
church. Where is it? You say, where is
it located? Where is it? And then what is
this one true church like? What are the marks by which this
one true church may be known? These are questions that I think
that if I heard somebody say there is just one true church,
there is one mystical body, there is one universal body that you
must be a member of and that God must make you a member of
in order for you to be saved, I think I'd be trying to find
out some of the answers to these questions that we've just raised. I believe that we can find in
the Word of God the answers to these questions. Number one,
let me attempt. There are several things that
I want to bring to you today that will help to identify this
church. Things that are very pertinent
to your understanding of this truth of there being one body
one church which is the Lord's true church and all local churches
that are indeed his are a type of this one true church or they're
an expression of it in the world but now listen carefully if you
will the one true church is composed of all believers in the Lord
Jesus Christ it is composed of all of all the elect of God. It's made up of all God's elect.
It's made up of all converted men and women. It's made up of
all true Christians. Now, I didn't say that it was
made up of those that just profess to be Christians. I'm saying
it's made up of all God's elect and it's made up of all true
believers. And whoever we can discern the
election of God's grace. In whoever's life we can discern
that God has laid hold of an individual where we find faith
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, where we find the sanctifying
work of God the Spirit in that person. We find and see a member
of Christ's church, of Christ's body. Do you believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ? Has God the Father touched you? Has God laid hold of you? Has God called you effectually
by His grace? As we read, where there's one
hope, our calling has God called you into that hope of the gospel
into that hope wherein we believe that our Lord Jesus Christ was
sent down from heaven to bear our sin and his own body on the
tree and to give us a to die in order to satisfy God's justice
on our behalf and then he was buried, God raised him up as
an evidence that God had accepted all he did on our behalf. Is
that your hope that you find in Christ? If so, I believe you're
a member of that body. Now then, every saved person
is in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. They're all members
of this many-membered body of Christ. Number two, it is a church
of which all the members have the same marks. I didn't say the same experiences. I say the same marks. Number one, they're all born
again. of the Spirit of God. John 3
and 3 speaks of the need or the necessity. We must be born again. You must be born again. Well,
all those that are in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ have
been born again. Somebody said, do you believe
in a living church membership? I absolutely do. There isn't
any way you're going to be a member of this church that I'm talking
about today apart from being born again. You cannot slip in. There's no other way in. You
must be born again. God Himself must set you in it. He must put you in it. And the
only way He does that is by the regenerating work of His Holy
Spirit. And they're not only that, but
these people have been given a disposition to repent. Did you get that? They've been
given a disposition to repent. And it changes them forever.
It changes them, it changes them in heart. Their disposition toward
God is different. Their disposition toward themselves
is different. Their attitude is altogether
different when God grants them a disposition to repent. Repentance
is more than an act, it's a disposition of the heart. And then we find
not only have they been given repentance towards God, but they
have faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the characteristic
of these people. They have repentance toward God
for their sin, and not only for their deeds, not only for their
sins, but also for what they are. They are sinners. They're sinners and you sin because
you're a sinner and God gives these people a disposition where
they become very repentive because of what they are. They know they're
sinners and this don't ever change. They don't ever get proud about
what they are or who they are. They know that they're sinners
before God and they have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now
wherever you find members of this church, or members of the
church that I'm talking about, is you'll find these things.
