Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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The One True Church
Chapter 15 – The Nature of an Institution
What is the difference between an “assembly, congregation, or gathering” on the one hand, and an “institution” on the other? The word “institution” implies a permanence that the words “assembly, congregation, or gathering” do not.
Per Google AI: “An assembly, congregation, or gathering is a dynamic group of people coming together temporarily, while an institution is a formal, permanent organization with established rules, structures, and systems.”
An “institution” implies multi-generational activity, including mechanisms for succession so that, among other things, the “assemblies, congregations, and gatherings” can continue beyond the lifetimes of the people currently “assembled, congregated, or gathered.”
The word “organization” provides a verbal midpoint between “assembly, congregation, or gathering” on the one hand and an “institution” on the other. That is, not all assemblies, congregations, or gatherings are organized – but some are. Yet merely being organized does not reach the level of permanence that an institution has.
An institution has to be able to reproduce itself so that it lasts from one generation to the next and beyond. That requires methods of succession – that is, a way of transitioning leaders over time so that the institution is never without leadership.
I explained in the previous chapter that Jewish synagogues had become institutionalized by the New Testament period. By contrast, Christian churches did not become institutionalized until after the New Testament period (that is, the 1st century AD).
Many of the “assemblies, congregations, and gatherings” of Christians had become “organizations” during the New Testament period. We see this when the apostles would appoint leaders to represent them with the people while the apostles themselves would travel to the next town in order to make new converts. These leaders were called elders, overseers, or by some similar name. Deacons (helpers) also became commonplace.
Despite this organization, the apostles did not provide a mechanism of succession. That is, they did not name apostles to take their places. They didn’t need to. Jesus had promised to come back before their generation passed away. Therefore, the church had no need to be an institution.
Some institutions are formed over time – even over generations – while others can be formed at inception. We see examples of both in the Bible.
Examples of institutions formed at inception include priests and Levites. Moses established them to administer the old covenant including the system of animal sacrifice. He made each an institution from the outset by specifying how the then living priests and Levites would be succeeded. It would be their children. You couldn’t choose to be a priest or Levite; you had to be a descendant of either Aaron or Levi.
As Paul says,
Hebrews 7:23 The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing,
By contrast, as I have said, the institutionalization of synagogues and churches took place gradually over time. The synagogue became an institution before the New Testament age (that is, the 1st century), while the church became an institution after the New Testament age.
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