A long time ago the "Church," was redefined by men as something separate from the people. They created a building and a system and they called it their own. This is always the folly of men. Consider this, consider what men would do with this. Say, we had in our possession , the bush that burned and the sand that surrounded it when Moses encountered the Lord.It would be venerated and visited by the masses of people and it would be worshiped. Yet all it would be would be a bush and some sand. It is the presence of God that makes the ground Holy, whether it is a bush, some sand, a building , a living room, a basement. God dwells within His people. They are the Church. They are living stones, built upon the chief stone, the cornerstone. When two or three of them gather together, then He is there in the midst of them.

Two or three brothers and sisters. Not one, for one can worship and pray alone and come before the throne, but to the two or three there lies the promise. This corporate presence of God is unique and beautiful and Holy and majestic. It cannot be compared. It cannot because it was created that way, praise the Lord. Now if I know that and you know that then the enemy of our souls knows that too. This, I would charge, would become one of his greatest tasks, to destroy genuine gatherings of the saints. He has had much success but has ultimately failed. Just when he thinks he has down a wonderful job, then God begins to call all His children all over the world, His remnant children to come together for these, the final days.

What seems like the enemy's greatest victory will become his ultimate defeat. As the saints begin to gather in defiance of his works, then he will reveal himself and come against them with hell and all of it's fury. And then, in the midst of all of that, the Bridegroom returns for His bride. The lion of Judah returns and He rides, not on a donkey but on a stallion. Not now as the Lamb but as the Lion. He comes to bring justice and judgement. There will be a fire in His eyes and a two edged sword in His mouth, glory to God, glory to God............bro Frank

You expressed the cry of my heart, Frank. I long to meet with brothers and sisters collectively and above anything else, sense the Presence of God in our midst. We are so tragically satisfied with "church services" of our own personal agendas and traditions that we fail to realize that our gatherings are to be to worship Him in spirit and in truth rather than with intellect and theology.
For many years I have been praying for revival - now I am discovering that God is putting a hungering into the hearts of younger people for a reality in God that the Church has largely failed to offer. As a much older person I am greatly privileged to have the opportunity to mentor some of these dear souls. Years ago, God in His gracious mercy wrenched me out of the "system" to reveal Himself to me as a Father Who desired a very intimate relationship with me as a son. Now I can encourage these seeking souls in their quest for this same blessed reality that Jesus came to restore. The fellowship which I enjoy with these young people is what I desire would be the experience in Church gatherings.

1) The assembly - 1:22

2) The body - 1:23

3) The workmanship - 2:10

4) The family - 2:18-19

5) The temple - 2:20-22

6) The bride - 5:25-32

7) The army - 6:10-13

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David Winter

A short reply to bro Greg is ..........

Church, as expressed in the Word, is a community of believers which are indeed governed by elders with varying giftings. What it is not is four walls on a Sunday morning. Did this community of believers gather? Yes indeed, but one town, one community one church. Too many to gather in one house? Gather in many houses in one town, but one community, one church. Special speaker coming, say the Apostle Paul, all gather in a field because no house could hold the many from the one Church who were one community governed by one body of elders.

Can you give a single example of anywhere in the west where there is one town, one community, one church? No, there are theifdoms and kindoms of men, each little kingdom with their own officials and who are goverened, typically by the theologies of a man or group of men from the past. My home town of Greenock has over 40 different " churches," of every denomination/stripe/color/creed you can imagine, and that is just in a small town of 40,000 people, which, by the way, less that 3% go to "church." Church was never something that you went to in the Scriptures, it was something that you were apart of, the community of believers.............bro Frank

Beekpr,

Our hearts and souls in this matter are in perfect alignment. This is the testimony from saints around the world as the "Christendom," crumbles all around them into a morass of compromise and systematized programming...........bro Frank

I like this; however, I don't see the Body of Christ as bride (No. 5) in that passage, but instead a wife according to the context.

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Glen

Church is a mystery, its meaning has to be revealed. A person who does not meet with local Church does not have its meaning revealed at all. If it was truly revealed to him, then he will not be a lonely person anymore. He will long to be part of a local Church, even if it is humbling enough for a person of his age to sit and learn from someone younger to him!

A person unmarried cannot teach others how to live a married life. Nor does he have any moral qualification to criticize the marriage that he sees in society. Same way a person who is unwilling to be part of a local body of believers has no moral qualification to criticize other churches. It is easy to criticize a system that appears fallen, but what do we do to correct it? Are you meeting with a local body of believers that is a true representation of body of Christ? Are you seeking a committed relationship with other believers in your locality? If the answer is NO then it should self explain the lack of qualification.

Everything posted in this thread is all pattern. A local Church is not characterized by pattern, just like how a pattern does not represent a tabernacle but the presence of God. For example quoting Matt 18:20, to cite that every gathering of 2 or 3 believers is a Church is absolute lie. The verse has to be read in the context. One cannot take just verse 20 as the only condition. What about verse 18, where Jesus mentioned about binding on earth in a committed fellowship of brothers. Not just a lose gathering where no one is willing to be committed to other.

Matt 18:18- Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

If Matt 18:20 is unconditional promise of the presence of Jesus then why was Jesus standing outside the Laodicea Church (Rev 3:14-22)?

This clearly means gathering in Jesus name has lot more conditions than what we think. It is not a generic promise that any 2 believers gathering can proclaim to be true.

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Sreeram

Sree,

Your premise is wrong therefore your comments are off. I was part of a local body for over 20 years, probably a lot longer than you have actually been saved I would imagine. Again, youth versus maturity is always an issue. God bless you brother, my piece was not an invitation for a intellectual debate, it was written for the mature saints who has spent decades in what we call " the local church." So, your own premise, wrong in this case, could be turned around and it is you who observe the community that has left what is called " the local church," from the outside.

On a fellowship note. After having observed and been part of what is called fellowship among men in " local churches," for over two decades, I would almost guarantee that I have more actual fellowship with other saints in my community in one week, than most men in a " local church," would have in a year. Sitting in a pew for one hour a week, or maybe two hours if one goes on a Wednesday night, is not the fellowship of the saints..................bro Frank

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Sreeram