FINALLY, BRETHREN

    This last chapter is for you my non-Pentecostal brother. My book has put you at ease. It assures you that you are right. My spiritual journey is similar to yours. Perhaps you would like me to go even further, all the way to the end of a logical conclusion, and say that the present speaking in tongues which is both anti- and extra-scriptural can only be of diabolical origin. I have not said that, it is true, because conscientiously I cannot go beyond what I have seen for myself to be true or false. Certainly I recognize that the father of  lies is waiting in ambush behind this experience. Some people affirm that they have, according to the commandment of Scripture, tested the spirits controlling those who speak in tongues and have found that they were demons. I have not gone that far. I have not received the gift of testing the spirits other than by examining the Scriptures. The simple use of a tape recorder has confirmed this scriptural examination and revealed that a spirit of error is presiding over the speaking in tongues today. The spirit of error is certainly not the Holy Spirit. Perhaps you will tell me that a satanic spirit and a spirit of error are as different as a white hat and a hat that is white. Since you insist, I would refer you to the writings of Dr. Gerald E. MacGraw which are, in fact, an extension of my own book. I suggest that you consider a few short excerpts from his interesting article entitled "Tongues Should Be Tested":

    "...after a few moments of prayer, we ask the person who came for counseling to speak in tongues ... For most of them had already exercised the gift of tongues during their private devotions. Then the leader of the group interrogates the spirit who inspires the speaking in tongues, not the person himself. Many doubted the authenticity of this gift, but many others were certain that this test would confirm its divine origin. The shocking fact is that more than 90% had to admit after this test the demonic origin of their gift of tongues. There are many Pentecostals and charismatics who recognize that demonic tongues exist. However, they insist that their gift is genuine. A young woman asked to have her gift tested because she felt there were evil influences in her life ... she was sure that her gift was of divine origin. Another woman in her church who had the gift of discernment had assured her that in her case the gift came from the Holy Spirit. When we got together to Pray for the deliverance of this young woman, the spirit told us that he hated the Lord Jesus Christ. In questioning this demon, he confessed to be the origin of this girl's gift of tongues ... Even well grounded Christians can be possessed by a demon who speaks in tongues ... There have been missionaries home on furlough who have heard someone blaspheming in tongues, using the language of their mission field. Someone asked to see me. She was a remarkable Christian, gifted, well balanced and trustworthy, a soul winner ... it was impossible for me to imagine that this distinguished Christian could harbor a demon, concerning, the gift of tongues ... Soon she began to speak in tongues, expressing bitterness and hate towards Christ, towards herself and towards us. Undeniably, she had a demonic gift in tongues. Others ... are profoundly sincere and spiritual. Their life witnesses a true conversion, a real desire to grow in the Lord ... I do not believe that the demon who speaks in tongues can separate someone from Christ ... But the experiences that I have had in counseling show that multitudes of enthusiastic Christians think they are speaking in tongues when it is only an illusion."

    I leave Dr. MacGraw with the responsibility of his conclusions, but I do not contradict him. Others in Europe have come up with the same results as he. When George Burch tested the gift of tongues in 147 people in the United States he found that 3 cases were doubtful, whereas the 144 others were cases of demon possession. This is, however, an area of investigation to which I do not yet have access. I can neither deny nor confirm that the gift of tongues is, as Dr. MacGraw asserts, 90% of demonic origin. What I confirm nevertheless, Bible in hand, is that the gift is 100% false.

Indian Wrestling

    It is between the two of us, my brother. We are going to arm wrestle. You want to catch me off guard, pushing me to say what I do not want to say. With three seemingly irresistible tries, you would like to force my hand.

Since the gift of tongues does not come from God, it must come from Satan.
You would like to add the weight of James 3:11, relating to the use of the tongue, "Does a fountain send out from the same opening both sweet and bitter water?"
With unbeatable logic, you would like to draw the only possible conclusion: those by whom Satan speaks cannot belong to Christ. Christ and Belial cannot cohabitate the same life (II Cor 6:15). Destiny: 1000 degrees Centigrade for eternity!
    Be careful! With that kind of reasoning you might very likely be brought before the bar yourself. For you also praise the Lord Who saved you from a great condemnation by His sacrifice. And the same lips which are a source of fresh water during the worship service on Sunday become a spring of bitter outside the church when you slander your brother, your co-worker, in the work which God has entrusted to him. And you say that it is a demon who speaks through your Pentecostal brother? You may be right, but who fills your own mouth when you bark unpleasant orders at your subordinate, when you stay stubbornly silent before your own spouse, when you slander your brother or despise him, or strike him with the rod of truth, boxing his ears instead of washing his feet? When you listen to some Christians during the week you wonder what they could sing on Sunday except the calumny from the opera "The Barber of Seville" by Gioacchino Rossini!*
    Confess that your fountain sometimes gives fresh water, sometimes bitter, and that this bitterness is not of God.

