“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:6-14 ESV)
The Lord recently had me write a meme on the subject of “In Church.” And he had me explain that the church is the body of Christ which is made up of all who are followers of God/Christ who are walking in his (agape) love who are following Christ in obedience to his commands. The church, thus, is not a building called “church,” and it is not a church denomination, nor is it a business incorporated under the state, nor is it a civic center nor a social club, although that is largely what it has been turned into here in America.
So to be “in church” is not us attending a “church service” once or twice a week in a particular building on a specific day in the week, but it means to be in Christ by genuine God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ which results in us being crucified with Christ in death to sin, and us being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And it means that we are denying self, dying daily to sin, and that we are following Jesus in obedience to his will.
Does it also mean for us to gather with other members of the body of Christ for the specific purpose of worship, fellowship, the studying of God’s word, and for a time in which we can minister to one another within the body of Christ for the purpose of mutual encouragement and edification? Yes! It does! But the church is still the people of God who are of genuine faith in Jesus Christ whose lives should be committed to serving Jesus Christ with their lives and to obeying him and his commands and walking in his ways.
And these gatherings should be gatherings of Christ’s body where we can mutually encourage one another in our walks of faith so that none of us will be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness, and where we can utilize the gifts of the Spirit given to us by God in the areas of ministry to which God has assigned us within the body of Christ, and where we, the body, can speak the truth in love to one another, and build one another up in our most holy faith, and where we can warn other Christians against false teachings, and where we can stir one another up to love and to the good works of God.
And one person is not to do all the talking and ministering, and one person is not to do all the song selections. And our gatherings are not to be for the purpose to invite the world into our gatherings, and thus we alter God’s purposes for our gatherings in order to “draw in large crowds of people from the world” to our gatherings, and so we make decisions for our gatherings based on the felt needs of the people of the world and based on marketing tricks and schemes on how to attract the world to our gatherings. Our gatherings are for our edification, not to attract the world.
So, does that mean that we are to be ingrown and that we ignore the people of the world? No! But the purpose of our gatherings is so that we can encourage one another who are “in Christ” and who are part of Christ’s body so that we can grow to maturity in Christ and so we are not led astray by those who deceive with empty words which are giving professing Christians permission to keep living like the world and to keep walking in sin, which is what so many of these “churches” (businesses) now are doing. But that purpose can’t happen if we are trying to attract the world to our gatherings.
And if our gatherings are all so large to where only a select few get to do all the ministering, then we become a lopsided body of Christ, and the body suffers from starvation from the encouragement that they could be receiving from the rest of the body. And the Scriptures teach that we are to meet daily, like the New Testament church did, and in people’s homes, or wherever other believers can gather together for mutual encouragement and fellowship, which is happening to some degree on the internet, as well, especially on social media sites or in the blogging world.
Anyway, the Scriptures teach that all of us who are part of the body of Christ are necessary to the proper working of Christ’s body, and so we need to be doing what God has called and designed us to do, and we need to be meeting with one another and sharing with one another what the Scriptures teach with regard to how we are to live, and where we can exhort one another to leave behind our sinful practices and to walk in holiness and in righteousness in walks of obedience to the Lord. Then we can go out to the world with the message of the gospel, to bring people to faith in Christ.
So, please understand that to be “in church” is not about attending a “church service” that is institutionalized and is incorporated under the government and that is following the marketing schemes of human beings who are trying to grow their businesses. And we are not to dilute the gospel nor the purpose of our gatherings in order to attract the world so that they will feel comfortable among us. They should not feel comfortable among us if we are doing what the Bible teaches we are to be doing in our gatherings, and if we are confronting sin and calling for repentance and obedience.
So we are not to be partners with those who are partners with the world and who are trying to attract the world to their gatherings via worldly means and methods. For we are to take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather we are to expose them. And we are not to be partners with those who are following institutional and denominational and historical ways of “doing church” which are contrary to the teachings of the Scripture and which ignore the bulk of the body of Christ and their gifts and ministries and which are being controlled by businesspeople trying to grow their businesses.
So, please know what the Scriptures teach with regard to who the church is, that it is believers in Jesus Christ, and with regard to how we all are to operate as the body of Christ in ministering to one another, and not just one day a week, but every day, and not in just one location, but any location where two or more can gather in the name of Jesus for the purpose of ministering to one another. For it is not “the church” just because it is called “church.” It is only the church if it is a gathering of followers of Christ who are gathering to minister to one another in the way God purposed for us to do so.
[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
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