Last time the commentary was on what the Church is. It is the assembling together in the Presence of God from before time to the end of days and beyond. It is the congregation of those with those in Christ since Adam and beyond time when the souls of mankind will kneel before God on His Throne.
The Church is the foyer to the throne where Jesus sits on the throne of God.
4 To whom coming (Jesus), as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, “Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded” (1 Pet 4:2-6)
The Church is a spiritual house,
and the house is made up of holy priests — those who have sacrificed their own
flesh for the preservation of their souls.
In other words, you are the
Church if you are Christians. The invisible, universal Church is built
upon Christ with the souls of men and women who trust God so much that they
share the essence of Yahweh in the same manner as Jesus.
You cannot see the Church, but it
is where Christians gather. The Church is anywhere under the celestial dome
because that is the true house of God who, as He said, did not want a house of
wood, brick, or stone; but a spiritual house, to wit: The Lord of hosts is the
God over Israel: and let the house of your servant David be established before you,”
he told David himself.
The “House of David” was not the
house (temple) that David’s son, Solomon built, but the spiritual “house” that
God founded as one of the prophets that he proved in writing so many psalms.
Just as the English kingdoms were
of the “House of the Stewarts” and Rome was the “House of Caesar,” the Church
is the “House of David” for he was a man after God’s own heart, or the will of
God (1Sam 13:14).
David did build a House for God —
a spiritual house, even a genetic house. Solomon, however, built for God a material
house when he built the Temple. Whose house still stands? The House of David or
the House that Solomon built? It is the former that still stands.
Witnesses came against Christ;
one said about Jesus, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the Temple of
God, and to build it in three days’” (Mat 26:61), and Jesus did that; he died
thus perishing the ancient Church and built back better using Himself as the
foundation.
The walls of Solomon’s construction kept falling down, and in the end, Jesus resurrected the walls of the Temple using Christians as the living stones. It is the souls of Christians that are the supports for the Church that God built for Himself.
Him that overcomes will
I make a pillar in the Temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I
will write upon him the Name of my God, and the name of the city of my God,
which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will
write upon him my new name. (Rev 3:12)
The Church is a building in progress and when it is finished, then it will be the entire House of God. That happens in the last days, so the Church should be growing to this day, but God is not after faulty stones, but true stones:
We have such an high
priest (Jesus), who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in
the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the
Lord pitched, and not man. (Heb 8:1-2)
Why was Jesus called, “the son of
David”? He was of the House of David. Why the genealogy in the gospels? To show
that Jesus was the heir apparent to the House of David. He was legitimately
king of the Jews and the Church is the Palace of God with His subjects the
Palace structure.
Jesus, as the Stone on which the
Church was built, built the “true Tabernacle” — the true Temple of God. The
Church is the one Temple that will never perish because it is not made of materials.
Isaiah foresaw the future when he
wrote, “The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores
are cut down, but we will change them into cedars” (Isa 9:10).
The meaning of that may not be obvious.
It needs to be examined for its literal meaning.
Where translated “bricks” it is literally
whiteness. It could be white bricks, stones, or white-washed clay. Whichever
is correct, it is the structure of the Temples; and the walls of the Temple
have fallen now three times!
“We” in that passage is not in
the original Hebrew. We could be God’s people or it could even be God Himself.
It could be that the “we” are the hewn stones themselves in accordance with the
“lively stones” of the New Testament.
The Jews were good, but
Christians are better. The Jews built the Temple but Christians the spiritual
Church.
“Hewn stones” are literally just some thing that is cut, not specifically dressed stone. The Church is “cut” from people who are dressed for the marriage supper wherein Jesus is the groom and the Church the bride. David envisioned the building of God’s House when he wrote the psalm:
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handywork… 4 Their line is gone out through all the Earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them has He set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 which is as a bridegroom coming out of His chamber, and rejoices as a strong man to run a race. (Psalm 19:1, 4-5)
The “hewn stone” is the handiwork
of God. It is the “firmament” — the “pebbles” that make up the celestial sphere
— the dome in the skies. Hence, the ceiling of the Church is not a roof at all,
but the heaven that God “cut,” as the word “created” means literally (Gen 1:1).
Indeed, that is again what the
Church is, but it implies what the Church is not.
Church is a free range gathering
under the stars. The Church is not a building of stone hewn by the hands of
men.
When people ask, “Where do you go
to church?” they mean what church building and its location.
