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The
Wrong Premise
How
will we know it's His Church?
1) First and foremost: God's Observable Presence.
2) Love for one Another
3) It Will Be A Holy Nation
4) All Will Know Him
Final
exhortation
Since the days of Martin Luther, much of the religious world has been involved to one degree or another in what is called "restoration." Over the years, different groups (or "churches") have taken it upon themselves to restore the Church of Jesus Christ to First century condition! (or at least bring Her back to a condition that He would be pleased with). Generally speaking, after a generation or so, there would arise in this new "restoration group" a select few who felt that somehow the original plea for restoration had been lost, and therefore the necessity for a new restoration group had arisen. This cycle has been repeated on and on throughout history, and what has been the result? A veritable smorgasbord of "steeple houses" on the religious horizon, filled with members who have decided to play religious roulette in hopes that they have picked the right group (while the unsaved world is so confused by all the franchises that they want someone to invent a transferable membership card, good at all locations, just to be safe).
And what does this pursuit of restoration generally consist of? What separates Church from Church and brother from brother? What really makes one Church different from the one down the block (besides the height of the steeple and the oration talent of the hired weekly speech-maker -- "preacher")? Well, if you have spent very much time Church- hopping/shopping you probably haven't come up with too much. About the most you could come up with would be some scattered doctrines (and most of the members don't know those doctrines anyway, so you'd need to ask the official speech-maker) and what order/how fancy/and how serious or "laid back" the weekly Church ceremony is. If you were to look at the individual members, however, you would find very little difference in the substance of their lives. The "Churches" of today differ very little from the world in their divorce rate, teenage drug rate, immorality rate, or almost any other measuring rod of the quality of life. In fact, it's likely to be worse, because in the religious world, problems have to stay in the closet for fear of a bad reputation ("it would be a bad witness"). At least in the world they admit the problems are there and invent some kind of social program to try to find some solutions (as impotent as they are)! In summary, what you would find is that the differences between "Churches" lie in the reason of what the people "believe about having Church," but the people themselves are basically identical. Differing belief systems, but identical lives.
What's missing? What has gone wrong for the last 2,000 years? And what can be done to reverse the never-ending cycle? Well, that's a good question. Unfortunately, very few people are asking it. Most Christians either spend their time defending the status quo ("the church won't be perfect until Jesus comes back") or breaking off and starting their own franchise as if their new "belief system" is going to make everything better. (These are the same people who will defend the status quo during the next generation while calling the new reformers idealistic, saying things like, "I remember thinking like that when I was a young Christian"). I hope that you have the courage to consider a radical possibility (instead of being mesmerized and hypnotized by the hordes of Church games going on all around you). Do you have the courage to lay down your current -belief system long enough to consider this radical possibility with me? I hope so!
The whole process has been founded on the wrong premise! The entire method for restoration has been wrong from the start. While the motivations (of some) have been good, the means that have been chosen (by almost everyone) to bring about restoration have been impotent. To catch a glimpse of what I'm really driving at, I'm going to need to boil things down a little and examine what has been happening.
What is the object of restoration? Or to say it another way, what have people been trying to restore? The answer is simple enough. The Church! And what is the Church? Or what do most people think of when they think of this thing called "Church?" They view it as a group of saved people who believe basically the same things, who all "love" the Lord, and who gather together periodically for worship services while with their lives they seek (at least in theory) to influence their community for Christ. Sounds good, right?? WRONG!! While these may be some of the characteristics in the description of the Church, they are insufficient as a foundation upon which to restore or build the Church. Unfortunately, up to now almost everything that calls itself "Church" was founded with basically this conception of "Church" in mind.
Well, then, what is the Church? The Church is the Kingdom of God on the earth. It is the government of Christ "on earth as it is in heaven." It is spiritual territory that has been conquered by Him and now is totally, absolutely, and undeniably under His authority. It is plainly and simply the monarchy of the living King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ!! It is not a democracy of elders over a group of believers or a hierarchy with the chief pastor or preacher at the top. It is a MONARCHY.
Now before I'm misunderstood, let me state that I know that every Church around (well almost every Church) believes this and includes it in their "statement of faith." But how do they go about restoring this monarchy? Well, typically, like good Bible students, they get out their Greek manuscripts and little history books of the "Bible times," and they figure out what the first century policy and practice was for "having Church." What they have seemingly failed to realize is one major oversight--I mean a gigantic oversight - no matter how much they study or how much effort they expend-- They can't restore the Monarch!!!!
