WHO OR WHAT IS THE CHURCH?

There is a contorted idea of what and who the Church is today. That needs to be corrected. For the idea of who our identity is, as Christians, will affect the way we function and the way we minister to one another, to the world, and to the Lord. It is very important that we have a clear understanding and a clear concept of who we are as a Church and not confuse and twist our identity with something we are not.
What is a Christian?
First of all, all Christians are in God's family. Any person who has received the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior by believing and receiving Him (John 1:12) is now part of the family of God. For we are in God's family simply by believing on His Son, Jesus Christ. There is nothing we do to earn it. There is nothing we can do to win this. It is given to us freely by the gift of Jesus when He died on the cross for our sins. He was a substitute for our sin that had separated us from God. Now we can turn to God, believe what His Son has done for us and receive Him into our lives. When that happens, we become born again. All of us are born naturally through a mother. Each one of us had a mother but we are not born of the spirit until we ask God Himself to do that, which He does through His Son. How we are born "again" or born of the Spirit (Jn 3:3) is simply by believing and receiving Jesus into our lives.
If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9,10 NIV)
We are part of God's Family
At the time that this happens, we become part of the family of God.
Yet to all who received Him [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or of a husband's will, but born of God. (John 1:12,13 NIV)
When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes one of God's children. God is our father and we are his sons and daughters. How great is this love the Father has lavished on us, that He has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God. And that is what we are. (1 John 3:1)
His love is so great that though we do nothing for it - His Son paid all prices, all costs - we are God's children. We become His heirs. (Gal. 4:7) The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. "Now, if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ." (Romans 8:17a NIV)
When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7 NIV)
We are Heirs and have an Inheritance
This passage sums up what God has done for us and what we have in Christ. Not only are we His sons and daughters, and God is our Father (2 Cor.6:18), we are also His heirs. And we have all that He has for us. Eternal life is our inheritance from Him - being able to be with God and His Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit for the rest of our lives. And our lives will not end with death here. When we leave this earthly realm, we will be in the heavenly realm and at the last day in a new body, a glorious body. We will still be His sons and daughters; we will still be heirs of God; but we will have come fully into our inheritance, His kingdom and all that we have. The last obstacle to overcome is death itself, which has been paid for by Jesus. We will leave this life and have a new life for eternity with God, our Father. What greater inheritance than to know Him and to be with Him forever (not to mention having all the things that God has, all the spiritual riches, knowledge, wisdom, insight - everything that God has is ours and will be fully revealed to us at that time.)
We are the Bride of Christ
Not only are we in God's family when we become Christians, but we are also called the "bride" and Christ is referred to as "the bridegroom". There is a marriage that will take place, called the marriage of the Lamb. (See Rev. 21.) For we have been promised to one husband, to Christ. Even Paul himself stated this and also that He wanted to present us as a pure virgin to Him. (2 Cor.11:2)
When Christ returns, we will be wed to Christ Himself, also called the Lamb.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) (Rev. 19:7,8 NIV)
We have become dead to the law by the body of Christ that we should be married to another, even to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit to God. (Rom.7:4)
Not only are we brothers and sisters to one another, we are brothers and sisters to Christ and at the consummation of all things we will become consummated with Christ. We are His bride. He is our bridegroom.
Our Engagement with Christ
When we became Christians, we became engaged. This engagement is not a light matter in the Jewish custom, as it is in the American custom. In Jewish custom when you are engaged, you are basically married without the sex, and the only way that the engagement can be broken off is through a certificate of divorce. Even Joseph, who was engaged to Mary, when he found out she was pregnant, was secretly planning on divorcing her. They had not been married, nor had they consummated their marriage. This is how serious an engagement was to the Jewish people and how serious (in this analogy) it is to God. When we became Christians we became engaged to God. Basically, we are married to Him without the consummation, which will happen when Christ returns. The scripture says,
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession. (Eph.1:13,14 NIV)
I like to think of the Holy Spirit as representing a spiritual engagement ring given to us by Jesus. We are engaged to Christ and have the intimacy the Holy Spirit provides. Soon we will be married to Jesus, our bridegroom.
