The Lord and His Assemblies
Matthew 18:17-20
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.
18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Here we encounter the Lord Jesus Christ “in the midst of” His disciples. His disciples gathered together with the Lord constantly. They learned from Him. They worshipped Him. They sought to be obedient to Him. They had been immersed (baptized) in obedience unto Him. They sang hymns with Him. (Matthew 26:30) They celebrated the Lord’s Supper with Him. (Matthew 26:26-29) They ministered together with Him all throughout the Gospels.
In our passage we encounter the word “church.” (Used by the Lord Himself) It translates the Greek word ekklesia. It literally means “those called out to assemble.” The same Greek word is used three times in Acts 19, where it is translated “assembly.” (Verses 32, 39 and 41) An assembly is a group of people “gathered together.”
It is in this important passage on the Lord and His first “assembly” (Matthew 18) that we find those familiar words, spoken by Him and precious to His believing remnant throughout the ages since then:
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
In addressing His disciples here, Jesus was presumably speaking to an assembly of more than two or three people. His disciples then numbered twelve, counting Judas. Yet, He says “where two or three” are gathered together in His name. In the days ahead, (in the immediate future and in the far more distant future), there would come many times when it would only be by God’s providence that even two or three could hope to assemble together due to severe persecution.
While assemblies would later develop “church polity,” in these early days, they were not trying to make sure that they followed orthodoxy regarding polity. They were headed for severe persecution, even unto death. They needed to know that because they were His church (assembly), that He would be “in the midst” of them, even when it was only possible for two or three of them to gather together.
Much that co-ops the title “church” today is far from what Jesus was identifying. Gathering a number of “like-minded” people together, and participating in accepted religious practices (tradition) does not identify any group as one of the Lord’s assemblies. Our first paragraph above reveals much of what the Lord considers to be valid assemblies.
And, we must never forget that He was delighted to say unto them that He would definitely be among them (even two or three of them) every time they gathered together “in His name.” This phrase (in my name) means exactly what is identified in our first paragraph. Are we (two or three of us) gathered “in His name? Are we learning from Him through His Word? Are we worshipping Him? Are we seeking to be obedient to Him? Have we been immersed (baptized) in obedience unto Him? Are we singing hymns with Him. (Matthew 26:30) Are we celebrating the Lord’s Supper with Him? (Matthew 26:26-29) Are we ministering together with Him?
I strongly hesitate to do what I have just done: enumerate a “list” of behaviors that serves to identify a true assembly, or a genuine Christian. Undoubtedly, there will be someone that read these words as a “checklist” of supposed “proof” of the validity of his/her discipleship to Christ.
But, BEWARE. All of these can be engaged in without the heart being truly subject unto the Lord. That is what would be seen by the Lord as “playing church.”
On the other hand. You may read this with an aching heart that you have felt so isolated from fellowship with the “saints.” This may be simply because you have been led of the Lord of the assemblies to absent yourself from assembling together with many that seem to be “playing church” rather than entering into costly true discipleship. The Lord will Himself find for you (if necessary) a second (and maybe a third) true believer to gather together with you so that you may once again be “gathered together in His name.” And, He WILL be in the midst!
Remember these words from Zephaniah 3:17:
The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
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