NOTE: All comments in brackets [ ] or in parentheses ( ) as well as highlighted text (bolded and/or in blue) are from the author of this study.
Bible quotations are in maroon.
This is a topic which to some will seem to not warrant any examination as for them it is clear what is God’s government while for others it may not be as clear. Whatever the case may be, what is government as found in God’s Church is much more of an elusive topic than what it appears to be and a correct understanding of what it is and how it is to be administered requires putting together a lot of different concepts found in Scriptures spread all over the Bible.
Retrospective
Most of you reading this study will be familiar with the form of government that existed in God’s Church in the days of the Worldwide Church of God headed up by its Pastor General, Herbert Armstrong. For just about all of us I would say, that form of government constituted for us the way God governed His Church i.e., through a man who held all authority and who delegated it to subordinates right on down to deacons who were responsible for carrying out different manual work as required for the conduct of Sabbath day services and various social celebrations organized for the church members. Additionally, it was taught that doctrine entered the Church and new understandings of the Bible only came through the Pastor General who under Christ was the human spiritual head of God’s Church. It wast taught that God revealed truth to only one person at at time in the Church to prevent confusion, the Pastor General.
Basically then, God’s government in God’s Church was understood as one person having all authority for the administration of the physical and financial needs of the Church assisted by subordinates whose authority to exercise different functions in the Church came from the Pastor General.
And, the Pastor General was considered to be the spiritual head of the Church being the mediator between God and the Church. Decisions and proclamations made by the Pastor General were to be considered as God speaking through him to the faithful.
But is this what the Bible reveals about how God governs His Church and of how God rules over His called and chosen ones?
It is vitally important for all truly converted Christians to understand how God rules over His Church which is the collection of those who have been called, chosen and who are remaining faithful. A correct and Biblically-sound understanding of God’s government will protect us from becoming victims of men seeking to use religion as a means to make a living.
The Bible warns Christians to be wary of false teachers as many had gone out into the world. Some would come into God’s Church pretending to agree with its teachings only as a means of spreading false teachings and getting a following for themselves and, some would arise right from the very ministry of God’s Church.
Religion has always been big business. It has been so since the beginning of mankind. All one has to do is take a quick look around to see all the so-called true religions that exist around the world and which are all financially, emotionally and physically exploiting and abusing their followers. They all say they hold the keys to an eternal after-life of bliss which is defined differently by every religions.
The Bible prophesied that there would be many false prophets using religion to financially exploit others and, in more than a few instances, physically and mentally abuse their followers. The false prophets or teachers, not the true ones, would be the many.
God’s Warning to His Church
The Bible is just full of warnings to God’s Church to be wary of false teachers. Below are some of the many verses in the Bible where the faithful are warned about the many false prophets that would infiltrate the true church or who would arise right from within the church itself. I have highlighted words in some of the verses to bring them to the attention of the reader but I have not attempted to explain the verses in any great detail as their meaning should be clear to the reader. As stated in the introduction to this web site, the studies posted are addressed to spiritually mature Christians who have mastered the foundational truth of God’s Church. If you have not yet mastered the foundational truths of God’s Church then you have to go back and do so; it’s all there for anyone who wants to spend the time required in attentive and careful study to acquire it.
All of the followings verses are talking to true Christians (God’s Church) and warning them that the truth would not be accepted or followed by everybody and that many are those who would distort it to gain a following from which they can financially profit.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Mar 13:6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
1Jn 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
1Jn 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
[Men had come into the Church pretending to believe its teachings but their real purpose was to undermine it from within and to work at getting a following for themselves which they could exploit financially. Has this also happened in our days and have we been witnesses of it?]
2Pe 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, [God’s Church] who privily [secretly] shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2Pe 2:2 And many [in God’s Church] shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
2Pe 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you [truly converted Christians in God’s Church]: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
2Pe 2:12 But these, [the false prophets and false teachers] as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
2Pe 2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they [the false prophets and false teachers that came into God’s Church and who were in it for a while] are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
2Pe 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
2Pe 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, [were called and knew the truth but left it] and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
2Pe 2:16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
2Pe 2:17 These [the false prophets and the false teachers] are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
2Pe 2:18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure [entice, lure] through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped [who had come to the knowledge of the truth] from them [those] who live in error.
2Pe 2:19 While they promise them liberty, [to those in God’s Church by saying the law is abolished] they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. [Returning to a life of sin is the life of liberty they preach but God says it is going back to being in bondage or to being slaves.]
2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
[If true Christians who have been given to know God’s truth return into the world, they are worst off then before they were called as then they were not under judgment but leaving the truth after having known it means losing forever one’s salvation.]
2Pe 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. [They would not have lost their salvation and their opportunity for salvation would still be yet future.]
2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Jud 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Jud 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, [they went unnoticed as they pretended to believe the doctrines of the true Church] who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness,[teaching that there is no law that one must follow to be saved] and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the following verses of Jude 1, examples are given of God’s sure judgment on those who disobeyed Him. It was not without consequences for them nor will it be without consequences for those doing so now and in the future.
Jud 1:5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. [If after having been called and chosen one disobeys God by going back into the world, that person will lose its salvation. Being called and chosen is the first essential step but continued obedience after is the condition for salvation.]
