Allow me to just take a minute or two to say something. I want to say that, well, say thank you first for the introduction by Pastor Earl Blackburn. But I have to say to him also that I'll deal with him on some of the things he said. I came here thinking that I would be a stranger in a strange country. I had been here in 1991, but still, that didn't make me much more at home, because I'm from a far country with a different culture. But to my wonder and to my joy, I found that there are other strangers who are on the same pilgrimage as me. And so I find much warmth and acceptance in the midst of the brethren here. And I want to thank you and all those who were particularly involved in getting me to come over here. It is a great opportunity for fellowship, for learning, for me as well, and for refreshing of my soul. And we live in a situation in which like-minded brethren are few, and therefore you can understand why I appreciate the time of fellowship here. Now, a number of my fellow pastors back in Malaysia said to convey their greetings to the President over here. And so I thought I should publicly say this, that the pastors there and the churches send their greetings. And through this interaction, I hope we would come to know you better as well. Over the past few years, more than 10 years now, we have been receiving your newsletters. At first it was the RBMS news, and now it's the APKAR news. Each time that we receive a copy of the news, we would photocopy sets of them and distribute to those who come to church. And this is in order that they can take home, read through in the Sunday afternoon, and know what is happening around the rest of the world. Now, equally, we would value very much your prayers. We are aware that a number of churches, many churches, have been praying for us for many years now. And please continue to pray. Currently, I'm quite burdened with the fact that one of our pastors is dying of cancer, Pastor Lim. And since there's no further opportunity to talk about myself after this, I thought I'll make it known now. So if you can please remember him in prayer. Remember Pastor Lim and Mrs Lim. Remember the work in Malaysia, we are such a small group of people and now one man seems to be about to be taken away from us. Now, I would like to direct your attention to two other passages of scripture. Two short passages to John chapter 12 first. John's Gospel chapter 12. reading from verse 23 to verse 26 John chapter 12 starting from verse 23 but Jesus answered them saying the hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified most assuredly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone But if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, let him follow me, and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, him my father will honor. Another passage is Matthew's Gospel, chapter 28. verse 18 Matthew 28 reading from verse 18 and Jesus came and spoke to them saying all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. Now let us pray. Almighty God, we bow ourselves before you in worship. We know that you are the sovereign God who first created the heavens and the earth. You are the one who continue to sustain all things you have created. We owe all things that we are and all things that we have to you. And at this time we wish to acknowledge your greatness and your goodness to an undeserving people. You sent your only begotten son to this world to live that perfectly righteous life that all of us have failed to live. He died on the cross of Calvary in order to redeem us from our sins. And we thank you, Lord, that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone. For left to ourselves, O God, we would not be able to be saved at all. For there is nothing good in us and there is nothing good that we can do that can save us. And at this time we pray, Father, that the glorious truths of the Gospel will burn afresh in our hearts. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, O God, rekindle that love that You first gave us. We pray, Father, that Your Word will again fit our spiritually needy souls, and grant that in all things the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, will be greatly glorified. For in His name we pray all this. Amen. Church planting. This is a very lofty theme. The biblical and theological basis of church planting. This is a very lofty subject. How am I going to cover this lofty subject in this one session? I will need at least three sessions. But then, given the time, we must attempt to cover as best as we can what has been assigned. And what I shall do is to compress three sermons into one. And the sermons, each part of the sermon will be based on one passage. Now, to help us in following this message, We imagine a great big oak tree standing in front of us. Now, if we were to go down into the ground and follow that great oak tree, we will realize that the roots go deep into the ground. Now, if we were to follow the tree upwards above the ground, we have the sturdy trunk. that is firmly planted in the ground. And as we follow the trunk further up, we find many branches spreading further and further. Now that is the way we are going to open up the subject. the biblical and theological basis of church planting. The first main point that I wish to make is that church planting is rooted in the eternal purpose of God. The passage is Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3 to verse 14. Now in that passage, Paul the apostle revels in the thought that salvation had been planned by God. from eternity. Now we must follow the reasoning of the Apostle Paul very briefly, and to help us in that we must give ourselves a number of pegs or mugs around which we will hang our thoughts. Now first we consider the doctrine of the covenant from eternity past. Now we come to what is called the covenant of redemption. It is also known as the Eternal Covenant. The Holy Trinity in eternity past made an agreement between themselves to save for himself a people. God already knew that the human race would fall and the human race will be held responsible for their fall. But God being merciful, made a plan to want to save them. The father chose for himself a people to be saved. The son agreed that in due time he would come to take on human nature without sin, to die and atone for his people. The Holy Spirit agreed that when the time came, he would apply the saving benefits of Christ to those chosen people. Now that is what is known as the Covenant of Redemption. The agreement, that solemn agreement made between the three persons of the Holy Trinity. Now that covenant unfolds itself in history as the Covenant of Grace. The Covenant of Praise is that solemn agreement by which the Triune God agreed to be the God of His people and those people are chosen to be