Introduction | Table of Contents | Chapter 11

The test of the witness is the due acknowledgment of Christ. The two utterances, "Jesus is anathema" and "Jesus is Lord," were the battle cries of opposing spiritual forces. Readily would the words of execration spring to the lips of hostile Jews. "Anathema" designated that which was devoted to God for destruction under His curse. That was how the rulers of the Jews, and the people after them, regarded and treated Jesus of Nazareth. That was how they instigated Gentiles to do the same, and the utterances became the glib expression of Satanically-inspired antagonism, whether on the part of Jew or Gentile, to the gospel and the Person whom it proclaimed. Doubtless, upon occasion, when testimony was being given by the preachers of the gospel, or in the midst of an assembled church, the witness would suddenly be interrupted by the blasphemous cry "Jesus is anathema," uttered by opponents of the truth.

²¹The words "speaking" and "saith" stand for two different words in the original, laleo and lego. Laleo signifies an utterance of human language in contrast with silence; it stresses the fact that speech is being uttered. Lego represents a statement or discourse in its orderly reasoning; it stresses the meaning and substance of what is spoken.

The Great Essential

"Jesus is Lord;" that was the witness of the faithful. It sums up the doctrines of the gospel. It was the great central truth. It formed, therefore, an essential part in the ministry, 'not only of gospel testimony itself, but of the foundation thereby laid in the formation of local churches.

The acknowledgment of Jesus as Lord marks the beginning of the life of a believer. It is an element of that faith by which he is saved and becomes a child of God: "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved"²² (Rom. 10:9). That is, "the word of faith" which is preached (verse 8).

²²The confession of Christ as Lord is put first, presumably, for the following reasons:
1. It is appropriate to the order, mouth and heart, verse 8.
2. The order is in agreement with the order in verses 6 and 7, verse 6 speaking of Christ's present position in Heaven, verse 7 of His resurrection.
3. The confession of Jesus as Lord provides a distinctive and evident difference between those who have been justified by faith and those who are seeking righteousness by their own works.

With a special significance this passage in Rom. 10, which deals with the basic ministry of the preaching of the gospel, stresses His title "Lord." "The same Lord is Lord of all" (verse 12, R.V.), that is to say, of Jew and Gentile alike, "and is rich unto all that call upon Him; for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." The acceptance, then, of Christ as Lord as well as Saviour is essential for faith, and the proclamation of Christ in both respects is the responsibility of the evangelist.

The Full Commission

That the work of the preachers of the gospel was not simply that of evangelization, is clear from the narrative of the Acts and from the Epistles. The service in which they were engaged had wider responsibilities. Gospel ministry was designed to issue in a corporate testimony. Hence, by means of the gospel they preached, evangelists are spoken of as laying the foundation of churches (I Cor. 3:10).

The commission given by the Lord Himself intimates this wider scope. "Go yeand make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you" (Matt. 28:19). The incorporation of believers into local companies had been definitely inculcated by Him. Besides His intimation concerning His formation of His entire Church (16:18), He gave unequivocal instructions as to His design for the existence of communities, gathered in His Name, conditioned by local circumstances, and enjoying His spiritual and continued presence (18:17-20). These were not already existent Jewish companies, as has been supposed. The teaching given by the Lord as recorded in the context makes clear that He had in view not only His disciples but those who would become so by their instrumentality.

Apostolic Methods

The record in the Acts of the Apostles relating to the founding and formation of local churches is significantly in keeping with the Lord's instructions in His commission regarding making disciples and teaching them to observe all that He commanded. No sooner do we read of the effects of the gospel in Antioch in Syria on the part of the scattered members of the church at Jerusalem, than we learn that a church has been formed in the northern city; so that those who go there as servants of God are able to gather together "with the church" (11:26), and the believers so gathered are spoken of as "disciples."

So again, as the gospel spreads, not only are churches formed in every place, but the saints are described as "disciples." They were "disciples" who stood around Paul after his stoning at Lystra (14:20). At Derbe he and Barnabas preached the gospel and "made many disciples" (verse 20, R.Y.). From thence they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch "confirming the souls of the disciples" (verses 21, 22), and after arriving back at Antioch in Syria they are said to have tarried there with the disciples.

"Go ye, make disciples," said the Lord. Now while believers are spoken of as "brethren" in relation to one another, they are designated as "disciples" in relation to Christ as their Master and Lord. Disciples are those who have learned His Will and seek to carry it out in that relationship. "Ye call Me Master, and Lord; and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, the Lord and Master, have ... ye ought also to.. ." (John 13:14). In Acts 9:1 believers (not simply the Apostles) are distinctly called "the disciples of the Lord."

Collective Acknowledgement

Since, then, confession of Christ Jesus as Lord marks believers from the time of their conversion, and their life as His disciples gives proof of their recognition of their relationship to Him in this respect, so in their collective capacity, as constituting churches, it is their high privilege and responsibility to acknowledge Him as Lord by the fulfillment unitedly of all that He has commanded. Only as an assembly owns Christ as Lord, can it be built up and ordered according to the Divine will. Only when Christ has His rightful place in a local church can it be constituted according to God's design. Only adherence to what is taught in the Word of God will meet with His approval.

That Jesus Christ is Lord betokens the authority committed to Him by the Father, who has made Him "both Lord and Christ." The measure in which His authority over a local church is recognized by it is the measure of its spiritual vitality and power. In virtue of His authority He has Himself appointed the ordinances and exercises His prerogative in the provision of spiritual gifts in each assembly and in the functioning of each member in the power and operation of the Spirit of God.

The Effect of the Acknowledgment

The genuine acknowledgment of Christ as Lord will keep the saints f4ithful in their adherence to the Scriptures in these matters, and in the recognition of the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in matters of worship and service. They will be likewise kept separate from the world's religions as well as its principles and ways, its ambitions and follies. The fulfillment of the will of their Lord will be their consuming ambition, if they are indeed true to Him, and this will involve their repudiation of the traditions of men, of human accretions to the faith "once for all delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3), and of all that undermines its doctrines as they are set forth in the Scriptures of truth.

The craft of Satan is ever at work to beguile us from allegiance to our Lord. We need, then, to receive the exhortation He gave to His disciples in this matter, when He warned them against lip confession, against mere profession of faith, and the imagination that service is being rendered to Him while all the time His revealed will is being ignored. His words demand our careful attention. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21). His will is not far to seek. It is set forth with such clearness in the Holy Scriptures that none who genuinely seek to know His mind need err therein. Let us beware of substituting our own predilections, or the traditions of men, or matters of our own convenience, or even the bonds of human associations, for what He has enjoined upon us, lest, in setting aside or ignoring His authority over us, both in our private life and in our church capacity, we are after all found wanting.

Introduction | Table of Contents | Chapter 11

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