T.Austin-Sparks and Local Church 4 - Inclusive, Exclusive

Sparks dealt strongly with what he termed as people in a "false position," referring to those who believed they had been saved, but in fact were more than likely not, as their lives showed forth no fruit to confirm the assertion.

He mentions this in relationship to the local church, where in our modern day a Church can be comprised of many people not born again of the Spirit, but still be considered as a brother.

Sparks said this about being too inclusive or too exclusive:

The part of the New Testament which most specifically brings the Church into view uses such words as: "The exceeding greatness of his power which is to usward who believe."

We have far from understood the terrific thing that was involved in the death and resurrection of Christ in order to secure the Church unto God!

Surely we have said enough already to do one or two very -- supremely -- important things.

Firstly, to show what the true Church is according to the New Testament revelation. If this is not a misapprehension of that revelation, it must be a very discriminating thing; that is, it must reveal a very great difference between the true Church, on one side, and that immense umbrella which goes by the name on the other side, an umbrella under which have gathered so many institutions and conflicting conceptions.

It should be a corrective of two extremes. The extreme of a too great an inclusiveness which overlooks the fundamental and essential nature of the supernatural, of which we have spoken: the supernatural in the new birth from heaven of every individual in the Church. Also a corrective of the opposite extreme of an unscriptural exclusiveness, which makes Christ smaller than He really is in excluding from fellowship truly born-again believers on the ground of some particular technique of 'protection', or some specific interpretation of truth.

Further, if what we have said is a true definition of the Church and its nature, then, surely, it explains loss of power, of impact, of supernatural influence, and it explains the confusion, the poverty of spiritual food for hungry sheep, and the scatteredness which is Satan's special strategy to rob the Church of its vocation to take the Kingdom and reign!

The explanation is that the great power of utter dependence upon God, which is the categorical demand of God for the showing of His own glory, has been surrendered to recourse to the world for means, methods, fashions, etc., to make God's work 'successful'. Satan is not

one bit afraid of anything that will use his own kingdom for its glory! He will even sponsor anything that will give him a place. The curse resting upon him and this world will always spell frustration, confusion, and eventual vanity to all that is of his kingdom, hence so much of these very things in a Church which is -- in any respect -- of this world. The Church has so largely failed to discern why -- in essential relation to His mission and ministry -- the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness is given a place in three of the Gospels, and in that specific connection John's Gospel is so gathered up in chapter 17, where the emphasis of Jesus is upon His not being of this world, and the same of His Church!

The Church -- universal and local -- which is constituted on spiritual and heavenly principles will have food enough for its own needs, and to spare for all the world. The hungry will gravitate toward such. It will be a spiritual magnet which will draw the Lord's people together in a spiritual fellowship. It will therefore be an object of Satan's special attention to undo it. But, even if he succeeds in destroying its temporal aspects, by martyrdom, fire, dissensions, scatterings, places, etc., such a church will have held spiritual values which are indestructible and eternal -- "for the things which are seen are temporal (transient, passing) but the things which are not seen are eternal".

The ultimate test is the eternal!

We said at the commencement that, while we are concerned with the nature of the true Church universal, we have a special concern for the local expression. We shall therefore now concentrate our attention upon that expression.

If we take seriously the first three chapters of the book of the Revelation (and surely we must do so) we shall be impressed with the Lord's serious concern for such local expressions. A matchless presentation of Himself is given by way of judging the churches according to Himself. Every feature of that presentation is a factor in judgment. Then the churches are given a twofold symbolic definition; one as of stars and the other as lampstands. Leaving many details until later, we, at the moment, note that the common feature is that of the power of testimony. It is the positive element of a challenge to world darkness. All through what follows in relation to the churches the feature and factor of positiveness of spiritual life and influence are dominant and paramount. All controversy by the Lord with the churches -- on whatever specified account -- is focused upon this ultimate issue: the positive effect of the church being where it is. Is there an impact within (lampstands) and without (stars)? Are they telling, accountable, effective, unmistakable? Have they an influential impact upon their surroundings? Is there spiritual power that has effects? Ultimately, the continuance of their place in the Divine economy -- being retained or 'removed' -- rests upon this issue. Many things are detailed as the cause of the loss of power, but it is that loss which makes for judgment.

As for the inclusive, exclusive issue, a Church can't even be a Church if it isn't comprised of those with the supernatural experience of being born from above, or born again from above, which is the more full meaning of the words in the Greek.

The Church universal, and by extension, locally, has become a gathering of a spurious group of people that may or may not be saved, and that of course generates many of the problems we have in our day in what is wrongly identified as Churches.