His. The formula that summarises all the promises of that covenant is, I will be their God and they shall be my people. Now that Covenant of Grace unfolds itself in history in various ways, in different periods. That has been called the different administrations of the Covenant. Now each administration of the Covenant is actually a manifestation of the same Covenant of Grace that runs through the centuries. There is only one way of salvation. salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone. But you see that covenant of grace was revealed in stages, in different ways, and the different manifestations of that covenant of grace are known by different names according to the dominant individual that was involved. People have regarded the covenant administration as that of Adam, of Noah, of Abraham, of Moses, of David. Now, the different manifestations of the covenant culminated in the covenant at Sinai, the Sinaitic covenant, which is also known as the Old Covenant. Now, the Old Covenant with the coming of Christ was replaced by the new covenant. And we read in Hebrews chapter 8, Hebrews chapter 8, the clear declaration that the old covenant will be replaced by the new. In chapter 8 verse 6 we read, but now he has obtained a more excellent ministry inasmuch as he is also mediator of a better covenant which was established on better promises. Verse 7, For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for the second. Verse 13, in that he says, a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Now, we must understand that the new covenant has done away with the old covenant. But nevertheless, the new covenant is a continuation from the series of the manifestation of the same covenant of grace. Salvation was the same in the Old Testament time just as in the New. All those chosen people of God in the Old Testament were saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. How were they saved if Christ had not come yet? Actually, their faith was prospective. They looked forward to the coming Saviour. And that was how they were saved. Our faith is retrospective. We look back to the Christ who has already come. Now all God's people are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other way of salvation. So you see now that the covenant of grace runs through. the whole history of humankind. And it will continue to be so until Jesus Christ returns to this earth to judge the world. Now, we have the Covenant of Redemption in eternity. It develops or unfolds itself in history as the Covenant of Grace. Now, from the Covenant of Grace, we have what is called the Covenant of the Church. Now salvation is individualistic in the manner. How are we saved? God does not save people by families or by communities. Now God does send revivals. There have been times when the Holy Spirit moved mightily and through just one sermon in a short period of time, many people are converted. If we were to examine such revivals, we would realize that All those who are truly converted have been converted individually. Each of them has understood the message, each of them has been convicted of his sins, and each of them has already turned to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. So although a lot of people, many people may be saved in the same time, in the same place, but nevertheless the manner of salvation has been individualistic. So we are safe in an individual manner. But we must remember that it is never God's plan that a safe person should remain an individual. So while the manner of salvation is individualistic, the end of salvation is actually communal. Various passages of scripture show to us that believers must be bound together as the family of God, as the household of God. Now we do not have to consider too far, but just to consider Matthew chapter 28 verse 18 to verse 20, the passage that has been called the Great Commission. Now in the Great Commission, we learn that we are to go into the world and make disciples of all the nations. Now the Great Commission does not stop there. It goes on further to say we are to baptize them, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Now what does it mean to baptise? Baptism has a meaning and it also has a purpose. The meaning is that externally we are showing what has happened to us internally and spiritually. We are showing that we have been born again of the Spirit of God. So the external rite of baptism means something. It indicates, it symbolises what has happened to us inwardly. But it also has a purpose. The purpose is to incorporate the new believer into the membership of the local church. Now, we must distinguish between meaning and purpose and never confuse them. There is a relationship between them, but they are nevertheless distinct. Now, all churches have believed that the purpose of baptism is to incorporate the person into membership of the Church. Now, once in the Church, the individual is taught all the Lord's Commands, which is the next part of the Great Commission. Now, if the individual believer is not incorporated into the life of the Church, how is he going to be taught all the Lord's Commands? So you see now that salvation is individual in its manner, but the end of it is communal. In 1 Corinthians 12, we are taught that the church is the body of Christ, and the members of the church are the members of that body. Now when one member is hurt, the other members will be hurt as well. When one member is honoured, the other members will rejoice. Now, that cannot be just empathy. That cannot be just a mere external superficial sharing in the joy or the suffering of others. It has to be more than the mere sympathy or empathy that we find in the world. Now, what is being described in 1 Corinthians 12 is actually the interaction between members of a body that are so integrally united that the hurting of one part really hurts the whole body. And the honoring of one part really is the honoring of the whole body. Now we must understand that the communal aspect of salvation has also to be emphasised, but emphasised correctly in its proper place. Now we do not say that people are safe communally. We don't go to a tribal group and say that if the headman is converted then the whole village will automatically be regarded as converted. We don't go to a household and say if the head of the family is converted, then the rest of the family are regarded as converted. No. Salvation is individualistic, but the end of salvation is communal. When an individual is converted, he must be taught to be a member of a church. He must be incorporated into that membership and be taught life in that local church. Now, remember that a covenant is a solemn agreement. A covenant by definition has to be between more than one party. So in the eternal covenant, it was an agreement between