Thoughts on The Church

Woke up this morning thinking about the church today and how far off we have gone in our thinking and actions. God established a temple for His people to worship Him. In order for that temple to exist there had to be men to oversee it. They came out of the synagogues of that time and were led by Rabbi's. This was the "church" before Jesus came onto the scene and the "church" Jesus was brought up in. In order for this organization to do what God had ordained it to do, the people were instructed to tithe a tenth of what they had to support the established "church" of that time.

Along comes Jesus and His "church" is out in the marketplace and the countryside. It was anywhere He went. The crowds followed Him. They sought Him out wherever He happened to be. Yes, He did preach in the synagogues also. This was where the Jews were and those were the people He was sent to call unto Him. But, most of the stories we read about in the Bible are when He was between destinations, on the journey from one place to another. We are never told of Jesus taking an offering from the people. Although that must have occurred as Judas was the keeper of the coins and those funds must have come from somewhere.

Spring forward a few years and we have Saul, a member of the established "church" hunting down Christians. Then Jesus came to Saul in his travels and struck him off his horse. Saul's experience was so profound that he did a 180 and began to preach the Gospel to the gentiles. He never sat under the teachings of any of Jesus' original followers. No, Saul (now Paul) was given the same Holy Spirit who taught Paul all things.
 
Paul went on his journey to spread the Good News. Along the way he established "churches" made up of groups of new believers meeting in homes. There was no hierarchy; no persons placed between the church body and Father God. There were no offerings taken to support the "church". Instead they were told to share all they had with each other. There were no handouts, no food stamp programs or disability benefits. They helped each other in their needs as they got back on their feet. And they believed the Scripture that says if a man does not work he does not eat. Even Paul worked making tents.
 
This new "church", the body of believers in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, did take up offerings to help support other bodies of believers in other areas of the world. You might say this was the first example of supporting missions.
 
Then in about 300 AD things changed. Man, led by former Jews who had become Christians, formed a formal established church. No longer a body of believers as Jesus and Paul had established, but a brick and mortar one. One that had to be supported because it needed people to run it and it needed funds to maintain it. A blending of the old (synagogue) and the new belief in Jesus.

Instead of passing down the message by word of mouth, which had been working and bringing many into the Kingdom of God, a new order was established. A formal set of manuscripts was created out of the many letters that were being passed around. These were added to the already known Jewish writings and made into the Old and New Testaments we know today. Because of the lack of duplication methods, only the leaders of the new established church had them so they became the teachers. And Christianity was launched into a new era.
 
While the people were the "church" and sharing this Jesus to the world as commissioned by Him years before, signs and wonders was prevalent with all believers as the Holy Spirit moved both inside and outside of the "church". God's miraculous touch brought people into the Kingdom and took care of those already in the Kingdom.

When man took over, the signs and wonders seemed to have disappeared. But God's order was removed and replace with the new order of the new church. Holy Spirit was replaced by the priests. They took over the teaching of the gospel message to the people. They introduced fear of God to make converts to Christianity instead of signs and wonders. God did not take away signs and wonders. Man moved away from them. They had lost belief in the measure of authority and power given to each believer.
 
The new church is here today. It is not part of the established church which over centuries of revelation and revolution has splintered into numerous different sets of beliefs. It meets in homes and in the marketplace. It seeks to unite established churches into the one true church, the body of Christ. Signs and wonders abound in this new, Holy Spirit inspired work.
 
It is time to stop playing church and start being the church Jesus came to have. A church with the full authority and power inherited from Him. A church without walls that takes care of its own members. A church that reaches out to a lost world with the gospel message and with signs and wonders.
 
What about you? Are you ready to choose a church like the one described in Acts? Are you ready to take a chance and see the kind of change living in the Kingdom of God can make in your neighborhood?
 
I am not suggesting everybody run out of the established church. I am saying look around and become the church Jesus called us to be. Be the community of believers that reaches inward to each other in need and outward to the community. Be the church that unites with other established churches to do the work of the ministry in your area. One church. One body of Christ. One message for all.