The Ground of Gathering

Mark Grasso

What is the assembly?

In Old Testament times, God had a people living on earth who were especially His own, namely the nation of Israel.

During His oral ministry while He was on earth, the Lord Jesus spoke about something new which He would establish. In particular, in Matthew 16:18, He stated: ‘I will build my assembly’. From the tense used and the activity described in the initial words (‘I will build’), it is clear that the Lord was referring to something which did not exist at the time He spoke but would be established in the future. Accordingly, what He went on to introduce (that is, the assembly) is not a continuation of Israel — neither in a physical or natural way nor ‘spiritually’. Other parts of the New Testament confirm that the assembly was not in existence but was future when the Lord spoke, and that it is not a continuation of something already begun, by describing it as a ‘mystery’ — that is, something not previously revealed by God (e.g. Eph 3:2–11).

What then is the assembly? The meaning of the Greek word translated as ‘church’ or ‘assembly’ in our English Bibles provides a helpful starting point. It means a called-out company. Accordingly, the Lord Jesus was speaking of a company of people, which He was going to establish (He refers to Himself as building the assembly), and who would be called out (i.e. separated) from the world. In addition, they would be His own special company (‘my assembly’). Like Him, they would be ‘not of the world’, and being brought together following His ascension to heaven where He lives for God would also be a heavenly company focused on heavenly things.[1]

The Lord Jesus did not say much more about the assembly in His oral ministry. Instead, in His wisdom, God commissioned the apostles, especially the Apostle Paul, to reveal most of the truth concerning the assembly, through the power and leading of the Holy Spirit of course. As we read the Gospels, we also see that there is nothing matching the calling-out of a company of people in the manner discussed above before the Lord’s ascension. Accordingly, the assembly was not formed during His time on earth.

Shortly before His ascension, the Lord instructed the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they received power from heaven (Luke 24:49). The disciples were obedient to the Lord, as recorded in Acts 1:12–13.

Some days later, on the day of Pentecost, the Lord’s promise to the disciples was fulfilled. As described in Acts 2:1–4, they (and those with them) were clothed with power from on high. From this point, there was a company of people who were marked out from everyone else — not in a physical manner, but by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The disciples and those with them in the upper room were the first members of the Lord’s assembly, which was thus established on the day of Pentecost.

Later in Acts 2, we read that ‘those … who had accepted [Peter’s] word … were added’ and ‘the Lord added to the assembly daily those that were to be saved’ (vs. 41, 47). The same occurs every time a sinner turns to the Lord: he or she is also added to the assembly. We were not present in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, and did not receive the Holy Spirit with the same physical manifestation as those in the upper room on that day, but we all were sealed with the Holy Spirit on trusting in the Lord (Eph. 1:13) and are seen as having part in the work which took place at Pentecost (i.e. the baptism of the Spirit referred to in 1 Corinthians 12:13).

How is the word ‘assembly’ used in the New Testament?

When the Lord Jesus referred to His ‘assembly’ in Matthew 16:18, He was referring to the assembly in its widest sense — that is, to the fact that it includes everyone who believes on Him from the day of Pentecost until the rapture. Other parts of the New Testament use the word in the same way (e.g. Eph. 5:25).

In some places, the same word is used to denote the assembly on earth at a particular point in time, not including believers who have gone to be with the Lord or those who are yet to be born (e.g. 1 Cor. 15:9). 

Last, several scriptures adopt the word ‘assembly’ to refer to all believers in a place. At the beginning of Acts 2, those who had trusted in the Lord were in one place, namely Jerusalem. After they began to be persecuted, some of the believers in Jerusalem left the city, which led to the gospel being preached outside Jerusalem and people in other cities coming to trust in the Lord Jesus (Acts 8). The Lord then worked in special ways to demonstrate that there were not separate assemblies in each city, and that Gentiles and Jews who had trusted in the Lord were all part of His assembly (see the following chapters). Nevertheless, Acts and other parts of the New Testament also describe the believers in a particular place as the ‘assembly’ in that place (e.g. 1 Cor. 1:2). 