the three persons of the Holy Trinity. Now in the covenant of grace, the triune God entered into that covenant with his people. Now that covenant is initiated by God. The people whom he has chosen has no power to enter into that covenant, but God, by His grace, chose them to be His. He therefore is the one who sets the terms and conditions of that covenant. But we must remember that although God is the one who initiates the covenant, and He is the one who sets the terms and conditions of that covenant, it requires to be responded to A covenant is valid only when all the parties involved are in agreement with it. Now, in a marriage covenant, for example, we do not go and grab hold of a young lady and say, I swear to be your husband for the rest of your life, but the lady just looks at you and she does not respond. Now that will not constitute a valid marriage. The other party involved in that covenant must respond. And of course, the analogy is not perfect. In the marriage relationship, the relationship is entered into by two parties that are equal. But in the case of the covenant of grace, God is the one who initiates and God is the one who has the right to set the terms and the conditions. But nevertheless, two parties are involved, and all the parties concerned must show their consent. A response is therefore needed. In the Old Testament, the response of the nation of Israel was shown in elaborate ceremonies. Now take an example. Turn with me to Exodus chapter 24. Now, the nation had arrived at the foot of Mount Sinai, and they affirmed the covenant that God had entered in with them. In verse 3 of Exodus chapter 24, we read, So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments, and all the people answered with one voice, and said all the words which the Lord had said we will do. So they publicly affirmed that they will do what the Lord wanted them to do. But that it was still not good enough. What we read in verse 4 is, And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and he rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the children of Israel who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Verse 7. Then he took the book of the covenant and read in the hearing of the people And they said, all that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, this is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words. Now what we see there is that the nation had to make a public affirmation that they were willingly entering into that covenant. They were willingly accepting the terms and stipulations of God in that covenant. And the public affirmation was done in the context of a solemn worship service. Now this continued to be the practice of the people of God in the Old Testament all the way through to the New Testament. And that we will show in a moment. But what we want to show is that All the time there was a solemn ceremony involved when the people of God publicly affirmed their acceptance of the covenant terms and conditions. There was this response needed to accept the terms set by God. Now we turn to just one more passage, and that is Nehemiah chapter 9. Nehemiah chapter 9. Before the Book of Psalms, before Job, we have Nehemiah chapter 9. Now in Nehemiah chapter 9, we have the situation in which the exiled Jews had returned to Jerusalem. And in chapter 9, verse 1, we read, Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month, the children of Israel were assembled with fasting in sackcloth and with dust on their heads. Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one fourth of the day, and for another fourth they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God. Now you see what they were doing. They were actually engaging in a solemn worship service in which the Law of God was read. Then look at verse 38 of Nehemiah chapter 9. And it says, and because of all this, we make a sure covenant and write it. Our leaders and our Levites and our priests seal it. Then chapter 10, now those who place their seal on the document were Nehemiah the governor and so on and so on. So what we are seeing there is that the nation came, and in a worship service, the laws of God are read, the conditions, the terms are spelled out to them, and they publicly affirm agreement, and the Book of Covenant was signed by the leaders. Now that is what I would regard as the covenant of the Church. It is the response of God's people to the terms and conditions set by God in the covenant that He has initiated. Now, as we move on to the New Testament, we see that there is no explicit mention of the affirmation of the covenant. But remember that scripture does not have to teach by explicit statements. And remember that the covenant of grace runs through the whole of the Bible. While there are differences in the different administrations of the covenant, we must remember they are at different administrations of the same one covenant of grace. There is therefore a certain continuity that runs through the Bible. There is a continuity between the Old and the New Testament. Now, that continuity of the Bible gives to us the unity of the Bible. The Bible is one book. It speaks with one voice. And all of it is God's Word to us. There is no contradiction in its parts. Now, the continuity of The Bible, between the Old and the New Testament, gives rise to what we may call the form of the Church. Now, in the different administrations of the Covenant, God may have required his people to show forth their worship in different ways. But in all those ways, God was showing forth also all the while that they could not be saved. by any other way except by grace through faith in the coming Saviour. The blood of the Lamb must be shed for the cleansing of their sins. Now, when we come to the New Testament, we see a fuller revelation of that way of salvation. But it is the new expression of the one covenant of grace that has run through the whole Bible. And since it is still the same covenant of grace, we would expect that the people of God had also affirmed their agreement to God's conditions and stipulations. And although there is no explicit statement that New Testament churches were founded by people coming together to affirm the covenant or to enter into a covenant with God in a public manner. We nevertheless see indications. Now, if you turn with me to 2 Corinthians 6, you will see the words of the covenant of grace. being applied to the Corinthian Christians. We are told in 2 Corinthians 6 verse 16, And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people. And similarly in Hebrews Chapter 8, we read in Hebrews. Chapter 8, verse 10. