The Assembly

1 Peter 2:⁵ Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (KJV)

We will pick up today’s devotional from our final thought yesterday. Jesus said in Matthew 16:¹⁸ “…upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” The word “church” here is the word “Ecclesia”, and not “church” as derived from the German word “Kirche”. “Ecclesia” is the gathering of God’s people. “Kirche” is a building where people attend. Totally different! The church is not a building. The church is a gathering. Yet, we see churches that start out as Ecclesia, not minding where they meet as long as the Holy Ghost is present.

Then the church grows, gains influence among people, and guess what? Politicians come in because politicians are interested in places people gather as they need the votes, the consensus of the people. So, the politicians hang out with the leader of the church and he or she becomes influential in the land. Then the will of men begins to influence the direction of the church and the church becomes crystalized. However, the truth remains that the church is not a building, the church is a gathering. You must have heard people say, ‘you are the church’. Yes, you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. But as lively stones, the Bible says, we come together to form a spiritual house of worship. No single stone can call itself a house, we are lively stones.

The church is not a building, the church is a gathering. The church is not an individual, individuals make up the church. So, you cannot sit in your house and become the church, no! The church is an assembly. The picture painted here is the picture of a parliament, or a national assembly. The law makers gather in an amphitheatre, right? That amphitheatre is just a building, it is when the law makers come in that it becomes powerful. It is important to point out that this does not rule out the online church experience. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a lot of disruptions, and they were mainly for good.  Except the online experience that individuals have becomes a gathering, it is not a church.

Just sitting in front of a television or a device and having a sermon dumped on you is not the same thing as being part of a church. Yes, you have listened to the Word, but you are not part of the church. Joining the service online does not make you a part of the church. When the online experience becomes an assembly by engagement, that is when it becomes the church. You can be online and be a part of the church by participating, contributing, engaging, and being useful.

Prayer: Father, I ask for the grace never to forsake the fellowship of the brethren. Thank You for the gift of church online, help me stay engaged, in Jesus Name. Amen!