In the eyes of God the church is a beautifully dressed woman, the bride of Christ. She was a colony from heaven, not a man-made organization from earth. “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God” (Rev. 21:2,3).
Jesus prayed the church would be one, not one as it is today, splintered to smithereens, but one as he was one with the Father. John wrote, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their (apostles) message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:20-21).
The early church enjoyed the favor of all men (Acts 2:47) as they saw the beauty of Christ on display within the colony of heaven. But before too many years the pride and traditions of men began rising above the simplicity of the Lord’s will. Paul wrote, “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul” (1 Corinthians 1:10-13)?
It took me a long time to realize that the Christ-followers of which Paul wrote were as prideful as all the others. Each fragment of the body was lifting itself up, therefore belittling all the others. Just because some used Christ to proclaim their soundness, didn’t make it so. They were denominating or separating themselves, as were the followers of Paul, Apollos, and Cephas. None in this list of the Apostle Paul were free from dividing and mutilating the beauty God had constructed in heaven. They were attempting to dissect the colony of heaven into factions.
It would be helpful to avoid the word “church.” It does not adequately translate the Greek ekklesia. It has become a theological term, and has taken on a kind of professional or institutional twist. There is no indication in the Scriptures that God intended to form what we view as the church. Certainly He did not design “churches,” with their varied creeds, laws, and traditions.
Paul’s statement in Ephesians gives us a meaningful and broader sense of the ekklesia: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household” (Eph.2:19). That paints a beautiful picture of God’s family, which the word “church” has distorted. Again, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:25-27). Let’s be reminded, each time we read the word “church” we’re seeing a translation of the word ekklesia. What theologians have done to it over the centuries has become shameful ~ as well as what many of us think and accept today.
I prefer the word “community,” which seems to me to best render the word ekklesia. Colony, and congregation is a good term. It comes from the Latin grex, flock, and means “to flock together.” But it also has suffered from the abuse of theologians, who tend to corrupt the words they use. Ekklesia literally means “called out,” but it also implies a calling together, and in the case of God’s call, it is a calling together into a fellowship, the sharing of eternal life. The community of God in any area embraces all who are part of the family of God. It consists of all who have heard the call of God and have properly responded to it. There may be many “churches” in a city, but there is only one community of heaven. Sadly, and here’s the rub, churches embrace those who see things a certain way. But the community of heaven is composed of all who have embraced Him as the Way. There is a difference in “the life of the church” and the community of the Life.
The word community suggests those who are bound together by a common tie. This common tie is not a creedal compilation, a written or unwritten code, a particular opinion, or a special way of doing things. The tie that binds is faith in the person of Jesus.
What if my plans and God’s don’t coincide? This is one of the problems we have in giving God unconditional trust, isn’t it? He might take away something we love, or not give us something we want. What if our plans clash with His? We have a big problem trusting God when we want to be in control!
That happens when our hearts reach out to Him, “Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies” (v.4).
“Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” I Corinthians 1:22-24).
It may be surprising, but that wasn’t the attitude of folks in the Bible. “Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling….” (2 Cor. 5:2). The Apostle Paul had an insight that we must be missing. He wanted to go home and be with the Lord, “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we at home in the body we are away from the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:6).