WHAT IS THE CHURCH AND WHERE AND WHEN DOES IT MEET?

Paul defined the church for us in Ephesians 1:22, 23… “the church, which is His body” . This church has "many members" (Romans 12:4), some of which now "sleep in Jesus" (I Thessalonians 4:14), while others are living today. In God's great plan of grace, other members will be added to this "glorious church" by faith in the Gospel of the Grace of God (I Cor. 15:1-4) (Ephesians 5:27). All these "members," (past, present, and future) make up the "one body" (Ephesians 4:4), the one true church of this dispensation. We are all one, in the one true church. This is why Paul phrases I Corinthians 1:2… "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth”. The church is not Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc. God has some of His members located in every city and town throughout the world.

The tradition of men can be a dangerous opponent to the truth. Jesus faced opposition from the traditionalists of His day:

"Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees . . . saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? . . . But He answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? . . . Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. . . . In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:1,2,9).

Paul also had been caught up in tradition ". . . being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:14). "And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words… Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:4,8). Paul understood the uniqueness of his ministry to the Church the Body of Christ when we wrote…"Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle” (II Thessalonians 2:15). In other words, holding to the traditions of religion is forbidden, but holding to the doctrines and traditions as taught by the Apostle Paul is required in this dispensation.

"Now, we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us” (II Thessalonians 3:6).

Should we really pay special attention to Paul?

"Wherefore I beseech you that you, be ye followers of me” (I Corinthians 4:16).

"Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1).

"Brethren, be followers together of me . . .” (Philippians 3:17).

"Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do ” (Philippians 4:9).
"For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office” (Romans 11:13).

"Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting” (I Timothy 1:16).

"O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust . . . And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (I Timothy 6:20; II Timothy 2:2).

One of the most shocking crimes of our day is “identity theft”. A criminal can steal your identity and wipe you out financially without you ever knowing it until it is too late. Similarly, stealing the church’s identity has been one of Satan’s most effective strategies for the last 2,000 years. The church has lost its identity; we don’t know who we are in Jesus Christ!!!

Paul taught that we (Christians) are the church:
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: 22: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23: Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. (Ephesians 1:22, 23).

He taught that we are God's building:
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry (farm), ye are God's building. (I Corinthians 3:9) God has a church building in this dispensation, true enough. However, it is made up of those of us who have been saved by His wonderful grace. Are you satisfied with this truth? Or, do you embrace another "church building" instead? Are you the house of God? Or, do you attend a man-made building that has been declared to be the "house of God'?

His temple:
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19) We are the temple, we are God's sanctuary! Not a man-made building of brick and mortar, but a God-made building, made up of people! Notice how clearly Paul stated this truth:

"God . . . dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though He needed anything” (Acts 17:24,25).

Most Christians think only of buildings, pastors, choirs and worship services when they hear the word church. Paul entered the Temple on several occasions and he regularly entered synagogues all over the Roman Empire during his thirty year ministry but he believed what he taught about the temple. He believed that he was the Lord's temple! So, guess where Paul worshipped God? "For we . . . worship God in the spirit” (Philippians 3:3). In this verse Paul tells us where we worship! He quickly followed that truth with a negative: "For we . . . worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” Did you notice that there were two realms in that verse? "in the spirit" and "in the flesh.” Two different ways of worship! And in the same verse, what stands between these two realms? "in Christ Jesus”. Simple truth isn't it! God does not dwell in man-made places! Now compare that with the way Christians talk about attending church today:

"It is good to be in the Lord's House today."
"Please do not bring food or drinks into the sanctuary."
"It is nice to have God's House full today.”
“I could just feel the presence of God in church today”

His house:
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. (I Timothy 3:15)

His habitation:
In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22). That's who we are! That is our identity.

God foreknew that Satan would attack the church at its place of greatest vulnerability ---its identity---and thus assure great division and confusion in the very body God designed to bring purpose and clarity to the world. One way God tried to protect us from losing our identity and falling for Satan’s “snares” was to use the ministry of Paul as a pattern of gathering the church in a house of one of the saints. I acknowledge that Paul’s public ministry of evangelism to the lost was conducted in school, courtrooms, market places, synagogues, etc. However, his ministry to the saints was conducted in a home. Meeting in this way protects our true identity. The moment we venture out and build “church houses” with all its accoutrements---church membership, Sunday school, committees, choirs, ministries and ministers---we quickly forget who we are and reduce the Christian life to “going to church’ instead of “being the church” day in and day out.

The Christian does not do in order to become. He does because he is what God has made him in Christ Jesus. "And ye are complete in Him” (Colossians 2:10).

Where did the church meet?
The two religions of Paul's day (Roman and Jewish) both met in special buildings dedicated specifically for that purpose. One of these was the only religion ever ordained by God (Judaism/James 1:27). They had the temple (and the synagogues). Some of the Jews who believed and followed Paul undoubtedly "missed" this aspect of their past religious culture and lifestyle. How easy it would have been for Paul, a devout Jew, to have started building church houses and designing a "worship service" for these new Jewish converts he led to Christ. Certainly many of them suggested this as a good idea to Paul. It made a lot of sense that Jews would simply modify what God had instructed Israel to do in worship of Him. However, the Holy Spirit did not instruct Paul to do so. He simply brought them home.

