How to Find the Author’s Meaning

By Max Strange

4/16/2010

In understanding the text of a book, in this case the Bible, one can use certain procedures to ascertain the Author/author’s intended meaning. These procedures do not negate dependence upon the Holy Spirit for divine illumination. They do, however, aid the Christian to mine God’s word with hermeneutical tools that dig into buried treasure. Here are some tools to think on.

First, the Christian must assume several things before reading the text called pre-understanding (a.k.a. presuppositions). Consciously, the Christian must be aware of his own presuppositions. Identifying and building a set of solid Biblical presuppositions will aid the Christian to determine the author’s meaning. The following are a few vital presuppositions:

• The Bible is truly God’s Word

• God’s Word can be known & Interpreted

• God is communicator

• Man is receiver/interpreter

• Man is fallen

• Man lives within a hermeneutical disaster

• Man needs God’s Spirit to overcome this disaster

• God’s Word is couched in Redemptive History

• Jesus is the main theme of all the Scriptures

• Jesus is bringing about the New Creation

Second, the Christian must take his set of presuppositions and read the text. This is not a profound statement but it is a profound activity. This procedure is technically called recognition. Recognition does not dissect the Word or proceed critically or advance technically upon. The Christian simply goes to the texts to breath in what God has breathed out. C.S. Lewis said that this should be a love activity where “tireless curiosity…intensity of imagination…unspoiled appetite…and readiness to wonder…” are all pulled together to hear God-speech. It is a time to hear from the Timeless. It is the reading of the Word where the Christian doesn’t meet himself, his ideas, or his opinions, but His God. He runs face-first into the Author with a capital ‘A.’ The Christian reader engages in active reading for a time of recognition, observation, for Gospel saturation.

The third step is called comprehension. This is what I call the “What-cha-talk'n About-Willis-Hermeneutic?” This interpretive tool basically asks questions and the most important question is this: what is the Author/author talking about? The active reader, seeking comprehension ought to ask questions. Here, the reader employs the questions of who, what, when, where, and the why. These will help to determine the immediate verse, the surrounding paragraphs, the book as a whole, and how that author elucidates how his message fits the whole of redemption within the entire Canon. This comprehension phase will also determine essential theological themes and finally the Author/author’s main purpose.

Last of all, in order to find the author’s intended meaning, one moves into interpretation. With all the previous data, a crystallized statement will be formed to know with certainty the Author/author’s intent and meaning. Here, the interpretive key is the question, “What is the Author/author talking about” within the immediate and far reaching context. It is here that the questions previously asked are now answered.

These steps are rough guidelines in order to determine the meaning of a text. When a Christian sees his own presuppositions, moves into the text to read and hear from God, seeks to comprehend with the right questions and answer them, he will arrive at a clear and faithful understanding what the Author/author in fact meant to communicate.

A Brief Review of Walter Kaiser’s Four Levels

By Max Strange
4/16/2010

Walter Kaiser submits four levels necessary for one to have knowledge of a Biblical context. These four are:

• Sectional context

• Book context

• Canonical context

• Immediate context

Sectional context tells us that one goal for the reader is to locate sections or slightly exposed seams that aid the reader to see the author’s meaning. These sections can be identified by repeated phrases, key words repeated, conjunctions or adverbs, rhetorical questions, change in time and location, or a shift from one group to another. Book context tells us the plan of the book when one joins these sectional parts together. Sometimes the author tells us the purpose plainly (John 20:31-32; Luke 1:1-4). However, in most books the purpose must be more diligently sought out by pulling the contents and transitions together from section to section and from paragraph to paragraph. Sections, details, themes, and observation are gathered to help determine the Author/author’s implied theme. Canonical context, for Dr. Kaiser, is a side item in which after all the exegetical work is performed, is used to see what God has to say on the topic. This seems to create two interpretations, one for the immediate audience and one in the far-reaching story-line, which dislocates the text under investigation from redemptive history. This also seems to communicate that the task of exegesis discovery cannot include a meta-narrative/Canon/big picture presupposition for fear that this would detract the hunt for the one meaning for the original audience. Dr. Kaiser appears to place the author at odds with the Canon and the immediate audience at odds with God’s meta-narrative or overall scope of the entire Bible storyline. Given the fact the God is the author of all of Scripture, and Genesis 3:15 is moving all of history to it climax, then it would not seem so impossible to do the work of exegesis with an overarching principle in a Christian’s presuppositional framework. Lastly, the Immediate context helps the reader to consider the prose paragraphs and assists him to discover how various sections of a book relate to one another.

Mr. Kaiser is right by stating that the “primary obligation is to find this thread of thought which runs like a life stream through the smaller and larger parts of every passage” (71). Kaiser speaks of this life streams as the thread running through it all, but he cuts this thread into little pieces that start and end with each book in the Bible. This life stream never flows through all of Scripture in a marvelous and historically redemptive way because he builds 66 dams that halt the stream. Kaiser is scared to look down the barrel of the Canon.