*Dr. Bartolo, the suspicious old guardian of the beautiful Rosina, is fearful of losing his ward to the handsome young nobleman, Count Almavira. In the aria "La Calumnia" (Calumny) Don Basilio, a music teacher, advises Bartolo to plant a rumor about the Count which will cause Rosina to reject him. Basilio describes slander as something which begins from a small insinuation, which then grows into a fearful tempest and which at last falls in fury upon the helpless victim.

Who Is to Blame?

    Moreover, do you not understand to what extent you are responsible for the slipping away of those in your congregation who seek manifestations of the Spirit? One day I went to a shoe store to buy a new pair of shoes. When the salesman saw what I had on my feet, he said something which I will never forget, "Your shoes are very tired and worn out." Can the same thing be said about your church meetings? They are tired and worn out. The songs are tired, the messages are tired. Certainly they still fit, but how worn out they are! Freshness and spontaneity among brothers have grown long beards. Your brotherly love is also tired. Do not forget that people always prefer warm error to cold truth. Too often the truth you profess is nothing more than cold orthodoxy. People cannot warm themselves very well on an iceberg, even less in a deep freeze! An old sputtering, smoking, wood burning stove will create a warmer and cozier atmosphere than a sophisticated furnace which is running only at a fourth of its capacity. There is no place for lukewarmness in the work of God. Souls are not being saved. The Spirit was given to us so that we would have an abundant life, nothing less. Where the life of the Spirit is abundant and flowing with living waters, Christians are not in danger of slipping into false experiences offered as a panacea to heal all the ills of the church.

It is also Written

    Slowly but surely I come to the end of my book. It was especially for you, my non-Pentecostal brother, that I wrote it, not for the others. They will no more be persuaded of their error than a Jehovah's Witness would be persuaded of Christ's Deity, even when shown the truth in the Scriptures. More than ever, I am on your side. I have recognized the truth of your teaching and the purity of your doctrine. Recommend this book to those who are troubled by the charismatic's siren song. After all, I lent my ear to their melody, but by the grace of God, the help of the Spirit, and the light of the Word, I was able to avoid their dangerous reefs. You have finished this book. It would be good to pick it up again and read it carefully once more, systematically studying the truths brought out, and the errors which are exposed. The questionnaire at the end will help you to answer those who ask you a reason of your hope (I Pet 3:15).

    Well equipped for every good work, you will then be a man of God who accurately handles the Word of Truth (II Tim 2:15). Without ceasing you must bring back to the Scriptures all those who have strayed to experiences which are only scriptural in name. Remind them that three times during the temptation in the desert, Satan proposed experiences to our Lord and each time Christ replied, "It is written" (Matt 4:7). When the Adversary becomes more subtle in his seduction and says, "It is written", we must answer, "It is also written." Just as our divine Example, we must dare to say to those who are blown here and there by every wind of doctrine, what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, "You worship that which you do not know..." (John 4:22). It may even be necessary to resist them to their face. Contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3), and following the example of our Master, tell them with truth and love, "You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures..." (Matt 22:29).

Bible Teaching about the Church

The New Testament contains a clear pattern for how a church should operate. These pages summarize relevant scriptures to what a church is and how it affects our modern day practices. You can also hear Mr. Crawford preach a companion series of messages titled Gathering Unto His Name in the audio section.

1. Preface

2. Definitions

3. The Pattern for an assembly

4. Traditions

5. Distictions between the Body of Christ and a local assembly

6. The Seven Meetings of an Assembly

7. Priviledges and Responsibility of Assemblies

8. History

 Questions and Answers about the Church

PREFACE

It was the sin of Adam in Eden that first closed the door on the meeting of God with man. Through Jacob, God promised that ?unto Him (Messiah) shall the gathering of the people be? (Gen 49:10). To Israel, God said, ?There I will meet with thee and I will commune with Thee from above the mercy-seat? (Exod 25:22). Because it was accepted as atonement for sin, the blood on the mercy-seat typically allowed God to commune with man. The promise was fulfilled when the Shekinah Glory filled the tabernacle and the divine Pres­ence was displayed as the gathering center of the camp of Israel (Exod 40:34).

