|
|
||
|
|
|||
This study is called “Denomination.” Now here is a name, a word, that has pretty much become a curse within Christianity. Like the word “religion,” the concept of a denomination has received such a negative connotation that anyone defending it is immediately seen as an enemy of truth by many people who profess to be Bible-believers. But today, this Sabbath, let us be fearless. Let us examine the word “denomination.”
Just like the word “religion,” the Scriptures themselves present the concept, if not the term itself, as a part of our Father’s plan. With regard to religion, we read, “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.” (James 1:26) Religion may be vain, certainly, but only when it is corrupted, and when its possessor is self-deceived. Otherwise, it binds us in covenant to our Father and Savior, and brings forth from us good works of faith. As the next verse reads, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27)
This is religion as defined by the Word of God, and though it may be misused by many, to refer to the cold formality of works-based belief systems, it is nevertheless pure, and undefiled before God, when it is understood according to His purposes. We have a religion, and it is the religion of Yahweh.
And what of “denomination?” There are actually several related meanings of this word. A denomination is an organization that goes by a particular name. That is essentially what it means. What it literally means is “named.” The word “denomination” can also mean the act of being given a name. If you undergo a “denomination,” you are being named by someone. Thirdly, the word “denomination” can be the name itself. This sentence, then, as odd as it sounds, is true: “After undergoing a denomination, the group became a denomination, and its denomination was ‘Seventh-day Adventist.’”
A certain group was called “Seventh-day Adventist” by Yahweh. Since it had undergone a denomination, a naming process, it was now a denomination. The name, its denomination, was “Seventh-day Adventist.”
There is a fourth meaning of the word, a little less directly applicable, but perhaps just as significant. When we refer to money, the “denomination” of a coin or bill is its value. The denomination of an object can therefore also be its value, and I would say there is an application to Churches as well. Because Yahweh Himself gave His people a name, He is indicating their value, their worth to Him; He is acknowledging them as worthy of the life of His Son, who shares His name in the Spirit. There is deep significance to all this, all of which is lost of we follow the world’s example and reject the concept as a tool of the Devil for control of the ignorant and naive.
No doubt, denominationalism, the splitting-apart of Christianity, has been the work of the Enemy. Let us make no mistake about that. We read in Galatians, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies…” (Gal 5:19, 20) and the list goes on a little longer. As we see here, variance, strife, and sedition, are based on carnality. Disputes between the brethren – and I mean disputes, not merely disagreements – are because of the flesh that is unsubdued in at least one of the participants. When variance becomes strife, and strife is not checked by the Body through Gospel Order, (Mat 18:15-17) then we see sedition, which means disunity, a splitting apart into factions and separate groups.
When people use “denominationalism” these days, they are referring to sedition – the splitting-part of Christianity, and they are not wrong to denounce it. But here is the problem: because they see denominationalism as an evil, which it is, they throw away the original, holy concept with the corruption. In the Bible, we see one denomination described. It is an organized, named, Church doing the will of our Heavenly Father. After the Enemy infiltrated it, there were seditions, many denominations, many groups of various names and doctrines, all striving for the mastery. This did not, at all, tarnish the original people. Their voice, and their reputation, may have been largely lost in the confusion of it all, as Satan intended, but they were, have been, and are, still a named, organized people, doing the will of Yahweh.
Over time, certainly, the Father Himself has changed the name of His people in His eternal wisdom, and for the purpose of giving an effective testimony to mankind. We see this in the Bible. He called them the “Sons of God,” in Genesis. He called them Israel. He called them Judah. He permitted them to be called “Christians” in the time of the Apostles. Originally, it was imposed upon them by the citizens of Antioch, (Acts 11:26) but it was accepted by those inspired by the Spirit, so that Peter would write, “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” (1Pet 4:16) Even when the world means it as an insult, we are not ashamed of being called by the Savior’s title. It is our name, it is our “denomination.”
The Church as the Bible describes it had a name, and it was organized. It was everything the term “denomination” can mean. We read, “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, ‘It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the Wyrd.’” (Acts 6:1 – 4)
This is hardly a unique passage in the New Testament. From the very beginning, it was apparent that organization was important to the successful operation of the Church. There was no thought, no concept, of scattered groups, each doing their own thing, each with their own independent ministers. No, they had all things common. When Paul traveled, he was received by the groups he visited. He would ask for offerings from one group to help the needy in another. (1Cor 16:1-3, 2Cor 11:8) They would write letters of blessing and encouragement to one another – make no mistake, there were different congregations, but there was only one Church, and it was very well managed by the leaders under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This was the reason why the Father placed gifts within this Church, this united, cooperating people, so that the saints could be perfected, to set an example for us to perfect as human history draws to a close.