As has been explained through the scriptures, we have a very intimate relationship between God and us. Not only are we sons and daughters of God the Father but we are brothers and sisters of Christ, and will be married to Him. At this time we are engaged to Him. If we have the most intimate relationships that one can have in a family, that of husband and wife and sons and daughters of God the Father, how dare we consider anything else as being the Church!
Other names for the Church are as follows:
Assembly of the Saints, Psalm 89:7
Assembly of the Upright, Psalm 111:1
Body of Christ, Rom. 12:5
Branch, Is. 60:21
Bride, Rev. 21:9
Family in Heaven, Eph. 3:15
God's Flock, Is. 40:11
General Assembly, Heb. 12:23
God's Building, I Cor. 3:9
God's Husbandry, I Cor. 3:9
Habitation of God, Eph. 2:22
Heavenly Jerusalem, Heb. 12:22
Holy City, Rev. 21:2
House of God, I Tim. 3:15; Heb. 10:21
Household of God, Eph. 2:19
Israel of God, Gal. 6:16
Lamb's Wife, Rev. 19:7; 21:9
New Jerusalem, Rev. 21:2
Pillar and Ground of Truth, I Tim. 3:15
Spiritual House, I Pet. 2:5
Spouse of Christ, Song of Solomon 4:12
Temple of God, I Cor. 3:16
What Christians are Not
Many of us have a definition different from the ones described up to this point. Many of us think that organizational structures, buildings or even other things are the Church, rather than people being the Church.
Ask yourself the following questions:
1. When you meet a Christian for the first time, is one of your first questions, "What church do you go to?" Or are you proud to say that you belong to a particular "church" or a church affiliation such as Baptist, Methodist, Charismatic, etc?
2. When you talk about ministering, are you referring to the bus ministry, Sunday school, nursery, the church board meeting?
3. When you evangelize, or visit people, do you invite them to come to church?
4. When you give money to the church, are you giving it towards the building program or towards the other ministries just mentioned?
5. Do you fellowship only with the Christians at your church?
6. When you need spiritual leadership, do you only go to your pastor?
If your answer is "yes" to any of these questions, you have a problem with your concept of who the church is. I would estimate that perhaps 98-99% of the Christians would say "people are the church" but yet their life style, their ministries, the way they speak, and the way they act are not in line with the Biblical definition of who or what is the church. To help clarify that, we need to recognize and understand our relationship to each other and our relationship to Christ.
We are the Body of Christ
Throughout Scripture we are called the body of Christ. We are all the body of Christ and each one of us is part of that body. (I Cor. 12:27)
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. (Rom. 12:4-6a NIV)
We are the body of Christ and each one of us has a different part in that body, just as one individual has many different parts, such as hands and feet, eyes and ears. In the body of Christ, each one of us has a different function. One of us might be a hand or act as part of a hand; one of us might act as an ear, etc. Now there are not many bodies, as the organized church structure would say that, "I am of this body; I am of that body; I am of the local body;" referring to your particular church building or denomination in that area. NO! The Body of Christ is all of us as Christians. The scriptures are very clear to always talk in terms of all Christians being part of ONE body. Jesus is the head of the body - and Jesus' body is the church. (Col. 1:24) "God placed all things under His [Jesus] feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." (Eph. 1:22,23 NIV) Each of us has a part in the body and we are to minister to one another.
Some of the ministries that God has put in the churches are used so that the whole body will reach the measure of the fullness of Christ, so we will grow to maturity and knowledge of the Son of God. By speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, i.e., Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work. (Eph. 4:11-16)
As each of us does our part in the body and holds fast to the Head, who is Christ, we will continue to help build each other up into Him. We will know God more fully and become more like Christ.
