The Number Two - For The Church

I have written somewhat on this subject before on my other blog Dialegomai .
The subject to which I allude to is the one of whether God intended to have His church carry the practice of the Catholic church- having one man over-rule or to have a multiplicity of elders under-sheparding the body of Christ when they come together in assembly.
As I thought more about this in relationship to scripture, many passages of scripture came to mind and the recalling how the Lord throughout both the Old and the New Testament always worked and spoke using men in two's not singularly.
I have noticed that within the Southern Baptist Convention that they are being finally challenged with this question and it is beginning to be debated on scriptural grounds somewhat as to whether Scripture outlines for "church government" a multiplicity of elders or congregational rule. The issue starting coming to the attention of The Baptist Convention sometime back in 1994- see: "Elders in Baptist churches? Conference examines the idea".

The whole problem with both of their arguments, it is an argument over rulership rather than sheparding by example. It disregards Holy Spirit selection of the elders within the community of believers. It is in debate because both sides fear losing power. In the truth of the true Ekklesia, there is no such debate because only Christ rules.
They have forgotten the admonishment by the Lord Jesus Christ himself when discussing this subject.
Let us look at this:
The answer is: Jesus purges Christian leadership of everything that makes it ugly and builds into Christian leadership what makes it beautiful. He purges it of self-exaltation; and he builds into it the reality of servanthood. He says, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled" (Matthew 23:12). That's the end of arrogance and self-exaltation in Christian leadership. And he says, "Whoever would be great among you must be your servant" (Matthew 20:26). That's the key to beautiful leadership that builds up others.

This should humble those who are in positions of leadership. True leadership is not leadership at all but servitude that is gifted by the Spirit of Christ.

Leaders are not to be overlords but they are suppose to be under-shepards. God never intended for the elders to be subjagating themselves just to those that have the money, that prop up the system or those that pay their salary and the bills of the organization. If you eliminate money out of being one of the foundations of all of Christendom's organizational church, and advocate, not salaried pastors, buildings to meet in, or building big organizations, the churches of today and yesterday would collapse over night and then only would the true body of Christ be revealed.
The very first thing we need to look at in this ongoing treatise of mine, that I have referred to as the title of a book I plan to write and publish, "Why The Church Is Failing". Did God intend for more than one person to do the teaching and under-sheparding within the body of Christ?
We need to look at this along with the verses I have to quote the necessity by scripture to have a muliplicity of elders,who are gifted with teaching over one man pastoralship.
The main reason for this is required is because it is the means that God chose throughout scripture to insure truth was proclaimed among His people and to His people.

I want to borrow from a writing by Tony Warren on "The Numbers in Scripture".

"When we look through the scriptures we find that God often uses the number two as a signification for agreement, and by implication, truth. And because God has declared that the Church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1st Timothy 3:15), this number is also often used in association with it. It's the numerical symbolism of a faithful (truthful) witness or testimony. i.e., one being in agreement or a "confirming" witness of another. For example, the two witnesses spoken about in the book of Revelation chapter eleven. They are the Lord's faithful witnesses who bear testimony to the truth! Therefore are they spoken of as "two" witnesses, signifying that they come with the truth. In fact, we can readily see that the designation of two witnesses has always been the guide post that God has used for "establishing agreement of truth." From scripture we see that from the very beginning God instituted this number as the guide post for truth.

Numbers 35:30
"Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die."

Here God is using the minimum number of "two" witnesses to Illustrate the corroboration of what is the truth (Deu. 17:6).
One witness could not by God's law establish it as the truth. It took at least "two" witnesses to establish any accusation true, that a man could be put to death. This number two signified the agreement or corroboration that established truth. That is precisely why Revelation chapter eleven uses the phrase "two witnesses". It is to signify that these are the truthful or faithful witnesses of Christ who went forth declaring God's Word! The Lord does nothing by coincidence and that phrase establishes that their testimony is the true witness.

