First Edition
August 5, 2008

Copyright © 2008 by Alan Bunning. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.

This book may also be purchased in printed form at cost or downloaded as a pdf file for free from: http://www.lulu.com/content/979823

 

i. Introduction

Unlike some other books, this is probably not an introduction that you will want to skim through and then skip ahead to the next chapter. That is mainly because this introduction will help you decide if you really should be reading this book in the first place. The consequences of reading this book could radically affect your current way of life! Some will need to read this book at least twice – once to get over the shock and then once to reconsider what it actually says. This book will address many common questions such as: What is the Church? Who is an authority in the Church? Can anyone start their own Church? How is a meeting of the Church supposed to function? And most importantly, what does the Bible have to say about any of this? Many Christians have never studied these issues in depth and indeed may find the answers to these questions quite surprising.

i.1 Overview

This book explores the operation of Christian fellowship beyond the confines of traditional institutional structures. This proposition is not put forth under the guise of "just another man's opinion", but is based on the truth clearly revealed in the Scriptures. Unlike some ecclesiological theories that try to piecemeal one or two Scriptures together out of their Biblical contexts, this book attempts to offer a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the Church from a Scriptural perspective. Some may be initially skeptical about some of the claims of this book and that is understandable, for many Christians have never studied the Scriptures on this topic and may have never heard a single sermon preached on this topic from the pulpit. Thus, you are asked to consider things like the Bereans and "examine the Scriptures" (Acts 17:11) to see for yourselves if the things presented here are true. Many who considered themselves to be Bible-believing Christians boasting, "We do everything according to the New Testament" have soon been silenced after reading this book. It is understandable that you might not want to get bogged down looking up every Scripture reference the first time through, but please take the time to look up any verses that you have questions about or are unfamiliar with.

The thrust of this book is geared toward the average Christian who "goes to church" today [2.2.2.1], but it will ultimately appeal to committed Christians who desire to follow Jesus with total abandonment. If you are not such a "radical" Christian, it may make you one! This book is not meant just for thinkers, but for obeyers. It is highly recommended that this book be discussed in a small group or a Bible study setting where these claims can be publicly scrutinized and not easily dismissed by one person's "private interpretation" (2Pet. 1:20). Quite surprisingly, after reading this book, many Christians seem to find themselves in total agreement with the basic concepts presented here. But the problem isn't always that they agree with what the Bible says, as much as they are not obeying what it says [c.3].

i.1.1 Purpose

This book was written to encourage Christians to begin functioning as the Church under the headship of Jesus Christ so that "the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the Church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm" (Eph. 3:10). Jesus is in fact restoring the Church in cities all around the world today. Thousands of Christians have left the confines of unbiblical institutional "churches" to again experience Biblical Christianity as God intended. Century after century, various movements of genuine Christians have left the institutional establishment only to rediscover many of the exact same truths which have been documented here.

Please be willing to discard any preconceived notions, as you will see that the Church described in the Bible is radically different from what is occurring among most Christians today. So many non-Christians have been turned off from Christ, simply because they have been turned off by an institutional "church" [1.2.4]. Christians must first understand what the Church is, before they will ever be able to model what the Church does [3.1]. And knowing all about the Church is not nearly as important as it is to know Jesus. Do you know Jesus? Are you seeking after Him? Do you love Him with all of your heart? Trying to obtain the most Scriptural form of Church organization or structure will never be as important as knowing Jesus Christ personally! Even if you joined the most wonderful group of Christians filled with the Holy Spirit, that would not make you right with God [1.3.1].

The goal of this book is not to get people to mimic a certain set of practices from the "New Testament Church", but simply for them to be a part of the Church that Jesus Christ is leading today. The Church really does not need another temporary revival or institutional reformation as much as it needs a total restoration! Of course, the Church today will have many similarities with the early Church as it is founded on the same Scriptural principles. And these basic principles will become even more critical as the Lord prepares the Church for the end times. These prophetic truths will become oh so relevant as the Church is restored to a glorious state of spiritual power amidst a growing persecution from the world. Christians should recognize these things now and begin to apply them to their lives or they will be forced to deal with them later – either way Christians must eventually face these realities. The normal institutional way of handling things will soon come to an end. It will no longer be business as usual.

i.1.2 Background

It has taken over ten years for this book to be written. What once started out as a small paper in November of 1997 has continually evolved over the years into this book in its present form. I make no claims of being a great writer, and actually do not enjoy writing much at all. At times it has been quite clear that demonic spiritual forces have tried to hinder this work. I have fought through several physical attacks on my health that have impaired my ability to write for any good length of time. At other times it seems that the Lord himself prevented this work from proceeding until certain things were adequately understood and actually being lived out in people's lives over a period of time. I can hardly take sole credit or responsibility for this book and in fact Jesus once rebuked me for thinking that this was only "my book". Indeed, my hands may have written this alone, but I alone did not write this. (See what large letters I type with my own hand.) J My role was actually more like one of a secretary recording the things that God has shown me and many others. A whole host of witnesses have had a profound impact on my Christian life in urging me to seek the truth – this is all your fault! Special thanks are given to the scores who have proofread, debated, and corrected this work in both form and substance. This book has been carefully examined by both critics and proponents, clergy and laity, "pastors" and "ex-pastors". This book does not represent any denomination, organization, or institution of any kind. It is humbly submitted to the Body of Christ for whatever benefit and encouragement it may contain. All praise is given to God who has already brought about tremendous fruit in the lives of many through this book!

i.1.3 Uniqueness

Although there are already other books and articles written from a similar perspective, this book attempts to be unique in several regards. First, this book includes some original research and scholarship to provide a comprehensive understanding of all the major issues of the Church in one place. There are already several individual books that when taken together adequately cover much of the content addressed here, but not everyone has the time or patience to read so many different books [a.1]. Some of these books only discuss the Church from one particular vantage point making it difficult to grasp the big picture of how everything fits together. One book might highlight the equality of all Christians as a "kingdom of priests", for example, but then leave people wondering how Biblical leadership fits into the picture [6.1.2]. Other books merely tell nice stories of how they think it should be without any Scripture to back them up. Second, this book is broken into chapters and sections to make things easier to find for future reference. This reference guide format makes it easy to jump back and forth between sections while still providing an awareness of the surrounding context. Third, this book includes "Practical Applications" sections that offer advice and practical steps that you can apply to your life. Other books on these topics may present the truth well enough, but then the reader is left wondering, "Where do I go from here?" And this can be overwhelming for many who are learning these things for the first time. And finally, unlike some authors who are trying to make a profit from the gospel, this book is made freely available.

i.1.4 Synopsis

This book attempts to peel back the lid and examine the current institutional "church" system by addressing seven major principles of the Church: identity, unity, fellowship, meetings, authority, leadership, and practices. Without trying to summarize the entire book, here is a brief synopsis of the book's major thesis:

Church

Scriptural Truths

Counterfeit Philosophies

Identity

Anyone who is a Christian is by definition a member of the Church regardless of any geographical or logistical distinctions.

A "church" is a religious organization or non-profit corporation that typically conducts meetings or services in a designated building.

Unity

All Christians belong to the same Church founded on the basis of one Body, one Spirit, one Hope, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, and one God.

Christians are divided into man-made organizations that select proprietary names to represent their particular doctrines and unbiblical membership requirements.

Fellowship

Committed relationships are formed among the community of Christians who fellowship with one another daily by sharing their spiritual gifts as a priesthood of believers.

Christians are merely acquaintances of each other based on compatible religious preferences and have little to no contact with each other outside of the regularly scheduled weekly meetings.

Meetings

Every Christian actively participates in an open format, continually meeting together at any time or place as the Holy Spirit leads.

Services are only conducted once or twice a week in a designated arena where the laity passively observe pre-planned performances as spectators.

Authority

Every Christian can hear from the Lord and submits directly to Jesus Christ who governs all the affairs of the Church.

Decisions are made by boards, conferences, councils, committees, or individuals who hold positions of authority over other members.

Leadership

Christians voluntarily submit to one another and recognize servant leadership on the basis of spiritual authority.

The laity obey a hierarchical command structure of professional clergy that rule over them from elected or appointed offices.

Practices

The practices of the Church are derived out of the Life of the Church under the continual direction of the Holy Spirit.

Business practices and traditions of men have created an institutional environment governed by unbiblical codes, schedules, and rules.

i.2 Organization

This book is being offered in both online and printed versions. The online version has the advantages of embedded hypertext links, searchable text, and global access. The printed version, on the other hand, has the advantages of portability, requires no electricity, and won't reboot while you are reading it. J The printed version is being offered at cost, with no profit to the author. It is merely being offered as a convenience for those who do not wish to go to the trouble of printing their own copy. This book retains a copyright notice in both formats for the purpose of preventing it from being distorted or financially exploited, but not to hinder its free access.

i.2.1 Format

The format of this book is not really geared towards a quick read, as the writing style is sometimes compact with deep concepts being expressed in a few words. The intent has been to minimize redundancy by logically classifying the information into the appropriate chapters, sections, and subsections. The numbering system of this book is organized in a logical "scope and sequence" outline with the numbers progressing to the right representing an increasing level of detail. The first digit designates the chapter, the second digit designates a major topic of that chapter, the third digit designates a subtopic of that topic, and so on. The main chapters are subdivided into the following four subsections:

  1. Scriptural Truths. This section discusses aspects of the Church from a purely Scriptural viewpoint. If someone wanted a positive picture of how the Church is supposed to operate, they could just read this section in each chapter. The goal is to present indisputable facts that can easily be verified by anyone who cares to study the Scriptures. It is important that all the Scriptures on each subject be taken into account within their Biblical contexts [c.2].
  2. Counterfeit Philosophies. This section discusses how institutional "churches" today are disobeying the Scriptures and analyzes some of the man-made institutional philosophies that have been crafted in their place. This section may seem to be somewhat harsh at times, but its intent is only to tell the truth in love. While this book condemns the false institutional religious system created by men, it recognizes that genuine love and ministry still occurs among many Christians attending unbiblical institutions.
  3. Practical Applications. This section addresses how Christians can apply the truth to their lives in practice and begin to function in the Church again as God intended. This is where a spiritual journey begins if you are up to it! Of course, any application would be unique to each individual, so this section is merely offered to provide some possible advice, direction, and examples to consider.
  4. Challenge Questions. This section provides several questions to challenge your thinking and see if your experience lines up with the Scripture. Some may breeze through a chapter thinking they are already doing everything right, and then they come to these questions which jolt them back into reality.

Although the outline of this book is structured like a reference guide, the content flows more like a user guide. The chapters are intended to progress in a chronological fashion with each chapter building upon the concepts learned in the previous chapter. Thus, it is recommended that you first read through this book at least once before you begin jumping around between sections. If you start jumping around to interesting sounding sections without having read it straight through, you may miss many important points and think this book claims many things that it does not. For example, if you just skipped ahead to a latter section and saw the word "Church", you might think it is referring to that white building on the corner that you attend every Sunday at 10:30 AM, but this is not what the Church is, nor what Scripture says the Church is [1.2.1]. While it may be tempting to peak ahead, it is suggested that you refrain from hopping between sections until you have become familiarized with everything the first time through.

i.2.2 Corrections

This book is intended to be an open work in that it will hopefully be dynamically revised and improved as suggestions are received. For this reason, the book always bears a date to indicate its present edition. While this book contains many insights from the Holy Spirit, it does not mean that there aren't any typographical errors, poor word choices, or grammatical mistakes. Admittedly, a few conventions of this book are non-standard but were chosen on purpose (such as the British system for quotations). Nevertheless, it is intended that this book will continually be improved to try to reduce any logistical or literary problems that might possibly obscure the presentation of the truth. If anything is found to be in error, whether logistical or substantive, please point it out so that it may be retracted or corrected. Corrections are not despised, but are welcomed as there is interest only in portraying the truth, whatever it is and wherever it may be found.

This book in itself is worth very little, but the truth is everything. The truth will still be true, regardless of how well this book was able to convey that truth. Some things may indeed not be explained very well, but the gist of what is being presented may nevertheless be true. Perhaps this book will never be perfect, but hopefully it will be clear enough that any genuine seeker of the truth could easily supply anything that is lacking. You are encouraged to "Test all things, keep the good." (1Th. 5:21-22) or as it is said, "Eat the meat and spit out the bones."

i.2.3 Conventions

The following are some of the general conventions used throughout this book:

emphasis

Italics denote emphasis that is added by the author.

"quote"

Bold typeface is used for quotation from the Scriptures.

J

Emoticon of a smiley face indicating an attempt at humor.

"abgde"

Greek word represented in Greek characters.

#nnnn

Strong's reference number of Greek word.

(book c:v)

References a book, chapter, and verse of a passage in Scripture.

cf.

Abbreviation to confer with other related Scriptures.

[n.n.n]

Reference to another section of this book.

Church

True Church of all believers founded and led by Jesus Christ.

"church"

Man-made religious organization commonly confused for the Church.

Abbreviations used for the books of the Bible:

Gen.

Genesis

2Chr.

2 Chronicles

Dan.

Daniel

 

Exod.

Exodus

Ezra

Ezra

Hos.

Hosea

 

Lev.

Leviticus

Neh.

Nehemiah

Joel

Joel

 

Num.

Numbers

Esth.

Esther

Amos

Amos

 

Deut.

Deuteronomy

Job

Job

Obad.

Obadiah

 

Josh.

Joshua

Psa.

Psalms

Jon.

Jonah

 

Judg.

Judges

Prov.

Proverbs

Mic.

Micah

 

Ruth

Ruth

Eccl.

Ecclesiastes

Nah.

Nahum

 

1Sam.

1 Samuel

Song.

Song of Solomon

Hab.

Habakkuk

 

2Sam.

2 Samuel

Isa.

Isaiah

Zeph.

Zephaniah

 

1Ki.

1 Kings

Jer.

Jeremiah

Hag.

Haggai

 

2Ki.

2 Kings

Lam.

Lamentations

Zech.

Zechariah

 

1Chr.

1 Chronicles

Ezek.

Ezekiel

Mal.

Malachi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matt.

Matthew

Eph.

Ephesians

Heb.

Hebrews

 

Mark

Mark

Phil.

Philippians

Jas.

James

 

Luke

Luke

Col.

Colossians

1Pet.

1 Peter

 

John

John

1Th.

1 Thessalonians

2Pet.

2 Peter

 

Acts

Acts

2Th.

2 Thessalonians

1Jn.

1 John

 

Rom.

Romans

1Tim.

1 Timothy

2Jn.

2 John

 

1Cor.

1 Corinthians

2Tim.

2 Timothy

3Jn.

3 John

 

2Cor.

2 Corinthians

Tit.

Titus

Jude

Jude

 

Gal.

Galatians

Phm.

Philemon

Rev.

Revelation

 

i.3 Preconceived Notions

If you are ready to begin reading this book, then by all means feel free to skip this section and have at it! Unfortunately, sometimes this book evokes strong reactions before people have even read it. Those who think they are already doing everything right, often get mad at the slightest suggestion that they are not. This book will definitely not be well received by the religious Pharisees of our day [7.2.5.4]. Some people cannot even get past reading this introduction before they angrily prejudge its content and begin jumping to false conclusions. You are merely asked to consider this book with an open mind. Many will tend to agree with most of these things on the surface, and yet the impact is often not felt until everything sinks in later when they are confronted with the logical implications. The truths mentioned here have brought much joy to some, but just seem to anger others. It may upset your way of life, but don't get upset! There is certainly much here that could offend the average religious "church goer", but it sincerely is not the intent to insult anyone. Jesus certainly offended many and yet Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6). Below are some of the initial reactions to this book that are common among those who come from an institutional perspective. Please don't let any of these things prevent you from embarking on a marvelous spiritual journey leading to a more intimate relationship with Jesus.

i.3.1 "I Don't Really Care"

Okay, but should you care? Do you care about the truth? To ignore the truth out of apathy is indeed a dangerous position to stand on. Unfortunately, many people today are content with their religion and simply don't want to be bothered with the truth. Some think that their "church" is already doing everything right, but if they would just read on they might see that nothing could be further from the truth. The "Counterfeit Philosophies" sections explain in great detail how institutional "churches" are disobeying multitudes of Scriptures everyday. Some people may be in denial and think that this could never include their "church", and yet they don't even know why. Many have built their entire lives around a false institutional system and simply have too much at stake to lose. Is this the Spirit of Christ? The more important question is, do you "love the truth" (2Th. 2:10)? If you are not committed to the truth, this book will probably not be able to convince you of anything. Are you prepared to follow the truth, no matter where it leads?

i.3.2 "Are You a Cult?"

Some who read the introduction may begin to jump to all sorts of faulty conclusions: "They don't submit to authority." "They are not having fellowship." "They are just starting house churches." If you would just take the time to read this book you would immediately see that all of these assertions are false. None of those things are advocated and in fact all of them are explicitly refuted by this book. Attempts to write-off this book by claiming it espouses some cultic belief are absurd [4.3.2.3], for it adheres to the usual orthodox statement of faith (and assumes the reader does as well):

  1. The Bible, in the original autographs, is divinely inspired, infallible, inerrant, and authoritative in all matters of faith and conduct.
  2. There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
  3. The deity and humanity of Jesus Christ is accepted in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, in His present rule as Head of the Church and in His personal return in power and glory.
  4. The Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for the salvation of the lost and regeneration of sinful men.
  5. Believers are enabled to live a godly life by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, to witness and work for the Lord Jesus Christ.
  6. There is a resurrection of both the saved and the lost – they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
  7. There is unity of all true believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, without regard for racial, gender, or class differences.

It is true that a few extremist movements with only a partial understanding of the Church have taken some things to excess, but their misapplications do not make the truth any less true. You will notice that such groups are equally denounced as this book merely attempts to offer a balanced view of the truth.

i.3.3 "Can You Prove It?"

The "Scriptural Truths" sections provide volumes of Scriptures to adequately prove these assertions. Perhaps some people will not like these truths, but which of these things isn't true? Which of these things is unscriptural? This book doesn't contain any "secret knowledge" for the Scriptures presented here are readily available to everyone and easily verified by anyone who aspires to follow the truth. Those who find the Scripture confusing will perhaps find this book no less confusing. J Sometimes it is necessary to consult the authority of the original Greek texts in order to fully understand what the Scriptures are really saying [s.5]. The Scriptures about the Church, however, are not offered as proof so that they can be parsed in a legalistic way and forced upon a congregation of backslidden Christians who only begrudgingly obey. Rather the authority of Scripture is offered here to confirm what the Holy Spirit has been clearly expressing anyway. The goal here is not to try to prove what the Church is to those who do not have the Holy Spirit, but to confirm these things for those who do! This is not just what the Holy Spirit said way back when; this is also what the Holy Spirit says now. This is not just a history lesson about what the Lord did in the past; this is what the Lord is doing today!

This book does not attempt to convince others of the truth by an "appeal to authority" (ad verecundiam) from a particular man or group, but only on the basis of the Scriptures. Even though much that is written in this book is supported by various mainstream ministries, it will not be quoted as "proof" here. You are not asked to believe on the basis of what a particular leader or denomination says, or what you read in a best-selling Christian book; you are asked to believe what the Bible says! Christians simply need to learn to accept things because they are true. We do not follow the opinions of men; we follow Jesus! Thus, no quotations from famous Christians are necessary to support the various points in this book, for the Scriptures alone are sufficient. Some would reject such quotations if the leader wasn't from the right denomination anyway. (Do you think Jesus was a Nazarene, John was Baptist, and Paul was Apostolic?) J Instead, the authority of Scripture has been used to establish the truths presented here. Peter, James, and John and the other writers of the New Testament were some famous Christians too, so we will quote their writings! If you won't believe the Scripture, then there probably isn't anything else that would convince you anyway.

i.3.4 "What About This..."

It is one thing to immediately reject something and it is another thing to first understand it completely before rejecting it. Some people who read through these sections will immediately have all sorts of questions: "What about this other verse?" "Why doesn't my pastor teach that?" "How can that be applied today?" If you come away from a section with unanswered questions, please be patient! Every issue and its related branches of thought cannot always be answered in a single section. If you just dismiss something out of hand saying, "Well, if that is the only argument..." then you probably will miss the point entirely. If you would just read on, you usually will find that your questions are directly answered in another section. Many things that seem to be dangling loose ends in one section are further clarified in other sections. Critics who merely skim over parts of this book can often be answered very easily just by quoting parts that they did not read or did not read very carefully.

If you read this book with a negative attitude trying to find something to fault, you will probably find it! Please don't make the mistake of rejecting the truth by nitpicking the details or wrangling over words, but try to extend the benefit of the doubt and understand the gist of the concepts. If you get hung up over theological semantics or logistical details, these can easily be fixed and then you will still have missed the point. This book is not particularly geared toward "hand holding" so as to anticipate every imaginable argument that someone could ever come up with, but is intended to give any genuine seeker of the truth ample fuel to further his pursuit. If you don't think this book has sufficiently proven a particular point, please take the time to investigate it further. There is no hurry, for the truth of the Scriptures will not be changing any time soon! There are many more Scriptures that could have been cited to support the points of this book, but were purposely limited to save space. The goal here was not to list every Scripture possible, but only to give enough references to clearly establish the basis for the truth. Likewise, all non-scriptural references to historical, scientific, or statistical information have been given limited importance [a.1]; so if you question the validity of any claim, please go to the library and look it up yourself for these things may be verified from other sources.

i.3.5 "It Won't Work Today"

Somebody must have forgot to tell us! This may seem new to you, but nothing here is new! The truths of the Church still work just as well today as they did in the first century. This was not just for another time; this is being lived out now! If this seems controversial, it is only because the institutional "churches" haven't been experiencing Biblical Christianity for such a very long time – but the Scripture has certainly not changed! It is probably no more shocking than when Josiah rediscovered the Scripture in his day (2Ki. 22:8-13). Indeed, the truth is now stranger than fiction. Some people want to know: "Who else is doing this?" "What famous Christians are associated with this?" "What's in it for me?" These are all the wrong questions! If you are really committed to the truth, then shouldn't you be willing to obey Jesus Christ in these things regardless of who else is involved or what you think you will get out of it?

The truth of the Church is validated by Jesus Christ and those who choose to follow Him. This is not just a theory; these truths are being lived out by thousands of Christians all over the world on a daily basis! Indeed, there are many excellent examples of how the Biblical Church is still functioning just fine in cities all over the world today [a.2]. This is not just a utopian ideal or an unachievable pipe dream! Everything written here has been independently verified by the lives of Christians all over the world who have been putting these things into practice every day. These truths are firmly rooted in the Scriptures, demonstrated by the early Church, confirmed by the Holy Spirit, and still experienced by Christians today!

And there is also nothing preventing you from applying these same truths of the Scripture to your life right now. If you are already a Christian, you are already a member of the Church and simply need to begin functioning like one [1.3.1.2]. No other accessories are required! Sorry, but there isn't anything else you can sign up for here and no other organization you need to join. Many Christians intuitively know there is something missing from their "church", but they stand fearfully at the threshold of whole new reality and wonder: "Who else would I fellowship with?" "How is leadership supposed to function?" "How will others react to this?" The "Practical Applications" sections offer some practical advice and suggestions on how you can deal with these issues and apply the truth to your situation today. These sections are mostly written in a chronological fashion and were designed to transition someone from functioning as a member of a traditional institutional "church", to someone functioning as a member in the Church.

i.4 Warning

Before proceeding any further, a warning is probably in order. The content of this book highlights many Scriptures that are being violated on a daily basis by a large number of Christians, especially by many who are considered to be leaders. This is largely done out of ignorance by people who otherwise have good intentions, for most of them have not thought about this topic very much and have never studied these Scriptures concerning the Church. But after reading this book, this would no longer be the case for you. You may be faced with many harsh truths that you have never encountered before and this may radically challenge your current way of life. The Scriptures cited in this book are not offered as mere suggestions or good advice, but as commands for Christians to obey. These truths tend to be highly charged and once the "cat is let out of the bag" there is usually a forceful discharge in one direction or another. It is tempting to say, "Don't read this book if you are happy with the way things are", but that is hardly a valid option for a Christian who loves the truth. In other words, you may not want to read this book unless you are willing to let the Lord radically change your life, but then again if you really are a Christian, then shouldn't you be willing to let the Lord radically change your life? The important question then is, "Are you willing to submit to the truth?" Now that you have been warned, you may proceed at your own risk. J

 

1. Identity

1.1 Scriptural Truths

Before discussing any detailed aspects about the Church, it is extremely important to first be clear about exactly what the Church is. Is the Church a white building on the corner with a steeple? Is the Church a meeting that is convened for an hour each week on Sunday mornings? Is the Church just a non-profit religious organization? Let us begin by examining what Scripture says about the Church. It is imperative that Christians properly identify themselves with the Church that Jesus Christ has founded. Several of the topics introduced here will only be touched on briefly, but please be patient as they will be discussed in greater detail in later chapters.

1.1.1 What is the Church?

The Church is referred to by many different names in Scripture: "the Church" (Eph. 1:22, 5:23), "Body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12), "Church of God" (1Cor. 1:2, 10:32, 2Cor. 1:1), "the Body" (Col. 1:18), "God’s house" (Heb. 3:6), "the Way" (Acts 9:2, 19:23, 24:14), "household of faith" (Gal. 6:10), "Church of the living God" (1Tim. 3:15), and "temple of God" (2Cor. 6:16). There is not any particular official name for the Church used throughout Scripture [2.2.1.4], thus the term "Church" will generally be used here for consistency purposes. Originally, the English word "Church" was coined from the Greek word "kuriakoV" #2960 meaning "belonging to the Lord", but that is not the word that is translated as "Church" in the Scriptures today. Instead, the word "Church" is now used when translating the Greek word "ekklhsia" #1577 which literally means "called out ones". The word "ekklhsia" was not necessarily a religious term but was used for political gatherings and other non-religious assemblies where people were "called out" to assemble as a deliberating body. In the world, those who are "called out" from the general population, such as those elected to a congress, would be considered the "called out ones". In the context of Christianity, the "called out ones" are the people who have been "called out" from the world by Jesus Christ to be His disciples. "You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world." (John 15:19). The Church is "called out" of the world to be a separate assembly [4.1.2]. "Therefore come out from the midst of them and be separate." (2Cor. 6:17). The very concept of sanctification means to be "set apart" or separated from the world and dedicated to God (2Th. 2:13-14). "But you are an elite class, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's possession, that you may declare His virtues having been called out of darkness into His wonderful light." (1Pet. 2:9)

These "called out ones" of Jesus Christ are referred to by many different names in Scripture: "disciples" (Acts 6:1-2, 18:23, 20:7), "Christians" (Acts 11:26), "believers" (Acts 5:14, 1Tim. 4:12), "saints" (Rom. 1:7, 2Cor. 1:1, Eph. 1:1, Phil. 1:1), "brothers" (Acts 6:3, 11:29, 15:3), "members of the Body" (1Cor. 12:24, Eph. 5:30, Col. 3:15), "the elect" (Matt. 24:31, 2Tim. 2:10, 1Pet. 1:2), "children of God" (John 1:12, 1Jn. 3:10), and "followers of the Way" (Acts 22:4). Again, there is not any particular official name for Christians used throughout Scripture, thus the term "Christian" will generally be used here for consistency purposes. A Christian is the same thing as a disciple of Jesus, for "the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch" (Acts 11:26). In Scripture, the terms "Christians", "disciples", "believers", "saints", and "brothers" are all interchangeable synonyms for the word "Church", designating all the people who are "called out ones". Someone could talk about the believers of Lafayette, the saints of Lafayette, the Christians of Lafayette...or the Church of Lafayette, and these are still all the same thing! For example, Paul's letters in the Bible are addressed to the "brothers" (Col. 1:2), "saints" (Rom. 1:7, 2Cor. 1:1, Eph. 1:1, Phil. 1:1), and "Church" (1Cor. 1:2, 1Th. 1:1) in an interchangeable manner. All these terms for the Church are synonymous with God's people – not buildings, meetings, and organizations that are falsely called "churches" today. The Church doesn't just exist once a week for one hour on Sunday mornings, the Church is all of the Christians all of the time. There are not disciples, believers, or saints in a "church" – the disciples, believers, and saints are the Church. The Church does not contain people; it is the people! "Now you are the Body of Christ and individual members of it." (1Cor. 12:27; cf. Rom 12:5, 1Cor. 12:12). We should be bringing people to Christ and building up people in Christ – both of which involve people. Everything else in this world might be destroyed, but people are eternal.

1.1.1.1 Church Membership

If a person wishes to be a member of the Church, then they must become one of these "called out ones". People become "called out ones" when they are "born again" of the Spirit (John 3:3-8). "God is Spirit" (John 4:24) and anyone who wants to have fellowship with Him must also be "born of the Spirit" (John 3:6,8). A person has either been "called out" of the world by being "born again" (John 3:3,7), "saved" (Eph. 2:8), "redeemed" (Tit. 2:14), "justified" (Gal. 2:16), etc. or else they do not belong to the Church [1.3.1]. "But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Him." (Rom. 8:9). There are many important Scriptures discussing how to become a Christian, what a Christian believes, and how a Christian behaves that are beyond the scope of this book. But once you become a true Christian, you are automatically and by definition a part of the Church. "If Christ is in you" (Rom. 8:10), then you are already a member of the Church. There are absolutely no other membership requirements to belong to the Church. The membership committee of the Church consists of exactly one person – Jesus Christ! "For we are members of His Body." (Eph. 5:30).

Membership in the Church should never be confused with membership in an institutional "church" [1.2.2]. (The term "church" here is designated with quotation marks and a lowercase "c" so that it will not be confused with the Church). An institutional "church" is any organization, denomination, non-profit corporation, association, social club, sect, or other such religious institution that was established by men. Membership in an institutional "church" does not have any bearing on whether or not someone is a member of the Church. A Christian does not become a member of the Church when they are baptized into a man-made denomination [2.2.1.3], but only when they are baptized into Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:27). You do not become a Christian by joining a "church" organization, you become a Christian and then you are a member of the Church. "You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints and God’s household." (Eph. 2:19). Thus, when the term "Christian" is used here and elsewhere in this book, it does not refer to those who merely attend an institutional "church" or claim to be a Christian, but only those who are genuine believers and true followers of Jesus Christ. You will not get to Heaven by joining any man-made organization, even if that organization claims to be "the one true church" [1.2.1.2]. Simply being a member of any organization, no matter how wonderful you think it is, will not give you spiritual birth.

1.1.1.2 Church Formation

The Church exists wherever there are "called out ones". Wherever there are "called out ones" is where the Church is. Christians do not need to join a "church", because Christians already are the Church! This is not simply a matter of semantics, for what most people falsely refer to as a "church" today is not the Church at all, but is merely an institutional "church". Thus, when someone today speaks of "starting another church", they can only be referring to an institutional "church" [1.2.2.1], for the Church is already here. Jesus has already started the Church 2000 years ago! The Church can never be started again, it can only spread. "The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the earth. He sleeps at night and rises at day and the seed sprouts and grows and he does not know how....It is like a mustard seed which when sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seed on the ground. Yet when it is sown, it grows and becomes greater than all the plants and makes large branches so that the birds of the air can perch under its shade." (Mark 4:26-32). Notice that there is never any discussion about starting institutional "churches" in Scripture because the Church is not an organization that can be started by men. The Church is already here!

If Christians exist in a location, then the Church is already in that location. If Christians spread to a new area, then the Church is in that new area. If there are any Christians living in your area, then the Church is already in your area. Scripture records people becoming Christians in many different locations, and then without any discussion of its origins, the Church is simply mentioned as being there. For example, some people became believers in Jerusalem (Acts 2:41) and suddenly the Church appears in Jerusalem (Acts 5:11, 8:1); some people become believers in Antioch (Acts 11:19-20) and suddenly the Church appears in Antioch (Acts 11:26); some people become believers in Ephesus (Acts 18:19, 19:1) and suddenly the Church appears in Ephesus (Acts 20:17). There was no building, headquarters, or sign out front announcing that the Church was there, yet the Church was there! So how does someone extend the Church to a new location? Simple, begin preaching the gospel in that location! As soon as people become Christians there, the Church will have been formed there.

1.1.2 Scope of the Church

There is only one Church because Jesus only has "one Body" (Rom. 12:5, 1Cor. 10:17, 12:20, Eph. 3:6, 4:4, Col. 3:15). "For as there is one body which has many members and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is the Body of Christ." (1Cor. 12:12). The existence of only one Church is not a matter of wishful thinking – it is a Scriptural fact [2.1.1]. There are not different "churches" to choose from, there is only one Church! But how can this be? The Body of Christ is not represented by any physical structure created by men; it is a spiritual kingdom – the kingdom of God. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." (John 18:36). The Church is clearly "in the world", but the Church is not "of this world" (John 17:13-18). The Church is like a four-dimensional object existing in a three-dimensional world. Men often try to construct an institutional shell around the Spirit to contain it, but then after the Spirit moves on they are left with nothing but an institutional shell of dead works [7.1.1.1]. That is because the Church is a supernatural entity that merely expresses itself in the natural world.

1.1.2.1 Transcending Geography

The Church is not constrained by any geographical boundaries. Although there is only one Church, it does not mean that all Christians must live in one place. Christians may be found all over the world, yet they still remain one in the Spirit. Scripture makes references to the Church throughout the entire geographical spectrum:

Likewise, if mankind ever succeeded in colonizing another planet there could eventually be references back to the "Church of Earth". Considering all the types of references used, the city was the most common geographical association of the Church largely because fellowship with "one another" back then required physical proximity that is inherently geographical in nature. Scripturally speaking, there is only one Church in any given city. (Notice that the plural word "Churches" is only used in reference to broader regions that contained more than one city.) But just because the Church was referenced most often with regards to a city does not mean the Church is somehow limited to a city. Some have taken this concept of a "city church" too far and claim that a city is the only valid entity of the Church by some unwritten law. But this is clearly not the case as Scripture uses many other types of geographical references regarding the Church as noted above. In particular, Scripture refers to the "Church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria" (Acts 9:31) which uses the singular word "Church" to refer to a geographical area that is larger than a city. Likewise, Scripture refers to the "Church that meets at their house" (Rom. 16:5, 1Cor. 16:19, Col. 4:15, Phm. 1:2) which uses the word "Church" to refer to a geographical area that is smaller than a city. There were many such houses in a city (Acts 2:46, 8:3, 20:20), yet these were all still referenced as being one Church (Acts 8:1, 11:22, 13:1, Rom. 16:1, 1Cor. 1:2, 2Cor. 1:1, Col. 4:16, 1Th. 1:1).