When God brought Israel into the promised land, He chose out of their tribes a place to put His name (Deut 5:12). To this place Israel brought their burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, heave offerings, vows, first fruits arid free­will offerings. At this place of God?s choice, they met before the Lord, wor­shipped and heard His Word.

There is not any one physical place that God has chosen today out of the world, but we gather to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ in His name and the promise of God is true in a far deeper sense, ?There will I meet with thee and will commune with thee?. This book attempts to describe such a meeting with the Lord. Such a meeting place is a New Testament assembly gathered in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

A DEFINITION OF THE CHURCH

The meaning of ?church?, ekklesia, is out calling. It is not the kind of a word that can apply to a building, nor is it ever used in the New Testament to describe an organization made up of a number of congregations that have been organized together to form a denomination.

?Church? occurs in the Authorized Version of the New Testament 115 times. Three times it refers to a municipal meeting in the city of Ephesus (Acts 19:32,39), once it refers to Israel (Acts 7:38), the other 111 times it refers either to the church which is the body of Christ (Eph 1:22, 23), or to a church in a locality made up of a company of believers who meet regularly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as a church of God. We must determine which of the two aspects of the church is in the text by the context.

THE CHURCH WHICH IS HIS BODY

In Matthew 16:18, the church Christ would build was still future. The simple future tense of the verb ?will build? should settle for everyone that the church did not exist before the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit bap­tized believers into the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13). This was a new beginning and brought into being the spiritual body of Christ (Eph 1:22-23; 2:19-22). It is called, ?the church which is His body?, ?a holy temple in the Lord? and ?a habitation of God through the Spirit?.

The ?body of Christ? is made up of all believers in this church age. All who have been saved in this day of grace have been baptized by the Spirit into the body. This is not a privilege that is reserved for believers who are spiritu­ally advanced beyond others, for even the Corinthians, who were said to be carnal, were ?all baptized into one body.. .and had all been made to drink into one Spirit? (1 Cor 12:13).

This age is a parenthesis in God?s prophetic program for the ages, an inde­terminate period of time that cannot be found in the Old Testament. The great time prophecies of the Old Testament (Lev 23:4 -44; Dan 9:24-27), and the parables of the mystery aspect of the kingdom in the New Testament (Matt 13:1-58), make it clear that the rejection of the King and His death on the cross, stopped the clock of prophecy at the end of the 69th heptad, 483 years from the ?going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem? (Dan 9:25). ?Messiah was cut off, but not for Himself? (v 26). The remainder of the prophetic program awaits the 70th heptad, which we identify as the ?time of trouble? (Dan 12:1), ?the great tribulation? (Rev 7:14).

This ?age of the Spirit? or ?church age? is not part of the divine plan of the ages which centers around God?s purposes for Israel, the earthly people He has chosen. In spite of the one use of the word ?church? for Israel (Acts 7:38), Israel was never the church. Stephen?s use of the word is merely saying that Israel, called out of Egypt to the Lord in the wilderness were also a ?called out? people. Those who were saved out of Israel in early days of testimony, or are saved up to this present day, cease to be part of Israel and become members of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13; Eph 2:14-22).

This parenthetic ?church age? fulfills the purpose of God to take out of the Gentiles a people for His name (Acts 15:14). Whatever we see happening in God?s purposes for Israel are no more than ?coming events casting their shad­ows before them?.

THE CHURCH OF GOD - AN ASSEMBLY OF BELIEVERS

The first mention of an assembly of believers in Scripture is found in the words of the Lord in Matthew 18:15-20. Using ?the law of first mention? as a key to understanding Scripture, we can confidently say that this first mention of an assembly contains major features of assembly truth as it is later devel­oped in the Acts, 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy.

Never are a number of assemblies joined together and called, The Church of anything. Their are only two aspects of the church in the NT: the ?church which is His body? and a ?church of God?. In the 13 times that this latter term is used, it can be shown that it always refers to a single assembly in a given locality. This is even true of its use by Paul in Galatians 1:13, because the only assembly in existence at that time was the church at Jerusalem even though its members were scattered as far away as Damascus (Acts 8:1).