It should be said that the unifying theme, this Life Stream that Kaiser so speaks of, is Jesus Christ. Genesis 3:15 is the Stone in the pond that in every direction sends Jesus ripples. Christ goes out in every direction and is either there explicitly or implicitly. As Charles Spurgeon once said, “I’d rather see Jesus where He isn’t, than to miss Him where He is,” which is to say that Spurgeon’s presupposition when approaching a passage was to see Jesus Christ as that Life Stream running through it all. Even though he articulates it, Canonical context is where Dr. Kaiser is most weak and fails to employ his own advice.

Dr. Kaiser gives a good summary to help Christian’s determine context. Yet, he sells short the Canon, this Jesus Life Stream, which runs through the Bible. Perhaps, and no doubt with good intention, Dr. Kaiser reacted too strongly against Liberal theologians, and created a narrow grid to keep out those poisoners. Unfortunately, he cornered himself by only looking for the author’s meaning instead of the Author/author’s meaning. He cannot see the entire Redemptive Life Stream of Christ that harmoniously connects the 66 books of the Bible and opts for solitary and isolated book meanings. When one actually uses the Life Stream in his or her hermeneutic, Scripture interpreting Scripture makes complete sense and rising up over the hill one will finally see the great vista of historic redemption in Jesus Christ.

Edward Scissor-Hands and Bible Abuse

By Max Strange
4/7/2010

Since the beginning of the Church Age, the Word of God has been handled by many people who resemble the fictional character Edward Scissor-Hands. Inside and outside the church, people approach God’s Word with scissor hands and cut it into subjective shreds. Dangerous methods are employed as the reader becomes the new author of the material, inserting his own opinion and interpretation. These "new Bible authors" say what they want it to say instead of allowing the Bible say what it is meant to say. What emerges from many Bible interpretations an imaginary creation imposed on the text of the Bible, a quasi-spiritual meaning fashioned after the reader’s own image. The following examples demonstrate in brief, a few ways the snippers have snipped the Bible into shreds.

People often approach the Bible only from the perspective of their immediate personal circumstances. This means they interpret strictly in terms of the events going on around them. One such instance, a woman told a Christian counselor that God had told her to divorce her husband and marry another man (with whom she was romantically involved). She cited Paul’s command in Ephesians 4:2, “Put on the new man…” as the key to the decision. Yet, this new man is not literally a new “husband.” This new man is the Christian who is no longer the old man but one who has been born from above and commanded to be what one already has become. Another example that makes the point is of a young man who, at the brink of decision, had to determine whether to enlist in the Armed Forces or go to college. Opening his Bible at random, he saw a passage in Ezekiel that spoke of people coming from Tarshish to Tyre in ships (27:25). Based on that, this young man saw this as his call to join the Navy.

Next, we see how some people do not see the cultural distance between us and the original audience. In Leviticus 19:19, God commands His people not to wear garments that are made of two kinds of material. If this is so, we might as well throw out everything in our closets that blend fabrics such as wool, polyester, micro fiber and cotton and go back to the organic fig leaf. It is important to understand the context, the author’s meaning and the intended audience before one goes so far as trashing all his clothes that are made of two fabrics.

Other verses are grossly slashed by proof texting. People use Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” to mean that they can succeed in anything they set out to do. Also, Psalm 127:3-5 speaks of sons as a heritage from the Lord and a man who has many has a full quiver of arrows is surely blessed. This popular passage, used often in weddings, is interpreted by to mean that God is commanding couples to have large families. In 1 Samuel 26:11, Pentecostals often say how one should not question the authority of the pastor or prophet. The text says, “The Lord forbids that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed…”

Because of the Fall of Adam, we are all led to do the above examples, and are continuously led away from a Christless interpretation. We are prone to rip verses from their context, perform wild proof-texting, employ Bible roulette, neglect the context, banish the Author/author, and make our personal interpretation reign and rule. We, so often, embody Edward Scissor-Hands as we rip through God’s precious Word with sharp blades of subjectivism and erroneous presuppositions. This is why Christian must depend on God’s Spirit to illuminate the mind of Christ they now possess. Therefore, Christians must have a sound hermeneutic that arises and builds out from God’s own Word. Let us put away our negligent Edward Scissor-Hands-Hermeneutic and have sharp minds that conform to God’s Word (Rom. 12:2).

The Hermeneutical Christ (Senus Christos)

By Jason Strange
4/3/2010

Man's big failure happened when he misinterpreted Gods word. Through the cunning and craftiness of the serpent man has lost his ability to rightly interpret God, God's world, and his relationship to both. Satan had introduced a bold new hermeneutic deconstructing Gods word and then reconstructing it in a way that led Eve to be the first human practioner of eisegesis, thus leading the human race into an epistemological wilderness.

Ever since that dark day we needed someone to step in and interpret Gods will for man. God did not see fit that we should be left in this dismal state without proper interpretation . Israel was chosen out of all the nations to be a mediatorial race, a light to the nations, an epistemological beacon. God sent mediators by way of the prophets, priest, and judges to mediate on behalf of the nation, but they failed as they bought into the Satanic man-centered Hermeneutic of the surrounding nations and they too like their parents were led away to a false interpretation of God's word. The tabernacle and the temple were the meeting grounds for this mediation, but then God's presence departed just before their deportation (Ez. 10).