When restoration is your goal, this is no small problem. Restoring the doctrine of the Church is conceivably possible, but once achieved, the group is little better off than their "erring" counterparts. (Sure, God may be pleased with their effort and, but as far as restoration is concerned, they're not in much better shape).
Think about it. What if a group of people decided to "restore" the Monarchy of Henry VIII? What if they studied history a lot and were real "committed?" The best they could come up with is a giant history project. They could artificially create a society that followed (as close as possible) the laws that Henry VIII established and live in old style homes, but in substance it would never be anything more than a historical experiment. No matter how accurate they got, they could never restore his reign, even if they kept His laws.
If they were really self-deceived, then they could pretend he was alive, live as close to the "Pattern" as possible, and if a dispute arose, they could study a lot to find out what he might have thought if he were really alive. And what if they disagreed? Simple, a new group would form who were the "true" restored monarchy, who had the right "interpretation" of what Henry really thought.
I'll bet you'd never guess who would get to be the "royalty" in this imaginary Kingdom. Well, that would be simple enough, too. The best scholars, of course. Who else would be better qualified to make up Henry's mind for him and "advise" him on how to run his kingdom?! (I think you're catching on to the point!).
Have you caught the full weight of this dilemma? There is only one person who could restore this monarchy, and that would be Henry! How could you conceive of a monarchy without a monarch? The only possibility for the restoration of the reign of an individual would necessitate the involvement of the individual himself. Others might dream about it and wish it was so, but only Henry could make it a reality!
Again, I realize that all these little religious groups are going to claim that Jesus (the Monarch) is building the Church that they are a part of. But do you understand how insane it would be for two groups of "Henry's restored Monarchy" to exist? If Henry were really involved (not just in theory, but in reality), then His OBSERVABLE PRESENCE would establish which kingdom was really His!! Not historical accuracy or scholarship! Not super commitment! Not talented, trained "leaders," or marketing specialists! Just HIS PRESENCE!!
You see, the object of Church/Monarchy restoration is the King. Because, basically, if he rules (actually and not theoretically), then it's His Kingdom. If Jesus is not the living Head who is building up the body, then it's not His Church but someone else's. Realistically speaking, churches today should be called by a more descriptive talk like 'the societies that study what the Church used to be like and try to mimic Her as much as possible" (and not even a very good job of that).
All of this may sound a little rough, but the charade has gone on long enough. Someone needs to have the guts to say "the emperor has no clothes." Thousands of sheep are being starved needlessly, because few have the courage to take an honest look at what has been happening and to break protocol and stop the show. Don't get discouraged, there is hope, but don't be duped, either.
Have the courage to invest in what God wants to build on the earth. Don't waste the investment of your life (heart, soul, mind and strength) in man-made imitations that only borrow religious tags to confuse the masses. Consider with me a few of the earmarks of the Kingdom prophesied about by our forefathers. "This is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel" (and a host of other faithful brothers who comprise an anxious "cloud of witnesses" eagerly awaiting "the bride who is making herself ready").
How will we know it's His Church?
Consider a few indicators with me...
1) First and foremost: God's Observable Presence.
One of the most basic facets of all of God's dealings with the human race has been God's presence in the midst of His people. It is God that sets His people apart from everyone else. This was the cry of Moses when leading the Israelites. He exclaimed, "How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" (Ex 33:16).
Now, surely Moses should have known that they were a lot different from the other people on the face of the earth. Why, what other people on the earth had all the food laws of Leviticus? Yes, Moses knew a thousand things like that. Yet Moses knew that having all of God's laws and even following them WILL NOT DISTINGUISH YOU FROM THE OTHER PEOPLE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH, BUT ONLY THE PRESENCE OF GOD! He knew full well that the Canaanites could care less if the Israelites had and kept the laws of God (as good as that is). What the Canaanites wanted to know was, is this God with you? Is the God that led you by the hand out of Egypt, the God that sent plagues on Pharaoh's nation, the God that parted the Red Sea, is that God still with you?
You can be sure that the pages of the "New Testament" testify that in the new and better covenant pioneered by our Lord, God's presence still is, and is even more so than before, the distinguishing mark of His people. So much so that an unsaved pagan came into an assembly of God's people and fell on his face worshipping God because of His observable presence--exclaiming, "God is really among you!" (1 Cor 14:25).
One of the awesome promises given by our Lord concerning the gathering together of His people was that if they gathered "in His Name," He would be with them (Mt 18:20). In fact, the Lord told the twelve he intended to be with His people until the very end of the age (Mt 28:20).
