WAS THERE A FIRST CENTURY GOVERNING BODY? - FRED FRANZ'S VIEW
On 7 September 1975, during the graduation day of the 59th class of Gilead, WTS President Nathan Knorr introduced WTS Vice-President Frederick Franz to the audience. The talk that Franz then gave makes, I think, a powerful argument against the view that there was some first century 'governing body' situated at Jerusalem which somehow had executive power over all the various Christian congregations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah6TJ5Aa2xg
Quotations from the talk
What appears between [] is my own text, meant for purposes of context clarification and showing approximate audio times.
Although I believe the quotation texts below are accurate transcripts of certain parts of the talk, I cannot guarantee it is free of errors. Therefore, I would advise the reader to listen to the complete audio, which is about 30 minutes in length.
[00:43] (Fred Franz speaking:)
"Now this class is being sent forth in collaboration with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York incorporated by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Now, the question may be raised today; what right does the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society have to send missionaries out into the field? Or evangelizers? The American Translation renders the word evangelizer: Missionary. Who authorized the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania to send missionaries all around the globe? Now such challenging questions may be also raised with an earlier circumstance, and that is based on the fact that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society was founded by a man who became an evangelizer of world note, one of the most eminent evangelizers of this 20th century and especially attaining global fame when he made his trip around the world in the year 1912. That man was Charles Taze Russell of Allegheny Pennsylvania. Now, I've often wondered about this matter, and maybe you have too. Just how did Russell become an evangelizer - who made him an evangelizer?"
[2:42]
"At the time that he [Charles Taze Russell] lived, this professed Christian organization that was symbolized in Jesus' parable by the dragnet that gathered in fish suitable and unsuitable for orthodox Jews to eat, this professed Christian organization was still in operation and was gathering in these different qualities of symbolic fish. That meant that the various religious establishments of Christendom were in operation. For instance, there was the Anglican Church with its ruling body and the Protestant Episcopal Church with its ruling body, there was the Methodist Church with its conference, there was also the Presbyterian Church to which Russell used to belong with its synod. There was also the Congregational Church which Russell joined with its central congregation, but none of these controlling organizations of this dragnet organization was Russell made an evangelizer or a missionary. Well now, since Russell broke away from all these religious institutions of Christendom they didn't recognize him and he became known as Paster Russell, and I remember how the clergy would raise the question: Who made him a Pastor? So the validity of his ministry was questioned and challenged by the clergy of this dragnet organization about which the Lord Jesus Christ spoke in the 13th chapter of Matthew. So, in view of those things I often wondered now, how did Russell become what he did become, and maybe you've wondered about the matter too. So I just began to think about the 1st Century when this Christian evangelistic work or missionary work was first started."
[12:59]
"Now, where these 12 Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, by unloading this responsibility for taking care of tables [in the distribution of food to widows], were they making themselves really figure heads in the congregation of God and of Jesus Christ? They certainly were not making themselves figure heads because they specialized on spiritual things. They were more active at the spiritual end of the matter than at the semi-secular end of the matter. So things prospered when they did that; when they rendered the things to which they had not been appointed by Jesus Christ as Apostles to take care of as his witnesses to all the congregation. And they specialized on preaching, and the Lord God blessed them. Now we find with regard to this Philip that he left his job of taking care of tables at Jerusalem. Did you know that? He left that Job, and he went down to Samaria, and when he was down there in Samaria he did a preaching work and performed many signs and wonders, and it was because of the work that he did down there and afterwards that he became an evangelist. Now who made Philip an evangelist or evangelizer? Oh, you say 'the Apostles! The body of Apostles! Of course; it couldn't be any other way'. But was it? We read the account; let the Bible speak for itself."
[16:55]
"So that's what happened with Philip; how he became and evangelizer. Now these are things to note friends! Then something happened right after that and the Lord Jesus Christ took action, and he took direct action without consulting any man or body of men on earth! And that's when he, the head of the congregation met Saul of Tarsus the persecutor there in the road leading to Damascus. He stopped him and he said; now this is a chose vessel under me. I'm choosing him as [I am] the head of the church, without consulting any people on earth. And he chose Saul to be an evangelizer to carry the message not only to the Jews but also to all the Gentile nations. Later on the account tells us that Barnabas took Paul, or Saul of Tarsus down to Jerusalem, but they were all afraid of him. And Saul of Tarsus or Paul tells us that when they went up there to Jerusalem he saw none of the Apostles, except Peter with whom he spent 15 days, and also the apostle James. Those are the only two! Then he went back to Tarsus and he continued on in his labors. Well, later on, why, Barnabas was sent down there to Antioch and he ended up - Saul brought him there, and they taught in Antioch for quite a while. Paul became a member of the Antioch congregation, and he was one of the prophets there in that congregation specially mentioned. And then, all of a sudden as he was serving there in Antioch - in Syria, not in Israel, but in Syria, why, God's Spirit spoke to that congregation there in Antioch and said now, of all things you set aside - this congregation in Antioch, YOU set aside these two men, namely Barnabas and Saul for the work for which I have commissioned them, and so the Antioch congregation did that."
