A Beautiful Plan of Organization

The same principles of piety and justice that were to guide God’s people in the time of Moses and David were also for those given the care of the newly organized church in the gospel era. In setting things in order and ordaining certain men to act as officers, the apostles held to the standards of leadership outlined in the Old Testament. He who is called to leading responsibility in the church “must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it” (Titus 1:7-9, NRSV).ULe 36.5

The order that the early Christian church maintained made it possible for them to move forward as a well-disciplined army. Though scattered over a large territory, believers were all one body; all moved in agreement and in harmony. When dissension arose in a local church, they did not permit matters to create division, but referred them to a general council of appointed delegates from the various churches, with the apostles and elders in positions of leading responsibility. In this way they thwarted the plans of the enemy to disrupt and destroy.ULe 36.6

“God is not the author of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). He requires us to observe order and system today. Christian is to be united with Christian, church with church, every agency subordinate to the Holy Spirit, and all combined in giving the world the good news of God’s grace.ULe 36.7