Regardless of how Christians may be labeled, grouped, described, or referenced, all Christians are part of this same, one Church. Christians were addressed by common traits such as geographical location, but they were also referenced by other non-geographical traits as well such as ethnicity (Acts 15:23, Rom. 16:4, Jas. 1:1, 1Pet. 1:1). How ever you can categorize people is how you can categorize the Church, for the Church is just made up of people. To offer an analogy, a swimming pool is one body of water, yet someone may refer to the deep end, the shallow end, the swimming lanes, or the bottom – but it is still only one body of water. It doesn't matter what someone may call any particular part of the pool, the water there will still be indistinguishable from any of the other water. Similarly, the ability to make demographical distinctions about members of the one Church did not mean that there were actually such organizational divisions among the Christians [2.2.1.1]. For example, it is not as though there were a separate denomination known as "the Churches of the Gentiles" (Rom. 16:4) with this name on a sign in front of its headquarters simply because someone wanted to make reference to the Christians who were Gentiles. Likewise, references to "the Church at Jerusalem" (Acts 11:22) or "the Church that meets at their house" (Rom. 16:5) were not references to different institutions, but references to different areas where members of the Church met. "The Church at Ephesus" (Rev. 2:1) was not a title of a "church"; it was merely one location where Christians lived. Again, to refer to "the Church" of some location is no different than referring to the "brothers" (Acts 16:2, Col. 1:2, 4:15, 1Th. 4:10) or "saints" (Acts 9:32, Rom. 1:7, Eph. 1:1) of that location.

There are several practical examples of these principles in Scripture. For example, Priscilla and Aquila could be referenced belonging to the "Church that meets at their house" (Rom. 16:5), the "Church of Ephesus" (Acts 18:19, Rev. 2:1), and the "Churches of Asia" (1Cor. 16:19). Meanwhile, Philemon could be referenced belonging to the "Church that meets at your home" (Phm. 1:2), the "Brothers at Colossae" (Col. 1:2), the "Church of Phrygia" (Acts 18:23), and the "Churches of the Gentiles" (Rom. 16:4). Now how many different "churches" do you suppose they belonged to? One! They were all a part of the one and same Church that spanned many geographical designations. There is still only one Church, no matter how you slice it! It was not as if the Christians in Ephesus were part of a different organization than the Christians of Colossae. The Christians living in Colossae, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, etc. were all part of the same Church. If Philemon moved from Colossae to Ephesus, he would simply start meeting with the Christians located in Ephesus – there would be nothing new to "join" since he was already a Christian and therefore already a member of the Church. This would be somewhat analogous to having an account at a bank with branches located in many areas – an account is still valid at any of the branches because they are all part of the same bank. Notice that there is no mention of the terms "universal church" or "local church" in Scripture because these concepts were not made up until centuries later – there is just one Church [1.2.1.1].

1.1.2.2 Transcending Meetings

The Church is also not constrained to any particular meeting. Although there is only one Church, it does not mean that all Christians must attend the same gathering. Christians may meet in a variety of ways, times, and places for a various purposes, yet they still remain one in the Spirit. The Church is much more than just a meeting, but of course the members of the Church do meet [4.1.2.1]. The concept of the "called out ones" assembling together is built right in to the meaning of the Greek word "ekklhsia". The Church is not the assembling together, the Church is the "called out ones" who subsequently assemble together by their very nature [4.1.1.1]. The Church obviously does not cease to exist all of a sudden just because a particular meeting isn't going on. Christians don't stop being Christians just because there is not a meeting to attend, just as congressmen don't stop being congressmen when they are not in session.

Any simple gathering of two or more Christians in Jesus’ name constitutes a meeting of the Church [4.1.1]. "Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in their midst." (Matt. 18:20). Scripture indicates that the vast majority of meetings were in homes (Acts 2:46, 8:3, 20:20, Rom. 16:5, 1Cor. 16:19, Col. 4:15, Phm. 1:2, 2Jn. 1:10). In larger cities, there would be various meetings going on daily at several different houses. For logistical reasons, one person could not attend all of the meetings in a city at once, nor could several thousand people fit in one house at one time, nor was it important that they try. They simply met together to fellowship in the freedom of the Spirit according to their relationships with one another in Christ. With a network of overlapping relationships, gatherings rotated freely "from house to house" (Acts 2:46) as a Christian may have met with one circle of friends at one place, and another circle of friends at another place.

Unlike today, there were not disconnected meetings representing divisions between institutional "churches" that competed in the same city for mutually exclusive membership lists. No, the meetings of the one Church were simply naturally occurring gatherings that came about as the Christians were led by the Holy Spirit in their relationships with one another. The Christians recognized each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and shared their lives together as one family [3.1.2]. In contrast to institutional "church" terminology such as "ceremony", "official", "attendance", and "program", a gathering of the Church might be more aptly described as people getting together at a friend's house to have fellowship in the Holy Spirit. Any Christian could participate in any gathering going on in their city or any other city, for there was only one Church and they were already members of it [1.1.2.1]. Every meeting of Christians was associated with the same Church.

1.1.3 Life of the Church

The Church is much more than the sum of all of its individual members, for the Church functions as a single spiritual entity [2.1.1]. When Christians are "born of the Spirit" (John 3:3-8), they become a part of a spiritual organism – the Body of Christ. The Church is alive! There is spiritual Life in the Church because there is spiritual Life in the people – for the people are the Church [1.1.1]. The Life of the Church comes through Jesus who is the Life. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6). Jesus Christ does not just give us Life – Jesus Christ "is our life" (Col. 3:4)! "He who has the son has life, he who does not have the Son of God has not life." (1Jn. 5:11-12). The Life not only exists in individuals, but also operates collectively...like a Body [3.1.2]. The "Body" has Life because it is directly connected to Jesus Christ, the "Head" of the Church (Eph. 1:22, 4:15, 5:23, Col. 1:18). The Life of the Spirit may be expressed in any number of spiritual activities such as prayer, spiritual gifts, fellowship, healing, evangelism, miracles, etc. Only those who are the Church are able to express the Life of the Church.

1.1.3.1 Purity of the Church

There is a permanent chasm fixed between the spiritual Life of the Church and the unrighteous world. "Do not become bound together with unbelievers. For what partnership does righteousness have with lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what part does a believer have with an unbeliever?" (2Cor. 6:14-15). The Church and the world are simply incompatible. To be in Christ is to forsake the things that are not of Christ. The world is leaven to the Church (1Cor. 5:6-8, Gal. 5:9) and the Church is leaven to the world (Matt. 13:33, Luke 13:21). Christians have been "called out" to forsake their lives of sin, lukewarmness, and backsliding in the world in order to follow Jesus [1.1.1]. The call for Christians to walk in personal holiness before the Lord could not be any clearer (Matt. 5:48, 2Cor. 7:1, Col. 3:5, 1Th. 5:22, 1Ti. 5:22, Heb. 12:14).

It is imperative that the purity of the spiritual Life of the Church not be compromised. To the same degree that sin hinders a Christian's fellowship with God, it will hinder their fellowship in the one Church. "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Eph. 4:30). It is not just enough to be born of the Spirit; we must walk in the Spirit. "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." (Gal. 5:25). Jesus will not tolerate sin among His corporate Body. "He takes away every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, and He prunes every branch that bears fruit that it may bear more fruit." (John 15:2). One problem in institutional "churches", however, is that Christians are trying to fellowship with people who are not all Christians [3.3.2.1]. The Church cannot fellowship with that which is not the Church.

Does this mean that the Church is always perfect? At any given time there is always a remnant (Rom. 11:5) of the Church walking in holiness before the Lord "who have not soiled their garments" (Rev. 3:4). And while Jesus is coming for "a pure and spotless bride" (Eph. 5:27), John's revelation tells us that some elements of the early Church were anything but perfect (Rev. 2-3). The Christians in a given area may be very immature, ignorant, or weak, but that does not deprive them from being part of the Church. Indeed, not every person in the Church may be "perfect", but they must at least be Christians. Whatever level of spiritual maturity the Christians have in an area is the level of spiritual maturity the Church has in that area. The Christians in an area may have to deal with all sorts of problems, yet they still remain the Church. Consider that the Christians in Corinth had problems with divisiveness (1Cor. 1:11-13), sexual immorality (1Cor. 5:1), spiritual gifts (1Cor. 14), and the Lord's supper (1Cor. 11:20-21), yet the Church was still there – it just was very immature. This, of course, does not mean that this behavior was acceptable for that is why letters were written to the Corinthians to address those problems. If the Church in an area continues to allow sin to remain in their midst, their lampstand may soon be removed [4.1.2.5].

1.1.3.2 Church Discipline

If a Christian falls into sin, Scripture gives several guidelines about rebuking, exhorting, correcting, and disciplining in order to "gently restore" (Gal. 6:1) and "turn them back" (Jas. 5:19-20) towards maturity in Christ. Confronting a Christian in sin need not be handled in a negative, judgmental act of formal condemnation, but should be embraced as an encouraging act of love that tries to solve problems and bring everyone to maturity in Christ. Such corrective action does not hinder the Life of the Church, but on the contrary, it is precisely designed to preserve the Life of the Church! But what if someone who is a Christian continues to persist in sin? In the rare occasion, that a genuine Christian will not repent after being confronted alone (Matt. 18:15), then by two or three witnesses (Matt. 18:16, 2Cor. 13:1, 1Tim. 5:19), and then before the entire assembly (Matt. 18:17), the Church is no longer to fellowship with them (Matt. 18:17, 2Th. 3:6,14, 1Ti. 5:20, Tit. 3:10, 2Jn. 1:10). "...do not associate with any so-called brother who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or a swindler – do not even eat with such a man." (1Cor. 5:11). Again, this radical action is designed to preserve the Life of the Church by "purging the old leaven" from the "batch of dough" (1Cor. 5:6-8). "Do not let sexual immorality, any impurity or greed even be named among you as is proper among saints." (Eph. 5:3).

This process, however, is intended to only be temporary in hopes that the person will later come to their senses and repent (2Cor. 2:6-8). Such disfellowship of an individual does not create a division in the Church, but instead separates out that which does not belong with the Church. (This process should in no way be confused with excommunication in institutional "churches" where someone can have their membership revoked in one institution and then simply join another institution.) Here is the infrequent case where someone who may actually be a Christian is simply not allowed to meet with the Church. A disfellowshipped person may still be possibly "saved on the day of the Lord" (1Cor. 5:5; cf. 1Cor. 3:15), but they are simply not entitled to meet with the rest of the Church because of their unrepentant behavior. Such a Christian is not to be regarded as an "enemy" but to be warned as a "brother" (2Th. 3:15). (Newsflash for Roman Catholics: excommunication doesn't mean you can kill someone!) J In the analogy of marriage, it would be considered more like a temporary separation rather than a permanent divorce. Should such an individual eventually repent, they would not need to become a member of the Church again (as if they needed to become a Christian again), but would simply begin meeting with them again. After the person repents, the Church should receive them back "forgiving and comforting" and "reaffirming love to them" (2Cor. 2:6-8).

1.2 Counterfeit Philosophies

Many people do not recognize the Church today because they do not know what the Church is in the first place! Tragically, many Christians in institutional "churches" have spent their entire lives building on the wrong foundation (1Cor. 3:9-15). Did the Church forget what the Church is? Notice that the institutional "church" system today does not even remotely resemble the Church described in the Scriptures [3.2.2.1]. Indeed, the Church depicted in the Bible is radically different from the religion being practiced in most institutional "churches".

1.2.1 Unbiblical Newspeak

When many Christians see the word "church" in their Bibles, they think it means something entirely different than what the word meant in the first century. Today many Christians are under the delusion that a "church" is a particular organization, building, or meeting that they attend. Their "church" is essentially an object that possesses some very strange properties – it has a color, it can start and stop, it can move, it can shut down, etc. The Church described in the Scripture, of course, has none of these weird properties. The men in institutional "churches" eventually had to create a new set of unbiblical terminology in order to discuss their unbiblical "church" object. Consider this common dialogue you might hear about an institutional "church" today:

Frank:

Hey Bob! It's been a while since I've seen you at church. Which church do you go to now?

Bob:

I've started going to the First United Community Church.

Frank:

Isn't that the green building on the corner of 1st and Elm?

Bob:

Yes, and we just added a new wing on the church this year.

Frank:

I've heard they added more music to their services too. How long does church last now?

Bob:

The service still starts at 10:30 but doesn't get out until noon under the new format.

Frank:

Didn't you used to go to Christian Community Church a few years ago?

Bob:

Yes, but the denomination had to close the church because it could not meet its budget.

The amount of unbiblical misconceptions contained in this short dialogue is simply amazing. Does it sound normal to you? How bizarre would this have sounded to the early Christians? They are confusing apples with oranges as they think they are talking about the Church, when they are really talking about an institutional "church"! Read the dialogue again and realize how ridiculous and foreign this is to the Scripture:

Notice that you will not find strange phrases like these anywhere in the Bible. And the reason why this kind of terminology is not found in the Bible is because the underlying concepts are also not found in the Bible! Indeed, this is but a mere sampling of the unbiblical "church gibberish" that is prevalent among the institutional "churches" today [7.2.1.1].

1.2.1.1 The Invisible Church?

Perhaps one reason that many Christians cannot identify the Church today is because it is essentially invisible to them. Indeed, it is hard to recognize the Church after it has been filtered through the grid of all of the man-made organizations masquerading as "churches" today [1.2.2]. This confusion has caused many Christians to be deceived into adopting the unbiblical doctrine of the "local church" and the "universal church". This false doctrine essentially tries to divide the Church into two different kinds of imaginary "churches" – one that is visible and one that is invisible. Most institutional "churches" consider themselves to be a "local church" – that is the visible representation of the people of God or the Church in their local area. But this raises questions as to why so many other organizations also claim to be the "local church" for their area. Which one of them represents the true "local church" for their city? How is it that there are genuine Christians attending other "local churches" in town while at the same time some members of your "local church" may not seem to be Christians at all?

Because of these obvious discrepancies, the unbiblical "universal church" doctrine was manufactured to try to compensate for the theological failings of the "local church" doctrine. This imaginary "universal church" supposedly consists of all Christians scattered throughout the world and is thus invisible because nobody can know for sure who they are except God [1.2.4.2]. Thus, while the "local churches" in their city are visibly divided as separate organizations, this does not bother them because they believe that the mystical "universal church" somehow remains invisibly united. Thus, when they see the word "church" in the Bible they normally assume it is talking about their local institutional "church", but whenever a Scripture no longer fits their context, then voila, they just switch the meaning and suddenly assume it must be referring to the "universal church". The same word "Church" in the Scripture is made to mean "universal" or "local", whatever they want in order to fit their theology. But the Bible does not teach this doctrine anywhere! There is no "universal church", "local church", "visible church", or "invisible church" mentioned anywhere in Scripture – there is only the one Church!

How ridiculous this strange doctrine of an invisible "church" would have sounded to the early Christians. (If Paul ran into a member of the invisible "church" would it hurt?) J Obviously, this "universal church" has never been seen doing anything constructive – how can it, it is invisible! The impact of the early Church, of course, was quite visible – just read through the book of Acts, for example. There was no false dichotomy between an invisible "universal church" and a visible "local church"; all the Christians were one Church and this was quite visible! The Church is not just a group of theoretically detached Christians who do nothing – what the Church is and what the Church does are both very real and tangible [3.1]. The Church is not a physical organization; but a spiritual organism that has physical manifestations. There is no artificial separation between the spiritual and physical, for there is simply one Church. Certainly there are spiritual aspects of the Church which go unseen, but the physical presence of the Church and its impact on a community are clearly visible.

1.2.1.2 The One True "church"?

Those who are looking for the right "church" will find that there is no shortage of organizations claiming to be the one true Church. Some organizations agree with Scripture that there is only one Church – they just happen to claim that it is only represented by their denomination, organization, or institution [2.2.3.1]. Only their organization is the visible people of God or the Church. Only their members are the true Christians. Only their particular "church" is the valid "city church" and any other "local churches" in their area are considered suspect [2.2.2.1]. They believe that if there were any Christians outside of their organization (and some would say there aren't), such people are missing out on God's will and may not even be "saved". Entire theological doctrines have been constructed that hinge on which institutional "church" represents the true people of God. Several different organizations have made this cultic claim about themselves, leading to many intense debates about which man-made organization is really the one true Church:

Which one of these organizations then is the one true Church? The answer is none of them – the Church is not any man-made organization! What if "the one true church" you have chosen begins to ordain homosexual "pastors", promote abortion, worship dead "saints", or do any number of other blatant practices opposed by Scripture? Does it still get to remain "the one true church"? Without going into greater depth here to show you why each organization's claim is wrong, it is sufficient for now simply to reiterate that the Church is not such an organization. Indeed, there is one true Church, but it is not represented by any organization of men. A man-made organization is not a Church, not a visible Church, not even part of the Church [1.2.2]. Jesus Christ did not start the Methodist, Baptist, Orthodox, or Roman Catholic "churches", various men did centuries later [1.2.2.1]. Jesus Christ did not start any of these man-made institutional divisions, He only started the Church. Many people are sincerely looking for the one true Church, but the problem is that they have been looking in all the wrong places!

1.2.2 Institutional "churches"

The creation of institutional "churches" has perhaps inflicted the greatest damage upon the Church today. The Church founded by Jesus Christ has been hijacked by various men over the centuries and divided among thousands of denominational, non-denominational, inter-denominational, and independent organizations, non-profit corporations, associations, social clubs, and sects [2.2.1.1]. Each of these organizations falsely refers to itself as a "church" as if there were more than one Church. They consider themselves just one of the thousands of institutional subdivisions or franchises that make up the super-structure of the theoretical "universal church". You will not find any place in Scripture where God authorized men to divide His Church into separate organizations and place their artificial structures on top of it. No organizational superstructure that men try to impose upon the Church can ever define it or contain it. The Church is not the sum of all the man-made institutions; it is the sum of all true Christians! This should be fairly obvious since there are usually some non-Christian members in these institutional "churches", while there aren't any non-Christians in the Church [1.1.1.1]! The Church is not represented by any particular man-made organization. When Jesus Christ returns, institutional "churches" will not be raptured together as organizational units. There will not be any denominations in Heaven. Those who create these various man-made organizations are blatantly committing the sin of division [2.1.2].

Institutional "churches" have created an entirely unbiblical environment which has greatly damaged the fellowship of the Church. Below is a table contrasting some of the major differences between the Church and the man-made institutional "churches":

God's Church

Institutional "churches"

§ Started and led by Jesus Christ

§ Started and led by men

§ Eternally established forever

§ Can be created, merged, and abolished

§ Contains only Christians

§ Contains Christians and non-Christians

§ Members chosen by Jesus Christ

§ Members meet confirmation requirements

§ Governed by Jesus Christ

§ Governed by man-made positions

§ Meets in the name of Jesus Christ

§ Meets under man-made institutional name

§ Members are the Church

§ Members "go to church"

Institutional "churches" are not just the old traditional mainline denominations, but also the contemporary charismatic independent organizations [7.2.5]. The flavor of what goes on in their proceedings has nothing to do with whether they are an institutional "church" or not. Every institutional "church" is an unbiblical entity [1.2.2.1]. Every one of them? Yes, and if you go to one, that would include yours too!

Some people have been confused by the fact that many Christians may attend their institutional "church". Certainly, some true Christians can usually be found in almost every kind of man-made denomination. But getting several Christians to attend the same institution does not make it a Church anymore than cooking hamburgers in your backyard makes it a McDonalds. There are usually several Christians sitting in the stands at any football game, but that does not make it a Church [4.1.2]. There could be Christian members of a non-profit corporation to save the whales, but that does not make it a Church. Likewise, there may be many Christians attending a religious organization that calls itself a "church", but that does not make it a Church either. In fact, even if every member who attended an institution were a Christian, it still would not be the Church because the Church does not operate under the authority of a man-made institution. Do you have ears to hear? If all the members of the Rotary club just happened to be Christians, for example, should people start calling it a Church? No, the number of Christians attending an institution does not make it a Church – even if everyone of them is a Christian – for the Church does not function under the auspices of any man-made organization [4.1.2]!

Note that there are other kinds of Christian institutions such as mission boards, publishing companies, political advocacy groups, and parachurch organizations whose intent is to advance the cause of the Church, but they also are not the Church and usually do not claim to be a "church". Ironically, many of these organizations often experience more spiritual fellowship than those who do claim to be a "church". Again, the members of these organizations may be part of the Church, but these institutions themselves are not part of the Church. Such artificial divisions are never needed in the Body of Christ, but this does not mean that it is necessarily wrong to participate in such organizations [2.3.1.1]. Christians should just not be deceived into thinking that they are a substitute for the Church.

Institutional structures may work fine for corporations, social clubs, and government entities in the world, but they are simply not valid structures for the Church [5.2.1]. An institutional "church" is not just an inconsequential structure that is otherwise harmless [7.1.3.1]; it is an unbiblical entity that functions on the entirely wrong foundation. Institutional "churches" exist as divisions in the Body of Christ [2.2], with unbiblical fellowship [3.2], conducting invalid meetings [4.2], operating under fraudulent authority [5.2], with false leadership [6.2], resulting in a myriad of unbiblical practices [7.2]. If you are initially skeptical about how merely creating such an organization could be so bad, please read on for it will become excruciatingly clear!

1.2.2.1 Organizational Birth

Every institutional "church" that exists today was a later creation of men. For any institutional "church" you might consider, there was a time back in history that it didn't exist. Any organization or denomination that was started after about 33 AD could not possibly be the Church started by Jesus Christ. Why aren't the Methodists, Baptists, Roman Catholics, or other such organizations mentioned anywhere in the Bible? Because they did not exist! Notice that Jesus did not start any of those groups; they were not created until hundreds of years later by other men. If someone speaks about "starting a church" today, they can only be speaking of starting an institutional "church", since the Church is already here and cannot be started again [1.1.1.2]. The Church was started by Jesus Christ about 2000 years ago and thus is not in need of anymore "starting". The Church has successfully operated under the same Management for about 2000 years and is not in need of men today to apply a corporate restructuring!

It is actually quite simple to start an institutional "church" today. First, you need to make up a name that you want your "church" to be called. If you are really clever, you might find a Scriptural sounding phrase to make it appear like your "church" is mentioned in the Bible [2.2.1.4]. Second, you can officially register your organization as a "church" by applying for 501(c)(3) status with the government as a non-profit corporation [1.2.3.1]. Of course, you would naturally designate yourself as the "registered agent" of the non-profit corporation and then you can then give yourself any religious title you want in your "church" such as "Pastor" or even "Apostle" [6.2.2.1]. If you would like the power to marry people to be officially recognized by your state, you can just get on the Internet and become an ordained minister in seconds. There, now you have a "church". You can have any theology you want and even get tax breaks!

Now if you actually want people to come to your "church", you can make up fliers and start a marketing campaign. J It should not be too difficult to get a few people to come, even out of curiosity if for no other reason. Offering some incentive like food usually helps too! If nothing else, just try to get some of your relatives to come! To keep them coming and grow numerically, however, is the main difficulty you will probably face, as it is the major concern of "church" leaders everywhere. Multimedia presentations, contemporary music, and dynamic speakers coupled with an appropriate non-offensive watered-down theology definitely seem to help these days. Feel free to occasionally mix in a few traditional elements to help provide a feeling of continuity with the past. As you grow, you should always keep current with the latest business practices to continually improve the efficiency of your structure.

Now let's see...aren't we forgetting something? Oh yeah, did you want God to show up at your meetings too? Oops, now there you have a problem! Whatever gave you the idea that God was going to be involved in any of this? Where did you get the idea that you could start an organization called a "church"? It certainly isn't mentioned anywhere in the Bible! Which of these things hasn't any other social club done? An atheist could do the exact same things and start his own "church". You must realize that if you have done these things, you have created an organization that has absolutely no relation whatsoever to the Church – even if you can get some Christians to go to it. You will have merely started another institutional "church" among the thousands that already exist [2.2.1.1].

1.2.2.2 Organizational Life

The spiritual Life of the Church [1.1.3] stands in stark contrast to the organizational life of rituals, religious codes, elections, politics, and the traditions of men found in institutional "churches" [7.2]. Since institutional "churches" are just man-made organizations, they are relegated to operate according to the basic principles of the world like any other social club. For many people, being a member of an institutional "church" is merely a status symbol of involvement in their community, providing a network of social connections. Many institutional "churches" exhibit no more spiritual power than the Rotary club or any other social organization. This does not mean that nothing spiritual can ever take place within their structure, but only that their existence itself is not Biblical [1.3.2]. Many social and political organizations have prayer, Scripture readings, community outreaches, and social functions, but that does not mean they have any relationship whatsoever to the Church. Organizations of men will be run as organizations of men. The organization itself is a work of man and therefore must function that way to a certain extent. They are started by men and led by men, perhaps even by Christian men, but not by Jesus Christ [5.2.3]. Since they have chosen to operate under a man-made structure, they are constrained to operate according to worldly principles. And in this regard, some organizations are run more efficiently than others.

Except for any spiritual content that might be present in their meetings, most institutional "churches" are virtually indistinguishable from any other business. Most institutional "churches" have committee, board, or "elder" meetings that are nothing more than business meetings, and sometimes are even called "business meetings". Many of their leaders conduct Sunday services wearing their business suits. They hire employees, manage payroll, have bank accounts, pay taxes, and some even sell merchandise just like any other business. (Strange, but I don't remember any of these attributes being applied to the Church in Scripture?) Hierarchical org-charts, membership lists, pie-chart budgets, Robert's Rules of Order, mass-marketing techniques, demographical studies, and many other business practices are all common fare in these institutional "churches". Many "churches" have even take out business loans and become indebted to the world which is incompatible with Scripture (Prov. 22:7,26, Rom. 13:8). Is Jesus running short of money? They behave more like a business than a body, function more like a factory than a family, and collaborate more like a company than a community. Indeed, they look like a business and are run as a business, because in most cases they really are a business! (If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...) J Many of them have to deal with the administrative overhead, laws, and taxes of corporations because they are corporations...non-profit corporations [1.2.3.1].

The spiritual nature of the Church has been sacrificed at an institutional altar prepared by men. The institutional "churches" today have essentially written the book on, "How to run a Christian organization without the Holy Spirit." Obviously, atheistic non-profit organizations never had the Holy Spirit and they continue to operate just fine under these exact same principles. If the Holy Spirit ever left some institutional "churches" (assuming He was ever there), they probably wouldn't even notice as their institutional machinery would continue to run just fine. But none of these things has anything to do with the Church. The Church is not a business that is run by men, it is a spiritual organism run by the Holy Spirit [3.1.1]. There is no Church apart from the Holy Spirit! The Church was instituted by Jesus Christ, but it is not a man-made institution. The Church is indeed organized by the Holy Spirit, but it is not a man-made organization.

1.2.2.3 Organizational Death

Just as the Church cannot be started, it also cannot be stopped. If you belong to an organization that was started by men, then you belong to an organization that can be stopped by men. Any organization that can be terminated by men is not the Church of which even "the gates of Hades will not prevail against" (Matt. 16:18). If a "church" in a community closes down, then obviously that organization was not the Church, for the Church of Jesus Christ remains. If there are still Christians living in that community, then it wasn't the Church that died, but only an institution of men that died. Realize that any organization that can be created by men can also be dissolved by men. Any "church" that can be closed down, go bankrupt, dissolve, merge, or be abolished is not the same Church that was started by Jesus Christ. The various religious institutions, organizations, and denominations of men will come and go, but the Church will endure forever. Consider that it was quite easy for the communist revolution in China to destroy the institutional "churches" started by the western missionaries. They just burned down their buildings, confiscated their property, killed their leaders and voila, the institutional "church" in China was no more. But they were not able to destroy the Church that met from house to house and still continues in China to this day with great revival. Such extreme measures, however, are really not necessary to close down an institutional "church" – it still happens today for all sorts of reasons:

Realize that every man-made institutional "church" will eventually be destroyed! Those who are depending on such an institution for their spirituality will eventually be in for a great shock. If you take the building, denomination, or organizational structure away from these people, they will have nothing – take away their building and you have destroyed their "church", take away their denominational status and they have lost their faith, take away their organizational structure and they degenerate into chaos. Since their spirituality relies upon these unbiblical things, their spirituality will cease when these things cease [7.2.1]. How much better it would have been for these people, if they would have quit supporting these man-made organizations and simply fellowshipped as the Church. Realize that no man-made organization will ever make it to Heaven. There will not be any Methodist, Baptist, or Roman Catholic institutional distinctions there.

The leaders who have started institutional "churches" should heed this warning: "But let each one watch how he builds. For no one can lay another foundation besides the one being laid, who is Jesus Christ. And if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or stubble, each man's work will be revealed....If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he will be saved only as through fire." (1Cor. 3:10-15). For those who have ears to hear, the institutional "churches" have been built on sand, but not on the Rock (Matt. 7:24-27). Lots of tiny individual rocks that make up sand are no substitute for the Rock [6.2.4.4]. A house built on sand may last for a season, but the house built on the Rock will endure forever.

Unlike institutional "churches", it is quite impossible to close down the Church. That is because the source of the Church is not physical, but spiritual in nature. Men cannot destroy that which is spiritual by that which is merely physical (Luke 12:4-5). In the Church, there is no organization to go bankrupt, no building or property to confiscate, and no headquarters to close down. This is why the early Church could not be destroyed even under the most intense persecution. Saul (who later became Paul) understood this quite well: "Saul ravaged the Church going from house to house, dragging off men and women and put them in prison." (Acts 8:3). Saul had to go house to house, because he knew the Church could only be affected person by person. There were no buildings, property, headquarters, or man-made organizations to target. Ultimately, the only way to close down the Church would be to kill all the Christians and then prevent anyone else from becoming a Christian. Then and only then would there be no Church. Do not fear, however, for we have already read to the end of the Book and know that the Church will endure till the end.

1.2.3 Governmental Control

Most institutional "churches" are under the control or influence of their secular government through regulations concerning registration and incorporation. Depending on the particular country, the government is able to exert different levels of control directly over the "church" organizations under their domain:

The government is able to regulate, sue, and tax these "church" organizations or even revoke their charter as a "church". Even in the "free" United States, the government is able to dictate "church" building codes, zoning restrictions, non-profit corporate status, accounting practices, payroll taxes, property tax laws, hiring practices, marriage licensing, political involvement, advertising restrictions, handicap access, kitchen inspections, and day care facilities. (All of this when "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."?) These have already had the shocking effect of forcing homosexuals to be hired under equal access laws, limiting the issues a "church" can speak out on for fear of IRS regulations, seizing "church" property under forfeiture laws, and regulating how money can be donated and spent...just to name a few. If the government doesn't approve of how the non-profit corporation is run, they can revoke its charter as a "church" and completely shut them down (and this has already happened many times). Of course, this is the type of behavior that might be expected in communist countries like Russia or China, but in the "free" United States?

1.2.3.1 Regulatable Entities

In some countries, the government's control is blatantly obvious since the institutional "churches" are state-run. This is especially grievous when dictator governments use strong-arm tactics, persecution, or even torture to exert control over the institutional "churches". In some cases, the governments directly select the "church" leadership or plant spies to monitor and influence them. Fortunately, most Christians are able to recognize that it is wrong for the government to be in charge of the Church, when Jesus Christ (or at least the leaders of their institution) is supposed to be in charge. Most Christians find this arrangement to be clearly unacceptable and instead identify with the "underground" Church in those countries as being the real Church there.

Although many "churches" would never accept the government's total control, some have been deceived into accepting their partial control. In the United States in particular, most "churches" have accepted government involvement in their affairs by becoming 501(c)(3) non-profit corporations. The government is able to regulate these non-profit corporations in the same manner that they regulate business corporations. Perhaps this is fitting since many of these "churches" are run by men just like a business anyway [1.2.2.2]. The government typically makes the "church" designate officers such as a President, Vice President, Secretary, and/or Treasurer to be listed as "registered agents" in charge of the corporation. Where do you find these "offices" of the Church recorded in Scripture? (Was Peter ever the "President" of the Church?) J The government also requires them to select a man-made name to uniquely identify their organization [2.2.1.4]. Most of them do not realize that when a "church" becomes a non-profit corporation, it becomes a government-chartered entity. It establishes a contract that places the "church" under the direct regulation of the government in order to obtain privileges such as tax breaks, lawsuit indemnification, and property tax abatements. Unfortunately, with these "benefits" also comes the forms of control mentioned above. Alas, the "churches" have simply learned to tolerate this governmental meddling for they perceive that these "benefits" outweigh the cost. It is not as if these "churches" necessarily live in fear of their government, but notice that some of them are now treading lightly.

Other institutional "churches" have refused to become non-profit corporations and yet they are still regulated by the government because they are registered as a "church". It is much harder for Christians to understand how simply registering as a "church" could possibly be wrong for they are not entering into a contract to become a government-chartered entity like the non-profit corporations. They are merely telling the government that their institution is a "church" in order to achieve a certain status. But what they fail to realize is that there are always strings attached. If there were no strings attached with registration, then the government obviously would not care to register them. But oh do they care! Why do governments have special regulations for registered "churches" that do not apply to all other secular charities? Again, it is so they can achieve some level of control over them. Registration is the process that makes it possible for there to be regulation. Registration alone gives "churches" a certain legal status that allows them to be regulated by law – no other contract is necessary.

