Q1. Has God always worked through an organisation?

Answer: The Bible never uses the word “organisation”. From Adam to Moses (2,500 years) God dealt directly with individuals. Then from Moses to Christ (1,500 years) God organised the nation of Israel, but they apostatised (Isa 63:19). Since 33 AD autonomous congregations met in house groups.

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Acts 2:42-47 Day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.

Acts 12:5-12 Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church… he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

1 Cor 16:19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.

(Also, Acts 5:42; Rom 16:5; Col 4:15)

Q2. What group of people has God been primarily dealing with since the first century?

Answer: The church is Christ’s body, building and bride united by God’s Spirit

Matt 13:29-39 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” [Like wheat amidst weeds, true Christians are scattered throughout Christendom until the future harvest]

Acts 20:28 The church of God which He obtained with his own blood.

1 Cor 12:12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

Eph 2:21-22 In [Christ] the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

1 Tim 3:15-…the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

(Also, 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 4:4; 5:29-32; Heb 12:22-23)

Q3. Is a person’s salvation dependent upon his response to an earthly organization?

Answer: No religious group should presume to be the exclusive channel to God. Jesus is our all-sufficient saviour and mediator.

Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

2 Cor 1:24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.

1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

(Also, Mark 16:15-16; John 14:6; 2 Tim 2:10)

In contrast consider these Jehovah Witness Quotes:

“Only Jehovah’s Witnesses, those of the anointed remnant and the “great crowd,” as a united organization under the protection of the Supreme Organizer, have any Scriptural hope of surviving the impending end of this doomed system dominated by Satan the Devil.” Watchtower 1989 Sep 1 p.19

“And while now the witness yet includes the invitation to come to Jehovah’s organization for salvation, the time no doubt will come when the message takes on a harder tone, like a “great war cry.” – WT 1981 11/15 pp. 16-21

Q4. Can we only come to understand the Bible and God’s purposes by associating with His “earthly organization?”

Answer: No, an organization is not required

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Hebrews 8:10-11 For this is the covenant … I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.

1 John 2:26-27 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Q5 Is it possible that a person could idolise the organisation, its Governing Body or its logo?

• “We cannot take part in any modern version of idolatry​—be it worshipful gestures toward an image or symbol or the imputing of salvation to a person or an organization. (1 Corinthians 10:14; 1 John 5:21)” – WT 1990 11/1 pp. 23-28
• “If one renders obedient service to someone or some organization, whether willingly or under compulsion, looking up to such as possessing a position of superior rulership and great authority, then that one can Scripturally be said to be a worshiper.” – WT 1961 9/1 pp. 521-526
• “Congregations or individuals should not use logos or names of the organization’s legal entities, or variations thereof, on their Kingdom Halls, signs, letterhead, personal objects, and so forth…. The Watch Tower logo, or a variation of it, should not be used in future Kingdom Hall projects even if the Kingdom Hall is owned by a Watch Tower entity.” – KM 4/09 p. 4

Consider these Verses:

“Quit scraping and fawning over mere humans, so full of themselves, so full of hot air! Can’t you see there’s nothing to them?” (Isa 2:22, Message Bible)

 “On the chosen day, Herod came before them, arrayed in his regal robes. Sitting on his elevated throne, he delivered a stirring public address to the people. At its conclusion the people gave him a round of applause. The crowd shouted, “These are the words of a god, not a man!” Immediately, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, an infestation of worms, because he accepted the people’s worship and didn’t give the glory to God, and he   died.” (Acts 12:21-23, Passion Translation)

“But we didn’t give in to them. We didn’t entertain their thoughts for a minute! We resisted them so the true gospel—and not some counterfeit—would continue to be available to you.

It makes no difference to me (or to God for that matter) if people have power or influence. God doesn’t choose favorites among His children. Even the so-called pillars of the church  didn’t contribute anything new to my understanding of the good news.” (Gal 2:5-6, The Voice)

“Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.” (Gal 2:21, Message Bible)

Summary

1. In our day, as in the first century, God is dealing primarily with the church of Jesus Christ
2. One’s salvation is dependent upon his response to the person of Jesus Christ
3. One can only come to understand the Bible by the Holy Spirit – and apart from the deceptive teachings of high control religious organisations

Endnotes

1. Watchtower 1981 Dec 1^st p 27
2. Watchtower 1983 Feb 15^th p 12; Watchtower 1981 Nov 25^th p 212
3. Watchtower 1994 Oct 1st p 8

Article Credits: KevinQuick.com