While reading Paul's epistles we see a very clear pattern develop. The primary meeting place of the church is the home.

". . . the church that is in their house” (Romans 16:5).

". . . the church that is in their house” (I Corinthians 16:19).

". . . the church which is in his house” (Colossians 4:15).

". . . the church in thy house” (Philemon 2).

Paul's pattern was simple; he established local gatherings of saints primarily around converted households. Here are passages that refer to this natural gathering of the body of Christ.

"And a certain woman named Lydia . . . and her household . . . besought us, saying, If you have judged me faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. . . . And they . . . entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them . . .” (Acts 16:14,15,40).

"But the Jews which believed not . . . gathered a company . . . and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And . . . they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers. . .” (Acts 17:5).

"And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus . . . And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (Acts 18:7,11)

" . . . And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house” (Acts 20:20).

"And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, preaching . . .” (Acts 28:30).

". . . Salute them which are of Aristobulus' household” (Romans 16:10).

". . . Greet them that be of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord” (Romans 16:11).

"Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them” (Romans 16:14).

"Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them” (Romans 16:15)

"Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, salute you . . .” (Romans 16:23).

Do not get confused with what I am saying about the ministry of Paul. In his evangelistic efforts the preaching of the gospel that was primarily public in nature. In this part of Paul's ministry he utilized many public places (Acts 20:20), such as synagogues (Acts 13:5, 14-50; 14:1-7; etc.), open air (Acts 14:8-21; 16:13, 19-22; 17:22-31, etc.), courtrooms (Acts 18:12-16, etc.), and schools (Acts 19:9-10, where he "disputed"). But, once again these public activities are not to be confused with what Paul did when he “had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles”. (Acts 14:27)

In the book of I Thessalonians Paul describes his relationship with the saints as that of a gentle mother (I Thessalonians 2:7-8), a concerned father (I Thessalonians 2:9,16), and a loving brother (I Thessalonians 2:1,9,14,17). To Paul, the saints were not "friends", "parishioners" or “church members”. Paul did not view his relationship with them as a religious one. He regarded them as members of his family! He had a special family relationship with them (Acts 20:36-38; Ephesians 4:32; Titus 3:2; II Corinthians 2:4; 10:1; Galatians 5:22).

Now I don’t believe that anyone would disagree with me that the primary meeting place for families is the home. It is the standard place that family life is conducted. Is it then not a logical place for the church the body of Christ to meet? Now, granted, on occasion there are family reunions. We get the extended family together at some rented location. These can be wonderful times of family fellowship. But this is the exception, not the rule of family life and activity! There are times when "the whole church be come together into one place” (I Corinthians 14:23). These could be wonderful functions of family reunion but they could not take priority over the primary gathering of "the church in thy house."

Are we to suppose that building a special building never occurred to Paul or any of his followers? Or, did he outright reject such a firmly established religious practice? According to Scripture, Paul supported his ministry by working as a tentmaker. Apparently he had learned this trade by working with Aquila and Priscilla. Now when we remember that Israel's first holy building in the wilderness was a tent called the Tabernacle, it would have been very easy for Paul to get the idea that the church could use this same idea as a start to meet in until they could raise a building fund and build a church. But this is not what Paul did! Paul was not founding a new religion. And neither was the body of Christ to be a part of one of the two established religious systems. The church, which is His body, was something totally new, but it was not a religion!

Paul wanted his manner of life to be consistent with his doctrine. And he taught us to do so as well. That is why I have a “family gathering” in my home every Sunday morning. My home is to be an “embassy” of the King of Kings. "But thou has fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose . .. . Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (II Timothy 3:10, 12) I have found these verses to be painfully true. God intends for grace doctrine to affect our manner of living. Nothing will bring the fires of persecution from fellow believers---not the unsaved--- like when they find out you don’t “go to church” or are not a “member of a church”. If going to church or being a member of a church are biblical requirements, one would expect to see it stated at least once in the Bible. Please don’t insult my intelligence and show your ignorance by quoting Hebrews 10:25 to defend going to church. First of all, the word church is not in the verse, nor are the words go to/please attend/become a member. The verse has nothing to do with the church the body of Christ. Hebrews is written to the nation of Israel (1:1-3) and they are being reminded of how important it will be for the “little flock” to assemble themselves together with fellow believers as they (Israel) see the Day of the Lord (tribulation) approaching. If you really believe that vs. 25 is commanding Christians to go to church, then do you also believe that vs. 26 is saying that if you don’t “go to church” there is no more sacrifice for that “sin”?

If going to church is such a necessary part of the Christian life, we should find it taught routinely in the Bible. What church was Paul a member of? Who was Paul’s pastor? Where does the Bible talk about church membership, Sunday School, or lay out an "order of service"? There is no biblical authority for any of these things. They are man-made ideas.