Each morning, I awaken and am in
Church. Church is when I commune with God. It may be in my recliner or
outside standing because the House of God is under the stars. Wherever I go I
can be in Church. What I am missing is the two or three that are gathered in
His Name, Jesus.
I go places to assemble with
others of the same faith. But when I go to assemble, I miss those who are not
assembled, so Jesus commissioned us all to be priests of God in a royal priesthood
who should show forth praises (1 Pet 2:9), not to ourselves, but according to
the Great Commission, “Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature” (Mark 16:15).
Jesus did not commission us to go
to Church but to go ourselves and take the Church to everyone else.
Sure, inviting someone to church is not bad, but going to them to love them is
the better way; that is what Jesus did, was it not?
The church has faults. It is as if it is not on solid ground nut ready to quake as it did when Jesus was crucified:
50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose… (Mat 27:50-52)
The Temple was not destroyed by
the Romans in 70 A.D.; it began to fall when Jesus gave up the Holy
Ghost.
The falling began with the veil
that kept the people away from God. Jesus paved the Way when He released the
Power of the Holy Ghost. Isaiah was right. The bricks must fall down but the
curtain fell long before the bricks. The Holy Quake that God emanated first
toppled the curtain that had blinded the people from the real countenance of
God.
The saints of old were the “lively
stones” and the foundation of the invisible church, just as Paul wrote, “The
household of God; (is) built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone…” (Epes 2:19-20). The saints
of old, perhaps John the Baptist and even Adam, were raised from the rubble to
build the new Church from the foundation upwards! [1]
Things must be torn down to build
back better. Better is goodness and truth. Better is going to
others to share the gospel, rather than making them come to God by going to
Church! It is not that going to Church is bad, but going to God is better. God
has no faults, but the church has many faults, both in the building and in the
people.
We all look for a perfect church;
do we not? So long as I am in the building, the church has faults, even the
spiritual Church. Therefore, the True Church corrects our faults to make the
lively stones as true to Christ as possible. So long as you are in the House of
God; it has its faults.
The Old Testament Church, both
Tabernacle and Temple worship, kept people away from God. Only the priests
could sacrifice for the sins of the people. Now, each is their own priest and
the only sacrifice we need make is ourselves: Paul wrote, “Brethren, by the
mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom 12:1). That is what
priests did; now if you are a Christian; you are a priest. Nobody can do it for
you; you must do so yourselves. Who does that anymore? We feel as if we need
the preacher to sacrifice us to God.
Preachers make much ado about
being called to preach. We are all called to preach as royal priests,
and it is all our jobs to present the gospel. Why do we continue to depend on
preachers to do spiritual work for us, when we Christians are commissioned to do
so ourselves?
As can be seen with the fall of
so many mega-churches, they begin to fall with arrogant and sinful preachers.
Mega-churches fall quickly when their pastors are exposed as hypocrites.
Smaller churches fall when they try
to be like mega-churches. Building larger more contemporary buildings may
attract the worldly, but they are a source of failures. They are not houses of
God, but buildings built by men under the pretext of being houses for God. What
are contemporary churches for? To attract the world to make sinners come there
to find God.
(We should be building missions
rather than buildings!)
And what do they find at church? Entertainers
and entertainment; that is what is in the modern houses of God; the same things
found in the homes of the people.
The Pharisees found that they
were not good stewards of God’s money; they paid Judas 30 pieces of silver to
bring down the Church by bringing down its Cornerstone — Jesus. With Jesus dead,
they expected the opposing Church to fall, but as Jesus fell, the Temple was
built back better in three days just as Jesus said. It was not built with
stones or even cedar and certainly not with Peter who denied Jesus; it was
built on the truth that Jesus is God! So, they gave the money back because they
had not been good stewards of money.
The Church was meant to be communal
and under the umbrella of Jesus to go the Way of Jesus to our own crosses. We
were all to be faithful stewards in accord each with the other for the Spirit
to come (Acts 2:1).
Now the church is communistic.
There is a great difference! Just think about it. The Church is to be Jesus-centered
whereas communism is people-centered.
God designed the House of God,
even the house that Solomon built. There were no stages nor actors. There was a
basin for the washing of hands and a Molten Sea for the priests to wash filth
from their fleshes. The house was for the solemn worshipping of God; it was not
to please men and satisfy women, but to glorify God.
Of course, God can be glorified
in music but if the music is for the pleasure of the crowd; it is just a
performance for them. Stereotypically, people like their kind of music.
Many listen to head-banging music all week long and Sundays may just be another
day of head-banging music. Or it could be the serene New Age genre that people
bring to church to be like the world.
