God Moves in the Institutional Church, Does this make it the CHURCH?
Does God move in the institutional church? Yes! Myself and a multitude of other people were introduced to salvation in the institutional church even. Despite the misunderstanding that exists there God meets people who genuinely seek Him. But, does that mean it has God’s approval? God works through many things that do not reflect His original intention. Therefore, God’s “moving in or even His “blessing of” is a flawed measuring stick for determining God’s sanctioning. Remember, God blessed His people when they were living in Babylon, but living in Babylon was not His will. Neither were the synagogues that they built while there. God’s will was for His temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem.
Many of God’s people are in the institutional system doesn’t, that make the institution “churches”? God’s people are in workplace buildings, school buildings, government buildings, hotel buildings, etc... But that doesn’t make such institutions the Church.
Let me try yo demonstrate the difference between the “institutional church system buildings” that is called “Church” and the Church that Jesus is building...a local group of believers who assembly and share life together as a community under the headship of Christ.
God’s people are in, and God moves in buildings called churches. But God also moves in hotels, conference centers etc. That doesn’t make those buildings churches, nor does it make the institutional buildings churches and it does not make the buildings the Church of Jesus Christ.
People come to know the Lord in institutional buildings. But many people come to know the Lord in buildings other than religious buildings, yet that does not make the buildings the Church of Jesus Christ.
God uses institutional buildings to teach believers. But believers are taught in various other venues as well. That does not make those venues the Church.
God’s people worship God and set their minds on God in institutional buildings. But worship also takes place in God’s great outdoors. But that does not make outdoors the Church.
God loves the institutional buildings we call “churches.” Is God really into building loving? Does He love all the other buildings that house good works, orphanages, hospitals, etc? Upon consideration of the above, tell me why God would love a religious institutional building more than He would love non-religious institutional buildings, when in fact He moves in both. God certainly loves His people who are often in various religious institutions, but to say that He loves a system or an institution, at the least is reading into scripture something that it does not support.
So while God moves in non-institutional buildings and God’s people are in said buildings, and those buildings have often been used as a tool to save the lost, teach God’s people, and to worship the Lord in, that doesn’t make those buildings the Church that Jesus established.
And so it is with those institutions and systems that religion calls “churches.”
Now, I deeply love the church, but I do not love the religious systems that call themselves “churches.” Such systems are not the body of Jesus Christ. My feelings toward them are pretty much the same as any other building; they can be used for good or bad; but they aren’t “sacred” and should never replace or substitute the Church of God. Further, I have no loyalty nor allegiance to these systems, just as I don’t have any allegiance to any of the other buildings God chooses to move in. My allegiance is to Jesus Christ, God’s Kingdom, and the body of Christ.
God is head-over-heels in love with His Church.
Thus a person cannot rightly love Jesus and hate His Church. Neither can people honor Him properly by replacing His glorious bride for a man-made substitute that has stolen her name. Jesus isn’t marrying a building, a denomination, a religious organization, or a religious system. He is marrying His Bride!
There is much confusion today because denominations have confused the Body of Christ with a religious institutional system. And if one raises questions about the institutional system, religious people confuse it with an attack on the Church.
I love the Church and want to see her set free from the restrictions and bondage of religion. “For whom Christ has set free is free indeed.”
Many of God’s people are in the institutional system doesn’t, that make the institution “churches”? God’s people are in workplace buildings, school buildings, government buildings, hotel buildings, etc... But that doesn’t make such institutions the Church.
Let me try yo demonstrate the difference between the “institutional church system buildings” that is called “Church” and the Church that Jesus is building...a local group of believers who assembly and share life together as a community under the headship of Christ.
God’s people are in, and God moves in buildings called churches. But God also moves in hotels, conference centers etc. That doesn’t make those buildings churches, nor does it make the institutional buildings churches and it does not make the buildings the Church of Jesus Christ.
People come to know the Lord in institutional buildings. But many people come to know the Lord in buildings other than religious buildings, yet that does not make the buildings the Church of Jesus Christ.
God uses institutional buildings to teach believers. But believers are taught in various other venues as well. That does not make those venues the Church.
God’s people worship God and set their minds on God in institutional buildings. But worship also takes place in God’s great outdoors. But that does not make outdoors the Church.
God loves the institutional buildings we call “churches.” Is God really into building loving? Does He love all the other buildings that house good works, orphanages, hospitals, etc? Upon consideration of the above, tell me why God would love a religious institutional building more than He would love non-religious institutional buildings, when in fact He moves in both. God certainly loves His people who are often in various religious institutions, but to say that He loves a system or an institution, at the least is reading into scripture something that it does not support.
So while God moves in non-institutional buildings and God’s people are in said buildings, and those buildings have often been used as a tool to save the lost, teach God’s people, and to worship the Lord in, that doesn’t make those buildings the Church that Jesus established.
And so it is with those institutions and systems that religion calls “churches.”
Now, I deeply love the church, but I do not love the religious systems that call themselves “churches.” Such systems are not the body of Jesus Christ. My feelings toward them are pretty much the same as any other building; they can be used for good or bad; but they aren’t “sacred” and should never replace or substitute the Church of God. Further, I have no loyalty nor allegiance to these systems, just as I don’t have any allegiance to any of the other buildings God chooses to move in. My allegiance is to Jesus Christ, God’s Kingdom, and the body of Christ.
God is head-over-heels in love with His Church.
Thus a person cannot rightly love Jesus and hate His Church. Neither can people honor Him properly by replacing His glorious bride for a man-made substitute that has stolen her name. Jesus isn’t marrying a building, a denomination, a religious organization, or a religious system. He is marrying His Bride!
There is much confusion today because denominations have confused the Body of Christ with a religious institutional system. And if one raises questions about the institutional system, religious people confuse it with an attack on the Church.
I love the Church and want to see her set free from the restrictions and bondage of religion. “For whom Christ has set free is free indeed.”
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