Jesus is the Head of the Body
Another passage of Scripture that describes Jesus as being the Head is in Ephesians. Here the analogy of an earthly marriage between husband and wife is likened as an example of Christ and the Church. Christ is the head of the Church, His body, of whom He is the Savior. This passage shows how wives are to submit to their husbands and how husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the Church. Christ feeds and cares for His Church because, after all, no one ever hated his own body. And we are members of His body. (Eph. 5:22-33)
Jesus is before all things and in Him all things hold together. He is the Head of the body, the Church. God has all His fullness dwelling in Jesus. (Col. 1:18,19)
In the same way that there is only one body, there is only one Head, who is Christ; but we are all part of the same body. We are brothers and sisters with Christ. We are co-heirs with Christ. We function together with Him. We cannot be apart from Him. If we did not have a head, we would not have a body. But in the same analogy that there are not many bodies, but only one body of Christ, so in the same way there is only one Head and we can't have many heads.
We are an Organism not an Organization
The church is an organism. We are the body of Christ. It is not an organization. It is not a building or anything else. (However, it is called a building metaphorically (i.e., a temple, spiritual house, etc. See names for the Church on pages 7-8.) People are the Church. But, many people would say, "We know people are the Church." But their words and actions are contrary. They talk organizational religious systems or structures, rather than about the people (Christians), God, and Jesus Himself. They are caught up in religious activities (many of them being dead works) because they are part of this organizational system. When we say, "What church do you attend?" we tend to be referring to the body of Christ as being a building or an organizational structure rather than people. When we talk about ministries in terms of the nursery, the bus ministry, church board, etc., are we not referring to an organization that we think is the church, rather than an organism? We get to be dead-works focused, rather than being living stones (I Peter 2:5) and performing our functions and callings that God has given us. We need to repent of these things.
When we give our finances to support the church building, where a large amount of it may be going to pay for a mortgage, upkeep of the building, repairs, maintenance, etc., are we not often just wasting our money by putting it into a building or the organizations that are part of the building rather than focusing in on people? I do not have a problem with a building as a place to meet together. However, when the building becomes the center of all our activity, the center of all our monies, the center of all our ministries, then I do have a problem…unless we are reaching out to the community and changing lives.
God wants Quality Growth
Many Christians, especially leaders, have a concept that their church is growing when they increase in numbers. Rather, the Bible says the individuals grow as we minister one to another into knowledge and understanding of and becoming like Jesus. That is true growth. It is not in quantity but in quality. (However, God does want all to become saved, so in that sense, God does want numbers.) But, I have a higher regard for a church that has a small number of people who are ministering to and discipling one another, teaching each other who Christ is, are growing up and being like Him, ministering as He ministered, using their gifts and ministries to build up one another and others that they come in contact with outside of their small group, as well, than I do for a church of 30,000 people where the people are very shallow or are simply being "religious", performing their religious duty or activity. These latter things are a result of having a warped concept of who the Church is. Instead of the Church being an organism, a "who", we make the Church a "what", an organization, or even a building, because everything centers around a building. The Church is not a building. But it would be easy to distort the scriptures to think that it is, and that our function and life surround the church denomination, the church organization or the building.
We are God's Temple
In the Old Testament a temple that was a very holy place was often mentioned. The Jews' daily lives would revolve around the temple. But in the Old Testament, many things are put in a physical form, a natural form, to show us a spiritual analogy that was to be fulfilled when Christ came on this earth and was our sacrifice for our sin. We are no longer to have a physical concept of a temple, or a building, as being the most holy place to worship God. We are, the individual Christian is, the most holy place wherein the Spirit of God dwells. We are the temple of God. We are now the spiritual temple that God speaks about.
"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (I Cor. 3:16) We are "God's building." (I Cor. 3:9) We "are being built up a spiritual house." (I Peter 2:5) We are the "house of God, which is the church of the living God." (I Tim. 3:15) We are "members of the household of God." We are "being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." (Eph. 2:19,22) Even Jesus Himself stated, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." (John 2:19 NIV) (See also John 2:20,21 and Mt. 26:61-64.) Well, the Jews thought he was talking about their natural temple and they asked, "How can you build this in three days. It took us 46 years to build it?" Although they didn't realize it at the time, Jesus was referring to His body. In the same way, Christians, we need to wake up and be aware that when God talks about the temple, He is talking about us as people, not a building.