We see the travesty when Gods interpretation of reality is stiff-armed: Angels rebel, man is ousted from his paradise, Gods presence is removed, Cain kills Abel, wickedness increases in the earth, Gods watery wrath is unleashed on the world, Babel is built, Sodomites are blinded, Lots wife becomes a salty pillar, Sarah laughs, Esau sells his birthright, Jacob walks with a limp, Joseph is sold into slavery, Moses strikes the rock, David commits adultery, Solomon sleeps around. Israel resorts to cannibalism. When man becomes his own interpreter he begins to unravel . Thus God's glory is profaned.

But the time of Reformation had come and the final mediator has arrived. He being the very Word of God, the first communicator before the world began, the one who spoke everything into existence comes to earth and speaks again. He communicates the message as Gods perfect messenger, that he is the focal point of all of Scripture, all of life, and all of history. He perfectly takes the words given to Him by his Father and communicates the gospel message to the world. He comes to fulfill a message already given and gives the proper interpretation of it. He incarnates Gods word, so that he is Word walking, Word talking, Word, receiving, and word responding; He is Word suffering, Word dying, Word resurrecting, Word purchasing, Word conquering, and now Word sending through His Spirit. He is the One who perfectly unveils all of history's meaning as He himself is the originator, and in Him history finds its apex.

This is also the reason way Jesus is the interpretative norm for all of Scripture. Colossians 1:15-16 says that all reality was created by Christ, through Christ, and for Christ and in Colossians 2:2-3 it says that in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and understanding. Jesus has created all things for himself and He is the one who ascribes meaning to all that he has made. And being that all treasures of wisdom are found in him he is the only key to unlock those treasures. Man may be able to cut across the grain of certain truths about the universe but he can never tap into the weighty mysteries of the Godhead and the profound nature of Christ and the Gospel. Without Christ as the interpretative norm- the Scriptures become vandalized and the interpretative graffiti of the world is sprayed over the pristine wall of truth. Nevertheless, Christ stands as the epicenter for all interpretation. He makes all Scripture quake with seismic activity. Just as Galileo discovered that the sun is the center of our solar system and made astonishing gains in scientific study and inquiry so too, when we see that every passage orbits around Christ, the Church will realize its blazing center.

And last, I agree that the whole of the Bible is the Gospel. John 20:31; *Heb. 4:1-2,11; Romans 15:4; *John 5:39, *Lk 24:27, *Lk 24:24; *2 Tim. 3:15. The OT was a book of promise and the NT is a book of fulfillment, therefore the Gospel is a uniting of both, and the message of the Gospel is interwoven throughout the whole story line.

'The 3:15 Hermeneutic'

By Jason Strange
4/3/2010

In Genesis 3:15 a curse is given to Satan concerning his demise and this by the one who will crush his serpentine skull. This One who makes all this happen, this 'skull crusher' is Jesus Christ; he comes from the seed of the woman and his offspring are at war with the seed of the serpent. This is the Biblical pattern we see unfolding throughout all of the Bible.

This is what I call the 3:15 Hermeneutic , whereby this becomes the silhouette laid on top of all redemptive History. This is God's meta-narrative, his over-arching map, this becomes the paradigm , the state of things. So that all of history, every person, every decision ever made, God in his providence is working all history's minor and major events to the culmination of this one great ending, this climatic finish. This is astonishing to think about... that all of history has to bend and contort and conform and move as God is making it so, that the revelation of 3:15 can occur. This is the bulldozer pushing throughout history's time line carving out God's plan and shoving the darkness out to its edge and dumping it into hell. 3:15 hums and echoes throughout Scripture and we can begin to see it along the story line, Cain kills Abel (3:15); The flood (3:15); Sodom and Gomorrah (3:15), Israel's deliverance from Egypt (3:15) Salvation through Joseph includes not only rescue from famine, but a change of heart in his brothers (3:15), David-the giant slayer and Israel's military general subduing the nations (3:15), Jonah in Nineveh (3:15); Elijah on Mt. Carmel (3:15) ect...

When we consider how this impacts our Hermeneutics we must realize that there is an overlapping cohesive relationship between history, revelation, and salvation; Reason being: God gives revelation in real time and space. God's word creates the timeline, his word upholds and sustains the timeline and is constantly intersecting the historical timeline; this word is the message of salvation so that they are all moving in tandem with one another. The relationship is such that as we engage in biblical hermeneutics we are engaged in events that have happened in history and this history has one end in mind, one purpose, that Christ be glorified through the salvation of his people. Revelation (God's word) is moving history and redemption is its theme. Just as the sun is dragging our solar system throughout space so too is God's word carving a path and dragging us with it. So when we interpret the Bible we obviously don't disengage in history but history is in our face, we can use grammatical historical means to gain a better understanding of the people and the times, but we can also use a redemptive historical Hermeneutic so that we can see the skull crusher (as he truly is without imposing him upon the text, because he is already there) working along the time line, showing forth the Gospel and rescuing his people from enslavement of sin and death, and bringing them home.