Jud 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
Jud 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Jud 1:8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
Jud 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. [It is not the role of true Christians to speak abusively or contemptuously of them; God will judge them at the time of the Great White Throne judgment.]
Jud 1:10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
Jud 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, [Refused God’s authority] and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
Jud 1:12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
Jud 1:13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
Jud 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Jud 1:15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Jud 1:16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
Jud 1:17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Jud 1:18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, [since the passage of Christ we are in the last time or last days] who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
Jud 1:19 These be they who separate themselves,[from the spiritual truth of God] sensual, having not the Spirit.
Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29 For I know this, that after my [Paul’s] departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Act 20:31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
Rev 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: [False teachers had come into the Church claiming to be apostles and the faithful examined or proved their teachings against the Holy Bible and found them to be liars.]
After having carefully read and understood these verses, there should be no doubt in any one’s mind that God’s Church has been under attack by false teachers since its foundation and that its teachings at different times were corrupted by false teachers coming into the Church pretending to believe its teaching and also by false teachers rising up from within the ministry of the Church.
It should also be clear that this state of affair would continue until the end of God’s master plan of salvation when there will be no human beings left alive on the earth. As long as there will be religion there will be men seeking to profit from it by preaching a smooth and easy way to eternal life (the broad way spoken of in Matt 7:13) that the many in God’s true Church will follow.
This is made clear by the following verses which, please note, are addressed to God’s Church, not the churches of the world and their message is plain that it is the many in God’s Church that would follow the false teachers that would come into God’s Church or that would arise from its ministry.
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they [members of God’s Church] will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
2Pe 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, [God’s Church] who privily [secretly] shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2Pe 2:2 And many [in God’s Church] shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
2Pe 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
Many of us have lived through the destruction of the Worldwide Church of God and its splintering into many new so-called churches of God who are no longer preaching the truth and in which many of the former members of the WCG now find themselves as prophesied in 2Pe 2:1-2.
However, in most instances, it is far from being a comfortable existence as these power and money hungry men physically, mentally and spiritually abuse their followers while continuously exhorting them to give bigger and more generous offerings. They pauperize their flock while themselves and their supporters live in luxury even to the point of spending tithe money on a private jet for the Pastor General. The ministry lords it over their flock and longs for and expects like the Pharisees to be treated as great teachers worthy of the highest respect by all. They see their flocks as being servants whose duty is to eagerly await the opportunity and great honor of serving them. Minister’s desires have to be their commands. Their lust for power, prestige and money have corrupted their mind; they have changed the truth they had received and are preaching for filthy lucre’s sake.
Anyone having any questions about what they teach and how they spend tithe money is said to be in a bad attitude and to be resisting God’s government which of course leads to one becoming disqualified to go to the place of safety and no one wants to be in that situation as the Great Tribulation gets closer and closer. In most cases, the dreaded Great Tribulation is always imminent and there always needs to be one last immensely generous outpouring of money for the church to be ready to go to the place of safety. These prophecies of men never come to pass and inevitably there will be the announcement of a new time of departure for the Place of Safety again requiring one last and mighty donation to the Church until the next time.
A very sad and deplorable state of affairs but which unfortunately is not a rare occurrence.
We have to be sure we understand what is God’s true form of government in His Church to be sure we can never be deceived by the many smooth talking false teachers in the world that have found their way into God’s Church and especially by those that arise in the very ministry of God’s Church.
God’s government in God’s Church would of course be the same type of government that exists between God and the Word. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about it.
God and the Word
For government to exist there has to be at least 2 beings with one exercising authority over the other based on a commonly accepted law. The very first government that ever existed is with the 2 God beings whose eternal existence is revealed to us in the Bible. The Bible tells us that in the beginning before anything was created there existed 2 God beings with one of them being called God and the other one being called the Word (Logos in Greek).
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Please note that the 2 beings whose nature is God (they are God beings as opposed to human beings) created man (human beings) in their image i.e., with mind power and according to their likeness in their physical appearance. If we want to know the manner of existence of God and the Word we need simply look at the beings they created in their image and likeness, men.
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
We can plainly see that men created in the image and according to the likeness of God do not typically and normally have several heads on one or more conjoined bodies. If God and the Word and another being which men have supposed exist in the Godhead, the holy spirit, are 3 beings in one, then mankind created in the image of God and after their likeness would typically and normally be born with 3 heads on one or more conjoined bodies. The mode and manner of existence of human beings allow us to know the mode and manner of existence of the 2 God beings revealed to us in the Bible. Men created in their image (same kind of mind) and after their likeness (same general physical appearance) are all separate and distinct human beings. Since human beings created in their image and according to their likeness are all separate and distinct beings, it logically follows that God and the Word are also separate and distinct beings.
There is a lot more to be said on this topic which has been the object of 2 separate studies posted on this site. So, for those of you who are interested in getting additional information, I refer you to the following studies: Who or What is the Holy Spirit? ; What is the Holy Spirit? Cliff Notes Version
So, we have established that God and the Word are 2 eternal, separate and distinct beings. Now, let’s examine what the Bible tells us about the form of government that existed between them.
Government in the Godhead
Were God and the Word who existed forever in eternity equal in authority or was there one higher in authority than the other?
Mar 5:7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Joh 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
Joh 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Joh 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
Joh 8:16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.
