3.1From Commercial to Free-range

From Commercial to Free-range So we have dealt with leadership and the ekklesia gathering. This leads us to the next point, which is where would such as church gather if it does not tithe; have no official organisation; and have no person in control to manage it all? Let me answer this with an analogy that someone once used to compare the difference between the institutional church and the church that one reads about in the Bible. The analogy was comparing the difference between commercialised sheep farming and free-range sheep farming. Commercialised sheep are generally cramped into a number of rows of cages in large expensive hangers. There is not a lot of space for the sheep to move and many times the sheep are forced to sleep, eat and relieve themselves in the same cramped-up space. The sheep are all fed the same formulated diet. The sheep are bred this way for it is has the greatest yield of profit and but unfortunately it does not produce quality and healthy sheep with a strong immune system. The problem is that because of the way they are bred, there has to be strict control of who has access to the sheep, because if a virus should enter this environment, many sheep will catch it quickly and die easily because their immune systems was not able to develop and become resistant to viruses. Free-range sheep are free to grace the fields. They have time to be nourished by their mother and feed from the different pastures. With this kind of diet and exercise, the quality of their meat is much better than those of the commercialized sheep. For this reason, their immune systems are also much stronger and can resist viruses and disease much better. Christ intended that the saints should be free-range sheep and not commercialized sheep. The institutionalized church has big buildings to breed in, where strict control is kept over the sheep, and where they have a very limited diet specially formulated for that denomination. The moment error creeps in, the members of the church who do not know how to discern the truth from error for the themselves, being totally dependent of whatever is told them behind the pulpit, are then contaminated by error when it is preached behind the pulpit and so doing, many “sheep” are lost. A second comparison is the difference between schools and families. Generally a school’s goal is to impart academic knowledge to the learners so that they might have the skills to build careers. The success of a school is generally measured by the numbers enrolled in the school and obviously the numbers of students who

achieve academic excellence. The success of the school is sometimes also measured by the social class of its students, even though schools would not admit to this openly. The success and prestige of the school is portrayed by their elaborate and expensive buildings and ground facilities. Whereas the institutional church functions like a school, the biblical church in contrasts functions like a family. Families are small organic units that have as their goal the development of character and the maturity of their members. Families do impart knowledge but do not have that as their core goal. The success of a family is not seen in numbers or the gain of intellectual knowledge, but on how the children behave, their character development and whether they will grow up to be responsible adults able to start their own healthy intact families. A family is something you are part of, in contrast to a school that you attend. The same is true with church. Church is something you are part of and not something you go to. The moment you are born-again you are part of that family of saints called the church. You don’t have to attend a church to be part of it; you are part of it in the same way a child is born into a family. It is up to us how we function in this family called the church and household of God. Some would say: Why make an issue about the format of church if the institutional church is getting people “saved”? That might be the case, but let me put it this way: orphanages look after children by giving them a place to sleep, food, education, and trying to create a safe environment. This is all good, but should we then conclude that there is therefore no reason to get a family to adopt these children? Of course not, because a family gives children much more than an orphanage could ever give them. The only reason there are orphanages is because the families are not functioning the way they should. Yet logic should dictate that it should never just settle to have all children be brought up in orphanages. Should we not rather at least strive to get all children in a healthy and save family units? So what went wrong that the church became institutionalised and commercialised? It has to do with something that happened about 1700 years ago. We already saw that around 313 AD an emperor of Rome, named Constantine, declared tolerance towards the Christian faith that was under severe persecution from his predecessors. Constantine apparently became the 1. first Christian emperor of Rome. Yet he got baptized and made a confession of his faith only on his death bed, in around 337 AD. By then he had already made many changes to the way Christians practice their faith. Not knowing anything

