"Church" One

In the New Testament, the word “church” is used to describe a few different types of gatherings such as house churches (1 Co 16:19), churches in cities (1 Co 1:2) and also the church universal (Eph 1:18-23). The word always refers to the people of Jesus. Not once is the word used to describe a building.

Ironically, when some churches unwittingly end up spending much time and money serving the needs of a building far more than the needs of its community, the Bible says that WE ARE THE BUILDING OF GOD with Jesus as our cornerstone. In Him, we are being built together to become a place in which God lives by His Spirit (Ephesians 2: 19-22).

This "building" is the design of Christ himself for his people on earth and if we are to be His church, we MUST be all about Jesus.

The idea of the church at its birth in the New Testament was remarkably simple. The engine behind the whole forward motion and growth of the church was to know, love, worship Jesus and do what He taught, together with other Christians. Leadership and functions existed ONLY to point the way to these things.

Leadership and church government came into existence to keep the church simple and free. Like a Shepherd guiding sheep, the Apostles and deacons and other disciples were bringing the sheep along to good, healthy pasture.

No one dominated except Jesus.

As a matter of fact, the strongest church leader in the NT, Paul, tells the church in Corinth “When you come together, EVERYONE has a song, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.” -1 Co 14:26

The people, being alive to Jesus,

WANTED to hear from the word of God,

they were BURSTING at the seams to SHARE the life within,

they COULD NOT WAIT to hear from one another about these things,

and they wanted to share what they had for the good of all (see Acts 2:42-43).

This is all the natural result of a church that is truly all about Jesus.