I Timothy 3 lists seventeen qualifications for a man to become a Bishop. Isn't it odd that he is not required to be a member of a local church, have the approval of his pastor, be baptized, be a tither or be a graduate of a Bible College or Seminary. God does require him to be a man of personal integrity and a man that demonstrates his leadership abilities in his own house---not by how he manages the "church house". The fact that he is required to be "given to hospitality" emphasizes the fact that he is willing to open his home for education and edification of the saints of God. Do you know any pastors that do that?

The only membership I find biblical authority for is the church- the body of Christ. I became a “member” the moment I believed the Gospel. The Holy Spirit of God did this supernatural work for me by baptizing me into the church. (Rom. 6:1-4; I Cor. 12:13) I respect and love all fellow Christians and so-called "pastors"; however, I will not be brought into bondage to any of them. Christ is the Head of the church, not men. (Gal. 5:1) I have no problem assembling myself with fellow believers from time to time for fellowship and edification in their “churches”. However, every time I do they immediately want me to join their church and get busy for the Lord. Well, I am busy for the Lord and I don’t have to get my work authorized or approved by men. I have an accountability partner; His name is the Holy Spirit---“walk in the Spirit”. The days of voting on hiring or firing a pastor, enduring church business meetings, and settling church disputes is in my rear view mirror. The happiest I have ever been is when I saw man-made religion for what it is.

QUESTION:

Another issue that often seems confusing to many, is the usage of the word "churches" in the Bible. If there is only one church, then why is the plural form of this word used in the Bible?

As we have seen in the case of Corinth, the saints are addressed as "the church of God . . . which is at Corinth . . ." Therefore, the believers at Corinth were the church at Corinth! And God only had one church there! But it was also just as true that the church was at Thessalonica and many other places. Each of these localities having the church, the body of Christ.

But there must be a way to refer to these different localities of believers. And this is accomplished through the plural usage of the word church. In other words, the plural usage of the word church speaks of the body of Christ as a whole in various geographical locations. But this is a far cry from the man-made divisions, and organizations being pawned off as "churches” today (Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterian, Catholic, etc.)

For instance, when Paul returned to the cities where he had preached the gospel, they ordained elders in "every church." That is, the church in every geographical locality. And "every church" being a reference to the plurality of localities, rather than the plurality of man-made "churches” … “And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, 22: Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. 23: And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. (Acts 14:21-22)

Compare that with what Paul wrote to Titus and you will see the connection between every church, every city. "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:" (Titus 1:5) The issue is that the one true church, the body of Christ, is manifested in various localities. BUT, there is still only one church in each locality! Each city had only one church, and that one church, was the body of Christ! How many churches are in your locality? Which one is the true church?

Therefore, when Paul was writing of the various localities of the body of Christ in the region of Galatia, he referred to them as "churches of Galatia”. Knowing what we know about the church, we then know that this phrase was NOT a reference to different churches! Instead, it was a reference to the church in different localities!

Therefore we have:

"the churches of the Gentiles" (Romans 16:4)
"the churches of Christ" (Romans 16:16)
"the churches of God" (I Corinthians 11:16)
"the churches of the saints" (I Corinthians 14:33)
"the churches of Asia" (I Corinthians 16:19)
"the churches of Macedonia" (II Corinthians 8:1)

None of these are a reference to man-made organizations. None of these are a reference to multiple "churches" in a single locality. These are a reference to the one body of Christ in its various localities. And the Greek words used here for the plural "churches" is the exact Greek word used by Paul for the singular "church". There is no difference! The only distinction is locality!

Concerning this plural and singular usage of a word, Tom West offers us an illustration, using the word fleet as applied to the United States Navy. In its broadest meaning, fleet describes all the operational forces of the Navy and is therefore not pluralized. The other usage of fleet relates to the numbered fleets which are associated with specific geographical areas such as the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean and the Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific. Any two or more of the numbered fleets are referred to as plural fleets. Yet they are all also the singular fleet. Each of the fleets represents the fleet in different specific geographical areas!

So, it is with the church. And in light of all that Paul has taught us concerning the church, one could not attempt to use such "churches" passages to justify all the man-made divisions, and organizations being pawned of as "churches."

WARNING:
I hear Christians say, "We believe and practice having 'House Church’!” or “Oh, we 'Home Church' now.” The fact is that there is no such term in Scripture as "house church," or "home church," anymore than there is the term "local church.” The church is everywhere that the saints are! It is everywhere its members (body parts) are. And when the church gathers it is not "doing" church, it is not "going" to church. We were the church before we gathered, we are the church when we gather, and we are the church when we disassemble! We are the church!

That's why the Scriptures tell us that Paul "gathered the church together” (Acts 14:27). What was Paul gathering? Bricks and mortar? No! He was gathering the church. He was gathering saints. He was gathering body parts! And they were the church, even when they were not meeting. So, the meeting is not the church!

Do not be deceived by the terms "house church”, "home church", or “local church”. It brings us right back to the exact same problem that the traditional "local church" has. It steals our identity. "House church", "home church", and “local church” are not God's church! They are man's pitiful attempts at imitation!

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (II Corinthians 11:3).