Again, we can see this same principle illustrated when Jesus reiterates this law of God in Matthew.
Matthew 18:16
"But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established."

A minimum of two witnesses would establish the truth. Note it says there "that every word may be established". In other words, a witness to verify the truth of what's been said. Two witnesses symbolize that what's being said is verified true by law. The concept that God ordained from the beginning.

John 8:17
"It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.."

God's law prescribed that the Testimony of "two" men is a truthful testimony. That number two illustrates God is using the number as the establishment that what is said is the truth. Likewise, when Jesus Christ sent the Seventy out to witness or testify to the truth, not coincidentally, he sent them out by two.

Luke 10:1
"After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them Two and Two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come."

He sent them out by two and two (two witnesses) and told them that he who hears you, hears Me! In Other words, they went with the unadulterated truth which was God's Word! Indeed, they were the truthful witnesses to it! And he who heard them, heard God's Word of truth, at their mouth!
This is the Church sent out "the Two Witnesses." Jesus sending them out by two established in scripture the numerical symbology that they went with the power of the truth of God's Word. Likewise, Jesus did the exact same thing with the twelve disciples because God wants us to know assuredly that His Church declares His word in truth. Indeed, it is the pillar and ground of it! That is what is illustrated by this number two.
Mark 6:7
"And He called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits."
The truth of these things becomes self evident when we compare scripture with scripture. The testimony of the Old Testament is that God would often send two angels or messengers to His prophets in order to reveal some truth of His Word to them. Even as Jesus ascended to heaven there were two Messengers there to signify of a truth He would return in like manner. We read,
Acts 1:10
"And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel:
Or again, God illustrates truth with this number in Hebrews six.
Hebrews 6:17-18
"Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, Confirmed it by an oath:
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to LIE, we might have a strong consolation..."
He confirmed it with an oath that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible to lie. That means the absolute truth! All through scripture we see the number two used to illustrate truthfulness or faithfulness. Whether it's the Spiritual signification of the two candlesticks, or the two fishes that feed thousands, or the two brothers (The sons of Thunder), or when the Disciples said, "Lord, Here are two swords" (Luke 22:38) and Jesus said, it is enough, etc., etc. The symbolism of the number two in scripture for the truth or the faithful witness is clear.
This being so, it's no wonder we see this number used many times in relationship to the body of believers, which is God's true church, and the Word of God which is the truth of scripture! Truth and God's church go hand in hand as they are the witnesses of it.
1st Timothy 3:15
"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth".
The Church is identified with the number two because it is the Pillar and ground of the truth. The faithful servant and witness of God.
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There are many more examples of God always working his truth through two witnesses, all you have to do is look at Aaron and Moses in the beginning and Paul and Silas in the end.

Why would men, so disobey God's word in His clear admonishment to have more than a single witness within His body? The answer is men's traditions and man's ways. It is purely a carryover from the thoughts and theology of men, and not scripture.

God never intended to have a single voice speaking for the body of Christ. Thus he even sent out the disciples in two, Paul traveled in two's and on and on scripture verifies the necessity for a multiplicity of witnesses- no less than two. The single man Pastor is unscriptural and remains so. If we truly to desire to have the church of Jesus Christ to turn this world upside down for Him, then we must hear the Word of the Lord first - Scripture.

The truth of God's word must speak for the truth and not men's traditions, these traditions that are just a carry over from the rule of the Pope -even in Protestantism.
The Protestants have continued this gravest error since their birth by Martin Luther. Luther was not about to reliquish that position for anyone, he would have to give up self-power and rule over others. How else can the coffers kept full but one man to sit in the Temple of God and declare himself God. This is the meaning of this scripture in Revelation. It has nothing to do with some one person someday doing this, it is the very essence of the anti-christ spirit, to sit in the place of god and declare yourself god, this is the apostasy that Paul and others warned was coming. In less than 100 years, man did this. Ignatius and others lighting the fire for this vain philosphy with the idea that when the Bishop speaks it is the same as God speaking!