Who is to say what is good
worship or poor worship, but it condenses to whom the leaders endeavor to
please.
The structure of the Church is with
Jesus the cornerstone and the people the pillars that support the structure.
Ministers are called, not to preach, but to minister. Likewise, deacons are called not to preach or even
teach, but to assist the minister in the same manner that judges were appointed
to help Moses judge.
The Church has ceased being a
communal sanctuary for the household of God but is now a den for those who
steal the glory from God. It is not communal but more so communistic. How so?
The minister often dictates, and
the people merely go along with his initiatives. They are loyal to the minister
and to not upset the accordance, everyone just goes with the flow.
One church after another has failed
because of preachers who build new buildings and institute new types of
worship. Like communists, they are trying to make things better for the masses
rather than for the ministry.
I know of several churches that
have built new buildings with more comfortable seating and Shakespearean stages
that still fail because of financial burden.
Pastors seem to measure their successes
by the metrics of attendance, tithes and offerings, and even baptisms without
regard to true conversions. In the modern church, sinners become Christians
simply by walking forward to the altar to speak with the preacher who sacrifice
them to the Lord like the priests of old.
We cannot depend on preachers. One
preacher twice pushed me away for merely trying to aid him when he was occupied.
How dare you do my job for me was the message that I received.
The ministers have often ceased
to minister. They mandate and it happens. They tear down to build back better
to their own standards, and in some, the bricks literally fall before the
church falls.
Then there is the church bureaucracy.
They are the chosen few who seem to do everything. The church does not hang on
the Law but on them. Church organizations everywhere have the elite few; do the
work for the willing many. It must be them that get the attention and
credit; little is for the glory of God.
Rather than a congregation, the masses
are just bench warmers to be counted for their numbers and contributions. They
are the proletariats like in a Soviet who serve, not so much God, but the bureaucracy
and the preachers. They never speak up for fear of being ostracized.
How does the church ostracize? By
picking favorites as if it is a horse-race, while the best qualified become the
grooms of the preferred “horses.”
The job of the congregation has
become clapping for the performances rather than glorifying God.
Churches help discover the hidden
gifts within the congregants, then expect most of them to forget their gifts. You
may have your gift revealed to you, but then be expected to keep your spiritual
gift to yourself.
Rather than a sanctuary from the
world, many modern churches have brought the world to them. In many, you can
expect to hear the sounds of the world whether it be music or doctrine.
The doctrine of the modern church
is cheap grace. For your attendance award, please step forward and the preacher
will reward you now for eternal life later. I have even been “saved”
three times because walking forward is the one giant leap to eternal life
without regard to what I do with myself.
Many repent, not because they are
sorry they did it, but because they were caught after doing it. Many
mega-church preachers often confess contrition after they are caught, not confess
to God but for the sake of those who have admired them.
Maybe I am no better; I have sat quietly
even while watching churches falling apart. I have seen three churches fall
apart as I sat silently by. I do not desire to see others fall apart!
That big church with the large
sound stage and lights… it may be still there, but it has already fallen. There
remains the burden of such a building with nobody there to pay for its encumbrance.
Building big comfortable buildings are just that — for people to remain
comfortable while others do the work and pay the burden.
The buildings may still be there,
but the spiritual houses have fallen.
I went church-hunting with my
wife one day. What did I find? Big buildings with few people, or small
buildings wanting to be bigger. We heard fine sermons with few to hear and even
loud music with few hearing the lyrics. We heard preachers declaring what they will
do rather than acknowledging how the church has fallen since they came.
Great buildings, even full of
people, is not the Church; it is dedicated Christians who are meek but strong
spiritually. It is a house of living souls that clap for God but not for the skills
of the performers.
A grand building is a symbol for
a weak church. The strongest church that I ever attended was geared for the
poor in wealth and those poor in spirit. The pastor truly loved everyone, not
just a select few and especially not the young pretty girls that cause so many
mega-churches to fail before anyone even sees them falling.
Right now, your church may be
falling. In fact, according to the Revelation of John, in the end, the
organized church falls, leaving behind only the spiritual Church that so many
do not know even exists.
You may see it falling even if
the bricks are not falling. You do not need the building, but you still need
the House of God!
I do not mean to be mean, but
just report on what I see. I have had fingers pointed at me and understand that
the nature of men is to seem perfect. By grace, God does not require
perfect “stones” to build His House, because He can take a rough stone and hew
it to fit its place among the other hewn stones. All we are to do is to submit
ourselves to be hewn!
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