We have no quarrel with the word ?church?, but prefer to use ?assembly? for a local company because ?church? has at least two very common wrong uses in the religious world. It is frequently used for a building, which it can never be, nor can it be used for an organization, a confederation of congrega­tions that have joined together and taken a denominational name to distinguish them from the rest of the professing church.

When a number of assemblies are being described, they may be called:

1. Churches of God - their purpose.

2. Churches of Christ - their Lord.

3. Churches of saints - their composition.

4. Churches of Gentiles - their background.

5. Churches of Galatia - their location.

ONE DISTINCTIVE NAME - LORD JESUS CHRIST

Matthew 18:20 is the truth of an assembly in the same way that John 3:16 is the truth of the Gospel. We do not question that John 3:16 is a wonderful and full statement of Gospel truth, yet it says nothing directly about sin, re­pentance or justification. Matthew 18:20 does not detail every facet of assem­bly truth, but it is a beautiful comprehensive statement that is in full agree­ment with all that the New Testament reveals about an assembly.

In this first mention of an assembly are four precious truths about the one name in which an assembly is gathered.

The Authority of His name.

The Uniqueness of His name.

The Attraction of His peerless name.

The Exclusion of every other name.

Because the background of this great verse is an offence and a matter of church discipline, it is good to compare it to just such a meeting in the assem­bly at Corinth. Paul wrote, ?In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one...? (1 Cor 5:4). In both cases, the prominent features are: 1. an assembly gathered; 2. in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; 3. with the authority and presence of the Lord Jesus promised. These are features of ev­ery assembly gathering.

A brief, closer look at Matthew 18:20 is necessary:

?For where two or three are? - a meeting is taking place.

?Having been gathered together? - it is a meeting of an assembly that has been gathered as a permanent testimony, called the church (v 17), that has at a time in the past been gathered together by power outside of themselves. This perfect passive particle means that they did not gather themselves. We are assured that God (the Holy Spirit) is the Gatherer (John 4:23; Acts 15:14; 1 Cor 3:6).

In My name - The Gathering Center is the Lord Jesus Christ. ?In (or unto) His name? means attraction to His Person and the recognition of His supreme authority in the gathering.

?There am I in the midst of them? - His abiding presence is promised. The two words that are translated ?in? are different, but closely related. The only way that we can be assured of the second ?in? is to have experienced the first ?in?. Unless we have been gathered out by God from the world and its systems and all that is merely man-made, and been gathered unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ alone, we cannot claim His presence in the midst. This is the very plain definition of a New Testament assembly.

FOUR OBJECTIONS TO THIS --USE OF MATTHEW 18:20

1. Does not contain all the truths about an assembly.

2. No assembly existed when the words were spoken.

3. It is a personal offense, not assembly fellowship.

4. This is a case of discipline.

Objections 1, 2 and 4 are true, but this does not subtract from the impor­tance of this verse. It does not contain all the truth of an assembly, but it is the truth in embryo. No assembly existed at this time, but anyone reading Matthew?s Gospel with care knows that from chapter 11, where the King is rejected, the Lord Jesus gives truth for the time when He will be absent.

It is humbling to us that the first teaching of assembly truth is against a background of human failure; one brother has caused offence to another. But it also encourages us to know that in spite of sin and failure, God can and has maintained testimony to His name. The one sheep that went astray (v 12), is sought diligently by the one, two or three. If they had succeeded in his recov­ery, there would have been great rejoicing. In the refusal of the straying one to hear them or to hear the church, there was great sorrow.

This offence was initially personal and could have been settled between the two participants, but when this failed, it became a matter for seeking shep­herds. When this effort failed, it became a church matter, and when the of­fender would not hear the church, discipline was necessary.

It can be argued that the two or three witnesses (v 16) are the same breth­ren that prayed, and met in verse 20. This means that the meeting together of verse 20 was a meeting of church shepherds (v 12-14), the smallest meeting of an assembly. If this is true, then it can be stated that what is true of the smallest meeting is also true of all assembly meetings, that is, that the gathering is in His name and the Lord Himself is in the midst.

TEN DESCRIPTIVE NAMES FOR AN ASSEMBLY