Some Ecclesiological Issues Exposed by the Covid-19 Pandemic

The word "church" in the New Testament translates the Greek word ekklesia, which means "assembly" or "congregation," how Tyndale translated it in his New Testament, which predates the King James Version.  He was right.  It means "congregation" or "assembly."  "Congregate" and "assemble" are the same thing.

It might be a little hard to read the original script from the Tyndale New Testament, but perhaps you can see the words "I wyll bylde my congregacion" from Matthew 16:18 above.

A church is a congregation, which is a group of people assembled or a gathering of people.  When Jesus says, "my congregation," He distinguishes His congregation from other governing institutions on earth that are also assemblies.  You may have noticed that much government across the world is an assembly, known by different names.  In Russia, it is the Duma.  In France, it is the Assemble'e Nationale.  In Germany, it is the Bundestag.  In Spain, it is the Congreso de los Diputados.  Jesus said, "I will build my congregation."  He rules through that Assembly and He rules that Assembly.  His kingdom work is accomplished through His Assembly or Congregation on earth "in the midst of His enemies" (Psalm 110:2).  Some day He will have direct rule with a rod of iron.

A church must meet or gather.  Right now our church is not gathering, but there is the assumption that it will, just like there is the assumption that it will when it's not meeting on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Even when it isn't meeting, the church, however, is still the church.  The church is the church when sermons are livestreamed on youtube.  That's still our Assembly out there, the Congregacion of Tyndale's New Testament.  Some might ask, is this church?  Yes, it is church, because it is still church even when it isn't meeting.  This assumes still that the church will meet, and our church will meet.

As a related issue, should churches perform "virtual communion" or a "virtual Lord's Table"?  No.  Absolutely not.  Why?  If a church can livestream a sermon, then why can't it livestream the Lord's Table, where everyone takes the bread and the cup at home (or as some "churches" have done, the potato chips and the coca-cola)?

In the preeminent passage on the Lord's Table or communion in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, Paul writes four different times:

Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse (v. 17).
For first of all, when ye come together in the church (Tyndale: "when ye come togedder in the cogregacion"), I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it (v. 18).
When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper (v. 20).
Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another (v. 33).

I underlined every time he used the words, "when ye come together" (obviously).  First, the Assembly must observe the Lord's Table.  This is a required element of New Testament worship.  Second, "coming together" as an Assembly is a required circumstance of the New Testament to obey the required element.  Paul uses "come together" four times for the Lord's Table.  The Lord's Table isn't observed when the congregation does not "come together."  "Virtual communion" is not communion.  The church must "come together" for communion for it to be communion.

This subject I'm addressing relates to the regulative principle of worship. Worship of God must be regulated by God's Word.  God's Word is sufficient.  That means the church is not at liberty to do something scripture does not forbid.  Just because scripture doesn't say it's wrong doesn't mean that it isn't wrong.  If this is how God says to do it, and a church doesn't do that, then it is disobeying God.  The regulative principle of worship is a biblical principle.  Virtual communion is a violation of biblical worship, like changing the recipe for the incense at the altar of incense in the Old Testament.  It is a violation and obviously serious, because God killed Nadab and Abihu for it.

People give themselves liberty for virtual communion.  It can't be done that way.  "Coming together" is a requirement for the Lord's Table.  Our church looks forward to coming together for the Lord's Table.  We won't be attempting virtual communion.  Communion requires physical presence.

What about all the other elements of worship?  Can we pray at home?  Yes.  We have used zoom to pray together.  The terminology "come together" is not associated with any other element of worship.  Something is unique to the Lord's Table that requires coming together.  Families can't take the Lord's Table at home, but they can pray at home.  When the congregation does come together, it should pray.  Group prayer is biblical.  But scripture doesn't require coming together for group prayer.

The requirement of coming together for the Lord's Table is akin to certain circumstances required for baptism.  Someone cannot baptize himself.  Two people cannot decide to baptize each other.  True baptism does not occur when a group of people determine they will start baptizing.  Divine authority is necessary for baptism.  Baptism must be by immersion and for a believer only.  If baptism as a scriptural ordinance is regulated by scripture, which it is, then all of these circumstances are required.  In the same way, coming together is required for the Lord's Table.

The requirement of coming together for the Lord's Table exposes an important aspect of communion itself.  Communion requires a physical aspect.  The Lord's Table is called "communion" in the New Testament.  That communion is more than just getting together.  Communing people believe and practice the same.  They are aligned with each other.  False doctrine and sin break communion.  This is why the examination also must occur with the implication of confession of the sin.  Communion isn't really occurring when someone will not believe what God says and do what God says.

These people who are "coming together" are not just some arbitrary crowd, but people who are committed to the same doctrine and the same behavior in glory and obedience to God.  The truth and then biblical love (not sentimentalism) are components of the tie that binds them together in this communion of the Lord's Table.  Biblical community doesn't exist without the same doctrine and practice.

People can listen to preaching on a livestream and not have communion with one another.  Communion is required for the Lord's Table.  This is one reason why the church limits who partakes. I might want thousands listening to our livestream, but I don't want everyone who is watching in the Lord's Table.  It is the communion of the Lord's body, which is formed of body parts truly under the headship of Christ over them, that Assembly.  It is a real rule or headship.  It isn't just a perfunctory symbolic role where people actually just do what they want and then are called His body.  They can't be functioning outside of His head to be a communion of His body.

The casual nature of the elements of worship and God's ordinances results in their diminishing.  People become preeminent and these offices and symbols become convenient, like building a new place of worship at Dan and Bethel like Jeroboam.  He doesn't want to lose his crowd, so he centers his "worship" on the convenience for the people.  God isn't worshiped though.  With the these elements being diminished, it isn't long and they are outright dismissed.  They don't mean anything, because they never were a biblical conviction.  They aren't sacred.  They don't matter any more.  Unless they are real, something actually for God and according to God's will, people won't keep finding a reason to continue them.  The apostasy has already started.

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A bonus.  I watched this interview with Victor David Hansen. I don't think he's a Christian.  This is only tenuously related to the above post, but I didn't want to include it in a separate post.  What he says is almost identical to what I see occurring at it relates to Covid-19 and our culture, including his take on the President of the United States.  Our country has seemed to have lost its ability to make good decisions.  He exposes some of that.  Enjoy.