Joh 8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
Joh 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Joh 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Mat 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Joh 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
The Word who dwelt in eternity with God was sent by God to be the perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind. The Word was conceived of God in Mary’s womb and was born of the flesh i.e., with a flesh-and-blood body just like all other human beings.
Luk 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest [God a being different from the Word or Spokesman] shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
When that occurred, God from that time on became God the Father and the Word became Jesus Christ the Son of God who was fully man, his mother being Mary and fully God, his father being God.
As we have seen in the just quoted Scriptures, the Word who became Christ and the angel who appeared to Mary to announce to her she would bear God’s Son, it is clearly stated that God the Father is higher in authority (Luke 1:35) than He (Christ) was. All that He, Christ, did was in accordance with what He had been commanded to do by His Father whose higher authority He readily acknowledged and recognized.
So God and the Word are both separate and distinct God beings with one being clearly higher in authority than the other; of this there is no doubt if we will allow ourselves to be guided by the Scriptures we have just reviewed.
This form of government is God’s government but how does it express itself in God’s Church?
The Word is the Head of the Church
Col 1:18 And he [Christ] is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Christ is fully in submission to His Father and He is the head of God’s Church but Christ is a spirit being which men cannot see so how can He possibly rule over a church composed of physical mortals who cannot see, hear, touch, smell or taste things which are “spirit?” Does it not then become necessary for God to use men to rule over His Church which is wholly made up of called and chosen flesh-and-blood human beings?
Part of the answer to this question can be found in examining how the Scriptures say God, a being wholly made of spirit, can communicate with beings wholly made of matter and which do not have the ability to perceive spirit.
1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
This verse makes it plain that God has not ever communicated His spiritual truth to men through their 5 physical senses which are limited to perceiving and understanding physical and material things. But God says that He makes known to truly converted Christians the things which He has prepared for those who love Him.
Then how can God a spirit being make known to man, a material being unable to know God level spirit knowledge, the things which God has prepared for those that love Him?
1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us [truly converted Christians] by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
God has made know to those who love him (they are those who keep His commandments (1 John 5:3)) what will be their reward for their obedience by his Spirit.
How can this occur?
In 1Co 2:11-12 it is explained how God can communicate with flesh-and-blood human beings whose minds cannot know God level spirit knowledge. The importance of correctly and fully understanding these verses cannot be overstated.
1Co 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
In 1Co2:11 it is explained how it is that men understand the things of other men i.e., how it is that men can understand how other men think, what is of interest to them, their joy, their sadness, hopes, etc. It is because men all have in them the same type of spirit essence which gives them all the same human nature. They do not all think and feel things in exactly the same way but they all have similar abilities to think and feel emotions and can therefore understand the thoughts and feelings of other human beings because they all have the same spirit essence in them that gives them all the same ability to think and have emotions.
In the same way that men who have in them the same spirit essence as other men can understand the things of other men so is it possible for flesh-and-blood men to know God level spiritual truths when a small part of God’s spirit is added to their minds. There is then a sharing of God’s thoughts with men which makes it possible for men’s minds to know and understand God level truth.
1Co 2:12 Now we [true Christians] have received, not the spirit of the world, [See Eph 2:2 below for what is the spirit of the world] but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. [The human mind is capable of receiving another spirit, the spirit of God and when this spirit dwells in their minds, it enables them to know and understand the spiritual truths of God which men cannot possibly know in any other way.]
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past [before having received God’s
spirit] ye walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh
in the children of disobedience: [Satan can influence men through
his spirit and so can God with his spirit.]
And there we have it. True Christians have received the spirit which is of God so that God might be able to share with them His God level spiritual truths which He freely gives to all those whose intent it is to obey Him in all things to the best of their abilities after having been called.
God, not men, provides spiritual leadership and teaches His Church through His spirit that dwells in the minds of the truly converted and which teaches them all things.
Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you [Christ’s disciples and their spiritual descendants] another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye [the disciples] know him; for he [Christ, the Word in the flesh] dwelleth with you, [Christ while He was a flesh-and-blood human being] and [in the future] shall be in you [after Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension back to His Father and more specifically, on the first Day of Pentecost after Christ’s ascension to His Father]
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, [the holy spirit being which is the Word i.e., Christ restored to the glory He had with the Father before His incarnation as the man Jesus of Nazareth] whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
God the Father teaches His Spirit-begotten sons by the spirit of the God being called the Word or Spokesman who was also for a time, the human Jesus-Christ. And this is plainly stated in Heb 1:1-2.
Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
In Old Testament times, God spoke to the physical nation of Israel by prophets who were human beings who God used as mediators between Him and man. The Word who is God the Father’s Spokesman, spoke to His prophets in dreams and visions and they transmitted His message to physical Israel who was then God’s unconverted nation. God ruled over them by giving them His law (the 10 commandments) and the statutes and the judgments through Moses who was the mediator of the Old Covenant.
In the last days, which started with the Day of Pentecost and which corresponds to the beginning of the 5th day of God’s 7,000 year plan of salvation for mankind (we are now at the end of the 6th day with each day being a 1,000 years in fulfillment), God is speaking by His Son (Heb 1:2) to His spiritual nation of Israel which is His Church. And as we have just seen, the glorified Christ is the God being called the Word and Spokesman that would come to true Christians and teach them all things.
