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The Church Before Pentecost – In Purpose (1)

The purpose for this series of articles is to learn God’s purpose with reference to the church before Pentecost and see how that purpose has been unfolded both in prophecy and preparation so that we may gain a greater appreciation of the importance of the church. The following passages of scripture should be studied in addition to the passages included in the articles for background purposes: Daniel 2:31-45; 2 Samuel 7:12-29; Luke 10:1-16; John 1:19-34; Ephesians 3:1-13; 2 Timothy 1:3-14.

1) The church was in the purpose of God as early as the birth of Paul (Gal. 1:15-16) – From this scripture we learn that God separated Paul from the time of his birth to preach the gospel among the Gentiles. Certainly God knew that the preaching of the gospel of Christ would result in the establishment of the church in communities where it is preached. To say that God purposed that Paul should preach the gospel, but did not know that such preaching would result in the founding of churches of Christ is unthinkable. The word of God is the seed of the kingdom (Luke 8:11). Preaching the word of God is sowing the seed of the kingdom (Matthew 13:19, 23). When the seed of the kingdom is sown in the hearts of people and allowed to have its way, children of the kingdom will be the result (Matthew 13:38). A group of children of the kingdom in any community constitutes the kingdom in that place. And since the kingdom is the church (Matthew 16:18-19), it follows that this group of children of the kingdom produced by the preaching of the gospel, is the church of that community. It was in the purpose of God that Paul should preach Christ among the Gentiles (Acts 9:15) and since this preaching resulted in the establishment of churches of Christ, it follows that the purpose of God included the establishment of churches of Christ through the preaching of the gospel by Paul. Since he was separated in the mind of God for this work from the time of his birth (Gal. 1:15-16), we know that the church was in the purpose of God as far back as the birth of Paul.

2) The church was in the purpose of God in the time of Moses (Acts 26:22-23; cf. Luke 24:25-27; Luke 24:44-49) – Here we learn that the prophets, including Moses, foretold the suffering of Christ on the cross. Paul tells us that Christ purchased the church with his own blood shed on the cross (Acts 20:28). Is it possible that God knew that His Son would suffer on Calvary, but did not know that he would purchase the church with his blood shed in that suffering? Note the vision that John saw in Revelation 5:9-10. The people who are purchased with the blood of the Lamb are made to be a kingdom. Did God know in the time of Moses that the Christ would suffer, but did not know that through his suffering men would be purchased and that those so purchased would constitute the kingdom, the church? Such a conclusion is unthinkable. God knew and purposed in the time of Moses that the church would be purchased through the suffering of Christ.

3) The church was in the purpose of God in the time of Abraham (Ephesians 3:6) – The promise here mentioned is the promise made to Abraham that all nations were to be blessed in his seed (Genesis 12:3; Genesis 22:18). It is in fulfillment of this promise that we have all gospel blessings (Acts 3:25-26; Gal. 3:7-9). When God told Abraham that all nations were to be blessed in his seed, Christ (Gal. 3:16), he meant that the Gentiles were to be fellow-heirs with the Jews; they were to be fellow-members of the body, which is the church (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18); and fellow-partakers with the Jews of all that is included in the promise to Abraham. And all these blessings were to come to the Gentiles through the gospel of Jesus Christ of which Paul was made a minister and a preacher. God could not plan for the Gentiles to be fellow-members of the body which is the church without planning the existence of the church. So we conclude that the church was included in the purpose of God when he made the promise to Abraham.

4) The church was in the purpose of God before the foundation of the world – The expression, “foundation of the world” has been interpreted by some to mean the beginning of the Christian dispensation. But Paul’s use of it in Ephesians 1:4, seems to be a parallel with the expression, “eternal purpose” in Ephesians 3:11. Peter speaks of Christ being foreknown before the foundation of the world, but manifested “at the end of the times” for our sake (1 Peter 1:20). The manifestation of Christ refers to his coming in the flesh, which was the period just preceding the Christian dispensation. But Peter speaks of the “foundation of the world” as a time prior to “the end of the times.” Jesus said the blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world would be required of his generation and then added that this includes all the prophets from Abel down to Zachariah (Luke 11:50-51). From his use of the expression, we learn that the foundation of the world must extend back as far as Abel, so it must refer to the creation of the world. Now for the “proof” that the church has been in the mind of God since before the creation of the world.

Paul says that it is God’s eternal purpose that the wisdom of God is to be made known to “the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places” through the church (Ephesians 3:11). So the church is included in the eternal purpose of God. Paul teaches us that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love (Ephesians 1:4). But in Ephesians 5:25-27, we learn that it is the church for which Jesus gave himself that is to be “holy and without blemish.” So the chosen of Ephesians 1:4, is the church of Ephesians 5:27. And therefore the church was in the purpose of God before the foundation of the world. Paul speaks of this same purpose as including the called (2 Thessalonians 2:14) and the justified (1 Corinthians 6:11) and those who are yet to be glorified (Romans 8:28-30).

Peter says that we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ “who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20). From the context, we learn that he was foreknown as a lamb through whose blood we would be redeemed. Is it possible that God could have foreknown that Jesus would suffer as a lamb in sacrifice for the redemption of our souls from sin and yet did not know that the redeemed would constitute the church? Such a conclusion would be false and ridiculous. So from this we learn that before the creation God knew man would sin, that he would give his Son to suffer for man’s sin, and that those redeemed by the blood of Christ would be his kingdom, his church (Rev. 5:9-10). So the church was included in the purpose of God from before the foundation or creation of the world. It is not an “afterthought” with God; it is not something hurriedly arranged to meet an emergency on account of God being unable to accomplish what he had attempted at the time the prophets said he would do it. The church, next to heaven itself, is the climax of all God’s gracious purposes to “show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7 – NKJV).