{"id":893,"date":"2025-04-07T13:13:47","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T13:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/evb.dyndns.org\/WordPress\/?p=893"},"modified":"2025-06-09T15:40:49","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T15:40:49","slug":"you-are-the-church-or-youre-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/?p=893","title":{"rendered":"You Are the Church \u2014 Or You\u2019re Not"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I Need to Get Back to Church\u2026\u201d \u2013 But What Do We Really Mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n


\u201cI haven\u2019t been to church in a while.\u201d
\u201cI\u2019m trying to go more regularly.\u201d
\u201cI used to go, but I fell off.\u201d
\u201cWhich church do you belong to?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

These are the kinds of things we often hear. They sound familiar. Comfortable. Even spiritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But beneath the surface, these statements reveal something deeper \u2014 and far more concerning:
We’ve reduced the Church to a building, a program, a place we \u201cgo to\u201d or \u201cleave\u201d \u2014 not what God actually says it is.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this post, we’re not just rethinking our language.
We’re returning to Scripture<\/strong> to rediscover what the Church truly is \u2014 and who we truly are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The Church Is Not a Building \u2014 It’s the People of God<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s make one thing absolutely clear:
The Church is not a building.<\/strong> It never has been. It never will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowhere in the Bible does God define the Church as a structure made of bricks and glass.
Yet today, people talk about \u201cchurch\u201d the same way they talk about gyms or grocery stores:
A place you go, a place you leave, a service you attend, a building you walk into once a week.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that is not Biblical<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

What Is<\/em> the Church, According to the Bible?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. The Church is the Body of Christ \u2014 Made of People, Not Walls<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cNow you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it.\u201d
<\/em>\u2014 1 Corinthians 12:27<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Church is made up of born-again believers<\/strong> \u2014 men, women, and children who have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not a location<\/strong>, but a living, breathing body of people across nations, languages, and generations \u2014 all united in one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

2. The Church is the Household of God \u2014 Not a Denomination, Not a Brand<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cSo then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.\u201d
<\/em>\u2014 Ephesians 2:19<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not about which \u201cchurch building\u201d you attend, what style of worship you prefer, or what your church logo looks like.
The true Church is God\u2019s family<\/strong> \u2014 and only those adopted into that family by faith in Christ are part of it (John 1:12-13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t \u201cgo to church\u201d \u2014 you are the Church<\/strong>, if you belong to Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. The Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit \u2014 Not Made by Human Hands<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cDo you not know that you are God\u2019s temple and that God\u2019s Spirit dwells in you?\u201d
<\/em>\u2014 1 Corinthians 3:16<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The New Testament never commands us to build a \u201cchurch building.\u201d
Instead, God builds His Church by filling people with His Spirit<\/strong>.
In Acts 2:1-47, the Church was born \u2014 not in a cathedral, but in a house, where believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and went out to proclaim the gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

So Why Do We Gather?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the Church is not a building \u2014 then why do we meet together?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because God commands it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cAnd let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another\u2026\u201d
<\/em>\u2014 Hebrews 10:24\u201325<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Gathering is not about attendance.
It\u2019s not about checking a religious box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s about mutual encouragement<\/strong>, teaching, correction, prayer, worship, the Lord\u2019s Supper, and building one another up in the faith (Acts 2:42, Colossians 3:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We gather because we are one body<\/strong> \u2014 and the body cannot function in isolation (1 Corinthians 12:14\u201320).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Matthew 18:18-20
‘Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. ‘<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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A Serious Word About Fellowship and the Breaking of Bread<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

True fellowship \u2014 the kind commanded by God \u2014 is holy<\/strong>.
It is the shared life of the redeemed, those who have been born again by the Spirit of God (John 3:3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Church gathers, we pray, we worship, we build one another up \u2014 and we partake of sacred ordinances like the breaking of bread<\/strong> (Communion) and Baptism<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But God gives a fearful warning<\/strong>:
This gathering, and the sharing in the Lord\u2019s Supper, is only for the saved \u2014 and only for those who walk in repentance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul wrote by the Holy Spirit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord\u2019s body.”
(1 Corinthians 11:27-29, KJV)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

To take part in holy fellowship without being in Christ<\/strong>, or while living in willful sin<\/strong>, brings God\u2019s judgment<\/strong> \u2014 not His blessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why even among true believers<\/strong>, the Bible commands that if a brother or sister persists in sin and refuses to repent<\/strong>, the Church must cast them out<\/strong> from fellowship:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.”
(1 Corinthians 5:11, KJV)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And again:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.”
(1 Timothy 5:20, KJV)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is not cruelty \u2014 it is obedience.
It is a call to holiness, protecting the purity of Christ\u2019s body and calling sinners to true repentance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fellowship is not a casual gathering.
It is the holy communion of the saints \u2014 those who have received a new heart<\/strong> and a new spirit<\/strong> through faith in Jesus Christ:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you…”
(Ezekiel 36:26, KJV)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Visitors and unbelievers are welcome to observe and hear the Word of God \u2014 but they must not<\/strong> take part in the sacred breaking of bread until they too have been born again by faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Church is the gathering of the redeemed.<\/strong>
Its fellowship is sacred.<\/strong>
Its holiness must not be profaned.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
(1 Peter 1:16, KJV)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Let This Sink In<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think \u201cgoing to church\u201d makes you a Christian,
then you\u2019ve misunderstood the gospel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can sit in a church building every Sunday and still be spiritually dead.
You can never step into a building and yet be fully alive in Christ \u2014 if you belong to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Church is not a weekend event.
It is the redeemed people of God<\/strong>, living in relationship with Christ and each other, carrying His mission into the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Final Words<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must stop using worldly language that confuses buildings with believers<\/strong>.
The Church is not a place you go.
It\u2019s who you are \u2014 if you are in Christ<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the next time you hear someone say, \u201cI need to get back to church\u2026\u201d<\/em>,
ask them this:
\u201cDo you know what the Church truly is?\u201d
<\/strong>Because that question changes everything.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I Need to Get Back to Church\u2026\u201d \u2013 But What Do We Really Mean? \u201cI haven\u2019t been to church in a while.\u201d\u201cI\u2019m trying to go more regularly.\u201d\u201cI used to go, but I fell off.\u201d\u201cWhich church do you belong to?\u201d These are the kinds of things we often hear. They sound familiar. Comfortable. Even spiritual. But beneath the surface, these statements reveal something deeper \u2014 and far more concerning:We’ve reduced the Church to a building, a program, a place we \u201cgo to\u201d or \u201cleave\u201d \u2014 not what God actually says it is. In this post, we’re not just rethinking our language.We’re returning to Scripture to rediscover what the Church truly is \u2014 and who we truly are. The Church Is Not a Building \u2014 It’s the People of God Let\u2019s make one thing absolutely clear:The Church is not a building. It never has been. It never will be. Nowhere in the Bible does God define the Church as a structure made of bricks and glass.Yet today, people talk about \u201cchurch\u201d the same way they talk about gyms or grocery stores:A place you go, a place you leave, a service you attend, a building you walk into once a week. But that is not Biblical. What Is the Church, According to the Bible? 1. The Church is the Body of Christ \u2014 Made of People, Not Walls \u201cNow you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it.\u201d\u2014 1 Corinthians 12:27 The Church is made up of born-again believers \u2014 men, Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-religion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=893"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":957,"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893\/revisions\/957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}