about the church that Christ builds, Constantine institutionalised Christianity to make it an official state RELIGION. This was necessary as he could not hold on to a faith that preaches another kingdom other than his empire. One of the things he did, to make Christianity an accepted religion, was to build the first Christian places of worship. The design was based on a well-known Roman structure called a basilica. These basilicas became the headquarters of so-called bishops. Even though the distinction between the clergy and laity had 2. been made earlier on, by Cyprian of Carthage , the clergy system now became official with the title bishop being given to those who were at the head of the basilicas. So, instead of denoting a service or function in the church, bishop became a title to mean a religious official. With this the clergy created their own kind of spectator oriented religious gathering became the norm. Many of these basilicas were named after the first century apostles, for instance, 3. St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s, and other respected saints. This practice was a custom borrowed from the pagans who named their temples after their pagan gods. By so doing, the basilicas were seen as houses of worship. It was at this point that the ekklesia body in a city became divided according to the basilicas they attended. One could argue that when Constantine institutionalised Christianity and presented it with places of worship – a massive conversion to the so-called Christian religion took place. In today’s terms it could have even been seen as a revival. Yet, sadly, the Christian religion that the people converted to in the time of Constantine was for the most part not the Christian kingdom of the Bible. A lot of pagan rituals especially that of sun worship were incorporated in the Christian faith. What is remarkable to note is that before Constantine came into the picture, ekklesia meetings were predominantly held in homes for the first 300 years after Christ. Christianity was unique, among the religions of that time, in that it did not have a temple, or a holy place for worship. One needs to understand that for a “religion” not to have a place of worship was unheard of in that time and culture. Every religion of that time had to have some place of worship as a means to identify them from the other religions as well as having a focus point for converts. Some would point out that there are one or two archaeological findings of church buildings of sorts that date between 100 and 300 years after Christ. Yet, in actual fact, all that the findings could present were houses with some

decorative artefacts, where the inner walls had been broken out to host more people in a gathering. There was nothing in the findings that could substantiate an actual place of worship. Another argument that is given as a reason for Christians having had no places of worship was that Christians had to meet underground because of persecution. The problem with this argument is that Christians were not persecuted everywhere in those 300 years. Also this does not seem to be the reasons that the church fathers gave. Let us read what some Church Fathers of that time had to say about religious buildings. In the manuscript of Martyrdom of the Holy Martyrs around 160 AD we read: “Rustieus, the perfect, said, ‘Where do you assemble?’ Justine Martyr replied, ‘Where each one chooses and is able. Do you imagine that we all meet in the 4. very same place?’” Clement of Alexandria around 195 AD writes: “The Word prohibiting all sacrifices and the building of temples, indicates that the Almighty is not 5. contained in anything.” Mark Minucius Felix in Octavius 200 Ad: “You mistakenly think we conceal what we worship since we have no temples or altars. Yet how can anyone make an image of God? Man himself is the image of God. How can anyone build a temple to Him, when the whole world can’t contain Him? Even I, a mere human, travel far and wide. So how can anyone shut up the majesty of so great a Person within one small building? Isn’t it better for Him to be dedicated in our minds and 6. consecrated in our innermost hearts – rather than in a building?” Mark Minucius Felix about 200 AD: “ We assemble together with the same quietness with which we live as individuals.” A pagan antagonist commented “They [the Christians] despise the temples as dead houses… They laugh at 7. sacred things.” Origen (248 AD): “ We refuse to build lifeless temples to the Giver of all life…[he continues further on]. Of all the temples spoken of in the sense, the best and most excellent was the pure and holy body of our Savior Jesus Christ… he said to them, ‘destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again. This He said of the temple of the body…[he continues further on] When they reproach us for not deeming it necessary to worship the divine Being by raising lifeless temples, 9. we set before them our temples.” [This was in reference to their bodies].

You must understand that if the church then would have had temples like all the other religions they would not have been under constant persecution by the Roman Empire. This very stand of not having a temple put their lives in danger. Why would the early Christians do this to themselves? What was the big deal of deliberately not building places of worship? The Church Fathers all agreed that their faith experience was far removed from religious buildings. They understood something about worshiping God that the institutional church seems to have forgotten.

1. Francis Opoku, Constantine and Christianity: ( Ilorin Journal of RS), 25, 28. 2. Cyprian, Epistle 62-66, trans. Rev. Ernest Wallis, Ph.D., 65.1.0. (ANF 5:0 ), e-Sword 13.0.0 3. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 4.26.9. (1.5), e-Sword 13.0.0 4. Justin Martyr, The Martyrdom of the Holy Martyrs, trans. Rev. M. Dods, M.A. 2.1.0. (ANF 1:0 ), e-Sword 13.0.0 5. Clement of Alexandria, Book 5, The Stromata, trans. Rev. William Wilson, 6.1.0. (ANF 2:0 ), e-Sword 13.0.0 6. Minucius Felix – The Octavius, trans. Rev. Rober Ernest Wallis, Ph.D., 32.2.0. (ANF 4:0 ) e-Sword 13.0.0 7. Minucius Felix – The Octavius, trans. Rev. Rober Ernest Wallis, Ph.D., 8.3.0. (ANF 4:0 ) e-Sword 13.0.0 8. Origen – Against Celsus, Book 8, trans. Rev. Frederick Crombie, D.D., 19.1.0. (ANF 4:0 ) e-Sword 13.0.0

