What is the “Church”?
Can anyone find a physical church building in this equation?
"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." Hebrews 10:24-25
There is no local church building needed to fulfill Hebrews 10:24-25. The early believers primarily met "house to house" daily:
"And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." Acts 2:42-47
It's all about KING Jesus and "the kingdom of God" and not a physical location. Isn't this what Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well? (John 4:20-24) In the city of Ephesus Paul took the true disciples OUT of the building-centered fellowship due to the "hardened" hearts of evil men. He "separated the disciples" and flourished in the LORD:
"And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. 9 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. 11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: 12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them." Acts 19:8-12
Joining a Church or Becoming a True Disciple?
Perhaps the real reason people want to "find a church" is because it is just easier to ride on the wave of the community and social life a local gathering creates. But Jesus told us He will spew (vomit) from His mouth (out of the body of Christ) those who are "lukewarm" and "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria." (Amos 6:1; Revelation 3:15-16) It is interesting that "Samaria" means watch station in the Hebrew. That which is supposed to be a watch station has become an entertainment gallery, piloted by those who have made it a den of thieves as they steal the glory from the only One to whom it is due.
One goal of Satan with his modern "false apostles" and false church, is to spiritually kill believers by making them dependent upon the local church businesses they have set up, littering the landscape of America (2 Corinthians 11:12-15).
To obey God's Word to become Christ's disciple by "daily" laying down ones own life and following Him, is much more difficult than simply blindly following some person who has set himself up in a place of leadership. Of this Carmen Rojas writes:
"It is far easier to be told what to do, what to believe, who to hang with and to take years to read one verse of Scripture."
People who are not abiding in Christ in their daily lives, learning daily to love, worship, fear, and obey Him, want to fall back on the support group created by a larger group. This is a deadly endeavor and trap. Instead of simply BEING His church (called out PEOPLE) they would rather "join a church." Can anyone please find a verse in the Bible, namely the New Testament Scriptures, where the LORD instructs believers to go out and find a church to join?
People who do not follow the LORD Jesus by choosing to make Him more important than self, find it easier to "find a local church" and become a "church member" and do whatever the pastor says (including funding that local church business), instead of truly having a daily walk with Jesus - getting real with repentance, confession of all sin, brokenness, walking in His love and by faith in the Spirit, and looking for the soon return of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
Joining a local church does nothing but feed self instead of leading one to obey Jesus by dying to self (Luke 9:23-24; John 12:24-25, etc.). Jesus calls all who will be His true disciple to "Follow me" and He told us that such is only possibly by the denial of self, and taking up the cross (Luke 9:23-24). The numerous warning in the New Testament Scriptures make it crystal clear that becoming comfortable or "lukewarm" in a local church atmosphere can be deadly to one spiritually and result in eternal damnation.
"Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not." Luke 12:35-40
"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." Revelation 2:4-5
Ready or Not – Jesus is Coming, but only for those who are looking for Him, without spot or blemish but rather being daily washed by His precious blood and the "washing of water by the Word." (Ephesians 5:25-27; Hebrews 9:28)
The earliest believers in the New Testament church rejoiced in Jesus Christ who had just died and risen from the dead to justify and give them new lives. They knew nothing of any Sunday and Wednesday religious routine. They didn't have church buildings. Everything was brand new and no wolves had yet entered in among them to assault the purity of their worship. They knew only Christ and desired more of Him. Their gatherings were very organic or naturally occurring and not a staged event. They were consumed with the resurrection life of Christ and overflowing with His love, pouring that love upon their fellow members of Jesus' body. Consequently, they could not but gather to celebrate and learn of Him - daily. Open your Bible and heart and study the following passages afresh and ask the LORD to speak to your heart and grant you ears to hear. Acts 2:42-47, Hebrews 10:24-25, Matthew 18:20
99% of those reading this have a corrupted idea of what the church really is. Herein lies so much confusion and hindrance. Father, please teach us what You really mean concerning Your people.
The reason so many are misled and confused is that hirelings have taught us a false concept of what the church really is. The hirelings goal is not to make disciples but rather to make good church members. He does this to win friends, influence people to like him, and build his local church franchise.
The LORD would have us to cease trying to "go to church" or "join a church" and simply be His people/church.