So what is the role of the ministry?
The answer lies in knowing what is the truth God gave to His Church, when and by who it was given to His Church, how it was to be communicated from one generation of believers to another until the end of God’s plan of salvation for mankind and what was God’s purpose in communicating these truth directly to His Church through the training Christ gave the apostles.
A lot of questions to be answered here so let’s keep going.
The Foundational Truths of God’s Church
We know that Christ at His First Coming came to do several things in the short time that He was on the earth. One of the things He came to do was to train the men who after His ascension would become the founding members of God’s Church, His disciples. Their training would involve being taught directly from the mouth of Christ who was God in the flesh, a number of truths which Paul calls the foundation (1Co 3:10). Christ is the only man that ever existed whose teachings are sure. He is the one and only man that we don’t have to fear will mislead us or deceive us.
God, through Christ, gave His church a number of truths which all Christians are to master and, having been given at the beginning of God’s Church, they are effectively the foundational truths of God’s Church. They are a common and sure starting point for true Christians across the ages which allows them, after having mastered them, to study their Bible on their own and grow in knowledge and understanding as Christ in writing (the Bible) and in their mind (the holy spirit called the Spokesman) teaches them all things. More to come on this aspect as we pursue the focal point of this study.
We know that Paul was not part of the original apostles and that his calling occurred after Christ’s return to His Father but he was also trained personally by Christ as we can know by the following verses:
Gal 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,
Gal 1:16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: [Upon his conversion, Paul did not seek out other men who rightly or wrongly thought they had the truth nor did he go to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before him (next verse). He did not go to men to be taught by men.]
Gal 1:17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
Gal 1:18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. [After 3 years being taught by Christ, he went to Jerusalem to see Peter but it was not to be instructed by him as to what was the truth of God he should preach.]
Gal 2:1 Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.
Gal 2:2 And I went up by revelation, [God by His spirit showed him that he should go to Jerusalem] and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, [After 14 years of preaching to the Gentiles the truth he had received from Christ, Paul went again to Jerusalem at God’s request] but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.
[Paul spoke privately to some of the apostles who were well known to check with them if what he was preaching was the same thing they were preaching]
Gal 2:3 But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:
Gal 2:4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: [The Church was already being infiltrated by false brethren who were insisting that Gentiles (Titus was a Greek) had to be circumcised and who wanted to bring true Christians in bondage to their false beliefs.]
Gal 2:5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. [Paul and the other apostles paid no heed whatsoever to the false doctrines of the false brethren who had infiltrated the Church pretending to believe the teachings of the apostles. Paul and Barnabas ignored them that the truth of the Gospel they had should not be corrupted by these false teachings.]
Gal 2:6 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: [Some of the original apostles that were in Jerusalem and with whom Paul had been speaking in private, conferred among themselves regarding what Paul had told them he was preaching to the Gentiles. Paul says, they added nothing to what he preached and nor would he have paid any attention to them had they told him he had to change some of the things he was preaching as God is not a respecter of men. They came to the realization (see next verse) that Paul, like them had received the same truth from Christ and it was to be given to both Israel and the Gentiles; God is not a respecter of persons.]
Gal 2:7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;
Gal 2:8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) [They agreed based on what Paul had told them that he was also an apostle (one sent out with a message). Peter had been given the apostleship to the circumcision i.e., Israel and Paul had been given the apostleship to the Gentiles or the uncircumcised.]
Gal 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
[The apostles understood that God was using Paul in the same way that He was using them but only to give out a message to the heathen i.e., the uncircumcised or the non-Israelitses.]
Paul and the original apostles were all taught by Christ a number of truths which are the foundational truths of God’s Church (1Co3:10). These truths did not come from men but directly from God himself in the flesh, Christ. Men, all men, are fallible and can deviate from the truth and God says Christians are not to place their trust in men but in God. God sent the Word in the flesh to personally teach those who would constitute the foundation of His Church. The truths taught them coming directly from the mouth of God are sure. They have to be learnt and mastered by all those coming into God’s Church and this for a very special purpose directly related to salvation as we will see as we continue with this study.
The Role of the Ministry
Christ said He would found His Church and that it would always exist until the end of mankind which will occur at the time of the coming of the Lake of Fire when all who have not become glorified spirit beings will suffer the second death. This church would be made up of truly converted men with some of them because of their natural abilities being given teaching responsibilities.
It seems not to make any sense that God would use men to teach His Church given that the Bible clearly says that men are fallible and cannot be trusted. So how can we reconcile that God says the truly converted would be taught by the spirit of the God being called the Spokesman dwelling in their minds and that men would also be teachers of God’s truly converted?
First let’s examine what is the role of men, the ordained ministry, in teaching God’s Church? Then we’ll determine what is God’s spiritual truth that men are to teach to other truly converted men?
Paul in 1Co 3:5-7 tells us what is the contribution of human teachers in God’s Church
1Co 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? [Paul and Apollos are only the means by which men came to believe the truth as it was given for them to do so by God. It was God who gave those who heard them the God level spirit understanding of their teachings.]