3:15 has been partially fulfilled through Christ death and resurrection (as he has disarmed the enemy), but the complete fulfillment comes when He returns in glory and then a new-age will dawn and the enemy of our souls will be disposed of and detained, and this will usher in a new hermeneutic .

Apostolic Churches and the Apostolic Age

By Ben Zemmer

The current state of the western world bears a striking resemblance to the world at the time of the early church. George Hunter points out that functional pluralism and practical secularism – (the absence of substantial Christian influence) marked the days of Paul in ways very similar to today (Hunter, p.20). Rather than viewing the demise of “Christendom” in despair, Hunter sees the current era as a time of extraordinary opportunity (Hunter, p.22-24). He holds that if the church maintains traditional methodologies and structures, many within its ranks will follow the same fate as socio-political Christendom. To avoid this outcome and grasp the opportunity for growth, Hunter presses the importance of reaching secular un-churched non-Christians (Hunter, p.25). To those that accomplish this task well, Hunter gives the title “Apostolic Churches” because they recognize the importance of their calling and mission just as the Apostles did (Hunter, p.28). Churches that bear this title focus on the “gospel of early apostolic Christianity” and adapt “to the language and culture of the target population” (Hunter, p.28).

Hunter correctly diagnosed one of the significant problems with American Evangelicalism. Whether it is American individualism or the plain tendency of human sinful nature to be self-focused and complacent, there are great numbers of professing believers who “believe evangelism is very important, but...still don’t do it” (Hunter, p.24). Hunter made some insightful prescriptions including a renewed focus on the Scriptures, prayer, compassion, and commission (Hunter, p.29). While a focus on these areas is absolutely necessary, I would only add that such a focus and such a desired change cannot happen without the faithful proclamation of the word. The only thing that will sustain vital and real compassion for the lost is gospel reality worked in the hearts of God’s people by the Holy Spirit. The local body of believers need to see continually how the lines connect between the gospel and its outworking, particularly compassion for the lost that results in sharing the gospel. Hunter’s prescriptions because they are not laden with gospel have a tendency to man-centeredness, rather than Christ-centeredness.

Clearcreek has historically been among the category of churches that does not as a community continually reach out to un-churched un-believers. There are some wonderful individuals within the body who are gifted with evangelism, but this has not been a mark of the body as a whole. However, in recent years, Clearcreek has been growing and it is clear that the body is beginning to cast is eyes outward and gain a passion for the commission from our Great Shepherd. This is not due to any seeker-sensitive methodology, but rather the careful exposition of the Word. Greater growth will come as we corporately step out with confidence on the truths we know by grace.

Lee Stroubel’s Four Populations

By Ben Zemmer

In explaining the different types of numeric growth in American churches, Lee Stroubel charted out four different groups: churched Christians, churched non-Christians, unchruched Christians, and unchurched non-Christians (Hunter, p.26). These categories are helpful in understanding how large congregations can popup in one place or another without a significant number of conversions. However, the third item in the list is problematic, “unchurched Christians”. Within this title is the dangerous presumption that just because someone claims to be a believer but has never been involved in a local church is actually a believer. The Apostle John made it very clear that those who are true believers express love for other believes in the context of community. George Hunter called unchruched Christians, “people who believe but do not belong” (Hunter, p.26). This is a direct contradiction to the biblical theme explained and detailed in several of the epistles regarding the body of Christ. It is not possible for any member of the human body to survive if it is severed from the rest. The same is true for professing believers. No true believer will deny his need for and identity within the body of Christ. Nearly all the imperatives in the New Testament take place in the community of believers. Look for instance, at the repetition of the phrase of “one another” all across the books of the New Testament.

It is indeed helpful to understand where growth in numbers is coming from, but every believer must be wary of selling the gospel short. The vast majority of people who wander about in the western world apart from the local church are demonstrating themselves to be apart from Christ, and they need to hear a loving and clear proclamation of the gospel.

The Antioch Tradition and a Strategy for this Current Age

By Ben Zemmer

Long after Paul and Barnabas are off the scene, there is significant evidence that the missionary outlook of the church in Antioch continued planting churches as far away as North India (Pasquato and Simonetti, p.48). What kind of thinking and structure sustains mission outlook over hundreds of years as it did in Antioch? Admittedly, the early church was not the picture of perfection. As the centuries passed, what was at first only a hint of error became a gaping hole in the ramparts of Christian theology. In spite of the lurking presence of error, it is fascinating to see traces of the passion and gospel witness recorded in the book of Acts in the continued expansion of the gospel over the centuries in the regions surrounding Antioch of Syria. As one scholar said in reference to the mission outlook of Antioch in the first few centuries of the early church, “it was the local Episcopal churches who sustained the mission in the territories of the Empire” (Baus qtd in Pasquato and Simonetti, p.48). It is important to note the continued involvement of local congregations in the spread of the gospel to the far reaches of the Roman Empire.

It may be fascinating to examine ancient architecture and culture and observe the annals of kings and conquests at the time of the early church, the most important surviving record of the church in Antioch resides in the pages of Scripture.

 Acts 11:19-21 – The persecution following the execution of Stephen scattered believers from Jerusalem to Antioch who shared the gospel and made converts as they went particularly among the gentile Hellenists.