"… the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." Ephesians 1:22-23
We should denounce and remove our names from ANY roll call, local church membership, or contract of any kind. The true disciple is bought by the very and precious blood of Jesus Christ and on that basis alone, we are the people of God, given the earnest of His Holy Spirit – the true Church Jesus told us that HE is building (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 1:13-14).
It's time to BE His Church and stop trying to "join a church." In fact, we should denounce and remove our names from ANY roll call, local church membership, or contract of any kind. We are bought by the very and precious blood of Jesus Christ and on that basis alone, we are the people of God – the true Church Jesus told us that HE is building (Matthew 16:18).
"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock (that Jesus is the Christ) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:18-19
Overseeing the flock and being a member of a vital group of believers is not an institution such as is seen in most instances today. That's not what God had in mind as can be witnessed in the book of Acts and the New Testament Scriptures. The modern church bears little to no resemblance with the New Testament Church seen in the New Testament Scriptures. There seems to be more of an organic sense in the early church. No buildings, committees, boards, programs, professional clergy (as seen today), etc. is needed.
Ordaining elders (Titus 1:5) to oversee Christ's body does not mean there has to be a physical building or any of these things. We must see ourselves as God's people apart from the trimmings, trinkets, programs, and nicolaitane bureaucracies seen in the modern church world where sheep are corralled for man's purposes (Revelation 2:6, 15). Nico means conquer and Laitanes means laity – Jesus said He hates the deeds and doctrines of the nicolaitanes which have used the leverage of their organizations and all involved to conquer, subdue, manipulate, and lead astray God's people.
Antichrist means "in place of" Christ. Whenever and however heart affections are drawn away from the divine Person of Jesus Christ who is a "jealous God," high treason has been committed by glory-robbing wolves (Exodus 20:3; 34:14; 1 John 5:20-21).
Is this not exactly what is happening in the visible, modern church setting? Is the whole system not set up to intercept and squelch all glory ascending to Christ?
As foretold of these final days, glory thieves abound in this late hour.
Think about this: The Bible tells us to "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom HE (Jesus) hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy." (Psalms 107:2) Yet, so many are so quick to herald their local church, their favorite pop-psychology, pagan author.
Could this indicate that we are in the last days where false prophets have starved the people of God's Word and led them astray to the worship of self, idols, and false gods? Was this era not foretold? (Amos 8:11; 2 Timothy 3:1-7; 13)
So many can be heard saying "I love my church" or "my pastor is the best," and yet it is extremely rare to hear someone declare "I love my LORD and Savior JESUS Christ and give Him thanks today for shedding His precious blood for my many sins."
What does this indicate? Obviously, it doesn't indicate that these people are being led to foster a rich, obedient, and intimate life with Jesus.
New Testament elders are those who preach only God's pure written Word and watch over the souls of those they are privileged to oversee (Hebrews 13:7, 17; 1 Peter 4:11; 5:1-6). Read these verses carefully please. Any man in leadership today who is not doing these things is a wolf. Being a part of a local church business, holding a position on a board or as a leader, does nothing to authentic any man in the eyes of Heaven. A physical building does not make anyone or any organization approved of God. The true people of God are a "SPIRITUAL house." (1 Peter 2:5, 9)
Jesus told us "I will build MY church" which means "I will build MY people – the called out ones - the ones I have called out to be mine." (Matthew 16:18)
Building upon the revelation that "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus mandates that each and every one of His saints be matured (Hebrews 5:11-6:3). Only true overseers send those they oversee into Christ's work. Wolves keep people dumb and dormant. True under shepherds equip, mature, and send forth others into Christ's work Christ (Ephesians 4:11-12).
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting (equipping, maturing) of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." Ephesians 4:11-16
One clear indication that Christ is not in modern institutions and the vast majority of local gatherings is that individual believers are not being equipped "for the work of the ministry" THEMSELVES but rather are being exploited by those who are misleading them (Ephesians 4:11-13). If Christians are being equipped or matured, they are participating and not just sitting listening to one man speak and feeding their attention, loyalty, energies, and monies into that system of mere men. True under shepherds of Christ always – without fail – equip those they oversee to DO God's work themselves. It is to the wolf's advantage to keep people in the state of ignorance and immaturity. Unlearned, ignorant, and immature people are easy to lead – astray (Romans 16:17-18).
