turn to Matthew chapter sixteen and read again just a verse or two that we read that week and then we're going to go a little further on in the New Testament and read a little more Matthew chapter sixteen we're talking about the Church of God I don't really I don't know just how many of you are here this morning that we're not here last week, but there are some. And I think it might be a good idea if we did a little recapping just so as to give some continuity to the talk this morning. Matthew sixteen and verse fifteen. Jesus speaking to his disciples says, Who say ye that I am? Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art a Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon bar Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I also say unto thee that thou art Peter. And upon this rock, and the Lord Jesus is not referring to Peter, read Peter's epistles, and you'll find out that he didn't believe for a moment. that he was the rock at which the church was built. He was speaking rather as the Lord Jesus about through this statement, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now last week, in the morning and the evening, we talked about the origin of the Church of God, and today I want to talk about the order of the Church of God. In connection with its origin, we notice four things. First of all, its title, that is the title of the church, its title in the language of man, or rather its description in the language of man. Secondly, its conception in the mind of Christ. Thirdly, its illustration in the Word of God. And fourthly, its initiation on the day of Pentecost. Now concerning the description of the church in the language of men, we looked at the word that is translated church or assembly, and we noticed it was a combination of two Greek words, a word ex, and a word praises, or the word is ecclesia, and it means a called out company. We looked at the word ecclesia. We looked at the meaning of the word. And in order to get that meaning, we read a number of scriptures. We found it meant an out-calling or a called-out company. After looking at the word and the meaning of the word, we looked at the usage of the word. And we found that word ecclesia is used in a secular sense. It's used in a religious sense, and it's used in a twofold Christian sense. The secular sense... in which it is used, speaks of a mob called out to riot and a company called out for the purpose of judging lawful matters. When it's used in a secular sense, it still obviously means a called out company. When it's used in a religious sense, Israel is spoken out of the church or the ecclesia in the wilderness. And again the thought is that of a called out company. Israel was called out of Egypt and wandered through the wilderness for forty years, a called out company indeed. And then we looked at the two-fold Christian usage and we found that the Bible uses this word Ecclesia of the church universal composed of all believers. doesn't matter what title they may carry, what name they may bear, if they know the Lord Jesus, if men and women come to know the Lord Jesus as Savior, then they are brought into that church. They become part of a universal called out company. And we saw that the word he's used in a local sense of a local church representative of the universal whole. And that's why we read about the Church of the Thessalonians, or the Ecclesia of the Thessalonians, and so on. This is the local Christian usage of that word, Ecclesia. So much then for the inscription in the language of man. Now the conception in the mind of Christ, we spoke about three things. First of all, the church has a sound foundation. Upon this rock I will build my church. It has a divine construction. Jesus said upon this rock, I will build my church. And it has a decree of protection. He said, the gates of hell shall not prevail against its rule. All of this was the conception of the church in the mind of Christ, for it had not yet been established. And indeed it was not begun until the day of Pentecost. Now the illustration of the Church of God We spoke of four separate pictures. There are more. But I spoke about the four well-known ones. The church is pictured as a body. It is pictured as a bride. It is pictured as a building. And it is pictured as a block. And we discovered that with each of those illustrations, there were special lessons to learn. And we sought last Sunday night to learn them. Finally, we've talked about the initiation or commencement on the day of Pentecost. We saw the beginning of the church when a hundred and twenty believers were baptized into one body, and the church began, and in less than twenty-four hours, in one fell swoop. No less than three thousand were added to that church, so it very rapidly grew. Now, I've taken six whole minutes to review. Now I want to talk about the order of the Church. There is something very beautiful about order. Now the dictionary tells you that order means rule or regulation, command, rank or degree, society or fraternity. You don't get to choose to take your picture, because what I have in mind when I say the order of the Church... is its regulation now it doesn't matter where you look at creation which of course came from the hand of god you find even with a precursory examination that it is a place of beautiful order if you take something that man has made take a very very sharp needle and put it under a microscope and it looks like a very dull sphere, dead and so on, in spite of the fact that man spends so much effort trying to make it the very best that he can. If you take a flower and paint it apart, and it doesn't matter which section of that little flower you examine under the microscope, you'll find it is beautiful, you find it is perfect, and you will find if it speaks the order... that God stands for. God is not the author of confusion, but conversely he is