Knowing the Church Series
How to Know the Church as it's Meant to be and then lose it.
On several occasions, I have been told by people with an ecstatic exuberance that their newly formed Church plant had received the offer to acquire the building of a dying Church. The response, of course, is the conviction that such a thing must be of God. What if I said it's of the devil?
I was speaking to a very dear brother in the Lord not too long ago; I was airing some Biblical realities of the present evangelical Church that is often off-trach in several ways. He then told me, "At present, we have participation from all our church members, which at that time was around forty. Furthermore, he confessed his fear that when it got larger, they would begin to lose participation.
There is participation, and then there is vibrant evangelism and discipleship. A home Bible study is a good thing, but not so much if people are not maturing to the point that they become capable of evangelizing people to Christ and are able to mature them in the faith also. I understand that it is God who does the important work.
How To Know the Church of a Building
Once upon a time, I was the deacon of ordinances at a Church. One of my responsibilities was to manage clean up after the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. We were doing just that when some children came downstairs and played as children do. Some of them drank some of the grape juice. One of the elders happened to see what was happening and nicely reproved me for allowing them to do so, saying they would take the elements less seriously since we had just used them for the Lord's Supper.
At the time, I did not say anything and, quite frankly, felt unsure about what was said, but I had to take time later to re-evaluate the concept. Raised in the Catholic Church, I was familiar with the doctrine of transubstantiation, where people believe in holy communion as if the bread and wine are literally transformed into the body and blood of Christ.
The New Covenant Church We Need To Know
Here's the problem. During Old Testament times, God inaugurated the giving of the law, a system that would point to Christ. The animal sacrifices could not take away sins; they were never meant to but merely point to Christ's coming. "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." (Hebrews 10:4). In the same way, David wanted to build a house for God, which God responded by saying,
"You shall not build a house for Me to dwell in; for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from one dwelling place to another. "In all places where I have walked with all Israel, have I spoken a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, 'Why have you not built for Me a house of cedar?'"' (1 Chronicles 17:4-6).
Furthermore, God told David that He would build a house for him. God does not live in a home as if he were a man. Infinity is God's dwelling; we should never lose sight of that reality. The picture that God uses in David's zeal to build God a house is that God lives in the hearts of His people. The tents of Israel were a picture and nothing more.
In the New Testament, during the revival that birthed the Church, we read, "Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house..." (Acts 2:46). The Temple was the sight of evangelism by the people of one mind. Their fellowship was from house to house. Though they were many, they were one. In 70 AD, God destroyed the Temple and many of the people and sent the rest into exile because they distorted what was meant to be a picture and committed idolatry with objects of false gods.
The Church has confused the picture also by going to a Church building to worship God. Christ has replaced the symbols; even the sabbath is fulfilled in Christ (Hebrews 4), where we find our eternal rest. Instead of a Church where all are equally called to disciple and be responsible to the God who shed His precious blood for all, the devil has divided the Church in two as Minister and member of the Pulpit and the pew. I hear the reply already: well, all can't be pastors. You are right when half are cut out when we read that a woman is not permitted to teach or exercise authority over a man.
A Final Word about Knowing the Church
More will be said on this matter of proportions regarding the pastoring of the flock in my next post. For now, let us suffice to say Satan is active and deceives the Church. We need to be people of prayer. Only when we take the deceiver seriously will we come to properly understand the Church we need to know.
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