What is the church? The building on the corner? An organization of like-minded individuals? Any gathering of Christians? With everything, but especially in Scriptural matters, we benefit greatly from having not only a correct understanding, but a comprehensive one. In this post, we’ll continue to examine what the Bible teaches us about the church. Like facets of a gem, the more we see, the more we’ll appreciate the church. We may have only ever considered the church and its value from our personal perspective as believers in Christ. And while we certainly benefit from being a part of the church, the Bible shows us that the church is exceedingly precious to God.
In 1 Timothy 3:15, Paul writes, "that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God." In our previous post, we saw that the church is not primarily an organization but a living entity; the living Body of Christ. In this post, we’ll consider one of the church’s many aspects: the house and household of God. By examining the Scriptures, we’ll gain a clearer understanding of this aspect of the church and gain a perspective that can profoundly affect our daily Christian life.
It’s practically impossible to approach the topic of the church without some prior concept or preconceived notion. This means that our endeavor to gain a Scriptural understanding of the church, or any spiritual topic, demands that we set aside conventional wisdom and our personal concepts. Just as Jesus taught His disciples to "turn and become like little children," we can only become the beneficiaries of the deeper teachings in the Bible when we humble ourselves and are willing to receive God’s Word in simplicity. (Matt. 18:3)
What does the Bible reveal to us about the church as the House of God? First, we need to understand the dual usage of "house" in the Bible. The church is the house of God in two senses: it is His dwelling place and also His family. In Luke 19:5, Jesus tells Zacchaeus that He must stay in his house, referring to a physical dwelling. When Paul mentions and greets the house of Onesiphorus, in his second epistle to Timothy, the word "house" refers to the family, or household. (2 Tim. 1:16; 4:19) To God, the church is both His dwelling place and His household. In Isaiah 66:1, Jehovah asks, "Heaven is My throne, / And the earth the footstool for My feet. / Where then is the house that you will build for Me, / And where is the place of My rest?"
Clearly, God is seeking a place to dwell, but where He prefers to dwell may surprise you. In the very next verse, God declares, "to this kind of man will I look." This strongly indicates that God does not desire to dwell in a physical structure or even merely with man, but in man. And this mysterious thought is conveyed emphatically throughout the New Testament. Ephesians 3:17 says that Christ desires to make His home in our hearts. 1 Peter 2:5 tells us that as believers in Christ, we are living stones "being built up as a spiritual house." And Ephesians 2:21-22 says that as God’s spiritual house, the church "is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit." Taken together, 1 Peter 2:5 and Ephesians 2:21-22 not only reveal that the church is God’s dwelling place but also indicate that our spiritual growth is equivalent to the building up of the church. A physical house is an organization of inanimate materials, but the church, composed of the believers, is not an organization but an organism. As believers in Christ, those who have received His life and have Him living within us, we are living stones, and our growth in the divine life causes us to be corporately built up as a spiritual dwelling place for God. How is God dwelling not only in you but in every genuine believer in Christ? 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" In the Old Testament, God’s house was first the tabernacle and then the temple. But today, the church is God’s house, and He dwells in us as the Spirit.
As believers in Christ, we have received Christ and the life of God. John 1:12 says, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name." When we receive the life of God, we become members of His family, His household. God’s desire for a dwelling place is matched by our desire to have a home. As we pointed out in our last post, the Greek word for church, ἐκκλησία (ekklésia), literally means "the gathering of the called out ones." Just as the Children of Israel were called out of Egypt, we, as believers in Christ, have been called out of the world. But we also may, like God’s people in the Old Testament, find ourselves wandering and without a home. Having been called out, where then should we go? The church, as God’s household, is now our family, our home! Ephesians 2:19 tells us, "So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God." And Hebrews 3:6 says that "Christ was faithful as a Son over His house, whose house we are." We are God’s house! Our Christian family is not based on our race, culture, traditions, or preferences. God’s household is all those who share His life. This realization should govern our participation in the church. If God’s heart and view are broad, we should not be sectarian or narrow. As God’s household, the church is constituted of every genuine believer in Christ. Just as in any other family, we may have our disagreements and differences, but the life of God, jointly shared by each member of God’s family, unites us inextricably. As God’s dwelling place, the church is where God finds His rest. As His household and family, the church is the place for every genuine Christian.
We hope that this post has helped you gain a clearer Scriptural perspective of the church. As believers in Christ, we shouldn’t be satisfied with our own understanding but endeavor to see things as God does. (Proverbs 3:5) The church is God’s dwelling place and our spiritual family. If we see this vision, it will elevate our appreciation for the church and reorient our Christian life, making it one in which our personal spiritual growth in life and our relationship with other believers align with God’s purpose, the church.