We sing songs like "We are Standing on Holy Ground" and we think that because we are in the church building that that is the holy ground. It does not matter what location you stand on. Wherever two or three are gathered together in Jesus' name, He is there. Where God is is holy ground. God is in people, in the believers. That is the holy place. That is the holy ground. It is not a church building. You could meet in the middle of a ghetto and that would be holy ground.
Jesus is the Cornerstone
Now let's consider the spiritual concept of the building and what it is and what we are today. Jesus is the cornerstone. There is a spiritual temple that we are part of; but Jesus is the cornerstone. (Acts 4:11; I Pet. 2:6-8) But this cornerstone is in the context that "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12 NIV) It is in Jesus that we are saved. In Jesus is our salvation. He is the Rock of our salvation.
Jesus asked his disciples,
'Who do people say the Son of Man is?'
They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'
'But what about you?' he asked, 'Who do you say I am?'
Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ [Messiah], the Son of the living God.'
Jesus replied, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.' (Mt. 16:13-18 NIV)
Though Peter's name means small "stone" (John 1:42), he is not the rock the main context is talking about. "On this rock I will build my Church" refers to Jesus, for He is our chief cornerstone. (See I Corinthians 10:4.) He is the foundation rock of this whole gospel, of this whole temple. Peter himself says we are living stones in his epistle. Christ is our chief cornerstone. (I Pet. 2:4-8)
Peter was the first one to preach salvation after Jesus died, when the Holy Spirit had come upon him at Pentecost. Through him came the first convert, but Jesus is the one upon whom our salvation is based. He is the rock of our salvation. "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." (I Cor.3:11 NIV)
You see, Jesus is the cornerstone, the foundation of this building and each one of us is building upon that. One man will plant, another man will water, and they will be rewarded for their labor but it is God who causes the growth. We are God's building. What is built upon this foundation, upon Jesus and in the Church's lives, or in the individual's life, will be tested in the final Day of Judgment by fire. If what was built upon that foundation lasts through the fire, then what the person has built will survive and he will receive his reward. If not, it will be burned up and he will suffer loss. For "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." (I Cor. 3 16,17 NIV)
We are the temple of God, not a church building. There is nothing wrong with having a building where Christians gather together to fellowship, to plan events, or even organize. However, when that organization prevents the true ministries…the true ministers of God…the true gifts of God to operate because they are limited by that organizational structure, then that is wicked. That organization needs to be changed and simplified. For God's Church is very simple. We are His body. He is our Head; and we all work together because we have the mind of Christ.
God wants Purity
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you and you will be my sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty.
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Cor. 6:16-7:1 NIV)
When we substitute an organizational structure, a denomination, or even a building for us Christians who are the true temple of God, are we not in idolatry? God doesn't want us to have idolatry. He doesn't want us to substitute or replace who we are with a thing. We are an organism, not an organization or anything else, for that matter. For we are the temple of the living God. God has already told us that He will live in us and walk among us and be our God and we will be His people. But some would say, "We need to have this organization, otherwise how are we going to function as a church, how are we going to be able to build each other up and how are we going to be able to minister to the unsaved?” God says that if we deny ourselves and follow Him, if we repent of our idolatry, then He lives with us. If God lives with us and walks among us, will He not give us the wisdom and the insight about how to do these things?
We need to walk by His wisdom, rather than by the wisdom of the world. We need to purify ourselves from everything that contaminates our body and spirit. That is what He wants us to do. He is our Father and we are His sons and daughters and He doesn't want us to touch any unclean thing. He wants us to become separate, to be separate. He wants us to separate ourselves from the false religious systems in the world, for many of these organizations and structures that we are part of are part of the Anti-Christ system and He does not want us to be a part of that. You may be in there to minister or evangelize, to be a light to the true gospel and the truth, but we are not to walk as they walk. We are to walk as the Father has shown us to walk through the Scriptures. (Read the endnote if you need more explanation as to “how to” do this.)
Be Examples to the World
As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For, in Scripture it says:
'See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone [cornerstone],’ and 'A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.' They stumble because they disobey the message - which is also what they were destined for.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and stangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God in the day he visits us. (I Pet. 2:4-12 NIV)
We are living stones and Jesus is THE living stone. We are being built into a spiritual house, Jesus being the foundation. We, as people, are the ones that are being built into this temple. We are the temple of God.