3.2The Place of Worship

The Place of Worship So what did Clement mean by saying: “the Word prohibiting the building of temples and making sacrifices?” Let us start with a very well-known account in the Gospel of John, where Christ was having a profound conversation with a Samaritan woman by the well. Let us read from: Joh 4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Joh 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Joh 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (KJV) How many places of worship were mentioned in this conversation between Christ and the Samaritan women? First of all, we read that the Samaritans worshiped God on the Mountain. Secondly, the Jews worshiped God in Jerusalem. Thirdly, Christ introduced a new way of worship and that is worshiping God in Spirit and in truth with no reference to a particular place. This is in contrast to the Jews’ and the Samaritans’ way of worship. What is interesting to note, is that when the Samaritan woman’s sins were revealed by Christ, she changed the subject away from her sin to the issue of where to worship God. Isn’t it just typical of how many of us will change the topic to worship God when we are confronted with our sin? For instance have you ever heard people tell you: “Well you can worship God your way, and I will worship God my way”? Is it not ironic how our ways or places of worship are parallel to the way we justify our lifestyles? Consider this though: can we truly say it is worship, when it is about our personal taste in how we worship? Should worship not be about God as appose to about our preferences? If worship then is about God and not about us, should our worship not also be about how God wants to be worshiped more than how it makes us feel?

I can sense that some people might get uneasy with this statement and say: who am I to judge what is God’s way of true worship? This is a good point as I have no authority to say what the right way of worshiping God is. Yet Christ has the authority to set the standard of worship, would you not agree? So, let us get back to Christ’s conversation with the Samaritan women. What is the difference between the new way of worship that Christ is introducing and the other two ways of worship? First of all, Christ’s way of worship, as seen in the text, has nothing to do with being at a particular place of worship. It is a new dimension of worship. It is worship in the Spirit on the foundation of truth. Yet to understand the actual weight of this difference we need to look at the context of the conversation Jesus had with the Samaritan women. The context is found in the background to the cultures of the Samaritans and the Jews. 1.

As you might know the Samaritans are an offshoot of Abraham’s descendants. Mount Gerizim according to the Samaritan traditions is where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac in obedience to God. It is also the place where 2. Abraham encountered Melchizedek after his victory in freeing Lot. So, for the Samaritans, this mountain is where they should worship God. Yet, look at Jesus’ response to the Samaritan woman in:

Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. (KJV) According to Jesus, before Him, where was the right place to worship God? It was not on the mountain where the Samaritans worshiped, but it was where the Jews were worshiping in Jerusalem. Yet what was Jesus talking about here? Why was He saying that the Samaritans don’t know what they were worshiping but the Jews do? What happened to this whole idea that Samaritans can worship God their way and Jews can worship God in their way? The place of worship was very important to God. This place of worship was not some man-made Jewish tradition but a serious command from God. Look at God’s commandments to Israel as they were going to enter the promise land, in: Deu 12:1 These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. Deu 12:2 Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye

shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: Deu 12:3 And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Deu 12:4 Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God. (KJV) Let me ask a question from this passage: besides worshiping other gods, what else were the Jews not to duplicate from the heathen nations? They were not to worship in the manner as well as in all the different places that the other nations worship. This is interesting because the Samaritans worshiped God on a mountain similar to the heathen nations. Let us now read further from: Deu 12:5 But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: Deu 12:6 And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: Deu 12:7 And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee. (KJV) Allow me to interject another question from this passage: where would Israel have to worship God? At the place of God’s choosing, where He would place His name and where He makes His dwelling place. This would be in Jerusalem, as we read in: 1Ki 11:36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. (KJV) So let us continue to read from: Deu 12:8 Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. Deu 12:9 For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you. Deu 12:10 But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD

your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety; Deu 12:11 Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD: Deu 12:12 And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you. Deu 12:13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: Deu 12:14 But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee. (KJV) One more question concerning this passage. What was Israel not to do with their worship? They were not to worship God according to what seems good in their own eyes. This is called idolatry. Believe it or not, it is still idolatry to worship God in a way that seems good in our own eyes. The temple that was built in Jerusalem was to demonstrate God’s desire to dwell among His people. Yet the temple was also designed to demonstrate man being separated from God through their sins. It was a picture of our predicament of sin and God’s salvation plan, and that we can only enter His presence on His terms. Yet the temple in Jerusalem was only a shadow of things to come. The author of Hebrews writes in: Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. (KJV) The church that Christ builds is NOT some copy of the Old Testament worship, but was the very substance of which the Old Testament worship was only a shadow. Let us read further on, this time from: Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. (KJV) It is on this basis that the early church fathers refuse to build temples and places

of worship. The early church fathers understood that worshiping God is not about worshiping Him in a way that seems good in our own eyes. In the next section we will explore what is meant by worshiping God in Spirit and in truth.

1. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Samaritan, 16 May 2021 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Gerizim, 16 May 2021.

3.3A Spiritual House

A Spiritual House One of the main reasons that the institutional church teaches tithing is for the upkeep of religious buildings. Yet, as stated before, through Christ we have a different way to approaching God. We no longer need to worship Him in a temple built with cold stones as the Israelites did in the Old Testament. We read this in: Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; Heb 10:21 And having an high priest over the house of God; Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) (KJV) So in this new covenant, how do we enter God’s presence? 1. Through the sacrifices of animals. 2. Through praise and worship. 3. By going to a holy place of worship 4. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in His flesh. We enter God’s presence through Jesus Christ in His flesh. Look what Stephen said to the Pharisees in: Act 7:47 But Solomon built him an house. Act 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Act 7:49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Act 7:50 Hath not my hand made all these things? (KJV) Paul said the same thing in: Act 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

Act 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; (KJV) What then has changed concerning the place of worship or House of God, from the Old Testament to that of the New Testament, according to these passages? In the New Covenant God is not to be worshiped in so-called houses of God that are made by human hands. We can only worship God in a place that is made by divine hands so that we can worship God in Spirit and in truth. Yet; does this mean that God has changed from the Old to the New Covenant? NO, not at all! You see, the Old Testament was only meant to be a shadow until the time came when man was to be reconciled to God through Christ. God wanted to be worshiped in only one way, of which the Old Testament would only be a shadow of that way. The New Testament way of worship, like the Old Testament of worship, still gives us only one way to worship God. In the Old Testament, God required that all who were under the law, were to worship Him only in Jerusalem, the starting point of His Kingdom on Earth. In the New Testament, God requires all who are purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ to worship Him in Spirit and truth, in a divinely made temple of God. What is the divinely made temple or house of God then? Paul writes in: 1Ti 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. (KJV) Paul is referring to the house of God as the church. It is interesting to note that the origins of the English word for church comes from the Old English language cirice, derived from West Germanic kirika, which in turn comes from the Greek kuriakē. The word “kuriakē”, is the possessive form of kurios which means: “lord”, so the word “kuriake” can literally be translated “of the Lord”. Historians believe that this was most likely a shortening of kuriakē oikia which means 1. “house of the Lord”. Paul writes in: Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; Eph 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God

through the Spirit. (KJV) From this passage can we say that the divine house or dwelling of God is a physical place? No, the house or dwelling of God is the church which is the saints consecrated through the body of Christ. Does this than mean that the house of God could be individual Christians? No! Even though God does dwell in us personally, Paul was talking here about the saints of God who are built together to form a dwelling place of God. Peter says it like this in: 1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (KJV) Do you see that as individual Christian’s we are living stones, but placed together we are built up as the spiritual house of God? In order to build the temple in the Old Testament the stones were ground together until they fitted each other nicely. This is what Peter was talking about here. We saints of God are ground together so that we fit together to make up this glorious living temple for God. This grounding together, so that we fit together, can sometimes be a painful experience as we learn to sacrifice of ourselves to accommodate each other in love. The author of Hebrews writes it like this in: Heb 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. (KJV) So according to Scripture, the house of God which is being built by divine hands is actually the fellowship of the saints day to day. Each one of us is a living stone that makes up this divine house of God. The moment you got born-again by the Spirit of God you have become a living stone that is being built into the house of God. The God of all creation, who through the ages demonstrated His longing to dwell among His people, has now made a way to deal with sin in order for Him to be among His people. He dwells among us more closely than was ever imagined. He dwells in the fellowship of the church. This church, is not a building made by human hands where people need to go to, but it is built with living stones like you and me. Do you see how magnificent this is: that our holy and perfect God, Creator of all things dwells within us, the fellowship of the saints? So who is the divine builder of this spiritual house of God which is the church of God? Jesus said in:

