Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

The Plain Truth About Church Government!

by John D. Keyser

In the world today I do not know of any church that fully governs itself according to the directions revealed in the New Testament. The time, therefore, has come to set the record straight and reveal the PLAIN TRUTH about Church government!

According to Herbert W. Armstrong, in his book entitled Mystery of the Ages:

"The Roman Catholic Church is organized on the hierarchical system with the pope in supreme authority, a college of cardinals next in authority, a curia at headquarters in the Vatican with archbishops, bishops and priests.

"The Presbyterian Church is organized with the presbyters or ministers in control.

"The Congregational Church delegates top authority to the congregation -- "government by the consent of the governed."

"And so it goes. The churches of this world of Satan are organized according to humanly devised patterns." (Emphasis mine). [1]

Armstrong goes on to say: "But the Bible gives explicit directions in regard to Church government. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church. God's form of government is, indeed, HIERARCHICAL. (Emphasis mine). God the Father is head over Christ -- the sole Lawgiver and supreme authority."

Now wait just a minute!

Armstrong has just finished saying that the HIERARCHICAL form of government used by the Roman Catholic Church is "of Satan" and "organized according to humanly devised patterns." Then, in the next breath, he claims "God's form of government [in the Church] is, indeed, hierarchical." It would seem to me that Armstrong is admitting right here that the form of government practiced by the Worldwide Church of God (and other breakaway groups) is Satanic and patterned after humanly devised organizations!

Granted the Bible does give explicit directions in regard to Church government; and granted the Messiah is the head of the Church. But is YEHOVAH God's form of government within the Church hierarchical? Let us pause for a moment and define this form of government.

The Hierarchical Form of Government

Under the entry "hierarchy" we find, in The Merriam-Webster Dictionary [2], the following definition: "1) a ruling body of clergy organized into ranks; 2) persons or things arranged in a graded series." Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary [3] defines it in this way: "Hierarchy: A body of rulers, esp. of ecclesiastics, disposed organically in ranks and orders each subordinate to the one above it."

Now that we understand the hierarchical form of government is basically government from the top down -- with everybody divided into ranks and orders -- let us ask the question again: Is YEHOVAH God's form of government, in His Church, indeed hierarchical?

Armstrong himself answers this question in an article he wrote for the February, 1939 issue of The Good News magazine [4]: "All authority and power to rule is limited solely to each local congregation. But there is no Bible authority for any super-government, or organization with authority over the local congregations!...Jesus never set up an organization, nor did He establish any Church government."

On page 246 of Mystery of the Ages, Armstrong makes this statement: "Old Testament Israel, the Church of the Old Testament, was also a nation in the world -- though not of the world as God organized it. Its government was hierarchical. It was theocratic government -- government from the top down -- the very opposite of "democracy."

So we have a problem here -- YEHOVAH God did not set up a hierarchical form of government at Mt. Sinai! The government set up was very similar to that of the New Testament form, with elders in each town and judges guiding the nation. In fact, contrary to what Armstrong says, it was really a "loose" type of democracy!

The HIERARCHICAL form of government didn't come into existence until the people rebelled against YEHOVAH's system and asked for their own king -- Saul. YEHOVAH complied with this request, issuing a strong warning about what would happen if they continued with this HIERARCHICAL type of government. You can read about this in I Samuel 8.

Armstrong goes on to say: "The church is organized under theocratic government, hierarchical in form." Can this be true? Let Armstrong himself answer again: "The New Testament Church is not a kingdom -- not a church government but an assembly of individuals called out -- spirit-filled individuals, and therefore a spiritual organism, not an organization."  [4]

We must remember that although the hierarchical form of government was used in ancient Israel (after the people rebelled and demanded their own king), to bring order to an unconverted and rebellious nation, this type of government was clearly condemned by the Messiah as an unacceptable method of organizing his Church. The reason being that it puts a man in place of YEHOVAH God, and causes men to look at the human head instead of to YEHOVAH God. Peter insisted, in Acts 5:29, that a Christian "ought to obey God rather than men." But carnal men tend to grant loyalty to the human head and follow his teachings even when those teachings contradict YEHOVAH's Word.

Armstrong fully realized this back in 1939 when he wrote:

"How, then, did organization, and the idea of church government get into the Church? It came out of Babylon! Spiritual Babylon-that is, ROME!...Those who are in, and members of such an organized church government...are in Babylon, and actually worshipers of the image of the beast! And God is calling us, His people out of Babylon today, before it is too late -- before the plagues fall!...Our heavenly Father never planted any super-organization, or established any church government, or set men in authority over either spiritual or financial affairs, in the New Testament Church...What has split and divided up the saints in the Church of God? Nothing but organization -- which has led to politics, ministers lusting for rule and for power...God's Word commands us to come out from among them, and be separate. God's last warning is, 'come out of Babylon!!'"  [4]

The Two-Headed Body!

YEHOVAH God's instruction book for mankind -- the Bible -- likens YEHOVAH's Church to the human body: "And God placed all things under his [the Messiah's] feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way" (Ephesians 1:22).

