Thoughts from The Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Monday, 26 August 2024 08:47

The Church of God
by Joey Carroll Corinth Missionary Baptist Church

When conversations start over how the church is doing in our day, there are those who like to romanticize the early church. They would like to return to “how it was” and appeal to the record found in Acts 2:42-47 when the church was devoted to the Word of God and each other – to the Table and to prayer. Not to mention that they were selfless toward one another and willingly shared anything they possessed. Sounds wonderful, I will certainly admit, but where there are people, problems soon follow.
Such was the church at Corinth. Even though they had been “born” and “raised” through the ministry of the Apostle Paul, they were influenced by the world around them and by their own sinfulness. Therefore, their problems were many. Some problems were absolutely morally sinister, and others were as childish and foolish as you find in a kindergarten class. But I am convinced that for all their problems, you can reduce them down to one principle cause – they had stopped putting Christ first in all things. They had begun boasting in men and not in our Lord.

They had taken their eyes off of Christ and put them on men and themselves (1 Corinthians 1:30 and 3:21). So the Apostle Paul will remind them of some eternal truths in order to correct their waywardness.
One such truth comes early in the letter when Paul writes “to the church of God” (1 Corinthians 1:2). Such a simple phrase, yet it contains an eternal truth. Unfortunately, we have overlooked it, read passed it, ignored it, and the church has suffered greatly for it. When we refer to the church, we often refer to it as something we possess. We often say “my church” or “our church.” I often see it on yard signs or bumper stickers or t-shirts, the phrase, “I love my church.” Surely nothing is wrong with these statements, right?

Like most of us, I possess quite a few things. I am blessed to have in my possession a roof over my head. I’ve lived under the same roof for almost all of 45 years now. When Page and I married, we purchased the home that I was raised in from my parents, and so we have lived there most of our marriage. Even when we moved away for a couple of years, we kept the home only to return to it. Every room in our home is decorated and furnished how we want. From the pictures on the wall to the furniture in each room, the shows that play on our T.V., the music that is played through our phones, and the books and pictures that reside on our bookshelf is all to our liking. It is “our home” after all and that is how it should be. If we own something, no one should be offended if we do with it what we want. That is one of the greatest benefits of ownership. I can literally hang a thousand pictures on our walls, and no one can say a thing about all the holes. It belongs to us; it is our home.

Now this is no simple issue of semantics or word play. If we think or feel like something belongs to us, we do with it what we want. And sooner than later, it will begin to reflect our preferences and our character. This explains why churches “look” so differently from one to the next. And I am not talking about how the church looks physically – this is not a carpet and pew issue.
Unfortunately, churches often reflect the preferences and character of the people who attend it, rather than the God who possesses it. From the messages being communicated through song, to the messages being proclaimed from the pulpit or podium, those messages often reflect its people, rather than God. We have forgotten that the church belongs to God and God alone. He did, after all, create the church and pay for the church with the most precious of blood. Either the church belongs to God or something or someone else. There is no shared ownership, and so Paul begins his letter “to the church of God,” (1 Cor 1:2). There is much more to say, and so Lord willing, we will pick up here next week.