 Acts 11:22-25 – Seeing the growth of the gospel in Antioch the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to guide and strengthen the believers. Needing help in the growing ministry Barnabas sought Paul. Together the two labored among the believers proclaiming the gospel.

 Acts 11:27-30 – It was not only Barnabas who came from Jerusalem for ministering among the people of Antioch. Following the initial growth of the church in Antioch, a flow of leaders (prophets) came down from Jerusalem. Due to their ministry the believers in Antioch desired to send help by the hands of Barnabas and Paul, to fellow believers in Jerusalem suffering from a famine.

 Acts 12:25 – Clearly the mission of Barnabas and Paul to deliver aid to Jerusalem was not a mere drop off operation, but rather involved time in order to complete their service to the brothers in Jerusalem. On their return to Antioch they brought a coworker John Mark

 Acts 13:1 – Luke gives a glimpse into the leadership of the church in Antioch which included prophets and teachers

 Acts 13:2-3 – In the context of worship and fasting the Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Paul for ministry beyond the borders of Syria. After more fasting and prayer the leaders of the Church in Antioch recognized the call of the Holy Spirit by laying hands on the two of them (ordination) and sent them out.

 Acts 14:26-28 – Upon returning from their work of gospel proclamation and establishing of churches, Barnabas and Paul reported what God had done among the gentiles. This was a report that was not a mere exchange of information, but rather a reunion of close family whose sweet fellowship required “no little time” (v.28). Luke also makes it clear that it was in Antioch that they were “commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled” (v.26). This adds further significance to the laying on of hands they received at their sending. Luke reminds of an important preceding event namely their commissioning when recounting their return.

The example of the church in Antioch is both a striking and compelling one. Clearly, the outward-looking gospel-centered focus of the church there is normative because Luke weaves Antioch as one of the primary themes in his narrative in Acts. No true church willingly lives in isolation from other gospel believing churches. Antioch had much to benefit from Jerusalem, which in turn had much to benefit from Antioch. Together, the churches in both cities accomplished much for the expansion of the Kingdom of Christ through the proclamation of the gospel and the establishment of new churches.

In all actuality, the differences between the Antioch church in the first century and the gospel embracing church in the western world today are quite minimal. Just as the church expanded in Antioch through the proclamation of the gospel and the establishing of churches, so it does and will today. The western world in recent years has been in the throws of cultural upheaval. Segmented individualism paired with relativist postmodernism creates a wide variety of social demographics. It is tempting for those who have bought into a man-centered worldview, to cater ministries and even entire churches to given social groups (Gibbs, p.69). Because recent generations are increasingly postmodern, Eddie Gibbs argues that the church “authority base must be less positional and far more relational than in previous generations”(Gibbs, p.69). In his opinion, this involves a “flattening of hierarchical ecclesiastical structures”(Gibbs, p.72).

If the Scriptures had nothing to say on the matter this concept might actually be innovative. But instead, such a concept runs against the distinct pattern of church leadership laid out in Acts and the Pastoral Epistles. Instead of removing biblically instituted hierarchy, the church must increasingly call unbelievers who have been disillusioned by sinful use of hierarchy in to close relationship and interaction with the believing community (Belcher, p.101-103). While this must be distinguished from the popular postmodern concept of “belong before believe”, there is great potential to overcome harmful preconceptions about authority by the live and personal gospel witness of believers’ love for one another. The state of the unregenerate heart is exactly the same today as it was in the first century, and since the fall in the garden for that matter. Faithful proclamation of the Scriptures through preaching is absolutely necessary for the growth of the church in this age as it was in the first century (Romans 10, 2 Timothy 4). This proclamation will overflow in a desire to expand the gospel to local communities and globally. This expansion must not be a project of individual churches, but rather a interdependent undertaking of churches of like mind as seen in the relationship between Jerusalem and Antioch. There may be a great deal of variety in the outworking of these concepts, but the heart is still the same: a Christ-centered passion for his bride the church and the expanse of His fame to the ends of the earth.

A Vision for Church Leadership in the Antioch Church Tradition

Ben Zemmer

The church in Antioch played a significant part in the expansion of the gospel in a large part of the Roman Empire. The power of their example does not come from the methods they used but rather from the gospel they faithfully proclaimed (Acts 11:20). Just as it was fitting that the Jerusalem church send Barnabas to aid in the growth of the church, so it was fitting for the very leadership of Antioch to send its two most experienced shepherds for the establishing of new churches in the far reaches of the empire (Acts 11:22; 13:1-3). Antioch embodied the normative thread in Luke’s narrative which is the proclamation of the gospel and the planting of new churches (13:48-49; 14:21-23).

Just as it was fitting that Jerusalem and Antioch send out their leaders, so it is fitting that churches in nowadays do the same. The leadership of churches that embody the example of Antioch recognizes that the expansion of the gospel through the proclamation of the Word and the planting of new churches is integral to the very identity of the church. Such churches recognize the need to share the best of their resources both financial and personal with fellow believers for the strengthening of the Body and the spread of the gospel. These churches recognize that they have much to give but also to receive and learn. Relationship among sister congregations is not a condescending one, but rather a cooperative relationship for the sharpening of one another in the gospel (Acts 11:22-30; 12:25). The leadership of such churches send their own not as token representatives but rather as a very extension of themselves for the blessing of those they are set to serve (Acts 13:1-3: 14:24-28). To pattern after the church in Antioch is to follow the biblical example.