Also, in Ephesians 4:15: "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

We can see from this that the Messiah is the head of the body or Church; and "we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others" (Romans 12:5). Now, if YEHOVAH God had chosen a human leader, under the Messiah, to lead his New Testament Church, we would be faced with an anomaly! Have you ever seen a body with two heads? The Messiah plainly says in Mark 10:42: "Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you."

Now that's quite plain, isn't it? The Messiah never intended for the hierarchical form of government to be used in his Church! He did not create a body with TWO HEADS!

The Marriage Covenant

There is a vital key to this question that has been overlooked time and time again, and that is the marriage covenant which existed between Israel and YEHOVAH God. Back in Exodus 24 we read of the covenant made between YEHOVAH God and the children of Israel; and this covenant was a marriage ceremony joining YEHOVAH and His people Israel together as husband and wife. It was this marriage that formed YEHOVAH God's people Israel into an organization having the right type of church government! This marriage is a TYPE of the coming marriage between the Church and the Messiah.

YEHOVAH God promised His people Israel at this ceremony that if they would be obedient -- as a wife should be to her husband -- they would become "a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation" -- a church government.

Since this is the case, it naturally follows that this organization and government of the children of Israel was to last only as long as the marriage union which established it! If, for some reason, the marriage was done away with -- a divorce takes place -- then the organization and the government will, at that very same time, be done away with. It was ONLY this marriage relationship which established the organization -- the kingdom and government of the people.

Now, in Leviticus 26, YEHOVAH God plainly shows that there are blessings available to the children of Israel IF they are loyal to the marriage covenant; But -- and notice this -- there are punishments for disloyalty. In verses 14 through 39 we see that the punishments for breaking the marriage covenant are many, and include "those that hate you shall reign over you..." (verse 17) and "you shall have no power to stand before your enemies" (Verse 37).

In other words, if the children of Israel should prove disloyal to the marriage covenant, then the husband -- YEHOVAH God -- would take away His form of government from his wife -- the children of Israel. He would then give them the government (hierarchical) of the Gentiles until the second appearance of the Messiah, when the correct church government shall be restored to Israel!

As every Bible scholar knows, Israel did not remain faithful to YEHOVAH God; and He was forced to give them -- His wife -- a bill of divorce. This divorce cut off His government from among the children of Israel; and the Messiah is coming to restore the kingdom, along with true government and organization, to YEHOVAH's people Israel. YEHOVAH's people Israel have had to suffer a hierarchical form of government -- with variations -- down to this day!

At his appearance the Messiah will marry his bride, the Church. Since the Messiah also died to redeem Israel, Israel will be free to marry again! And so a NEW COVENANT will be made with Israel and Judah; and the kingdom will be restored to Israel -- with the original form of Church government!

The Messiah's disciples clearly understood that the kingdom, along with YEHOVAH God's government, had been taken away from their people. In Acts 1:6 the disciples asked the Messiah, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

But the Messiah did not restore it when he was on this earth some 2,000 years ago. He did not bring his Father's form of government back. This will occur at his soon appearance.

Let Armstrong add, from his 1939 article, the following:

"The authority to rule and to govern was now taken away from the people of God, because of disobedience...There is not one single hint in the New Testament of any Church board with authority to rule, to govern, to decide doctrine, or to handle tithes and church finances (the whole church)...Jesus never organized, or reorganized His Church! There is no scripture for it!" [4]

Running a Tight Ship?

Paul makes it quite plain, in the first chapter of Galatians, that there was no central government, or headquarters with a man at the head, ruling over the early New Testament Church:

"But when God, who set me apart from birth, and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles -- only James, the Lord's brother...

"Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or run my race in vain...

"As for those who seemed to be important -- whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance -- these men added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they saw that I had been given the task [by YEHOVAH God] of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been given the task of preaching the gospel to the Jews...

"James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do..." (Verses 15-19, 2:1-2, 2:6-10).

Did you notice a few things in this passage?

First of all, Paul says that immediately after he was called by YEHOVAH God "I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was...after 3 years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter..."

This would be an UNACCEPTABLE situation under the hierarchical system of government. Can you imagine someone in any of the world's churches (including the Worldwide Church of God) just popping up out of nowhere, preaching all over the countryside; and then, after 3 years, deciding to go to headquarters to get ACQUAINTED with one of the evangelists -- and NOT seek approval for his actions? Somehow I don't think that would work!

Secondly, it wasn't until 14 years later that Paul went up to Jerusalem to let the people there know what he had been doing for the last 14 or so years! And was he summoned to Jerusalem by the head apostle or leader of the Church of YEHOVAH God? No, not at all! He went to Jerusalem "in response to a revelation...!"

Did you get that?

Doesn't that seem incredible to you -- Jerusalem certainly wasn't running a very tight ship!! Then, on top of all this, Paul says: "As for those who seemed to be important -- whatever they were makes no difference to me...these men added nothing to my message."

What a put down! Some egos, I think, would be in jeopardy!

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO SIGN OF A HIERARCHICAL TYPE OF GOVERNMENT IN YEHOVAH'S CHURCH!

Footnotes:

[1] Armstrong, Herbert W., Mystery of the Ages, Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, 1985, page 242.

[2] The Merriam-Webster Dictionary

[3] Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary

[4] Armstrong, Herbert W., "Did Christ Reorganize the Church," February, 1939 issue of the Good News.