Whether an institutional "church" is state-run, incorporated, or registered, the only reason that the government is able to regulate them is because they exist as institutional entities that can be regulated. An institutional "church" could not be state-run unless it first became an institutional entity that a state could run. The government could not even have partial control over a "church" unless the "church" was a man-made institution to begin with. {mount soapbox} Let it be made perfectly clear that Jesus has not authorized any secular government to be in control, or even partially in control of His Church! Jesus does not share His control with any government, nor has He delegated any government as a "go between" concerning Him and His Church. The government is not in charge of the Church at all – not even a little bit! Jesus Christ has always been and will always be solely in complete control of His Church! The Church is part of the kingdom of God and it ultimately only submits to one King, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ occupies the Head position of the Church and He ain't going anywhere! {unmount soapbox}

Furthermore, it is impossible for a government to have any control over the true Church. Governments can easily control institutional "churches", but not the Church. How could a government set out to control a spiritual entity that has no name, no address, no building, no headquarters, no employees, no income, and no property? Can a government exert its control over the Holy Spirit? Yet that would be the only way in which a government could control the Church. You see, the only way a "church" can be controlled is if it is an unbiblical organization of men that can be controlled by men [1.2.2]. The Roman government was not able to control the early Church because there was no institutional organization to control. Even if they wanted to, it was impossible for the Church to register because they had no name, no address, no building, no headquarters, no employees, no income, and no property. The Romans certainly knew that they existed, but yet what tangible assets did they have that could be controlled? There was no institution to register, because there was no institution!

1.2.3.2 Voluntary Servitude

It is alarming when the government exerts any level of control over a "church" against its will. But it is even more alarming when the "churches" willingly accept, yea even desire, such a governmental status and the accompanying level of control. Since a government can never control the Church, some have opted to do the next best thing by enticing institutional "churches" to come under their control voluntarily. Historically, some "churches" have actually wanted to join with the government in a merging of "church and state". They mistakenly thought that the "church" would thus have greater influence in the world, when in reality the world simply gained greater influence in the "church". Whenever you mix the world and the Church in this way, the world always wins, for the Church is called to "come out from their midst and be separate" (2Cor. 6:17). The Church is to convert the world, not to become joined to the world (2Cor. 6:14-18). The influence of the world over the "church" is still the same whether the "church" voluntarily accepts it or whether it is imposed by force.

Most institutional "churches" today, however, say they would never accept the government's total control, and yet they have still voluntarily given the government partial control over their internal affairs through registration or incorporation. No institutional "church" is required to register or become a non-profit corporation; they are unnecessarily entangling themselves with the government regulation of their own free choice. "No active soldier is involved with the affairs of civilian life, in order that he may please the one who enlisted him." (2Tim. 2:4). The Church belongs to the kingdom of God, not to the kingdoms of this world. The Church does not make contracts with secular governments or become incorporated under their regulations. "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will cling to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." (Luke 16:13). Why do they do this? Primarily because the government has held out a big carrot of tax exempt status which has enticed many "churches" to voluntarily come under their control. These Christians have sold out to the world for "ten shekels and a shirt" (Judg. 17:7-13). Does that bowl of stew taste good to you, Esau (Gen. 25:29-34, Heb. 12:16)?

What these institutional "churches" do not realize is that once they give the government any amount of control, the constraints over them can be increased at will! Once a "church" enters into a contractual legal status, there are no limits on what the government may decide to regulate in the future. Consider what is happening to the institutional "churches" in the United States, for example [1.2.3]. They are like the frog that won't jump out of the pot because the heat is being turned up slowly. Those who feel justified because their government does not seem to be particularly "evil" today will have no recourse when the government does become corrupt. It is never okay to be voluntarily "yoked together with unbelievers" (2Cor. 6:14), even if the unbelievers seem to be "nice" at the time. Such institutions may feel safe because the government does not have total control over them like a state-run "church", but yet it still has partial control – and that control can easily be increased. The importance of this topic will have much greater prophetic significance as the Church approaches the persecution of the end times. Then, it will not matter what you think, if you are a true Christian you may be forced to fellowship outside of the institutional "church" system. Wouldn't it be better for you to voluntarily function as the Church simply because Jesus wants you to? Must it take the persecution of a worldly government to force you to begin to fellowship as you should have all along?

Ironically, registering or incorporating to obtain a tax-exempt status is not really much benefit to the institutional "churches" anyway, for it is precisely what allows them to be taxed! Notice that tax-exempt institutional "churches" are taxed, and yet the Church cannot be taxed! What an unwise stewardship of Christian's resources! Not only are institutional "churches" taxed, but they foolishly accept more taxation than necessary. In the United States, for example, if donors gave their money directly to people in the Church as personal gifts (up to $10,000 per donor), it would not be taxed. But if the same donors give that same money to a tax-exempt "church" which is then paid to their leaders as a salary, it is taxed. Actually it is taxed twice – once when it was earned, and then after it is donated to the "church", it is taxed again when it is paid to a "church" employee. Some benefit, huh? These "churches" have sold-out to the government to get tax-exempt status...so they can actually pay them more taxes! This is where voluntary servitude actually becomes voluntary stupidity! The Church, on the other hand, does not need to be granted tax exempt status, because it is not an entity that can be taxed anyway. It is hard to imagine a tax that can target just the Church, because the Church is just people. It would be like trying to put a tax on having some of your friends over for a cookout in your backyard. Institutional "church" buildings, headquarters, and non-profit corporations are easy to identify and tax, but how do you tax a belief in certain people's heads? The Church cannot pay income tax, because it is not an organization that has an income. The Church cannot pay property tax, because it is not an organization that owns any property. How could it? It has no name, no address, no building, no headquarters, no employees, no income, and no property, so what exactly is there to tax? Taxing a spiritual organism would be like trying to tax the air!

But isn't the Church supposed to submit to the government? Of course, Christians should submit to the laws of their secular government as much as possible (Rom. 13:1-5), but that does not mean they are to voluntarily go beyond what is required and form organizations contractually entangled with them. "Submit to" does not mean "join with"! It does not matter if the government seems "nice", the Church is not an entity that makes contracts with the governments of men. Christians are to submit to the governments of men, but that does not mean they should sign contracts, incorporate under, or become partners with them! This is entirely unbiblical and the early Church would have none of that. The Church belongs to the kingdom of God, not the kingdoms of man. Do you have ears to hear? Christians should never form man-made institutional entities that could be taxed or controlled in the first place. This is not a matter of submission; it is a matter of stupidity, for the government has no law requiring people to form religious organizations! The Church would never voluntarily give the government control over their internal affairs, and they certainly would never sell-out so that they can get an imaginary tax break!

1.2.4 Maligning the Church

The institutional "churches" of men have been going around masquerading as the Church for so many centuries now, that most people today mistake them for the Church. They should be arrested for impersonating the Church if there were such a crime. These man-made institutions claim to be a "church" and try to act like a "church", but they are not even part of the Church [1.2.2]. But what could possibly be the harm in that? So what if the institutional "churches" have erected a man-made organizational structure around some members of the Church? As described below, the very existence of institutional "churches" damages the reputation of the Church and thus indirectly maligns the person who is in charge of the Church – Jesus Christ. The Church is being blamed for that which is not the Church. Many non-Christians have been turned away from Christ because they intuitively know that the institutional "church" system is not where it's at, and yet this is what they are told Christianity is. How many will end up in Hell because they have been presented with a false bill of goods?

1.2.4.1 Evil "churches"?

It should not be very surprising that the world often does not think very highly of the Church. Volumes of atrocities carried out by institutional "churches" in the name of Christ have been blamed on the Church by a world that does not know the difference. Considering all the wars, inquisitions, and killings, it is certainly understandable that the reputation of the Church would suffer since these institutions claim to be a "church". Some of these "churches" have even burned Christians at the stake! (A "church" burning people in the Church?) J While most of this is ancient history, still today there are "churches" extorting money, "church" leaders molesting children, and "Christian" guerrillas fighting Muslims and Jews. Do you really think that the Church led by Jesus Christ has anything to do with any of this? It should not take a rocket scientist to see that there is an obvious disconnect between the institutional "churches" and the Church. But like it or not, this is the only "church" that much of the world knows. The institutional "church" advertising campaigns, tall white steeples, and dogmatic creeds stand as empty symbols to a dying world. To them, a "church" looks just like any other social institution with the additional element of "religion". The world sees the politics, elections, empty rituals, and internal bickering and it is nothing they are really interested in. It would be more fitting if the institutional "churches" sang, "They will know we are Christians by our bumper stickers", because seldom have they been known by their love [3.1.2.2].

Over the centuries, institutional "churches" have created all sorts of theological gobbledygook in order to come up with justifications for their sinful practices. Some have gone so far as to invent bizarre doctrines such as the father/mother god, ordination of homosexuals, and the worship of Mary. Some institutional "churches" have become so degenerate that they don't even recognize sin as sin anymore. They have coined new oxymorons such as "Homosexual Christian" and "New Age Christian" in the name of tolerance. (What kind of Christian are you? Oh, I am a "Murdering Christian".) J Many evangelical "churches" would argue that organizations like this should no longer be considered "churches" because they have become "apostate" and no longer follow the Bible. But surprise, no institutional "church" is following the Bible or else they would no longer exist as an institutional "church"! It is only fitting that counterfeit "church" entities would also have such counterfeit doctrines and practices [7.2]. Many such bizarre doctrines have been invented by man’s organizations, but they never have nor will they ever have a place in the Church. Thank you Jesus!

Some institutional "churches" will get defensive by these associations, for in their minds they are "no way near that bad" [7.2.5]. Most of them generally view themselves as being a "good church" and in humility they joke "If you ever find the perfect church, don't go to it or you will mess it up." But of course, no institutional "church" can ever be perfect because they are not even a valid Biblical entity. An institutional "church" is not deprived of being part of the Church because it is not perfect; it is not part of the Church because it is a man-made institution! An institutional "church" could be doing a lot of things right, but is still wrong precisely because what it is is wrong [1.3.2]. The problem is not that there aren't perfect institutional "churches"; the problem is that there are institutional "churches". The problem is not that some institutional "churches" may have flaws – their very existence is flawed! They are like goats trying to pass themselves off as sheep with flaws, when the problem is that the goats are not sheep. The goats can try to act as sheep-like as possible, but they are still goats.

No matter how many Scriptural practices an institutional "church" may employ, they are still unscriptural precisely because man-made institutional "churches" are unscriptural [1.2.2]. They can try to act as Biblically as possible, but they are still an unbiblical entity. Almost every institutional "church", even cults, will at least have some Scriptural practices operating within the confines of their institutional structure. Such institutions may appear to be "church-like" to the world, yet they do not have the Life of the Church. That which is not the Church can only attempt to mimic that which is the Church [7.1.3.2]. They have "a form of godliness but deny its power" (2Tim. 3:5). They can try to disguise the goats and call them "sheep", but the goats can never be sheep, nor do they have the life of sheep. The world sees these so-called "sheep" but they are not attracted to them, because they see that under all the fluff they are really just a herd of goats like themselves.

1.2.4.2 Non-Christian "Christians"?

The question then becomes, why are these so-called "Christians" in these institutional "churches" performing so many atrocities? Mostly because they are not really Christians! The false doctrine of an "invisible church" [1.2.1.1] has led to the invention of a new class of pseudo-Christians who are allowed to have official membership in "local churches" even though they are not really true Christians. Institutional "churches" attempt to justify this notion by misinterpreting the parable of the wheat and tares (Matt. 13:24-30) to assert that there are non-Christians in the Church! What? Yes, they claim that there are both Christians (wheat) and non-Christians (tares or weeds) in the Church (field), and since no one can tell for sure which is which, the Christians will simply have to tolerate a union with non-Christians until it can all be sorted out on judgment day. Well, there isn't any doubt that there are both Christians and non-Christians who are members of the man-made institutional "churches", but there certainly aren't any non-Christians who are members of the Church that Jesus Christ founded! "The Lord knows those who are His." (2Tim. 2:19). We know from Scripture that those who are not true Christians are not Christians at all and have no place in the Church [1.1.1]! To tolerate non-Christians in the Church would be to tolerate leaven in the Church (1Cor. 5:6-8, Gal. 5:9). Ridiculous! Apparently the promoters of this false doctrine never bothered to read Jesus' own interpretation of His parable that occurs just a few verses later (Matt. 13:36-43). Jesus said that "the field is the world" (Matt. 13:38), not the Church! The Church in this parable is the "good seeds" or "wheat", not the field! Of course there are both Christians (wheat) and non-Christians (tares or weeds) in the world (field), but not in the Church!

The toleration of these pseudo-Christians in the institutional "local churches" has only served to damage the reputation of the Church among the world. What is the world suppose to think when there are so many good "church" members who molest children, murder their spouses, cheat and steal, and commit suicide? Many people don't attend "church" with the excuse that, "There are so many hypocrites there." (Yes, and if you "go to church", you may be one of them!) J Institutional "church" members today are often statistically indistinguishable from the world in regards to divorce, teenage pregnancy, and adultery. Why are these "Christians" virtually indistinguishable from the world? Because they aren't Christians! Didn't even Hitler go to "church" for a while? Where did we get so many evil "Christians"?

Some devoted "church" members may have been truly "born again" with a strong charismatic experience, but then their children sit right next to them almost expressionless without the same fervent love, worship, or devotion. In many cases, their children are automatically baptized and inducted as members of the "church" simply because of their physical birth. What kind of "Christians" are these? Of course, no one becomes a Christian through physical birth (John 1:13), but society assumes that they are because they have grown up to be dedicated members or even leaders in their "church". Such people may faithfully light candles, usher, sing in the choir, stuff bulletins, or run the sound system, but they don't have any place in the kingdom of God. Those who "go to church" are simply pretending to worship God along with a lot of other people who are pretending to worship God. They live fake religious lives together in a man-made organization. But being a member of a "church" has nothing to do with being a member of the Church [1.1.1.1]. Going to "church" doesn't make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car!

Most institutional "churches" usually don't have any idea about the "dark side" of some of their members. They cannot tell the difference between an axe murderer and a loving saint because they all look the same when they just sit passively through a "church" service. As long as people show up with a smile on their faces and tithe faithfully, no one will know the difference. When they read the morning paper the next day and see that one of their members murdered their spouse or molested a child, the congregation is always shocked: "We couldn't see this coming." "He faithfully came to church every week." "He seemed like a really nice guy." "He was no different than the rest of us." And indeed perhaps he was just like the rest of them! There have been many such cases recently in the media damaging the reputation of the Church. Most institutional "churches" make no attempt to deal with such problems directly. They may preach long and hard against sin in an abstract sense, yet they never actually do anything about it. They suppose that as long as the person keeps coming to their services, something might eventually get through to them.

Of course, such nonsense is never acceptable in the Church. Institutional "churches" may tolerate "pseudo-Christians" in their carnal and lukewarm environments, but the Church does not. Leaven is not allowed to remain in the batch no matter how much money a person is willing to tithe. There are no "pseudo-Christians" in the Church, only Christians. The Church is not a "worship service" event conducted by an organization [4.2.2.1]; the Church is a living organism, a Body, with each member connected to each other [3.1.1]. Each Christian is to be integrally connected with "one another" on a daily basis in close-knit spiritual fellowship [4.1.1.2]. Thus if any Christian struggles or exhibits problems, the others cannot help but notice and come along side of them since their lives are intimately joined together. Among an environment of shared lives, any deep-seated issues are normally rooted out and dealt with long before they ever have a chance to escalate into major problems. If a person will not repent of their sin, then they are no longer allowed to meet with the Church [1.1.3.2]. Such a person may indeed become an axe murderer after they are "delivered over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh" (1Cor. 5:5), but then the reputation of the Church is not damaged for they were no longer associated with the Church.

1.3 Practical Applications

The Church founded by Jesus Christ in the New Testament is the very same Church that still exists today! Whether you know it or not, you also are a member of this very same Church if you are really a Christian. The same Church that Peter, James, John, and Paul belonged to is the same Church that we belong to. You might say, "Where is it? I don't see anything resembling the Church described in the Bible." Well, unfortunately the Church is hardly recognizable today in many places because many of its members are engaged in various unbiblical practices that have rendered the Church essentially impotent. The state of the Church is dreadful in most areas only because the state of the Christians is dreadful in those areas. Indeed, it is hard to see much of anything that looks like the Church among a community of disobedient Christians, but the Church may still be there – it is just in a pitiful condition [1.1.3.1]. To the extent that you find obedient Christians is the extent to which you will still find the Church functioning essentially like it is described in Scripture. And indeed, there are now many places all over this world where the Church is properly functioning in a Biblical environment [a.2].

1.3.1 Join the Church

Obviously, the most important application is to make sure you are in the Church in the first place. In order to be in the Church, you must first be a Christian [1.1.1]. Certainly, it should be obvious by now that not everyone who claims to be a Christian really is. "Not everyone who says to Me 'Lord, Lord' will enter into the kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in Heaven." (Matt. 7:21). You might have been baptized and confirmed as a member of an institutional "church" or even be in a leadership position, but if you have not been "born again" (John 3:3-8) then you are not a member of the Church and you won't be able to function in the Church. You can surround yourself with Christian friends, Christian music, Christian TV, Christian seminars, Christian camps, and Christian programs, but if you have not been born again of the Spirit then you are not part of the Church. "But as many as received Him, to those believing in His name, He gave them the right to become children of God. Those who were not from a bloodline, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the human will, but born of God." (John 1:12-13). This means you may come from a long line of Christian relatives, you may desire to be a Christian, you may even decide to become a Christian, but "unless anyone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Being devoted, highly knowledgeable, loyal, moral, memorizing Scripture, praying, meditating, having a correct belief system, doctrinal statement, and faithful attendance will not get you into the kingdom of Heaven. Which of these did the Pharisees lack? They had all of this and more, yet they did not have Christ. "For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Bible scholars and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of Heaven." (Matt. 5:20).

If you are not sure that you are a Christian, then you can be pretty sure that you aren't. "The Spirit himself witnesses to our spirit that we are children of God." (Rom. 8:16). If you do not have this witness of the Spirit, then you certainly cannot function in the Spirit. If you are not a Christian, then you are simply not in the Church and none of this would apply to you anyway. Many words could be said and have been said about the salvation experience, but in the end, a spiritual transformation must take place. This topic is probably better covered by many other pamphlets and tracts, and is truly left as an exercise for the reader. There will be a mandatory pass/fail test administered at the end of your life!

1.3.1.1 Identifying the Church

So many misconceptions about the Church have sprung up and accumulated over the centuries, that many Christians today simply fail to properly discern the Church. "For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the Body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. Through this, many among you are weak and sick and a number sleep." (1Cor. 11:29-30). Many Christians now operate under the delusion that a "church" is a building or meeting, and then they identify themselves with the organization that has that building or meeting [1.2.1]. Much of their confusion stems from the fact that they are operating from the wrong frame of reference. Whenever they see the word "church" in the Bible, they mistakenly think it is referring to their man-made institutional "church". They would impose the context of their false institutional system upon the Scriptures and then attempt to interpret the Scriptures through that false viewpoint [c.2]. But what is God's frame of reference? How would the situation be assessed from a Biblical perspective? Consider just a few examples to highlight the difference between these two perspectives:

Institutional Perspective

God's Perspective

§ A person is happy that there are hundreds of "churches" in his city to choose from.

§ But God is grieved that Christians are divided across hundreds of man-made institutions.

§ A reputable person was a long-standing member of a denomination.

§ But he was never born again of the Spirit and thus will be sent to Hell.

§ A member is kicked out of "church" for challenging the leadership.

§ But he was still part of the Church, because he was still a Christian.

§ A famous leader of a "mega-church" is a sought after dynamic speaker.

§ But he was secretly living in sin and lacked spiritual authority from God.

§ A person is causing division in "church" by advocating fellowship with outside Christians.

§ But God is pleased because he was telling them the truth about the Church.

"For man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart." (1Sam. 16:7). It is crucial that you begin to assess your situation from a Biblical perspective instead of relying on the false precepts of a man-made institutional system. Biblical truth can only be correctly understood in a Biblical environment. Being able to correctly discern the Body of Christ (1Cor. 11:29-30) is not "just another way of looking at it", but it is God's way of looking at it and is clearly revealed in the Scripture. It may require extensive re-training before you will begin to accept a Scriptural viewpoint after years of indoctrination in a false institutional "church" system [1.2.2]. But unless you first begin to identify the Church correctly, you will never be able to function in the Church correctly [3.1]. Awaken, Church, to understand who you are!

1.3.1.2 Identifying with the Church

Once you begin to understand what the Church really is, it is vitally important that you begin to identify yourself with the Church. Just because every Christian is part of the Church doesn't mean that all of them are necessarily fellowshipping as the Church should [2.1.1.2]. Undoubtedly, some Christians attending institutional "churches" have a certain theoretical understanding of the Church, but yet they do not identify with the Church by their actions. They primarily relate their Christian experience to a subset of Christians who are only members of their institutional "church", instead of relating to all members of the Church regardless of any institutional affiliation [2.3.1.1]. Once you are able to identify the Church, you should then begin to identify with the Church – not just in some theoretical sense, but also by your actions. To identify with the Church is to center all relationships, practices, spiritual gifts, leadership, and fellowship around the context of the Church, not around a particular institutional "church". You will need to develop a commitment to the whole Church, not just to a subset of Christians from a particular institution of choice (1Cor. 12:25). You are commanded to "love one another" (John 13:34), not just the "one anothers" that attend a particular group [3.1.2.1]. Just find out those who are true Christians and begin to fellowship with them! To treat any brother or sister in Christ differently because of a particular institutional status (or lack thereof) is indeed divisive and sinful [2.1.2]. "There should be no division in the Body, but the members should have the same concern for one another." (1Cor. 12:25). Anyone who is a Christian is to be treated as a brother or sister in Christ regardless of whether you like them or not. In fact, if they are Christians then you will be stuck with them for all eternity so you better get used to it!

1.3.2 Embrace the Things of God

It is important to remember that not everything an institutional "church" does is wrong, but only what it is is wrong. Throughout history, many wonderful Christians have attended institutional "churches". Sometimes it was simply because they didn't know any better and sometimes it was the only form of fellowship available to them without risking death [1.2.4.1]. Thus, we must not deny legitimate things from God just because they occurred in an illegitimate environment. An institutional "church" could be full of unbiblical institutional practices, but that doesn't mean that people there cannot still exhibit faith, hope, and love (1Cor. 13:13). Even the most degenerate institutional "churches" will usually have at least a few true Christians who have genuine relationships with God and are serving Him the best way they know how [6.3.2.1]. They may genuinely worship God, help the poor, lead others to Christ, minister to prisoners, pray for the sick, teach their peers, and do many other wonderful things – even though the institutional environment in which these things are conducted is unbiblical and not the most conducive to spiritual growth. While an institutional "church" may be doing any number of things wrong, it is still important to embrace the things of God wherever they may be found. "What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed and in this I rejoice." (Phil. 1:18). It may be okay to condemn the unbiblical container, but it is not okay to condemn the contents that are from God [2.3.1.1]. You do not have to approve of an unbiblical environment, but do not be like the Pharisees and despise brothers and sisters in Christ just because they are members of an institutional "church" [2.2.1.5]. It is important for Christians to support whatever is of God, whether it occurs in an institutional "church" or not. Christians must learn to love what God loves and hate what God hates – and God loves all His children!

As a general rule, the more an institutional "church" is able to approximate Scriptural fellowship in their unbiblical structures, the more Life they will begin to experience [3.1.1]. That is why many institutional "churches" have experienced some success with "small groups", "home groups", or "cell groups". Here they have created a microcosm within their institutional structure that encourages a limited form of fellowship which actually involves people! (Now if they would just get rid of the rest of everything else in their unbiblical institutional existence they might be on to something.) J Some institutional "church" members have gotten but a taste of what it is like to fellowship in the Church by attending a retreat, "church" camp, or revival meetings where they actually begin fellowshipping on a daily basis for a limited time. The more a group approximates the things of the Church, the more they will experience the fellowship of the Church.

Thus, no one is saying that a glimmer of Life cannot survive in an institutional setting, but only that it is like trying to cram a square peg in a round hole. Unfortunately, because what an institutional "church" is is wrong, what it does will also tend to be wrong [3.1]. There may be some good contents, but they are simply held in the wrong container. They may be having a limited form of spiritual fellowship, but it is often only icing on a cake made of buildings, stained glass, robes, altars, organs, and pews. They may have some new wine, but they have put it in an old wineskin [7.1.1.2]. It seems that God always tries to do the best He can to dance around an organization's institutional structure and fill any crack with as much Life that their system will allow – just so He can still bless His people as much as possible. The only reason that an institutional "church" ever experiences anything of God is because it contains some of God's people. It is not because of their institutional structure; it is in spite of their institutional structure [7.2.5.1]. The Spirit of God cannot be contained by any institutional structure! Because of its man-made design, no institutional "church" will ever be able to fully realize the purposes of God's Church [3.2.2.2].

1.4 Challenge Questions

 

2. Unity

2.1 Scriptural Truths

The need for unity is so critically important in the Church today. Jesus has only one Church so it is imperative that we behave as one Church. The emergence of the institutional "churches, however, has caused much confusion in the Church. Obviously, Christians will not behave as one Church if they don't even know what the Church is [1.1.1]. Why are there so many different "churches"? Which "church" is the true Church? The only reason it is even possible to ask these questions is because of the sin of division [2.1.2]. If all the Christians functioned as one unified Church, then there would be no such questions. The sin of division has resulted in all sorts of disputes, violence, and even wars. Why are there so many different institutional "churches" today? Because there is so much division in the Church! Those who impose their man-made institutional divisions upon the Church only work to keep the Church weak and ineffective. There is still only one Church and those who create unbiblical institutional divisions are hindering Christians from walking in the fullness of spiritual unity as God has intended.

2.1.1 The Basis for Unity

As discussed in the previous chapter, there is only one Church [1.1.2]. There are many institutions that falsely call themselves a "church" today, but there is only one Church. "There is one Body and one Spirit (just as you were called in one Hope at your calling), one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all." (Eph. 4:4-6). All true Christians have these foundational elements in common: one Body, one Spirit, one Hope, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, and one God. These alone form the basis of unity in the one Church. People do not need to strive to create one Church, because there already is only one Church according to Jesus Christ. Geographical proximity is irrelevant to this unity as various practices were carried out in reference to the whole Church (Acts 15:22-23, 1Cor. 11:16, 14:33, 1Th. 2:14). Notice that Christians living in distant areas kept in contact with each other (Rom. 16:1, 1Cor. 16:19, 2Cor. 13:13, Phil. 4:22) and contributed assistance to each other (Acts 11:28-30, Rom. 15:26-28, 2Cor. 8:1-5). In this sense, the Church is indeed catholic or universal in its affect, but this should not be confused with the theology of an "invisible church" [1.2.1.1]. (Note that the lowercase "c" in "catholic" is used to distinguish it from "Roman Catholic" which is an oxymoron meaning a "divisive universalist" or a "sectarian non-sectarian".)

2.1.1.1 Living in Unity

Since Christians are united as one in the spiritual realm, it should not be difficult for them to live as one in the physical realm. Walking in physical unity is a natural by-product of having spiritual unity! The early Church did not strive to create an external unity by creating an organized religion, they were one in Spirit, and thus they lived as one. "Now the multitude of believers were one in heart and soul." (Acts 4:32). And this is what you can still expect among those who are true believers today! Unlike the institutional "churches", no administrative procedures are needed to create a false sense of unity and artificially try to hold things together. Christians live together in unity externally because they are united in one Spirit internally. Those who have the Spirit, get their direction from that same Spirit. Thus, they all act as one Body because they all follow the same Head, Jesus Christ [3.1.2].

It is very important to recognize that unity is not the same as uniformity. The Church is not an organizational franchise like McDonalds, where each group offers the same menu and prices of McReligion. Unity has nothing to do with adopting the same "order of worship", conforming to the same music style, or wearing the same type of clothes. Such things have nothing to do with the unity of the Church, but are merely man-made rules that have been generated by the institutional "churches". Consequently, you can find many institutional "churches" that are completely uniform in their practices, and yet they have no spiritual unity. The congregation may appear to be totally united while they merely sit passively through a "church service", but then when it is over, one goes out to evangelize, one goes home to watch football, and one goes home and beats his wife. Is this spiritual unity?

Certainly, many things may be uniform throughout the Church as a by-product of following the same Spirit, but this is because of spiritual unity, not uniformity. Walking in spiritual unity does not necessarily mean that everyone has to be doing the same thing, but only that they are all acting in "one accord" (Rom. 15:5). A football team may be acting in unity as they run a particular play, but that does not mean that all of the players are doing the same thing. They are all working towards one goal, but they do not all perform the same role on the team. Jesus prayed, "that they may be one as We are one" (John 17:22) indicating a oneness in purpose. In this sense, the Church is always working on the same play as we all follow the same Coach, but that does not mean everyone on the Team must be doing the exact same thing [3.1.1.2].

2.1.1.2 Preserving Unity

Unfortunately, just because all Christians belong to one Church does not mean that all Christians always experience this unity in their fellowship with one another. Here, there is no need to try to manufacture external unity in the Church, but only to walk in the unity that already exists in the one Spirit, one Lord, one Faith, etc. "Be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph. 4:3). Christians can neither create nor eradicate this kind of unity, but they can certainly destroy its beneficial effects. Consider, for example, how children in the same family may occasionally fight with each other, yet they still remain members of the same family. A family in conflict does not need to strive to become a family – for they are already a family – they simply need to begin behaving like a family should. "How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity!" (Psa. 133:1). It is God's will that all Christians "may be one" (John 17:21), "having the same mind, the same love, one in soul and one in thought" (Phil. 2:2), "standing in one spirit, striving together as one soul" (Phil. 1:27), "joined together with the same mind and the same judgment" (1Cor. 1:10), "all in harmony, sympathy, brotherly love, compassion, and humility" (1Pet. 3:8), having "the same mind with one another" (Rom. 15:5), "with one accord in one voice" (Rom. 15:6).

When the Church walks as one, because they are one, the impact can be quite spectacular! Indeed, the early Church "turned the whole world upside down" (Acts 17:6). Imagine what the impact would be in your community if all the true Christians left their man-made denominations and began to walk together as one Church. If they all came together on the "same page", praying as one, evangelizing as one, fellowshipping as one! Sadly, the best that most can do is to imagine it because they are certainly not experiencing it. Alas, the unity of the Church cannot be experienced by a community of disobedient Christians who have divided themselves into unbiblical institutions, but only by those who are obediently walking by the Spirit [3.3.2.1].

2.1.2 The Sin of Division

One of the most devastating problems ever to face the Church is the sin of division. Jesus himself said, "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand." (Mark 3:24; cf. Matt. 12:25, Luke 11:17). Division in the Church is not an inevitable consequence that should be embraced; it is a willful sin committed by men. "The works of the flesh are obvious...discord...disputes, divisions, sects...and I forewarn you just as I previously forewarned you that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Gal. 5:19-21). Some deceived theologians actually teach that division is acceptable or even necessary to bring "diversity" to their unbiblical institutional "church" system, but Paul said that those who cause divisions "will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:21)! Do you honestly think that Jesus Christ wants a divided Body? "Is Christ divided?" (1Cor. 1:13). Those who commit the sin of division are violating a multitude of Scriptures [2.2.1]. Scripture describes those who cause division as: "serving their own appetites by smooth talk and flattery speech" (Rom. 16:18), "perverted and sinful being self-condemned" (Tit. 3:11), and "worldly minded, not having the Spirit" (Jude 1:19). Those who would attempt to divide the Church are committing sin and should be dealt with sternly according to the Scriptures: "I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those causing divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching which you learned and turn away from them." (Rom. 16:17). "Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning." (Tit. 3:10). The imperative for maintaining unity in the Church could not be any clearer in the Scripture (John 17:20-23, Rom. 15:5-6, 1Cor. 1:10, Eph. 4:3, Phil. 1:27, 2:2, 1Pet. 3:8).

While the Church cannot help but be united according to its spiritual nature (Eph. 2:22, 1Pet. 2:5), the division that is clearly condemned in Scripture is the physical separation of fellowship out of prejudice, denominationalism, favoritism, politics, or any other such barrier. Again, division is not a logistical problem related to geography or meetings as many have mistaken [1.1.2]. Divisiveness is a sinful attitude of the heart that does not truly love everyone in "the brotherhood of believers" which is a fundamental sign of a genuine Christian (John 13:34-35, 1Pet. 2:17, 1Jn. 2:9-11). Going back to the swimming pool analogy, a division does not form in the water just because someone refers to the deep end or the shallow end, but a division is created if someone physically builds a wall to separate the deep end from the shallow end. There should not be any "local water" [1.2.1.1] that is in anyway separated from the rest of the water. When Christians intentionally choose not to fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ because of prejudice, denominationalism, favoritism, politics, or any other such barrier, they are committing the sin of division. (This should in no way be confused with the spiritual separation of fellowship resulting from Church discipline [1.1.3.2].) The sinful causes of division can generally be classified into the following three categories: attributes, disagreements, and leadership.