Faith towards God, repentance toward God, and faith toward
our Lord Jesus Christ. And then they're all partakers
of the divine nature. God has implanted in them His
nature. They have become partakers of
the divine nature so that all of these, while they may not
understand their true feeling about the situation, they all
hate sin at all times, in their spiritual life. They hate it
because of the new nature that's been placed in them. Listen to
me carefully now. This is important that you understand
this. The old Adamic nature will never hate sin. And if you live
to be a hundred and twenty-five years old, your nature will never
hate Sin, it never will. The only nature that hates sin
is the divine nature. It's the nature which God has
implanted in you. And there's times when you feel
that working mightily and strongly in you and you can say with your
own mouth, I hate sin. I hate what sin has done in my
life and what it's done in other people's lives. I hate what it's
done to this world. I hate sin. but that's the divine
nature and every believer, every member of this church has that
nature and that nature cannot sin because it is the seed of
God that is God's nature, his very nature and there is no sin
in Christ there is no sin in that nature there's no sin in
that new nature which God has given us and he's given that
to every member of this church and they all love Christ every
one of these people they've been born again God has has been pleased
to teach them to himself And they love Christ. They love Christ. We know that all things work
together for good to them who are called of God, to those who
are called according to His purpose, and they love God. They love
God. They've been given that ability
to love God. That has been fixed. You see,
we're told in the law that we're to love God supremely with all
of our heart, all of our mind, soul, and strength. We're to
love the Lord our God. Well, God has fixed that in the
new birth by putting in us a nature. We've been taught of God to love
one another, to love God and love one another. And this we
all have by virtue of our relationship with the Lord and with what he's
done and because of what he's done in our life. And then all
of these worship in spirit and in truth. John 4 verses 23 and
24 tells us that we must worship him in spirit and in truth. And
all those that are members of this body They do worship God
in spirit and in truth. Some worship kneeling, some worship
standing, but they all worship with one heart. They worship
God because, do again, to the work of God in them. And then,
they are all led by one Spirit. Romans 8 and 14 says, they that
are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. They all build upon one foundation. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse
20. And they all draw their faith
and practice from one single book, that is the Bible, 2 Timothy
3 and verse 16. Those of you that are taking
notes can write those verses down and look at them at a later
date. And then next I want to say that
they're all joined and they're all married to Christ, Romans
7 and 14. It tells us that our first husband
has died, that we might be married to another and bring forth fruit
unto God, and that one to whom we're married is the Lord Jesus
Christ. And all the members of the body
of Christ are married to, joined to, the Lord Jesus. His Spirit
is in us. We've been baptized by the Spirit
into the body of Christ and have been made to drink of that one
Spirit. And then I want to say in the
third place that this is a church which is dependent for time and
eternity upon no earthling, no earthling in regards to their
head, having a head, having a shepherd, having a bishop, because the
head, the great head and the shepherd and the bishop of this
flock is none other but the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Now this
is so very important that we see this. The life of the members
of this church does not hang upon a name being inscribed here
in this world or due to your participation in baptism or in
the Lord's Supper, although the people of God highly value these
things, and we certainly are instructed in the Word of God
to participate in these things, where they're to be had, when
they are to be had. You are very cognizant of the
fact that there are many places in this world where these things
are not to be had. Where that you cannot, where
you cannot participate in these things. Yet God has his people
everywhere and we're not dependent as far as our membership in this
body in being able, being in a locality where we can enter
into these things. some people may say well i've
got to be someplace where i can take the lord's supper and where
i can uh... be baptized and and and that's
wonderful i think that personal order move where they can be
involved in a local church if they're not where they can be
but sometimes it is not possible for everybody of the uh... that
are members of the lord's true church to be where they can hear
into the same by his spirit We've said that he puts these members
in this church and though preachers may show people the door and
preach Christ to them it is the Lord the great shepherd that
brings his sheep into this fold by his spirit I say he opens
the door until he opens the door no man on earth can open it whoever
he may be or whatever his religious title may be he cannot open this
door only God can open this door into this church. Once let a
man be given repentance and faith, and that moment he becomes a
member of this church. Like the thief on the cross,
he may have no opportunity of being baptized, but he has that
which is far better than water baptism, and we're not belittling
water baptism. He has the baptism of the Holy
Spirit. Every believer has the baptism
of the Holy Spirit. Don't let the Pentecostals tell
you that they've got something you don't have if you're a child
of God because every child of God has been made to drink of
that one Spirit of the Living God and we've all been baptized
by that one Spirit into the body of Christ. Now It may not be
able to receive the bread and the wine like we said earlier
may not be able to attend the communion but every day a Child
of God member of this church can eat the body and drink Christ's
blood eat the body of Christ and drink Christ's blood by faith
I Like I said every day he lives he can do this and no preacher
a local church can keep him from doing it Whatever they preach,
whatever they teach, they can't keep a child of God from fellowshipping
and being a partaker of Christ every day that he lives in this
world. He may be excommunicated from
the church, and I know of some people that have been, and some
wrongly, some rightly, But a true believer, a true child of God,
a member of the Lord's body, His church, cannot be excommunicated
from that church. He can be excommunicated from
churches on earth and cut off from the ordinances of the professing
church. But all the bishops in the world
cannot shut a man out of the true church and from him partaking
of Christ in daily fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It
is a church whose existence does not depend upon ceremonies, doesn't
depend upon cathedrals, churches, buildings as far as great buildings
are concerned, pulpits, organs, money, governments, or any act
of favor whatsoever from the hand of man. This church exists
apart from all of that. It will continue when all these
things have been taken from her and they are no more. The church
will still exist. This body of Christ. This one
body of Christ. Its existence depends upon nothing
but the blessing and the presence of Christ and His Spirit and
their ever with. this church with this people
the church cannot die because this church I'm talking about
because Christ is with it in presence and blessing now many
local churches dissolve many of them they meet for a number
of years and then very little left of them and sometimes they'll
just close the door and they won't be there anymore but this
church I'm talking about The door will never be shut. The
Lord's people will always exist. Number four, this is the church
to which the scriptural titles of present honor and privilege
and the promises of future glory especially belong. That is to
this one body, this true Church of Christ. Let me read that again.