Complementary Spheres of Ministry and Authority

By Ben Zemmer

The ministry of the church cannot be biblically separated from exercise of authority (Matt. 28:18-20). This statement might fall uncomfortably on the ears of many typical Americans. For many, the word authority resonates with domineering pride and dictatorial control. This could not be farther from the biblical use of authority in the church (1 Peter 5:1-5). Authority and ministry are not two competing entities, but rather complementary aspects of the leadership Christ has established in His church.

God has lovingly given the gift of servant leaders to the church for the growth of the body into the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:11-13). The offices of Elder and Deacon compose the leadership structure through which the ministry of the church is to be directed and guided for the glory of His name (1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5). Paul appealed to the Ephesian elders that they follow his example leadership in his tireless service (Acts 20:17-38). Peter exhorted elders including himself among them to serve the flock under their care with all humility and eagerness (1 Peter 5:3-5). In both these situations neither Peter nor Paul appeal for better care of the body by removing hierarchy, but rather calling for a Christ-like exercise of the authority that God has instituted for the good of the church. It is clear from many examples in Acts that the elership provided significant ministry oversight and direction (Acts 6:1-6; 11:30: 15:2-6,22-23; 16:4; 21:18).

In addition to functioning in humble service of local congregations as elders and overseers, the leadership also formed and maintained significant and substantial ties with other churches of like mind. When the young believers in Antioch need leadership, the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas (Acts 11:22). When the believers in Jerusalem were suffering from a widespread famine, the church in Antioch sent help by the hands of their two most experienced leaders Barnabas and Paul (Acts 11:29-30). This pattern of relationship further extended from Antioch to the churches that Paul and Barnabas later planted (Acts 14:24-28). It also manifested itself in the generosity of the Macedonian believers for the sake of the suffering believers in Judea (Rom. 15:26, 2 Cor. 8:1-5). Financial relief and physical help were not the only results of this interdependent concern. These churches encouraged and spurred each other on by their example (Phil. 4:15, 1 Thess. 1:7).

What a joy it is to serve under the leadership of elders committed to steward well the authority given them by Christ and oversee and guide ministry according to commission Jesus gave. Just as true church grows increasingly into conformity to the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13), so Clearcreek has grown noticibly in recent years. Certainly it has grown in number, but its outlook and mission passion have grown as well. Clearcreek has increasingly awakened to its glorious priviledge and call to partake in Christ’s expanding work through the proclamation of the gospel and the planting of new churches. This awakening has been a prime example of the relationship that biblical authority has to ministry. The elders are leading the body in ministry as they contemplate more closely the relationship this church has with other like-minded churches in the area, the possibilities of a new church plant, and the vital sending role it must have to the missionaries and evangelists that are commissioned by the church. If there is an aspect of ministry and authority that Clearcreek lacks in it is this one: a corporate comissional outlook.

Both the leadership and the body desperately need to hold fast to the captivating vision of God’s work locally and among the nations through the proclamation of the word and the planting of churches. There are many practical and specific ways that Clearcreek can demonstrate its interdependence with other likeminded churches. One example would be the inclusion of other pastors in important leadership formation activities such as training in the Biblical Theology Studies Center, and in the ordination of new elders. Another might be the interaction with other likeminded churches by means of informal hospitality at the flock and family levels. Such nurturing of relationships would then grant greater visibility into other ways that the church body can individually or corporately serve one another. It would also open doors for Clearcreek’s receiving of wisdom, insight, and admonishment from other believers on the basis of the Gospel. Even the planning for a future church plant could benefit from the understanding that Clearcreek is not an island. Many solid gospel embracing churches have progressed in many ways that Clearcreek has not. It would be good for Clercreek to nurture relationships with churches that are strong where Clearcreek is week and not just borrow their materials and implement our church plant on our own in isolation.

All the above suggestions with some effort could certainly be accomplished, yet with a legalistic determination and superficial sterility that is foreign to the gospel. Such a work in the congregation and among the leadership is only accomplished by the overflow of a passion for the supremacy of Christ in all things and an awe of the gospel. This is only a work of God through the Holy Spirit. Let us all pray to this end even as we trust that He is working in us to do it because Christ has done it.

Paul’s Concept of Establishing Churches

By Ben Zemmer

A cursory study of the usage of the Greek word sterizo in Acts and the epistles yields the idea of further deepening and strengthening of the believing community as a vital part of the maturing of a new local church. In the NASB, the word sterizo is translated “confirm” (1 Peter 5:10), “establish” (Romans 16:25; 1 Thessalonians 3:13), “established” (Romans 1:11; 2 Peter 1:12), “strengthen” (1 Thessalonians 3:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:17, 3:3; James 5:8), and “strengthening” (Acts 18:23). In his epistles, Paul often uses the word to describe his relationship with the newly formed churches – newly converted believers still in many ways young and week in their understanding of the Scriptures (1 Thessalonians 3:2). Luke used a derivative of sterizo (“episterizo”) when describing the work Paul and Barnabas did when returning to their newly planted churches on their way back to Antioch (Acts 14: 21-23).