2.1.2.1 Division by Attributes

Many people sin by creating divisions over differences in physical attributes such as skin color, race, culture, ethnicity, nationality, economic status, or language. There will always be great diversity in the Church, but diversity is not division, just as uniformity is not unity [2.1.1.1]. It is one thing to recognize and accommodate the diversity of culture or language in the Church, and quite another thing to divide Christians into different institutional "churches" because of it. There were no such ethnic "churches" in Scripture. There was not a "Black church", "Chinese church", or "Hispanic church" that functioned as separate entities. The Church encompassed every kind of race, culture, and nationality. In just the book of Acts alone, the Church included races such as Asian (Acts 2:9, 20:4), Black (Acts 8:27, 13:1), and Semitic (Acts 2:11); cultures such as Greek (Acts 16:1-3), Roman (Acts 22:25), and Egyptian (Acts 2:10); and nations such as Syria (Acts 15:23), Macedonia (Acts 16:9-12), and Cilicia (Acts 15:41). "Parthians, Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts, Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the great deeds of God in our own languages!" (Acts 2:9-11). There was always great diversity in the Church from its very inception and yet still only one Church! Some Christians came from nations which had experienced years of hostility towards each other, but this did not in any way hinder their unity in Christ. When the Jewish Christians had some reservations about fellowshipping with the Gentiles, for example, this barrier was quickly addressed (Acts 10:1-48, Eph. 2:11-18).

A Christian is a brother or sister in Christ regardless of any physical characteristics relating to skin color, race, culture, ethnicity, nationality, or language. "There is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all." (Col. 3:11; cf. Gal. 3:28). All Christians go to the same Heaven and there is no racial segregation there! God purchased men "from every tribe and language and people and nation" (Rev. 5:9). Every physical race has their roots in Adam and every spiritual believer has their roots in Christ. "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive." (1Cor. 15:22; cf. 1Cor. 15:45). Indeed, it is obvious that "God does not show favoritism, but those in every nation who fear Him and do what is right are acceptable to Him." (Acts 10:34-35). Christians do not discriminate as they "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19; cf. Rev. 14:6). (Note that the word "nations" in these verses comes from the Greek word "eqnoV" #1484 which relates to ethnicity.)

Some Christians have even divided over subcultural artifacts of Churchianity [7.2.4.4] such as style of worship, genre of music, liturgical format, dress codes, etc. But there isn't one Church for this kind of Christian and another Church for that kind Christian, there is simply only one Church. The early Church had just as many opportunities to divide over different attributes as any institutional "church" today, yet they overcame them and continued to fellowship as one Church.

2.1.2.2 Division by Disagreements

Doctrinal disagreements themselves can never cause division, only people can [2.1.2]. Divisions are not caused by differing ideas; divisions are caused by the people who choose to make those ideas a basis for separation of fellowship. The disagreement isn't the sin; the wrongful separation of fellowship is the sin! So often has the sin of division been falsely justified under the guise of someone's quest for "doctrinal purity". A Christian’s warped beliefs about eschatology, predestination, or how many angels fit on the head of a pin, at worst means that they might need to be straightened out by a mature person like you – yet still a Christian and fellow brother or sister in Christ. Some of you would not have been able to have fellowship with yourself five years earlier because you no longer agree with a doctrinal position you once held. There is a joke about a man who had been shipwrecked alone on a deserted island and his rescuers were impressed by three buildings he had constructed. They asked him about the first building and he told them that it was his house. They asked him about the second building and he said it was his "church". They asked him about the third building and he said it was his former "church", but he had to leave because of doctrinal disagreements. J

But what about essential doctrines regarding something important like salvation? Doctrines that are essential for salvation such as knowing our one Lord rather than a false Christ (2Cor. 11:4, Gal. 1:6-9, 1Jn. 2:22, 4:3) do not divide Christians from Christians, but divide the Christians from the non-Christians [1.1.3.1]. These essential doctrines divide the Church from the world, not one "church" from another "church"! The unfortunate reality is that the vast majority of divisions between "churches" today have nothing to do with essential tenets of faith, but instead revolve around various petty doctrines created by men [5.2.3.1]. And even when there are disagreements about salvation among Christians, it is still not necessarily grounds for division between one another. How's that? If one Christian thinks salvation is X and another Christian thinks salvation is Y, but both are genuinely "born again" anyway, then they must still recognize each other as Christians even though each thinks the other is slightly mistaken. Confused? This exact situation is addressed in Scripture where there was a dispute about whether circumcision was a requirement for salvation (Acts 15:1-2, Gal. 2:11-13). Notice that none of the brothers suddenly became "unsaved" simply because they disagreed with each other about the requirements for salvation! They did not stop fellowshipping with each other; they did not start separate "churches" to represent their positions, nor was anyone excommunicated. They first and foremost were committed to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, and thus the issue was eventually resolved (Acts 15:1-31). A Christian does not suddenly stop being a member of the Church just because some confusion might enter their mind. Salvation is not a matter of being able to mentally recite the correct doctrinal position about salvation; it is a matter of having salvation through spiritual birth into a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is more important to actually have salvation, than to have the right theology about salvation (but the latter is very important too). Much of the time, people are not arguing about the requirements for salvation anyway, but instead are arguing about man-made requirements for institutional "church" membership [2.2.1.3].

Those who disagree with the majority are often labeled as "heretics" and expelled from their organization. (You know, like those "evil" Christians John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, etc.) J But this is not Scriptural! In Scripture, the word translated as "heretic" comes from the Greek word "airetikoV" #141 which refers to one who creates a new sect (see also "airesiV" #139 and "airetizo" #140). A "heretic" is not one who simply has a different understanding of doctrine, but one who actually creates a new sect on the basis of that doctrine (or any other basis for that matter). It is not wrong for a Christian to entertain an alternative viewpoint, but it is wrong to create a separate organization on the basis of that viewpoint! Anyone who starts another "church" is the real heretic for they are creating yet another division among Christians [1.2.2.1]. It is one thing to disagree with a fellow Christian, and quite another to physically separate fellowship because of it. Children in a family may disagree on many things, yet they still remain part of the same family. They do not each get the luxury of creating their own separate sub-family consisting of only the other children who agree with them! "Wherefore, accept one another just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God." (Rom. 15:7).

This is not to say that coming to agreement on correct doctrine is not important, but only that it is not necessarily grounds for disassociating fellowship from other Christians. Every effort should be made to "agree with one another in the Lord" (1Cor. 1:10; cf. Phil. 4:2) as genuine seekers of the truth. But if there is an occasionally doctrinal disagreement, it is not necessarily a sin or grounds for excommunication. Scripture records several examples of disputes among the Christians, but as "iron sharpens iron" (Prov. 27:17) they did not result in division because they had a fundamental commitment to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. For example, Paul had a dispute with Barnabas over traveling with Mark that was so severe that they parted ways (Acts 15:36-40). Notice that they did not start separate institutional "churches" named "Apostle Paul Ministries" and "Saint Barnabas Fellowship", but they still belonged to the same one and only Church as their ministries literally took them in different directions. They both continued ministering on the "same team" [2.1.1.1] and apparently they were later reconciled (1Cor. 9:6, Col. 4:10, 2Tim. 4:11). There were also such factions among the Corinthians in the same city, even in the same meeting (1Cor. 3:3, 11:18-19), yet they still continued to function together as one Church (1Cor. 1:2, 2Cor. 1:1) without any need to form separate organizations with separate names.

Despite all of the disputes, arguments, and schisms recorded in Scripture, there was still only one Church. There was not one "church" formed for every disagreement; there was only one Church that sometimes had disagreements. The early Church had debate, not denominations! Consider that the very same controversial issues that cause divisions today – the gift of tongues (1Cor. 14:2-28), head coverings (1Cor. 11:3-16), women speakers (1Cor. 14:33-35), communion (1Cor. 11:20-34) – were just as prevalent among the Corinthians, yet they still remained one Church! The early Church had just as much opportunity to divide over these doctrines as any institutional "church" today, yet they overcame them all and continued to fellowship as one Church.

2.1.2.3 Division by Leadership

Many will be surprised to learn that the sin of division is probably committed most often by Christian leaders. While a doctrine itself cannot cause a split [2.1.2.2], it is usually a leader who causes a split by deceiving others to separate their fellowship over a particular doctrine. The person championing a particular doctrine may not be obvious at first, but there is almost always someone leading the charge behind the scenes who emerges as the defacto leader. Unfortunately, some leaders are really nothing but power-hungry dominators who seek control and influence by gathering disciples around themselves. Scripture cites several examples of charlatans like this who have been lurking around since the inception of the Church (Matt. 7:15-16, Acts 20:29-30, 2Cor. 11:1-13, Gal 1:7, 2Tim. 4:3-4, 2Pet. 2:1, Jude 1:8-10, Rev. 2:2). Paul's final message to the overseers at Ephesus, for example, warned: "I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. And among you yourselves, men will arise speaking perverted things to draw away disciples after themselves. So be alert and remember that day and night for three years I never stopped warning each of you with tears." (Acts 20:29-31). Wow! Realize that these Church leaders had even been personally trained by Paul! Such leaders never quite see themselves as "savage wolves" because they are sincere in their pursuit of some well-meaning but misguided cause that justifies their divisiveness [7.2.2.3]. They may think they are truly awesome in how they lead others to Christ, yet subtly this somehow gets translated into getting others to follow themselves. They often think they have a right to behave this way because of their unique talents or because they are a "pastor" or "apostle" (whether real or imagined). As it is in the world, it is a natural temptation for leaders to crave power – being a Christian leader does not make them immune from this temptation of the sinful nature.

Some leaders, however, do not cause division intentionally, yet they still allow it to happen as they let the masses elevate them in status and essentially make them objects of Christian "hero worship". In such cases, Christians become divided as each one aligns their loyalty after their own preferred leader. One leader is followed because he is a better teacher, another because he is more charismatic, another because he is more caring, etc. The end result is that the Christians divide their fellowship along the lines of the leaders they follow. "Each one of you says 'I am of Paul' or 'I am of Apollos' or 'I am of Cephas' or 'I am of Christ'. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?" (1Cor. 1:12-13). Paul characterized this childish thinking as being "worldly" (1Cor. 3:1-3) and rebuked the Corinthians for "boasting about men" (1Cor. 3:21) since they should consider themselves as being "of Christ" (1Cor. 3:22-23). Although such leaders may not personally be guilty of directly promoting themselves, they must still be careful to deflect other’s praise to God, lest they be judged with Herod’s fate (Acts 12:21-23). Such leaders sin not because someone may idolize them, but because they continue to let others idolize them. No true man of God would ever allow others to follow after himself in this manner [6.2.2.2]!

Many Christians have given up their ambitions for fame and praise among men in the world, but instead they have replaced it with ambitions for fame and praise among men in the Church. Perhaps this is done subconsciously, but they are inwardly coveting praise from the Church that rightfully and solely belongs to Jesus Christ. But whether intentional or unintentional, a leader simply cannot succeed in causing division unless other Christians are willing to go along with them (2Cor. 11:19-20). Christians who acquiesce to follow these leaders become accomplices to sin and are perhaps just as guilty by their complicity [6.2.2.3]. The early Church had just as many opportunities to divide over their leaders as any institutional "church" today, yet they overcame them and continued to fellowship as one Church.

2.2 Counterfeit Philosophies

The sin of division is indeed rampant among Christians today. There are so many divisions over attributes that there are separate Black, Chinese, and Hispanic institutional "churches" all in the same city. There are so many divisions over doctrines that you can now find a "church" somewhere tailored to accommodate almost anything you want to believe (2Tim. 4:3). And there are so many divisions over leadership that some seminaries train professional wolves to maintain their denominations' division (Acts 20:29-30). Remember the early Church had all of the same temptations to divide as the institutional "churches" today, but they did not! The fact that these things are still used as excuses for division speaks volumes about the immaturity of Christians today.

2.2.1 Characteristics of Division

The following subsections illustrate some of the basic characteristics of division that are present today. Obviously these characteristics may be present to various degrees and a group does not necessarily have to do all of these things in order to be divisive. But certainly the presence of even one of these characteristics is sufficient evidence to prove an organization's divisiveness and their sin against Jesus Christ who would only have one Body!

2.2.1.1 Institutionalization

Most divisions in the Church have become solidified into various institutional "churches" [1.2.2]. Institutional divisions do not come about by accident; they are created by men who sin [2.1.2]. Every time someone starts yet another "church", it is because someone is committing yet another sin. Institutional "churches" are not incidental structures; they represent real divisions over attributes, doctrines, and leadership. There should only be one Church in any given city, but men have created one "church" for every street corner! In a single city there are usually hundreds of various "churches" dividing Christ’s people among competing causes. When people ask, "Which church do you go to?" they are basically asking you to specify which division you belong to [2.2.2]. If all Christians belonged to the same Church, this would be a nonsensical question [1.2.1]. Although there are some divisions that do not become institutional "churches" right away, every institutional "church" by its very nature is a division. The nature of division is inherent within the very process of institutionalization. An institutional "church" could not become a non-profit corporation, select a unique name, or build their own building unless they were already a division, functioning as a separate group apart from the rest of the Church. Notice that the institutional "churches" which become non-profit corporations don't even all belong to the same corporation [1.2.3.1]! Such institutions cause Christians to choose up sides over man-made organizations that have nothing to do with the Church. These things only serve to separate Christians in the Church and get them to belong to something that is not the Church.

One of the basic reasons why men start these institutional "churches" is because they feel that their particular brand of Christianity is unique (or even superior) in theology, practice, or structure and thus they decide to form a new organization to set it apart from the rest of the "churches". Such organizations are usually started out of a sincere but misguided intention to advance the cause of Christ as they perceive it. But the sin of division is never justified no matter how much better someone thinks their organization is [2.1.2.2]. A "cutting edge" institutional "church" might use non-sectarian labels like "non-denominational", "inter-denominational", or "independent", but it is still a division operating as a separate organizational entity apart from the Church [2.2.3.4]. Most of these organizations claim to be a "church" which in itself is proof of their division. How is that? When one of them says that they are a "church", it implies that there must be another "church" somewhere. If you are just a "church", then the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians down the street are also a "church". Yet according to Jesus Christ, there is only one Church [1.1.2]. You will not find a "church" mentioned in Scripture. This is not just because there is no indefinite article in the Greek, but because there is indeed no concept of separate "churches" in Scripture as if there were more than one denomination to choose from. If you are a true Christian, then you are part of the Church.

2.2.1.2 House "churches"

Many have begun to confuse the Church with a number of "house church", "home church", and "cell church" movements that are rapidly gaining in popularity today. Such entities are not the typical "small groups", "cell groups", or "home groups" that are merely mid-week meetings of an institutional "church", but they are independent groups that function as autonomous units. Most "house churches", "home churches", and "cell churches" have no particular affiliation, although some have been clustered together in loose associations. Thus, there is not one kind of "house church" per se, but many unrelated movements, some of which can be quite unscriptural and divisive in nature. Many of them are really nothing but smaller versions of institutional "churches". And if given the chance to grow in numbers, they would be indistinguishable from any other institutional "church". Such groups often implement the very same unbiblical practices as any other institutional "church", but the only difference is that they are smaller and more informal. They have correctly rejected the idea that the "church" is a building, but instead still operate as if the "church" is a meeting in a home [4.1.1]. Such "house church" movements may be much more Biblical in their use of terminology than the typical institutional "church", but they are still just man-made divisions – just smaller ones. Moving some "church" goers from a building to a house doesn't necessarily change anything. Being more informal, choosing a lay leader, exchanging pews for a sofa, or replacing the organ with a guitar solves nothing here regarding the sin of division. By discovering that the early Church met in homes [4.1.1.3], some "house church" groups merely stress that having home meetings are more Biblical than building a dedicated "church" building [s.2]. The Biblical Church may indeed have met in houses, but simply meeting in a house does not mean you are a Biblical Church. Unfortunately, many have lumped those who correctly understand the Church in with these "house church" movements and thus confused the Church with something that looks more like the Church than a regular institutional "church", but yet is still not the Church.

Many will be surprised to learn that there is actually no such thing as a "house church" in Scripture. In Scripture, a house is not a type of "church", but merely one of many places that the Church can meet [4.1.1.3]. As previously stated, the Church does meet, but the Church is not a meeting, nor is it a meeting place. Members of the Church may decide to meet in a house, but the Church is not confined to a house. Scripture speaks of "the Church that meets" at someone's home, not that someone's house is a "church". In the same way, the Church also met at the beach (Acts 21:5) and at the temple (Acts 2:46, 5:12,42), but no one goes around saying they have a "beach church" or a "temple church". A house, beach, and temple are not types of "churches", they are merely some of the places that the Church can meet. Notice that there may be several divided "house church" organizations in the same city, but in Scripture there was only one Church in a city that simply met in different houses. Do you understand the difference? Conversely, if members of the Church do just happen to meet in a house, it doesn't necessarily mean they have become a "house church" organization or are necessarily meeting in division.

2.2.1.3 Membership

Most institutional "churches" offer some type of membership just like any other social club. Constituents are formally admitted to the organization after meeting the official membership requirements. In some cases, membership status is only informally denoted by inclusion in a phone directory or mailing list, much like a club roster. Notice that these membership directories do not list every Christian they know living in their area, but only people associated with their particular man-made organization. It is also not uncommon for non-Christians to become members of institutional "churches" [1.2.4.2], as they can easily speak and act like Christians (and some mistakenly think they are Christians). This is possible because membership in an institutional "church" relates to a physical identification with a social organization, whereas membership in the Church relates to a spiritual identification with Jesus Christ. Men can decide who is a member of their "church", but only Jesus decides who is a member of the Church [1.1.1.1]. Some institutional "churches" are so dead that not even a single member is really a Christian, but in the Church, on the other hand, not even a single member is a non-Christian!

Membership in an institutional "church" is often required in order to obtain certain privileges such as holding office, voting, participating in the service, receiving aid, or taking communion. Simply being a Christian alone does not qualify you for these benefits, you must be a Christian and also a member of their institution. Many Christians have been faithful attenders of an institutional "church" for years, but are still denied these benefits because they haven't officially "signed up" as members. Granted most of these "benefits" are entirely unbiblical anyway, but it shows the spirit of division exists even inside the institution (which is itself a division). The Christians who are members of the institution are treated differently than the Christians who attend there but aren't official members. Would you withhold financial aid from a Christian in need just because they are not members of your institutional "church"? "But whoever has worldly means and sees his brother in need but closes his heart toward him, how can the love of God abide in him?" (1Jn. 3:17).

Although some of the more cultic institutions believe someone is not truly a Christian unless they join their "church" [1.2.1.2], many institutions look at membership in their "church" as a demonstration of your commitment to their group. They may acknowledge that you are a Christian, but if you do not become a member of their "church" then they take that as a sign that you may not be completely committed to them. In practice, most institutional "churches" are not committed to all Christians in the Church, but only to the Christians (and non-Christians) that join their "church". All the "one another" verses in Scripture, however, are not limited to just a select group of Christians within some man-made division [3.1.2.1]. When a person becomes a Christian, they should automatically be committed to all Christians – not to just some of the Christians.

How ridiculous it is for someone to become a member of the Church when they become a Christian and then be told that they also need to have a second membership in an institutional "church". The new convert says, "What? I thought I joined the Church when I became a Christian? And now you're telling me I need to join another organization?" There is not a dual membership – one for the Church and another for a man-made "church" – and you will not find this nonsense anywhere in Scripture!

2.2.1.4 Proprietary Names

One of the more obvious signs of division is the selection of a unique self-appointed name to differentiate one group of Christians from the others. Almost every institutional "church" selects a unique name to represent their "ministry" in order to set them apart and distinguish them from the rest of ordinary Christendom. Even groups that never formally materialize as official organizations almost always develop a need to select a name to set themselves apart from the rest. But anytime someone needs an additional label to explain what kind of "church" they are, they are not identifying with the only Church that there is [1.3.3]. Have you ever wondered why the names of institutional "churches" today are not found anywhere in the Bible? Because they did not exist! There are no names of institutional "churches" in the Scripture, because there were no institution "churches"! The man-made institutional "churches" were started by men, named by men, and in some cases even named after men! Why do so many Christian groups seem to have such an incredible need to make up names for themselves? There is certainly no Scripture that tells them to make up a unique name for themselves. And anyone who thinks that God gave them the name for their new institution is simply mistaken, for God has never authorized Christians to divide themselves from each other by selecting different organizational names [7.2.5.3]. Actually the only entity that requires organizations to select unique names for themselves is not God, but the government who requires non-profit corporations to register a unique name [1.2.3.1].

No, the basis for choosing a divisive name is usually just the plain old ugly sin of pride! The institutional "churches" are not content just to fellowship as ordinary Christians; they literally have to make a name for themselves. Their sin is like those who built the tower of Babel: "Come let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens so that we can make a name for ourselves..." (Gen. 11:4). They want to select a name for their institutional "church" so that they are distinguished from those other (perhaps less enlightened) Christians. They are more interested in making a name for themselves as they build their own institutional kingdom, rather than building up the kingdom of God, which requires no name. In one sense, if people are already meeting as an institutional "church", then picking a name is probably not much worse since they are already meeting in division. But isn't it strange that none of the Christians in the early Church ever developed this "need" to make up names for themselves? By some amazing feat, Christians in the early Church were able to fellowship with each other just fine without any additional made-up names! Even today, the "underground" Church in persecuted countries goes out of their way to make sure that they do not have such a name.

Sometimes it may not be clear whether a group of Christians is operating in division or not [2.2.1.5], but once they select a name to distinguish their group, there is no longer any doubt. The mere act of selecting a unique denominational label to distinguish one group of Christians from the others is by itself proof of divisiveness and has been the downfall of many who once fellowshipped as the Church. Perhaps a group may seem like a perfect "church" in every other regard, but as soon as they adopt a self-appointed name for themselves they are participating in the sin of division as they separate themselves from the other Christians. The divisiveness of such groups is merely revealed when they become proud enough to label themselves as being different from the others. When a group of Christians choose a name for themselves, they are choosing another identity that is different from the otherwise nameless Church that Jesus Christ established. They are not content to be associated with just the "plain old group" of believers in Jesus; so instead they select a new and unique identity to represent themselves. At the very least, this divides their organization from the Christians who refuse to sin by meeting under any unbiblical man-made identity. It demonstrates that they love their self-appointed empire more than they love these brothers, for they are willing to sacrifice fellowship with other Christians for the sake of maintaining an unbiblical identity. Any true Christians would gladly be willing to lose their divisive name for the privilege of fellowshipping with other brothers and sisters who will only meet in Jesus' name. But when institutional "churches" are confronted, their selfish pride usually becomes blatantly obvious for they are not willing to give up their prestigious made-up names.

Now some organizations would say that the name of their "church" is Biblical. Certainly, phrases such as "new creation", "upper room", "living water", etc. are found in Scripture, but they were not names of "churches"! An institution may have picked a Scriptural sounding name, but it is not Scriptural to have a particular name! Some of the more clever institutions have entitled their particular institution after a generic term that is used for the Church in the Bible such as "Church of Christ", "Church of God", or "Body of Christ". Indeed, for some of them it is probably necessary that they co-opt a Biblical name for their institution in order to fit their notion that they are "the only true church" [1.2.1.2]. Thus, whenever their members see this phrase in Scripture, they will think it is referring to the name of their particular man-made institutional "church". (Ah, but what happens when "Church of Christ" members come across the phrase "Church of God" in the Bible?) J In Scripture, the "Church of Christ", "Church of God", and "Body of Christ" are not three different denominations; they are just three of many common phrases used for the one Church [1.1.1]. The terms used for the Church in Scripture are generic terms that apply to all Christians (denoting unity), whereas some institutions are now using them as proprietary names to refer only to their specific group of Christians (denoting division).

It is certainly hard for some to understand why selecting "a little ol' name" is such a big deal to God, but the significance is spiritually discerned. Names are not inconsequential, but carry real spiritual significance. Those who select a name for themselves, inevitably link their identity as Christians to that name. To meet in the name of the X "church", is to meet under the authority of the X organization. Whatever X is, it isn't the authority of the Church started by Jesus Christ. Christians are not to meet under the identity of X, Christians are to meet in the name of Jesus and under His authority alone (Matt. 18:20, 1Cor. 5:4, Phil. 2:9-10). Meeting under any other man-made name is not authorized anywhere in the Bible! God is a jealous God and will not let His Spirit be tied to the authority of a man-made institution. Do you have ears to hear?

Of course, Christians cannot help it if others choose to pigeonhole them or label them by some derogatory name, but the Christians should never accept an organizational name for themselves or meet in such a name. As previously discussed, Christians are not meeting in division just because someone can externally label them, but they are definitely meeting in division if they have chosen a man-made name to distinguish themselves. Going back to the swimming pool analogy, there is obviously a big difference between someone referring to the water at the deep end of the pool and a group actually erecting a barrier in the pool and calling themselves "The Deep End" [1.1.2.1]. It may be permissible for Christians to give specific names and titles to inanimate objects such as books, programs, or events, but never to the Church. If someone decides to give a building, project, or corporation a name, just make sure no one thinks that name has anything to do with the Church! Do not meet in the name of a building, do not meet in the name of a project, do not meet in the name of a non-profit corporation – meet in the name of Jesus!

2.2.1.5 Divisive Actions

It is very rare, but not every division necessarily creates an official organization, establishes membership requirements, or chooses a self-appointed name to identify their group. In a given area, there could be a group of Christians that have not done any of these things, but are still divisive towards other Christians by their actions. Just because a group doesn't have a man-made name, for example, doesn't mean they are operating as the Church which also doesn't have a man-made name. For example, there could be two separate groups of "no-name" Christians both seemingly operating on Scriptural grounds, but yet they don't want to have anything to do with each other. They may not be divided in name, but they are still divided in reality. They may both say they are just Christians, yet they treat members of the other group differently from theirs, not as members of one Church. Simply lacking a name or organizational structure is not a guarantee that a group is not acting in division. A nameless group may also be operating in a spirit of division against their brothers and sisters in Christ who are caught up in institutional "churches". Do not become the sect of non-sectarian believers! Just because someone attends an institutional "church" does not mean that they cease to be a Christian or can be treated any differently [2.3.1.1]. That would be like "reverse discrimination" where a group tries to divide from all the other divisions. Notice that Paul rebuked those who said "I am of Christ" as this also can be divisive when people harbor a subtle pride and look down upon those who say "I am of Paul" or "I am of Apollos" in a condescending manner (1Cor. 1:11-13). The fact that you may even be right, does not mean that your attitude is right. "But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be destroyed by one another." (Gal. 5:15). No group of Christians should exclusively say, "We are the Church", but rather should recognize that they are only part of the Church. Are not deceived Christians also your brothers and sisters in Christ? Are they at least worthy of your loving correction?

Christians are not allowed to show favoritism regarding other believers (Jas. 2:1-4). Those involved in divisive actions do not truly love all of the brothers, for they only love some of the brothers. They treat Christians that they fellowship with in their group one way and they treat Christians who are outside their group another way [2.2.1.3]. They do not "submit to one another" (Eph. 5:21) in the Church, they only submit to the "one anothers" in their group. They disobey the "one another" Scriptures that apply toward all Christians, not just their particular organization [3.1.2.1]. Does someone stop being a Christian just because they are not a member of your group? Such groups can often be identified by divisive phrases like "This is the way we do things here." or "They are not flowing with us." Their use of "we" and "us" is not referring to the Church, but only to the way they want things done in their particular organization. Their members naturally speak of "my church" or "our church" when they talk about their group. (When did the "church" become yours and what are these other "churches" that aren't yours?) The idea that "they went out from among us because they were not of us" (1Jn. 2:19) is not in reference to different groups of Christians, but a reference to those who were non-Christians [1.1.3.1]. If there is any "we", "us", "my" or "our" that does not include all Christians, then there is a division. The only group of "we" or "us" among Christians should be the whole Church. This behavior is similar to when Jesus rebuked the disciples for becoming divisive simply because someone else did not "follow with us" (Mark 9:38-40, Luke 9:49-50). The problem wasn't that the person didn't follow Jesus, but the disciples were simply upset because he wasn't "one of us". Similarly, many "churches" are more concerned about finding out who is "with us" than those who are "with Jesus".

2.2.2 Consequences of Division

The damage inflicted upon the Church by the sin of division has been severe resulting in disputes, violence, and even wars. Those who tolerate the sin of division work to undermine the spiritual fellowship of the Church. Many Christians recognize this problem of division, but believe that the reality of the situation today is simply unavoidable. They have been conditioned to co-exist with division instead of seeking to eliminate it. Those who are content to tolerate the division of the institutional "churches" are tolerating sin and ultimately accomplices to that sin [2.1.2]. As a result, Christians have been herded into difference organizations, going in different directions, competing and even fighting among themselves. The diversity of gifts that God has intended for one Church have been divided among Christians who do not fellowship with each other, not because they have personal animosity towards each other, but simply because they belong to different institutions. What is the Church as a whole doing in your community?

2.2.2.1 Selecting a "church"

Whenever some picks out a "church" to go to, they are selecting an unbiblical entity to attend. The only reason why someone can even ask, "Where do you go to church?" [3.3.2.3] is because of institutional division. If Christians correctly understood that there is only one Church, this would be a nonsensical question. None of the early Christians ever picked out a "church" to go to, for there was only one Church. There is still only one Church today and it is not such an object that you can "go to" [1.2.1]. Most Christians today automatically assume that they must attend an institutional "church", for they do not know how to fellowship any other way [3.1.1]. They believe it is too late to do anything now about the divisions among thousands of institutional "churches", so the only thing they know to do is pick out the best "church" they can and try to be content. This raises the question then, "Which is the best church to go to?" The reason why someone selects one particular institutional "church" over another is usually determined by either a needs-based or theology-based approach.

The group of needs-based Christians tends to select a "church" based on which organization will best meet their needs: "Are the people caring?" "Does it have good childcare and teen programs?" "Will I be able to sing in the choir?" Even if they can't find a "church" that they are completely satisfied with, they usually just end up going to the one that they liked the most out of the ones they visited. These people do not care so much about the particular theology of the "church" they go to as long as it meets their needs. These people do not seem to be particularly divisive on the surface, yet they are still accomplices to the sin of division because they tolerate it. They did not start the division themselves, but they are willing to participate in it and keep it going. Once people begin to associate themselves with a particular "church", they associate themselves with the division that it represents. They may have some theoretical understanding of the unity of the Church, but their primary identity as a Christian is only founded in their institutional "church". In practice, their allegiance, associations, and loyalties as a Christian are based on a single man-made institutional "church". They would surely acknowledge that there are Christians in the other "churches", but their fellowship and service are only centered around the particular organization they have chosen [1.3.3].

The group of theology-based Christians, on the other hand, tends to select a "church" based on theological tenets or denominational doctrine. Some of them are merely casual shoppers at a religious theological smorgasbord: "Do they allow sprinkling so that I don't have to get my hair wet?" "Will they give me a second chance to improve in purgatory?" "Are we allowed to dance and watch movies?" Most people in this category, however, tend to be strict adherents to a set of theological ideals: "Do they subscribe to a certain systematic theology?" "Does the denomination have a line of apostolic succession?" "Do they adhere to a certain liturgy?" These people tend to be dogmatic about their theology, and if someone is not in the right "church" then they think they are unsaved or at least out of God's will. Their reaction to division is to simply belong to the right "church" and hope that others will stop their divisiveness and join their "church". They may not even acknowledge that there is any division, since their "church" is "the only true church" and thus any other organization is apostate [1.2.1.2]. These people tend to be more divisive than the others as they are willing to separate fellowship from other Christians simply because they are not in the right organization, that is, if they even acknowledge that there are other Christians outside their group. They do not apologize that their fellowship and service are only centered around their particular organization, for they are convinced that it is right. But just because these people may be ignorant or deceived does not justify their sin of division. These people directly participate in the sin of division as seen by both their attitude and actions [2.1.2].

2.2.2.2 Inoperable Scriptures?

Wherever Christians choose to embrace the division of the institutional "churches", there are entire sections of Scripture that are rendered essentially inoperable. Here are just a few examples:

The Scriptures on these topics are quite clear and are to be obeyed, yet it is not possible for the institutional "churches" to comply because of their unbiblical divisive system. You cannot redefine what the Church is, and then expect the rest of the Scripture to work. Biblical truth can only operate correctly in a Biblical environment. The solution to these problems, of course, is not to try to come up with some unbiblical work-arounds in order to co-exist with institutional division, but to eliminate the divisions that causes these problems to begin with! Come Lord Jesus!

2.2.3 Distorted Concepts of Unity

It is somewhat ironic that most institutional "churches" give lip service to the concept of unity, while they continue to operate as unbiblical institutional divisions in the Church. Since these institutions mistakenly think they are a "church", it is no wonder that they have equally strange notions concerning the unity of their "church". They tend to think that the "universal church" is the sum of all institutional "churches" and thus they strive to achieve areas of institutional commonality [2.2.3.3]. This kind of institutional "unity" was ultimately achieved by the Roman Catholic "church" during the Middle Ages where people were compelled to keep in line under the threat of torture and death. Is that unity? Those that don't understand the spiritual unity of Christians in one Lord, one faith, one Baptism, etc. are working instead to achieve structural uniformity in one systematic theology, one type of worship service, one leadership hierarchy, etc [2.1.1.1]. Despite centuries of this approach, there are now more institutional "churches" than ever. Understanding why their past misguided efforts at unity have failed, and always will fail, certainly begs the question, "How then can true unity ever be achieved?" Unfortunately, many will never understand the answer to this question precisely because they really do not understand the true nature of the Church.

Consider an analogy of how each institution sits atop of its own ivory tower it has constructed and tries to entice the stragglers in the courtyard below to come into their tower. To justify their divisive structures, they have invented various theologies about how they can be unified while remaining divided into their separate man-made towers. They may have open doors on their towers [2.2.3.1], maintain unity within their particular tower [2.2.3.2], build corridors between their towers [2.2.3.3], claim that a tower is not a tower [2.2.3.4], or to merge all the towers into one really big tower [2.2.3.5] – when the goal is to have no towers! The people need to tear down all of the artificially constructed towers (representing institutional division) and meet in the common courtyard (representing the open grounds of the Church). The point is not to argue about who had the first tower, the biggest tower, or the best tower, or to try to build the "one true tower"; the goal is not to meet in towers at all [1.2.2]!