This is the church to which the scriptural titles of present
honor and privilege and the promises of future glory especially belongs. This is the body of Christ. This
is the flock of Christ. This is the household of faith
and the family of God. This is God's building, God's
foundation and the temple of the Holy Ghost. This is the church
of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven This is
the royal priesthood. This is the chosen generation.
This is the peculiar people, the purchased possession, the
habitation of God through the Spirit. This is the salt of the
earth, the wheat of the earth. This is the church to which the
Lord promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against
it. And to which He says, I'm with
you always, even to the winding up. of the ages. I'm saying that
all of the present honor and all the scriptural titles of
privilege all belong to this church. Number five, this is
the only church which possesses in reality true unity. You know we're told in the scripture,
and we read it this morning, where we're to endeavor to keep
the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. But really and
truthfully The only place where there is true unity on the weightier
matters is found in this church, Universal. Its members are entirely
agreed on the weightier matters of the scripture because they're
all taught by one spirit. I know that there are babes in
Christ, there's young men in Christ, and then there are the
uh... older believers in the older
sheep of christ and i know that they're that people come to a
more mature understanding of the word of god and but i know
that god save me uh... back when i was sixteen years
old and i know that i didn't have a full grasp of sovereignty
and full grasp of the doctrines of grace and the doctrines uh... that i have a hold of now with
my spiritual uh... heart and life and some of you
could testify of the same. Many, many things that you have
grown into as the Lord has led you along the way. You've had
to grow out of a lot of things and grow into a lot of things.
This is, of course, the way the Lord works with His people. But
when it comes to God and the truth about God and Christ and
the Spirit of God and sin, and our own hearts and faith and
repentance and the value of the Bible and the value of prayer
and the resurrection and the judgment to come about all these
points, all true believers are one mind. They're one mind about
these things. Take three or four of them strangers
to one another from the remotest corners of the earth and examine
them separately on these points and others and you will find
them all one in judgment. Basically I'm telling you the
truth. Now you say, well, I think we have unity here. Well, I think
we have a degree of unity here in this church. I do. And I think
we probably have as much unity here as you'll find anywhere
else in these local assemblies on the face of the earth. However,
when it comes to true unity and real unity, don't ever expect
to find it in perfection in a local church. Because I'll tell you,
you're not going to find it. It's been my experience not to
find it. And I'll tell you, you never
will find it as it is in the Lord's church. Now then, number
six. This is the only church which
is certain to endure until the end. I wish, and sometimes I
lie down at night, and sometimes it haunts me in the daytime,
I wish that I could be assured in my soul of this church, its future, and
the perpetuity of this local body. I wish that this local
body could continue throughout the generations of my grandsons,
your grandchildren, and on until Jesus Christ comes back from
heaven. I wish that he could. I have no such certainty as that
because no one is able to predict what will happen to this local
body here. Charles Haddon Spurgeon was preaching
to 6,000 people and he passed away and then within just a short
time there was less than a thousand meeting where there had been
six thousand meeting twice a day and once in the middle of the
week where you had to have a ticket to get into the building to hear
the sermon and then in a short time later it got down to now
I say that there's probably something like two hundred meets there
where they used to be six thousand uh... every lord's day meeting
twice a day and others being turned away from outside and
uh... if it had not been for the name
of charles hadn't spurred him and for the uh... glamour might we say that was
connected with his name and with that great church that existed
there there wouldn't be any at all there now because most of
the people that attend there now are visitors from other parts
of the world that come there just because they want to come
out of curiosity to see what's left of the front of the building
and to just see what there is there now. Isn't that true? Those
of you that have been around, I think Sheila's been over there
and there's been some others that I've read after that's been
there. Mrs. Baker's been there and she said
there was just a lot of people there, foreigners and all that
come there now. And so most of the people that
attend there are just people that are curious And if I went
over, of course I'd go too. But I'm trying to tell you that
this church, this church that I'm talking about, is the only
one certain to endure unto the end. Nothing can overthrow and
destroy this church altogether. Its members may be persecuted,
may be oppressed, may be imprisoned, may be beaten, beheaded, and
burned, but the Lord's church never altogether will be extinguished. It rises again from all its afflictions
