The Church in God

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4 ESV


When I began to read this passage of scripture this morning, the first thing that stood out to me was “The church in God” and “churches of God,” as though “church” may or may not necessarily be “in” or “of” God, which we do find particularly true in our culture in America today, and in much (or some) of the rest of the world, too, I would suspect.

For example, God no longer dwells in buildings built by human hands. The temple of God, thus, is not a physical building, but a spiritual building (house) made up of living stones, not of brick and mortar, i.e. we the people of God are the church. So, even though we may attend a building called “church,” it doesn’t mean it is of/in God. In fact, physical buildings are not of God, nor are corporations under the federal government of the USA or businesses of human-making called “church.”

This seems a very difficult concept for most Christians in America to truly wrap their minds around (an idiomatic phrase). Although they know that the church is not a building, still in their hearts it is. And, so they equate these man-made structures (buildings, denominations, businesses) with the church of God, but they are not one and the same.

In fact, if they are being run by, under the authority of, and directed by humans rather than by God and by his Holy Spirit, then they are not of God. For, God/Jesus is not their head, but the government is. And God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit is not directing their path, but the world is. And, they are not building the church spiritually by the Spirit (Rom. 12; 1 Co. 12; Eph. 4) but by human marketing schemes. And, their customers are the world.

So, we must not confuse the two. For, the church of God (in God) is spiritual, and it is people. But, it is people who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives, who have died with Christ to sin and who are living with Christ to righteousness; who are walking not according to the flesh, but who are walking according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:1-17).

The People of God

Now, this is not to say that the church is perfect and sinless. For, as long as we live in flesh bodies we will be subject to temptation and we have the propensity to still sin against God. And, this is also not to say that the true church cannot at any time fall away from their pure devotion to Jesus Christ, for the letters to the churches in Revelation make it clear that we can.

But, what this is saying is the church, the church of God, is made up of people who have truly given their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ, who have walked in his ways and in his truth, even if right now they are drifting away from their pure devotion to Christ.

For, we don’t become the body of Christ by mere outward professions of faith or by saying words after someone in a prayer. There must be death to sin. We must be reborn of the Spirit of God. And, there must be evidence of regeneration in our lives, i.e. that truly we have been born again and we are no longer living to satisfy the sinful cravings of our flesh.

If we are truly in God, then we should be growing in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord. Our love for God and for our fellow humans should be increasing, but here I am speaking of divine love, not human love. For, our love for God and for others should be based in what is pure, holy, righteous, just, merciful, compassionate, honest, upright, moral and faithful.

And, we should be steadfast in our faith and in our love for God and others and in our commitments to walk with our Lord and to do what he says, and to go where he sends us, and to say whatever he commands us to say. And, we should be doing this despite being persecuted, hated, mistreated, misjudged, falsely accused, lambasted, gossiped about and mocked. For, we should be determined to follow our Lord even to the death, if need be, in order to see others come to faith in Jesus Christ, too.

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 ESV


Jesus said that if we follow him, and we give up our lives for him and for his gospel that we will be hated and persecuted. But, we have to remember here who Jesus’ greatest persecutors and opponents were. They were not the people outside the Jewish faith, for the most part. They were primarily those who professed faith in Almighty God, the God of Abraham. And, they were members of his own family and his neighbors. And, they were the religious leaders and teachers within the temple of God, too.

So, we should not be surprised if our greatest persecution comes not from outside the institutional church, but from within. And, some of this may come from Christians who are well-meaning in what they say, too, because they truly believe that we have left the church if we depart from the institution of church, which is not of God (the institution is not). For, remember that Paul was a great persecutor of Christians before his conversion, but he did so truly believing he was following God.

Yet, there are many liars, deceivers, manipulators, hypocrites, wolves in sheep’s clothing, and thieves and robbers within the institutional church who persecute true believers in Jesus, but not innocently. For, they are of Satan, and of his church, and so it is their goal to come after us, to persecute us, to try to trip us up, and to try to bring us down in hopes that they can stop the spreading of the gospel of our salvation, and in hopes that Satan can capture our hearts once more for his kingdom.

These fakers of Christianity, who are in it for the purpose to destroy the church will one day meet their doom, though. In fact, all who fake their relationships with God, or who have superficial faith, or who have bought into the cheap grace gospel will one day suffer punishment for what they did in this life. For, if we want to have eternal life with God, we must die with him to sin that we might live with him to righteousness.

[See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8; 1 Pet. 2:24.]

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 ESV


We live in very troubled times. The beast is rising and he/it is conquering peoples, nations and Christians. Deception abounds in the world, in our governments, and within our institutional churches. The gospel of our salvation has been diluted to make it more appealing to the flesh. So, many people have bought into the cheap grace gospel, and they are headed straight for hell, not for heaven.

