YES! another blog about the church. Consider this....

Our communities, our states, our nation, the WORLD needs the church that Jesus us building, to step up and take her place. But what IS the church?  In Matthew 16 Jesus says he will build the church and the gates (rulers, decision makers) will not be able to prevail( overcome, withstand) it.

But what does this mean? It certainly is not something we can build ourselves with programs or ideologies. Our marching orders, our definitions, our identity can be found in Scripture and it is non-negotiable. We cannot change it to fit our pet projects or desires. But over the years the term "church" has been modified to mean different things to different people.

The church is made up of individuals..

There are many things we talk about when referring to what we have traditionally understood as “Church.” When I think of church I immediately think of white patent leather shoes in spring or a brick building, stained glass windows with a steeple. When I think about what church does, I think of fellowship dinners and feeding the homeless. When I think of church exercises and faith, I think of Sunday morning worship and singing and bible studies and Sunday schools. And there is a comfort in my memories. I was a child. I was safe in the church where I identified. I was converted, baptized and I received the Holy Spirit and a calling. It meant I would go to heaven when I died, that Jesus was with me always and somehow I had a victory...of some kind.

I would not want to take those memories from anyone. I don’t ever want to downplay or criticize where I have been. Where I began my faith journey is not to be ridiculed because it is a part of the tools with which God formed and blessed me to be the person I am today. But there is more. 

To understand the church we must first understand who Christ is and who that makes us to be individually as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven/Kingdom of God. 

Speaking about the individual within the Kingdom of God I turn to Scripture which says  “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. To “become as a child” we subconsciously understand as being innocent and in need of protection and provision. “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so, little ones to him belong, they are weak but he is strong….” Is taught to the children and echoed with nostalgia as adults.  Typically, whether we realize it or not, the average person when incorporating this verse and others like it,  comes to think of themselves as children before God needing Jesus to make it through the hard times, to provide for needs, to heal when we are sick, and so on. I know I did. The everyday understanding of what it means to be “child-like” brings to mind a person solely dependent upon the grace of God for everything, a large part of this understanding, with regard to whom we are grateful for being the source of all good gifts, is accurate. We are grateful and blessed for all He has done for us with regard to identity, purpose and destiny. Without Christ we would be condemned, lost and without hope. He did make a way for victory over sin and death and we must have faith as a child in the sense that we do not allow experiences to steal faith and keep us from believing in what God has said and is saying now about us and to us. 

However, as long as we think of ourselves as children in the classic sense: innocent, without understanding/experience, dependent as well as limited in our abilities, we remain powerless to defeat the  powers of darkness or influence the world around us. We remain victims of life and what the world can do to us financially, health-wise and socially. The people of God, then learn to live a life of reaction on defense against the world and it’s invasions and trespasses rather than as citizens of a Kingdom where Christ is king. When we realize that being a child of God, son of God is NOT about being “child-like”, but rather being heirs of a promise, everything changes.

Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything,

The Spirit of Christ within is the Spirit of a full grown and powerful Christ the King (rather than of a baby in a manger or Jesus dying on a cross). Embracing this reality, we become heirs of victory as well. The people of God, and therefore the Church, are not child-like sinners, saved by a loving, graceful father because we can do nothing good and are helpless on our own. This  idea is perpetuated by the teaching that God must do the healing, delivering and and all we have to do is storm the gates of heaven with as many pray warriors as are able and pray that he will change things. The presupposition, whether we realize it consciously or not, is that he is either unaware of what is needed or somehow believers must twist his arm with as many prayers that can be gathered. The Kingdom of God is present now. Jesus said the Kingdom has come near, is at hand. People could identify it by the Spirit because of the fruit being produced (sick healed, people delivered, truth revealed).  In this way, when we do what we see the Father doing and say what we hear the Father saying, when we imitate Christ and he is Lord of our lives, we govern as Citizens of  the Kingdom God just as Adam and Eve governed the earth before the fall. Christ came to remind us of our identity. That governance was not ever taken away. It was “deceived away” as Satan confused the mind and evilly set in motion his plan for silencing the voice of God upon the earth.

God gave us the means, by his Spirit within, the power to heal and deliver, to share the gospel and so many other things! But the people of God do not often live in the fullness of Christ that was won for them either because they have been deceived into thinking they are unable to do so, are ignorant of what it means to live the abundant life. In addition, remaining ignorant of the truth can be a convenient excuse not to exercise the power and responsibility of full grown Christians. 

We need to know who we are in Christ so we may grow up in Him to be who He said we are. If the Christ we know is a baby in a manger, that infancy is as far as we will get. Even thinking of ourselves as a “child of the King” is endearing and comforting, but it puts no demand upon us to be anything more than a child at play or in need of care. Our churches are full of infant Christians looking to have their diapers changed, noses wiped and fed bottles of pleasing words and anecdotes with an occasional burping. Hebrews 6 tells us we must move past the elementary truths into maturity. Look at the list of “elementary truths!” Can you imagine that raising the dead is an elementary truth? 

If we have a firm foundation of who Christ is and who we are in Him and why, then we can see ourselves, others and situations more clearly. We will know the difference between the storm of emotions that sometimes arises and the truth that lies behind the situation that needs attention.  We will know the difference between what someone says about us and the reality of who we are in Christ. We can reject the false claims and embrace the Truth. A firm and accurate foundation on Christ gives us identity. Identity gives us purpose and purpose gives us a destiny to walk in. As long as the church is blinded to who they are in Christ, she stays an infant, powerless and ignorant of the mandate that is on her. When we are sure of our foundation and identity we are not afraid to speak up and let our voices be heard.

But being the church is not about our individual lives. We were made to work in commuity with those of like mind that we can walk beside. One can do much, but many can change the world. Consider the impact of 12 disciples in the 1st century!  It is about representing Christ where we are and beyond. We now see people getting involved in politics that profess their Christian faith. This is Good! Our faith should infiltrate all parts of our life with obedience to Christ. It is our obedience to Truth that brings about correction and change. As we vote and participate in community, state and national decisions, we are representing Truth and righteousness. As we pray and intercede for those in decision making roles, we support and bring about what they need as they are obedient to truth where they are called to be. This is how change is made. The church must come together, moving toward the same goal.

Be blessed,

Anne