"For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly (personal appetites and agenda); and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." Romans 16:18
Someone asked in part how we do the fellowships we are blessed to participate in. The answer went something like this: Christ ordained elders to equip all those they oversee to do the work of the ministry themselves. So, I usually lead off but other overseers and disciples join in. They are invited to and asked to as they personally study God's Word for themselves and are rich in it (Colossians 3:16; 2 Timothy 2:15).
Joining an institution is not biblical and should be avoided at all cost. This contract yokes the believer to an earthly institution and thereby draws away his allegiance and loyalty from Christ. Jesus told us that as He was lifted up on that cross to redeem His people with His precious blood, that He would draw men to HIMSELF and anything that intercepts the heart affections of His people from HIM is antichrist (John 12:32; Colossians 2:18-19). Spiritual nourishment from Heaven only flows to Christ's body when HE is lifted up as the only "HEAD" of His body - the body He alone purchased with His own perfect blood (Colossians 2:18-19; Ephesians 4:16; 1 Timothy 6:15-16).
The kingdom of God is ALLLLLL about KING Jesus and not some institution that has come to yoke God's people down and steal from Jesus Christ the glory and loyalty due to His name alone.
It's only as we gather hungering and thirsting for more of HIM that He will fill us – Matthew 5:6 reads "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." That will not happen – hungering for more of Christ – when men's hearts are draw away from pure devotion to Him with programs, building schemes, and other non-New Testament practices. When these things are in place men naturally please those men who have instituted these things and are leading these circuses and monuments built and perpetuated to man's glory.
"Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men." 1 Corinthians 7:23
Okay, read these words from the Son of God once again. Who will the LORD fill? Only those "which do hunger and thirst after righteousness." God never fills self-righteous, un-diligent people who rest on their own goodness and laurels (which are non-existent – Romans 7:18; Ps. 39:5). The LORD will not bless those who rest in their local church institution or social environment. He rejects the proud and the lukewarm and only gives grace to the humble in spirit who are currently diligently seeking His face (Hebrews 11:6; James 4:6-10; Revelation 3:15-16). Those who aren't 1) converted, and 2) humbly dependent upon Him like little children, aren't saved according to Christ, regardless of their past experience with God (Matt. 18:3-4). Why bother wasting our time gathering if we have hearts filled with pride and self-righteousness? Might as well stay home – the "lukewarm," who were at one time saved, are going to hell anyway (Rev. 3:14-15). Might as well live it up while we can because hell awaits.
Isn't this what our modern church institutions have produced?
At my place we have home meetings and the LORD has always blessed immensely as only He can do. We gather house to house seeking His holy face and not distracted by allegiance to mere men and their institutions and sinful desires.
Acts 2:42-47 is the model:
"And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." Acts 2:42-47
It is clear that the early believers met both in the synagogues and "from house to house" (Acts 2:42-47) and yet, there is danger in most building-centered institutions as is clear from the apostasy seen in their practices and beliefs. We were warned that in the final days "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse." (2 Timothy 3:13)
Meeting in buildings is not a sin or wrong in itself - the big question is though, what is going on in those gatherings? Who is truly being elevated and worshiped? Is God's pure Word alone being delivered?
Have we not all spoken with dozens upon dozens of truth-seeking disciples of Jesus who have search far and wide and simply cannot find a Christ-centered, God-fearing local congregation that meets in a building? What does this indicate?
Though falsehood and wolves have no boundaries or limitations they operate in, it seems clear that the church building model and its bureaucracies is more dangerous and can be more persuasive than the home meetings because of the trappings and techniques which can be employed by those leading. False teaching can happen anywhere though that's for sure - in a house, apartment, separate building, a coffee shop, a restaurant, under a tree, in a boat, etc.
God's people are HIS CHURCH no matter where they are. We are a "spiritual house." (1 Peter 2:5)
The synagogues the New Testament believers met in WERE ALREADY BUILT AND PAID FOR before the New Testament church was born at Christ's resurrection and the Day of Pentecost. There is no hint of a building fund among the earliest believers or in all the New Testament books. The monies given went to those in need, as every man had need, and also to those called-out to do the work of ministry (Acts 2:44-45; 4:34-35; 1 Timothy 5:17-18).
The vast majority of all that is done in Christ's name in physical buildings is being done to perpetuate that organization and not elevate Christ and see His work truly done. That makes it apostate.
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