One reason why the institutional "churches" reject the idea of meeting in the common courtyard is that they have invested so much in building their towers that they would never consider tearing them down now. They might even admit that tearing down all towers could possibly work, but they reject it as being too "extreme" considering how much it would cost them. If you ask an institutional "church" what their alternative plan is for achieving unity among all Christians, you will typically find that they don't have any plan. Most just subconsciously operate on the premise that everybody else should tear down towers and then join them in their tower. Yet if you confront them with the truth, sometimes even they can see that this is foolish proposition. Others would say, "We don't know how to achieve unity, it is up to God to supernaturally force us", yet they refuse to obey Jesus and repent of their sin of meeting in division. They might cite any number of the bogus ideas mentioned below, but if you will sit down and analyze them, it becomes quite obvious why they can never work. The reason why the institutional "churches" do not know how to achieve unity is precisely because they automatically reject the only possible step towards a solution – their man-made institutional shells they created must cease to exist. Meeting in the open grounds of the common courtyard is the only solution. Not only does logic necessitate it, but the Spirit of Christ demands it!

2.2.3.1 The Open Invitation

Under this false concept of unity, an institutional "church" thinks they are promoting unity because they openly welcome visitors regardless of any previous denominational affiliation. They believe they are furthering the cause of unity because they do not discriminate against anyone who would be willing to visit their organization. They have no animosity towards any other institution in their community and always try to coexist with them peacefully. Their "doors are always open" to anyone who wants to fellowship with their organization, even if they don't ever become members. They don't see how they could possibly be causing division, because there is no barrier on their part that would prevent anyone from joining them. The funny thing about this distorted concept is that almost every institutional "church" has this exact same policy! And this policy of "openness", of course, only works in one direction! Such an institution is happy to have a member of another institution visit their service, but they don't want to lose any of their members to the other institutions. They are "open" to anyone who wants to come and be a part of them, but they are not "open" to dissolve their own organization and fellowship with others. Thus, people are free to attend institutional "church" X and people are free to attend institutional "church" Y, but institutional "churches" X and Y still remain divided from each other. An institution may leave the door to their tower wide-open, yet they will not tear their tower down and meet in the common courtyard. After centuries of this one-directional "openness", institutional division still continues to thrive because this distorted concept can never lead to Biblical unity.

2.2.3.2 Unity within Division

Under this false concept of unity, an institutional "church" operates as if the word "unity" refers to nothing more than keeping the unity within their denomination. They may agree entirely with the Scriptural principles of unity discussed here, except they think that they only need to apply within their organization. Many emphasize the Scriptural principles of commitment and loyalty within their institutions, because they are concerned about losing their members to other institutions through "church hopping". (However, they don't seem to be quite as concerned when someone "hops" from another "church" into their "church".) J Some institutional "churches" will even preach frequent sermons on the importance of unity, but only as it relates to squelching contention within their congregation. Ironically, the point of these sermons is not that their institution should cease to exist as a division, but only that they should remain unified within their particular division. If a Christian in their organization were to promote a different doctrine, they would brand this person as a "heretic" for causing division within their division. (Some have suggested that their unbiblical institution be dissolved and were accused of causing division by advocating unity!) J An institution may preach excellent sermons on preserving "unity" within their tower, yet they will not tear their tower down and meet in the common courtyard. After centuries of this distorted preaching on unity, institutional division still continues to thrive because this distorted concept can never lead to Biblical unity.

2.2.3.3 Institutional Ecumenism

Under this false concept of unity, institutional "churches" think they are promoting unity by getting together in some capacity with other institutional "churches" for various functions. Sometime they try to unify around a set of doctrines using the "least common denominator" approach that compromises the truth in order to participate in a type of ecumenical institutional consortium. (Some "Council of Churches" have even sought to unify with the pagan religions!) They think that getting several divisions to cooperate in some limited capacity will somehow bring about the unity of the Church. Unfortunately, such efforts usually amount to nothing more than the oxymoron of harmonious division. The prevailing attitude of the leaders is: "I’ll bring my group and you bring your group and we’ll do this event together and then when it is over I’ll leave with my group and you leave with your group, and hopefully none of the people will change groups." But nothing is ever unified! Before the function starts, during the function, and after the function is over, the same institutional "churches" continue to exist as divisions. The divisions are happy to get along with each other as long as they can still retain their unique unbiblical identities. Several glasses of water may be kept great distances apart or they can even be placed right next to each other, but the water continues to exist in separate glasses. Institutional divisions can cooperate all they want, but they still operate individually as separate divisions, not one Church. The institutions may build inter-denominational corridors between their towers, yet they will not tear their towers down and meet in the common courtyard. After centuries of these ecumenical proceedings, institutional division still continues to thrive because this distorted concept can never lead to Biblical unity.

2.2.3.4 Non-Denominationalism

Under this false concept of unity, an institutional "church" thinks they are promoting unity because they are "non-denominational". They realize that the word "denomination" is actually synonymous with "division", so they simply claim that their institution is not a denomination. They don't think their institution is like those other divisive "mainline denominations" since they are open to accepting people from any theological background. They don't want to accept that they are yet another institutional division "just like all the rest of them", so they label themselves as "non-denominational", "inter-denominational", or "independent". They think that if their man-made institutional "church" is simply not called a denomination, then it isn't a division. But just because they do not call themselves a "denomination", does not mean that they are not an institutional division. The Church is indeed non-denominational, but it is not a non-denominational institution. Regardless of whether an institution is non-denominational, inter-denominational, or independent, it is not any less divisive than any other man-made institution. (Indeed, many non-denominational "churches" have actually grouped together to form non-denominational denominations!) J All they really have is an institutional division that says it isn't a division, for they still have a unique name, membership requirements, and institutional practices just like any other division [2.2.1]. It doesn't matter how an institution classifies itself, it is still a man-made division precisely because it is still a man-made institution. An institution can claim that its tower is "non-denominational", yet they will not tear their tower down and meet in the common courtyard. After centuries of various "non-denominational" movements, institutional division still continues to thrive because this distorted concept can never lead to Biblical unity.

2.2.3.5 Merging

While many can see the fallacies of the previous concepts, it is admittedly much harder for some to discern the error of merging institutions as a way to unity. Under this false concept of unity, an institutional "church" thinks they will be promoting the cause of unity by merging together with another institutional "church". By this logic, they think that merging will result in less division in the Body of Christ, but in actuality there will simply just be one bigger division. Two separate institutional "churches" may be merged into a new institution, but they are now just a bigger institution. (That is not to say that fewer institutional "churches" wouldn't be an improvement!) J Even if every institutional "church" were merged into one gigantic institutional "church", you would simply have one gigantic unbiblical man-made institution (containing some non-Christians), but not one Church. Should you try to reconcile all the unbiblical and extra-Biblical practices of the institutional "churches" and merge them all into a single denomination? This has already been achieved before – ever heard of the Roman Catholic "church"? Was it really spiritual unity that generated all of their unbiblical traditions and false doctrines [7.2.1.1]?

The problem with this concept can be illustrated nicely by considering a small town that only has one Methodist "church", for example. Wouldn't that surely count as having one united city Church? Here, some Christians in an area are meeting as a single unbiblical organizational identity, but that is not the one Church. If every Christian in town just happened to be a member of the Rotary club, that would not count as having one Church either [4.1.2]. Even though there may only be one physical Christian institution present, that would not necessarily represent the spiritual membership of the Church. And then if you were to consider that the only "church" in the next town over is a Baptist "church", the division now becomes even more apparent. To truly experience unity in the Church, there would not be one institutional "church" in an area, there would be no institutional "church" in an area – all unbiblical institutional divisions must cease to exist. The goal is not to try to create a man-made institutional singularity, but rather to embrace the spiritual unity of one Church [2.1.1]. Some institutions may merge into a bigger tower, yet they will not tear that tower down and meet in the common courtyard. After centuries of institutional mergers (and their subsequent splittings), institutional division still continues to thrive because this distorted concept can never lead to Biblical unity.

2.3 Practical Applications

Obviously, Scripture itself does not have anything specific to say about how to deal with thousands of man-made institutional "churches" because they did not exist during the New Testament period [1.2.2]. There were no mainline denominations, there were no "church" buildings; there were no institutional structures. As you begin to function in the Church, you may have trouble figuring out how to respond to these unbiblical man-made inventions. These sinful institutional divisions were never part of God's plan and clearly should be abolished, but until that happens what are you supposed to do?

2.3.1 Attending Institutional "churches"

How are you supposed to function as one Church in a city divided by several institutional "churches"? You might have a close relationship with a Baptist and another with a Presbyterian, but then they both refuse to fellowship with each other. If you follow the practices of one institutional "church", then you will be disobeying the practices of another "church". It is impossible to simultaneous follow all of their conflicting doctrines and practices at the same time! And how is leadership supposed to function in a divided city? The leaders of one denomination do not recognize the leaders of another denomination. You cannot submit to the "pastor" of the Baptist "church" and the "pastor" of the Methodist "church" at the same time. Since each denomination claims that their set of leaders is correct, how do you know which ones are valid?

What exists in most cities is some true Christians isolated from each other in different institutional "churches", surrounded by some members who are not even Christians, functioning in an unbiblical system because they don't know any better. The tragedy is that the Church is designed to function with the giftings of all the Christians in a community, but instead their gifts have become individualistic and confined within a particular institutional "church", not allowed to interact in the Church as a whole [3.2.2.3]. While some groups of Christians may have many obvious strengths, their weaknesses are often as equally glaring since they are isolated from other Christians who would bring balance. Each fragmented group is like a Body that is partially impaired – one group only has hands, one group has no feet, etc. (1Cor. 12:14-21). How are Christians in a city-wide Church supposed to function in such a crippled, divided, unbiblical environment? There are obviously no Scriptures addressing how to fellowship among multiple institutional "churches" in a city, for this is nothing but the sin of division [2.2.1.1].

2.3.1.1 Institutions Become Irrelevant

God does not view the Church through the institutional grid that has been artificially imposed by man. As you begin to recognize the Church, you may wonder how you should deal with the particular institutional "church" you have been attending. It is not unusual to become angry as you begin to understand the division and unbiblical practices that have been created by man-made institutional "churches". And it is perfectly understandable for you to want to be against these fraudulent institutional divisions, but you may not be against the Christians who have been deceived into attending them [1.3.2]. Do not harbor grudges, bitterness, or unforgiveness towards your brothers and sisters just because they are part of an institutional "church". Do not despise the valid contents just because they are stored in an invalid container; or as the saying goes, "Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater." While the institutional "churches" themselves are not part of the Church [1.2.2], any Christian who happens to attend an institutional "church" is still part of the Church [1.1.1]. A Christian should be able to fellowship with any other Christian regardless of whatever additional institutions they may be attending. Don't forget that some of you reading this right now also used to attend an institutional "church". You would not stop fellowshipping with Christians just because they belong to the Rotary club, nor should you stop fellowshipping with Christians just because they belong to the Baptist club or the Methodist club.

The physical man-made grid of the institutional "church" system is completely irrelevant to the spiritual purposes of the Church. Most people know Christians who attend other institutional "churches", yet they do not fellowship with them in any meaningful way as members of the same Church. If you cannot correctly discern the Body (1Cor. 11:29-30), then you will obviously have trouble functioning as a member of the Body. But once you begin relating to Christians instead of the institutions, the institutional structures soon become irrelevant to your fellowship in Christ (or perhaps at most a minor nuisance). Just find some other Christians who love Jesus and begin to fellowship with them [3.3.2]. When communist agents infiltrated a meeting of the underground Church, they did not ask, "Are you Baptist, Presbyterian, or Pentecostal?" they just asked, "Are you Christians?" The false denominational lines were even irrelevant to the atheistic government! Just because some Christians are involved in divisive institutional "churches" does not change the fact that they are still members of the Church. Such Christians may indeed be carrying around all kinds of superfluous institutional baggage, but they are nonetheless Christians whom you can encourage to grow in the Lord. Do not let any man-imposed divisional barrier hinder whatever fellowship may be possible with these brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter how misguided you think they may be. There may be exceptions, however, for how you deal with leaders of institutions who are directly responsible for causing division (Rom. 16:17, Tit. 3:10).

2.3.1.2 In the "church", but not of the "church"

After discovering the truth about the Church, many Christians often continue to fellowship with other Christians in institutional "churches". It is not necessary that you leave an institutional "church" as much as you leave the institutional "church" mentality [2.3.3]. If you have not yet found other Christians who are willing to conduct their fellowship in a Scriptural manner, it may be advisable for you to continue visiting some institutional "churches" in order to maintain some fellowship with other Christians. Quite often you will find that many of even your closest friends in a "church" are not willing to meet with you for fellowship outside of their unbiblical institutional "church" environment. Thus, if no one will go with you outside the camp, then you may have to go to them. Continuing to fellowship with others in an institutional "church" may not be ideal, but you are hardly under the judgment of God or condemned to Hell for doing so. You must realize that this type of fellowship at best will probably be limited, but limited fellowship may be better than no fellowship at all [3.2.3.1]. If these other Christians truly love Jesus, then they too may eventually come to the point that they no longer want to meet on the grounds of institutional division in an unbiblical "church" [2.2.3].

While Christians who understand the Church would not mind being visitors to an institutional "church", most would never want to be an official member of an institution [2.2.1.3]. Our fellowship is with Christians, not with institutions! To formally associate with a particular institutional "church" is to participate in the division that it represents. If you are still a member of an institutional "church", you will probably want to cancel your membership (whether official or unofficial) once you no longer want to identify with a man-made institutional division. You may remain in an institutional "church" but you are not of the institutional "church, just as Christians are in the world but not of the world. You should be identifying with the Church, not with a particular institutional "church" [1.3.3]. You might even attend several institutional "churches" to fellowship with many Christians, but your identity should be found in none of them. Consider that a Christian may be a member of the Seafarer yacht club, vote Republican, and attend a Presbyterian "church", but none of these clubs, corporations, or organizations has anything to do with his identity as a Christian. If someone were to ask him what kind of Christian he was, he would not identify himself as a "Seafarer", or a "Republican", nor as a "Presbyterian", because these man-made organizations are simply irrelevant to his identity as a Christian, a member of the Church.

2.3.2 Reforming Institutional "churches"

Some Christians try to remain in their institutional "churches" quite innocently at first, but over time it often becomes more and more difficult for them to simply overlook many of their unbiblical institutional practices [7.2]. The longer they stay, the more difficult it becomes to stay without being tempted to compromise and give in to some of their unbiblical institutional practices. In order to participate in the institution, they would naturally try to submit to the institutional leaders and follow the organization's by-laws as much as possible, but this often places them in compromising positions when "church" policies or theology directly violates the Scripture [5.3.2.3]. Some are tempted to go along with various unbiblical practices of the institutional "church" simply because by nature they do not to want to cause trouble or stir up dissention. But just because you fellowship in an institutional "church", does not give you an excuse to violate Scripture right along with them. Hiding behind the walls of an institutional "church" does not give you cover for disobeying Jesus Christ, nor does it release you from any of your obligations as a Christian in the Church [5.3.2.2].

2.3.2.1 Missionaries to the "churches"

While some tend to be "separatists" who just want to walk away from their institutional "church" and have nothing more to do with them, the majority usually tend to be "reformers" who feel obligated to try to stay and change things. They love their friends too much to simply walk away and let them continue to be deceived by a false institutional environment. Thus, they want to stay and be a kind of "missionary" to their institutional "church" in hopes of showing other Christians the truth about what the Church is. While this may be a noble cause, there are usually only two consequences to this action – either the "church" will be completely dissolved as an institutional division or you will ultimately be forced to leave. And unfortunately, the latter is normally the case!

Those of you who try to reform an institutional "church" are usually seen as a threat to the institutional leaders' power structure and accused of spreading false doctrine, or more ironically, causing division within their institutional division [2.2.3.2]. When confronted with the options of ceasing to exist as an unbiblical division or getting rid of the troublemaker, you might have guessed that most institutional "churches" would rather ask you to leave, force you to leave, or make you want to leave. You would think that the leaders would owe it to you to at least try to "work with you" on this issue, but that is almost never the case. Do not be surprised that after all of your years of dedicated service to the "church", the leaders will be quite happy to see you leave. This may be hard for you to accept now as you are reading this, but you will probably not be missed at all! This is a common theme in the testimony of many who have discovered the Church, only to be forced out of their institutional "church" [a.2]. Institutional "churches" are rarely abolished as there are tremendous politics and positions of power at stake which created their division in the first place. Some institutional "churches" have existed as unbiblical divisions for hundreds of years, so it is highly unlikely that they will have any interest to suddenly start obeying the Word of God now and give up their division.

If you endeavor to take on this "missionary" role, you should be warned that the truths of the Church are spiritually discerned and not easily understood by most institutional "church" members, especially if they are not Christians. It is virtually impossible to recruit people or make them see the truth of the Church unless God has prepared their hearts spiritually. Explaining the truth about the Church may confirm or awaken what is already in someone's heart, but otherwise no amount of Scriptural proof will seem to have any affect. You may be surprised to find that many of the model "church" goers that you think would eagerly accept the truth about the Church, reject it entirely. You must realize that most of them have invested their entire lives in the unbiblical institutional "church" system and are quite good at it, which is why they are model "church goers". But being good at playing "church" has no bearing whatsoever of a person's spirituality in the Church. Just because someone is a committed member of an institution does not mean that they are necessarily committed to the truth. In fact, it will often cause some to become even more defensive and resistant to the truth. Thus, you are advised to be careful with whom you share these truths. It is not necessarily wise to go around and dump these truth on just anyone, for Jesus himself withheld the truth at times from those who could not bear it (John 16:12) and even told others to withhold the truth (Matt. 8:4, 9:30, 12:16, 16:20, 17:9, Mark 1:44, 3:12, 5:43, 7:36, 8:30, 9:9, Luke 4:41, 8:56, 9:21). Some may try to use this book to recruit people out of institutional "churches", but unless the seed of truth already exists in someone, you probably won't be able to convince them otherwise [2.3.2.1]. Simply let the Lord lead you when and where to share these truths!

2.3.2.2 Institutional Elimination

If you are truly committed to being a "missionary" to an institutional "church", you must ultimately be committed to its eventual demise as an unbiblical institution – otherwise you would be compromising the truth of Scripture! For an institutional "church" to be truly reformed, is for it to completely cease to exist. The goal is not to improve the interior of a particular tower, the goal is to eliminate the towers and meet in the common courtyard on the open grounds of the Church [2.2.3]. The problem is not that there are some unbiblical practices that need reforming in the institutional "churches"; the problem is that institutional "churches" are themselves unbiblical! It is not really a matter of making adjustments to their practices, for what they are is wrong! If you keep trying to apply the principles of the Church in an institutional "church" you will probably just end up beating your head against the wall [7.1]. Many Biblical truths will never be able to function in an institutional environment for it is like mixing oil and water.

To exist as an institution is to exist as division in the Body of Christ, which is completely unscriptural and unacceptable in the Church. If you are truly a successful "missionary", then the Christians attending the "church" will renounce their institutional identity, eliminate their proprietary name, unincorporate, revoke their institutional memberships, etc. and thus the unbiblical organization itself will cease to exist as an institutional division. The Christians, of course, would then simply need to identify themselves with the Church and begin fellowshipping with one another in a Scriptural manner. No relationships among the Christians need to cease; only the institution itself should cease! In fact, their relationships would then be greatly enhanced as they begin to experience spiritual fellowship with one another in a Scriptural manner. There would no longer be any unbiblical institutional barriers, false leadership structures, or other unbiblical practices to hinder the Life of the Church as God has intended.

2.3.3 Leaving Institutional "churches"

People leave institutional "churches" all of the time for all sorts of reasons: personality conflicts, doctrinal disagreements, moving to a new area, finding a better "church", or even getting kicked out. When one institutional "church" doesn't work out for some reason, most Christians just find another institutional "church" to join. In these cases, someone may have left an institutional "church", but still the mindset of the institutional "church" has not necessarily left them. They are not leaving an institution because they recognize the Church; they are simply leaving one institution to join another institution. They are merely leaving one division for another division. They are leaving one "church" for another "church", because they still do not recognize the Church. Such people still think the Church is an institution; they just are looking to find a different one. Some people get so emotionally wounded or "burned" by an institution that they quit going to a "church" altogether [3.2.3.1]. Here again, they may have left an institutional "church", but they still have not embraced the Church. Should one of these ever decide to seek fellowship again, they would simply find another institutional "church" to attend because the institutional "church" mentality has not left them. You can take the man out of the institution, but it is difficult to take the institution out of the man. Lot's wife left Sodom, but the enticement of Sodom did not leave her (Gen. 19:26).

Obviously, there is no Scriptural example of a Christian leaving one "church" and joining a different "church" because there weren't any institutional "churches"! A Christian back then could not leave the Presbyterian sect and join the Methodist sect because they did not exist. There was only one Church, and it wasn't a building, meeting, or organization that a Christian could physically leave anyway. The early Christians did not go to "church" and thus they could never leave a "church" [3.3.2.3]. Thus, when "leaving" is spoken of here, the emphasis is on leaving the institutional mentality, which may or may not result in physically leaving a particular institutional "church". Leaving an institutional "church" does not mean you can leave Christian fellowship [3.2.3.1]. The emphasis simply shifts from fellowshipping with an institution, to fellowshipping with Christians, regardless of any institutional affiliation. Institutional affiliation simply becomes irrelevant [2.3.1.1]!

2.3.3.1 A New Direction

After some point in time, many Christians eventually decide to step out of the limitations of their unbiblical institutional environments to begin functioning as the Church as God intended. If no Christians ever left the confines of their institutional "churches", then a practical unity in the Church could never be realized [2.2.3]. It is not that it is necessarily wrong for you to continue to attend an institutional "church", but then again, there isn't much that is necessarily right about it either. Once you no longer want to identify yourself with an institutional division, you may soon lose the desire to fellowship with other Christians on the grounds of division. Not because you are reacting to a particular practice within the division, but because you no longer want to be a party to the division itself. It makes little sense to be constrained to fellowship with Christians in a divisive institutional environment, if you can just as easily fellowship with other Christians in a Scriptural manner. At some point in time, it often becomes counterproductive to keep trying to put new wine into an old wineskin (Matt. 9:16-17, Mark 2:21-22, Luke 5:36-38). How wearisome it is to continue to put up with unbiblical fellowship [3.2], unbiblical meetings [4.2], unbiblical authority [5.2], unbiblical leadership [6.2], and unbiblical practices [7.2] that only go to hinder true spiritual fellowship in the Church. "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" (Luke 24:5).

Some have to leave an institutional "church" because they are forced out or are no longer welcome [2.3.2.1], but many leave once they simply no longer have a reason to stay. You may be surprised at how many genuine Christians who truly love the Lord have simply stopped attending institutional "churches" because they are looking for something better. As you begin to base your fellowship with other Christians on your commonality in Christ, you may soon find that you no longer need an institutional framework to prop up your relationships. You may reach a point when you don't want to waste your time constantly reacting to the unbiblical policies of the institutional "church" as much as you want to spend your time focusing on Jesus in spiritual fellowship with the Church.

2.3.3.2 Counting the Cost

But before anyone stops attending their institutional "church", they should first ask themselves, "Are you sure you are ready to leave?" Some people may be intellectually ready to leave the institutional "church" system, but spiritually they are not yet ready to accept the consequences. Many have left their institutional "churches" only to later return to Egypt because they failed to count the cost of what it means to fellowship as the Church [3.3.1.3]. There is a personal cost to spiritual fellowship as you sacrifice your own independence, anonymity, superficiality, and compartmentalization of institutional religion [3.1.2.1]. If you physically leave an institutional "church", many of your current relationships will probably not be maintained beyond a casual acquaintanceship because the glue of institutional commonality will no longer be there to hold them together. You may come to discover that much of your fellowship was not actually based on unity in Christ, but only on unity within an institutional "church" [2.2.3.2]. Thus when your attendance ends, your relationships with them also end, for many will not be willing to maintain fellowship with you outside of their institutional structure.

The unfortunate reality is that some who grasp the truths concerning the Church are simply not prepared to pay the cost of implementing them in their lives. They are not ready to part with a comfortable institutional environment, lose social status, experience rejection, or even suffer religious persecution just for the sake of the truth alone [3.3.1.2]. Some would never consider leaving the confines of their nice institutional environment unless they knew how they could benefit from it personally. Their comfort level is more important than the truth. They would sing, "If none go with me, then I won't follow." But this kind of thinking has no place in the kingdom of God. Are you truly committed to following Jesus? No matter what the cost? Ultimately there is a huge cost to those who are willing to be the Church, instead of just playing "church". Going to "church" once a week and sitting passively in a pew doesn't ask much of you. It is much easier to coast through life under the false safety net of Churchianity, rather than live the total commitment required of a true Christian. Christians persecuted in other countries continue to fellowship in the underground Church at the risk of their very lives. They have to fellowship this way, for they have no other options. But surprise, there is really no other option for you either if you have truly decided to follow Jesus! Of course, if other Christians choose to obey the Scriptures with you, your experience will be much better, but your ability to obey should not hinge upon what other people do. You may have to plow the fallow ground long and hard in order to establish fellowship with others on the grounds of the Church, but the fellowship of the Church is worth fighting for!

2.4 Challenge Questions

 

3. Fellowship

3.1 Scriptural Truths

After describing in the previous chapters exactly what the Church is, it would now be appropriate to begin discussing exactly what the Church does. Unfortunately, many keep making the same mistake of trying to mimic a pattern of what the Church did without really knowing what the Church is. Such efforts always prove to be futile as the correct house cannot be built (1Pet. 2:5) unless it is built on the correct foundation (1Cor. 3:10-15). You cannot do what the Church does without first being what the Church is! Does sitting anonymously through a "church" service for an hour each week constitute Biblical fellowship? Is sitting in rows and staring at the backs of other peoples' heads the way the family of God relates to each other? No, Biblical fellowship can only be experienced in a Biblical environment. Without the correct type of fellowship, the Church will not have the correct type of meetings [4.1], authority [5.1], leadership [6.1], or practices [7.1]. Some may actually have a vague idea about what the Church is, but even that does not mean they will be able to do what the Church does. That is because fellowship in the Church involves more than just knowing what the Church is, it is a matter of experiencing what the Church is. You cannot experience the fellowship of the Church apart from the Life of the Church [1.1.3]. This is so vitally important. It would be a grave mistake to skip ahead and try to apply the following chapters without first experiencing the spiritual fellowship that makes all these things possible.

3.1.1 Fellowship of the Spirit

The term "fellowship" in Scripture is translated from the Greek word "koinwnia" #2842 which conveys the ideas of sharing, intimacy, communion, partnership, and community. But what is the basis for our fellowship in the Church? A brief study of the word "koinwnia" in Scripture will quickly answer this question. Here are a few examples:

Notice that the fellowship of the Church is clearly spiritual in nature. The same things that provide the basis for our spiritual unity are the same things that provide the basis of our spiritual fellowship – one Body, one Spirit, one Hope, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, and one God (Eph. 4:4-6). These things provide the basis of our fellowship in the Church. In order to have "the fellowship of the Spirit" (2Cor. 13:14), one must first have the Spirit. "But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." (Rom. 8:9). Without the Holy Spirit, a person can have no place in the Church. Those who do not possess the Life of the Spirit only bring death to the assembly of saints. Even if you may have once been born again, you must continue to be filled with the Spirit (Acts 4:8,31, 9:17, 13:9,52, Eph. 5:18). The presence of the Spirit should not be a sporadic activity that only occurs during a heightened emotional time during a "worship service"; fellowship in the Spirit is to be a continuous experience. Christians are not allowed to disconnect and reconnect to the Spirit whenever it suits them, Christians must continue to walk in the Spirit at all times. "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." (Gal. 5:25).

The Church is a spiritual organism, not a physical organization [1.1.3]. A spiritual organism has fellowship in the Spirit, but a physical organization merely has fellowship in the flesh. "For those of the flesh set their mind on things of the flesh, but those of the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." (Rom. 8:5). Worldly organizations and social clubs fellowship in the flesh for they are held together by compatible personality types, liturgical tastes, common interests, similar opinions, or cultural traits [3.2.1]. The Church, however, is not based on fellowship in the flesh, but on fellowship in the Spirit. "We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God." (1Cor. 2:12). Fellowship in the Church is not natural; it is supernatural. The world will never understand the type of intimate fellowship that is only made possible by the Spirit of God. Christians may have incompatible personalities, different tastes, divergent interests, dissimilar opinions, and cultural differences in the flesh [2.1.2.1], yet they still can have fellowship in the same Spirit. "So from now on, we recognize no one according to the flesh." (2Cor. 5:16). That is because our fellowship is not dependent on our personalities; our fellowship is centered around Jesus Christ. "And our fellowship is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ." (1Jn. 1:3). Jesus Christ must always be the central "fellow" in our fellowship!

3.1.1.1 Priesthood of Believers

As previously discussed, people become members of the Church when they are born again of the Spirit [1.1.1.1]. "But the one who is joined to the Lord is one in Spirit." (1Cor. 6:17). This direct access to the Holy Spirit under the New Covenant represents a radical departure from the system of the Old Covenant where priests were instituted to serve as intermediaries between God and man. Under the New Covenant, there are no longer any such intermediates. "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (1Tim. 2:5). There are no longer any "middle men" as it is the responsibility of each Christian to know the Lord personally and to serve Him directly through the power of the Holy Spirit. "And no one will ever teach his neighbor or his brother saying, 'Know the Lord,' because everyone will know Me from the least to the greatest of them." (Heb. 8:11). There will be no grandchildren in Heaven, only children (John 1:12-13). "I will be their God and they will be My people." (Jer. 24:7, 32:38, Ezek. 11:20, 37:23, Heb. 8:10). Under the New Covenant, every Christian serves as a priest before God! "And You made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God and they will reign on the earth." (Rev. 5:10; cf. Rev. 1:6, 20:6). "But you are an elite class, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's possession." (1Pet. 2:9; cf. 1Pet. 2:5).

Old Covenant

New Covenant

§ Elite group were priests before God

§ Everyone is a priest before God

§ Some leaders were filled with the Spirit

§ Everyone is filled with Holy Spirit

§ Exceptional people had spiritual gifts

§ Everyone exercises spiritual gifts

§ A few prophets walked with the Lord

§ Everyone knows the Lord personally

Actually, the reason that the Lord gave people His Spirit was similar in both the Old Testament and New Testament – to empower individuals to do His work. The same Spirit once given to Kings, Prophets, and Priests is now given to you so that you will be empowered to do the will of God. The Spirit is not given just so that people can feel good and have a "bless me" party. Every Christian now is a priest, and thus every Christian is expected to minister as a priest [3.1.3]. "'Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison and did not help you?' He will answer them saying, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for the least of these, neither did you do to Me.'" (Matt. 25:44-45). There are no go betweens" in the Church to hide behind or blame "for each one should carry his own load" (Gal. 6:5). Jesus' yoke is light, but there is still a yoke (Matt. 11:29-30). Many Christians are intellectually aware of the verses that state we are all priests, but very few actually live their lives that way. Will you?

There is not just one "priest" position that can minister per group [3.2.2.3], for everyone in the Church is a priest. A priest does not need another priest to go before the Lord for himself! There are no mini-mediators to serve between you and our Mediator, Jesus Christ. Everyone must know God personally "from the least to the greatest" (Heb. 8:11), not just a 10 percent committed nucleus of core members. Everyone can hear directly from the Lord. "And as for you, the anointing that you received from Him remains in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you." (1Jn. 2:27; cf. John 6:45, Rom. 15:14, Heb. 5:12). Everyone is able to do the works of Jesus. "Truly, truly I tell you, those who believe in Me will do the works that I do and they will do greater than these because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12). Could you imagine what it would be like if an all-star cast of "pastors" in your town were assembled into a "dream team" and told to function together as one Church? Okay, now let us improve on this hypothetical and imagine that every Christian were walking in the miraculous power and anointing of Jesus Christ. Welcome to the Church!

3.1.1.2 Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual fellowship is further enhanced as each Christian shares their spiritual gifts with one another. "Now there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of services, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of operations, but the same God works all things in everyone. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." (1Cor. 12:4-7). Christians express spiritual "gifts" (Rom. 12:6, 1Cor. 12:4) that "function" (Rom. 12:4) with "manifestations" (1Cor. 12:7) that "operate" (1Cor. 12:6) as "services" (1Cor. 12:5) in the Church. Although there is not any particular official word to encompass all these meanings in Scripture, the term "spiritual gifts" will generally be used here for consistency purposes. These spiritual gifts are given by the Lord (1Cor. 12:18,28, Eph. 4:11) for the expressed purpose of "equipping the saints for the work of ministry to build up the Body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12). There are four major lists of spiritual gifts presented in Scripture. Notice that all of the lists overlap each other, yet none of them are exactly the same:

Rom. 12:6-8

1Cor. 12:8-10

1Cor. 12:28-30

Eph. 4:11

 

 

apostles

apostles

prophesying

prophecy

prophets

prophets

 

knowledge

 

 

exhorting

 

 

 

teaching

 

teachers

teachers

 

wisdom

 

 

 

miracles

miracles

 

 

faith

 

 

giving

 

 

 

 

 

 

evangelists

 

healing

healing

 

serving

 

helpfulness

 

leadership

 

administration

pastors

 

discernment

 

 

mercy

 

 

 

 

tongues

tongues

 

 

interpretation

interpretation

 

Remember all four lists of spiritual gifts were written by the same guy who was attempting to describe the incredible diversity of spiritual gifts, services, operations, manifestations, and functions that were emerging in the Church. Paul was not legislating which set of gifts were allowable; he was merely describing some of the gifts that were available. Notice that Paul made no effort to make the lists the same each time – they do not contain all the same items, they do not contain the same number of items, and they do not use the exact same terms to describe the same items. Sometimes these gifts are referenced by nouns describing the role of a person (prophet, evangelist, teacher) or function (prophecy, evangelism, teaching), and other times they are referenced by verbs describing the act (prophesy, evangelize, teach) or action (prophesying, evangelizing, teaching). Thus, through the gift of prophecy a prophet may prophesy a prophetic word. Likewise you could say that through the gift of teaching, a teacher may teach a teaching. All these forms are used throughout these lists, and all these forms are even used within the same list!