Now many will confuse gathering in His Name with gathering with His Name tag in order to perform some sort of ceremony in His memory. The disciples had to learn the same lesson about prayer. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my Name," (Jn 16:24). There is a distinct difference in praying and praying in His Name. Though the disciples had asked a lot, they had not yet "asked in His Name." It must be understood that gatherings of believers could easily be "not in His Name" and consequently, without His presence as well (in the corporate sense). When the Church in Corinth had to discipline a brother, Paul exhorted them, to do this "when the power of the Lord Jesus is present," (1 Cor 5:4). Paul seemed to think that they would understand this exhortation, and so he gave no further explanation. He took for granted that they would be able to tell when the power of the Lord Jesus was present and when it was not.
If God's observable presence is not evident, then I would urge you to be careful not to label it "His Church" and to be even more careful in spending your life supporting/condoning it. Do not, whatever you do, go the way of so many before you and try to come up with some kind of program to prop up the group you are a part of. If the Church cannot be sustained because of Her connection to the Head, then she is deceased and is no longer among the living. Thousands of Church workers today are brainstorming for ideas to make the church appear alive to the casual observer on the street (as if that solves anything). Well, the principalities and powers (who look at the church to see the manifold wisdom of God (Eph 3:10)), are not fooled quite as easily as we are. It will take more than a few timely programs and a new preacher. The heavens are longing to behold the wife of God who has been transformed into His likeness.
This is closely related to the first point, because human love is not the earmark of God's Kingdom but rather divine (agape) love. This kind of love is so closely related to the character and presence of God that the scriptures say that "God is Love," (1 Jn 4:8).
Jesus said that all men would know it was His Church (and not just mimicking His) by the love they would have one for another (Jn 13:34-35). He didn't seem to indicate that this point would have to be argued about. Divine love seemed to Jesus to be clear enough and observable enough that all men would be able to recognize it. It would be very clear when agape (divine love) is present. Jesus didn't seem to be worried that someone might object and say, "well the Moonies love each other, so how do you know that they're not the Church?" It seemed that the kind of love that Christ spoke of would be clear enough to blow away any human counterfeits.
It was pretty evident in Acts 2! In which sermon did Peter tell the believers to meet together every day? It wasn't a pattern they tried to follow because they read the book of Acts, it was the natural response of a group of people with their lives in submission to a living King.
For the sake of the critic who might leaven an honest heart by saying this was cultural, consider the fact that about 25 years later in Ephesus, the Church was still described as "publicly and from house to house," (Acts 20:20). In Hebrews, the believers are exhorted (perhaps commanded?) to "encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today" or they would be hardened by sin. And in Corinth, the weakest Church in the biblical record, they stopped eating with a brother, and it almost killed him (2 Cor 2:6-7). EATING TOGETHER? What's that got to do with having Church? In that case, I guess the whole religious world has been disfellowshipped? Now maybe you're beginning to understand the magnitude of the problem.
If a group doesn't have the clear-cut observable love for one another as seen in Acts 2, then it's not what God intends to build as a representation of His Son. Be careful not to spend an entire lifetime with a group of people where agape love is absent. (Go ahead and invest your life for them, but don't confuse that group with His Church, despite its good people and good intentions. The Lord has something much higher in mind if we have the heart for it).
God wanted a HOLY NATION, and the law of Moses wasn't getting the job done! In fact, it was prophesied in Ezekiel that God was so fed up with unrighteous Israel that He determined He was going to change everything by putting His Holy Spirit into a Kingdom of people and CAUSE them to keep His ways! And all this would be done not for their benefit, but because God was tired of having His Name wore by such an unfit people. "I had concern for My Holy Name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone," (Ez 36:21). (In fact, go ahead and read the prophecy written in Ezekiel 36:21-27).
Righteousness by the law had failed, so now God would remedy the situation by introducing to humanity the righteousness found in the Holy Spirit of the Almighty God (Ro 8:9-17). This is what God intended for His New Covenant! He longed to live inside of His people by His Holy Spirit. With this Spirit inside of men, God seemed confident that they would then be a people worthy of wearing His Name. He was to invest because He was confident that a holy people would be the result. This would give Him the testimony to the nations and the heavens that He always had longed for. It would also provide the intimacy with His people that He desired, by making His abode in them Jesus paved the way for this to happen by purifying a people of their sin so a holy God could come to live inside of them in the first place. His blood would also continue to forgive future sins, as this people were being changed into the very image of God, from the inside out! (Ro 8.28; 2 Cor 3:18).