the author of order. Now when the Lord Jesus said, I will build my church, then we could immediately look for an organism that would be extremely orderly. Now again I want us to think about order as connected with the church universal, and then as connected with the church local. Now we'll go as far as we can this morning, and then we'll continue again this evening. Now as concerning rule or regulation or order, if you will, in the Universal Church, I'm concerned about two things. First of all, that order was according to a divine plan, and secondly, that order was accomplished by a divine person, the Spirit of God. I want at least to cover those two things this morning concerning order in the church universal. When we come to order in the local church, we're going to look at four things. We're going to look first of all at the Constitution of the local church, secondly at the communion of the local church, thirdly at the center of the local church, and fourthly at its control. Now how far we'll get along with that study this morning, I don't know. But we'll see, and we'll complete it tonight, and I promise you the service will begin at half past seven, and it will close at half past eight, whether I finish or not. Now what do I mean when I say that order in the church universal is according to a divine plan? Well, simply, that God is being through the form. God does nothing that is unplanned. God does nothing that is unconsidered. God is the one who knows the end from the beginning and whose will, in the final analysis, is not going to be rewarded. When the Lord Peter, in conceiving the church, and in contemplating the church said, I will build my church, already he knew exactly how he would go about it. Now there were three things that were planned by God and by the Lord Jesus for his church. Number one, the period was planned. Number two, the process was planned. And number three, the process was planned. These three things existed in the mind of God for the church right from its inception, right from its very beginning. First of all, the period was planned. Will you turn, please, to Romans chapter ten, witness? Now, it would be nice if you would turn to these scriptures, because what they say is far more important than anything I might have to say about it. It says, Brethren, verse one, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a deal of God but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that we believe. I want you to notice that expression, the end of the law. Now when the Lord Jesus came into this scene, when the Lord Jesus took his place at the center stage and began his public ministry, he did not come to destroy the law. He came, the Bible tells us, to fulfill the law. And in the fulfilling of the law, he became the end of the law, verse four here. for righteousness to every one that believeth. From that point on, a man's righteousness in God was going to be through the Lord Jesus. So he didn't have to do what Israel had mistakenly been doing. He didn't have to go about trying to establish his own righteousness. Now, not only didn't he compose with the righteousness that he's in the Lord Jesus, but he became part of the family of God and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. The period was at the end of the law. In other words, with the coming of the Lord Jesus and being available to all men, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether Satan or whatever, making available to them a salvation in the Lord Jesus, which was entirely of grace and not through the teaching of the law, This ushers in a brand new dispensation. The period was planned. Now this dispensation, in which we are presently living, is of age in a sort of gratitude. Now God had been dealing with the nation of Israel, and down through the years he had raised up that nation, he had subjected it to all kinds of discipline and so on, And then when the Jew cried away concerning the Lord Peter, cried away with him, crucify him, we will not have this man who will reign over us, God laid the Jew aside. And then began this age in a bracket, this age in parenthesis, this age of grace, this new dispensation, the dispensation at the end of the Lord. Now, aren't you? God is not finished with the Jews. There's coming a day when the bracket, which is the age in which we are living, when it's closed, when the age comes to an end, God having laid aside the Jew will take him up again. God having stopped the prophetic plot from ticking, will start it again, and then they will unfold the fulfillment of those wonderful promises for this world of the future. I hope you believe that there's a future for Israel. I hope you don't think that in nineteen forty-eight just can't, you know, when the new, when the nation went again into the land, that was a most tremendous, I mustn't get off on into Bipart Meadow, but my God has been doing such wonderful things with Israel and preparing for the starting again of the prophetic clock and the wondrous future that's going to be for Israel. but the period that was planned for the church, the church age, it was that period in a bracket, that period in parentheses. It was an intermission, if you will, an intermission in God's program for the Jew. He put the Jew up here, got there, took up the church, and then he will take away the church at the rapture, and it will begin anew, he's dealing with the Jew. So remember, this is then the dispensation of grace. This church age is an age in a bracket. It is an age in parenthesis. And it isn't even possible that I'm in this age written off in the Old Testament. The church age, the period for it, was a bland period. It started on exactly the day that God intended, the day of Antichrist's trust, and it will close. on exactly the day that God had in mind. When the Lord Jesus shall, when the heavens can come down, the morning self