Unfortunately, there are several common misconceptions today concerning spiritual gifts. First, there is not a finite number of spiritual gifts describing what Christians can or should be doing. This should be obvious as none of the lists contain all the items and each list contains at least one item that is not mentioned in any of the other lists. Isn't it strange that Paul could not keep the number and names of spiritual gifts straight, as they were different each time he listed them? There are also other items that were not directly mentioned on these lists such as preacher (1Tim. 2:7, 2Tim. 1:11), deacon (Phil. 1:1, 1Tim. 3:8,10,12-13), and leader (Acts 15:22, Heb. 13:7,17,24). If each of these lists were meant to be exhaustive then the Romans would be arguing with the Corinthians and Ephesians about how many spiritual gifts there were and what they were! Second, there is no limit on the number of spiritual gifts a person may have. Paul is referred to as an apostle (Rom. 1:1, 1Cor. 1:1, 2Cor. 1:1, Gal. 1:1, Eph. 1:1, Col. 1:1, 1Tim. 1:1), preacher, teacher (1Tim. 2:7, 2Tim. 1:11), prophet (Acts 13:1), deacon (2Cor. 3:6, Eph. 3:7) and gifted as a healer (Acts 14:9-10, 28:8-9), evangelist (Rom. 15:20), miracle worker (Acts 28:3-5, 2Cor. 12:12), and speaker of tongues (1Cor. 14:18). Other individuals in Scripture are also cited as having multiple spiritual gifts such as Peter, John, Philip, Barnabas, Silas, and Timothy. Third, no spiritual gift places one person above another. All spiritual gifts are interdependent (1Cor. 12:20-21), indispensable (1Cor. 12:22), and equally honored (1Cor. 12:23-25). Just because one is gifted as an evangelist or prophet does not place him above a teacher, overseer, or any other Christian for that matter (1Cor. 3:5). Spiritual gifts should never be confused with institutional offices or positions [6.2.3] that carry official ranks or titles [6.2.2.1]. Each one should simply serve others as they are directed by the Lord. "Each one has received a gift to serve one another as good stewards of the multi-faceted grace of God." (1Pet. 4:10). Notice it says that "each one has", not "only one has", for every Christian is a priest [3.1.1.1]. (The existence and abuse of supernatural gifts are beyond the scope of this discussion.)

3.1.2 Family of God

Those who are truly connected to Jesus will also be connected to one another. The same Spirit that connects us to the Head is the same Spirit that connects the Body together. "What we have seen and heard, we also proclaim to you that you also may have fellowship with us and our fellowship is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ." (1Jn. 1:3). Just like the spokes of a wheel, we are all connected to Jesus and to each other by the same Spirit. Those who claim to fellowship with Jesus Christ "but walk in darkness" (1Jn. 1:6) will not be able to experience spiritual fellowship with one another. Perhaps they could have fellowship in the flesh, yes, but not fellowship in the Spirit. It is only because we share in the Spirit that we can truly have spiritual fellowship with one another. "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another." (1Jn. 1:7). Merely having membership in an institutional "church" will not enable anyone to have fellowship in the Church [1.1.1.1]. It is only as we have genuine fellowship "with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ" (1Jn. 1:3) that we can truly have fellowship with one another.

The Church is more than the sum of its individual parts [1.1.3]. The Church is more than just a collection of independent Christians, for we are connected together as a "body knit together" (Col. 2:19), "members of one another" (Rom. 12:5, Eph. 4:25), "contending as one man" (Phil. 1:27), "submitting to one another" (Eph. 5:21). The Church does not function through impersonal "attendance" to meetings, the Church functions through spiritual relationships with one another. Scripture uses the concept of a spiritual "family" (Gal. 6:10, Eph. 2:19, 1Tim. 3:15, 1Pet. 2:5) to underscore our inherent commitment to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Your relationships with other Christians should be every bit as intimate, informal, committed, and caring as any biological relative. Indeed, your birth in this spiritual family even takes precedence over your physical family (Matt. 10:35-37, 12:46-50, Luke 14:26). "There is no one who has left a house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields for My sake or the gospel's sake, but will receive a hundred times as much now at this time houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields with persecutions, and in the coming age, eternal life." (Mark 10:29-30). Just as a child does not get to decide who his brothers and sisters are in his physical family, Christians do not get to pick and choose who they can fellowship with in their spiritual family. It does not matter if you like them or not, you are automatically connected together with them in the Spirit as one family [1.3.3].

Scripture also uses the concept of the "Body of Christ" (1Cor. 12:12-27) as all the individual members function together as one Body [1.1.2]. "From Him the whole Body is fitted and held together by every supporting joint according to the work in proportion to each part causing the Body's growth by building itself up in love." (Eph. 4:16). Each member of the Body does not act independently, but works together in harmony, coordinated by the directions of the Head. "And the eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you' or again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you'." (1Cor. 12:21). The mindset of a "lone ranger" Christian is completely incompatible with Scripture [3.2.3.1].

Notice the kind of committed relationships that the early Christians had: "And all the believers were together and held everything in common; and they sold their property and possessions and distributed them to everyone accordingly to those who had need. Everyday they continued to meet in the temple with one accord. They broke bread from house to house and shared their meals in gladness and simplicity of heart." (Acts 2:44-46). It is not recorded that the Christians were commanded to share as a community in this way, for that was not necessary – this was just the natural (or should we say supernatural) result of fellowship in the Spirit. And this is the same type of communal life that can arise from fellowship in the Spirit today. This was not just a one-time occurrence that can never be repeated again; this is what is still happening now [a.2]! This type of lifestyle is not an unreachable ideal, theoretical pipe dream, or unrealistic goal; this is the norm that should still be expected. This isn't the "icing on the cake"; this is the cake! This is the fruit that should automatically result unless hindered by men's works of the flesh. If Christians are not sharing their lives together, then you can expect that something is fundamentally wrong [3.2].

3.1.2.1 Committed Relationships

Fellowship in the Spirit is not an optional exercise that only occurs whenever it is mutually beneficial or convenient to the parties involved. As we walk in the Spirit, this necessarily connects us to one another for we are each "members of one another" (Rom. 12:5, Eph. 4:25). Christians are to be actively involved in one another’s lives "daily" (Acts 2:46, 5:42, 6:1, Heb. 3:13). Fellowship is not a once-a-week meeting that only lasts for one hour, but is to be a continuous expression of the Spirit through daily relationships with one another. Commitment to Christ goes hand-in-hand with commitment to His Church, for the Head is not separate from the Body. Christians can do many spiritual things individually in the context of their personal relationship with the Lord (prayer, worship, evangelism, etc.), but some things can only be done corporately in fellowship with other Christians through relationships with one another. For example, Christians are commanded to:

"...one another". Obviously, "one another" requires at least another one! You cannot experience these things in isolation from other Christians. These things are not optional advice; they are the commands of Jesus Christ. There are also things we are commanded not to do to "one another" (Rom. 14:13, Gal. 5:15,26, Col. 3:9, Jas. 4:11, 5:9). Obedience to these commands does not depend at all on whether you feel like it or not. Failure to obey these commands is sin, plain and simple. "Therefore to the one who knows good to do and does not do it, to him it is sin." (Jas. 4:17). These commands are not meant to be followed begrudgingly, but should be the natural result of an attitude of mutuality, togetherness, and unity in the Spirit. Many Christians will carelessly skim over these Scriptures without ever really grasping their responsibilities towards one another in Christ. Go back and read the list again slowly! Does any of this sound like a loose connection of independent Christians who function together only when it is mutually beneficial? What ever happened to self-sacrifice, giving till it hurts, extravagant love, and depth of commitment?

Because of our commitment to one another, Christians are also commanded to deal very sternly with anyone who "calls himself a brother" but is sexually immoral, greedy, impure, idolater, drunkard, swindler (1Cor. 5:9-11, Eph. 5:5-7), idle (2Th. 3:6), divisive (Tit. 3:10), bitter (Heb. 12:15), godless (Heb. 12:16), etc. Although this kind of "tough love" can be quite difficult at times, obedience to these commands is still not optional (Matt. 18:15-17). "See that no one falls short of the grace of God; that no bitter root grows up causing trouble and thereby many be defiled." (Heb. 12:15). The Church is not a "hands off" impersonal gathering of acquaintances who learn to tolerate each other's sin [1.1.3.1]. "This problem doesn't concern me", "I don't like confrontation", and "That's not my ministry" are not valid excuses. The responsibility of rebuking someone caught in a sin cannot be shirked and passed off to any kind of leader, but is directly given as the responsibility of every Christian. Notice that Matthew 18:15-17 does not read like this: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell the pastor. But if he will not listen to him, have him bring along one or two elders. If he refuses to listen to them, have the pastor denounce him before the church." No, the responsibility of rebuking and correcting in love begins directly with anyone who sees a brother or sister in error [1.1.3.2]. "Brothers, see that none of you has an evil unbelieving heart departing from the living God." (Heb. 3:12).

As you can see, Christians are accountable to one another in virtually everyway. What a stark contrast to the institutional "church" system where there is no real accountability as the members attend meetings anonymously [4.2.2] and their leaders do not have to answer to their congregations [6.2.2.3] or even to each other [2.3.1]. In the Church, however, each person is directly accountable to God...who has then commanded us to hold each other accountable to Him. "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen. 4:9). Yes! But this accountability only goes in one direction. We hold each other accountable only to God, not to ourselves or to an organization! Your brother is not accountable to you, you hold your brother accountable to God. You are not accountable to your brother, your brother holds you accountable to God. It is clear in Scripture that there is no special accountability to Christian leaders, beyond what is incumbent upon all Christians [5.1.3]. This does not mean we don't have to submit to others, but only that we do not ultimately answer to them [6.1.3]. On judgment day, only God will be sitting on the throne and each man will have to give an account to Him alone (Heb. 9:27, Rev. 20:11-13).

3.1.2.2 Environment of Love

What then should be the predominant emphasis of Christian fellowship? Ultimately, all of the "one another" commands listed above could be summed up in the single command to "love one another" (John 13:34, 15:12, Rom. 12:10, 13:8, 1Th. 4:9, 1Pet. 1:22, 4:8, 1Jn. 3:11,14,23, 4:7,11-12, 2Jn. 1:5). "A new command I give you, that you love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another." (John 13:34). Love is ultimately the fulfillment of the entire Law (Matt. 22:35-40, Mark 12:38-21, Rom. 13:8-10, Gal. 5:14, Jas. 2:8). Love is not just performing a set of specific deeds but a way of life: "Let everything about you be done in love" (1Cor. 16:14), "Pursue love" (1Cor. 14:1), "Live a life of love" (Eph. 5:2). This kind of love is not humanistic, fleshly, or sentimental, but is deeply committed, sincere, and true. We must love each other in the Spirit (Col. 1:8), not in the flesh. "Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not jealous, not boastful, not proud, not rude, not self-seeking, not short-tempered, not thinking evil. Love does not rejoice over wrong, but rejoices with the truth. Love covers all things, trusts all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." (1Cor. 13:4-8). Who wouldn't want to fellowship in an environment like that? Welcome to the Church!

Is the Christian life merely about "church" services, programs, and tithing? People can argue about the merit of these activities, "but the greatest of these is love" (1Cor. 13:13). The Pharisees were extremely focused on all their religious duties too, but they did not have love (Luke 11:42). "Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love." (1Jn. 4:8). All of the validity of speaking in tongues, prophecy, knowledge, faith, generosity, and martyrdom is useless without the foundational environment of love (1Cor. 13:1-3, Col. 3:14). The love for the "brotherhood of believers" (1Pet. 2:17) is a fundamental sign of a genuine Christian (1Jn. 3:14). If this love for the brothers and sisters is missing, then something is fundamentally wrong. "Anyone who says he is in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness." (1Jn. 2:9). So many organizations keep trying to play "church" without this fundamental commitment to each other. "Dear children, let us not love in word or tongue, but with actions and truth." (1Jn. 3:18). Fellowship is more about sharing together in His sufferings (Phil. 3:10) than simply gaining head knowledge. Would you rather be known as someone who had a great theological intellect, or someone who had great love? The world is to know that we are Christians by our love, not by our bumper stickers, newspaper ads, and signs on "church" buildings. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35).

3.1.3 Outreach

Just like natural life, one of the primary characteristics of spiritual Life is that it reproduces. Any valid spiritual fellowship will inherently want to reach out to other fellows. The Church is commanded to reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ (Matt. 24:14, John 4:35-38, 2Cor. 5:18-20, 2Tim. 4:2,5). "Therefore go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19). Christians are not to isolate themselves into a utopian community hidden away from the world, for we are the "salt of the earth", the "light of the world", a "city on a hill" (Matt. 5:13-14), "shining like stars in the universe" in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Phil. 2:15). The Church must go into the world because the world can't come into the Church [1.1.3.1]. Scripture documents that this can be accomplished in a variety of ways: witnessing to others one-on-one (John 4:6-26, Acts 8:26-40), open-air preaching (Luke 4:43, Acts 2:14), performing miracles (Matt. 9:2-8, Acts 3:1-10), etc. "Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed." (Phil. 1:18). If reaching out to others is not a normal result of your fellowship, then perhaps you are not having the right kind of fellowship. "Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men." (2Cor. 5:11). If your "church" is not actively sharing the gospel, then there is indeed something wrong with that "church". Any group that does not share the Life, probably did not have the Life to begin with. They can't share what they don't have! Experience has shown that groups who become self-focused or inward-centered soon decline spiritually, resulting in politics, backbiting, and empty rituals. Their meetings eventually degenerate in to nothing more than "bless me" parties with limited anointing since they are not walking on the front lines of God's will.

Certainly, not everybody will be spiritually gifted as an evangelist, but everybody is still required to "do the work of an evangelist" (2Tim. 4:5). Jesus said, "Follow after Me and I will make you become fishers of men." (Mark 1:17). Evangelism is not meant to be a sporadic activity where every once in a while you get under enough guilt that you go out and perform your evangelistic "duty" thereby easing your conscience so that you can feel spiritual again. Evangelism is lifestyle – a natural result of spiritual Life, that is, if you are really connected to the Life. Evangelism does not have to be a "hit and run" or "lump and dump" activity, but is a privilege of sharing of our spiritual lives. "So longing for you, we were pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our lives because you became dear to us." (1Th. 2:8). If reaching out to others in some fashion is not a normal part of your Christian life, then something is fundamentally wrong. A great deal more on this topic has already been covered by many other books, so only a few relevant points have been highlighted here.

Evangelism is just part of the responsibility that comes with the great privilege of serving as a priest. If you are a priest, then who are you a priest to? "He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as if God were appealing through us." (2Cor. 5:19-20). This is not a "herd mentality" where as long as someone else is evangelizing then your personal responsibility is satisfied. No, this is part of the responsibility that is given to each Christian as a priest before God [3.1.1.1]. The Spirit wasn't given to you just for you. The Spirit was given to you so that you could minister to others. What exactly did you think a priest was supposed to do? Just passively sit through a "church" service once a week? No! We are to do the same things that Jesus did...and even greater. "Truly, truly I tell you, those who believe in Me will do the works that I do and they will do greater than these because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12). Do you get it? This is what you are supposed to do! That's right, the same things that Jesus did are the same things that you are to do. (Christianity would be a great religion if it weren't for that Bible!) J Okay, so what did Jesus do? "The blind see again, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are evangelized." (Luke 7:22). You also can do what Jesus did, if Jesus is really in you. Jesus was more than just an abstract role model to admire – Jesus is in us (Col. 1:27)! "Those who say they abide in Him must also walk as He walked." (1Jn. 2:6). You are to follow in Jesus' footsteps (1Pet. 2:21). Are you also able to say, "The spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He anointed Me to evangelize the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and restore sight to the blind, to release the oppressed..." (Luke 4:18)? Scripture indicates that miraculous signs accompany those who are reaching out to others in order to confirm the gospel (Mark 16:17-18, Acts 8:13, 14:3, Rom. 15:19, Heb. 2:4). What types of signs accompany you? At the end of your life, will the only signs that follow you be that you tithed and kept a pew warm?

3.2 Counterfeit Philosophies

The community of sharing in a close-knit spiritual family described above is usually very attractive to most Christians. Most Christians instinctively know that this is the way things ought to be among brothers and sisters in Christ, and yet few rarely experience anything close to this. Why is this? Although many organizations set it as their goal to emulate the pattern of Acts 2:42-47, they never seem to be able to achieve this in their institutional environment. For apart from a valid context of Biblical fellowship, no other aspects of the Church will function properly. There can be no Church apart from the Life of the Church! Most institutional "churches" do not have the right kind of meetings [4.2], authority [5.2], leadership [6.2], or practices [7.2] precisely because they do not have the right kind of fellowship. And they do not have the right kind of fellowship because they are not even part of the Church in the first place! Thus, the best they can hope to do is to superficially mimic that which would otherwise naturally result from the Life of the Church. They are not a part of the Church, yet they still try to look like the Church. Those who can...do, and those who can't...fake it!

How is it that so many organizations claim to be a "church", and yet they don't behave anything like the Church described in the New Testament? Sure, most institutional "churches" would say they try to follow the Scriptures, yet in reality they don't even come close to experiencing the dynamic fellowship described in those same Scriptures [3.2.2.1]. In futility, they have resorted to the methods of worldly organizations to try to reproduce the Life that is only possible in a spiritual organism. Indeed, many will never experience what the Church does because they are not what the Church is. They would struggle in the flesh to artificially imitate that which flows quite naturally from the Life of the Spirit. Nevertheless, they press on! There is no need to discuss what an institutional "church" really should be doing, because there should not be any institutional "churches" to begin with! If an institutional "church" ever decided to start obeying the Word of God, the first thing it would need to do is cease being an institutional "church" [2.3.2.2].

3.2.1 Fellowship of the Flesh

The creation of institutional "churches" did not come about through fellowship in the Spirit, but through fellowship in the flesh. The basis for their unbiblical existence is really not any different than any other worldly organization. Some may indeed have some fellowship of the Spirit occurring within their walls, but that is not the primary basis for their existence. Whatever gives an institutional "church" its unique identity, beyond the simple fellowship of the Spirit, establishes the basis for its existence [2.2.1.4]. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any need for them to exist! If you just have the fellowship of the Spirit, then you just have the Church. But if you try to combine this with additional requirements of the flesh, then you have created the basis for an institutional "church" [1.2.2].

These are just some of the fleshly characteristics that provide the common grounds for fellowship in an institutional "church". These are the things that hold them together and give them a distinct identity. These are the things that make one institutional "church" different from all the other "churches". If you rob one of these "churches" of their particular emphasis or forte, then they would hardly be distinguishable from any other "church". The relationships in institutional "churches" are often maintained almost exclusively on these fleshly grounds of division [2.2.1.1]. Even if someone doesn't know the others in their institutional "church" very well, there is still an assumed level of cohesiveness simply because they all belong to the same club, regardless of whether they are actually Christians or not. These institutional relationships are held together based on these fleshly characteristics just like any other worldly organization. Apart from these characteristics of the flesh, many of these institutional "churches" would simply cease to exist. Some groups may have originally started with the Spirit but then later degenerated into an institution after they began relying on these things of the flesh. "Are you so foolish that having begun in the Spirit you are now being perfected in the flesh?" (Gal. 3:3).

Again, no one is saying that there can never be any spiritual activity within an institutional "church", but only that that is not the basis for their existence. Ironically, these fleshly things that provide "unity" within an institutional "church" are the same things that create division in the Church. The institutional "churches" that unify around a particular combination of these characteristics divide themselves from other institutional "churches" that unify around a different combination of these characteristics. Ironically, this fleshly "unity" of institutional "churches" works against the spiritual unity of the Church, while the spiritual unity of the Church works against this fleshly "unity" of institutional "churches". They are diametrically opposed. "For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh." (Gal. 5:17; cf. John 3:6, Rom. 8:5, Gal. 6:8, Phil. 3:3). The religious spirit of the "church" fights against the Spirit of the Church! "But even then as the one born according to the flesh persecuted the one born of the Spirit, so it is also now." (Gal. 4:29). Of course, Christians most certainly have flesh, but we simply do not fellowship with one another on that basis (2Cor. 5:16).

3.2.2 Priesthood of Couch Potatoes

As mentioned above, everyone in the Church functions as a priest (1Pet. 2:5,9, Rev. 1:6, 5:10, 20:6), sharing their spiritual gifts (1Cor. 12:7,11, Eph. 4:7) and serving one another (Gal. 5:13, 1Pet. 4:10) on a daily basis (Acts 2:46, 5:42, 6:1, Heb. 3:13). But this is hardly the case in the institutional "churches". The average institutional "church" member does not function as a priest and is neither responsible nor accountable for anything. By far, the vast majority do nothing but attend a one hour program once a week [4.2.2]. The typical "church" member is not expected to preach the gospel, feed the hungry, minister to prisoners, or heal the sick [3.1.3]. In harsh reality, their main responsibility is to tithe so that others can do these things for them. Have you noticed that being a "partner" with most ministries simply means giving them your money? They are happy to be impersonal supporters of an institution with a good moral cause, but just don't expect them to give their lives to God or anything. Undoubtedly, some of them are actually non-Christians so it would be foolish to expect much more from them anyway.

The members who are Christians, however, are soon conditioned to become institutionalized for they are essentially trained to become passive spectators. Their spiritual gifts lie dormant and have atrophied because someone else has become a priest for them. They do not grow by spiritual osmosis [4.2.2.4] any more than couch potatoes build muscles by watching sports on TV. The nature of the Church is not experienced by passively sitting in a pew on Sunday mornings and listening to sermons, even if the sermons are wonderful. Indeed, anything beyond sitting in a pew is usually viewed as "extra credit" for nothing else is required of the typical member. Although this passivity is considered normal behavior for Christians today, they do not realize that they have been deceived into bondage and are sinning as lazy disobedient Christians. Lord have mercy! Here is an interesting "chicken or the egg" paradox to consider: Did the institutional "church" environment create lazy disobedient Christians or did lazy disobedient Christians create the institutional "church" environment?

3.2.2.1 Where's the Beef?

Most institutional "churches" claim to be a "church" and yet daily spiritual fellowship is rarely found among them. How can something claim to be a "church" when it has almost no characteristics of the Church described in Scripture? Institutional "churches" are very good at buildings, pews, stained glass, robes, altars, organs, and all sorts of other things that aren't found anywhere in the New Testament, yet they have almost no daily fellowship, accountability, spiritual gifts, or outreach which are commanded in the New Testament [7.2.1.1]! They may have a "fellowship hall" or a "fellowship hour", but rarely do they have any genuine fellowship of the Spirit. Shaking the hand of the greeter on the way in, sitting passively through a "church" service, and then shaking the "pastor's" hand on the way out hardly counts as Biblical fellowship! In fact, many institutional "churches" seem to function just fine without any fellowship of the Spirit [1.2.2.2].

How ever attractive an institutional "church" may be, it is only a poor substitute for intimate relationships among believers. Institutional programs and meetings will never be able to take the place of love shared between one another. Your institutional "church" may have majestic ornamentation, elaborate theology, and outstanding programs, but it is hard to "love one another deeply" (1Pet. 4:8) when you only see the backs of other people's heads for an hour each week, and then only have a few minutes of superficial conversation at the end of the service. Everyone keeps a polite distance from each other with the philosophy of "Don't touch my life" [3.1.2.1]. That way there are no conflicts with each other, but then no one is really being helped either. They want "safety in numbers" as they maintain a comfortable anonymous distance from each other. The men who start these institutional "churches" are often experts at choosing the best meeting formats, contemporary practices, and Sunday school materials, but what about daily fellowship, accountability, intimate relationships, and spiritual gifts? They major in the minors and minor in the majors. Institutional "churches" work long and hard to perfect their elaborate practices, structures, and hierarchies, and then overlook the very basis of spiritual fellowship as a "minor detail". That will come later, right? What is this other foundation they are building on (1Cor. 3:10-15), if it isn't the fellowship of the Spirit? These unbiblical environments they have created do not exist in addition to daily fellowship, but instead have replaced daily fellowship [7.1.3.3].

Since institutional "churches" are not a part of the Church, it is not surprising that they do not do much of the work of the Church. Without intimate spiritual fellowship, an institution may look like a sandwich, but it is all bread – they are trying to make ham sandwiches without any ham! They have "a form of godliness but deny its power" (2Tim. 3:5). They don't have much of the Life of the Church, and thus they don't have many characteristics of the Church. If an organization ever manages to do a little of the "one anothering" commanded in Scripture, then great; but it is usually only extra credit over and above their otherwise unbiblical existence [1.2.2]. The fellowship described in the book of Acts is nothing but a theoretical ideal to them, nothing that most of them ever really expect to achieve. The fellowship of the Spirit that they so very much desire is merely held out as an unreachable fantasy.

3.2.2.2 Orange Trees in Antarctica

Now some would maintain that they do have good fellowship in their institutional "churches". And many of them would still simply be wrong! Are you fellowshipping with one another daily outside of the scheduled meetings? Are you involved in sharing each other's lives in normal everyday settings? Are you actively ministering your spiritual gifts outside of "church" services? Are you obeying all the "one another" commands in a meaningful way? Okay, now is everyone fully engaged in this type of fellowship or just a committed nucleus or smaller core of the group? "From the least to the greatest" (Heb. 8:11)? Perhaps a few of you are having some fellowship of the Spirit, but in an institutional setting it is impossible to fully experience the breadth of fellowship that God intends [1.3.2]. The institutional "churches" of men are simply not capable of this – but the Church of God is. Trying to experience Biblical fellowship in an unbiblical environment is like trying to grow orange trees in Antarctica. Institutional "churches" keep trying to generate fruit, but they are simply doing it in the wrong environment. They are trying to put "new wine into old wineskins" (Matt. 9:16-17, Mark 2:21-22, Luke 5:36-38). They may be sincerely trying to follow the Bible and yet ignore that same Bible when it contradicts their very existence as an institution [2.2.1.1]. They may have every ecclesiastical implement that men can dream up, but they are trying to add Biblical Life to an unbiblical foundation. They can try to liven up dog food by adding spices, but they are still eating dog food. An institutional "church" is simply not the container God has designed for His Spirit [1.2.2].

Many Christian leaders realize that their fellowship is not quite what it ought to be, but they keep trying to fix it within their unbiblical institutional frameworks. They do not realize that these institutional environments are not conducive to the fellowship of the Spirit and often work to destroy it [7.2.4.2]. It is not as if most groups started with dynamic spiritual fellowship and then later added an institutional structure to it. No, most of them started with an institutional structure and then keep wondering why it is so difficult to add dynamic spiritual fellowship to it. Yet they press on! Unlike the Church, the institutional "churches" do contain "tares among the wheat" (Matt. 13:24-30) and "leaven" in the "batch of dough" (1Cor. 5:6-8) in addition to all their unbiblical gobbledygook. They keep trying to fellowship as a group of Christians when not all of them may even be Christians [1.2.4.2]. Some of the members may be sincerely trying to cultivate an environment of spiritual fellowship, but then others mess it up and interject their own worldly ideas, carnal opinions, or anything else that is not led by the Spirit [7.3.1]. "What fellowship has light with darkness?" (2Cor. 6:14). But none of these things can be tolerated in the Church [1.1.3.1]. That is why the Church is an ideal place for the fellowship of the Church! No kidding!

3.2.2.3 The Priesthood of One

In most institutional "churches", the priesthood of all believers has been reduced to only a priesthood of one which functions out of an unbiblical position called the "pastor" or the "priest" [6.2.4.2]. Everyone else forgoes their own spiritual responsibilities and depends on one designated priest to do their priestly duties for them. It is the hired hand's job to visit the sick, prisoners, and call on new converts [3.1.3]. This designated priest is usually the only person who is allowed to operate his spiritual gift during the Sunday service. Many "mega-churches" in particular are held together almost exclusively on the personality and charisma of a single head "pastor" [2.1.2.3]. Women in these environments often tend to fawn over the "pastor" as the alpha-male of the group and even submit to him over their own husbands. (Perhaps this is one reason why a statistically lower percentage of men attend institutional "churches" than women, since they are not very attracted to an emasculated form of religion where they have to play "dress up" and passively sit in a pew.) No one else is allowed to share any other spiritual gifts in the meeting, and if they are, they must be pre-approved or filtered through him. As a result, most people never progress beyond their "pastor's" level of spirituality [6.2.4]. The "church" members succumb to his vision, ministry, and flavor of Christianity as they become recipients of both his strengths and weaknesses. If someone else has a different viewpoint or emphasis, they are usually quenched, marginalized, or forced to move on to another "church" [5.2.2]. Sometimes the designated priest may allow others to use their spiritual gifts in lesser settings, but rarely will they let others invade their turf during the main Sunday service. After all, the designated priest is professional "clergy", while the others are only "laity" who might get it wrong or mess things up. No one is saying that the designated priest may not indeed be gifted [6.3.2.1], but he is not the only one! The priesthood of all believers is subverted by any unbiblical system of clergy/laity [6.2.2]. No Christian should ever look to a man as his priest, for every Christian is a priest!

When there is only one designated priest, the diversity of spiritual gifts often degenerates into a focus on only one spiritual gift – the gift of teaching. Teaching has been elevated to be the premier spiritual gift today almost to the exclusion of all the others. Teaching often occupies up to 50 percent of some "church" services. Sometimes the designated priest is hired solely based on his teaching ability which has become the main focus of many seminaries. But such a distortion of a single spiritual gift is hardly acceptable in the Church. Only having one teacher is a travesty in an environment where everyone can teach (Col. 3:16). Teaching is not even the greatest of the spiritual gifts (1Cor. 12:28, Eph. 2:20) but it is sure treated as such in most institutional "churches". Ironically, the teaching that occurs in most institutional "churches" is usually not the spiritual gift of teaching anyway, but an exercise in conveying head knowledge and information through skilled oration. Such teachers may not have any real spiritual insights to share with others, but instead were merely hired for their scholarly achievements and smooth speaking delivery that they learned at seminary. They may eloquently read the swimming manual to people who are drowning, while they themselves do not know how to swim. The Corinthians had abused spiritual gifts by elevating certain gifts such as tongues to an unhealthy status, and now this generation has done the same thing with the gift of teaching. No spiritual gift should ever be allowed to dominate the others, for every gift is indispensable in the Body of Christ (1Cor. 12:22-26).

3.2.3 Dysfunctional Fellowship

While the institutional "churches" may be greatly lacking in spiritual fellowship, some who have left the institutional "church" system in search of something better have fallen into various types of dysfunctional fellowship. They may have begun to understand the Church, but have gotten stuck in some disproportionate and unbalanced modes of emphasis that have been plaguing groups for years:

Simply leaving a false institutional structure does not mean you will automatically be properly fellowshipping in the Spirit. Leaving what is wrong does not automatically replace it with what is right. Simply understanding what the Church is does not automatically provide you with daily fellowship, accountability, intimate relationships, and spiritual gifts. Leaving an institutional "church" has no bearing on whether you are truly committed to fellowshipping with one another in Christ in a Biblical manner [2.3.3].

3.2.3.1 The Lone Ranger

Some who have left the institutional "church" system have made the tragic mistake of becoming "lone ranger" Christians. They no longer want to have false institutional fellowship, but instead have essentially opted for no fellowship. They clearly saw everything that was wrong with their institutional "church", but then again, they didn't really see anyone else "doing it right" either. As a result, they basically dropped out of any regular or substantial Christian fellowship. Some of them may have been hurt by an institutional "church" and simply don't want to get too close to those fallible Christians who may let them down again. In the end, they find that almost everyone and everything has something wrong with it, so a lot of them just sit at home and watch TV. Many lone rangers are really just "lonely strangers". But substituting no fellowship for a false fellowship is hardly an improvement. "Let us not forsake our assembling together as is the custom with some." (Heb. 10:25). Some convince themselves that they don't really need much fellowship anyway and soon become comfortable in doing nothing. They may say they don't really need much fellowship, when the critical thing is that they should want fellowship, which is a sign of every true believer [3.1.2.2]. Some of them may say they would like to have fellowship, but in practice they still live their lives apart from fellowship.

The basic problem with these lone rangers is that they have only a theoretical understanding of the Church. They may correctly identify the Church, but they are not really identifying with the Church. They have left what the Church isn't, but they are still not fellowshipping with what the Church is. Even if they claim they know what the Church is, they are still not walking in obedience to what the Church does. They effectively ignore scores of Scriptures commanding the intimate and daily fellowship with "one another" and sharing spiritual gifts. It is kind of hard to love one another if you are seldom in the presence of another one! The concept of an isolated lone ranger Christian who floats in and out, belonging only to a theoretical "universal" Church, functioning in his own "private ministry" is completely incompatible with Scripture (1Cor. 12:20-21, Col. 2:18-19). "Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire and goes against sound judgment." (Prov. 18:1).

These lone ranger Christians typically have an individualistic or independent attitude that is incompatible with the family of God [3.1.2]. Many of them have problems with authority and do not submit to others in the Church [6.1.3]. If a long ranger persists in sin, it does no good to try to disfellowship them [1.1.3.2], since they did not have any fellowship in the first place! God's plan is not to form a loose association of individualistic Christians scattered throughout an "invisible church" that do not associate together [1.2.1.1]. The Church is a "body knit together" (Col. 2:19), as "members of one another" (Rom. 12:5, Eph. 4:25), "contending as one man" (Phil. 1:27), "submitting to one another" (Eph. 5:21). You should be wary of any kind of movement that would keep you isolated, detached, anonymous, or apart from intimate fellowship with the Body of Christ. Some lone rangers might go around sampling various ministries, but they are actually committed to no one [3.1.2.1]. They may even be physically surrounded by other Christians in a meeting, but their individualistic attitude prevents them from actually fellowshipping with others. Some of them were lone rangers at heart long before they left their institutional "churches". Lone rangers are usually only concerned with taking care of their own affairs before God. Rarely do they "rejoice with those who rejoice" or "weep with those who weep" (Rom. 12:15; cf. 1Cor. 12:26) to any depth because they are not properly connected as part of the Church. They are not really building anything together with anybody, but are only concerned about living their own lives. "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." (Matt. 16:25; cf. Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24).

