The Perpetuity of the Church
ARTICLE IV We now have the founder and head and lawgiver of the Church baptized by the Lord's own messenger, and God placed His seal and heavenly approbation on it. The Father was so well pleased with what His Son had done as he came up out of the water the heavens were opened unto Him and out of heaven a voice said, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." I am sure that when the children of God are baptized, by thc same authority that Jesus was baptized, the heavens will open unto them and the smiles and benedictions of heaven will be theirs to richly enjoy, and the applaudit will be, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Jesus was not only the Son of God, but He was the servant of God. "Behold my servant. whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put nay Spirit upon Him; He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." --Isa. xlii. 1. The Spirit of God abode upon Jesus when He came up out of the water. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil, where He fasted forty days and forty nights. He was afterwards an hungered, and the devil, or tempter, said, "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." Jesus said to the devil, "It is written, Man shall not .live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." After the Saviour had answered the devil as He did, "Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple." The devil then told Jesus, "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down." The answer of Jesus was, "It is written again, Thou shah not tempt the Lord thy God." The devil next taketh the Son of God into an exceeding high mountain and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and, in his devil-like benevolence and liberality, he told the Saviour, "All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Just notice the answer of the Son of God: "Then said Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." At this juncture the devil leaveth Him and the angels of God "came and ministered unto Him." Isaiah saw this trial and temptation of Jesus, and for that reason spoke of Him as a tried stone. It was this tried stone that the prophet saw laid in Zion. We have followed Jesus through His temptations and through Jerusalem into Galilee, and leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim. This was done that the prophesy of Isaiah might be fulfilled. "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." John told the people to repent, for the kingdom is at hand. Jesus, after the Baptist had baptized Him, preached the same thing. After preaching that the kingdom was at hand, Jesus tells us next about calling His apostles; and Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease among the people. "And there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem. and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan." Let it be understood that Jesus is not now in Jerusalem, for it is here stated that the people followed Jesus from out of Jerusalem. Daniel said the God of heaven would set up His kingdom in the days of these kings, or kingdoms. Isaiah said He would do this--establish His Church in the top of the mountains, or above the kingdoms, governments, empires and institutions of men. I have never thought that the Church was really organized in Jerusalem, but in the Mount of Olives. "And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain; and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him." "And Cod hath set some in the Church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues."--i Cor. xii. 28. Paul tells when the Son of Cod did this. "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 (or fulfil) all things). And He gave some (churches), apostles; and some (churches), prophets; and some (churches), evangelists; and some (churches), pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."--Eph. iv. 8-12. It is a matter of fact that the Son of Cod set up or established His Church sometime and somewhere between His descent to earth and His ascension to heaven, or else He did not fulfil all things, as stated above. It was the Cod-man that was to set up the first Church and not the Holy Spirit and the apostles. After the first Church was set up, then the apostles had a pattern to go by. We have no apostles now, but the · ministers have their inspired writings to go by. If Judas was a member of the Church, then we should know that the Church was organized by the Son of Cod before Judas hanged himself. "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me."--Psa, xli. 9. There can be no question about David having reference to Judas in the above quotation. Let me quote from David again: "For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it; neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him; But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company."--Psa, lv. 12-14. "The first Church organized by the Saviour had Judas in it."--Church Order, p. 16. The sermon the Son of God preached in the mountain is food for thought and sweet meditation. The length of the discourse shows plainly that it was an extraordinary occasion. This one sermon contains three chapters and one hundred and ten verses and was addressed to His disciples in a church capacity. How touchingly appropriate are the words of Jesus to His disciples! "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted, Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city, (Church) that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."--Matt. v. 1-16. The city mentioned in this sublime sermon of our Saviour is "The city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel." --Isa. Ix. 14. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified."--Isa, lxi. 1-4.
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