1Co 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
1Co 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
Paul and Apollos, essentially members of the ordained ministry who have teaching responsibilities, are simply tools used by God to teach members of God’s Church. The comprehension in its spiritual dimension of what they teach comes from God. Any comprehension of the God level truth taught the members of God’s Church is not a result of the teaching abilities of those who teach them. The ministry provides the information but its spiritual comprehension is, and can only be, from God. This is why men who are not called and chosen can study and be taught the Bible without ever coming to a correct understanding of what it means. The same fate befalls those who were converted and return into the world. They lose the spirit given them at the time of their conversion which made it possible for them to understand God’s spiritual truth. They again become spiritually blind as they were before their calling and so much so, that it is impossible to convince them that they have left the truth as they firmly believe they have never left it.
Keeping this understanding in mind, let’s read why it is that God has given some men the ability and responsibility to be apostles, prophets, teachers, etc.
Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
When there is a ministry in existence, its role is to teach God’s saints the truth God placed in His Church through Christ at His First Coming. The truth Christ gave the apostles is the foundational truth of God’s Church (1 Cor 3:10). The role of the Church is to teach that truth to newcomers to the faith to enable God’s babes-in-Christ to develop into spiritual adults who cannot be swayed and troubled by the doctrines of cunning and crafty men seeking to deceive them including some of which would arise from the ministry itself. As spiritually mature adults, they become able to read the Bible on their own and get the correct meaning out of it under the leadership of the spirit of the God being called the Word. Christians are to be able to prove all things like the Bereans did (Acts 17:10-11), the Thessalonian congregations (1Th 5:21) and Timothei (2Ti 2:15). Christians are to become able to prove the truth or falsity of a matter by studying the Scriptures; they are not to take any man’s word as being the truth no matter how much of a high ranking minister that person may be. They are to study their Bibles; not books written by unconverted men about the Bible. (For more information on this topic, please see the following study: Are Christians Personally Responsible for Proving all Things? )
Christians upon being called and chosen start off their spiritual lives as babes-in-Christ who need to be taught the foundational truths of God’s Church given the Church by the spirit being called the Word who became a man for the purpose of teaching these truths to His disciples. These truths were to be transmitted from generation to generation of believers but because of persecution coming upon the Church most of them were lost. They were restored to God’s Church by God’s promised end-time Elijah who was to come and restore all things (Mat 17:10-11).
Christians are to grow in knowledge and understanding from babes-in-Christ to spiritually mature adults who can no longer be swayed and troubled by all kinds of false doctrines and teachings of crafty men infiltrating God’s Church or arising from the ministry itself. As spiritually mature adult, they can read the Bible on their own and get the correct meaning out of it; they can prove things out for themselves with it, the Bible is no longer a mysterious book they are still trying to understand as when they were first called; they do not look to men to explain the truth to them; they have grown to be able to do it for themselves and this is how they protect themselves from being deceived. They have the sure foundation of truth given the Church by Christ at His First Coming and they understand that their salvation depends on them and only them. No man will be saved by the works of another and no man can ever save anybody but himself. Salvation is wholly and only between God and the individual.
The role of the ministry is to teach the foundational truths of God’s Church to the faithful with God giving them the spiritual understanding of these truths (the milk of the Word (Heb 5:12-13; Is 28:9)) so that they go from being babes-in-Christ needing to be taught by the ministry to spiritually mature adults who can prove by themselves all things and who can spiritually feed themselves on the meat of the Bible. That is the principal reason for there to be a ministry in God’s Church.
The faithful are NOT to remain babes-in-Christ and the ministry is to assist them in becoming mature spiritual adults whom God can teach directly from the pages of His Holy Bible. Christians are to have a personal relationship not with the leading men in the ministry but with God who will teach them through Christ as they study their Bible.
Isa 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Is the Pastor General and the ministry the means used by God to teach spiritually mature Christians and are they the means used by God to give His Church more knowledge and understanding of the Bible? This topic has been fully covered in the following study on this site which you may want to examine: The Ministry and God’s Truth You will be glad you did as it makes plain how spiritually mature Christians grow in knowledge and understanding of God’s spiritual truth.
As an important aside, I would like to mention that the reason why God has a church is not to teach God’s called out and chosen ones to become teachers. There are no Scriptures that can be quoted in support of this doctrine. (For detailed information on this topic please see the following study: Mass Conversion of the Nations during the Millennium?)
Spiritual Leadership in God’s Church
Another point of the greatest importance to understand in the context of what is God’s government in God’s Church is that the ministry has no responsibility or ability to command men to believe one thing rather than another. In other words, they have no ability to force anyone to believe the truth or to stay with the truth once they have decided to no longer believe it.
2Co 1:23 Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.
2Co 1:24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
This verse can be a little confusing because in it we find the word “faith” being used and for many individuals, this word has a specific meaning that they apply to it whenever they read it. I’ll try to cut through the clutter by saying that “faith” is all those things, religious or not, that a person has chosen to believe. It is common to hear people say things like “I have faith in those tires, that they are safe and long lasting.” Or, I have “faith” in this diet, that it is good for my health and the list goes on and on. What people believe is their “faith.”
In a religious context, when the word “faith” is used it usually refers to the religious beliefs that a person has chosen to accept as being true. And, there is also the “faith” of Christ which was perfectly believing and obeying God.
