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.
1 Timothy 3:15
When we hear the word ‘church’, we may think of a building filled with pews, or an organisation formed by policy and leaders. Yet neither of these are the true application of the word as it is found in the scriptures. The Greek word that ‘church’ is translated from is ‘ecclesia’, a compound of two words meaning ‘call’ and ‘out’. First and foremost, the church is the assembly of her members, a gathering of men and women privileged to have been called out. But what precisely has this assembly been called out from? Like Israel of old, this chosen generation has been drawn out from the darkness of this world’s lies into the marvellous light of Heaven’s truth (1 Peter 2:9).
The apostle Paul describes the church as ‘the pillar and ground of the truth’. As a builder erects pillars and foundations in order to keep his structure from collapsing, God has appointed His church to uphold the truth in a world overrun with lies. While Christ’s church is not an organisation, God has employed various organisations to further His work throughout history. Initially, God sought to preserve His truth through Ancient Israel. When they went a whoring after Baal, the Lord turned to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Every time His ordained structures fell into apostasy, God abandoned them and turned to others.
Notwithstanding the fallen and apostate condition of the denominational churches of today, the church of Jesus Christ has never fallen, nor will it ever fall. This is because the church is not an organisation. It is a movement. When organisations become infiltrated and fall, God simply turns to other faithful souls who will bear His truth to the world. While at this time His movement may be scattered throughout the Earth, and unrecognised by the world, ‘the Lord knoweth them that are His’ (2 Timothy 2:19).
Christopher Sparks