Religious or political church?

“Upon this rock I will build my church.” With these eight words, the Lord Jesus announced the establishment of the body of citizens that would populate His spiritual polity. In this system, the citizens are called the “Ekklesia,” the Greek word translated church. The church is a body of believers who submit their lives to the Lord Jesus because they have faith that He is the One to rule the kingdom of God, the spiritual kingdom spoken of by Moses and the prophets. This body of believers received the good news that the kingdom and the King had come. They are the official representatives of this spiritual kingdom in the earth. Simply put, the church is a political assembly.

Today, however, millions of people get dressed up to “go to church.” What caused this shift from people being the church to people going to church? How did the church mutate to a religious body from a political one? Finally, how do we recapture the spirit of what the Lord Jesus started when He established the church?

The people of the early church did not refer to themselves as Christians. They called themselves the people of the Way. The term reflected what the Lord Jesus declared when He said “I am the way.” This description implied that the Lord Jesus alone was their leader. A shift occurred when Christianity was instituted as an official state religion. With this shift, Christianity came under man’s control instead of under the spiritual control of the Lord Jesus Christ. The king ruled over the religion, and men were placed in the churches to rule over the congregations. To be called a Christian denoted being a follower of the official government approved religion instead of being a follower of Christ Jesus and Him alone. This included assembling on the approved day, in the approved buildings. Once assembled, the ruler of the congregation was able to persuade this mass of people that what he was saying was truth. His credibility was based on the fact that the government approved the religion, and he was selected to lead that congregation based on church leadership. For the people in the congregation, reliance upon the Scriptures for personal understanding was no longer necessary; the Lord gave that “special” or “anointed” person the understanding to impart to the people. This pattern has endured for centuries.

How then, do we return to the spirit of the church that the Lord Jesus established? Such a radical change will require a revolt; only this revolt is one of obedience to the Lord Jesus. The focus must return to the people, rather than growing an organization. To shift the focus away from a single leader back to Christ Jesus, the governments of local fellowships need to follow the pattern provided to us in the Scriptures, where presbyteries of elders provided the leadership for the congregations. Most important, the church must grow according to the pattern that our Lord Jesus established. He commanded His disciples to preach the kingdom of God and make disciples. This will not be a simple task, but it is necessary if we truly desire to see His kingdom manifested in our lives.

© 2011 Ron Mosby, Cincinnati, OH