So, the Scriptures describe the Church as a denomination, as an “organized religion.” Here is another term now hated by the modern Christian. And yet, what does the Scripture tell us? We read a very important parable of the Body of Christ in the New Testament, and I use the term “Body” of Christ very deliberately: “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.” (1Cor 12:12) Here begins an extremely critical description of the Church, from which I will extract just a few key verses:
“If the foot shall say, ‘Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body;’ is it therefore not of the body?” (1Cor 12:15)
“If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?” (1Cor 12:17)
“And the eye cannot say unto the hand, ‘I have no need of thee,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’” (1Cor 12:21)
“Now ye are the Body of Christ, and members in particular.” (1Cor 12:27)
Some have said, “This passage is talking about different Churches. The Catholics are one part of the invisible, spiritual Body of Christ, the Baptists another, the Adventists another, the home group churches – some of which do not even have official names – are another,” and so on. This is clearly not what Paul is talking about. There is no such teaching as that of an “invisible Church.” The Church may go into hiding at times, or flee from persecution, but to the universe, and to those who are seeking the truth, it is never invisible. Furthermore, the Protestants have very often said to the Catholics, “I have no need of thee,” and vice versa. “I wish you would go away,” has been said more than once… sometimes with fire, literally.
Paul says “ye,” addressing the Corinthian Congregation, “are the Body, and members in particular.” He is speaking of individual people as members of the Body of Christ, not various disharmonious groups.
The author had no concept, and no reason to entertain the concept, of multiple churches in disunity. Not a single verse of the Bible, Old Testament or New, teaches the legitimacy of independent ministries, ecumenism, or a scattered body satisfied in its isolation. Satan, and Satan’s kingdom alone, are pleased by the current, fragmented state of Christianity. But we will not let His work dictate our beliefs, nor will they determine our teachings. We say what Paul said, and James, and John. Let us be as one, “One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism,” (Eph 4:5) and so we will finish the Gospel work on the earth.
As for the significance of the parable to us, what is an eye? What is a hand? What is a foot? These are body parts, but they are also “organs.” They are “organs” because they are a part of a body, also known as an “organ-ism.” An organism is a system of organs… that is just what the word means. And when applied more broadly than biology, anything that is composed of distinct, cooperative parts, “organs” metaphorically, is called an “organ-ization.” It’s really just as perfectly simple as that. What Paul is describing here is exactly this – an organization, an organized religion, a religion composed of metaphorical organs – its members with their distinct gifts and roles. Let us not be afraid, or ashamed, of what the world has said about the Church as described in the Bible. A rejection of organized religion, the proper organized religion, not its many counterfeits, is a rejection of the Bible’s teachings.
And regarding the popular statement that goes, “The Church isn’t a building, it is a people,” this is a straw man argument. Nobody is saying the Church is a building; however, it is an organization, and people often mistake one for the other. There may be a “church building,” a place where a Church gathers, perhaps property a Church owns, but no serious argument can be made that the building makes the Church what it is. What can be argued, Scripturally, is that the Church is organized… and it is.
The Word of God is clear. The Church of Yahshua the Messiah is a denomination: a single, named, organized spiritual entity. The passages we have read establish this beyond any controversy, unless we wish to argue about what words mean. But there is nothing wrong with the wording of our Bible, for all practical purposes, and we can trust that it means exactly what it says, otherwise we are “Gnostics,” teaching that one must have special knowledge in order to draw near to the Father and Son through Their Word.
Now I have seen, over the years, and again just recently, some resisting any name for the Church that is post-Biblical. In other words, they are fine being called “Spiritual Israel,” or “Christian,” but they say, “Show me the name ‘Seventh-day Adventist’ in the Bible.” This is an unprofitable demand. The Bible does describe Christians as Adventists who keep the Seventh day… we read in Luke 23:56 that the followers of Yahshua kept the Seventh-day Sabbath after His crucifixion when it was supposedly “nailed to the cross,” and we read in 1Peter 5:4 and other places that we are awaiting His “appearance,” which is the meaning of the word “Advent.” Thus, Christians are, and have always been, “Seventh-day Adventists,” but the term in that form does not appear before the close of the Canon.
Despite this, it is an accurate denomination (or name) based on those and other verses, and it was confirmed by a prophet of the Most High, because a Church is not a Church, unless it contains spiritual gifts, including the gift of prophecy. We’ve spoken about this in other studies. If a Church today, even today, does not claim a living gift of prophecy, it is a counterfeit. It is not the Bride of Christ, who is the King of the Prophets. It is not the channel of truth that the Father and Son have appointed for the teaching of the Gospel.
