What is The Church?

 

 

Introduction

In the religious world, there are many people who claim to be Christians, but have no interest in attending worship or, as they say, “going to church”. They say that church is an invention of man and it’s too organized.

Some have even gone so far as to say that the church is nothing. We’ll address both of these comments.

 

An Invention of Man?

It’s no surprise that people would state that the church is an invention of man. If you look at the religious landscape today, I would almost whole-heartedly agree on that statement. Almost.

Before someone thinks that I’ve lost my mind, let me qualify that my response. Over the last four decades or so, the concept of Megachurches, Community churches, and Outreach Life Centers have overrun the world of religion that one cannot see the forest through the trees.

People complain that standard churches are too stuffy and they a more relaxed atmosphere. Less organ music, more band-style music, less preaching on sins, more preaching on “I’m okay, you’re okay”. And on and on. We don’t the collection passed around for a contribution, but we’ll pay money for T-shirts, CDs, bumper stickers, and posters.

Jesus said in 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.”

Man said, in the gospel of Tommy Rot, “I’ll God’s creation and make it better because He just doesn’t understand what we want. And He’ll accept our worship because it’s what we want.”

This reminds me of King Saul when Samuel delayed. He decided that he would perform the sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel. Here’s what happened next in 1 Samuel 13:11-13, And Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.”

Here we see King Saul doing what he thought was the right thing to do. He didn’t consult God on the matter, he felt that he was doing what was best for the people. This is today’s religion and why people think that the church is too organized. People spend too much time thinking of ways to get something out of worshipping God rather than putting something in.

What we get out of worship is the satisfaction that we worshipped God the way He intended to be worshipped.

 

Is it Nothing?

A woman once approached a preacher and stated that there is nothing to the church. The preacher, as a child, learned that “things that are equal to the same thing are equal to each other.” Keeping this mind, you can then insert the word, ‘nothing’ into scripture where "the church" is used.

For example, going back to our text above, Matthew 16:18, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build Nothing, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against Nothing.”

Here are some other examples:

Ephesians 1:22-23, And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to Nothing, which is Nothing, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Colossians 1:18, And He is the head of Nothing, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in Nothing, He may have the preeminence.

Acts 20:28, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd Nothing which He purchased with His own blood.”

1 Corinthians 15:24, Then comes the end, when He delivers Nothing to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

 These are just a few examples, and you can see how important the church really is. And remember, the church and the Kingdom of God are interchangeable. Which means; if the church is nothing, then the Kingdom of God is nothing!

 

Conclusion

The Church is an invention of God and worshipping Him should be according to what He want which is found in His Word. As James writes, If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world (James 1:26-27).

For further study on the church, read these articles of mine about the church:

I Will build My Church

Let's Go to Worship!

Membership in the Church

The Christian and Worship

If you have any further comments or questions, do not hesitate to post them below. I'm happy to help with any concerns you might have.