My Church
6 min read
1 He has founded his city on the holy mountain.
2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are said of you, city of God: Selah
— Psalm 87:1-3
Jerusalem was set apart by God to be the city where the presence of God would dwell. Jerusalem is where the temple of God was built. Jerusalem is where all Israelite men were to gather for the three annual festivals: Passover, Weeks, and Tabernacles. Psalm 87 continues to describe how it is a great honor to have been born in Jerusalem.
What is the big fuss about the city? Even though the temple no longer exists, many Jews still consider Jerusalem to be the city of God. Many Orthodox Jews believe that the third temple will be built on the grounds of the current Temple Mount, which will usher in the coming of the Messiah. There is one Orthodox Jewish organization that has built all the furnishings, tools, and accessories for the temple in anticipation of it being rebuilt.
But Jesus made it clear that with His coming, God’s presence is no longer defined by a location but by His people who call on His name and worship Him (John 4:21-24).
The presence of God can never be confined by geography. Or if we want to be technical, the only geography that adequately define the presence of God is the whole earth. It has been God’s design from the very start to fill the earth with His glory in Jesus’s name through God-fearing, God-honoring, God-worshiping, God-loving communities and families, the church.
So the people of God, the church, is the new city of God. Every church—that is, every Bible-believing, gospel-teaching, Christ-following church—has been bought by the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28). And every church is precious to God and loved by Him.
The church is not just the city of God,, the church is also the body of Christ with Christ as the Head. And, yes, those are metaphors, but as it is with all biblical metaphors, there is a spiritual reality behind them that makes them more than just mere metaphors.
How can some people treat the church with such casual indifference? How can some people treat the church with contempt, even?
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the Head, that is, 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.
— Ephesians 4:15-16
That is church. How it must break Jesus’s heart when He sees people who claim to be Christians treating the church as just another activity that they do or just another club that they belong to.
The goal of Jesus Christ for us is to become a mature church, where the members speak truth in love, build each other up in love, and work to build up the church. And here again is why we do House Church.
Father, Your mercy and grace are unending. I confess that we often lose sight of how precious this church is to You. It is Your church, and You have made us Your body. Help us to see Your heart for Your church clearly, and inspire us to build up Your church according to Your word. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
