Carrubbers
Christian Centre
When I was young we talked as a family about going to church. Never, in all my years as a child did anything other than the old, gothic-style, building come to mind when my parents uttered that familiar statement, "OK boys, we're off to church." Unfortunately, I would venture to say that for most people today, both inside and outside of evangelicalism, the same thought comes to mind when we talk about the church. Rarely do we visualise the reality of what God has created when we consider the concept of "the church."
Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 that He was going to "build {His} church, and the gates of Hades {would} not overpower it." Not long after making that statement, Jesus spoke of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple using these words: "not one stone here shall be left upon another, which will not be torn down." (Matt 24:2) In effect, Jesus was saying that one temple would be torn down, while another would be built up. In Paul's letter to the Corinthians he speaks of the church as "the temple of God" (1 Cor 3:16-17) and even as individual believers as "temple(s) of God" when he says to them, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" (1 Cor 6:19). The apostle Peter, to whom Jesus had directed (in part) His statement of Matt 16:18, informs us in his epistle that individual believers, "as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet 2:5). In other words, as the former dwelling of God, composed of wood, stone and precious metals, was being destroyed (i.e. the OT temple), the new dwelling of God, composed of human hearts (i.e. the NT church) was being created. How important then, to see ourselves as the blessed dwelling of the very Spirit of God, and live our lives in light of such a truth!
We also learn from Scripture that this "body of Christ," which is the church, not only exists, but convenes for edification and exhortation. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that we should "not forsake our assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another all the more, as {we} see the day drawing near" (Heb 10:25). We are reminded in the book of Acts that the church (i.e. "body of believers") not only met together corporately, but also in smaller groups from house to house (c.f. Acts 2:46). The intent of the gathering in the early church was four-fold according to Acts 2:42: (1) teaching the apostle's doctrine, (2) fellowship, (3) the breaking of bread, (4) prayer. The true exercise of these disciplines can be done in many ways and in many places but the fact remains that for the church... THEY MUST BE DONE! To neglect meeting together on a regular basis or committing oneself to the authority and oversight of a local fellowship of believers for the sake of "sampling" from church to church, is to fall prey to the modern humanistic philosophy of man-centred consumer-mindedness. God has not created the church as the body of Christ ultimately for what the church will derive from it, but for what He will derive from it, i.e. glory and honour. It is true, that when believers gather together to worship the Lord and to serve and encourage one another there is great benefit derived (Eph 4:11-16). However, this is certainly a by-product from the hands of a gracious God who, in the process of restoring a sin-cursed universe to a state of glorification, permits fallen men and women to join Him in that venture while deriving blessing and benefit themselves.
So the church exists to the glory of God, it convenes for the edification of itself in love and finally, the church scatters to fulfil the great commission of "making disciples of all nations" (Matt 28:19). I believe it is true to say that without an ultimate outward focus the church will wither and weaken. We have been blessed to be a blessing. We have met Christ that we might introduce Him to others. We have been saved to be witnesses of that saving grace. Jesus said to the disciples in Acts 1:8, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses." Witnessing is not something that a believer does, it is something that a believer is. Every born-again believer will be one of three kinds of witness: good, bad or indifferent. The kind of witness we are is up to us but the fact that we are witnesses was a decision made by God at the moment of our salvation. The apostle Paul commended the Thessalonians because "the word of the Lord {had} sounded forth from {them}, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place that {their}faith toward God {had} gone forth" (1 Thess 1:8). Never forget that the way in which a believer represents Christ to the world is the way in which the world will see Christ.
May it be said of us, as we exist to the glory of God, convene for the edification of the saints and scatter for the fulfilment of that great commission of the Lord, that we have done all to the glory of God.