In 2Co1:24, what Paul is telling the congregations of his days is that he, Paul and others teaching them, do not have “dominion” over their faith which is to say that they cannot force them to believe something they have not chosen to believe because they “stand” by their faith i.e., by those things they have chosen to believe. Paul says if he came to them he would give them words of correction (2Co1:23) but that despite doing so, he knows that he cannot change anyone’s mind on what they have chosen to believe. Individual Christians remain part or not of God’s Church only if they choose to believe the truth and only if they choose to live their lives accordingly which is something that no man can force them to do.
And what Paul is in fact telling them with respect to his coming to them to correct them is that although I can come and correct you, this would not change the behavior of those who are transgressing God’s law. They have to make the decision themselves to no longer do so; no one can force them to do so.
God has given man absolute free moral agency which means that no one can be forced to believe anything against their will. God commands man to choose and in order for him to be able to do so there must be no power in heaven or earth that can force him to choose something against his will.
Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Why do I mention this in the context of examining what is God’s government in God’s Church? It is because for us to be able to determine what is the correct form of government in God’s Church we have to first understand the limits of men’s ability to effectively influence and change the minds of others.
Government is the use of power to control what men can do, say and think. Government presupposes individuals who have been given the power to rule over others or who have given themselves that power through peaceful and, often times, not so peaceful means.
Let’s continue with our study.
Why do Christians Obey?
Why do God’s saints obey Him? Is it because they fear God will punish them if they don’t or is it because they fear being disciplined by the ministry when there is one in existence? Do they obey out of fear and is it, that were it not for the threat of punishment hanging over their heads, they would not obey?
Are those who come to conversion do so out of fear of punishment?
What does God say about it?
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
God’s Spirit only ever leads; it does not force anyone to obey out of fear of punishment of one kind or another. God will not force anyone to obey Him and this because men have to be beings of character to become members of God’s Kingdom. Character is the unforced commitment to obey God after having come to the knowledge of the truth. More explanations to come in the following paragraphs.
What does God say about those who have been called and chosen? We can look at the conversion of end-time Israel to find out how God will proceed. End-time physical Israel is an unconverted nation and the conversion process used for them is really not any different from the one God has been using since the Day of Pentecost.
Eze 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Eze 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Eze 36:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
End time physical Israel returned from its captivity will undergo a conversion process but it will not occur solely by God putting His spirit in them.
They will first have to be taught the truth as they do not know it; they have been living as Gentiles and have lost their national identity, their language and their religion. And so we read in Daniel 9:26-27:
Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Christ’s ministry with physical Israel was to last 7 days which in accomplishment is a year for a day. Christ ministry at His First Coming to His people Israel lasted 3 1/2 years. At His 2nd Coming to His people Israel (Christ is not coming back to the world), He will complete His ministry to them; it will be 3 1/2 years long. In this way, Dan 9:27 will be fulfilled.
At the end of Christ’s 3 1/2 year ministry, there will be the making of the New Covenant with all those who commit themselves to obey God. They will have done so freely and self-willingly without any external pressure, physical or psychological, being applied to them any more than our personal conversions occurred out of fear of physical or mental punishment from God. Those that will enter into the New Covenant will do so because they have knowingly and freely chosen to do so, not because they fear being punished. They, like all newcomers to the faith, will fall in love with God’s truth. On fist being called they will want to live their lives accordingly and will be eager to learn more of it.
As we know, those who have been called and have chosen to obey God are God’s Church by any other names. They become part of God’s Church because they have freely chosen to obey God after having come to the knowledge of the truth when God called them.
God rules over them because they have freely chosen to place themselves under God’s rule; not because they are being forced in any way to do so. God’s law is written in their mind and they conduct their lives accordingly to the best of their abilities.
God will not force anyone to be converted nor prevent any converted individual from going back into the world.
Why?
Because God will only rule over those who voluntarily submit to Him when called. This is necessary for “character” to exist in the person that is to be saved. Only individuals of “character” can be saved. Character is obeying God when not forced to do so. This attitude maintained throughout the life of the converted will become permanent in the resurrection ensuring there will never be another rebellion in God’s Kingdom as occurred with Satan. God will not grant eternal spirit life to anyone whose obedience is not assured. In this life it cannot be perfect but as a glorified spirit being, the attitude of obedience in all things maintained by the converted individual will become a permanent part of their spirit being. They will never and can never rebel against God.
This brings us back to the focal point of this study: what is God’s Government in God’s Church?
God’s Government
There are many who think that God’s government is exercised through the ordained ministry which given what we have just explained does not make any sense. Christians to be beings of character must freely chose to obey God. Obeying God because one fears being punished by the ministry is of no value in God’s eyes. Those who can be saved are those who obey God because they have chosen to do so, not because they fear the ministry which are but men.
If they obey out of fear of men or to have the praise of men, then when out of sight of men in their private lives, they will not obey God. They are the eye and lip servants spoken of by Christ.
God’s government which is wholly based on His spiritual law is in the mind of each truly converted individual who is remaining faithful. It does not come from the ministry or any other men nor can it. God’s government is exercised in them through God’s law written on their heart or in their mind by the spirit of God to which they willfully and freely submit themselves.
So when someone in God’s Church announces that they represent God’s government in God’s Church and that failure to recognize their authority or to follow their declarations of doctrine is tantamount to not being under God’s government, we know that this person does not understand what is God’s government and that he is knowingly or unknowingly and erroneously setting himself up as representing God’s government in God’s Church.