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (KJV) Here is something interesting to take note of. As most people know, Jesus grew up as a carpenter in the same trade as his earthly caregiver or father figure Joseph. We don’t think this was a coincidence. In actual fact the Greek word for carpenter, “texton”, not only implies working with wood but also with stones and even possibly metal, in constructing buildings. The word “texton” actually 2. we often used to mean ‘builder’ as appose to merely a ‘carpenter’. In His earthly vessel Christ was a builder by trade, now through the Spirit He is building the most glorious, divine, spiritual, house of God – a house beyond imagination! In the Old Testament there were strict instructions as to how the temple was to be built. The Jews were not allowed to stray from these instructions, as we can see in: Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. (KJV) The Old Testament worship, commandments, and the tabernacle, as said before, was only a shadow of what was to come. Yet the reality of this shadow is what Christ is building now. There is only one true House of God and it is not made by human hands. When people build their own places of worship by copying elements of Old Testament worship and blending this with their own ideas or worse still, with pagan practices, it is idolatry, no matter how you look at it. When man tries to build a house for God, he builds in vain. Only Christ has the legal right to build a house for God. As the Psalmist writes in: Psa 127:1 A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. (KJV)

1. Rev John Mcclintock, D.D., & James Strong, S.T.D. Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, (1895), “church” e-Sword, 11.2.0 2.Vine’ s New Testament “Carpenter” e-Sword 13.0.0

3.4True Worship

True Worship So how ought we to worship in this spiritual house of God, built with living stones purchased by Christ with His blood? For that matter, what is the purpose of gifted worship leaders? You might not like the answer to this question, but please hear me out, because you will experience an aspect of worship that is beyond imagination. The reality is, there is no such thing as a worship leader in the Bible. In the Old Testament the Levites who were dedicated singers in the temple, were called, well, believe it or not, “singers” as we read in: 1Ch 15:16 And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy. (KJV) If there are no worship leaders, what then is the purpose of singing if not to worship God? Well, as we said in Chapter 2 of this series of teachings, singing was for the purpose of edifying each other, as with any other act of service such as prophecy, or teachings, as we can read from: Eph 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; (KJV) Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (KJV) According to these passages, what was the purpose of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs as we sing to God with thankfulness in our hearts? It was for the purpose of teaching and admonishing one another. The New Testament never speaks of worshiping God through singing. We may praise God through singing, but that is not the actual worship of God in Spirit and truth that Christ was talking about. Looking at the Old Testament we read that Israel did praise God with songs, but it was also not considered to be the actual worship of God. For instance Amos writes what worship was not in: Amo 5:21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Amo 5:22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Amo 5:23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear

1.

the melody of thy viols [string instruments]. Amo 5:24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. (KJV) Israel would demonstrate worship with their offerings of sacrifices. They then praised God with their songs. Yet neither the demonstration of worship through offerings of sacrifice, nor through songs of praise was worship to God without a life of righteousness and justice. Jesus said in: Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (KJV) What is worshiping God in Spirit and in truth? Worship literally meant lying prostrated on the ground. It was a sign of laying down one’s life. The Old Testament people would sacrifice animals for their sins but they would also bring offerings and sacrifices with which to worship God. The offering that was sacrificed was a symbol of laying down their lives and all that was dear to them. That is why when the Jews went to the temple to worship it was always with something to offer up as sacrifice. True worship, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, always has to do with sacrifice. Yet God is not interested in just sacrificing whatever and however we like. Sacrifice that does not come from a heart of adoration means you are actually serving yourself and not God. This is evident by Samuel’s rebuke in: 1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. (KJV) Obedience is the heart of worship. So how is this serving with adoration and sacrifice played out in the New Testament? Look what Paul writes about giving sacrifices in the New Testament in: Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your

