Back in
March 2013, I gave 12 reasons for the church existing before Pentecost. This is a
minority view compared to those who believe the New Testament church began on
the day of Pentecost. Most objections to our position seem to distill down to
about four or five. For example:
If some kind of a church could exist in the Old Testament (Acts 7:38), it would be surprising that one could not exist in the Gospels before the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. An excessive dispensationalism foisted on the Scriptures renders the “Pentecost” conclusion inevitable, however wrong. The objections against a church existing before Pentecost belie the error of placing the Gospels in the Old Testament, a failure to understand that God began something new with the sending of John & the baptism of Jesus Christ, and the refusal to recognize that for a brief period in time the “Old Testament” and “New Testament” eras could overlap as God brought about His purpose within the constraints of the chronological time in which man dwells.
Charles
Henry Mackintosh gave four reasons:
1.
It was still future at Matthew 16:18
2.
It must begin after Christ's resurrection
3.
It must begin after His ascension and glorification
4.
It would begin when the Holy Spirit was sent down to baptize believers
Lewis
Sperry Chafer gave four reasons. There could be no Church in the world until:
1.
Christ's death
2.
Christ's resurrection
3.
Christ's ascension to become its Head
4.
the Holy Spirit's Advent
I have
tried to distill the objections I have read into the four listed below. After a
related Scripture and the stated objection, I will give my answer why I believe
the objection comes up short.
And I say also unto thee, That
thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:18
1.
Christ's building of the church was still future in Matthew 16:18: Jesus said, "‘I
will build My church’, not, ‘I have built My church’."
A: It is
correct that “will build” in the English and οἰκοδομήσω
in the Greek are future
tense verbs. Does this mean that it had no present application and merely
pointed to an event that was still future? My "country" way of
explaining this would be like taking a person out to a building I have already
started and saying, "On this slab I will build my house." It is still
future, ongoing, but I have already started. Compare to John MacArthur, who
believes in a universal church that began on Pentecost. Nevertheless he says
this regarding Matthew 16:18:
What
did they think when He said "I will build My church?"…It is not some
dispensational promise about a future entity that's going to come into
existence, though it is true the church did come into existence in its formal
sense on Pentecost.
The
future tense does not imply that God has not been doing it; it does imply
emphatically that He will continue doing it until its completion.[1]
In
contrast, George Zeller[2]
wrote, “In Matthew 16:18 the Lord Jesus said, 'I WILL build My Church.' The
future tense of the verb indicates that the building of the Church had not yet
begun when Jesus said these words. He did not say, 'I have built My Church.' He
did not say, 'I am building My Church.' No, the building project had not yet
begun and thus the Church was yet future. At the time Jesus spoke the words of
Matthew 16:18 the Church had not yet begun.” Zeller’s statement is an example
of a radical belief that a “building project” has not yet begun in the Gospels!
Why was Jesus wasting His time with the disciples? Strange indeed.
While we
would not agree with MacArthur on the day of Pentecost issue, we do agree that
the point of emphasis is not punctiliar – about an event that would happen at
one point in time – but rather is durative, expressing continued action. The
Lord is building His church, but He will keep on working and building until its
completion. He did not build a church on the day of Pentecost. He was already
building it, is now building it, and will continue to build it until He brings
to a close this present age.
Take heed therefore unto
yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you
overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own
blood. Acts
20:28
2. Jesus
bought the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). If the church began before
Pentecost, it would not have had the blood of Christ.
A: The
context of Acts 20:28 is not about chronological establishment of a church, but
about ownership and worth. Obviously, the blood of Jesus Christ was not
literally shed in historical chronological time before His crucifixion – which,
nevertheless, occurred before the day
of Pentecost. But the reality and efficacy of the blood of Christ stood in
God’s time from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). This argument played
against a church existing before Pentecost also impugns the efficacy of the
salvation work of Jesus Christ for any sinner before the time of His
crucifixion. As surely as sinners existed and were bought with the blood of
Jesus Christ before the day of Pentecost (Ephesians 1:3-12), the church existed
and was also bought with the blood of Jesus Christ before the day of Pentecost.
Which he wrought in Christ, when
he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly
places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and
every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to
come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over
all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth
all in all.
Ephesians 1:20-23
3.
Jesus’ resurrection and ascension were necessary to His headship over the
church (according to Ephesians 1:20-23). If the church began before Pentecost,
it would not have had Jesus as its Head.
A: 1
Corinthians 15:27 and Hebrews 2:8 help provide some further context for
"hath put all things under his feet" as a chronological statement
related to the establishment of the church. God put all things under Christ from the
beginning (cf. Matthew 28:18), but many of the events related to it are marked
out in chronological time, not only including his resurrection & ascension,
but also the final destruction of the last enemy, death. Mark 12:10 and Luke
20:17 indicate that Jesus was the headstone which the builders rejected,
clearly before Pentecost. He was in fact already that head of the corner before
the “builders” rejected Him. The importance of the resurrection and ascension
in Eph. 1:20-23 is bona fide, and we do not reject their necessity. Ultimately,
though, these prove His headship over the church rather than limiting His
headship prior to these events.
Wherefore he saith, When he
ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now
that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower
parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above
all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and
some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers... Ephesians 4:8-11
4. The
Holy Spirit was not given until Pentecost. If the church began before Pentecost,
it would not have had the Holy Spirit and would have been operating without
functioning spiritual gifts.
A: Several
points should be noticed here. The church or disciples who were with Jesus did have “functioning spiritual gifts”
with their spiritual Head present. He gave to the twelve certain gifts, for
example, as recorded in Matthew 10:1-8 – "...he gave them power against unclean
spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of
disease...Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils:
freely ye have received, freely give." A like gifting to seventy others is
recorded in Luke 10:1-20. Also it must be noted that the Holy Spirit was in
some way given to – “breathed on” – these disciples after the resurrection of
Jesus Christ and before the day of Pentecost (John 20:22).
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