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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(Today’s Book Installment)
The One True Church
Chapter 46 – Mark 10 of 10: A Movement, Not an Institution
The movement that was Christianity in the 1st century – that which is recorded in the New Testament – had a goal. That goal was to be prepared and eagerly waiting when Jesus came in His kingdom to judge the world.
The institutional church – by its very creation – was claiming that this goal was not achieved. And is still claiming – almost two thousand years later – that the Second Coming remains ahead of us. More about this in a few paragraphs.
History tells us that that in the 2nd-century, the institutional church was governed by bishops – usually one per city or congregation. I have shown you how the leadership of apostles gave way to rule by bishops. It was by the divergence of believers in the Second Coming from nonbelievers in the Second Coming.
Believers in the Second Coming kept the church as a movement. Nonbelievers instead sought to preserve the church by institutionalizing it.
There was nothing in the New Testament that specified individual bishops should take over for the apostles. On the contrary, the term “bishop” had been just another way of saying “elder” or “overseer.” On what basis then did these individuals assume that “apostolic succession” meant them? The reasonable explanation is the natural human tendency to fill a leadership vacuum and hold the flock together.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot and in critical condition. The Cold War was still intense, the Vice President was traveling, and the Press Secretary didn’t have ready answers for reporters. To calm rising fears, Secretary of State Alexander Haig stepped up to the White House podium and famously said, “I am in control here” meaning only the White House. However, what he said before and after that statement was confusing and raised fears about some kind of coup. Haig was trying to calm fears of a leadership vacuum but he only intensified them. Fortunately for everyone concerned, the situation was quickly resolved by consulting the Constitution and long-standing legislation.
Bishops of the 2nd century had no constitution or legislation to resolve leadership vacuums or succession issues, so their role was not challenged.
By the 4th century, the Roman emperor Constantine became a Christian and called a council of all the bishops in the empire to meet in the city of Nicaea. All these bishops had local power, but by bringing them together, Constantine could get them to unify on otherwise divisive issues.
The council found nothing divisive about the Second Coming. They agreed that it was in the future and was to be a physically-visible event. This unbelief in the spiritual 1st-century coming of the Lord was codified in what is called the Nicene Creed. Close to 100% of Christian churches today profess agreement with it. As to the Second Coming, this creed specifically says…
The “Lord Jesus Christ…is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead.”
If the institutional church believes that Jesus is still at the right hand of God and will come again, it is believing in a Second Coming that neither Jesus nor His apostles ever taught.
Forgotten in all this institutionalization was the fulfillment of “the blessed hope” in the late 1st century. The movement’s goal was to properly welcome the return of Jesus. This was achieved. Those few believers who believed to the end experienced the thrill of knowing in their hearts that their Lord had come for them…just as He said.
Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
Matthew 7:14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Luke 18:8 …when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
Matthew 24:13 “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”
John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
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