T. Austin-Sparks on the Local Church

T. Austin-Sparks could be maddening to some at times when it came to his insight and beliefs on the church - universal and local. If it wasn't for his his articles in "A Witness and a Testimony," we may have been left with the assumption Sparks didn't believe there could be a church as required by Jesus Christ.

As far as I've been able to see, in his books, Sparks kept the issue at arms length and revealed the Lord Jesus Christ, while primarily noting what a church wasn't, but not being willing to communicate what it was.

This comes from his understanding that anything he said could, and probably would, be taken out of context and used as a type of blueprint for a "New Testament" church; something he totally opposed.

As mentioned, fortunately he did offer up his thoughts on this in his bi-monthly newsletter, and we have his comments as to how he viewed the vital subject.

Maybe the despair of some of his listeners caused him to move out of his comfort zone. I don't know. But we'll now cover some of the things Sparks so as being essential to their being a local expression of New Testament churches.

First we'll begin with what he heard Christians of his day say on the topic.

Some of these are as follows:

1. A large section of Christians have answered definitely 'NO', and they base this upon what they term 'the total ruin' position. They say that the Church is in unredeemable ruins, and therefore a corporate expression is no longer possible. Of course, they especially relate this to the Church universal, but they bring it very close by arguing that at the end-time everything will be individual. The basis of this is that in Revelation 2-3, where the Lord directs His address "to him that overcometh". Well, that is argument No. 1.

2. Then there are those whose answer is that the only possibility now is an approximate expression of the Church. That is, there can be no full and complete expression, but something comparative, provisional, and partial. There can be some features, and we must build upon some things which we perceive to be in the New Testament. In large instances the major denominations represent this position. Presbyterians base their whole position upon one interpretation of New Testament Church order, as they conceive it. The same is true of Lutherans, Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists, 'Brethren', etc. For each and all of these the term 'Church' is employed. But it is a concept which is a convenient solution to the problem namely, a partial approximation.

3. Then, there is the answer which is expressed by what is called 'Sublimation'. That is, that the Church is a sublime conception and idea. It is idealistic, and we must live in the abstract realm of a sublime conception and not try to bring that 'down to earth', be too practical and demanding in reality. This answer and interpretation is expressed in the term 'The Church Mystical:' but not practical.

4. There are those who have written off the whole idea of Church, either as impossible or unnecessary. They are definitely Christian Institutions and organizations, but not a Church or churches. To this category belong the Quakers, the Salvation Army, and a vast number of mission halls, and 'Missions.'

5. Finally for our purpose, there are those whose answer is a very positive one! Yes, we must return to the New Testament pattern 'and have New Testament churches!' They believe that the New Testament contains a definite 'blue print' for local churches, and they are committed to 'forming' such wherever possible. Unfortunately, they vary very much as to teachings, emphases, and practices, and some of them are characterized by excesses, abnormalities and exclusiveness.

Well, what are we going to say to all this?

As we see it, all are more or less wrong or right (we underline 'more or less', but we would say that some are totally wrong), because the true nature of the Church has been either lost or lost sight of.

As you can see, Sparks knew there was something in the Church God was after, but also understood a lot had to be cleared out concerning the matter so what was in the heart of God could be brought forth.

Next time we'll look at the attributes Sparks saw as necessary to be a "true" local Church.

The four articles below are the material drawn upon for this series. If you click on them you'll leave this website.

The Church -- Its Nature, Principles And Vocation
The Church -- Its Nature, Principles And Vocation (2)
The Church -- Its Nature, Principles And Vocation (3)
The Church -- Its Nature, Principles And Vocation (4)



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