God has never left man to his own ways; He has always told him what he must do to be accepted of Him. Many have the misconception that it does not matter what one does in religion, as long as he is sincere. This idea implies that man, even without a revelation from God, could determine a way to live that would please God. However, God said, "It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer. 10:23). Solomon warned: "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Pro. 14:12). God has given us the Bible to guide us! The seamstress must carefully follow her pattern to make the exact desired garment. A builder must adhere to his blueprint to build the designed structure. Just so, men must strictly follow God's Scriptural pattern to live and worship acceptably.
God's Old Testament Patterns
God told Noah to build an ark. He then said, "This is the fashion which thou shalt make it of," giving him the kind of wood, number of floors, dimensions, and so forth (Gen. 6:1416). Noah carefully followed God's pattern: "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he" (v. 22). Noah's obedience demonstrated his faith (Heb. 11:7).
God commanded Moses to construct a tabernacle (with furnishings) as a center of worship for Israel. He gave detailed instructions concerning its materials and even for the size of each object. He then said, "According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it" (Exo. 25:9). Notice the word pattern used by God here!
Similarly, the Lord gave David a blueprint (which he was to give to his son, Solomon) for constructing the temple. "All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern" (1 Chr. 28:19). Again, the word pattern shows the exacting nature of God's instructions.
The Lord's Pattern for His Church Today
The Lord has a spiritual temple todaythe church. Its builder is "greater than Solomon" (Mat. 16:18; 12:42). It is not a physical building, but one made up of people (all the saved, Acts 2:47). Paul told Christians, "Ye are God's building" (1 Cor. 3:9). Rather than the stone and cedar of Solomon's temple, the church is composed of living material: "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house" (1 Pet. 2:5).
Is there a pattern (a blueprint) for the church Jesus built? Just as God gave instructions for the building of Noah's ark, Moses' tabernacle, and Solomon's temple, so He gave specifications for the church. Jesus gave the twelve the pattern for the church: "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Mat. 18:18). Jesus first made this statement to Peter in connection with the promise to build the church (16:1819). A more literal translation is, "Whatsoever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatsoever you release on the earth will have been released in heaven." God's instructions for the church would be (and were) given through the apostles, recorded in the New Testament.
The book of Hebrews teaches that the law of Moses typified the New Testament system (i.e., "the heavenly"). Speaking of the Mosaic priests who followed God's pattern for tabernacle worship, the writer tells us they served "...unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount" (Heb. 8:5). Therefore, we are also to follow God's pattern for us today.
Did God Intend the New Testament To Be a Pattern?
Many Scriptures demonstrate that God most certainly expects men to follow His revelation given through the apostles. The Jerusalem Church "continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine" (Acts 2:42). The things Paul wrote were "the commandments of the Lord" (1 Cor. 14:37). He warned that if any man or angel preached a message different from what Paul preached, he would be "accursed" (Gal. 1:89). Everything taught or practiced had to be "in the name of [i.e., by the authority of] the Lord Jesus" (Col. 3:17). We must strictly abide in the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9). The one who speaks must speak "as the oracles of God" (or, as God's Word speaks, 1 Pet. 4:11).
We must not "go beyond the things which are written" (1 Cor. 4:6, ASV). The curse of God is upon anyone who adds to or subtracts from God's Word (Rev. 22:1819). Those not obeying the epistles written by the apostles were not to be fellowshiped (2 The. 3:14). Paul enjoined, "Hold fast the form ["pattern," ASV] of sound words, which thou hast heard of me" (2 Tim. 1:13). One could not hold to a form, or pattern, that is constantly changing, which suggests that the New Testament was/is a fixed and permanent pattern for all to follow. Christ promised to be with those who teach His message given through the apostles "unto the end of the world" (Mat. 28:20).
The New TestamentStill God's Pattern Today
Occasionally someone says that, although the New Testament was the law for people of the first century, we live in a different time and thus cannot still be expected to follow it today. However, Jude 3 declares that the system of belief given to them was "once for all delivered unto the saints" (ASV). The word translated "once" here is the same one translated "once" in Hebrews 9:28. There it is evident that Christ being "once offered" means that He died once for all timeChrist need not and will not die again for us. Likewise, once in Jude 3 shows that "the faith" (the New Testament) was given once for all time. It will never be changed or amended, but shall stand as God's pattern for us all to follow until time shall end!
There Is No Need for a Change in the Pattern
When Jesus built His church and, through the apostles, gave the New Testament as the pattern by which it was to continue, He thereby gave men "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Pet. 1:3). Through the inspired Scriptures God's people were completely furnished to all good works, constituting a pattern for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteous living (2 Tim. 3:1617). Although we live in a changing world, this blueprint from God is unchangeable, because:
* Human nature has not changed. Men still sin (Rom. 3:23), and thus still need the salvation that comes through the changeless Gospel of Christ (1:16).
* Sin has not changed. It is still "the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4) and results in deathseparation from God (Rom. 6:23). Thus, it is still essential that we live by God's instructions to avoid sin and death.
* Satan has not changed. He is still the tempter (1 The. 3:5; Mat. 4:3), wishes to devour us (1 Pet. 5:8), and thus wants to take away God's Word from our hearts so we will be lost (Luke 8:12). He wants us to be in Hell with him eternally (Mat. 25:41). To resist him we must carefully follow God's Wordthe pattern God has provided to guide us to Heaven. Jesus used what was written in the Scriptures to resist and overcome Satan's temptations (Mat. 4:4, 7, 10). We, too, must have God's Word in our hearts to keep from sinning against Him (Psa. 119:11).
* Christ has not changed. He is still both Head and Savior of His church (Eph. 5:23) and has all authority in Heaven and on earth (Mat. 28:18). He is "the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him" (Heb. 5:9). His New Testament (9:15) is the pattern we must carefully obey. His Word will judge us at the end of time (John 12:48).
* His will for the church has not changed. He still has just one church (Mat. 16:18; Eph. 4:5). It began on Pentecost (Acts 2) and is the one that continues to follow the New Testament pattern. We must not confuse modern denominations with the Lord's church. It must be without blemish (Eph. 5:27), accomplished only by following the New Testament pattern!
The New Testament (Not a Particular Congregation) Is the Pattern
Some reject the idea of following God's Word as a pattern and thus restoring the church as it existed in the New Testament. They sometimes ask, "Which church in the New Testament do you wish to restore, Jerusalem where there was prejudice against the Gentiles, Corinth with its many problems (including a man living openly in adultery), or another? They were all imperfect." Such is an effort to belittle the idea of restoring the church the New Testament reveals.
Any thinking person who carefully studies the Bible should understand that no person or congregation is to be imitated except as they follow Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). The New Testament makes it clear what God did and did not approve of in every first-century congregation. Just as God's Word was His pattern for the church then, it still is the sole means by which we determine if He approves us today. Not some particular person or congregation, but the New Testament is God's pattern for us to follow!This item originally appeared in TheGospelJournal.org