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people. Now, the New Testament community of God's people are referred to as or in the words of the covenant that God had promised he would establish. Now, we believe that God's people are safe in the same way as his people in the Old Testament. If the Old Testament community of God's people had to affirm their agreement to the terms of salvation, surely we can expect that the New Testament communities of God's people must affirm their agreement as God's people. Now, it is with that understanding that we come to see the greater significance of a number of New Testament passages. Now, consider 2 Corinthians 8. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 8. Now, the Apostle Paul had collected a gift from the churches that were scattered in Macedonia. And we are told in 2 Corinthians 8, verse 1, Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. for a bare witness that according to their ability, yes and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. Then in verse 5, there is this significant verse, and not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God. Now how do you understand that verse? Now people have different understanding of that verse maybe, but as we consider the old commentators and how the earlier generation of Christians understood that verse, we find a certain agreement between the majority of them that this is actually an indication of the covenant relationship that the believers of the churches entered into. Now, whenever there is any mention of the churches covenanting together, they quoted this verse. And so, one way, therefore, of understanding this verse more fully is to see that the Apostle Paul was saying that each of the Macedonian churches were actually formed by believers who not only gave themselves to the Lord, in other words, covenanted together as a local church by vowing to uphold the beliefs that had been taught to them. But at the same time, they also agreed to uphold all that the apostles taught them. Now, the apostles were the founding pastors of those churches. And when they first founded the churches, they would have entered into a pastor-flock relationship with them. As they moved on to plant other churches, they continued to write and to send people to minister to them. That relationship was sustained. And so when we come to a passage, a verse like chapter 7, verse 3, we come to see the deeper significance of what is being said. The Apostle Paul in protesting to the Corinthian Christians said in verse 3 of chapter 7, I do not say this to condemn, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. Now is this not what is involved when a group of people vow to bind themselves together as brothers and sisters in Christ? We stand together as a church, we fall together as a church. Now, what I'm trying to establish is that there is a strong indication that the New Testament churches were founded by the same method that the Old Testament people of God entered into covenant. Now, in the Old Testament, they entered into covenant with one another to be bound to God's laws. in solemn ceremonies of worship. In the New Testament, we would expect that they also entered into covenant in solemn worship services. Now, as we study the history of the founding of churches, immediately after the Reformation, with the recovery of many important Bible doctrines, we discover that many of the independent churches were actually founded by believers voluntarily coming together in solemn worship and entering into covenant. Now, that is significant. Others, more able, have already compiled together the documents relating to how those churches immediately after the Reformation covenant together. And so here I will not say more beyond this. But what we want to say is this, the covenant that God made within the three persons in eternity unfolded in history as a covenant of grace which was shown or manifested in a New Testament in the form of local churches, and each local church appeared to have been formed by believers coming together and entering into covenant one with another and with their God. Now if that is the right understanding, then we see now the great significance involved whenever the New Testament touches or teaches on the unity of that body, the local church. Take, for example, 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Now, there was a discipline case here, and the apostle Paul says in verse 4 of 1 Corinthians 5, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Now, if the local church were to be made up of believers who loosely came together and there was no definite explicit membership, if they had not covenanted together, then this verse will lose its power, this verse will lose its significance. Whereas if we understand the New Testament churches as being made up of believers who voluntarily covenanted together in the solemn worship service, then this verse begins to take on deeper significance. Then look at verse 12 and verse 13 of that same chapter. It says, For what have I to do with judging those who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside, God judges. Therefore, put away from yourself the evil person. Now the outside and the inside, the contrast there cannot be the physical sanctuary of the church and outside the church. It cannot be that, because we know that in the sanctuary, in the worship, in the congregation, There were always believers and non-believers together. We know that because in 1 Corinthians 14, the apostle, in discussing the place of tongues and prophecy, he mentions in verse 22. Therefore, 1 Corinthians 14 verse 22, Therefore, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers. But prophesying is not for unbelievers, but for those who believe. Therefore, if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed, or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? Who are these uninformed people and who are these unbelievers? Are they a reference to the same group of people? Some say yes, some say no. But I'm going to argue that they are a reference to two different groups of people. But however you look at them, you discover that this group or these two groups are different from the believers. Now because the two descriptions are repeated in the two verses, there seems to be a deliberate indication here that there is this group known as unbelievers, there is this other group known as the uninformed, then there is this other group who are the believers. Now if the two terms were referenced to just one group, and if it's mentioned just once, we may say that is a possibility. But because it is repeated deliberately in the two verses that are next to one another, it seems clear that the two terms are referenced to two different groups, and including the believers, we have three groups in the Church. So what we are saying then is that even in the time of the apostles, The congregations were already made up of mixed groups of people. There were the