Revelation 3:13 (KJV) Unity in Faith, Distinction in Practice (and Fellowship)

Revelation 3:13 (KJV)

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

The first thing I’d like to point out is the word “churches.” When addressing each individual church, our Lord used the singular word “church.” But when addressing them as a group, He said “the churches.” There is no such thing as “the church” referring to the whole body of believers on earth—the so-called universal church—whether visible (Catholic) or invisible (Protestant).

• The church – an individual congregation in one location.
• The churches – an address to a number of local congregations.

I’m thinking about the diversity among these churches—the differing environments they found themselves in, their different strengths, and their different weaknesses. I do not believe this represents different denominations because denominations are the construct of men, not the Lord. These were all true churches, yet each was quite different. Some of them, frankly, I would not want to be a member of.

This reminds me of the twelve tribes of Israel in the wilderness. Each tribe worshiped the same true God, at the same Tabernacle, and in the same manner. Yet each had its own camp, and members of each tribe were to remain distinct. They were not to change camps or even to marry across camps.

The camps, in my application here, do not represent different denominations. I am convinced there is only one true type of church—it traces back to the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. It has a history separate from Catholicism, and therefore from every form of Protestantism. It is Baptist in that it never aligned with or came out of the Catholic system.

Even among Baptists, however, there are differences. In fact, even among independent Baptists there are differences. We have subtle differences in doctrine. We have differences in how we practice local church life. Each group of independent Baptists has differing ethics and varying degrees of pastoral authority in their churches.

• We worship the same living and true God.
• We share the same source of existence—we came out of Christ, not out of Catholicism.
• We hold the same truth—that the church is always a local congregation.

But we are in different camps. There’s nothing wrong with that—yet there is something wrong with ignoring those differences, or with changing camps as if there were no differences at all.

We don’t have to condemn one another or criticize each other. But it is wise to acknowledge the differences and, in some cases, to respect the necessity of separation—even one from another.

#BaptistEcclesiology #LocalChurchOnly #HearTheSpirit #BiblicalChurchTruth #DistinctYetUnited

Unity in Faith, Distinction in Practice: Why Local Congregations Matter

What do you think?
Do you believe the Bible teaches that every church is a local congregation, or do you hold to the idea of a universal church? How do you see the example of Israel’s twelve camps applying to local churches today? Share your thoughts in the comments—I’d love to hear your perspective.

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Revelation 3:13 (KJV) Unity in Faith, Distinction in Practice (and Fellowship)