[19:52]
"And they [members of the Antioch congregation] laid their hands upon Paul or Saul and Barnabas and sent them forth, as a number of translations read, sent 'em forth! And then they went forth by the Holy Spirit operating through the Antioch congregation and they went out on their first missionary assignment. So you see, the Lord Jesus Christ was acting as the head of the congregation and taking action directly, without consulting any body here on earth what he could do or what he could not do! And he acted in that way with regard to Saul and Barnabas, an they were both apostles of the Antioch congregation, and so they went out to the work and had great success. And in the course of time they completed their first missionary tour, and where did they go? Where did they report? Well there's a record, you read it for yourself in the closing verses of the 14th chapter of Acts. They went back to Antioch, to the congregation there and the account says, 'They related things in detail to them, to this congregation that had committed them to the undeserved kindness of God for the work that they had performed'. So there's where they reported! So, the record also says, now they stayed in Antioch 'not a little time'. Well note what happened."
[21:43]
"All of a sudden something occurs and Paul and Barnabas they go up to Jerusalem. Well, what's the matter? What brings them up to Jerusalem? Well, is it the body of the Apostles and the other elders of the Jerusalem congregation that have summoned them up there and said: Look here! We have heard that you two men have gone out on a missionary tour and you've finished it and you haven't come up here to Jerusalem to report to us! Do you know who we are? We're the council of Jerusalem! Don't you recognize the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ? If you don't come on up here in a hurry we're going to take disciplinary action against you! Is that what the account says? Well if they had acted that way toward Paul and Barnabas because they reported to the congregation by means of which the holy spirit had sent them out, then this council of Jerusalem of apostles and other elders of the Jewish congregation would have put themselves above the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ! But that isn't what occurred. You know what happened; how Jews came down from Jerusalem and stirred up the matter of circumcision and it troubled the congregation there in Antioch so much that the Antioch congregation sent Paul and Barnabas up to Jerusalem to have the council settle the issue, and of course being sent by the congregation of Antioch they had to come back and report and advise the congregation of the settlement of the question of the decision that was made by the council there at Jerusalem. And then it was when they were arguing in favor of Christians from the gentiles not having to be circumcised like Jews, it was then that Paul and Barnabas told what God had done by means of them in the Gentile world. And then it was that the council got the report. Then they went back to Antioch, which had sent them forth to make known the decision and the Jerusalem council, why, sent along two men Judas and Silas with them. And so they delivered the report from the council, and there was great rejoicing among the gentile believers. Now time passes, and Paul and Barnabas are at Antioch."
[28:14]
"And so, as we examine this account of these two most outstanding among the missionaries recorded in Bible history, we find that they were sent off specially by the Lord Jesus Christ - the Head of the Church. A fact which the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society has upheld and accepted ever since the Society was formed. So we see how the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head of the Church has the right to act direct without any other organizations in view no matter who we are. He is the Head of the Church, and we can't challenge what he does."
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[29:13] (Closing comment of video maker:)
"The Biblical presentation Fred Franz has made is correct, fully in accord with what the Scriptures themselves say. It also directly contradicts the claims made by the Witness organization, that God and Christ deal with all true Christians through one central authority structure, acting as a sort of divine channel of communication and direction. Clearly Paul and Barnabas did not view Jerusalem as a seat of any such authority, nor consider it the right of any group of men to, as the Vice-President himself expressed it, 'put themselves above the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ' and act as if anything that he did should be done by and through them as a governing body. The Scriptural evidence against the concept of an earthly centralized authority structure, exercising control over all Christians globally, was clearly presented in Fred Franz's talk. God's Son told his disciples they had but one leader, Christ himself, and that they themselves were all brothers. Holding to that teaching would protect against the infringement on Christ's leadership role as to the elevation of any man or group of men to a position of superior authority over their brothers."