believers, there were the non-believers, and there were the uninformed, who were most probably visiting believers, believers from elsewhere, or who were seeking and were not totally unbelievers, but perhaps, you know, attached to the Church in some ways, but have not become members of the Church yet. So what we are saying then is that even in the time of the Apostle, there was an explicit membership, there was clear-cut membership, such that when a person is excommunicated, he is regarded as outside and no more inside that membership. So the outside and the inside, the contrast is not between the geographical location in the sanctuary and outside of the sanctuary, but rather it is an indication of the two groups of people, those who are actually members and those who are actually not members. Now, the continuity between the Old and the New Testament gives rise to the form of the Church. But there is also a certain discontinuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament. And Hebrews 8 clearly shows us that in the New Covenant community, all the members without exception are people who are regenerate. And it follows, therefore, that the membership of the Church should consist of those who show a credible profession of faith. We may not be able to tell for sure whether a person is safe or not, but nevertheless we must exercise judgment to determine whether or not that person's profession of faith is believable or credible. Now, it is from a consideration of the development of the doctrine of the covenant that we come to this concept of the gathered community of God's people, in which there is this covenant relationship among those who are members of the Church. and the members in the new covenant community are all believers. Now it would not be quite complete if we were to stop there and so very quickly we will mention that this covenant community, each local church, a covenant community, together will be sanctified and in due time the whole Universal Church will be ready to meet the Lord in Heaven. So in Ephesians chapter 5, we read these words, verse 25, verse 24, Therefore, just as the Church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be subject to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, that he might present her to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. Now, we know that the word Church may be a reference to the Universal Church of Christ, or it may be a reference to many local congregations. While here the word is used in reference to the Universal Church, we must remember that the local church is not far from the thought of the apostle. He was writing this letter to a local church after all. And the universal church shows itself in the world as local congregations. And it is as if each local congregation is taught the Word of God in season, out of season, it is as the people of God grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, that the universal Church of Jesus Christ becomes sanctified more and more until the time we are ready to be gathered together in heaven. So church planting is rooted in the eternal purpose of God. Now the second main point I wish to make is that church planting is grounded in the atoning death of Jesus Christ. And for this we look at John's Gospel chapter 12. Now in John's Gospel chapter 12, we read in verse 23 or verse 24, The Lord saying, Most assuredly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain. Now the Lord goes on to refer to those who will be his followers, who will serve him. But here in verse 24, he was referring to himself, saying that soon he would die on the cross of Calvary and rise again. Now, the death of Jesus Christ was foretold in the Old Testament. The prophets foretold that the Messiah, the Saviour, will come. Then He will die on the cross. He will lay down His life for His people. His blood will be shed for the cleansing of their sins. And when the Lord Jesus Christ came, He also foretold His coming death. And here is a foretelling of His coming death. So Christ's death was foretold. But then the time came when Christ really died and rose from the dead. So the grain of wheat fell to the ground. And in his death, the death of the grain, many grains are being produced. And Jesus Christ, by his death, brings about many sons. The seed of Abraham has been buried in the ground and in the process it has produced many seeds. So we see now that Christ's death is already fulfilled. All the prophecy concerning his coming death has now been fulfilled. Now we come to the next stage. Christ's death has to be applied and the Holy Spirit is the one who applies the saving benefits of Christ's death to God's chosen people. So when we come to Acts chapter 2, to the day of Pentecost, we come to realize that this is yet another stage in the unfolding of God's plan. Christ's death is an accomplished fact. What now? Now what now? The disciples of Christ waited for what the Lord Jesus Christ had promised in chapter 1. It says there in verse 5, So on the day of Pentecost, the apostles were waiting. They were waiting. Now, although it is not mentioned when, the promise of the Lord in Acts 1.5 that will be fulfilled. We need not draw the conclusion that it wasn't told the disciples. In fact, the indication is that the disciples knew what the Lord was talking about and they knew when the Holy Spirit will be poured upon them. And that is why when they were gathered on the day of Pentecost, They were gathered in prayer, in expectation. And when the Holy Spirit was poured down upon them, a new age was inaugurated, a new age dawned. The New Testament age came into being, and the New Testament Church was born on that day. So the Jerusalem Church, the mothers of the New Testament churches, was born on that day. On that day, Peter the Apostle stood up and quoted Joel's prophecy. And Joel's prophecy is contained in Acts chapter 2 verse 17 to verse 21. Now how do we understand this prophecy? Or how may we understand this prophecy? One way of looking at it is to see that there are three parts. Now the first part is found in verse 17 to verse 18. Now this is a reference to the beginning of the New Testament age in which signs and wonders would be seen in the people of God. Not necessarily in every individual in the Church, but nevertheless it is in the people of God at the beginning of the New Age. Then in verse 19 to verse 20, we have signs and wonders shown, this time not in the people of God, but this time in the heavenly realms. And that would correspond with the time when the Son of God will return to judge the world. The language is the same as the prophecies of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24 and other similar passages. And if we see, therefore, that Joel's prophecy is being applied to the whole New Testament age, in which the