Believers “gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ” should live under the authority of that Name. We must guard against a superior attitude towards believers who may know little church truth yet are mature in their practical walk.
New Testament believers had New Testament life. Assembly truth was part of the fabric of everyday living.
Consider some of these practical matters found in New Testament believers. The Ephesian letter is a good place to find this. One of the epistles of Church truth, it evenly combines the lofty truths of the Church and God’s eternal purpose with practical matters of everyday life.
1. Different from the world. But they were not just different for the sake of being different. Believers’ lives were based on the truth found in the Lord. Paul writes, “This I say therefore…that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness (hardness) of their heart” (4:17-18). “But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus” (4:20-21).
Notice the references to “mind,” “taught,” “understanding.” It is the mind that gives direction to our walk. If we lose the battle in the mind, we lose the battle everywhere. In the world our minds are constantly bombarded by the how “the Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind.” Culture, entertainment, philosophy–all of it is contrary to “the truth [as it] is in Jesus.” Worldly values and ideas can subtly creep into our thinking, and therefore our actions. The Lord’s intention is that the believer is in this world–and all that means in living and working in this environment, not in isolation. But we are not to be of this world’s thinking (Jn. 17:15).
How can we defend our minds from the constant barrage of the world’s thinking? Reading and meditating in the Bible is the only way. As Paul puts it, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” (Col. 3:16). A daily diet in the Word will keep our thinking straight.
2. Kind to one another. God does not produce hard men and women. Worldly people are hard because they know nothing else. They have never known real kindness. Their urgings to forgive sound hollow because they see no basis of forgiveness. But those who have tasted goodness are people who cannot contain it. Consider these words, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (4:32). God is kind. In 2:7 we learn it will take “the ages to come, for God to show us His kindness–there is so much of it. Kindness, tenderness, forgiveness are not qualities of a weak character. They are like God. Loving generosity towards one another is part of God’s method of evangelism, according to John 13:35.
3. Submission and obedience. Paul emphasizes “understanding what the will of the Lord is” (5:18). He then discusses three areas where wills can collide–two in the home and one in the workplace. In other epistles we are taught about other areas where submission is commanded. In all of these, the believer sees the Lord.
Some are in places of authority given by God. They are called to exercise their stewardship in light of the Lord’s supreme authority, and not to abuse it. Husbands, fathers, employers, elders–watch this! The husband is controlled by love (5:25); the father is controlled by God’s Word (5:4); the employer is controlled by heaven’s rule (5:9). Others, under their care, are called to submit “as unto the Lord.” We submit because the Lord is in this. Of course, we must be careful to recognize all of Scripture. There are times when delegated authority may demand positive evil against God. In those cases much wisdom is required and the example is that God’s people were to obey God above men. But this should not be used to exempt us from obeying things we do not like.
We could go on. New Testament believers were full of joy, interested in the work of the Lord, were people of prayer, lived for eternity–not for time, and were faithful during trial. New Testament assemblies need New Testament Christians. Let’s be that kind of people.