However, we should be careful not to overemphasise the distinction between local assemblies and the assembly as a whole. On the one hand, the local assembly is viewed as such by the Lord, and is responsible as a body of believers for certain matters, for example for what may occur within the local assembly. On the other hand, it is not an independent unit. Rather, it is an expression of the whole assembly on earth at a point in time. This is confirmed by Acts 20:28, where the two are spoken of almost interchangeably: the ‘flock’ being the local assembly and the ‘assembly of God’ being the whole assembly. In addition, language similar to that used in connection with the whole assembly is used in connection with the local assembly in 1 Corinthians 12, where the former is described as the body of Christ (vv. 13–26) and the assembly in Corinth is referred to as body of Christ or ‘Christ’s body’ (v. 27). The omission of the definite article in the latter verse denotes what was characteristic of the assembly in Corinth, namely that they had the character of the body of Christ, although they were not the whole body in and of themselves alone.

Nevertheless, the local assembly is important, and was the subject of a special discourse by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 18.

What are ‘assembly meetings’?

In Matthew 18:15–20, the Lord sets out the manner in which certain difficulties between brethren should be resolved, if necessary before the ‘assembly’ (v. 17). From the context, including the reference in verse 20 to two or three being gathered together, it is clear that the Lord’s reference to the ‘assembly’ was to the local assembly.

In addition to providing practical guidance, these verses identify a special privilege in connection with the local assembly: ‘where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (v. 20). While the Lord is always with each of us as individuals (Matt. 28:20), and while He may be with and support a group of Christians as they meet together or serve Him (e.g. Mark 16:20), the privilege of having the Lord in the midst is a greater one. It is akin to the experience of the disciples when they came together on the day of His resurrection (John 20:19–23). However, it can only be enjoyed in the circumstances described in Matthew 18:20:

(i) where two or more believers are together (although not necessarily the entire local assembly — it may be just two or three);

(ii) more specifically, where they have come together in the same physical place (which is clearly what the Lord had in mind when He used the word ‘where’);

(iii) in addition, where they have been gathered together by the Lord (and not simply every occasion on which multiple believers may be in the same room); and

(iv) perhaps most importantly, where the believers are gathered unto the Lord’s name.[2]

It is not possible for us to gather around the Lord Himself in a physical sense while we are on earth and He is in heaven. However, we can come together in a manner which gives the Lord Jesus the central place and all authority, which is what is meant by gathering to His name. Being gathered to His name also necessarily means that we cannot be, and are not, gathered on any other principle, as might occur when a group of Christians goes to the same building at the same time because they all follow the same set of man-made principles, or when an individual has been appointed to be in charge of a meeting.[3]

When we recognise that we are in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ as we are gathered to His name, there will be an element of gravity and piety in our meetings. In addition, everything we do on such an occasion must be in accordance with His Word. However, we are not in His presence with fear or reserve. Rather, we can rejoice that He is with us and enjoy the blessings which flow from submitting to the exercise of His direction. The absence of a man-made set of rules or an appointed leader is not a hindrance. Rather, and even in a small meeting, we can trust that the Lord will provide everything that is necessary for the occasion to be for His pleasure and glory, as well as a blessing for us.

Although it is no longer possible to enjoy fully the unity which existed amongst believers in Acts 2, the blessing of Matthew 18:20 remains available, and the extent of it is unchanged, even if only two or three Christians are meeting together to the Lord’s name. Given the height of the blessing, it bears repeating that one of the conditions to partaking of it is being gathered together in one place (see also 1 Cor. 11:18–20; 14:23). Then, and there, believers can know that the Lord is in their midst.

[1] Consistent with the other articles in this issue of the magazine, this sentence states how things are in principle. They should be reflected in practice too.

[2] By considering the nature of the meetings described in Matthew 18:17–20 and searching the New Testament for similar language in connection with other meetings, we can identify three meetings of assembly character. They were discussed in issue 1 in the 2013 volume of this magazine, which considered the local assembly.

[3] Those familiar with the aid of alliteration used by various respected teachers in the United Kingdom may recall the three As connected with the Lord’s name: His absence, His authority and His attributes.