3.2.3.2 Relationship Idolatry

Quite the opposite of lone rangers are those who have fallen into relationship idolatry. These Christians understand the importance of relationships in the Church, but have elevated those relationships above the fellowship of the Spirit. Again, our fellowship is with the Spirit, not with other people's flesh [3.1.1]. Never let the fellowship of the saints become an excuse for neglecting your own personal intimacy with Christ. Some people may be tempted to go along with things merely for the sake of the group, but you cannot go along with anything that compromises the truth. The value of close-knit relationships, maintaining unity, and submitting to one another are all definitely important, but never at the expense of the Holy Spirit or the Scripture. This same type of problem occurs in many institutional "churches" where peer pressure is used to keep people in line with their program. There, you may be accused of "not going with the flow", "causing division", "or "hindering fellowship" if you do not participate in their unbiblical practices. Some have actually been told to stop teaching the truth because "Some families won't come anymore." With fewer people to tithe, they fear that it would hinder the "greater good" they imagine. They are often perfectly willing to silence the truth, in order to maintain their organizational structure. By walking in the Spirit, you very well may be harming the fabric of their institutional fellowship by not going along with the crowd [3.2.1]. But Jesus said, "Do you think I came to bring peace in the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." (Luke 12:51), and indeed Jesus caused much division among the religious people of His day (John 7:43, 9:16, 10:19).

Other Christians engage in a type of narrow fellowship as they only maintain relationships with people they like or agree with, without any true commitment to the Church as a whole. As time passes, the list of whom they can fellowship with often gets smaller and smaller every year. People get crossed off their list as soon as they hurt their feelings, have a heated argument, violate their trust, or in some other way prove to be fallible. The truth doesn't really matter so much as long as they still have a few other relationships they feel comfortable with. Sometimes their list is so short that they can basically only fellowship with members of their family. They have an attitude of "us four and no more" since there is no one else they will trust enough to have fellowship with. This family idolatry is really just another form of the sin of division based on attributes [2.1.2.1]. Their fellowship is based on something that is biological, rather than spiritual. Creating division on the basis of ethnicity, language, or nationalism is really no different than establishing fellowship on the basis of having a common last name. "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26; cf. Mark 10:29-30). If you are not supposed to walk according to your own flesh, then why would you want to walk in keeping with others' flesh? On one extreme, there are the lone rangers who think they are only looking to Christ and need no one else, and on the other extreme, there is relationship idolatry where people are looking to other Christians instead of looking to Christ. As a bit of general advise: those who are leery of relationships should be cautious of being alone and those who are leery of being alone should be cautious of relationships.

3.2.3.3 Negative Fellowship

Some who have left the institutional "church" system have later fallen into what amounts to negative fellowship. They may meet with other people who understand what the Church is, but then they end up having fellowship against all that the Church isn't. Much of their fellowship tends to be based on the truth about what's wrong with institutional "churches". Not that it isn't important to understand and discuss such truths, but they are simply not the basis for our fellowship in one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, etc. (Eph. 4:4-6). Fellowship in the Church is not the fellowship of what the "church" is not! Such people always seem to have a negative criticism of others instead of a positive fellowship in the truth. They sow seeds of ingratitude, judgment, and depression, instead of thankfulness, forgiveness, and hope. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is virtuous and praiseworthy, think about these things." (Phil. 4:8-9). Some of them despise authority [5.3.1.4] and merely gather to complain about what is wrong with institutional "churches", politics, or governments, yet they are not engaged in spiritual fellowship involving prayer, burden for the lost, sharing spiritual gifts, etc. [3.1.1]. Many of them are experts at identifying what is wrong with the institutional "churches", but yet they themselves are not really engaged in what the Church is. They will meet and reinforce their grievances against the institutional "churches" system, and much of what they talk about may even be true, but this commonality is merely another subtle form of fellowship in the flesh [3.2.1], not fellowship in the Spirit.

3.3 Practical Applications

Many Christians will agree with practically everything discussed in this chapter about fellowship – that is, in theory – but they do not experience it in practice. Why not? Because they are simply not willing to make the commitment of time and effort to fellowship this way. They may dream of having fellowship like this, but it is only a pipe dream because they are unwilling to leave the comfort of their pew. Ultimately, many people like to worship Jesus more than they like to follow Jesus. They will honor Him with their lips, but not with their lives. Again, what is following the truth worth? Scripture admonishes, "let each one be careful how he builds" for if someone is building on "another foundation besides the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ" their works will be destroyed (1Cor. 3:9-15). Instead of building on the foundation of institutional "churches" of men, you should now re-focus your energies by building on the foundation of the Church led by Jesus Christ (1Cor. 3:11, Eph. 2:19-22). "In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God by the Spirit." (Eph. 2:22). After learning these truths, some Christians become so focused on reacting to unbiblical institutional practices that they never end up building anything positive in its place [3.2.3.3]. Of course the walls of the institutional "churches" should be torn down, but even if the entire institutional "church" system were abolished, it doesn't necessarily mean that Christians would automatically begin to conduct their fellowship properly in the Church. The first part of this chapter provides an excellent blueprint of the type of fellowship that you are to start building. It worked well for the early Church, it is still working well in places all over the world, and it can also work for you. It is not enough just to know what the Church is; you must also begin to fellowship as the Church. This means you!

3.3.1 The Wilderness

Many have left the institutional "church" system in search of something more in tune with God's own heart only to experience a sort of "wilderness" period. As you begin to travel "outside the camp" (Heb. 13:13), you may soon arrive at a "no-man's-land" where you no longer find acceptance in an institutional "church", but neither have you found other amicable Christians who also want to experience Biblical fellowship in the Church. This may be because you are one of the first in your area to recognize the Church, or simply because you have not yet run into the others who may already be fellowshipping this way [3.3.2.2]. It is unfortunate, but many areas do not offer much more than a "Church in the wilderness" (Acts 7:38) for those who have come out of the institutional system. There may be other people trying to conduct their fellowship in the Church, but they are often few and far between. Such a wilderness does not mean that there isn't any fellowship occurring, but only that the normal environment of the Church has not been fully established yet.

Those who walk through this wilderness may experience institutional withdrawal [3.3.1.1] or even suffer persecution from the institutional establishment [3.3.1.2]. Some have related this wilderness period to a spiritual analogy surrounding King Saul's persecution of David (1Sam. 15-31). The Lord clearly rejected Saul, who was king of the establishment, yet it was David who had to flee as an outcast. Saul controlled the institutional structure of the kingdom of Israel, but it was David who had the true authority and anointing as king. Saul was not content to let David simply withdraw to the wilderness; instead he had to pursue him and even tried to kill him. In the end, David's anointing as king was eventually recognized, but not without enduring persecution and learning many lessons through his experiences in the wilderness. In the same way that David had to suffer in the wilderness, some would say that a person is not really prepared to appreciate the Church, until they also have walked through the wilderness. "So let us go to Him outside the camp bearing His reproach. For we do not have an enduring city, but we seek one that is coming." (Heb. 13:13).

Depending on the situation, a wilderness experience may last a long time or could be almost non-existent. Some of you may struggle in the wilderness the rest of your lives and still never live to see the full expression of the Church that God intends for your area. Sometimes it may take years for you to find even one other Christian in your area who is willing to obey the Scriptures in this manner. Many institutional Christians will never be interested in meeting with you because you do not have a worship team, daycare, or teen program. But don't feel bad, for the early Church didn't have any of these things either. They just believed the gospel and fell in love with Jesus – and this was enough! So do not be discouraged, for there are no limits as to what God can build amongst a group of believers that are entirely devoted to Him, no matter how small. It is better for two or three to be gathered in a lonely place with the Lord, than for thousands to be prominently gathered without the Lord. Regardless of how long a wilderness experience may last, the process of building quality relationships in the Church must still be pursued. It is important to remember, however, that the goal is not to stay in the wilderness. God did not lead Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness so that they could stay in the wilderness, but so that they could enter the Promised Land. There are several testimonies of Christians who have left the institutional "church" system that can provide much encouragement in this area [a.2].

3.3.1.1 Unlearning and Relearning

On a personal level, a wilderness period may serve as a very important part of your spiritual development, and perhaps this is by design. Indeed, you might have to unlearn many years of unbiblical "church" practices before you are fully able to understand and embrace many of the Scriptural truths about the Church. Otherwise, people tend to keep interjecting the same failed institutional practices into the Church out of ignorance [7.3.1.1]. It is not always easy for people to be weaned from the institutional baggage that they have trained to accept for their entire religious lives. It may take some time to renew your mind from all the "brainwashing" you received in the false institutional environment (Rom. 12:2).

Many who leave the institutional "church" system will go through a period of institutional withdrawal where they begin to miss certain aspects of institutional "churches" like singing in the choir, pot luck dinners, holiday ceremonies, ice cream socials, etc. (Not that such things couldn't also have other expressions outside of an institutional "church".) It may initially seem strange the first time you end up staying at home on a Sunday morning. Just like being home sick, some of you will probably become "church" sick. This is certainly understandable since an entire religious culture of Churchianity has been erected around centuries of unbiblical practices [7.2.4.4]. There are many unhealthy dependencies that people have become accustomed to in the institutional system. Some of you are used to letting a designated priest do everything for you [3.2.2.3] while you simply observe a nice choreographed show once a week [4.2.2.1]. But such things are not compatible with the Church described in Scripture. Sometimes a certain practice can be replaced with valid Biblical substitutes in the Church, but in many cases it is just institutional baggage that simply must be discarded.

As you unlearn the unbiblical ways of the institutional "churches", you may also have to relearn many truths concerning the Church. Sometimes God has to tear down things before He can build them back up (Jer. 31:28), especially when they have been built on the wrong foundation. Many new lessons can be learned as you begin to exercise your own spiritual muscles and share your spiritual gifts with each other. As you progress through this period, you might grow spiritually in any number of ways:

As you actually begin to experience Scriptural fellowship, many things that may have confused you for years about the institutional environment will suddenly begin to make sense. As with many things in Christianity, some spiritual truths will not be understood fully until you have first experienced a corresponding amount of spiritual growth. If you are just beginning to realize these truths today, you are encouraged to read this book again in a couple of years because you will be surprised by how much you missed and how much more will be applicable to your situation then. Right now you are probably just seeing the tip of an iceberg and some of you probably know just enough now to be dangerous. J

3.3.1.2 Persecution from the Establishment

Depending on the situation, some of you can expect to receive a certain amount of derision from the institutional "church" system. As you begin to experience deeper levels of spiritual growth and freedom in the Lord, it often comes at the cost of rejection and even persecution at the hands of other misguided Christians in the institutional "church" system. It is a common experience that after years of hard work, loyal commitment, and dedicated service in an institutional "church", many members will intentionally avoid you and spread false rumors about you behind your back [2.3.2.1]. You must remember that the Scriptural principles of the Church are completely foreign to those who have been indoctrinated under the false institutional "church" system. If you are still hanging around an institutional "church" in order to fellowship with other Christians, you may appear to be very confusing to those with an institutional mentality:

And of course they would be wrong! From an institutional perspective, anyone who decides to obey the Word of God simply cannot win! If you are not part of their group, or at least another group like them, then you will probably always be suspect in their eyes. It does not always matter to them so much that you do not attend their institutional "church", as long as you still attend another institutional "church" elsewhere [5.2.2.1]. Just being somewhere in the institutional system gives them a certain comfort level about you. You might be having dynamic Christian fellowship in the Spirit everyday outside of the institutional system, but for some reason they would feel much better about you if you belonged to a spiritually dead institutional "church". Isn't it ironic that they worry about whether Christians in deep close-knit daily relationships are getting enough fellowship, when they themselves only have impersonal pretend fellowship for about an hour on one day a week. Imagine that! They are under the delusion that sitting passively through a "church" service and shaking hands with the "pastor" on the way out is somehow counted as "fellowship", while your daily fellowship in committed relationships does not count because you don't belong to an institutional "church"! When they see you fellowshipping with other Christians in the Church which doesn't have a name, a fixed meeting place, or an annual budget, they become alarmed and think that you must belong to a "cult" [4.3.2.3]. Indeed, there is no question that the early Church would have been considered a "cult" by the institutional "churches" today.

3.3.1.3 Returning to Egypt

For various reasons, some people appear to embrace the Church for a season, only to later return back to the institutional "church" system. Of course, there are some who never had any understanding of the Church, but simply wanted to "check it out" as if fellowship in the Church were the latest Christian fad. But once these people begin to realize what they have stumbled into, they often go running back like a dog running scared with its tail between its legs. It is understandable that these people would not want to fellowship in the Church, since they may not know what the Church is anyway. Sitting passively in a pew works fine in a "church", but they can't get away with it in the Church. Even non-Christians can get along just fine in an institutional "church" environment, but they cannot go unnoticed in the Church. They stand out like a fish out of water because they simply are not able to swim in the water of the Holy Spirit.

Other Christians may leave the institutional "church" system only to discover that they are not spiritually ready to function as a member of the Church [2.3.3.2]. Although they may have some theoretical understanding of the Church, they find that ultimately they are not willing or able to fellowship as part of the Church. They are not ready to build committed interpersonal relationships with others in Christ, for they are more comfortable with the impersonal sense of attending an anonymous meeting [4.2.2]. They are not ready to take responsibility in caring for others, for they would rather have a designated priest do that for them [3.2.2.3]. They are not ready to take the risk of sharing spiritual gifts with others, for they would rather sit passively and let others put on a choreographed show for them [4.2.2.1]. They are not ready to participate in a meeting led by the Holy Spirit, for they are more comfortable to let someone else be in charge of a pre-planned agenda [4.1.2.3]. Some of them may have achieved great status as an usher, worship leader, Sunday school teacher, or even a "pastor", but none of this prestige can help them in the Church. They may have a hard time functioning without their coveted positions as they transition to become just a regular "nobody" Christian in the Church [6.3.2.1]. They may have been getting straight A's in an institutional "church", but when it comes to the Church, they find out that their credits don't even transfer. J What may appear to be a solid spiritual life may simply not be able to function without their normal institutional machinery to prop it up [7.1.3.1]. If you think you are a Christian and yet cannot maintain your faith outside of an institutional environment, then perhaps you should return until you can figure out why [2.3.1.2].

Whatever the reason, some people simply cannot survive in the wilderness. Many are not able to grow spiritually in the wilderness because of their own laziness and disobedience, and in some cases it becomes apparent that they didn't have much of anything spiritual to begin with. To them, "It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." (Exod. 14:12). Whether they suffer from institutional withdrawal, grow weary of institutional persecution, or just prefer the luxury of sitting idly by in a padded pew, in the end, the cost of following the truth is simply too high for them. They are not able to function in the Church, so they run back to their institutional "church" where they can feel comfortable in doing absolutely nothing. (Or they may go back to a different institutional "church" in order to avoid any potential embarrassment.) They may have initially left an institutional "church", but the mentality of the institutional "church" really never left them [2.3.3]. They may have once set out from Egypt, but now they want to go back (Num. 14:3-4). "As a dog returns to its vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly." (Prov. 26:11). These people may have seen a brief glimpse of the Church, but they ultimately were not willing or able to walk it out.

3.3.2 Building Relationships

Regardless of where relationships are formed, fellowship with other Christians is not optional [3.1.1]. In the end, if you think you understand the Church but do not have close-knit accountable fellowship with others, then you effectively understand nothing [3.2.3.1]. You are now part of a Body, members of one another, as you forge out a life together in Jesus Christ. As mentioned above, there are scores of Scriptures commanding you to be intimately involved with "one another" in committed relationships [3.1.2.1]. But these commands are not as telling as the fact that you should inherently desire such fellowship of others anyway (John 13:34-35, 1Pet. 2:17, 1Jn. 2:9-11). If you leave an institutional "church" and find that Christians do not just continuously show up at your door, perhaps you need to become the initiator of some relationships. Your fellowship should be extended to anyone who is a brother or sister in Christ, not just one particular group of Christians who follow the same leader, have doctrinal agreement, or cultural compatibility. Anyone who knowingly fellowships along the lines of such division sins and is not walking according to the truth.

Fellowship with others is based on relationships and relationships can indeed get quite messy – hurt feelings, bruised egos, unmet expectations, doctrinal disagreements, etc. (The Church would be a great thing if it weren't for all those people!) J This is precisely how it was in the early Church and perhaps how it will continue to be until we all come to maturity. Simply having fellowship in the Church is not a panacea for creating a problem-free environment [7.2.3.2]. It may be easy to leave an institution when problems arise, but there are no easy exits and escape routes when it comes to relationships in the Church. Christians do not run away from each other, but must face their difficulties and overcome them together. Relationships in the Church may become strained at times, but this should never result in division [2.1.2.2]. Christians simply need to grow up and learn to walk things out together in love.

It is also important that you don't try to limit your fellowship only to the group of Christians who know what the Church is [2.2.1.5]. We fellowship with the Church even when the people don't know that they are a part of the Church! In the Church founded by Jesus Christ, the institutional grid that is placed over the fellowship of Christians does not exist. Undoubtedly, it is often more difficult to maintain close relationships to Christians who cling to unbiblical practices of the institutional "church" system, but in many communities that is all that is available. Perhaps there will not necessarily be the depth of fellowship in the Spirit as one might hope with some people, but some fellowship might be better than no fellowship at all [2.3.1.2]. Although you could potentially fellowship with any other Christian, you may notice that your associations usually tend to be loosely correlated with the quality of your relationships. Notice that Jesus did not try to fellowship with the masses as the head of a "mega-church", but developed close relationships with a small core of people instead. You probably will never meet every other Christian living in your area, and even if you did, you probably wouldn't have the time to maintain a close relationship with each and every one [1.1.2.1]. Thus, you will naturally tend to spend more time with those you have closer relationships with, resulting in a fluid and overlapping network of relationships. In this context, just because you may not know another Christian in your area, does not mean you are excluded or divided from them; for whenever you come into contact with another Christian you should immediately recognize that they are part of the same Church and fellowship with them accordingly.

3.3.2.1 Fellowshipping with Christians

One of the primary problems in institutional "churches" and elsewhere is that Christians are trying to have spiritual fellowship with people who don't have the Spirit. Fellowship in the Spirit can only occur among those who are filled with the Spirit. If you do not have the Holy Spirit, then you have no place in the Church [1.3.1]. You could be a "pastor", superintendent, convention delegate, usher, choir director, or just a regular "church" member, but if you do not have the Spirit of God, you are not even a Christian (Rom. 8:9,14, 1Jn. 3:24, 4:13). Jesus only builds His Church among true believers [1.2.4.2].

Trying to fellowship with everyone who merely names the name of Christ is an effort in futility. God dwells among those who are actually living for Him, not those who are merely talking about Him. Some may be able to give a nice testimony about how they were once "saved" when they were younger, but if they do not "walk by the Spirit" (Gal. 5:25) today, there can be little fellowship with them. Don't be content to fellowship with people whose Christianity is just a hobby, philosophy, or set of rules to follow, but fellowship with people whose love for Jesus defines their very lives, being lived out as a daily sacrifice. What kind of spiritual fellowship can you expect among backslidden, lukewarm, carnal Christians? Those who persist in a sinful state must be dealt with one way or another for unrepentant sin cannot be tolerated [1.1.3.2]. Those who are backslidden need to be slid forward! Those who are lukewarm need to be heated up! There can be no unity in the Spirit apart from the Spirit [2.1.1]. It is hard to have spiritual fellowship with those who are spiritually lacking. Most Christians are unwilling to let their guard down and share the intimate details of their lives with mere acquaintances who do not seem to love the Lord [3.1.2.1]. This is always a struggle for institutional "churches" because it is hard to foster spiritual fellowship in such an unspiritual environment. It is hard to open up and be personal among the impersonal.

Just because some have left their institutional "churches" in search of something better does not mean that they are necessarily walking in the Spirit either. The Church is not just the group of people who have left institutional "churches". The goal is not to gather all of the outcasts from the institutional "church" system, for you will find that some of these people were cast out for good reasons! Trying to fellowship with every weirdo who left an institutional "church" is an exercise in futility. Many may indeed experience some freedom when they leave the boredom of institutional religion, but this does not mean they are truly submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ or committed to His Church [2.3.3]. They may find comfort in the idea that they belong to the theoretical universal Church, and yet still not be engaged in true spiritual fellowship with one another. They may say, "We don't go to church, we are the Church", but it really doesn't matter unless the power of the Spirit is actually being lived out among them in practice. Otherwise, the result is no different from those in the institutional "churches" who also do not follow the Spirit. How can you fellowship in the Spirit with those who are not walking by the Spirit? The right fellowship cannot occur unless you are fellowshipping with the right people – and that is any genuine Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit, for that is what the Church is [1.1.1].

3.3.2.2 Finding the Right People

How then do you go about finding the right people to fellowship with? Just begin fellowshipping with genuine Christians wherever they may be found [1.3.3]. It is not as important to find other people who are "like minded" as it is to find people who are "Christ minded". Try to get close to others who are close to God. Don't look for an organization to fellowship with, look for other Christians to fellowship with! Christians simply need to fellowship together in the Spirit, not conduct impersonal corporate meetings like a secular institution. Unfortunately, some who are dissatisfied with their institutional "church" would never embrace the Church unless it were already a well-established organization they could simply join. Such people still do not truly understand the nature of the Church [2.3.3]. Some of them have made the mistake of looking to various "house church" movements assuming that they would be the defacto place to find the correct fellowship. They figure that those who are meeting in houses must be the right people, since the early Church also met in houses. Indeed, many "house churches" may espouse many of the same truths presented in this book, yet some of them still operate as unbiblical man-made organizations, albeit smaller ones [2.2.1.2]. They may certainly look more like the Church by meeting in houses, and yet they still have little fellowship outside of a once-a-week meeting [4.2.2.3], still have a single "pastor" serving as a priest [3.2.2.3], and still do not have open participatory meetings [4.1.2.3]. No one should look to a house anymore than they should look to an organization. You should simply fellowship with other genuine Christians wherever they may be found.

But by the same token, you should not go out of your way to ignore people associated with "house churches" either, for just because a group has been labeled as a "house church" does not mean that they might not be genuine Christians who are simply functioning as the Church. Fortunately, there are many communities where Christians are already conducting their fellowship in a Biblical manner. But just like the "underground" Church in some countries, they are not always easy to find since they don't have an organization, a building, or a name, and probably aren't listed in the yellow pages. J However, there are a few resources available that may provide some assistance to you [a.2].

3.3.2.3 Where Do You Go to "church"?

As you begin to fellowship with others in the Church, you may find it awkward when people ask, "Which church do you go to?" This nonsensical question, of course, is part of the unbiblical newspeak that cannot be answered correctly as far as the Scripture is concerned [1.2.1]. When you are asked this, you could just answer them directly:

This answer would be true and Scripturally accurate, but would perhaps leave the wrong impression. They might think that you are not having fellowship with other Christians, or wonder if you are even a Christian. Quite often the conversation will often end right there as they will not inquire any further. This is not necessarily ideal because there is no reason to make yourself look bad to other Christians on purpose. Some may quote you, "Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves..." (Heb. 10:25), but then you might have an opportunity to explain how indeed you do have fellowship (and how they probably don't). If you think you might have an opportunity to hold a more serious conversation, here are some other answers that are more provocative and may arouse some curiosity:

These answers almost beg for an opportunity to probe the issue further. But there are certainly times when you won't want to open a can of worms if there is not enough time to adequately address the situation. What would you say then? You must realize that when people ask, "Which church do you go to?" they are generally asking you to specify which man-made denomination, organization, or institution you associate with. Since Christians should never identify themselves by such divisions, it might be better to give an answer to a question they didn't ask, "Who you do fellowship with?" Thus, when they ask "Which church do you go to?" the question could be nicely answered by saying:

This answer usually satisfies most people and the issue usually doesn't go much further. Your mileage may vary! Sometimes they might erroneously respond with a comment about a "home church" movement that they heard about [2.2.1.2]. But at least they usually feel comfortable that you are not out on your own and that you are not out of fellowship.

3.4 Challenge Questions

 

4. Meetings

4.1 Scriptural Truths

In order for Christians to have spiritual meetings, they must first have a foundation of spiritual fellowship with one another [3.1.1]. Let that sink in for a moment. It would be a grave mistake to jump here and try to have meetings without first having the spiritual environment that makes them possible. Without the daily context of spiritual fellowship described in Scripture, there will not be spiritual meetings. In fact, such meetings will probably do more harm than good (1Cor. 11:17). The Church is not a meeting; the Church is the people who meet together in fellowship with one another [1.1.1]. The Church simply meets under whatever circumstances of time, place, and manner that the Life of the Church directs. Meeting together is just a natural extension of daily spiritual fellowship with one another. Meetings of the Church occur as a natural outgrowth of the daily spiritual fellowship, not as a replacement for daily spiritual fellowship [4.2.2]. The imperative to meet together is clear: "And let us consider how to incite one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking the gathering together of ourselves as is the habit of some." (Heb. 10:24-25).

4.1.1 What is a Meeting?

What exactly counts as a meeting of the Church? Well, in order to have fellowship with "one another", you obviously have to meet with another one [3.1.2.1]. Any simple gathering of even as few as two Christians in Jesus' name can constitute a meeting of the Church. "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there am I in their midst." (Matt. 18:20). No other name, affiliation, ceremony, ritual, or religious artifact is required for members of the Church to fellowship with one another in Christ’s presence. This "one anothering" of the Church is not conducted in some sort of official ritual or convened by formal ceremony, but is simply the normal result of Christian relationships in daily fellowship with one another. A meeting of the early Church was never a formal liturgical event that was passively observed by a congregation of spectators. A meeting does not need to have any official aura to it in order to be a meeting – it doesn't need to be preplanned, it doesn't need to be announced, it doesn't need an agenda, and it doesn't need a special quorum (other than two that is). A meeting doesn't even have to be thought of as a meeting in order to be a meeting. There does not have to be someone in charge who says "Okay let's start the meeting now" in order for it to be a meeting. Two Christians who get together to discuss when they should have a meeting are already having a meeting to discuss when to have yet another meeting. A meeting can be as casual as a few Christians getting together for fellowship at a coffee shop. Some prefer the term "getting together" instead of "meeting" because it sounds more casual, yet it is still a meeting of Christians and thus a meeting of the Church.

4.1.1.1 Who Should Meet?

It should be fairly obvious by now that only the Church can have meetings of the Church – Christians meeting together for fellowship with other Christians. The Church is not just any religious meeting, but only a meeting of the "called out ones" [1.1.1]. The Church does not meet with just anyone who claims to be a Christian, but only those who are Christians [3.3.2.1]. Christians who already have daily fellowship through intimate relationships with one another will naturally be meeting together.

Occasionally some non-Christians might witness a meeting of the Church (Acts 5:12-13, 1Cor. 14:23), but they would not be participants of the meeting in the normal sense. The Church often met together in publicly accessible places, so of course the non-Christians were able to observe them, yet "none of the rest dared to join them, but they were highly esteemed by the people" (Acts 5:13). Indeed, if a non-Christian stumbled upon a meeting of the Church, the effects on them may or may not be beneficial (1Cor. 14:22-25). A non-Christian that ventures into a meeting would perhaps best be described as an uninvited guest. They would not necessarily be asked to leave, but the meeting was neither designed nor intended for them. At best they could only be spectators, because unless they are converted, they could never be participants. How could they? They cannot be led by the Spirit, if they don't have the Spirit! "What fellowship has light with darkness?" (2Cor. 6:14). They are not part of the Church, so they can hardly participate in a meeting of the Church.

A meeting of the Church is also no place for backslidden Christians to come and pretend to worship God once a week, but is a natural continuation of daily fellowship of those who are filled with the Spirit. Those who are not spending time with the Lord, entering into the prayer closet at home, or meditating on the Scriptures for themselves will hardly be able to contribute anything in a group setting. If you are wondering what kind of meeting a congregation of backslidden, lukewarm, carnal Christians would have, just visit the average institutional "church". The Sunday services conducted by most institutional "churches" are not meetings of the Church as they usually include any number of non-Christians or carnal Christians and sometimes are even led by them [4.1.2]! Before a proper context of community Life can exist, there must first be Life in each individual present [1.1.3]. The spirituality of a meeting will only reflect the spirituality of the individuals present. If the people are not filled with the Spirit, then their meetings will not be filled with the Spirit [3.3.2.1]. There could be any number of people who claim to be Christians gathered together in a room, but without the right Life they will not experience the right meetings.

4.1.1.2 When to Meet?

Contrary to popular misconceptions, there is no record in the Scripture that the Church held regularly scheduled meetings of any kind! The Church did not just meet on Sunday (and maybe Wednesday), as is the common practice of the institutional "churches" today. Instead, Christians met together on a "daily" basis (Acts 2:46, 5:42, 6:1, Heb. 3:13). It should be pointed out that "daily" includes everyday of the week – not just Sunday! This does not mean that every Christian necessarily attended a designated meeting everyday, but that they were having spiritual fellowship with one another on a daily basis. Notice that Jesus never held any regularly scheduled meetings with His disciples either, but simply experienced life together with them each day.

Some have concocted a ridiculous theory that the Church only met on Sunday as sort of a "Christian Sabbath". This false doctrine, however, was not established until 321 AD by the decree of the Roman Emperor [7.2.1.1]. The normal rationalization given for this doctrine today is based on three Scriptural references to "the first day of the week" and the "Lord's day" (Acts 20:7, 1Cor. 16:2, Rev. 1:10). But notice that the later two verses do not even reference a meeting of the Church. The "Lord's day" was not a codeword for a weekly meeting; it was just one meeting among those that were occurring everyday! Yes, of course, the Church met on "the first day of the week", just as they did every other day of the week! Using this same flawed reasoning, there is just as much Scriptural "proof" that the Church only met on Saturday which is the Jewish Sabbath (Acts 13:44, 16:13, 17:2). Ridiculous! Again for the logic impaired, it should be pointed out that "daily" (Acts 2:46, 5:42, 6:1, Heb. 3:13) includes Saturday and Sunday as well as every other day of the week. Notice that the Church did not meet daily because of any written command; they met daily because that is what naturally flows from fellowship with one another in the Life of the Spirit.

4.1.1.3 Where to Meet?

The Church can certainly meet anywhere the Lord leads, but Scripture clearly indicates that the vast majority of their meetings were in homes:

Sometimes there were also larger gatherings of the Church at the temple courts (Acts 2:46, 5:12,42), on the beach (Acts 21:5), and in other public places (Acts 20:20), but most of the believers' daily fellowship occurred in people's homes. Certainly, there was no rule that said Christians must meet in homes, but it was simply their primary setting of choice (and some would say that this was intended by God's design). Meeting in homes provided the environment of intimacy in a family-like setting that best suited the Life of their spiritual fellowship on a daily basis. Again, this was not a rule, but a practice of the Church and one that is still sought as the primary setting of choice by those who have this Life today. Notice that there are no "church" buildings mentioned anywhere in Scripture since they were not built until centuries later [s.2]. The early Church did not fail to build "church" buildings because of persecution, ignorance, or a lack of funds – they completely rejected the idea of having "church" buildings for spiritual reasons.

4.1.2 Meetings of the Church

Not every meeting involving Christians is necessarily a meeting of the Church. For example, suppose that the Foobar Company holds a business meeting to evaluate its products and by coincidence all of the employees that showed up just happened to be Christians. Obviously, these Christians are not meeting together as the Church; they are meeting together as employees of Foobar. They are not there to pray, worship, or break bread together; they are there to evaluate products for the company. They are not meeting under the authority and purposes of Jesus' name; they are meeting under the authority and purposes of Foobar. There are certainly members of the Church in that meeting, but it is not a meeting of the Church. (Conversely, if there is a meeting of the Church and all of those present just happened to work at Foobar, neither would that make it a Foobar meeting.) If this Foobar meeting were considered a meeting of the Church, then almost any worldly event could be considered a meeting of the Church. There are probably several Christians sitting in the stands at every football game, for example, but that does not make it a meeting of the Church. If spiritual fellowship is not taking place between the Christians, then it is not a spiritual meeting – the number of Christians present does not matter [1.2.2].

4.1.2.1 Meeting as the Church

Now let us take this a step further. Having a meeting of the Church is not necessarily the same thing as meeting as the Church. This distinction may seem semantically insignificant, but the underlying principle is firmly established in Scripture. There is clearly a difference when Christians come together for side issues like political causes, sports, homeschooling, singing groups, food co-ops, etc. which is not quite the same as "when you come together as the Church" (1Cor. 11:18). Lots of Christians get together and play bingo, for example, but that is not what the Church is. These ancillary meetings may begin with Christian prayer, have Christian music, or even discuss Christian matters, yet they are still not meeting as the Church. Perhaps, these could somehow be considered meetings of the Church since Christians may have gathered themselves together for fellowship, but they are still not meeting as the Church ought to meet. No one is claiming that these meetings are not useful, but only that they are not a substitute for meeting as the Church.

Consider an analogy from secular society where all the players on a softball team represent their particular company in the city's recreational league. These people all belong to the same corporation, but the softball game is not their normal corporate setting – they do not conduct corporate business, no contracts are signed, no memos are taken, etc. They are certainly all members of the same corporation, but they are not meeting together as the corporation. Such is the case with institutional "church" meetings where several true members of the Church may be playing "church" in an institutional environment, but they are not meeting as the Church. Do you have ears to hear?

