The church means many different
things to
different people. To a denominationalist a church would be something of
their
own denomination. It must align to its system's doctrine.
They may even think that their church is the only one. But, to a Bible student or scholar the church is a different thing. It has nothing to do with the sticks and stones that make up a building.
The word "church" comes from the Greek word "ekklesia" which is made up of two other words. "ek" meaning "completely out" and "kaleo" meaning "to call." Joined together they form the word "ekklesia," meaning "called out ones."
There is no way you can say this
applies
to any kind of building. Some teach that the church is not mentioned
past
Chapter 3 in Revelation and they use this to show it has been "raptured
out."
In fact, the word "church" is not mentioned in many books, such as Mark, Luke, John, etc., but does this mean that those books don't apply to God's church? Well, let's look at what God means when He speaks of the "church."
MATTHEW 16:13-16
When
Jesus came
into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked his disciples, saying,
"Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?"
14 And they said, "Some say that Thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets."
15 He saith unto them, "But whom say ye that I am?"
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
The words Peter spoke were very accurate. Was Peter responsible for his answer?
MATTHEW
16:17
And
Jesus
answered and said unto him, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for
flesh
and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in
heaven."
"Simon" means "hearing" and "Bar-jona" translates "son of the dove" which is always symbolic of the Holy Spirit. This was Who told Peter what to say. When our Father speaks through an individual, that person doesn't have anything to do with what is said. God caused Peter to make that statement (which was even symbolic of what was to come in Peter's life).
MATTHEW 16:18
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."
Remember the true meaning of this word "church" - the "called out ones." God is saying that through Peter (which means "rock" in the Greek), He would establish His "ekklesia." And, volunteers don't really apply in this case.
It is made up of those whom He has called out and the "gates of hell" cannot touch them. Everything Satan can gather up and throw at you cannot harm you if you are one of God's "called out ones." As long as you exercise the authority given you through Jesus Christ.
MATTHEW 16:19
"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."
Before Christ paid that awesome
price on
the cross, an individual could repent by the law through sacrifice.
But, flesh
sins and if he/she died before making atonement, he died in that sin
and was
thereby bound after death. Christ, before His ascension to the Father,
visited
those souls that were bound ( I Peter
And now, the church is forgiven by taking their repentance directly to Him. We are given the keys that unlock and no man can close, and that lock and no man can open. These keys are the truth, power, and authority you possess because you are part of His called out ones.
This is the bottom line of what a church is all about. Do you know of any building, cathedral, church house, or synagogue that can do this? I think not! Anytime in His Word, God talks about those that are called, or the elect, etc., He is speaking of His church .
Anyone that is of the church (called out ones) can exercise the power of the church. You don't need a "minister" to baptize you for example, one Christian can baptize another. The minister or teacher in a church is not the only one who has been blessed of God.
Every single member has their own gift. Don't ever try to work in the gifts of another because you think that is what you have to do to be useful to God. When you are in the service of Christ , you bless others through the gifts He has given you as an individual. Just because a seed you plant doesn't take hold is no reason to put yourself on a guilt trip. In God's eye you have done your job successfully.
ACTS
The disciples (meaning disciplined in God's Word) were called out by God and even though the text does not use the word "church," this is where the foundation was laid. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit spoke through this "church", doing what?....
ACTS
Who did it say called them? Only God can add to the church. Not the preacher or any other man. You can't add to a church by having an ice cream social, by giving away door prizes, I even knew of a church once that hid a $5 bill under one of the seats in order to try and fill the house. When man begins to manipulate people rather then letting God, he ends up in a great deal of trouble.
ACTS 7:37-38
This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear.
38 This is he, that was in the
church in the
wilderness with the Angel Which spake to him in the
What? Moses built a little white building with a steeple in the wilderness? Hardly!! The called out ones were there because the church has existed from the beginning, it was with us in the garden. In the very formation of this earth age, God called upon the Spirit that moved to accomplish the creation.
ACTS
To whom our
fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts
turned
back again into
40 Saying unto Aaron, “Make us
gods to go
before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the
The impatient people couldn’t wait for God, but instead, the idiots wanted to be “religious” and they made idols to worship and lead them. they wanted to invent a new denomination. When Moses came down from the mountain he broke the very oracles of God, and the Spirit of God moved through the people and thousands died.
Beloved, they were already
spiritually
dead or they wouldn’t have been asking for something else to worship
beside God
Himself. I caution you,
There is only one duty of the called out ones and that is to do their duty in the service to the living God. Fellowship is beautiful, but we must do our Lord’s business. We must study and learn His Word in order to be a blessing to those we come in contact with.
In Revelation Chapter 3, Christ
speaks to
the seven churches. In two, He has found favor, one being the
REVELATION 3:10
“Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”
The hour of temptation, as described in Revelation 17, happens when Antichrist is turned loose for his short period of time. God will keep this church from this time, but it will not be by rapture!
REVELATION 9:4
And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
God’s seal protects those from the hour of temptation. As you can see from this verse there are still people on the earth that have God’s truth.
They haven’t been raptured, but are protected by His seal - which IS His truth. Matthew 24 and Mark 13 both go into how God’s elect would be deceived if He hadn’t shortened the days that they would be tempted.
If there were ever two individuals that were “called out” it would be the two witnesses and as you can see from Chapter 11 that they are still on the earth at the time of this temptation. So you see, many just don’t know what the church is.
REVELATION 22:16
“I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”
The word “revelation” means “to reveal” or to “make known” and this is what the Angel of God does. He testifies to the writings in God’s Word. This is what is supposed to be taught within God’s church which is mentioned throughout the Bible. Just because the English word doesn’t appear in the text, doesn’t mean it’s not there.
Some may call themselves a church, but that is not necessarily what they are. Except God called you and gave you an open mind whereby you hear and understand His scripture you might still be a part of one of those.
Don’t look down, and don’t talk against those who don’t know the difference. Plant a seed and pray for them and then be about our Father’s business. God will establish His own church and He will use you to accomplish it.
May
God Bless you and your Family
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