Doesn't it even make just commone sense that two men to agree takes much more than one man dictating.
There is a balance in this. It keeps error out and allows the Spirit to speak. It is the basis for the ideals of checks and balances within our own government. You take that away, truth and freedom are gone forever, just as freedom of the body of believers led by the Holy Spirit as been usurped by man's traditions now for over 1,907 years of church history.

The Baptist are on the right track but the wrong train. The matter is not an issue of who should rule, but how many should be examples, how many within a body should do the overall teaching, and guiding as an under-shepard by example of life" chosen by God " within the community of believers in assembly and not the organization, it's rules, it determinations, it wordly ways to decision making. Education, Importance, Resume and more being the criteria rather than God raising up among a body those He has chosen.

The issue for the Baptist or any organizational church is just that they want to have some sort of organization based on men's concepts of leadership rather than the clearly laid out plan as given by Christ for His Ekklesia. Even if they introduce eldership, they want to divide it again down to one man who teaches and the others who adminstrates- desperately trying to hold to the one man rule with a slight bend toward trying to be scriptural. They are wrong in all aspects.

The problem is they are an institution, that is an organization based on every opposite of what Christ and scripture teaches.

It slams the priesthood of believers in the face with hypocrisy, formulating a rulership, a high priest institution,- a return to Judaism, though in word they say they beleive in the "priesthood of all believers" and "Christ as their high priest" but in practice, it is everything but that.

The church has first displaced Christ as the head of the Ekklesia for the State, by forming a business rather than a body of believers . They do this by making it a business incorporation, rather than the mystical body of Christ. Pleasing the State must first be the primary consideration. Tax free status, and incorporation to determine who will be the power over.
The primary reason for this is the "love of money".

The second thing is they have defined a form of government for themselves that follows the plans of men and men always wanting power over others. Forgetting Christ's admonishment as to what real leadership is.
They need to re-read Matthew Chapter 23, verses 1-12 again, and commit them to memory, that they may not sin against Him who is the very Ekklesia - Jesus Christ our Lord.

My absolute belief is the organizational church will continue to fail, in ever being a representive of Christ and His Spirit because in truth it is not the body of Christ. The true Ekklesia and any local assembly is the body of those who come together in love and the only High Priest present is Jesus Christ- the only one deserving of honor above all men. There is none that sit in the center of attention other than Jesus Christ our Lord.

The change to eldership verses congregationalism for Southern Baptist or any "religious organization" will not change things for them, as long as this is viewed as "rulership and a form of government" rather than the gifts of the Holy Spirit to His believers and that it is He who chooses those that are gifted to teach by example and word. It is He that creates within us a spirit of servitude rather than lordship over others. It is He that they need. It is only He that can formulate and show what it means to be a member of the Kingdom of God and not the kingdoms of men.

Two - is the first answer for all bodies meeting. God designed truth to be only revealed in two's.
But the first thing that has to go is arrogance in the Pastors, the wealthy that pay the bills, and the congregation who too wants to have power over others. Ture Congregationalism can only exist where Christ is King, and each believer is exerising through the leadership of the Holy Spirit the gifts given unto them. This is far beyond the big mouth and the little ears concept that man has traditionally practiced in the physical church. The real Ekklesia is spiritual but for it to be extended into the reality of it being seen on this earth, we must return to He who is the Founder of our Faith, and He who said that "two " is His way. We have to return to humble yourselves before God. Don't think of yourself as more important than others. Keep company with those who are the lowly of this earth.
I love Pastors they hav just been seriously mislead by men. I invite eac of them to take heed to the words of Christ and the practices of the Early Church and the Apostles. Let us return, not in just a reformation of the church, but to a restoration of the church.

God humble us to know thy ways! Teach us your word, hide it in our hearts, that we might not sin against thee.

Dr. J.