and it lives through fire, it lives through water, and when
crushed in one land, it'll spring up in another. The Pharaohs,
the Herods, the Neroes, the Bloody Marys, the Catholics have all
labored in vain to put down His church. This church will outlive
them all. and see them all carried to their
graves. It is an anvil that has broken
many a hammer in this world. It is a bush that often burns
and yet is not consumed. This church that we're talking
about, the one body of Christ, the true church of our Lord Jesus
Christ, will never, never be destroyed. It will endure unto
the end. because God said that the gates
of hell cannot prevail against it. Number seven, and I will
hurry, this is the only church of which no one member can perish
of it. Once enrolled in the books of
heaven, members of this church are safe for eternity. They are
never cast away, John 6 and 37. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, they that come to me I will in no wise cast
out." You're a scoundrel. You're a scoundrel. You ought
to be cast out. But he said, I'll never cast
you out. I'll never cast you out. Only
God knows what you can do, what you have done, what you're going
to do, but he's not going to cast you away. chose you and
drew you to Himself, He will not cast you away. He won't cast me away. If He
were to cast anybody here away, it would be me. He's not going
to cast any of His children away. Every individual member of this
church will find themselves at last in heaven. every last one
of them. The election of God the Father,
the continual intercession of God the Son, the daily renewing
and sanctifying power of God the Holy Ghost surrounds and
fences in The Lord's living family, like a garden enclosed, not one
lamb of Christ's flock shall ever be plucked out of His hand.
Hebrews 7, 25 and John 10, 28 and 29. Makes this crystal clear. He is able to save to the uttermost
all that come unto God by him, seeing that he ever liveth to
make intercession for them. And then I give unto my sheep
eternal life, they shall never perish, neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand, and my Father which gave them me
is greater than all. No man can pluck them out of
his hand. Then number eight, this is the
church which does the work of Christ upon earth mom mom those
of you that are familiar with landmark teaching and primitive
baptist teaching say my what are you saying i'm telling you
that the work of god on earth is done by this church i'm talking
about today now local churches participate local churches are
involved and they ought to be you know we have some among the
landmarkers that say that unless you're a landmark Baptist, a
particular peculiar kind of Baptist, you can't even pray. That you're
not involved in the priesthood. And then we have others that
say that no man can preach except he be ordained by their peculiar
kind of Baptist. You've got to be their kind.
or you cannot preach you can't do the work of god if you don't
have a party and they say you gotta get their up to be a party
from bail they're the only ones that have the authority you can't
preach you can't do anything on our except you get their party
that's why charles and spurge it was never ordained he was
not in order to preach he preached to thousands and they said that
somebody got converted in every seat in that huge metropolitan
tabernacle but he was never an ordained preacher he said if
God ordained me I don't need that a man ordain me and he said
if God does if he hasn't ordained me it wouldn't do me or anybody
else a dimes with a good if I had fifty preachers ordain me it
wouldn't do me any good or anybody else Well, he's right. I'm not against having an ordination
service for a young preacher that comes up in the church.
I'm not against that. I'm for it. It's all right. But
if a man tells me it must be done before that individual has
the authority to go out and preach, I'll tell you it's not so. it's
not so and i'm telling you that every child of god is a member
of the priesthood and can pray to god every living child of
god can pray to god i'm saying that well somebody said one time
that george whitfield couldn't pray and george whitfield couldn't
preach and this and that and something else and i just shook
my head in absolute disbelief that anybody would make a statement
like that who had any brain spiritual brains whatsoever and I come
to the conclusion that most of them don't have it and that's
the reason they make those kind of foolish statements all true
believers can can pray and all true believers can bear witness
and testimony for Christ and they do they do bear witness
and God's work is done through this church that I'm talking
about today And of course he uses local churches as we said,
but the Lord blesses and uses these people They're the labors
in the Lord's vineyards They're laboring in the fields that are
widened to harvest. These endure all things for the
elect's sake, that they might also obtain the salvation which
is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 2 Timothy 2 and verse
10. These people do the work of God. Number nine, and I only have
ten things to mention. This is the church which shall
be truly glorious at the end. Like we said, you know, We may
not be here at the end. We may not be here. I can take
you places back east where weeds are growing up through the floors
of churches that used to exist and flourish. We may not be here
in the end, but this church will be truly glorious at the end. The church I'm talking about.