reasonable service. (KJV) Which of these is our act of service or worship to God in the New Testament? 1. To sing beautiful and emotional songs 2. To present our bodies as holy vessels of service to God Let us repeat Peter’s words in: 1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (KJV) What type of sacrifices do we give unto God in the New Testament? As seen from Scripture we ought to give spiritual sacrifices. Spiritual sacrifices of worship start when we present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. It is when we live a life pleasing to God. Spiritual worship is when we let our lives be led by the Spirit of God day by day. It is where we do not follow the dictates of our flesh, but sacrifice our bodies to the dictates of the Spirit. It is where our hearts are truthfully surrendered to God’s will above our own. There is no reason for a place of worship for those who worship God in Spirit and truth. So, if one could have something like a worship leader, it won’t be someone who sings and plays music eloquently on a stage, but it would be someone who daily demonstrates, by example, how to lay down their life for Christ. Paul writes in: 1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. (KJV) Now that we don’t belong to ourselves but to Christ, so our worship ought not to be about how it makes us feel but how it accomplishes Christ’s will. The New Testament teaches that we need to lay down our lives for God’s purpose, which of course is a sacrifice. It is where we say: Not my will, but Your will be done, Lord God. Idolatry means worshiping other gods. What according to God is the same as witchcraft and idolatry? Rebellion and stubbornness! When we insist that we can worship God our own way as opposed to God’s way then it is the same as rebellion and stubbornness. We repeat, true worship is obedience to God. By

laying down our will for Christ’s will we are then truly worshiping Him. Now, do you think that these man-made religious buildings, called places of worship or churches, are something that Christ would want? You might say; your church building is not a place of worship and only a place where the saints gather. So you might think that in this case God is neither for nor against religious buildings as long as you don’t make an idol of it. That is a good point, but one need to evaluate the legitimacy of this ideology with the reality of what is happening in church today. Ask the traditional church goer what is worshiping God in Spirit and in truth. Then we need to evaluate how much money is spent on the “church building” in comparison to how much is spend on looking after the saints that have genuine needs. We should also evaluate whether the church buildings give people a sense of unity with other Christians that goes to other places of worship or rather division? As we already saw, when Constantine made Christianity an official state religion in 325AD and gave it religious buildings the church was divided under the control of various elders. Since then, the church has been divided with walls of cold stone; religious buildings. Each religious building has a man or organization that will do everything to keep control of their assets and their little kingdom of followers. We read in: Isa 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? Isa 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. (KJV) Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that the saints that go to places of worship are not sincere in their worshiping of God. Anyone born of the Spirit of God and who is obeying God, to the extent that they understand God’s will, is worshiping God in Spirit and in truth. What I am saying is that the worship service in itself is not the true worship that Jesus is talking about. Many saints of God are true worshipers of God, but then ignorantly go to religious buildings that divide the church that Christ is building. This creates an individualistic religion as opposed to a true household of God. Paul writes in: 1Ti 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and

ground of the truth. (KJV) According to Paul, what is the pillar and ground of truth? The pillar and ground of truth is not found in a denomination or in someone’s flavour of Christianity. The pillar and ground of truth is the house of God, which is the church of the living God. That is why we need to know how we ought to conduct ourselves in the house of God. The cold stone walls of religious buildings have made us participate in a religion without having to truly function as living stones daily connected in each other’s lives.

1. Insertion is mine for clarity.

3.5Where We Meet

Where we Meet When Constantine made Christianity an official state religion, the Christians lost their privilege of being the royal priests in God’s kingdom. The church gathering was reduced to Christians sitting in pews listening to the opinion of one man standing behind the pulpit. The church became a religious gathering one attends instead of a family that minister to ONE ANOTHER. So where would a family come together and minister to one another if it is not in places of worship? Well, let us have look in Scripture: Act 8:3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. (KJV) What places did Paul enter to drag the Christians off to prison? He had to enter every house. Act 16:40 And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed. (KJV) So where did the apostles see the brethren when they came out of prison? They saw the brethren in the house of Lydia. Rom 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ. (KJV) Where was the church held that Paul greeted? In the house of Priscilla and Aquila 1Co 16:19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. (KJV) Once again where is the church that Aquila and Priscilla are part of? The church is in their house. Col 4:15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. (KJV) Where is the church of the brethren in Laodicea, and Nymphas? The church is in his house.

