THE CHURCH IN THE HOUSE

By Bishop Marthy C. Austria, HUG of Christ Fellowship PURE GRACE

Consider these Scripture verses:

Romans 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

1 Corinthians 16:19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

Colossians 4:15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.

Philemon 1:2 And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:

In the New Testament times, believers gather in their own houses to worship the Lord. The Bible calls it Church in the House or House Church. The modern Christianity calls it Small Group Bible Study or Cell group. But the Bible does not call it such.

Today, when you say “church” the first thing that common Christians think is “the building”. I once asked a young believer who attends a traditional church, “What is church?” She replied, “…ah…the house of God…”. She is not so sure about what she said. That is what was taught her ever since her childhood in Sunday Schools. Her response is right, but incomplete. And what she means is “the church is the building where we gather”. That is what religion has taught this young lady.

The church is the house of God according to Paul in 1 Timothy 3:15 “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in THE HOUSE OF GOD, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

But this house is not the physical structure of the building. But this house is the people of God. We, the believers are the CHURCH, the HOUSE OF GOD. Acts 7:48 teaches that “ the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands”. That is very clear! GOD DOES NOT DWELL IN TEMPLES AND BUILDINGS MADE WITH HANDS.

But the traditional churches will invest thousands and millions of pesos for the erection of church buildings which they call “CHURCH”. Ridiculous!

Did the Lord Jesus Christ build church buildings? Did the apostles build church buildings? Did the apostle Paul build buildings during his Acts and Post acts ministry? No! They didn’t!

How did Paul teach? Acts 20: 20 And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house.

Paul the apostle taught publicly and from house to house. He taught from one house church to another. That was the way they did it. They did not rent buildings or build temples to worship the Lord.

What is the pattern of today’s churches in erecting buildings for worship? The Bible? Yes and No! But for sure, it is not the New Testament. It is the Old Testament plus the tradition.

Look at the Roman Catholic Church. Where did they get their pattern? Old Testament plus pagan tradition. That is not the New Testament Faith. It is the mixture of Jewish faith and pagan faith which they call Christianity.

The Protestant churches also followed the Roman Catholic Church in that tradition.

The Roman Catholic Church patterns its leadership on the priesthood of the Old Testament. Where can we find in the New Testament especially in the epistles of Paul that the leaders are called “priests”?

The Roman Catholic Church and the Protestants and even the so-called “Bible believers” today pattern “church” not in the Bible, not in the Pauline tradition but in human tradition.

What is their Scriptural basis in erecting buildings? We can not find one in the New Testament. They get their verse in the Old Testament.

Exodus 25:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.

Exodus 25:3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass.

For what were the offerings? For the building of the tabernacle!

They needed tabernacle then. Then later, in Solomon’s time, the Lord commanded him to build a temple where they will worship God and bring offerings to the Lord.

But during the time of the Lord Jesus Christ, what happened?

Matthew 24:

1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

The Lord Jesus told his disciples, that THE BUILDINGS OF THE TEMPLE WOULD BE DESTROYED! There shll not be left there one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

When will it happen, they asked? Matthew 24: 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Look at what the Lord Jesus replied to them regarding the destruction of the temple in Luke 21:5-33

5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said,

6 As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?

8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.

13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:

15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.

18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.

19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;

30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.

31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

The destruction of the temple and the end of the world (Jewish age) happened at 70 A.D. 40 years after Jesus said these words. After a generation! Yes Jesus came to judge Jerusalem by destroying it through the Roman Armies.

The old heaven and earth did pass away! The old order of worship passed away!

The Lord Jesus came and he never left us!

He destroyed the old system of worship which required the use of the temple. But now, we are the temple. We don’t need a temple. We are the temple.

Ephesians 2: 19-22

19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Israel became Lo-ammi which means no more God’s people. He does not need a physical people or race. He has now built and created his house – which is the Church of the Living God – the Church which is HIS BODY (Ephesians 1:22-23) “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;” (Colossians 1:18-19)

We are now living in the dispensation of the grace of God given to Paul the apostle of the Gentiles. Ephesians 3: 1-9

1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward:

3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

And during this dispensation, we experience the riches of his glory Colossians 1:7 “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” And we are “COMPLETE IN HIM” (Colossians 2:10)

The worship of the New Testament people is not based on the Jewish faith and the pagan faith which require the use of buildings and sacrifices. We today worship in simple ways… no sacrifices…no offerings…no buildings.

We edify one another through teaching and exhortation. We call it Bible study. There is also singing of hymns and Scriptural songs.