The Lord's true body. When all earthly glory is passed
away, then shall this church be presented without spot before
the Father's throne. Thrones, principalities, and
powers upon earth shall come to nothing. Dignities and offices,
endowments will all pass away, but the church of the firstborn,
which Hebrews chapter 13 speaks of, shall shine as the stars. That's chapter 12, I believe.
I think I'm wrong there. Chapter 12 of Hebrews. But the
church of the firstborn shall shine as the stars at the last,
be presented with joy before the Father's throne in the day
of Christ appearing." That's in Jude verse 24. When the Lord's
jewels are made up and the manifestation of the sons of God takes place,
listen to me now, denominations will not be mentioned. Denominations
will not be mentioned. One church only will be named,
and that's the one we read of in our text this morning, the
body of Christ, the Lord's true church. That's the only church. The church of God's elect will
be the only church mentioned. And somebody, you know, we often
hear people talk about their denomination. and i i'm a baptist
and and and i believe i would agree with the baptist historically
i'm certainly in line with them and i i am a baptist i couldn't
be anything else here in this war they're not my paper i'll
tell you that they're not my paper i mean god himself made
the garments of salvation i'm not going to heaven with with
a suit that's made by the Baptist. I wouldn't want to have to stand
with just plain, just denominational name. I wouldn't want to have
to stand with that. No, sir. That won't be the last
name. Baptist won't be the last name on my tongue. Christ will
be the last, I hope, name on my tongue. Christ. Christ. Christ. Okay? And then Tantley. And this is the last thing. This
is the true church to which a man must belong if he would be saved. I want to impress that upon your
mind. He must be saved. If he's going to be saved, he
must be a member of this church. Until you belong to the one body
of Christ, you're a lost soul. You may have the form, the husk,
the skin, and the shell of religion, but you do not have the substance
until you are in Jesus Christ. You must belong to the body of
Christ. Knowledge alone will not save you. You say, I know
much about the Bible as my brother who says he's saved. I know as
much about the Bible as my sister that says she's saved. I know
as much about the Bible as my mother and she says she's saved.
And so I know. It's not a matter of not knowing.
I know. Knowledge alone is not enough. It's not enough. Knowledge
is not going to save you. There's great ignorance on this
point in the world. You cannot join a church here
and there, take communion, be baptized, be tutored, and catechized,
and be a member of the Lord's true church. His body. It's a delusion. It's a gross
mistake to believe that you could. All Israel was not Israel, and
all who call themselves Christian are not saved. If you do not
belong to the This church, this one body of Christ, it'd be better
at last if you'd never been born. Only God can put you in this,
in this body. And you should become a seeker
after God, a seeker after the Lord Jesus Christ, praying, praying,
praying that God will not leave you to yourself, but that He
would intervene and put you in His Son, put you in this body
this glorious body this body that will endure even throughout
eternity being with the Lord it will endure may the Lord be
pleased this morning to bless what we've said there's so many
verses in the Bible about this church and I just want to preach
this to you. I felt in my heart that it should
be done and I hope that those of you that maybe have some questions
as to what we've said today that you will take up the reading
of the Word of God and you will study and read these scriptures
and that the Lord will be pleased to help you. There have been
so many, many that have been harmed by a refusal of preachers
to listen to the plain statements of the Word of God. May God bless
you and encourage you. Father, in the name of Jesus,
we commit this service into your hand, and if there be a soul
here today that realizes that they're outside of Christ and
knows and understands that only to be in Him is to have everlasting
life and to be in this body, in this true Church, Pray that
they might become seekers after you and that you by your spirit
would lead them and direct them and that they would come out
finding the word already in their heart and confess Jesus Christ
as their Lord as their Savior in Jesus name we pray amen