The Church?

We're living in such a world that when you say the word church, many ideas come to men's minds. A great majority think of some religious organization that men and women have joined themselves to. By the help of God, we would like to find out what the Bible is talking about when it refers the "the Church". If we will follow "the Church" through all different ages, we will be able to tell beyond the shadow of a doubt what "the Church" is and where it is today.

Christianity suffers much today from a faulty concept of "the Church". Our efforts for winning the lost world could be multiplied many times over if people had the Bible concept of "the Church". Consider the concept of true, Bible unity, or God's people being one. The devil, working through the powers of deception, has multiple actions taking place. He has people gathering under many church organizations, spending money to push their organization, and working on the mission field. He has one working against the other---downing each other.

What a blessing it would be if people could understand the Biblical concept of "the Church", what real unity is, and bring their efforts together. I'm not talking about false ecumenical councils, but I am talking about getting back to the Biblical concept of "the Church" and being one as Jesus prayed for us to be. Our efforts could then be multiplied. For that very reason, the devil works to destroy, to divide, and to hinder our work.

Now, when we talk about the concept of Bible unity (and I am not preaching on unity), we are going back to some grass roots of "the Church". There could be no vital unity without a Bible-based view of "the Church". Secondly, Bible unity starts and ends with God. He is the Alpha and Omega; no unity is worth "a hill of beans" unless God sets it in order. It will never end right, and it will never accomplish the work that God has ordained it to do.

When I say the Alpha and Omega, it means that if we ever have unity, we will have it by men and women who are sold out to God, who have a real experience with God and allow Him to guide their lives day by day. They will come to the end view of unity, that which God ordained from the very beginning. So my friend, for it to be Bible unity, it must start and end with God.

Holiness

We are living in a world where people have diversified ideas of religion; they want to trade ideas with you and tell you that their idea is as good as yours. I am not trying, however, to teach my idea. I want every statement that I make to be founded on the Word of God, in clarity. God has chosen just ONE means of revealing Himself: there are not two, or two dozen. My friend, if we look at the world, it says, "God is dead". God is inactive. We can't see God in religion." Why? God's only means of revealing Himself to us is through holiness!

Let us read Hebrews 12:12-14: Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Some people feel this refers to the end when Jesus comes again, but if you are not holy, you will not see Him. Friend, EVERY eye is going to see Him, then. Hebrews 12:14 is talking about His means of revealing Himself, now! Unless you and I live godly in this present world, no man will see the Lord.

Everybody today is interested in most everything but living holy. The farther we go in religion, the more we see priests and preachers alike making room for sin. From "this church and that church" right on out, we have holy water, holy days, but no holy people. God does not care one whit about the holy water---He forgot about holy days when Jesus came. Why? Because EVERY day is holy! When a person receives Jesus Christ into his or her heart, everywhere he or she walks is "holy land".

I have had people ask me every once in a while to go to the Holy Land. I say, "Go where?" They answer, "To the Holy Land". I tell them, "Man, I live THERE. I am Not interested in going to see where Jesus WAS; I want to be where He IS!"

He left that house desolate and He left that ground desolate. Holiness is God's one means of revealing Himself; without it, no person will see the Lord. There is a way, my friend, that every one of us as individuals can manifest a greater revelation of God to a lost and dying world--by gaining an experience of holiness and living that way every day.

The Church Of The Bible

Let's study "the Church" the way it is spoken of in the Bible. I say this with kindness, but "the Church" that Jesus built is always spoken of in the singular. The only way it is ever spoken of in the plural is when it is referring to different congregational phases of "the Church". It is spoken of as THE Church, THE Bride, THE Body--always in the singular. "The Church" is neither Roman Catholic nor Protestant.

"The Church" was first conceived in the mind of God, back in the council halls of eternity. Some say that "the Church" had its beginning on Pentecost; others say "the Church" had its very beginning in A.D. 1880, through a brother D. S. Warner and other laborers. We thank God for those dear brethren and the truth they brought to us on golden platters, but "the Church" had its beginning in the mind of God, back in the council halls of eternity. "The Church" was before any reformation, and She will be after every reformation fails. Before God ever made man, even before He ever prepared the world, "the Church" was conceived in the mind of God. God, in His greatness, brought forth the thought of "the Church".

God knew what "the Church" would be like in its last days even before it had any beginning. My friend, we are dealing with One Who knows the end from the beginning. Within His very mind, He conceived "the Church" as a finished building, a finished organism. He saw it in its finished state. In fact, that is the only way He could build it. Any builder cannot build a building, which is worth anything unless he first has a picture of a finished building within his mind before he starts. He has a plan before the first footer is ever dug. He is able to envision how he wants that finished building to look when he first conceives the idea of building it!

My friend, that is exactly how God conceived within His mind and pictured "the Church" of the Living God. He saw Her so clearly that He foreordained and predestined exactly what She would be like many hundreds of years afterwards.

When we are dealing with "the Church", we are not dealing with a good idea that man has come up with, but "the Church" had its beginning in the mind of God, back in the council halls of eternity. Right there, He settled what it would be like and what it would not be like. He drew the blueprint for it, and little by little, He revealed the blueprint to honest and true people whom He knew He could trust to take the blueprint and build "the Church" in some locality. This is no slipshod thing. No Sir! It was conceived in the very mind of God.
[ NOTE: This was only a short introduction to the subject! ]

Now, if this has been interesting to you, and you would like to continue this "study"---you can go to:
Grass Roots Of The Church
This subject: "The Grass Roots of the Church", is taken from a series of studies of the Revelation which begins at:
The Revelation ---just for those who might want to take a look at the whole series.