Phm 1:2 And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house: (KJV) Where is the church to which this letter is addressed to? Once again in their house. Do any of these passages refer to a religious building when referring to the church? No, they only speak of the church in people’s homes. The church functioned as a family and not as a religious organization. As a family the church held their meetings in homes. Yet there are those who try to justify the need to have a place of worship by quoting the following passages: Act 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, (KJV) Act 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. (KJV) Act 5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Act 5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. (KJV) Using these passages to justify a place of worship is not very good application or interpretation of Scriptures. Let us ask some basic questions to illustrate this. For instance; which Christians are talked about in Acts two who were in one accord in the temple? It was the Jewish Christians. Were they having a ekklesia meeting? Nothing in this passage indicates an ekklesia meeting. What we do read though, was that they had daily fellowship in each other’s homes. Again of what nationality were the apostles in Acts chapter three; when they went to the temple to pray? They were Jews by nationality. Again we see that the apostles went to pray in the temple, without any indication of an ekklesia meeting. To whom did the apostles preach in Acts five at the temple? The apostles preached to the unconverted Jews. Even this passage does not talk of an

ekklesia meeting. Not one of these passages ever talks of Christians having their own places of worship. Remember as Jews, the Jewish Christians went to the temple, to be a testimony to the other Jews who would go to the temple in accordance with the Old Testament Law. The temple did not belong to the Christians but belonged to the Jews. Christians; whether Jews or Gentiles never owned their own places of worship. In other words the Jewish Christians as Jews would go to the temple to practise the Jewish religion according to the law of God, but as Christians they went from home to home to establish Christ’s kingdom through daily exhortation and predominantly weekly ekklesia meetings. Why would the Jewish Christians then still go to the temple? This is how Paul puts it in: 1Co 9:19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 1Co 9:20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 1Co 9:21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. 1Co 9:22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. (KJV) As Jews, the apostles had a responsibility toward the Jewish nation to bring the gospel to them first. What better way than to do it from the central place of the Jewish religion. For the same reason Paul would preach to the gentiles at places where he would have the greatest effect, as we can see in: Act 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Act 17:17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. (KJV) Act 19:8 And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.

Act 19:9 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. (KJV) In these examples, does it mention anything about the ekklesia church or are these examples of Paul preaching to unconverted Jews? An ekklesia meeting was a judicial meeting for Christians. Paul was preaching the kingdom of God to unconverted Jews in the synagogue and the school of Tyrannus. As seen, Paul also preached in the market places as Peter did at the temple. None of these places give any indication that the Christians ever had their own places of worship. The fact of the matter is that we will never read in the Bible of churches, whether of Jews or Gentiles, gathering money for a building fund or talking about a church building project? Why is this? Well it was NOT because the church was persecuted and therefore had to meet underground as some would advocated. The real reason was; the church of the Bible understood that they were the temple of God and that their gatherings were to be interactive and not a worship service. It is interesting to note, is that one of the reasons the church was persecuted in the first place by the Romans was because Christians claimed a different kingdom. If Christianity only claimed a new religion it would not have been a problem for the Roman government, as they could just as well be added to all the other religions under the Roman Empire. Yet the very nature of the ekklesia being a kingdom meeting of the Christians under the authority of another King, named Jesus Christ, created unrest among the Roman Empire citizens. It therefore stands to reason that for Constantine to make Christianity an accepted religion it had to change Christian practice from ekklesia kingdom meetings to a religious meeting. So the meetings moved from homes to places of worship. As we already discussed, through Constantine Christians lost their true identity of being royal priests in God’s kingdom on Earth, and suffered being divided by the cold walls of religion. Yet Christ is calling us to become the household – the family of God. Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; (KJV) Does this mean it is wrong for Christians to have gatherings in building instead of a home? Well it depends on the type of gatherings. If one would claim this type

of gathering is “a place of worship” or “worship service”, it would borderline on idolatry. It would also be ignorant to think that the meeting in a building will stay true to a biblical ekklesia meeting. Scripturally the only use a building ever served as a religious gathering would be to preach the gospel to the lost. However this type of gatherings cannot take the place of a true church gathering, where all could participate in an ekklesia format. Therefore the best use for a religious type of building is to preach the gospel to the lost, who are still religious, in countries where the church is not underground. Yet the true church gathering is better served in homes.

Chapter 4: Money Matters