Clearly included in sterizo is the ordering of the church and appointing elders (Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5). The health of a local church is in many ways tied to how well it is established in the truth – the gospel. Paul longed to preach the gospel to believers in Rome who had already heard the gospel upon their conversion, but they still needed to hear it in all its fullness and depth in order to be strengthened and established as a mature believing community (Romans 1:15). It would be incorrect to summarize Paul’s mission work as merely proclaiming the gospel and having made converts to progress on to the next city without any regard for or contact with the new believers in the new fledgling local church. In many ways his ministry was a full orbed process of leading churches from youth to adulthood, immaturity to maturity in their knowledge and application of the gospel.



Paul’s Establishing Process:

Studying Paul’s letters to the churches in conjunction with Luke’s account of in Acts can provide some helpful insight into how these churches progressed to maturity through Paul’s ministry in the gospel. Below is an approximate chronology of Paul’s pattern of establishing churches.

1. Proclaim the gospel (Acts 13:5; 14:15-17; 17:2-3; 18:4)

2. Recognize the believers (Acts 13:12, 48-49)

3. Appoint elders (Acts 14:21-23)

4. Address individual problems as they arise all the while applying the gospel (Acts 15:30; 2 Corinthians 1:15-2:4)

Paul: Household Management and Church Order

By Mr. Ben Zemmer

When giving instructions to Timothy as to how the church should function, he used the picture of a household. The common household of the day was very structured and had very defined roles and expectations. Paul took a common every day structure fundamental to the society of the day and used significant pieces of that structure as analogies for biblical truth. He was not blindly baptizing an entire social structure into Christianity, rather he was using the household structure as an effective teaching metaphor (Verner, p.106). In fact, under the lens of God’s sovereign rule over history, families exist and were created in part to demonstrate the close relationship of God to his people and His people to each other (Pythress, p.9).

All of the Scriptures and Paul’s writings in particular are rich with family terminology. The standing that believers have as adopted children of God the Father through Christ is a family picture (Galatians 4:1-7). Consistently throughout the Old Testament God referred to Israel in family terms. He spoke of his love to Israel as an adulterous bride (Hosea 4-9). In other times he spoke of Israel as His beloved son (Exodus 4:22). The Jesus Himself spoke of believers as his true family (Mark 3:35). In all the future promises for His people God scatters rich analogies of family relationship (Pythress, p.8). At the final crescendo of redemptive history Jesus Himself will dwell in fullness and glory with his people who stand before God as sons of the Father (Revelation 21:7).

Not only are the Scriptures rich with family terminology, their usage of family metaphors un-veil normative patterns for God’s people. Primary in Paul’s writings concerning the household of God is the imperative that just as one would care for an immediate family member – a father, a mother, a brother, or a sister – so should every believer care for spiritual family members in the body of Christ (Pythress, p.10). Or as Pythress stated it, “The church is like a family; therefore you must treat fellow church members like family members”(p.13). The scripture speaks in very strong terms for those who do not care for family members. Jesus even said it would be better for someone to have massive stone tied around his neck and cast into the sea than to not care for one of his children and cause them to stumble. It is in the family metaphor that believers better see their reconciliation with God in salvation which is the basis for how they should relate in love to fellow members of the household of faith (Pythress, p.14).

In sum, a primary way that the Scriptures and Paul in particular describe the people of God is in family terms. Not only are those terms descriptive, they are normative. It was Paul’s imperative to set in order the things that remain (Titus 1:5). And this order is in household terms. What a glorious truth that believers in Christ relate to God as Father in the closeness of family.

A New Testament Local Church

By Mr. Ben Zemmer

The New Testament local church is the focus of God’s redemptive work on earth. Paul describes the church as the blood bought bride of Christ (Eph. 5:25-27). Elsewhere he describes the church as a field (1 Cor. 3:9), a building (1 Cor. 3:10), a temple (Eph. 2:10), a tree (Rom. 11:17-24), a batch of dough (1 Cor. 5:6-7), a body (Rom. 12:4-5), and a household (Eph. 2:19). Primary among these metaphors is the picture of a household (Banks, p.53). In many ways the household metaphor builds on the other metaphors through its concepts of unity and intimacy of relationship (Banks, p.54). Just as households were ordered and had distinct roles and functions, so the church exists under God’s guidance through the word and with Christ as the head (Clark, p.83). In His role as head over the household, God defines what the church is through His Word. Anything outside His definition does not truly qualify as a church and His specific promises regarding the church do not apply to the group whatever it may be. Some of the essential characteristics of the local church could be summarized as the following:

1. Right Preaching of the Word (Dever, p.2).

The proclamation of the Scriptures is essential to the life and spiritual wellbeing of the church. “So faith comes from hearing , and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). These are no uncertain terms that highlight the fact that God uses His word as it rests on the hearer’s ear in the midst of His transforming word. This is particularly true of believers, but also of the unbelievers that God is drawing to himself. The Church cannot and must not abandon this means of grace lest it shrivel up and die.