shall descend from heaven with his house, with the voice art of the ark, and through the tongue of God, the dead in Christ, the wise birth, then we shall alive and remain, through his Lord, and the dead of the living house, and he shall meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. And that coming of the Lord Jesus will be there, will bring to end the church age, this age in a parenthesis. Now this is the period that was planned by God. No doubt about it. Rather, in the church universal, it is according to a divine plan. And in that plan was a certain period. Now the process was planned as well as the period. The Lord Jesus chose his language very carefully when he said, I will build my church. and what you know about building. I had two builders thanking me here on Sunday night, a couple of men who were well-skilled in construction, and if you don't know much about building, well, you better get hold of one of them and talk to him. You'll find that, first of all, building is not something that's happened suddenly. It isn't something that... Well, the reason why the Lord Jesus chose this particular illustration and said, I will build my church, was because he wanted us to realize the church was not come about by means of a sudden and complete creation. There's a gentleman sitting in this congregation, and he's building a house. Now, when did you start with him? He's forgotten. It's been so long ago, and he's been working hard. His wife is frowning. She doesn't even remember. And he's still working hard. I think he's making a kitchen cabinet now. And doing a very fine job from what I hear. But, you know, that's been going on for months and months and months and months and more months. Building is a... it calls for time. Now the Lord Jesus has been taking his time. Two thousand years of building. The master builder taking up the living stones, one at a time these living stones, and putting them into this living building. I will build my church. Building calls for time. Acts chapter two says, the Lord added to the church daily such a good being saved. That's been going on, maybe still going on. It's going on immediately around us. It's going on further afield, one and another getting saved, accepting the Lord Jesus, being taken up by the builder and built into the building. Sometimes, you know, when things get kind of rough, sometimes when those of us who are members of this true church, members of the body of Jesus Christ, find they're going, getting rough. Then we say, Lord Jesus, how much longer have we got to wait for your coming? or how would you come today or at least tomorrow and put an end to this and put an end to that? Now, God has everything that isn't old and he's not going to come a moment before his time because there mustn't be a brick missing out of that building and there won't. The building not only calls for time, it also calls for material. I'm sure, before I would have began to build his house, he had to get in touch with this tradesman and that tradesman and the other tradesman. I'm sure they delivered lumber to the site. I'm sure they delivered block to the site. I'm sure they delivered appliances to the site. He got that far. Because building requires material. You can't build out of nothing. God can, but you cannot. And the Lord Jesus didn't choose to. When he said, I will build my church, he went looking for his material among human beings. I want you to be with anybody here, and you don't belong to the true church. You say, well, I'm a Baptist. Well, that really doesn't make much difference. Well, I'm a Methodist, you say. You might call yourself an Anglican. It doesn't matter what you call yourself, you know. Here's a wonderful thing about it. God disregards all of our labels. He said, it doesn't matter whether you've been christened, it doesn't matter whether you've been confirmed, it doesn't matter whether you've been baptized, it doesn't matter any of these things, they are immaterial when it comes to the matter of being a member of the true church. What you've got to do is accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior and be born again. And once you're born into God's family in the same instant, you're built as a living stone into the living building by the master builder. It happened to you. Is there anybody here this morning that you're not saved, you're not born again, you're not converted, you're not a member of the true church, although you may be so kindly, although you may be such a fine person, and even a religious one. If you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, it doesn't matter what church membership you may claim, you have yet to be brought into the true church because it happens at conversion. So God goes, the Lord Jesus goes out and he picks out his material. The Spirit of God touches the heart. If you're not saved and you've ever been troubled, you've had a few weeks down in your past few weeks run with blood. And if you die as you are, you'll go to hell. You know where those troubled thoughts came from? The Spirit of God put them into your heart. It was the Lord Jesus' way of trying to get across to you that he loves you, that he needs you, that he wants you, and if only you will trust him, he will take you and make you part of himself, part of his body, a member of his church. I hope you do not believe you won't go away that way this morning. So you can be born again right where you live. You can accept the Lord himself. right in the pew where you are and be born again this very morning God is still looking for material the Lord Jesus is still searching for material and he puts a finger on you this morning because he wants you in that true church don't you resist will you don't you hesitate to try now building not only calls for time and calls for material It also calls for meticulous management. Have you ever seen a man