When we live according to earthly structures and systems, which the conventional church organizations do, we are not living good lives among the pagans (non-Christians). They see us as no different from what they are. When in leadership we exercise authority over those under us and we treat them poorly, not being examples but lording over them, we are not being a good example to the pagans (non-Christians). Our church organizational structure is set up in such a way that we limit true ministers and the true gifts to function.
For example, if you are a part of a particular denomination, you have a certain way of doing things. If you are a particular denomination, you will not allow the gifts of the Spirit, such as tongues or prophesying, etc. to operate in your church because you don't believe it. You're not believing the Bible, so you set up an organizational structure that fits your needs, to help you survive. But rather it is a dead organization, not a living organism. God wants the Church to be living stones, which is what we are, and to function as an organism, not as a false religious organization.
We are “God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” (I Tim. 3:15b NIV)
We are to be examples of the truth to the world around us, rather than living as the world does. Not only are we God's household, God's temple, we are also God's house. (Heb.3:6) We know that we are God's temple and God lives in us individually. We are His Holy of Holies, His holy place. We are children, His sons and daughters. We are His heirs. We are the bride of Christ. We are the body of Christ, as well.
How does the Church Function?
You may be asking, "How is the Church to function? If it is an organism and not an organizational structure nor a building, what is the Church, then?" I have explained who the Church is. The Church is a "who". It is not a "what". Yet there is some organization that takes place through the ministries, through the body, through the different parts operating one with another. So, a better question might be asked, "How do we operate one through another?" Simply stated, by being obedient to Christ, by believing on Jesus. You became a Christian by believing Jesus, simply by that. It wasn't by any works that we did. We couldn't earn it. We simply had to believe Jesus. Now, how do we do the works God wants us to do? Again, scripture states, it is simply by believing on God's Son, Jesus Christ (John 6:29). So, if we believe His Son and we obey what He has told us to do, we will operate as He would have us to. The scriptures are very clear and will teach us how to behave with one another, towards one another and towards God.
As individuals mature, they become the leaders in the Church. They will operate in the ministries they have been given - such as the apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher, evangelist or deacon. As these mature Christians operate, they will teach and train the body and help bring insight to those of us who need it. We have the Holy Spirit as our teacher and we need no man to teach us, yet God has given men to teach us, to help strengthen and build up one another. As each of us does what God has given us to do, as we start operating in our gifts and in our ministries, the Church starts functioning. The Bible is our handbook. The Spirit gives us life. We have God with us and in us. We have all we need so that we will know how to operate one with another. But what we need to do is unravel our church organizational structure and to simply follow up with what the word of God says.
What is the Local Church?
Many of us think of our church denomination as the local church but, in fact, we have maybe three or more groupings or churches of the same denomination in one area, not to mention many groupings or churches of the same specific denomination.
For example, we may have an American Baptist Church and a Southern Baptist church in the same area. How many types of Methodist churches do we have, or how many synods of the Lutheran church is in a particular location?
We have a warped concept when we think that we are going to start a missionary outreach by starting a Baptist church, maybe an American Baptist church, where there is another church, perhaps a Southern Baptist, a matter of three blocks away. That is not what God wants.
What God wants us to recognize is that the local church is citywide. It is not a denomination or a particular church building. There is absolutely no scriptural support for the current concept of a church being a group of people who meet regularly in one building, who have a particular denomination assessed to it.
The only possible support that is sometimes used is in Hebrews 10:25 New International Version that says, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." The King James Version states, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."
Assembling together in the Greek is "episunagoge". This refers to a Christian meeting or a complete collection. This is simply talking about meeting together. It does not mean, as some would dare say, that you need to become a member of a particular church and attend the same church building every week.
