Acts 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
The church is not a building. People who believe in Jesus Christ regularly gather for praise, worship, and prayer at various facilities, and buildings have been erected and dedicated for such purposes, yet, the church essentially consists of people, not buildings, having Jesus Christ as the only true foundation and Head. This doctrine must be thoroughly understood so that persons do not come to trust in buildings, as many of the Jews in Christ’s day did.
God is leading His people from this earth to the promised land, but all buildings erected for church services will be left behind in the dust when Christ comes. We are witnessing this truth in real time since many church buildings have been shuttered because of the pandemic, yet church continues, and the body of believers remain. In fact, church service as we’ve known it in former years will one day come to an end, yet we should participate and attend while the opportunity still lingers. Let’s read:
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
It’s important for us to trace the beginnings of the church, and how it has morphed over time to what it is now commonly accepted as. Christ has always had a remnant people upon the earth to serve and obey Him. The patriarchs, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob erected altars wherever they went, and there they gathered to worship God. Let’s read:
Genesis 13:3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; 4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had make there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. 18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.
But after God’s great deliverance of the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage, God purposed to bring the people together to formally organize them into one corporate body under His care, and they were to be a peculiar people, showing forth God’s salvation, His praises and His testimonies by precept and example to those who knew not God. Thus, from its very inception the church was meant to be a purpose driven body of believers, who were to keep a knowledge of God and His will ever before the world.
Buildings were erected to accommodate these purposes, and over time, the various houses of worship, indeed facilitated fellowship, prayer and every other aspect of salvation. In this way believers were to be a peculiar people on the earth, and as such, they would be convening, and congregating at specified times and at specified places as God would direct; but at the beginning the church existed without a building or any permanent structure. Let’s read:
Exodus 19:4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
In fact, the first structure that was ordained of God for church services was a movable one, to cater for the many travels that were to be the church’s lot as they travelled through the desert and hill country. By so doing the building or tent which it was, went with the body of people wherever they went, their travels and locations being directed by God. Let’s read:
Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. 9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
Later on, two temples were built, the first one was under Solomon, and the next one, after the Jews had returned from Babylonian captivity. Immense capital and expenditures went into the erection of those two buildings, and God was pleased with the generosity of His people. But even with those two colossal structures that were built and dedicated to the worship of God, which are described as being the first and second temple, the word church does not appear anywhere in the old testament.
The focus was never intended to be on any building, but on God, who was to be worshiped at different locations. However, over a period of time, with the enormous revenues, and costly expenditures going towards the two temples the people began to view the building as the church. And because of this their focus on God was replaced by an unusually intense interest in the buildings, not on God, to the point where in Christ’s day it was not only considered sacrilege to speak any word against the building, but persons could be charged for doing so.
In fact, this was one of several accusations brought against Christ at His trial, and for which He was later crucified, because the people back then had come to revere the works of men’s hands as having some sort of inherent holiness, even as Jesus Christ, the head of the church was being rejected. Let’s read:
Matthew 26:59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. 62 And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
Even when Christ appeared in the temple, they lost sight of the glory that was predicted to come to the building. So intense was the people’s admiration of the temple that The Creator of the universe was in their midst, but their eyes were blinded, and they could not behold the glory which had been foretold.
Let’s read: Haggai 2:6 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; 7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. 9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.
The “Desire of nations” and the greater glory of the latter temple was a reference to Christ, who by His presence, was to fill the second temple with glory, far surpassing anything that was seen or witnessed in the first temple, for He was the visible Person of the God-head in their midst. Yet, after Jesus Christ gave His very first sermon the people became so enraged that He was taken to the edge of a cliff, that they might cast Him head-long over it. The glory of Christ’s presence had indeed filled the building, but it was almost entirely lost sight of by the people, whose focus was not on God anymore, but on the building. Let’s read:
Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. 22 And all bare him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?
24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; 26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet and none of them was cleansed saving Naaman the Syrian.
28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. 30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way.
The disciples of Christ’s day also pointed to the building, and not the people whom Christ came to save as they admired the humongous stones and architecture of their current temple. In fact, it was after Jesus predicted the overthrow of the temple that they began asking about the end of the world, for in their minds, the building was to stand forever. Let’s read:
Matthew 24:1 And Jesus went out and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Thus, throughout the history of the Christian church great wealth has been lavished on church buildings, and architects, artisans, and highly skilled workers have been employed to embellish designated places of worship. In the process, indulgences have been sold, and fairs, lotteries, banquets, and other kinds of inducements have at times been employed to furnish means for church buildings.
To spend lavishly for church buildings is all well and good, where it is warranted, and God indeed looks favorably on those who would give willingly and of their very best to His service. But Christians in our day need to be very careful, lest like the Jews of old our focus becomes buildings and not Christ and the people whom He came to save. In fact, when the city of Jerusalem was besieged by Titus, many of those people who had trusted in the building, huddled together in it, with the vain hope that God would not allow the temple to be ravaged by alien hands.