Spiritually speaking, there are no men that can claim to be the spiritual leaders of truly converted men. It is the spirit of God in them that leads them; not men. All men whether ordained or not in God’s Church, face the same challenges as the lay members of God’s Church. They have to grow in knowledge and understanding of God’s truth through study of their Bible. They do not have a special relationship with God where they get truth which is not otherwise available to the non-ordained members of God’s Church. God’s spirit teaches all things to all members of God’s Church; not just the ministry and only as long as one remains faithful to his calling. The ministry is not the conduit through which God’s truth flows into God’s Church. (The Ministry and God’s Truth )
So what type of government is needed or possible in God’s Church it being given that it is God who teaches His spiritual truth to all members of God’s Church through His spirit?
God’s Government in God’s First Century Church
In the Bible we have the example of the First Century Church of how government was administered in it.
Because of the difficulty of covering long distances given the rudimentary means of travel available at that time, congregations founded by Paul where for the greatest part on their own. So, Paul appointed men over the congregations he had established to teach them the truth placed in God’s Church by Christ at His First Coming through His disciples and to constantly review it to keep it fresh in their minds. These teachers were converted men possessing the natural abilities to teach and who were good examples of Christian living to others by the way they conducted their private lives.
Also, until relatively recently there was no ability to instantaneously communicate over long distances as we have today and congregations were isolated from Paul and other church leaders. They were expected to administer themselves as basically, whether one wanted to or not, there was no other practical way of doing it.
There was no central governing body which issued doctrinal proclamations that all were to follow nor any headquarters organization occupying expensive, beautiful, lavishly furnished buildings located on some of the choicest real estate of the time.
The tithes and offerings of local congregations were used by them in support of their ministers and to help out the widows, the orphans, the elderly and the poor that were part of their congregations. They were not sent to a central governing body who decided how the tithes were to be allocated.
The ministry was not looked upon as the arbiter of truth and error. God gives everybody the same command to study and prove all things against the Scriptures; no man was to be anyone’s criterion of truth.
Paul went to Jerusalem but not to have what he was teaching confirmed by them. Those in Jerusalem were happy to see that Paul was teaching the same thing they were teaching but Paul never sought their approval of what he was teaching. He had received it from Christ as they had received it from Christ. And starting in Gal 2:7 we read that Paul was accepted as an apostle as they were.
Gal 2:6 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me:
Gal 2:7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;
Gal 2:8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)
Gal 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
The lay members of God’s church are responsible for proving all things with their Bible and the ministry when there is one is only there to help them; it is not there to impose on them what it is they should believe nor are they the source of truth.
2Co 1:24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
God’s Government in the Bible
The Bible paints a different picture of what is God’s government than what most of us have experienced.
In the case of the WCG under Mr. Armstrong there is however an exception to be made. Mr. Armstrong was God’s promised end-time Elijah that would restore to the church the foundational truths of the church given the disciples by Christ at His First Coming. He would also be the spiritual head of the Church as God’s Elijah. A large organization was needed to preach the Gospel to the world to be able to get on television and to have publications that would be freely sent to everyone. But since the accomplishment of the preaching of the Gospel there is no longer any need for any such organization nor are there any more Elijah-type figures to come. No more apostles, prophets or evangelists are to come before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord except the Two Witnesses.
Since the passage of Mr. Armstrong, God’s Church has gone back to existing the way it has most of the time. It continues in little groups or single individuals scattered all over the world whom God has called or is calling and who are being chosen. It is small, invisible and unknown to the world.
The church during the Millennium and the Last Great Day will exist as small, local congregations without any headquarters organization. There is no more need for a large organization with a centralized top-down hierarchical government to exist since the ending of the preaching of the Gospel. Jerusalem will not become the religious center of the world with the nations eagerly going there seeking God’s truth and wanting to convert.
They will go to Jerusalem and Israel which God during the Millennium will greatly prosper as in the days of Solomon because they want to share in its prosperity as is occurring today with prophetic end-time Israel, Manasseh which is the United States. They will want to avail themselves of its riches and participate in a society of material abundance, safety and security to escape the suffering, misery, poverty and tyranny of their own countries.
God’s Church will exist as a small part of the general population of Israel which will be for the greatest part unconverted as in the days of ancient Israel when the priesthood lived among the general population.
God’s church will then consist of individuals scattered all over the word called out by God and who have chosen to follow their calling. The spirit of the God being called the Word will teach them all things as they study their Bible which is how God speaks to His spirit-begotten church since its foundation on the Day of Pentecost.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Christians are the result of God’s workmanship. Their calling and conversion is God’s doing; not men’s and their growth in knowledge and understanding of the truth is also God’s doing.
Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Christ is the author and the finisher of true Christians’ faith; not men.
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Salvation is by grace through faith and the faith that saves us is a free, unmerited gift from God.It is not by the doing of men.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Now we are ready to determine what is the right form of government in God’s Church.
God’s Government in God’s Church
As we have seen, those who are called and chosen self-willingly and freely choose to obey God. In other words, they commit themselves to obey Him in all things to the best of their abilities until the end of their natural lives. They obey God because they have freely chosen to do so after coming to the knowledge of the truth. God rules over them by His law which is written in their hearts or in their minds. That is how God governs His church i.e., by the self-willing obedience of those given to know the truth.
No man can force another man to obey God against his will or to keep on obeying God once he has decided to no longer do so.
