So Great Salvation S11E5 Church Pt 5: Government / Ecclesiastical Polity

In this episode, we continue our examination of the departure from early church polity and the heretical separation of clergy and laity by focusing on one of the most assumed—and least questioned—institutions of modern Christianity: the weekly sermon. What today is often regarded as the central act of Christian worship is, according to Scripture and early church practice, a late development rather than an apostolic mandate.

Drawing from the continued arguments laid out in Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola, we explore the claim that the sermon, as a one-way, monological address delivered weekly by a single religious professional, is neither prescribed nor exemplified in the New Testament. Viola argues that early Christian gatherings were participatory, dialogical, and body-centered. Teaching occurred, but it was shared, situational, and relational—not institutionalized into a weekly performance by a clerical elite.

According to Viola, the sermon fundamentally reshaped church life by recasting the gathered body from a functioning organism into a listening audience. This shift reinforced the clergy–laity divide by centralizing spiritual authority in one voice and marginalizing the gifts of the many. Over time, preaching became synonymous with church itself, despite the absence of any command, example, or theological necessity for such a structure in apostolic Christianity.

This critique is powerfully echoed in the testimony of Watchman Nee, whose reflections emerge not from theory but from lived ecclesial experience. Nee observed that while there is no biblical requirement to maintain a Lord’s Day preaching meeting, many churches found themselves unable to relinquish it—not because Scripture demanded it, but because tradition and surrounding Christian culture exerted pressure. Reflecting on a decade of church life in Hankow, Nee concluded that the weekly sermon was not a true meeting of the local church at all, but a borrowed practice sustained largely by imitation rather than conviction.

Nee’s insight is especially striking: even when believers recognized that preaching was unnecessary for the church’s spiritual health, they continued it because “the nations around us have preaching on the Lord’s Day.” In other words, the sermon endured not by divine command, but by cultural inertia.

This episode is not a rejection of teaching, nor a dismissal of gifted communicators. Rather, it is a call to distinguish between biblical function and historical form. If the church is meant to be a body where “every one” contributes unto edifying, then practices that silence the many for the sake of the few deserve careful re-examination.

Join us as we ask whether the weekly sermon is a faithful inheritance from the apostles—or a tradition that unintentionally displaced the very life it sought to nourish.

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So Great Salvation S11E4 Church Pt 4: Government / Ecclesiastical Polity

From the earliest pages of the New Testament, the church is portrayed not as a religious institution divided into spiritual elites and passive observers, but as a living, functioning body—animated by Christ Himself and sustained through the shared ministry of all believers. Yet history tells a different story. Somewhere between the apostolic age and the modern church, a profound shift occurred—one that reshaped church polity, redefined leadership, and introduced a division that Scripture never clearly authorizes: the separation of clergy and laity.

In this episode, we examine that departure through the lens of Pagan Christianity, authored by Frank Viola. Viola argues that many of the structures and practices now assumed to be “Christian” are not rooted in the New Testament at all, but were gradually imported from Greco-Roman culture, pagan religious systems, and post-apostolic institutional developments. Chief among these, he contends, is the elevation of a professional clergy class distinct from—and functionally superior to—the rest of the body.

The New Testament presents leadership as real, necessary, and authoritative, yet consistently relational, plural, and servant-oriented. Elders shepherd; teachers equip; gifts operate for mutual edification. Ministry is not centralized in one figure nor restricted to a spiritual caste. Over time, however, fluid functions hardened into fixed offices, and shared responsibility gave way to hierarchical control. What began as practical organization evolved into theological assumption.

Viola’s work challenges the church to ask uncomfortable but necessary questions: When did “pastor” become a singular, ruling office rather than a shared shepherding function? When did preaching replace participatory ministry? When did the gathered church shift from a body that functions to an audience that observes? And perhaps most importantly, are these developments faithful outworkings of biblical teaching—or departures from it?

This episode is not an attack on faithful leaders nor a dismissal of sincere churches. Rather, it is an invitation to examine history honestly and Scripture carefully. If the clergy–laity divide is not explicitly taught in the New Testament, then it deserves re-evaluation—no matter how long it has been normalized. Reform does not begin with dismantling structures, but with recovering biblical understanding.

Join us as we explore how early church polity gave way to institutional hierarchy, how pagan patterns subtly replaced apostolic ones, and whether Scripture calls the church not to innovate—but to recover what was lost.

So Great Salvation Podcast⁠ S11E3 Church Pt 3. Biblical Church Polity

From the earliest pages of the New Testament, the church is presented not as a religious institution divided into spiritual elites and passive observers, but as a living body—each member functioning, each part contributing, all under the headship of Christ. Yet somewhere along the way, that simplicity was lost. This episode addresses a pivotal shift in church history: the gradual departure from early church polity and the rise of a formal separation between clergy and laity.

In the apostolic era, leadership existed, authority was real, and order was essential—but these realities functioned within a framework of shared spiritual responsibility. Elders shepherded, teachers taught, and gifts operated for the edification of the whole body. Ministry was not centralized in a professional class; it was distributed among the saints. Over time, however, patterns began to emerge that fundamentally altered this model. Roles hardened into offices, service gave way to status, and participation narrowed into spectatorship.

This separation—often justified as a safeguard for order or doctrinal purity—eventually became normalized. A distinct clergy class assumed exclusive authority to teach, administer, and govern, while the laity were increasingly defined by what they did not do. What began as functional distinction slowly transformed into spiritual division. The result was not merely a structural change, but a theological one—reshaping how believers understood calling, gifting, and responsibility within the body of Christ.

In this episode, we examine whether this division reflects biblical teaching or represents a departure from it. We will ask hard but necessary questions: Did the New Testament envision a permanent clergy–laity divide? Or did it present leadership as a servant role within a participatory community? When Scripture speaks of “the priesthood of believers,” what did that mean in practice for the life of the church?

Our aim is not to dismiss faithful leaders nor to sow distrust, but to return to Scripture with humility and honesty. We believe that truth is not threatened by examination, and that genuine reform begins not with reaction, but with repentance and renewed understanding. If Christ alone is the Head of the church, then all authority, structure, and ministry must flow from Him and conform to His Word.

Join us as we explore how the church moved from shared ministry to divided classes—and whether Scripture calls us to recover something precious that was never meant to be lost.

Open your Bible and join us as we explore this foundational question—seeking not novelty, but faithfulness to the Word of God.

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