THE Church And The Churches

 Jesus Loves His Church

Matthew 16:18 - "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

Jesus loves His church. This new nation of born-again, Spirit-filled, Bible-believing Christians was HIS idea from the very beginning. We are the "ekklisia" - the called out ones. Together, we've been called out from the world, and into His body. We've been chosen to continue His work and finish His calling in the earth.

Jesus paid a high price for His church. We see this clearly in Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders. Acts 20:28 - "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood..."

Yes...Jesus shed His blood for you.
Yes...He shed His blood for me.
But highest of all: He shed His blood for us - His church!

What About The "Churches"?

In Scripture we see two different concepts for the word "church". Whenever this word is written, it's used in one of two ways.

The first idea is a global body of believers.
This is the universal church that is being built by Jesus Himself in Matthew 16. It's also the church that Ephesians 5:23 and Colossians 1:18 call Jesus' body. And it's this church that should bring bring Him glory from one generation to the next - according to Ephesians 3:21.

But, would it surprise you to learn that, when we read the word "church" in the New Testament, it isn't usually talking about the global church? Almost every time you see this word used - whether in the Gospels, or the book of Acts, or the epistles, or even in the Book of Revelation - it's being used in the second context: It's describing a local congregation of believers. It's talking about an assembly.

Hebrews 10:25 - "...not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

This assembled church is why we can see this word used as a plural ("churches"); which happens over thirty times in the New Testament. There were multiple churches inside each of the local provinces of Judea (Acts 9:31), Syria (Acts 15:41), Cilicia (Acts 15:41), Asia (Revelation 1:4), and Macedonia (2 Corinthians 8:1). In Galatians 1:2, we even find out that there were multiple churches in the single city of Galatia.

Yes, there is just one universal church of Jesus Christ - one that all true Christians around the world belong to. But inside that one church, there are many churches.

According to Scripture, everywhere believers gather together in Jesus' name, that place of assembly is rightfully called a church. This is extremely important for believers to understand - because this means "going to church" IS biblical!

Yes, we are the church...and that is why we must go to church!

The House Of God

1 Timothy 3:14-15 - "These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."

Paul tells us, in no uncertain terms, that the church is God's house. But let me ask the obvious question: which concept of "church" is Paul using in this verse? Is he saying that the universal body of believers is the house of God? Or is he talking about the local church - our gatherings?

The answer can be found in this same verse. Paul said that he wrote this letter to Timothy so that the young church leader would know how people should be behaving in the church. So let's look back at what he wrote in the letter:
In Chapter 1, he told Timothy to preach the Word to anyone who hears.
In Chapter 2, he instruct Timothy about corporate prayer, and also how men and women were to behave when believers met together.
In Chapter 3, he tells Timothy what qualifications elders and deacons should have, and how to set them in their positions.
Now, where do all these things take place?

We know that the universal church hasn't been gathered together in one place since Stephen was martyred in Acts 7 - and we won't be again until we're all standing before the throne of God. So why are we given rules and guidelines to behave ourselves in church? Because this isn't the universal church...it's the local congregation of believers!

If that's so - and it obviously is - then where is God's house? It's wherever a group of believers have gathered together! The local church (yes, the place where we go) is the house of God!

We'll learn more about what the House of God means in our next post. But today I want you to rest assured of two important biblical truths - do not be deceived about these!
1 - It is Scriptural for a Christian to "go to church". 
2 - It is Scriptural to call that local church "the House of God".