When Jesus said, "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there am I in their midst." (Matt. 18:20), He was not implying that Christians are on their own when they are alone (Matt. 28:20, Heb. 13:5), but emphasizing that He will be "in their midst" in a corporate sense. Experientially, such a meeting seems to take on deeper spiritual dimensions than would be expected merely from the sum of the individuals present, for Jesus seems to be working in their corporate midst in a special way [4.1.2.5]. Notice the language of this Scripture: "When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and also my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus..." (1Cor. 5:4). In this situation, the Christians were instructed to deal with a particular issue only when they were assembled in this manner. Obviously, the Christians met together for daily fellowship in many ways, but notice they were only to deal with this matter when they were assembled together as the Church. Sometimes this type of meeting is framed in the context of when "the whole Church comes together" (1Cor. 14:23). These are times when the Lord is simply calling the saints together corporately. Although it is perfectly acceptable and highly encouraged to have meetings of the Church to fellowship in a wide variety of ways, it is vitally important that Christians also meet together as the Church.

4.1.2.2 In Jesus' Name

To meet as the Church is to assemble "in the name of the Lord Jesus" (1Cor. 5:4) according to the manner He specifies. To meet in Jesus' name is to meet under His authority, His purpose, and His direction. A meeting in Jesus' name is conducted according to His agenda that He alone directs through the power of the Holy Spirit [4.3.1]. There is no mystical power invoked by merely mouthing the words "in Jesus' name". For if it were, then which version of Jesus' name should be used and in which language? Is it in Jesus', Joshua's, Yesu's, Yeshua's, or Yehoshua's name? (Of course, there is not even a letter "J" in Hebrew or Greek!) Or perhaps you didn't know that Jesus and God have the same name (John 17:11)? Notice that Scripture doesn't say "names" of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19), but the singular "name" for they all possess the same name of authority. No, to meet in Jesus' name is not to utter a particular set of words; it is to actually meet in obedience to Jesus under His authority and for His purposes. Only then could you expect Jesus to be in your midst.

Many institutional "churches", however, utter the words "in Jesus' name" as a magical incantation that they think somehow legitimizes whatever they want to do. But just saying the phrase "in Jesus' name" has no bearing on whether they are actually meeting in Jesus' name. If the Satanists were to end their opening prayer with "in Jesus' name", would Jesus be obligated to be in their midst too (Matt. 18:20)? If an institutional "church" decided to sacrifice babies on a pagan altar while saying "in Jesus' name", then would it really be in Jesus' name? No! Just having two or three Christians meet is not enough, just having two or three Christians meet and say "in Jesus' name" is not enough, there needs to be two or three Christians actually meeting in Jesus' name according to His authority [5.1.1.3]. A congregation of lukewarm Christians in an institutional "church" may say "in Jesus' name" at the end of every prayer, but they are not meeting in Jesus' name for they are not meeting in the manner He has specified. If they were to actually meet under the authority of Jesus' name, the first thing they would have to do is repent of their divisive and sinful practices, in which case they would no longer be able to function as an institutional "church". This is not to say that God's presence cannot manifest in an institutional "church", for He surely has, but it is done in spite of their unbiblical institutional environment [7.2.5.1].

4.1.2.3 Open Participatory Meetings

When Christians meet together as the Church any number of things could happen: singing, fellowship, breaking bread, teaching, reading Scripture, prayer, sharing spiritual gifts, etc. Not necessarily any or all of these things must occur at any given meeting which is led by the Holy Spirit [4.3.1]. "Whenever you gather together, each one has a psalm, teaching, revelation, tongue, or an interpretation. Let all these be done for edification." (1Cor. 14:26). Some refer to this type of meeting as a "1 Corinthians 14 meeting" after the manner described in the Scripture (1Cor. 14:26-33). Others refer to it as an "open meeting" as they are open to whatever the Lord leads in the meeting without a preset agenda. The word "open" here is not in reference to open attendance (in that it open to the general public), but in reference to open agenda (in that any Christian may contribute). Having open participatory meetings is not new idea or something to experiment with, it is the Lord's command: "If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things I write to you are the Lord's command. But if anyone ignores this, then let him be ignored." (1Cor. 14:37-38). Although anything could happen in an open meeting before the Lord, the following is a general pattern of the types of elements that are often present:

This pattern, for instance, was evident in the dispute over circumcision where Paul and Barnabas received a revelation from God (Gal. 2:2), shared and discussed it with the Church (Acts 15:4,12), discerned what direction "seemed good to the Holy Spirit" (Acts 15:28), and then wrote it down as directives to be followed (Acts 15:29).

Some people have tried to artificially categorize fellowship into different types of meetings. For example, if Christians get together to fellowship in the Spirit and are led to pray for a situation (Acts 4:24, 12:12), someone might say they are having a "prayer meeting". Or if another time they get together and are led to worship the Lord in song (Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16, Jas. 5:13), someone might say they are having a "worship meeting". The only problem is that the terms "prayer meeting", "worship meeting", "fellowship meeting", "Bible study meeting", "gospel meeting", etc. are not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. These terms may be externally applied to describe a particular meeting after the fact, but this is not the terminology of the Bible or how the early Christians thought about their meetings. The Christians simply met in the name of Jesus and fellowshipped according to the leading of the Holy Spirit – whatever that was, is what kind of meeting it was [4.3.1.3]. "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing a psalm. Is anyone among you sick? Let him summon the older men of the Church and let them pray over him with oil in the name of the Lord." (Jas. 5:13-14). The Lord may indeed call His children together for any number of purposes.

4.1.2.4 Mutual Deliberations

One of the reasons for meeting together as the Church is to deliberate on particular matters together as one Body before the Lord. The concept of assembling together to deliberate is built right into the meaning of the word Church. The word "ecclesia" was a secular term referring to those who were called out to deliberate as a regularly summoned political body, such as a congress [1.1.2.2]. So what exactly are the "called out ones" of the Church suppose to deliberate? For beginners, Scripture directs the Church to judge all disputes and matters concerning fellow believers (1Cor. 5:12-6:5), including the final step when someone is disfellowshipped from the Church (Matt 18:16). If a jury is able to come to a unanimous decision concerning life or death, how much more is the Church able to a discern God's will through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Note that such issues were only to be addressed when the believers were assembled together as the Church (1Cor. 5:4-5). But unlike a secular congress that votes to decide what they want to do [5.2.3.3]; the Church only assembles to discern what the Lord wants to do [5.1.2.3].

Discernment of truth is not relegated to any individual leader, but to the corporate Church. Scripture says that when a prophet speaks "let the others discern" (1Cor. 14:29). Individuals may share insights and revelations they receive with the Church, but discerning is done corporately. This is the safety net God has given to the Church. The mere fact that an individual leader speaks and says that something is from the Lord is not enough – the Body must discern. So many have been led astray by a single leader who claimed to have a word from the Lord [6.2.4]. Certainly it is not difficult for one individual leader to be deceived, but that is why the Church is a Body. Thus, even if a prominent leader in the Church such as Peter were deceived (Gal. 2:11-14), the Church is still not deceived. An individual by himself may fall into error, but "the Church of the living God is the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1Tim. 3:15). Thus, when directions are received from the Lord, they are openly discussed before the whole Church assembled with their leaders (Acts 15:22, Phil. 1:1). In Scripture, the important issues of the day were considered by all the regular, average, common, run-of-the-mill Christians such as:

Obviously, these things are unheard of in most institutional "churches" today since their "lay" members would never be trusted with such matters. Notice that none of these decisions were made by a single leader, nor were they deliberated behind closed doors in a committee, board, or "elder" meeting [5.2.3.2]. The reason why all Christians may participate in the process is that all Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit and should be able to hear from the Lord. We are all priests among a kingdom of priests (1Pet. 2:5,9, Rev. 1:6, 5:10, 20:6). In every case, the Church as a whole is responsible for hearing the Word of the Lord and obeying His directives – a pattern consistent throughout the New Testament.

4.1.2.5 Lampstands

There is mention of seven lampstands in the book of Revelation that represented the Church in seven cites of Asia Minor (Rev. 1:20). These lampstands have certainly raised a number of interesting questions: Why are only these seven cities mentioned? Did the Church in other cities such as Corinth, Galatia, and Phillipi have lampstands too? There have certainly been many theories that have been put forth about this, but it is important first to understand exactly what these lampstands represent. A lampstand merely holds a light which is spiritually representative of God's presence. Certainly, in a personal sense, God is present with every believer as He said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Heb. 13:5; cf. Matt. 28:20). But the lampstand here is representative of God's presence in a corporate sense – when they come together as the Church [4.1.2.1]. Again, there is a noticeable difference experientially as most Christians are able to recognize God's manifest presence and long for it when it is absent. Have you ever experienced a dry, lifeless, boring meeting where the presence of God was nowhere to be found [4.2.1]? Some Christian organizations will conduct all kinds of meetings, but the question is, does God show up? If there are any Christians at a meeting, then Jesus is certainly with each one of them, and yet His manifest presence may not be found among the group in a corporate sense. How is this possible?

Notice that the Church in a city can have its lampstand removed: "If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." (Rev. 2:5). Was Jesus just giving an idle threat? Notice that the Church in Ephesus to whom this was written no longer exists today (Rev. 2:1-7). What does it mean to have a lampstand removed? Does it mean that all the Christians living in an area will suddenly become non-Christians? No. It probably just means that God will no longer visit them with His manifest presence, if they do not repent. Should God come among a group of willfully unrepentant Christians and endorse them by blessing them with His manifest presence [7.2.5.1]? This does not mean that every Christian in that area is sinning, but only that when they come together as the Church they are tolerating sin in their meetings (Rev. 2:2,20). In fact, their meetings may be doing more harm than good (1Cor. 11:17). "No doubt there are sects among you, in order that those who are approved may become evident among you." (1Cor. 11:19). This is also reminiscent of the situation in the Old Testament when God removed His presence from Judah and Jerusalem (2Ki. 17:20, 24:20, Jer. 52:3). Certainly, the Israelites continued to be God's people, but they had reached the point that God could no longer bless them as a group with His presence. Of course, God was still present with individuals like Jeremiah and Daniel, but at that time He would no longer bless Israel with His manifest presence in a corporate sense.

It is also interesting to consider the reverse situation – what does it take for a city to get a lampstand? If only one Christian lives in a city, does it get a lampstand? Was Sodom and Gomorrah blessed with God's manifest present just because Lot lived there? How about if there are thousands of lukewarm, backslidden, carnal Christians living in a city, do they get a lampstand? What if a non-Christian starts an institutional "church", builds a building, and puts a sign out in front – do they get a lampstand too? No conclusions about these things will be drawn here, but are left as an exercise for the reader.

4.2 Counterfeit Philosophies

Some institutional "churches" have meetings all the time. In fact, that may be just about all they have. They may have little to no spiritual fellowship described in the previous chapter, but they do have meetings. It is precisely because they do not have the right kind of fellowship, that they do not have the right kind of meetings. Atheists, Satanists, and cults all have meetings too, but they are obviously not meetings of the Church. The fact that a group has meetings, has lots of meetings, or even has lots of Christians in their meetings has no bearing on whether or not Jesus Christ condones those meetings [4.1.2.2]. In fact, without the Life of the Church, just about all they can do is have meetings since they do not have spiritual fellowship anything like that described in Scripture.

The kind of meetings a group has seems to provide a fairly accurate gauge in revealing their level of spiritual maturity [4.1.2.3]. Some Christians do not receive anything from the Lord at their meetings and some do not even know that they can receive anything [4.3.1.3]. Some Christians might receive something from the Lord, but their institutional environment does not allow them to share and may even discourage such things [5.2.2]. Some Christians lack discernment and will share almost anything at all, causing a continual stream of truth and error to mingle together and dilute any true word from the Lord [5.1.2]. (The signal to noise ratio is relatively low.) Still others will go on to discuss what is shared to discern what is from the Lord, yet they never actually implement anything in their lives. They treat a word from the Lord as something optional, not as a command to be obeyed, because they do not understand the nature of spiritual authority [5.1.3].

Some institutional "churches" have tried to experiment with open participatory meetings, but their members just sit there silently waiting for the leaders to initiate everything. They fail because they are trying to have the right kind of meetings, without first having the right Life that makes them possible [3.1]. Such institutional "churches" are trying to have a form of open meeting apart from the Biblical environment of spiritual fellowship that must first surround the meeting. They cannot have their cake and eat it too, if they don't have any cake! An institutional "church" may not experience any "one anothering", spiritual gifts, or power of the Holy Spirit, but you can be sure that they will be having meetings [3.2.2.1]. They may even have hundreds of meetings, but if they are not fellowshipping in the Spirit, they are not meeting as the Church.

4.2.1 Lifeless Meetings

Put your hand up if you have ever been to a dull, dry meeting where you come away with a sense of death instead of Life. People mouth lifeless words of a song that just seem to bounce off the ceiling and fall to the ground. The preacher reads from his well-prepared notes, but the members are bored and can't wait for the sermon to end. The prayer time is a burden as they begin to wade through a prepared list of items. The "order of worship" printed in the bulletin hasn't changed and yet for some reason the Holy Spirit is not automatically present. (Okay you can put your hands down now.) J It may seem better some weeks, but then other weeks are just dry and stale, leaving everyone bored, deflated, and lifeless. When non-Christians visit meetings like this, it is no surprise that they often lose all interest in Christianity. What is going wrong here?

Many organizations just go about conducting their normal meetings and then only hope that the Lord "shows up". Some institutions have conducted thousands of meetings and the Lord has never "shown up". Why isn't the Lord blessing so many institutional "churches" with His manifest presence they desire [4.1.2.5]? Wouldn't you expect that with such large numbers attending a "mega-church", the Lord would be obligated to visit them every week? The Lord's visitation is often such a rare occasion to some institutional "churches" that when it does happen they refer to it as a "revival". Some of them even schedule "revival meetings" once a year where they try really hard to get the Lord to show up. (If you can schedule a "revival", why not schedule one every week?) J They try to sing the right songs, have the right teaching, and say the right prayers in hopes that a lofty and impersonal God would look down upon their meager offerings, and if it is good enough, descend into their midst. And yet the Lord is not impressed (Amos 5:21-23). They work hard at making their meetings as excellent as possible, but they are still having the wrong kind of meetings. The stained glass may sparkle, the order of worship is on schedule, the sound levels are set, the robes neatly ironed, etc. The wrong kind of meeting could be wonderful, but it is still the wrong kind of meeting! Everything during the service could be done in the best possible manner, and yet the Lord's heart is still not being touched.

Much of what the institutional "churches" do in the Lord's name is not for the Lord at all, but only for themselves [4.1.2.2]. They set up their meeting with a multimedia presentation, worship band, and a dynamic speaker to entertain themselves; and then somehow hope that the Lord is happy with it too. They are gathering to meet their own needs, but what about the Lord's needs? "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." (Matt. 8:20). There may be hundreds of people outwardly pretending to worship God, but who is really worshiping Him in their heart? The Holy Spirit might hover over the congregation looking for someone to fill, but alas there is no receptive vessel. "For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." (2Chr. 16:9). When a person who is filled with the Spirit comes to such a meeting, he may not be able to participate with the group at all. He will still be able to worship the Lord in his inmost being, but simply cannot engage in the worldly, ritualistic religion of the group. But even though everyone else around him may be devoid of spiritual Life, he can still receive from the Lord – not because of the meeting, but in spite of the meeting! Many times the Lord has overlooked the unbiblical institutional environment to meet with those whose hearts are genuinely worshipping Him [7.2.5.1].

The unbiblical nature of what institutional "churches" do in their meetings is not as deafening as what they don't do in their meetings [3.2.2.1]. With few exceptions, the people do not function as priests or share their spiritual gifts in their meetings. These things are illegal in most institutional "churches"! Their meetings are designed precisely so that these things do not happen, which is also evidenced by the fact that they do not happen. Some institutional "churches" would not prevent people from doing these things, but their meetings are not designed to foster these things. Some of them may even believe in the theoretical existence of spiritual gifts, but you won't ever see them happening in their meetings on Sunday morning. If someone were ever to share a spiritual gift outside of the normal scripted program, there is usually just a brief period of awkward silence and then they just move on to the next thing on the schedule.

The root problem here is not necessarily that the format of the meeting is wrong, as much as the people in the meeting are wrong! The people are not filled with the Spirit, and thus the meeting is not filled with the Spirit. Without the Life of the Church, there can only be lifeless meetings. Even those who are fellowshipping as the Church will not experience the presence of God if they harbor fleshly desires, dissention, unconfessed sin, etc. [3.2.3]. If people's hearts are not right, then the meetings cannot be right regardless of the structure.

4.2.2 Attendance-Based Religion

In practice, most institutional "churches" predominantly view their "church" as a meeting. Many of them realize that the "church" is not the building, but instead view the "church" as the meeting inside the building [1.2.1]. Their main activity occurs once a week during a one hour meeting when their "church" is in session. They only function as a "church" while they are in a meeting and this meeting is the main event that connects them all together. Outside of their meetings most of them do not have much, if any, spiritual fellowship with one another [3.1.1]. As a result, the primary duty expected of the members under this religious system is attendance. Since the institutional "churches" function in an attendance-based environment, it is critical that the people be at the meetings when they occur. With only one or two meetings each week, the meetings themselves become of utmost importance [4.2.2.1].

There is obviously a huge difference between walking together in daily fellowship described in the Scripture and "attending" something. Attending a meeting costs very little and accomplishes very little [2.3.3.2]. All you have to do is sit still for about an hour, and then when it is over you can go home and do whatever you want. But this is not a "body knit together" (Col. 2:19), "members of one another" (Rom. 12:5, Eph. 4:25), "contending as one man" (Phil. 1:27), "submitting to one another" (Eph. 5:21), but rather individuals attending an impersonal meeting. When the meeting is over each one goes their own separate way, independent of everyone else. Such behavior is completely foreign to the Scripture where "if one member suffers, all the members suffer" (1Cor. 12:26; cf. Rom. 12:15). Attendance-based religion is entirely nonsensical as far the Scripture is concerned. People who attend institutional "churches" are not necessarily facing God's eternal wrath, but they simply are not meeting in the Biblical environment of fellowship that God has prescribed [3.1.1]. Their meetings may even seem wonderful, but where is the daily fellowship, accountability, sharing of spiritual gifts, sacrifice, and commitment [3.2.2.1]?

4.2.2.1 The Big Show

When there are only one or two meetings each week to go to, a much greater emphasis is placed on the quality of the meetings. An institutional "church" basically only has one or two shots a week to make an impact on people, so they had better do it right! Visitors and potential members are left to judge the organization based solely on the quality of the meeting – was the music good, was the speaker entertaining, was the atmosphere too formal, did the meeting last too long, etc. Thus, efforts are made to try to avoid any awkward moments in the meeting: "What should we do about Gladys who sings off key but keeps signing up for special music?" "Should we let Frank give the Sunday School report again after the embarrassment he caused last year?" The regular members are also sensitive to the quality of the meeting and likewise feel satisfaction if the meetings go well, or conversely feel uneasy when mistakes are made [4.2.2.4]. On the way home they might critique the sermon delivery or rate the quality of the music. They might say they had a "good service" if they had an exceptional speaker, special music, or a good drama presentation. Over time, the emphasis of these meetings has unintentionally shifted to becoming a subtle form of entertainment.

Broadway Variety Show

Institutional "church" Service

§ Performers are paid a salary to put on a quality show

§ Pastor and choir director are paid a salary to conduct a good service

§ Big name stars have the top roles and others act as supporting cast

§ Clergy have the top positions and the laity act in supporting roles

§ Special guest appearances by Hollywood celebrities and rock stars

§ Special guest appearances by Christian celebrities and rock stars

§ Theatre architecture, decorations, and lighting are designed to enhance the performance

§ Sanctuary architecture, decorations, and lighting are designed to enhance the service

§ Special costumes are worn by the actors in the show

§ Robes are worn by the clergy and choir members in the service

§ People in the audience are normally silent spectators

§ Members of the congregation are normally silent spectators

§ The order of acts is pre-planned and handed out in the program

§ The order of service is pre-planned and handed out in the bulletin

§ The event is supported by people buying tickets

§ The event is supported by the members' tithing

Some institutional "churches" will immediately be offended by references to their service as a "show", "performance", or "entertainment". They think it is merely a coincident that the world has borrowed so many of these elements from the "church". But in reality, most of these things in their services were borrowed from the world [7.2.2]! Many institutional "churches" do not see anything at all wrong with borrowing elements from the world in order to enhance their services. In fact, some "church" organizations hire worldly consultants to aid them in their planning and designs. The latest music styles, fashions, and designs of the world are brought into the "church" to make it more appealing to the world. They intentionally try to make their programs as appealing as possible to the carnal flesh in order to help elicit emotional responses from the people. They accept the idea that "the end justifies the means" with the belief that these things will help draw in non-Christians and entice them to convert.

Such is the philosophy of many "mega-churches" whose goal is to try to see how many people they can cram into one meeting or under one roof. This is also the unspoken goal of most smaller "churches" that strive to increase their attendance and become prestigious, but just have not gotten there yet. They focus on these numerical indicators, which is why many of them post their attendance and giving records for each week. These institutional "churches" falsely assume that if their meeting becomes bigger, then it means the kingdom of God must also be growing. Thus, they just want to try to get as many people in the door as possible – Christian or non-Christian. They do not care how much leaven they have in the batch as long as the batch is big. But Scripture says, "Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole batch? Purge out the old leaven in order that you may be a new batch, for you must be unleavened." (1Cor. 5:6-7; cf. Gal. 5:9). As discussed below, these are not meetings of the Church, but simply distorted forms of evangelistic meetings where just a few Christians speak to a passive crowd of spectators [4.2.3].

And where exactly is any of this found in the New Testament? Where was the big show, pre-planned meetings, attendance records, and guest musical groups? Didn't the early Christians know that these things would really "pack them in"? Why didn't they just go over and see how the pagans were doing it like they do today? The false religions have pretty good attendance numbers and they don't even have a real god! The early Church certainly had meetings, but they certainly did not meet in this way! These institutional "church" services are completely contrary to the meetings of the Church discussed in 1 Corinthians 14. They are not functioning as priests where "each one having received a gift serving one another as good stewards" (1Pet. 4:10), for the members sit passively as if it were a spectator sport. There is not open participatory sharing where "each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation" (1Cor. 14:26), for the laity's "microphone time" is usually limited if not entirely closed. They do not share their lives together and "exhort one another daily" (Heb. 3:13) in intimate fellowship, for they attend impersonal meetings once or twice a week. Again, the problem is not that they have meetings, but that they have the wrong kind of meetings.

4.2.2.2 Ten-O-Clock Charlie

Since the Sunday service is practically the only time for people to showcase their spirituality, everyone has learned to come with their best on "game day". Both the clergy and laity literally "suit up" by getting dressed up in their own respective ways for the weekly event. The clergy gear up to put on a good show and the laity gear up to see a good show. Everybody comes ready to play with a religious "game face" on. When the meeting starts, the clergy begin to act in a melodramatic way that is completely different than when they were joking around on Saturday. Some of them may be very likable characters outside of "church", but when they step on stage they become strangely different – like an actor with a role to play when they step on stage. The laity also put on smiles and appear to look much more meditative and somber than when they were fighting with their spouses on the way in to "church". Everybody wants to be on their best behavior during the "spiritual hour".

This could be likened to a football game where the clergy get on the football field and battle for yards against the enemy, while the laity cheer in the stands or have support roles like playing in the band or working the concessions. But when the game is over everybody goes home and returns to their normal lives. The football players take off their suits, the band puts their instruments away, the concession stand closes, and the fans go home. Outside of the weekly game, there is no continuing context for these roles except for preparing for the next game. Football players usually don't wear their pads and helmets out in society, band members don't go shopping carrying around their trumpets and saxophones, and fans don't just start cheering for their team in the middle of the workday. Everyone takes on this new context only while the game is being played and then they revert back to their normal selves when the game is over [4.2.2.3].

Such is the case with Ten-O-Clock Charlie when it comes to institutional "church" meetings. A Ten-O-Clock Charlie is someone who behaves a certain way throughout the week, but then acts somewhat differently when 10:00 on Sunday morning rolls around. There are all kinds of Ten-O-Clock Charlies and many of them are not even Christians! They may look like angels during "church", but then live like the devil the rest of the week [1.2.4.2]. Some Ten-O-Clock Charlies may even play an active role in the meeting. They might usher, sing in the choir, pass out bulletins, run the sound system, etc. No real spirituality is required to do any of these "jobs". They could swear at their wife, beat their kids, and kick their dog at home, and still make a fine usher at "church"! But regardless of how active they are in the meeting, when the meeting is over, so is their religious contribution. Apart from the context of the "church" service, they won't get too many opportunities to share their "spiritual gift" of ushering or passing out bulletins for the entire rest of the week.

The vast majority of Ten-O-Clock Charlies might be best classified as "carnal Christians". This doesn't mean that they are necessarily mass murders between Sundays, but their spirituality is still not the same throughout the week as it is when Sunday rolls around. Of course, they would say they still believe in Christ throughout the week, yet they do not live their lives accordingly. (If Sunday is their Holy day, then what does that make all of their other days?) J They go from their otherwise worldly existence, become spiritual during the meeting, and then return to their otherwise worldly existence. Some of them can really talk up a storm on Sunday morning, but rarely do they talk about Christ during the rest of the week. They can go from joking around before the meeting, to somber meditation during the meeting, to hyping an upcoming football game after the meeting. This doesn't mean they are necessarily in sin between meetings as much as they are generally engrossed in the everyday things of the world. During their normal day they think very little about Christ and a lot about their jobs, school, sports, TV programs, shopping, etc.

Even some of the best "church" members are Ten-O-Clock Charlies. They might live like "average" Christians throughout the week, but when the service starts they are suddenly able to really turn it on. During the meeting they might share in depth, lead out in prayer, have words from the Lord, but after the meeting they don't have any context for these things and so they have to "dial down". They gear up to be really spiritual for the meeting, but when the meeting is over, they soon return back to their normal level of mediocre Christianity. This is especially true of many clergy who get a spiritual high once a week when they are able to impress the congregation with their skills. Clark Kent really is Superman throughout the week, but he just doesn't have any opportunity to display his powers until the meeting starts! Outside of the meeting, most of their time and energy is spent simply preparing for the next meeting where they will be able to showcase their talents again.

A Ten-O-Clock Charlie may be clergy or laity, active or passive, committed or uncommitted, but what they all have in common is that they are only at their peak as a Christian when there is a meeting to go to. They are indeed hypocrites because they live one way during the meeting and another way outside of the meeting. Some of them merely "wish to look good in the flesh" (Gal. 6:12) as they have a noticeably artificial or plastic demeanor about them in the meeting that is obvious to everyone. Here is what Jesus had to say about these kinds of people: "You are like white-washed tombs that outwardly indeed appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones and all impurity. And thus you outwardly indeed appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and of lawlessness." (Matt. 23:27-28).

4.2.2.3 Meeting-Centricity

The logical consequence of attendance based religion is that people become meeting-centric instead of Christ-centric. Their Christian spirituality is centered more around "church" meetings than a daily personal relationship with Christ. Their Christian experience is mostly sporadic as the bulk of their spirituality only occurs during the intervals that meetings are held. In essence, their "church" only lasts as long as they are in a meeting [1.2.1]. Outside of the meetings, very little spiritual activity occurs in their lives. If you took a video camera and only recorded them every Sunday morning from 10:00-11:30 AM until they died, you would just about capture all of their spiritual activity. They merely attend one service each week, and then the other 313 days of the year they live their lives out on their own in the world. Of course, some may go to "church" two or even three times a week, but their Christianity is still self-contained inside these meetings – events that are merely arranged into their schedule. Those who are really needy may jump from service to service, seminar to seminar, or meeting to meeting, but they are still experiencing punctuated Christianity. The only way they know to feel spiritual is to simply attend more meetings. This is not to say that attending meetings couldn't be edifying and encouraging, but just not something to be dependent upon in place of an intimate relationship with Christ himself.

Meeting-centric Christians are often some of the most dependable "church" goers. When a meeting starts, you can usually count on them to be there. But being committed to "church" meetings is not the same thing as being committed to Christ. Someone may have a great attendance record, but very little spiritual intimacy with Jesus. Some may faithfully be at "church" every time the doors open, but this only amounts to about 2 percent of their time each week. They may feel good about attending "church" for a few hours each week, except that Jesus wants them to walk with Him every minute of every day. Scriptures such as "be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18) and "pray without ceasing" (1Th. 5:17) are not once-a-week commands! Jesus said to "take up your cross daily" (Luke 9:23). These commands do not take effect just when there is a meeting but are to be obeyed all the time. Meeting-centric people do not walk as 24/7 Christians, but more like a 4/2 Christians. They might have some relationship with Christ, but they don't have a sustained relationship with Christ. Do you suppose there are job openings for part-time "Christians" in the kingdom of God?

Notice that the commands to "serve" (Gal. 5:13, 1Pet. 4:10), "care for" (1Cor. 12:25), "pray for" (Jas. 5:16), "admonish" (Rom. 15:14, Col. 3:16), "teach" (Col. 3:16), "confess sins to" (Jas. 5:16), "forgive" (Eph. 4:32, Col. 3:13), "edify" (Rom. 14:19, 1Th. 5:11), "encourage" (1Th. 4:18, 5:11, Heb. 3:13, 10:25), and "fellowship with" (1Jn. 1:7) "...one another" are not once-a-week commands, but a daily part of being nourished through close-knit relationships with one another [3.1.2.1]. Again, if people were obeying the Scriptures they wouldn't have a chance to become meeting-centric since their needs would already be met by serving one another daily with their spiritual gifts [4.1.1.2]. But meeting-centric people are generally not interested in fellowshipping with Christians each day, because they do not even fellowship with Christ each day! They usually have shallow fellowship with others precisely because they have shallow relationships with Christ. They are content to play "church" once or twice a week, when they should desire to fellowship with Christians everyday (Acts 2:26). They are content to exhort one another weekly, but Jesus wants them to "exhort one another daily" (Heb. 3:13). They pray "give us this day our daily bread" (Matt. 6:11), but then only depend on the Sunday service to get their weekly bread. They are content to be fed once a week through the minister's sermon, but Jesus wants to teach them "daily" (Luke 19:47, Acts 5:42).

What would happen if someone were to attempt to have a marriage the same way that most folks approach religion? They would basically pursue their own interests and other loves six days a week and then only meet with their spouse once a week for an hour on Sunday morning. Do you think this would make for a good marriage? Is this the type of relationship that Jesus wants? Of course not! Going to "church" to experience staged, preplanned worship is like scheduling a time to kiss your wife! But this is precisely the type of superficial relationship that many people have with Jesus. Do you not know that we are the Bride of Christ (Rev. 21:2,9, 22:17)? A good marriage involves things like passionate love, caring, devotion, sharing and intimacy in a daily relationship. It cannot be sustained solely through ceremonial rituals and performances in a "service" [7.1.3.2]. Those who only relate to Jesus in this shallow way are merely religious adherents, not true lovers of God.

4.2.2.4 Spiritual Osmosis

Over time, institutional "church" members begin to develop a form of meeting dependency as they learn to wait till Sunday to have their spiritual needs met. They go to their weekly "service" to get serviced, like a car pulling into a gas station in order to get "filled up" for the next week. Without a meeting to prop them up, their spirituality would become stagnant if not cease completely. They rely on one meeting to give them enough spiritual boost to last them throughout the week. As a result, their perceived relationship with Christ is heavily tied to their experience in the meeting. Many people are easily manipulated into a temporary emotional high during a meeting and then they try to run as long as possible on the fumes. They may feel a rush during an ecstatic time of worship, they might feel moved by the special music, or they might feel stirred by the sing-songy patter of the sermon. These things are all external to them, yet they make them feel closer to Christ. If the meeting has gone well, the members will generally go home with warm feelings inside and a sense of satisfaction. They bask in the warmth of other's shared spiritual experiences and then internalize them as their own. These spiritual feelings deceive them into thinking that they themselves are now indeed somehow more spiritual. The praise and worship was spiritual, and so they now feel spiritual. The sermon was anointed, and so they now feel anointed. They are under the delusion that another's spirituality somehow rubs off onto them through some form of spiritual osmosis. They act as if the spirituality of what the leaders have done in the meeting has somehow been transferred over to their own account.

But while attending a meeting may make them feel more spiritual, the reality is that in most cases they are not any more spiritual than when they walked in. The members feel spiritual without having done anything spiritual! Perhaps someone else heard from the Lord, but did they hear from the Lord? Did they get to use their own spiritual gifts? No, they just sat passively through an hour-long meeting. They are like the moon admiring the beautiful light that it shines, yet it does not generate any light of its own! It is like going to a movie that makes you laugh, cry, and experience all sorts of intense feelings, but in the end you are just sitting still in a seat. You relate with all of the experiences of the main character and are caught up in the emotions as if you were there. But when the lights are raised you become aware that you have just been passively sitting in a theatre. Afterwards you are not anymore skilled at being a kung-fu artist, international spy, or spaceship captain than when you walked in, yet you feel like you somehow shared in the experience. It is like getting all excited after watching your favorite sports team win a game – except that you didn't even play! Such meetings do nothing but produce generation after generation of high maintenance, low impact Christians.

Many people's spiritual self-worth is completely tied to the quality of the meeting. The meeting needs to go well in order for them to feel good about their spiritual condition. Even the clergy's self-esteem often depends on how well the meeting goes as they assess their own spirituality based on their performance in the "show". But just like going to a movie or savoring a victory, the glow always wears off on the way home. Some may talk about the "show" afterward and try to get the feelings to linger, but soon the ambience fades away as they eventually face the realities of the world again and go about their normal routines. They cannot sustain the high they get from a retreat or "church" camp, for the feelings do not last. They do not realize that they are dependent on meetings to make them feel spiritual. Christians should not seek after an experience, but God himself! Not that Christians can't feel emotional during a meeting, but the emotions are to follow spiritual realities, not substitute for spiritual realities.

4.2.2.5 Remote-Control Christianity

Remote-control Christ