Article #10 of 06/12/22

We have already studied the first two forms of the Church, in the New Testament, that is to say: the universal Church and the local Church. The third and final biblical form of the Ekklesia is: the church in the house.

In 1 Corinthians 16:19, Paul writes, "...Aquila and Priscilla send you many greetings in the Lord, and the church that meets in their house." Here it is the assembly of believers who met in Ephesus, in the house of Priscilla and Aquila. The same is true in Romans 16.5, when this couple was living in Rome. This idea is also true for “the house church of Nympha at Laodicea”, Colossians 4.15, or “the church which meets in your house” in Philemon 2, etc.

We see that the first believers met in houses and it went on like this for three hundred years.

Now that we have defined the three forms of church in the New Testament, let's see what the Church is not.

- In the New Testament, the church is never a building. Nor is it a “consecrated” building, although throughout history religious authorities have insisted that sermons should be preached only in so-called “consecrated” buildings.

Biblically the Ekklesia is an assembly of believers. But the semantic drift led us to consider it as a building.

I remember, during a sermon in Guinea. We were gathered in a church building that had just been inaugurated. At one point, I leaned against one of the walls and said to the assembly: “this is not the church of Jesus”. What a surprise ! And I continued: “It is all of us, brothers and sisters together, who constitute the church of Jesus. If now we all go out together in the field, which is next to it, then the church will be gathered in the field. »

- In the New Testament, the church is never a denomination. You will not find a Baptist, Reformed, Catholic church…, nor the church of Paul, of Peter… No name of man, apostle, doctrine or ecclesiastical symbol is attached to the word church like that is mostly the case today. Nor is there a national, regional or departmental church.

- The New Testament never speaks of churches in the plural for 1 city, 1 locality, which is consistent with the stated principle: 1 city – 1 church – 1 golden candlestick *.

Let’s take an example: the church in the city of “Narnia”

We usually speak of “the churches of Narnia”. Now, as we saw yesterday, there is 1 Golden Candlestick which represents the church of the city. Does Narnia have several candlesticks that represent her in the sky?

We could apply to Narnia the analysis that Paul makes when he writes to the Corinthians, addressing himself to: “…the church of God which is at Corinth” 1 Corinthians 1.2. From verse 10 he writes “…let there be no divisions among you…everyone of you says thus: I belong to Paul, I to Apollos, I to Cephas, I to Christ” . Paul writes to the church of God which is in Corinth, and this church is made up of several groups separated from each other. Paul then challenges them: “Is Christ divided? ...” 1 Corinthians 1.13.

If each in his denomination, in his church building, considers himself "the church of the city", it is as if each assembly, each community seeks to make its own candlestick: so and so a wooden candlestick, so and so another a candlestick of earth or straw… but it is not the Golden Candlestick that the Lord has in store for the church of the city.

If, on the other hand, as Christians, we all committed ourselves to being the Golden Candlestick of the city, imagine the impact that this church could have on the scale of the locality?

Certainly, there may be several places of gathering in the city but only ONE church, only ONE Golden Candlestick in the eyes of the Lord. Therefore, we encourage you to be men and women of unity for the church in your city, to foster unity among believers within your locality.

In summary, there are 3 ways to define the Church in the New Testament:

The Universal Church

One church per city, per locality

The church in the house

(Church of Jesus-Christ / City church / House church)

Let's claim out loud : “Lord Jesus, I choose to be a man, a woman of unity for the Golden Candlestick, the church in my locality”

“Let the Golden Candlestick of Narnia be! ”(Proclaim it with the name of your locality)

Maranatha !

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* See article N° 9.

For the writing of the three editorials on the Church of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, we were inspired by :

Watchman Nee, La vie normale de l’église, Édition Mission Prière et Réveil, 1987, 249 pages.

Frank Viola, Réimaginer l’Église, Éditions l’Oasis, 2013, 226 pages.

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* Voir édito N° 9.

Pour l’écriture des trois éditos sur l’Église de Jésus-Christ dans le nouveau Testament, nous nous sommes inspirés de :

Watchman Nee, La vie normale de l’église, Édition Mission Prière et Réveil, 1987, 249 pages.

Frank Viola, Réimaginer l’Église, Éditions l’Oasis, 2013, 226 pages.