who knows what he's doing, building a wall, and usually he uses a spring and uses a thumb barb, and he makes sure that his wall is going up absolutely vertical, that his corner is there straight. You know, I walk about my house a year and he's done great. What was the pleasure to me when I find one corner, behind the other corner, and they exactly match up? You know, building is a meticulous business. because for a very earnest and clever mannesty. Why the Lord Jesus didn't give this to God for any of the angels. That's the reason why he turned away from Gabriel and Michael and he's an angelic being. And he said, I will build my church. He wanted the management to be the best. He wanted the meticulous building to be absolutely the outfloor that said to you earlier. one of the reasons why I can never believe, it's probably stupid, he paid him luckily then, is because Jesus said, I will build my church. And if he, the master builder, is the one who pets of a man when he accepts Christ and builds him into the building, then he must be there to stay. Otherwise, Jesus is not a master builder. If your salvation doesn't remain not you, he depends upon the world that you receive for you. You accept the Lord Jesus. It becomes your guarantee of eternal security. So this would disrupt it, wouldn't it? I will build my church. And the Lord Jesus has been spending time doing just that. The Lord Jesus has been seeking out material, doing just that. And the Lord Jesus has been meticulously managing the construction of this living through. Yes, the church universal has an order that according to a divine plan, and that planning involved the period, it involved the process, and it also involved the process. Now, what's going to happen to the church in the coming day? What does God plan for his own in the future? Well, listen to this word. It says, John chapter seventeen, the Lord is in this way, this is really the Lord's Prayer. The Lord's Prayer is not our Father with God in heaven, that's the Messiah's Prayer. The Lord's Prayer is found in John seventeen. And he speaks to the church and he says, that they may be with me, that they may behold my glory. Now part of the part says, when he came to the church with this, we're going to see the glory of the Lord. that they may be old in our country. Now you read the history of the Lord Jesus on the earth, and you'll find that he was humiliated, you'll find that he was neglected, you will find that he was stopped at in the line, you'll find that he was eventually split one, and that men came and they nailed him to a spirit, and they danced with grace, some of them around him, because at last they had done away, is coming a day, the Bible says, when every eye sees me, every knee shall bow to him, every tongue shall confess that he is Lord of all to the glory of God the Father. My what a shock that's going to be for those who use his name as an oath and as an expletive. And there are those who do, you know. Jesus Christ, that hallowed name, has become a swear word with many people, an oath, and a curse. those people who have breathed that hallowed name that way are going to see the Lord Jesus in his glory they'll do it tremblingly we as the church of Jesus Christ will do it with such joy we shall see all of our trust in him vindicated we shall see his glory but listen he also says Romans chapter eight, we shall be glorified together. Now not only is the church going to see the glory of the Lord Jesus, the church is going to share the glory of the Lord Jesus. It is actually going to be a partaker of his glory and then it says that he, the Lord Jesus, is going to have glory in the church. He's not only going to see his glory and share his glory, but the church is going to show His glory, and that throughout the countless ages of eternity, the all creation and the angels and so on are going to see in the church the glory of the Lord Jesus. What a glorious project. It has all been planned, and it is all going to come about. That plan is not going to be awarded. Here then is order in the church universal. according to a divine plan, which involves the lid, the process, and the process. Now this order, which was according to a divine plan, is accomplished by a divine person. The Spirit of God is the one who is responsible for the continuance of order in the church. Now I find three things about the Spirit of God. and the Church of God. Now he is the one who includes every member. We have all been baptized into one body. The Spirit of God operates upon the unconverted heart. Fubu's that heart, burdens that heart, reveals Christ to that heart, until that heart comes and trusts the Lord Jesus. and is born again and then by the Spirit of God is added to the church. So the Spirit of God includes or adds every member. The Spirit of God does more. He supplies every gift. Would you like to turn to First Corinthians chapter twelve? And again I say please turn to it because it's so much more important that you see what this says than listen to what I have to say about it. This is the charter, if you will, of the church. And it says here, verse eight, to one is given by the Spirit, the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit, and so on. The Spirit of God who adds to the church every member is the one who supplies to the church every gift. If you were to turn, you don't have to do Ephesians four, you would find that he gave, and he's speaking of the Spirit of God, he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the upbuilding or the edifying of the church unto the work of the ministry. The Spirit of God supplies every gift of the church. Now there are some gifts that were peculiar and temporary. There are no apostles today. There are no prophets today. They were given to the church in the early days, and they have gone down into the foundation of the church. We read that