Commentary on "A New Order"

COLLEEN TINKER

 

Day 4: Tuesday, September 29, 2009

 

This lesson discusses the organization of the tribes in their respective geographic locations. It points out that the tribes were organized distinctly, and that within the places of each tribe, the clan and families were camped together. The lesson stresses that while God precisely organized the nation, their distinctive family connections were not broken. The thought questions at the end of the lesson ask why it is important for the church today to be organized, why it leads to chaos when people are “left to do their own thing,” and how belonging to an organized body helped the reader in his spiritual walk.

 

Problems

Again, the attempt to draw a parallel between the circumstances of Israel and of the church is inappropriate. Israel’s organization is not like the church’s. First, the presence of God dwelt in the center of the Israelite camp, and the tribes were organized to surround the tabernacle. In the church, the presence of God indwells each individual believer, and those believers are scattered throughout the world.

Second, while local churches are grouped and organized into bodies, the organization is not the same as Israel’s. Again, the New Testament describes the organization of local churches, and the book of Ephesians explains the church’s function as the body of the Lord Jesus.

While the New Testament reminds us not to forsake assembling together, the church is not instructed to function in organized denominational bodies. Biblical organization is for the purpose of mutually edifying one another so each member grows into the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4). The members of the church are made alive by the indwelling Holy Spirit; ultimately, it is the literal presence of God within each member that gives believers unity and oneness of purpose and mutual edification.

Moreover, in the new covenant, even the definition of family changes from the way it is defined in natural life.

In Matthew 12:48-50, after Jesus was told his mother and brothers were waiting to speak to Him, He replied, “’Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’”

In other words, in the body of Christ, our true family consists of those who are also born again and doing god’s will in believing the Lord Jesus and obeying His will.

He further clarified what doing His will looks like in Mark 10:29-30 where he said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Doing God’s will means leaving behind whatever is opposed to following Jesus. Our loyalty to Jesus must exceed our loyalty even to our families. God gives us ore than we lose when we are obedient to follow Him.

It is a false comparison to try to use Israel’s clan and family organization as a model for the church. The church is not identified primarily by shared beliefs but by a shared Person. Being born again by the Holy Spirit is what makes us brothers and sisters and members of the church. The Holy Spirit uses God’s word to teach and change each individual member, and it is He who unites us in one purpose.

Genetic connections are not the essence of connections within the church. Rather, we are called to be loyal to the Lord Jesus even if it means losing otherwise important relationships. It is not the organization of the church that holds us in check and unites us; it is the actual presence of the Holy Spirit in each member.

 

Summary

1. Israel’s organization is not a model for the church.
2. The church is united not by genetic or cultural ties but by the indwelling Holy Spirit who indwells each member.
3. In the new covenant, family is redefined to include those who do the will of the Father, not those who are genetically linked.
4. It is not the organization of the church that holds us in check; it is the Holy Spirit who unites the disparate members of Christ’s body.

 

GO TO DAY 5

 

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