beginning of that age is marked by signs in the people of God, and it will end with signs in the heavenly realm, then we come to see that the period in between is described by verse 21, and it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. That then is one helpful way for us to understand Joel's prophecy, that in this gospel age, with the first coming of Christ and ending with his second coming, we are seeing the saving benefits of Christ being applied to all God's people. As the Gospel goes forth, the Holy Spirit makes use of the preached word to convict, to convince, and to bring to salvation God's people. Church planting, therefore, is grounded in the atoning death of Jesus Christ. Now, we move on to the third main point, and that is, church planting is demanded by the Great Commission. Now the Great Commission is truly great, but there is no time for us to discuss that. What we want to point out is that it is a command to the local church and not to individuals, not to para-church organisations, not to any other bodies. Now, why do we say that it is a command to the local church? Now we know that the Great Commission was given to the apostles immediately. The apostles were the recipient of that command. But you see, anything that was given to the apostles that was not tied to their peculiar office or to their peculiar circumstances has to be regarded as given to the subsequent New Testament churches. Let me put it in another way. If the Lord were to give a command or a teaching to the apostles which was peculiar to the apostolic office, then we cannot claim that command as saying that it is for us. If the command or the teaching is peculiar to the circumstances of that time, We cannot say that that practice or that teaching is normative and it is meant for us. But if the command is given to the apostles and it is not bound to the unique office of the apostles or to the unique circumstances of the time, we are to look upon that command or that teaching as meant for local churches after them. The reason is because the apostles were actually representatives of the New Testament Church. Now, in Revelation chapter 21, we read of the New Jerusalem, which is the picture of the glorified church. And in verse 14 we read, And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Now this is mentioned in connection with verse 12. And also she had a great and high wall, with twelve gates and twelve angels of the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. So you see now that the heavenly Jerusalem pictured for us here has walls in which the names of the 12 tribes are written. Now this is symbolic of all God's people in the Old Testament time. Then it has foundations in which the names of the 12 apostles are written. Now this is symbolic and representation of all God's people in the New Testament time. Now the heavenly Jerusalem, the perfected Church of Jesus Christ will be made up of believers from the Old Testament as well as from the New Testament period. So you see now that anything that was given to the apostles must be taken as given to the New Testament churches. After them, the apostles were actually representatives of the New Testament churches. Now we see this worked out in many passages. Take the case of Matthew chapter 18. In Matthew chapter 18, we read of how the Lord Jesus Christ taught the apostles discipline in the church. And we are told in verse 15, Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the Church. But if he refuses even to hear the Church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector." Now the question is, where was the Church at that time? The Church as we know it later, as revealed in the New Testament, wasn't in existence yet. And yet, All churches up to today refer to this passage and use this passage as normative. This passage teaches us how to exercise discipline in matters of private offence. And we instinctively know that this passage is meant for us, although it was given to the apostles. The reason is because we recognise that the apostles were actually representatives of the New Testament churches. so that any teaching or command given to them was meant for the churches founded later. Now, when we take the Lord's Supper, we come to understand now that what was instituted in the presence of the apostles were actually meant for local churches later. That is why today local churches celebrate the Lord's Supper. instituted in the immediate presence of the Apostles and we understand it to be meant for the local churches today and that is why the Apostle Paul can say concerning the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 23, for I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and so on. Now the Apostle Paul could say that He was delivering to the church what was delivered to him. He being an apostle, he having met with Jesus Christ, he was giving what was given to him to the local church. Now, we believe that the local church has only two ordinances, special ordinances. Some of us call them the sacraments. Now, what are they? Unlike the Roman Catholics, we do not believe in many sacraments, five or seven or however many they claim. But we believe in only two, baptism and the Lord's Supper. We have already considered the Lord's Supper. It was instituted in the immediate presence of the apostles and is therefore regarded as given to the Church. Now, what about baptism, the other special ordinance? Where is it found, taught? We find it in the Great Commission. The Great Commission was given to the apostles and therefore it is meant for the local churches. And in the Great Commission we have baptism, the other special ordinance. So you see now that baptism as well as the Lord's Supper are meant to be ordinances of local churches because they were given to the apostles and therefore to us as well, the local churches. Now we see now that when we look at it that way, we discover that the Great Commission is actually a command to the local churches. It's never a command to individuals. It was given to the apostles and therefore it's meant for local churches. Now of course we know that local churches are made up of individuals. They are individuals who have been converted, have been baptised, they have voluntarily covenanted together to worship God, to uphold His ordinances. Now, such individuals covenanted together have been given the Great Commission. They have now to obey what the Lord has commanded. Now, what are they commanded to obey? We have learnt already that it is actually a command to plant other local churches, As we examined the original Greek of the Great Commission, we find that there is the main clause, make disciples of all the nations. And this is backed up by three participles, namely going, baptizing, and teaching. Now we see that baptizing has