As a result, thousands were slain by the Roman soldiers in the very structure that they had come to idolize. Blood flowed like water down the steps of the same building which, the disciples had forty years before, called the attention of Christ to. In that siege which then took place, heaps of bodies accumulated in the temple and over one million of the city’s inhabitants were slain in the process. This is what can happen when we lose sight of our purpose and mission as a church.
In our day, church has devolved in large measure to places dedicated to serve the congregants’ personal needs, not as an outreach center to fulfill the great commission that was given us by Christ. And as a result, the services in very many Christian churches have become very subjective, where folk’s personal feelings and emotions are catered to, but dedicated service in fulfilling the great commission is lacking greatly.
Therefore, wherever there is not active outreach on a regular basis, there really is no church, regardless of the size, architecture, or price of the building. In fact, Christ put it this way: if as professed members of the church we are not gathering in some way, we are scattering. Let’s read:
Matthew 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
And thus, it has now become fitting that we review what church ought to be all about, and as we do so in the middle of the pandemic let’s remember that the mission of the church was not to be impeded by covid, or any other future pandemic for that matter. Instead, the true soldiers of Christ should be rising to the current emergency, for very many are going down into Christ-less graves daily, and therefore, it behooves every one of us who are called Christians, to make the most of today’s opportunity whilst we can, for there are real pros and cons to covid.
Instead of bemoaning the temporary loss of church services and potluck, let us instead ask God to show us ingenious ways to reach the dying, before Covid brings their probation to a close. Therefore, it is necessary for us to search our souls, as we revisit what church in our day ought to mean. Let’s read:
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Christ’s presence being with us until the end of the world was given in the context of us fulfilling the great commission. God never called Christians to make money as their primary goal in life. If material concerns, and the challenges of making a living consume our best energies to the point where we lose sight of the purpose of the church, then the purpose of God in saving us in the first place can be lost.
Not only are we to fulfill the great commission in our neck of the woods, but by the grace of God we should be seeking for more efficient ways to spread our tentacles far and near wherever an opportunity, and the technology may afford an opening. As folks stand in long lines to get tested for Covid, the gospel can be spread, even if it might be at a distance, because people the world over are now becoming more interested in end time events, as they view in real time the deterioration of society and life as we have known it in real time.
Again, those drivers who are delivering groceries to many families now, should not leave our doorsteps without something of spiritual value being offered. As they diligently bring the temporal goods, let us likewise diligently deliver the spiritual, for there are pros and cons to Covid. Again, the mission of the church has been clearly delineated, so that all who so desire may truly find something to do that would advance the interests of God’s kingdom upon the earth. God desires that we be mission oriented in all aspects of life, always on the lookout for any opportunity to present the gospel in some way, shape or form. Let’s read:
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.
The servants of God are not to be intimidated, nor hushed into silence by Covid, even though we are to follow recommended guidelines and precautions as necessary. When Christ gave us the commission, He made mention of the fact that all power was given unto Him in heaven and on earth. In addition, when He sent out His disciples to fulfill the great commission, He gave them power over all diseases, including Covid.
Thus, there is really no valid excuse for any true servant of God to sit and wait in idleness, whilst the current virus ravages thousands of people. The church is not to lose sight of its mission because of diseases and viruses; instead, we should look at the situation through the eyes of faith, and we will discover golden opportunities to tell others of Jesus Christ. This is what church was intended to be, and should always be, for it was never really about a building, even though that aspect has its rightful place.
Thus, wherever the mantle of responsibility is faithfully taken up to fulfill the great commission, Jesus could mitigate foreboding conditions like Covid, according to His good will. The great commission given to the church by Christ also includes the prospect of confronting infectious diseases through the power of Christ, for remember “All power has been given to Him in heaven and on earth”.
It was never God’s intention that disease of any sort should stop the spread of the gospel, because the commission itself includes mitigating factors given to surmount challenges of any, and all sorts. Let’s read:
Matthew 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Mark 16: 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 20 And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.
As we carefully consider the pros and cons of Covid let us not leave God out of the picture, for He alone is able to heal the diseases of the mind and body. This is the essence of the gospel, which is indeed the good news, of which we all can do with a good dose of nowadays. Let us therefore ask God to grant us the vision, the energy, the will and the consistency, to carry the good news to all we can reach. Now more than ever, the inhabitants of earth need to know that there is A God in heaven, who earnestly desires to save all who so desire.
Therefore, let all those who serve and obey God not be found cowering in fear of infectious diseases, to the point where we retreat into survival mode while thousands are dying each day, for God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind. Let us do church as it ought to be done because the time is now. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which reminds us of our high calling, and of the purpose of the church. And let us renew our efforts to save as many as desire to be saved. Let’s read:
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
God Bless!