This does not mean that His Church would just be righteous in theory because Jesus had died to forgive Her, but she would become the very righteousness of God herself, in reality (2 Cor 5:21). The apostle John, in fact, went so far as to say that no-one who underwent this new birth could continue in sin because God's seed was in Him (1 Jn 3:9). If God's seed was to remain inside of man then man would have to conform to the Government of God's Spirit inside of Him! Or else, He could no longer abide there. John went on to say that RIGHTEOUSNESS could be used as a test of who the real children of God are and who the children of the devil are (1 Jn 3:10). Jeremiah prophesied that the time was coming when the Lord would make a "new covenant" with His people. He spoke of a radically different covenant than the one the Jews had at that time. God was no longer going to need and depend on a list of rules and baby-sitters like Moses to conform the behavior of His people. Instead, they would know His righteousness because He would dwell in them by His HOLY Spirit and write His laws on their "hearts!" and "minds." He would change them from the inside out, and they would all know Him "from the least to the greatest!" (Jer 31:31-34; Heb 8:7-13, 10:16) Instead of the laws and commandments, the Holy Spirit would now "convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement," (Jn 16:8).
Kinda heavy-duty, huh? But it stands to testify that the nature of the Government God longs to bring to planet earth is radical. He really does want a bride free from any spot or blemish, a radiant Church prepared for Her Husband (Eph 5:27). Corinth shows us that it's possible for His Church to have sin, but it cannot continue in sin! If it's really His Church, then even a weak Church like Corinth will respond in the same way. "See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter," (2 Cor 7:11). If a Church does not respond this way, then the first few chapters of the book of Revelation testify that our Lord will remove His lampstand! (which means they no longer represent His Government! He removes their "royal charter," and they are no longer a local expression of His Government). They might keep singing songs and praying prayers, but they're not His prophesied kingdom that will fill the earth before the end comes (Mt 24:14)!!
His Church WILL NOT just blend in with society! She will not be blown about by all of society's maladies as if She had no fiancée, as if she were not indwelt by God Himself! It would be a pitiful demon who possessed a person but yet had no authority whatsoever to torment or govern the life of the one it possessed. What a host of pitiful excuses have been given for the lack of holiness in God's "new covenant nation." What an indictment against the Holy Spirit of the living God! If a man was so possessed by demons that those demons made two thousand pigs run off of a cliff, what do you suppose would happen to a person indwelt by God?
Do not be deceived, if she is not becoming the righteousness of God and Her members aren't being changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ with ever increasing glory, then it absolutely is not His up-and-coming bride. If She's not actively adorning Herself with Her righteous wedding dress, then it is not the bride-to-be of the only begotten Son of God, (1 Cor 5:21; 2 Cor 3:18; Rev 19.8).
No longer will His kingdom be filled with people who only know a lot about Him but do not know Him. Instead, in this new covenant, every single person will have an intimate relationship with Him. No priests will be needed as mediators between God and man, but through Jesus Christ every believer will have a personal relationship with the God who dwells inside of him. For too long, Christianity has been viewed as a mental exercise in appeasing God through the right set of rituals. This was not so from the beginning. Instead, all are to know Him "from the least to the greatest," (Jer 31:34).
Jesus said, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent," (Jn 17:3). To have an intimate relationship with the author of life, in fact, Life Himself is to possess eternal life. To not have this kind of relationship with God is to remain in darkness and live without the light of life.
Do You Possess and do the people in the "Church" you are a part of possess this kind of relationship with God? If the members of your Church were put on a lie detector test, would they be able to answer honestly that:
*They know the peace that passeth understanding?
*They have "rivers of alive water" bursting from within them?
*They are filled with joy inexpressible and full of Glory?
Either this kind of life is some cruel fairy tale or this is normal Christianity. If this is not the characteristic of the lives of the church you are a part of, don't rationalize; seek help. Don't settle for pat answers! God really does have an awesome inheritance He is longing to pour out on those with the heart to forcefully advance His Government, and "the violent take it by force!" (Mt 11:12).
If you long to see God's government on earth as it is in heaven and are willing to go after it, we would love to help. If you would like some more material about God's heart for His Church, or just want to talk, write or call collect! We are just ambassadors, only the Lord of the Harvest can send out laborers into His field. Call out to HIM! He longs for people after His own heart who are burdened with His burdens and not just consumed with their own lives.
One day there will be a people who have consecrated themselves so wholly to God, that He can risk an outpouring of His Character in them. I, for one, long to be in on it! How about you?