a meaning and a purpose, and the purpose is to incorporate the new disciples into membership of the local church. We have seen also that teaching involves teaching all the Lord's Commands and not just some or part of the Lord's Commands. And that is a long-term process that can properly be carried out only in the context of the local church. Then consider another point. We have to go and make disciples. And it is of all the nations, all ethnic groups, wherever they are. So as we go and evangelize and preach the gospel, people are converted. Now, if they are near the Mother Church, we can bring them back and incorporate them into the Mother Church. But what if they are a thousand miles away? How are we to incorporate them into the Mother Church? It would not be practical, it would not be possible even. Now, how are they going to be taught the Lord's commands? And that is why we believe that the Great Commission is a commission to plant other local churches. When people are converted elsewhere, they are gathered together, they are covenanted together as local churches. So we have established these two points under the Great Commission. It is a command to the local church to plant other local churches. Now it is a command so understood by the apostles and the early church. As we study through the New Testament, we discover that that was indeed the case. Remember the Apostle Paul? In Acts chapter 13, in the church of Antioch, he was one of the leaders of the church there. And the Holy Spirit said to set him aside and Barnabas to be missionaries. And Paul therefore went around in his four missionary journeys to plant churches. Now, perhaps some of you have pricked up your ears and say, did I say four? Yes, indeed, I said four. Now, some of our Bibles have a map and there it shows Paul's four missionary journeys. Which is the fourth one? The fourth one was when he was taken bound to go to Rome. Now, Paul was clearly told by the Lord beforehand that he would go to Rome to preach the gospel. And when Agabus tried to prevent him to go to Jerusalem, Paul already knew it. But he knew also that it was God's will that he should be bound in Jerusalem. And to be taken bound, preaching all the way to Rome. So that is his fourth missionary journey. But that is an aside. But what we are saying is that throughout, wherever, whenever possible, the Apostle Paul gathered the disciples together into local churches. It might be a time-consuming process. In Ephesus, when we worked out the time that he was there, we discovered that he was most probably there for around about three and a half years. In Thessalonica, he was there only two weeks, and the church was founded. Whether long or short, whether easy or difficult, the fact is that the Apostle Paul constantly went back and followed up with the work that had been done, with the aim of building up those disciples to the point when they were a sufficient number and they were sufficiently mature to be constituted as local churches. So we read of this in Acts chapter 14, verse 23. starting from verse 21, And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exalting them to continue in the faith, and saying, We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God. Verse 23, So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commanded them to the Lord, in whom they had believed. So you see in this passage, the approach of the Apostle Paul, his method, he went around preaching and making disciples. So they were taught and then they were constantly gathering together. The Apostle would write to them, send people to visit them. In his next missionary journey, he would come back to them, or on the way back he would come back to them. And then he, as he built up the group in numbers and in maturity, the time came when they were constituted as churches and officers were also appointed for those churches. That then was the pattern practiced by the Apostle Paul. It was the method practiced by the church in Antioch. But what about the other apostles? What about the church in Jerusalem, the Mother Church? They didn't seem to be doing that. But as we study the scripture more carefully, we discover that they were actually doing the same thing. In 1 Corinthians 9, we have Paul there defending his apostleship and his ministry. And in verse 5 we read, Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and keepers Now who is this Kephas or Cephas? It was Simon Peter. Simon Peter was travelling around with his wife. And what was he doing travelling around? And it wasn't just Simon Peter. The brothers as well. Other brethren were travelling around with their wives. Now were they just travelling around for fun? Certainly not. The context showed that Paul was referring to ministry. How were they travelling around in a haphazard manner? Again, the indication is that they were not. They were actually very systematic. Their travelling was planned. And we see indications of this in the Acts of the Apostles as well. You turn with me to Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9. In Acts chapter 9 verse 31. It says that then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. Now suddenly there were so many churches scattered throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria. Where did they come from? Now remember on the day of Pentecost, 3,000 souls were added to the existing membership which numbered probably about 200. Now what happened to them after that? They stayed around, they gathered together daily, out of the spontaneity of the situation, they worshipped God, continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, in prayer, in the breaking of bread, in fellowship. Then what happened? A number of them, many of them would have returned to wherever they came from, because Pentecost was a time when all the Jews and Hellenist Jews, Greek-speaking Jews and others, proselytes, came from various parts of the world. to worship in Jerusalem. So since the feast was over, they would have returned. Wherever they returned, they would have gathered as churches. And then, wherever they went, they would have been worshipping, I mean, preaching, gossiping the Gospel. And that is what we find in verse 32. Sorry, in chapter 8 of Acts of the Apostles, verse 4. And subsequently persecution came and scattered the people. And we read in verse 4, Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. And you know that the word used for preaching there can best be translated as gossiping the word. But then with Philip it was different. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ there. And the word used is different. This is authoritative preaching. It is a proclamation of the gospel by a herald. So Philip was actually an official preacher of the gospel sent out by the church in Jerusalem. And you see him going down to Samaria preaching and he came back to report to the church in Jerusalem and the Jerusalem church sent two apostles to find out whether the Samaritans have really been converted. So you see now that as believers scattered either involuntarily, when they went back after the Feast of Pentecost, or by force, scattered by persecution, wherever they went, they gossiped the Gospel. And when they gossiped the Gospel, people were converted. And at the same time, official preachers, people from the Church, were being sent out to minister to these scattered believers, and also to preach to non-believers. And in that way, local churches were planted. And that is why when we come to chapter 9 verse 31, we are not surprised to see that churches were already scattered throughout all Judea, Galilee and Samaria. And further indication of the systematic planned way in which church planting was engaged in by the New Testament Church is to be found in that same chapter. In chapter 9, Acts chapter 9 verse 32, And it came to pass as Peter went through all parts of the country that he also came down to the saints which dwell in Lydda. We have already seen that Peter was sent out by the church in Jerusalem to minister to the scattered brethren to found churches. Now we see that in verse 38, And since Lida was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. This is again not a chance hearing. Read the record carefully. They knew Peter was coming. And they heard that he was already in Joppa. He had arrived. And his next visit would be to them. And so they quickly sent men to Joppa to say, please don't delay, come. And you see therefore that church planting was more systematically done than is commonly realised. Now, we have seen how the church in Antioch engaged in church planting. We have seen how the church in Jerusalem engaged in church planting. What about all those churches that were planted? There are indications also that those churches that were planted were similarly planting other churches. And that was how the churches, the seven churches in Asia came about. That was how the churches in Galatia came about. When you study the missionary journeys of the apostles, you discover that In the Acts of the Apostles, he went to only seven places in Asia, but in the Book of Revelation, we find that there are seven churches. When we study the Book of Acts, we discover he went to places like Colossae, but later we discover that there were churches in Rhodesia and various other such places. So what we are saying then is that the other churches were similarly active in propagating the Gospel. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. We read in verse 2. To the Church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, both theirs and ours. Now how do you understand this passage? Now a lot of people would say this letter was written to the Corinthians in particular and in general is addressed to all the churches everywhere in the world. So by way of application it is meant for us as well today. But there is another way of looking at it. We must see here that Paul was writing to the church at Corinth But he was aware that there were other believers scattered around Corinth, in the region of Achaia. And these churches were being ministered to or pastored over by the church in Corinth. That was why the letter was sent to the church in Corinth, so that it could be delivered also to the satellite congregations. Now, we have support of that. in Colossians 4, verse 16, that that was the practice of the churches at that time. Colossians 4, verse 16. We are told there, now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. Alright? So since this is recorded, In the Bible, we see that that was the practice. We come back to 1 Corinthians 1, verse 2, you discover that there is this better way of understanding that passage. Okay? Now, we look at 2 Corinthians 1. 2 Corinthians 1. Look at verse 1. It says, in 2 Corinthians 1, verse 1, the second part. to the Church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are in all Achaia. Now you see the parallel involved here. The first letter was written to the church in Corinth and the Corinthian church was told that it was meant also to all the saints who are scattered elsewhere. And in the second letter it was again to the same church but this time we are told that it is to the saints who are in all Achaia. Now you put the two together, is it not reasonable to say that in the first letter, the letter to the church there was meant for the scattered brethren in Achaia? There were actually scattered brethren being ministered to by the church in Corinth. The Corinthian church was actually engaging in church planting work. There were satellite works all around that region. So now, when you put all these facts together, you come to realise, phew, the New Testament Church was more active in church planting than we realised. Then you come to realise also, phew, they were more systematic in their approach than we realised. Now we must draw to a close. Church planting is rooted in the eternal purpose of God. Church planting is grounded in the atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Church planting is demanded by the Great Commission. Now, nothing redounds to the glory of God more than the planting of churches. That is why, remembering that the Universal Church manifests itself in this world as local congregations, that is why we are not surprised when the Apostle Paul finishes the doctrinal part of his letter to the Ephesians with this word, verse 21. To him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus in all generations forever and ever. Amen. So you see now that there is this wonderful plan that has been unfolded. The Apostle Paul revel in the word of God, the revelation that had been given to him. He began the letter to the Ephesians by meditating upon this great wondrous truth of how God, from eternity past, had already planned for people to be saved, and how it was working out in his time, and how it was being applied in the planting of churches, and so he ended with that topology. Now, in my very inadequate manner, I've been trying to help you capture a glimpse of the glory of the revelation of God. It is too lofty a theme to cover in just one talk, It is too lofty a thing to be handled by a man of so limited gifts. But we can rejoice and revel in the truth that has been revealed to us. And we can end with the words of the Apostle Paul whom we have been quoting. In 1 Corinthians 2, verse 6, he says, We speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew, for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. But as it is written, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of men the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. Amen.