The Only Church Division is by Cities
The Bible does address and gives support for churches being local churches, i.e., in cities. That is the only division allowed in the New Testament for the Church. It is according to geography, not by denomination, belief system, nor by anything else. In fact, if you happen to live in Grand Rapids, you are automatically part of the church in Grand Rapids. However, if you were to go to Lansing, you would still be part of the church of Lansing just because you are there. You obviously cannot be part of the church in Grand Rapids because you cannot be two places at once. Even though you live in Grand Rapids, if you happen to be in Lansing, you are part of the church there. You are able to minister and function, or you should be allowed to. The people might not know you in that city, so perhaps, if you were staying for awhile, they may want to "check you out." But other than that, you are still a part of the church in that city. So it is only by geography, because of the physical restrictions of our biological body, that we are limited in functioning in a particular local church.
I am going to quote a series of Scriptures from the King James Version that talk about the churches and where they are located.
• Romans 1:7 - "To all that be in Rome"
• Romans 16:1 - "Of the church which is at Cenchrea"
• I Corinthians 1:2 (and 2 Corinthians 1:1) - "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth"
• Galatians 1:2 - "Unto the churches of Galatia". Note that Galatia was a province. It had a number of cities.
• Ephesians 1:1 - "To the saints which are at Ephesus"
• Philippians 1:1 - "To all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi"
• I Thessalonians 1:1 (and similarly 2 Thessalonians 1:1) - "Unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ:"
• Revelation 2:1 - "The church of Ephesus"
• Revelation 2:8 - "The church in Smyrna"
• Revelation 2:12 - "The church in Pergamos"
• Revelation 2:18 - "The church in Thyatira"
• Revelation 3:1 - "The church in Sardis"
• Revelation 3:7 - "The church in Philadelphia"
• Revelation 3:14 - "The church of the Laodiceans"
As Watchman Nee has stated, "The local church is local because the New Testament offers no other basis for division."
Throughout the scriptures, letters are being addressed to the church at a particular city. We need to line up our concepts of organization, buildings, who and what the church is according to the scriptures rather than our own traditions. For we have mixed much truth with the false. God is calling the Church to come out of the false into the truth so that we can be true examples to the world around us. He also wants a Church that is wholly devoted to Him, who will build each other up into fullness and maturity in Him. But that cannot happen in our current church structure because it is not what God wants. It limits the truth. It limits the true ministries and the true gifts, which are all needed to build up the Church. We are basically in a situation where we have tied our hands behind our back. We have put a gag in our mouth. We have stopped our ears. We have put a cloth around our eyes and we have braced our feet so that we cannot walk. We are basically an imprisoned Church because we are following a church system that is not God's system but the world's. It is the false anti-Christ system.

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When we die we are "absent from the body and…present with the Lord." (2 Cor. 5:1-8 and Phil. 1:22-24 discuss this.)
Someone may ask "How can Christ be our husband and our brother?" My answer is also a question: How did Cain get his wife? The answer is Cain married one of the daughters of Adam and Eve or one of the granddaughters of Adam and Eve. Forbidding of close marriages did not happen until Moses. Our relationship with Christ has to do with relationship not just physical union.
Read the previous endnote (#2).
This husband-wife relationship represents our relationship with Christ.
It is interesting to mention to those wondering how we can be the sons of God and the bride of Christ that there is "neither male nor female" in Christ (Rom. 3:28)
This is found on page 1544 of the Condensed Cyclopedia of Topics and Tests section in the Thompson Chain-Reference Study Bible, 8th ed. (Indianapolis, IN: B.B. Kirkbride Bible Co., Inc., 1988).
(This estimate is not based on any statistics but on my perception.)
Many so-called heads are merely usurpers of the throne. The Scriptures are true, solid and steadfast. We need to hold fast to the Scriptures and disregard, throw away, and repent from understandings that are contrary to them.
I Corinthians 3:6-17 NIV says,
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay and foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. (NIV)
Some may wonder if not walking as they walk means physically or spiritually. We physically cannot separate from the world. We are already spiritually separated in that we do not partake or believe the same thing. Sometimes we are called to physically separate from religious things. Usually they will separate themselves from us. In the Old Testament things were primarily physical and secondarily spiritual. In the New Testament things are primarily spiritual and secondarily physical.
Dana Roberts, Understanding Watchman Nee (Plainfield, N.J.: Logos International, 1980), 131.