God, through His prophets, has given His people a name. Whenever a name was established, or whenever a name was changed in order to maintain a perfect testimony against the prevailing sins of the age, Yahweh has spoken through an appointed messenger, as it is written, “Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7) If you ask a Roman Catholic, “Which prophet gave your Church its name,” and they cannot tell you, you may know that they are outside of the channel of truth. If you ask an Anglican, “Why are you named after a human country? Which prophet gave you this name as a testimony to the world of your character,” and they cannot tell you… you see, it is not about finding the name in the Bible. Again, that is an unreasonable and foolish request. It is about identifying the voice of Yahweh in that name, provided by, or confirmed by, the spiritual gifts He has given to His Church as those gifts are described in the Bible. There is a chain, unbroken, between the writings of Paul in Ephesians, and the Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church today. The testimony of Yahshua is revealed in the spirit of prophecy. (Rev 19:10) Let us not be shy to identify it.
And I am not beating my chest here saying, “We’re the true Church, because we do all these wonderful works, and we have all these wonderful doctrines, and we make all these claims about victory over sin and spiritual gifts.” No, we are the Bride of Christ because He has chosen us, small as we are… almost “invisible” because of our insignificance in the eyes of the world, and He has filled us with Himself. All that is wonderful about us, all that is beautiful about us, is because of Him, is His own wonder and beauty. We reflect it, we manifest it, we claim it, but it is of Him, His life made ours despite our lack of merit, and our total inability to earn any favor with our Father. This is our open heart with Yahshua within.
And I will say one more thing about our “denomination,” about our name. Some say, “The exact name you use is not important. What is important is the relationship with Jesus.” The second part is true, yes, but the argument is a little bit like teaching faith without works… it is dead. A relationship with Yahshua will result in acknowledging His Father’s authority over us, and the name is the sign of that authority.
This is what the Scriptures tell us, even in its earliest book. We read, “And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him Bethel. And they journeyed from Bethel, and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath, and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, ‘Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.’
“And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni, but his father called him Benjamin.” (Gen 35:15-18)
What was the boy’s name? You may read the Bible cover-to-cover, and you will never see the name Benoni, or “Son of My Sorrow,” again. The boy’s name was Ben-yamin, “Son of The Right Hand.” That one verse, Genesis 35:18, tells you everything you need to know about the principle behind the Third Angels’ Message as we understand it today in the Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church.
You see Rachel, as we read of her, was often controlled by her circumstances. She relied on idols. She was jealous of, and feuded with, her sister. She responded to misfortune in emotional ways. When she saw that she was dying, she called her son by a name that reflected her situation, not the boy’s intended destiny. It was not her place, as sad as her circumstances were, to impose her will over Benjamin, and thus curse him rather than bless him.
But Jacob was the boy’s father. His alone was the right to name him, and by the Holy Spirit, he called him by the name that the Scriptures record. Jacob felt great sorrow at Rachel’s death, as his beloved wife, but He gave his son a name that Yahweh intended, because the Spirit is not subject to circumstances, even extreme circumstances. The Spirit is a revelation of the divine will, and it is by the Spirit, only by that Spirit, and only through divinely ordained channels, that a people can be denominated.
The Church of Yahshua has a name, given through the Holy Spirit via divinely ordained channels, and it is not the place of Rachel, who in this case represents the circumstances of the world, to subvert the character or the destiny of the Church. It is not the place of anyone but the Father to give His people a name. Now, this understanding is very different than that held by the various ministries, groups, and churches out there. And if they have the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus, we are not against them. They are our brethren. But they must be recognized for what they are, an often sincere people in ignorance, who need to learn the will of Yahshua for them, “And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one.” (John 17:22) Let us be bold, and let us be accurate: anything other than this, anything other than an earnest compulsion to fulfill this prayer, is not following Christ. It is not the Faith of Yahshua. It is not Christianity.
The Third Angel is leading a people. It is leading a single, united people. It is leading them to oppose the Beast and its image, which is the mind of Satan in the fallen organizations of humanity. It is the beast who says, “Bow to the world and its power.” It is the beast that says, “Change your name, or perish.” It is the beast that advises, “Change the name God has given to you. Throw off His authority to name you, and you will be safe from persecution.” You see, this is not some little thing happening in a corner. It is an outworking of the divine principle. Who is your Father? Who has the right to name you, as Jacob did to Benjamin? Whose voice will win, the voice of circumstances, or the divine Spirit of the Most High?
We cannot choose a name for ourselves, nor can we allow legal, social, or any other pressure to cause us to reject the Father’s authority to give us a name of His design. To do so would be to accept the curse of Rachel, and to deny the blessing of Jacob – in truth, it would be to deny the faith altogether.