Men in position of authority in God’s Church cannot claim that failure to obey them is tantamount to not being under God’s government or that one is under God’s government and on the road to salvation if, and only as long as, they are following him and those he has appointed to positions of authority.
The ministry in God’s Church is there to be helpers of the joy of the truly converted. They exist to provide an environment that encourages them to grow in knowledge and understanding and in the perfect obedience of Christ (the grace of Christ). But they are not a substitute or a replacement for Christ who is the finisher of Christians’ faith.
The ministry has the responsibility to teach newcomers to the faith the foundational truths of God’s Church as given by Christ to His disciples and to administer the financial and material resources and needs of local congregations in those rare instances where the Church became large and had financial and material administrative responsibilities. They are not at liberty to teach their own ideas about the meaning of the Bible which is unfortunately exactly what many of them have done.
Also, the ministry is not the means used by God to reveal truth to His Church. In the past, He did so through the prophets and the apostles but in the latter days i.e., since the Day of Pentecost God is speaking to the truly converted by His Son, Christ (Heb 1:1-2). The Bible is Christ in writing and the spirit being that works in the minds of the truly converted is the God being called the Spokesman.
God’s government is based on God’s law which the truly converted have written in their minds and they are led by God’s Holy Spirit. God’s government is in the minds of God’s truly converted. It is not something that is or can be imposed on them from without by a man holding a position of authority in God’s church. The ministry does not and cannot determine and impose on the truly converted what it is they are to believe. Upon conversion men do not lose their free will nor their God-given absolute freedom to choose. No one can make them believe something against their will which is the reason why the true Church does not try to convert anyone as only God can by a great, one time miracle, open their mind to understand His truth.
God’s government cannot be exercised by any truly converted man over any other truly converted man.
God’s government can only be exercised by the willing assent of the person in whom it is to be found. God will not rule by force over anyone nor drag anyone screaming against his will into his kingdom.
Basically, God’s government in God’s Church is God ruling men who freely and self willingly every day make the decision to follow the lead of God’s Holy Spirit to the best of their abilities. This government does not come from any human leader nor can it. All humans coming to conversion are subject to the very same requirements including those holding ordained positions of responsibility in God’s Church as they are all but men.
There is sometimes a requirement as is the case for any group grown large and in which money is collected for some to administer the physical and financial needs of the church when the congregation is large The tithes are administered by the ministry as well as the physical needs of the church such as providing a meeting place for Sabbath services when the congregation is too big to meet in members’ homes and caring for the orphans, the widows and those Church members in need . These physical and financial administration needs are a necessary part of the work of the ministry as mentioned in Eph 4:11-12.
However, for most of its existence God’s Church has been small and invisible to the world. It existed in the few individuals scattered all over the world who were called, chosen and remained faithful. The Bible is very clear that though many are called few are chosen and of those who are chosen, few remain faithful. This is why Christ referred to His Church as the little flock. This will not be any different during the Millennium and the Last Great Day.
Conclusion
God’s government in God’s Church is not from men but from God working directly in the minds of the truly converted by His Spirit. God’s government is only possible in men who have been given to know the truth and who have voluntarily and freely chosen to submit themselves to God’s law. God’s government can only be found in those who have chosen to freely and willingly accept God’s authority in their lives. It is God’s authority in them which governs their lives; they are under God’s authority and government, not that of a man claiming to represent God; it is not something that can ever come from men; it is from within the individual through God’s Spirit working in his mind.
God’s government cannot be exercised through a man. All truly converted men are subject to the very same conditions for salvation. They must have growth in knowledge and understanding which comes from their personal Bible study and spiritual fellowship with other true Christians who are also studying their Bibles. Men in positions of authority in God’s Church do not enjoy a special relationship with God where He uses them to reveal truth that is then to be taught to the Church. All Christians, ordained or not, can and do receive truth from God as they study their Bible and this is made very clear by Paul in 1 Co 14: 26-40 which is explained in great detail in the following study posted on this site: The Ministry and God’s Truth
God’s government is to be found only in the minds of the truly converted who willfully submit themselves to God. It is not nor can be the doing of any man. God’s Church ministry when there is one, has a teaching role which is limited to teaching the foundational truth given by Christ to the Church by means of the apostles. Even then, the spiritual understanding of these truths is and can only be by God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in the minds of the truly converted. The ministry also has a physical and financial caretaker role when there happens to be large congregations in existence.
No man can be the spiritual head of God’s Church and God’s government is not exercised over the truly converted by men.
This is very different from what most of us have understood and what we have experienced but it is what the Bible reveals to us.
Hopefully, you have the eyes and ears to understand what really is God’s government in God’s Church and what is the purpose of the ministry when there is one in existence i.e., to help newcomers to the faith or babes-in-Christ to become spiritually mature adults who can no longer be swayed or troubled by the many false doctrines of the many false prophets in the world and by those that arise from within the Church. They have become able to read the Bible on their own, correctly understand it and have growth in knowledge and understanding in truth that are not part of the original foundational truth given God’s Church by God Himself in the flesh, Jesus-Christ. The faithful’s salvation does not and cannot depend on men and their growth in knowledge and understanding of the truth has to be as a result of their own works of regularly, attentively and carefully studying their Bible.
God's Spiritual Nation 