...continued from part 2.
And I say also unto thee, That
thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it. (Mat 16:18 KJV)
At this point it is
imperative for us to examine what or who the scriptures refer to as the Church
and also get an understanding of the place of the local assembly. Let me state upfront
that I am in no way encouraging Christians to shun gathering of fellow
believers, for to do that, would be to go against the scriptures. However we
need to get hold of the right concept of Church as clearly set in the
scriptures because this is pivotal to our effectiveness in fulfilling our
mandate of making disciples of all nations.
The very first place the
word ‘church’ is mentioned in the bible is
Matthew chapter sixteen verse eighteen where Jesus speaking on the premise of
Peter’s revelation of who he is, stated that ‘I will build my church and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it’. At this time Jesus had not died
and resurrected and therefore the lineage of Christians had not begun but it is
still clear that Jesus was referring to the group of people who would believe in
his death and resurrection and thereby gain eternal life. [Jhn 3:16]
Jesus’ idea when he used
the word ‘church’ to describe this group of
people was set in the then Greek socio-political context. The word church is ‘ekklesia’ in Greek and literarily means ‘a body of people called out’ and
also refers to an ‘assembly or congregation’. It
was generally used then to describe a group of men who come together to discuss
politics and influence what became law in ancient Greece. In the above passage,
Jesus obviously used it to describe the body of people who would believe in Him.
Christians are ‘called out’ from the world as it were. According to the
meaning, it also refers to the church gathered in any particular place.
So we have two paradigms
as far as the church is concerned: the ‘church gathered’ and the ‘Church; the
body of Christ in all of creation’. Let’s consider these two perspectives in some
detail.
THE CHURCH GATHERED
I commend
unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at
Cenchrea: …. Greet
Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: Who have for my life
laid down their own necks:
unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of
the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church
that is in their house…. (Rom 16:1-5 KJV)
Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the
faithful in Christ Jesus: (Eph 1:1 KJV)
To the saints and faithful
brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and
peace, from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Col 1:2 KJV)
Salute the brethren which
are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his
house. And when this
epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of
the Laodiceans; and that ye
likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. (Col 4:15-16 KJV)
And to our beloved Apphia,
and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy
house: (Phm 1:2 KJV)
The church that is at
Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth
Marcus my son. (1Pet 5:13
KJV)
The concept of the church
gathered is not strange to this generation of Christians. Almost everybody that
professes to be a Christian knows that we gather together in fellowship even
though some don’t attend any Christian gathering except on New Year eve! The concept
of the church gathering in a particular place did not however start in the
recent centuries but date back to the earliest church times after the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. A cursory scan through the Epistles will
instantly reveal that the early Christians believe in gathering together in
fellowship. This is not to say that some of the brethren then didn’t shun such
gatherings. In fact, it is because some people had developed the habit of not fellowshipping
with other Christians that Apostle Paul wrote in the Hebrew letter encouraging
them not to forsake the assembly of fellow Christians [Heb 10:25]. I believe this
advice comes in handy for so many Christians who are in the habit of shunning Christian
gathering. I know of an elderly man who has not attended any Christian gathering
for years and his reason is that there are too many negative things going on in
those gatherings. You see, no matter what this man puts up as excuse for his
attitude, he is in direct contravention of what the scripture portrays.
The advantages that accrue
to us when we fellowship with fellow Christians more often than not surpass any
negatives we might experience. Consider these following advantages of Christian
gatherings:
A] Spiritual Support; 1 Cor. 14:26, Rom 14:19, 1 Th.
5:11. When we gather together we give ourselves the opportunity to build up each other spiritually. We have the opportunity
to receive instruction from others who might have greater insight in some areas
than we do. In the book of Acts chapter four [Acts 4], we see that the apostles
that were arrested by the ruling class went back to their company after they
were released.
The bible says they went
back to their own company [fellow Christians] and reported all what the rulers
said to them. Then the bible says they all lifted their voices to the Lord in one
accord.
B] Mental and physical support;
Rom 12:13-15, Acts 6:1-3. We receive support that builds up our mind
when we fellowship with one another. We have people to rejoice with or mourn
with us as the case may. We always know we are not alone but can access help when
we need it. Many times Christians rally around each other to also provide
physical and material support. All these go a long way in helping us live the
life God has designed for us.
It is also in our local
assemblies that pastors, teachers, apostles and so on usually have the
opportunity to carry out the mandate God has
given them which is to equip the saints for the work of ministry. As we have
seen, the church gathered is God’s idea. It is in his divine plan and purpose
for the body of Christ.
Before I leave this point
however, I would like us to note one very important difference in the way the
Christians gathered in bible times and how we gather now [or maybe our understanding
of it]. If we look at all the scripture verses listed at the beginning of this sub-topic,
we will discover a trend. Christian gatherings
were referred to on the basis of their geographical location. We see the
epistles being written to the church [AT] Colosse, the one at Cenchrea, at
Ephesus and at Babylon. We see the church gathered being referred to as the
church [IN] the houses of Nymphas, Archippus and Priscilla and Aquila. The
point here is that people were referred to as the church and where they meet
was used to describe or distinguish them from other saints in other geographical
areas.
There is a difference
between the church at Ephesus and the ‘Ephesus church, No 4, Salt Lake Drive,
Downtown Georgia’, for example. The former was the way the church gathered as
understood in bible times while the later is the way the church gathered as understood
in our time. These days, when we refer to church we almost always mean the particular
place where Christians meet on specific days and time instead of to the people [saints]
who meet in those places. I am not saying our local churches are in the wrong, but
I am challenging the MINDSET that has arisen from this arrangement because I believe
that is why we are yet to see the saints in all of creation shine our light in
this present darkness.
THE CHURCH: THE BODY OF CHRIST
IN ALL OF CREATION
And what is the exceeding
greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to
the working of his mighty
power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from
the dead, and set him at
his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all
principality, and power,
and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not
only in this world, but
also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet,
and gave him to be the head
over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of
him that filleth all in
all. (Eph 1:19-23 KJV)
If we do not have the
Church [body of Christ] in creation we cannot have the church gathered. Someone
once said that the church [referring to the church gathered] is the only
institution Jesus established but I do not know how he came to that conclusion except
that he has interpreted the scripture from the point of view of our present experience.
The bible clearly teaches that Jesus was the beginning of another breed of people,
those who have received eternal life and are therefore the righteousness of God
in Christ because they believe in Jesus, [Rom 5:12-18, 2 Cor 5:17-21, 1 Jhn
5:11-12].
Jesus didn’t die and
resurrect so that we can have different kind of local church institutions. No!
He died so that a new breed of people can arise; these people are called the
Church. These people meet in different places and times for important reasons
which I have highlighted above. However people, not the buildings, make the
Church.
The purpose of the Church
[the body of Christ] is to extend the kingdom of God in all the realms of this
world; it is to make disciples of all nations. Ephesians chapter one says that
God gave Jesus to be the head over the Church which is his Body and the
fullness of him that fills all in all [all means all, no exclusion]. The Church
is God’s medium of extending his rule in all creation and that is why Jesus
said that we should allow our lights to shine before all men through our good
works so that they can come to the Father. It is why the scripture refers to us
as Christ’s ambassadors [2 Cor. 5:20]; we are
his capable representatives on earth. While we assemble in different locations
to edify, inspire and equip ourselves we must not forget that we have actually
been sent to the main street.
...to be continued.
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