This is the issue, the Sabbath issue, of where each individual soul that learns of this controversy will rest. Do you trust in Yahweh to justify you, sanctify you, and ultimately to glorify you? Or will you have no rest, day or night, and submit to the threats or promises of the Enemy? We are not overstating the importance of this “little” issue…. it is a matter of who you worship, of who you acknowledge as your Father. And with it comes all the related matters we have been talking about: victory over sin through life in Christ, unity of the faith and a rejection of both ecumenism and the independent-ministry spirit, and the desire to seek out the sincere, scattered flock, and unite them according to the prayer of the Messiah. These are the fruit of the character of Christ as represented by the name “Creation Seventh Day Adventist.” So says the Scripture, and the living, continuous, eternal Spirit of Prophecy.
And so, what have we learned? Perhaps we should conclude with the relevant applications of the principles. I would say there are five main points:
1) If the group to which one belongs does not call itself a “Church,” and does not claim the spiritual gifts described in the Bible, it is not the Bride of Christ. Yahshua gave His people a ministry, but his People are not a ministry, they are a called-out nation of kings and prophets and priests: a Church with a ministry. Home groups and scattered believers are blessed by Yah, so long as they are actively seeking the Bride, and not content in their isolated worship. Their character will be tested when they encounter the saints. Will they love unity more than division? Will they let differences in doctrine keep them separate? Here the spirit is revealed.
2) If the group to which one belongs does not claim to have a divinely inspired name, that is to say, if the group is not a “denomination” according to the very meaning of the word, it is not acknowledging the authority of the Father and Son over it as Creator and Savior. Only the Father can legitimately provide a name based on a child’s character and destiny. If the name is chosen based on emotion, circumstances, or convenience, the people who have done so have rejected Yahweh as Father and Yahshua as Bridegroom. Everyone who hears the CSDA message will have a decision to make: Will you be Benoni, or will you be Benjamin? Will you be a son of sorrow, or of the Right Hand of Yahweh?
3) If the group to which one belongs believes that the government, human law, or the threat of persecution, is a valid reason to change its name, if the name is not important enough to defend as faithfully as any other instruction from the Creator, it is a rebellious child, and not the resting-place of the Saints. I don’t think this requires any further explanation, really. The Daughter of Zion is faithful to the Father, and trusts in Him to rescue Her, just as He rescued Daniel and his friends, from the fiery furnace of persecution and the den of hungry lions. (Dan 3:26, 6:23)
4) If the group to which one belongs is not eagerly pressing for unity with all the saints, it is rejecting not only the Scriptures and the very prayer of Christ in John 17, but the voice of all the true messengers of Heaven since the beginning of The Great Controversy. Unity is the earnest desire of every genuine saint of the Most High, who loves Yahweh above all else, and his neighbor as Himself.
5) If one claiming to be a teacher of the Word rejects the concept of “organized religion,” because it is a popular position to take these days, it does not matter how sincere or inspiring his words may seem, he is working at cross-purposes with the Holy Spirit. Beware. They may be very convincing, charismatic, and may draw in large audiences. They may appear very spiritual, open to learn, humble, but if they say, through word or example, that, “God is not a God of perfect, unified order, and is content with leading scattered groups,” or if they say there are many valid groups to which one may belong, this is contrary to the very core of the Book of Acts, which describes a single, organized, denominated people, going to the world and joining sincere, repentant believers to their number. As we read, “I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved Me.” (John 17:23) Anything other than this is of the Wicked One.
Let us be cautious, because we do not want to be misunderstood… but let us not be afraid of the word “denomination.” Only the Bride of Christ, only the Church, will fearlessly tell you this Scriptural, spiritual truth. Disregard what the world and its sympathizers think and say. We have a name, given to us by our Father. We have been denominated by Him, and we receive that name not only on our buildings, or on our stationery, but in our hearts, and on our foreheads. And just like a lost coin, now found, we receive that name, that denomination, as a sign of our value to our loving Father in Heaven, who gave of Himself, and gave up His only begotten Son, for each and all of our sakes. Blessed be the name of Yahweh, both the name that He bears, and the name that He gives, for we are the Sons and Daughters of His Right Hand.
David.
An Enduring Witness
“Do not these words [the commandment regarding the seventh day Sabbath] point us out as God’s denominated people, and do they not declare to us that so long as time shall last, we are to cherish the sacred, denominational distinction placed on us? The children of Israel were to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations ‘for a perpetual covenant.’ The Sabbath has lost none of its meaning. It is still the sign between God and His people and will be so forever.” [Letters and Manuscripts, Vol. 18, MS 81, 1903]
“We are Seventh-day Adventists. Are we ashamed of our name? We answer, ‘No, no! We are not. It is the name the Lord has given us. It points out the truth that is to be the test of the churches.’” [Letter 110, 1902]
“Let us take our position as Seventh-day Adventists. The name is a true expression of our faith. I am instructed to call upon God's people to bring their actions into harmony with their name, of which they have no need to be ashamed. The Seventh-day Adventist faith will bless whenever it is brought into the character-building.” [Battle Creek Letters, p. 56]