And, those who are truly following Jesus Christ with their lives, who are teaching the truth with regard to our salvation, are being persecuted, even here in America, and even within our institutional churches. Our government here in the USA, in combination (partnership) with the church, has a campaign going on presently targeted against those of us who are following Jesus Christ with our lives.

Their message is one of unity, but not unity with God, but truly with Satan and with the world. And, so they are forcing compliance, cooperation and compromise of all people with this unity government and with this united one-world religion, too.

So, we need to be in prayer for one another that we may remain strong in our faith, and that we may grow in our Lord, and that God may be glorified in our lives, so that we will shine as lights in this dark world, so that many more may come to faith in Jesus before he returns.

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.


Saturday, February 9, 2019

Carl Emerson said:

Hi there,

You said "Our government here in the USA, in combination (partnership) with the church, has a campaign going on presently targeted against those of us who are following Jesus Christ with our lives...."

Can you elaborate?

Also as persecution increases, do you envision that true believers will be forced to regroup, abandon present structures, and adopt an Acts community lifestyle to survive?

Blessings,

Carl Emerson.

Click to expand...

Carl, Thank you for reading and for responding, and thank you for your question. Yes, I can elaborate.

The church in the USA, though not the entire church, beginning in the 1950s, I believe it was, made the decision to incorporate (as a non-profit organization) under the federal government of the USA via the 501c3 tax exempt status. They didn't have to do that, because they were already tax exempt, and the IRS even states that on their site.

Yet, they were convinced by those high up that this would be to their benefit. But, by doing so they partnered with the ungodly, which the Bible strictly forbids, which means they also partnered (became unequally yoked together) with the world. So, the church under the 501c3 is essentially a state church, a government church. And, our government in the USA is under the authority of the Elite (wealthy and powerful) of the world, i.e. the All-seeing Eye of Horus which hovers over the unfinished pyramid on our national seal, which is the beast (of Revelation) and which serves Satan.

Also, they turned the church, the body of Christ, into a business, i.e. they turned God's house into a marketplace, which God also forbids, so we are going to see another "cleansing of the temple," I believe, sometime in the near future, which is talked about in Revelation 18.

Ok, so about the campaign. If you listen to our leaders in government, and the pope, and many preachers, you will hear them talk about how we all need to unify as the people of the world, and how we need to rid ourselves of all which divides us as the people of the world (out with the old order, in with the new) so that we can all be of one mind, one heart, with one voice. Obama and the Pope were majorly pushing this during Obama's presidency, and now the Pope is coming out strongly with this message again while Trump now is singing the same song. This is about breaking down the old order of Christian faith so that we, the people of the world, can unite as one in harmony with one another.

So, within the church (institutional) itself, what I have personally observed over the past 20 years, in particular, is little by little the truth of the gospel has been removed from the gospel message in order to make it more acceptable and appealing to the people of the world, and this is just preparing the way for this one-world religion that is soon to be upon us. For, they began softening the message of the gospel, removing words such as "sin," "repentance" and "obedience," and reducing faith to a mere acknowledgment of Jesus Christ and a mere acceptance of his forgiveness of their sins, but excluding the need to repent of sin or to obey Jesus Christ.

By doing this they have paved the way for this all-inclusive one-world faith, because their belief in Jesus really results in nothing much different from those who believe in any other god, for now the message of the gospel is so diluted that all it is now is service projects and good deeds (missional). It is reduced to merely being nice to people and doing things with them and for them and hanging out with people so they know they are accepted, and it is taught that is the gospel, and that teaching repentance and obedience is works-based salvation and that all that does is make people uncomfortable, so it is to be avoided.

But, it is only through death to sin and living to righteousness, by God's grace, because of Jesus' sacrifice for our sins, and in the power of the Spirit living within us that any of us can be saved from our sins, i.e. delivered from our bondage to sin so that we can live holy lives pleasing to God (See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

And, yes, we are already there where God is calling out to his true church to "come out from among her" for her sins are piled high to heaven, and so we don't share in her punishment, i.e. this is speaking of coming out of these institutional churches in partnership with the world/government, and to be the church like in the book of Acts which is under the authority of Christ, being led by the Holy Spirit, rather than being under the authority of the government and being led by marketing books.

Carl Emerson said:

OK understand - but I see little evidence that the 'coming out' includes returning to a lifestyle that we see in the first 5 chapters of Acts. I assume the persecution must increase before we see that. This is sad that few take these scriptures seriously until they are forced to...

Blessings,

Carl Emerson.

Click to expand...

Yes, the persecution must increase before we see that.