2. The “Right Administration of the Ordinances” (Dever, p.3).

There were two particular commands in the scripture regarding the structure and content of gathering together as a body of believers. Baptism is a proclamation of trust in God and an entering into community. The Lord’s Table is a picture of the unity within the body. Each part is equally dependent on God just as the branch must be connected to the trunk if it is to survive.

3. A Careful Practice of Membership (Dever, p. 3).

Membership is a tool for determining whether or not lives are matching up with the confession. When Paul called on the leaders in Corinth to remove the sinful brother from the group he indicates that there was some level of knowledge already which delineated who is in and who is out. Membership in its essence is just that: a tool to show which people are abiding by and holding to their confession.

4. Qualified and Correctly Ordered Leadership (Dever, p.4).

Paul made it crystal clear in both letters to Timothy and to Titus the office of leader is to be regarded carefully and all people must be examined according to the Scriptures.

5. Faithful Practice of Church Discipline (Dever, p.4).

Church discipline is to be primarily restorative in its outlook. Disciple is merciful because it points people closer towards Christ and it demonstrates the serious consequences of unbelief.

6. Participation in God’s Work of Expansion (Dever, p.5).

The entire book of Acts clearly lays out how God continued his work in the days of the Apostles expanding the local church. By definition, the church must follow the emphasis on outward expansion and proclamation of the gospel. No true church remains stagnate. The outward expansion of the kingdom of God on earth through the gospel in the hearts of people to the glory of God is indeed the purpose of the local church.

A Strategy for Establishing a New Group of Believers

By Ben Zemmer
4/10/2009

The expansion of the church in the first century happened many times in large spurts (Acts 2:41, 11:19-25). Such phenomena have repeated themselves at intervals throughout church history. Current times are certainly not exempt from examples of God drawing to himself many believers in a certain area in a small amount of time. In the event that this happened in this geographic area and I was an elder responsible for a large group of new believers, I would follow the following points in seeking to fully establish this group as a mature church.

1. Preach the Word.

Just as God used the words of Ezekiel to bring life to the dry bones, so he uses the words of under-shepherds who preach the Word of God to bring life out of death. The preaching of the Word must be the pivot point of the gathering of the new body of believers. Just as young children must not be deprived of food in order to grow and mature, so new (and old) believers must not be deprived from the life giving proclamation of the Word. Churches exist through the objective work of the Spirit in the hearts of people drawing them to Christ through the understanding of the Word. Thus, the foundational aspect of church life must be the teaching of the Word, for by it the church comes into being. When the Word is preached it must also be taught and explained carefully in every possible context so that all the members understand it and begin living out the “first principles” of the faith.

2. Appoint elders.

Paul returned either in person or in proxy to all the cities in which he had preached the gospel for the purpose of “setting in order the things that remain” and to “appoint elders”. Just as a human being is not alive without the head, so a local church does not truly exist without biblically qualified elders. Biblical roles within the church are essential to its very existence. Likewise without such men the observance of the ordinances is emptied of its meaning and validity. These qualified men give biblical direction and fatherly care for the miniature household of God over which they preside. One must take care in the selection of elders and deacons using Scriptures and their household lives as barometers for their qualification to oversee the church. In no place are the desires and motives of the heart more evident than in the context of the home.

3. Instruct and exemplify life within the household of God.

Paul took great care and went to great lengths to instruct the young churches under his care “how to behave in the household of God”. He often stayed long in cities in order to make sure the believers were firmly grounded in the truths he had taught and understood the difference between God’s Word and the false teachings around them. In the same way, mature churches are those that know what it means to live as members of the household of God and use the understanding of their objective standing before God as a launching pad for greater service and expressions of unity and love saturated with God’s Word. A mature body of believers is one that exemplifies love and care for one another just as individual family members care for one-another.

4. Assist in the training up of the next generation of leaders.

Paul spent a great deal of effort including younger men in his ministry, not just because he needed extra help, but also for the purpose of preparing them to faithfully lead the church as well. This is very clear in Paul’s relationship with Timothy and Titus, but it is also clear in the effective structure of the older teaching and training up the younger. This is just as applicable for men as it is for women. The task of passing on the faith to the next generation of believers is a whole bodied task. The ministry that women have to younger women is one that men could not and should not have. Their ministry to younger children is effective in ways that men could not be. These relationships are necessary for the propagation of new believers and the raising up of new leaders of both men and women within the church.

5. Guide the “commissional” outlook of the church.

At the heart of what it means to be a church is the commission Jesus gave his disciples and the example the Apostles gave in the book of Acts. A mature and established church is one that seeks to expand the reach of God’s word in the hearts of people through the proclamation of the Word and the establishment of new churches. This is not a natural outlook for believers, since by nature all tend towards an inward focus. But a deep and true delight in God cannot help but produce an outward looking that seeks to see the gospel flourish inside and beyond the walls of the local church. Engendering this sort of outlook comes through much biblical exposition and patient teaching. Despite the difficulty of the task this must be the goal for a fully established church.