we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. So the foundation of the church has long since been laid, and these peculiar and temporary gifts have gone into the foundation upon which we are built. But they were supplied those special gifts. by the Spirit of God. Now the other gifts are ordinary and permanent, evangelists and pastor teachers. And those gifts we have today, we don't have apostles and prophets, they're in the foundation. But we do have evangelists and pastor teachers. And still today those gifts are being used in the church. for the upbuilding of believers that they might go out and perform the work of the ministry. Did you know that you've been called into the ministry? Oh, you know why God has surrounded you with teachers from the word God in order that you might be edified and built up to go out and do the work of the ministry. The work of the ministry is not reserved for the evangelist and the pastor and the teacher. These gifts are given to the church that they might build up the church to go out and do the work of the ministry. So you can go out with your head a little bit higher this morning, and you can go out feeling a little more happy with yourself. You can call to the ministry. The question is, of course, whether or not you are performing it. So these gifts, apostles and prophets, peculiar and temporary, evangelists and pastor teachers, ordinary and permanent, have been given to the church for its edification that it might go out and minister the word of God to others. Now, just as the Spirit of God gave gifts of men, apostles and prophets, evangelists and pastor teachers, so he has given gifts of abilities, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, prophecy, discernment, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Now, these are the things that are written about in First Corinthians chapter twelve. How glad I am I don't have time to talk to you about this business of tongues. Mind you, if I did, I'd put it where God puts it, right at the end of the list, and immediately after which he says, covered earnestly the best gifts. All I can say is, the people who are coveting to speak with tongues are not coveting the best gifts, because Paul said, I'd rather speak ten and speak ten. five words in a known tongue, than ten thousand in an unknown tongue. Now that sort of gives us the right ratio, and it puts these things into their proper perspective. So don't go running after some kind of exciting experience because many a man has gotten let us pray because of his desire to have his senses pleased. Just remember that. But these abilities were given by the Spirit of God. Now just as with men, apostles and prophets, there were those that were peculiar and temporary, so were the abilities. This is what I believe about the gift of turn. This is what I believe about the gift of the interpretation of turn. This is what I believe about the gift of healing, that along with the apostles and prophets, these things were peculiar and temporary and do not exist as yet today. But you don't have to agree with me. You'll be wrong, of course. But however, there are also abilities that are ordinary and permanent wisdom. knowledge, faith, and so on. Sort these things out to yourself and see how the Spirit of God is accomplishing order in the church, including every member and supplying every gift. According to our chapter twelve of first Corinthians, he does something else. He provides every exercise. You know, when a man is given a gift of the Holy Spirit, he's a privileged man. But that privilege does not give to him the right to stand up at any moment that he chooses and exercise that gift. The Spirit of God must be in control of that gift constantly. The Bible teaches us, we know that there are captors that speak about a silent woman. Oh, you know that, don't you? I suffer not a woman to teach. How many times have you been reminded about that? The silent woman is mentioned twice. in that area of the Word of God. But you know what? You don't hear about this very often. The silent man is mentioned twice too. It is a time for a man to keep his mouth closed. It is a time for a man to be silent as well as for a woman. It doesn't matter how gift he made this. Unless the Spirit of God is exercising that gift and controlling that gift, it must not be exercised and man must be silent. This is all in the interest of order. My time has gone and I'm not through. Let me just say this as I finish. The Spirit of God provides constraint in the exercise of the gift. He provides restraint in the silence of a man on given occasions who has the gift. See how interested God is in order in the Church of Jesus Christ. The sad thing about it, as we look around we see so much disorder. he grieves us, how much more must he grieve you? Tonight we'll go to order in the local church, and we'll look at those four things that the Lord will that I mentioned to you a little earlier. It would be so nice to see you all out tonight. Shall we bow in prayer, then we'll have a quiet moment of meditation while the organ is played, and then the service will be up. Lord Jesus, we thank you for thine interest in us. We thank you for thy concern about us. We thank you for all the plans that thou hast made for us. Thou hast said, I will build my church, and that building has been going on down to the ages. We thank you for the glorious things that are in store for the church of Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus, may we so appreciate them today that we shall be prepared to pay the price to be faithful to thee. in light of all of these things, this mess with thy blessing, the grounded ascents of thy presence shall go with us. And Lord, bring back to our minds things that are going to be beneficial to us in the days that lie ahead, we ask it, seeking thy glory and praying in thy preciousness. Amen.