Bible as Charter 6.20.2024

     Jesus gathered disciples. These men, many of whom are familiar to us, formed what I call the embryonic Church. Jesus trained them and nurtured them. He taught and tested them. He integrated and helped them reimagine what it meant to be part of a faith community. He made them His body. He made them His flock. Anthropologists and sociologists describe a group like this as a “fictive kin group.” Though not related they were formed into a “family.” Songs that say things like “I’m so glad, I’m a part of the family of God…” commemorate and celebrate this process. 

    It was after the events of His passion, after His final ascension and exaltation that this embryonic Church was fully born on Pentecost. To use a commercial metaphor, after Pentecost, the Church was “open for business.” The disciple-making business. We’ve been working that trade ever since. 

    By extending and enlarging that analogy we have yet another way to understand the function of the Scriptures in the Church. Most institutions, businesses, and organizations have incorporation documents—a charter. This charter determines what kind of an organization it is and the rights, responsibilities, privileges, perquisites, and purpose of the organization. In a sense the charter of an organization formalizes and fixes the organization, binding it to its stated purposes. When the organization departs from that purpose the charter can be challenged—even rendered void. 

    In the 21st Century, we often read Scripture through the eyes and actions of the characters we find in its stories. We also read Scripture as one uses a compass to provide a true bearing upon which both individual and corporate life in Christ can stay on track. And we most assuredly read scripture as our charter document. The Old Testament provides the “history of the corporation” whilst the New Testament itself comprises the articles of incorporation, our duties in the corporation, and the obligations of the contracting parties.” 

    We don’t often think of the Bible this way. Words like charter and obligation don’t leave much margin for error. There is little “wiggle room.” If there is anything we adore in the 21st century it’s wiggle room. We live in an era defined by options, and wiggle room is all about opting in and/or opting out. Fortunately, if you wish to be a Christian—if you are a Christian, the Scriptures make it clear what is and is not optional in both our individual and corporate response to the charter. 

Founder

    In Matthew 16.18 we find the following “…I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18b ESV). That tells us quite a bit about who is in charge around here. The Church belongs to and answers to Jesus. Assuredly within the Church, He distributes His authority to qualified leaders. Those “under-shepherds” are obligated to execute His will. The New Testament is the charter that continuously circles back to Jesus. 

Focus

    The great commission provides the focus for the Church. This is where our charter gives specific guidance, clarifying we are supposed to be doing. To use a crass commercial analogy our charter tells us what kind of business we are in. 

“Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)

In this text, Matthew’s account of the “great commission, he specifies a primary and secondary focus. The primary focus is to make disciples. We are given a lot of leeway! There are not as many specific instructions as we might wish. We must make decisions and take responsible action. The secondary focus gives us some idea of what it will entail. We are to teach both those who are, those who may become disciples. 

In his account of the great commission, found in Acts 1.8 Luke provides some further clarification to this focus:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”” (Acts 1:8 ESV)

    The process of making disciples requires us to bear witness to Jesus. To summarize: 

We are chartered to make disciples by bearing witness to Jesus and teaching disciples and prospective disciples to obey Him. 

    This is not a new way of reading scripture. Nor is it exclusive. We still read Scripture so that the heroes of faith can provide examples for us. When we keep the charter in the back of our mind, we can also see how these individuals bore true faith and allegiance to the founder of the “corporation” and whether they were guided by God’s motivating focus. We will likewise continue to turn to Scripture for a true bearing. We need the compass to provide direction and competencies that will allow us to implement the various commitments we find in our charter. 

    One of my goals this month is to remind you that our hermeneutical task, as complex as it may be, is greatly simplified by how we conceptualize it. Analogies connect Biblical reasoning with other familiar and often less complex activities. God has chosen us to bear witness. We are called to teach both current and prospective members of His Church. He has chosen us to be empowered disciple-making disciples. This is our charter. Our marching orders. Our purpose. This is our happy obligation.