Ephesians 5:17-21 “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

God’s leaders in today’s church are not the priests. They are not even the “pastors”. For the church of today is not called “the Flock”. The Flock or the Sheep was Israel and not the Body of Christ. That was what I believed before, that we are the Sheep and we are the Flock. I came to that belief because of my opposition to dispensationalism’s TWO PEOPLE theory – Israel and the Body of Christ. Dispensationalists teach that there will be a restoration for the Jewish people. But I couldn’t think of any reason, why after the Lord broke down the middle wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles, he will still erect the middle wall again in the future, making a distinction again. So I agreed with the reformed theology’s ONE PEOPLE theory, making the Body of Christ as the Flock, that the Church is now the SPIRITUAL ISRAEL.

But as I studied and studied again, I found out that the CHURCH today is NOT the flock for only Israel when there was still Israel was the FLOCK of God. But today, during this dispensation, there is no more Israel, so there is no more FLOCK to pastor. The Church which is his body is not the flock/sheep because it is the combination of Jews and Gentiles in ONE BODY, now their identities are erased. Their identity today is only CHRIST’S. They are IN CHRIST. “Christ is all and in all” (Colossians 3:11).

Israel was the flock and the flock needs a pastor or shepherd. The Lord was Israel’s Shepherd (Psalm 23:1). And Israel as the flock had shepherds/pastors which were UNDERSHEPHERDS. They were called PASTORS. And pastors were the ones feeding and leading the flock of God.

But today there is no more need for pastors. Why? Because pastors were for the flock and there is no more flock today. Secondly, the gifts including the gift of pastors have ceased since the completion of God’s revelation when Paul the apostle wrote his last epistle (Colossians 1:25).

And now we have the Complete Scriptures: 2 Timothy 3:15-17 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Before gifts were given for the “perfecting of the saints” (Ephesians 4:12) but now “All Scripture is given …that the man of God (the Body of Christ) may be perfect”. The Completed Scripture replaced the gifts.

So now, we don’t need PASTORS. We have the WORD OF GOD Completed! Does it mean, the Bible will automatically talk and teach us? No! When we study privately, the Lord is teaching us through the Bible prayerfully. But when it comes to corporate worship, we need leaders. Who are these leaders? These leaders are teachers. These leaders and teachers are called “BISHOPS”.

Titus 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;

1 Timtohy 3: 1-7 outlines the qualifications of a bishop

1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

The leaders of the house churches are called bishops. They are assisted by deacons (Philippians 1:1). Only these two are the offices of the church. The office of a bishop (1 Timothy 3:1) and the office of a deacon (1 Timothy 3:10).

The qualifications to be a bishop and a deacons must be that they are elders. “Ordain elders” (Titus 1:5) as Paul told Titus. Ordain elders into the office of a bishop and deacon. Being an elder does not mean you’ve got an office. There is no such thing as “office of an elder”. Being an elder or spiritual maturity is not an office but a qualification. The elders that rule well and labour in the word and doctrine are the bishops (1 Timothy 5:17).

A bishop is not an overseer of a diocese or of a provincial church or of a national church. A bishop, rather is an overseer of a house church!

A church does not need to be 20 or 30 people to be a church! We can not find that in the Bible. Whether there are 5 or more or 10 people gathering as an assembly with its bishops, then it is a church. It is the Body of Christ.

And it does not need to be registered under the S.E.C. to be called a church. Our highest authority is not the Government but the Bible. The Government’s authority is only over the secular matters, but regarding the spiritual matters, the Bible is the authority. The Bible’s authority is even higher than the Government. The Bible is the Word of the King! Where the word of a king is, there is power! (Ecclesiastes 8:4)

This church is a simple church. A practical church. No dress code. Just make it modest and orderly (1 Timothy 2:9; 1 Cor 14:33). It is a relational church. An informal church. It is not a traditional church or a religion. For Christianity is NOT a religion. It is a living relationship with Jesus Christ.

What do we do in the house church? We sing, we pray, we thank God, we study, we share, we serve one another.

There is no more need to spend thousands and millions of pesos into the erecting of church buildings! We have homes. We have houses. We can gather everywhere. For the house church is a mobile church. It is a growing church. It is an action church. It is not stagnant.

Where must we spend our thousands and millions? Instead of spending them in the church buildings, spend them for the propagation of the doctrine of the Bible, for the winning of souls, for the establishment of many many more house churches, for the training of bishops and deacons, and for the support of Bible teachers and ministers. That is the godly way to invest.

Church in the house or House Church. That is what we are. We are now living in the Age of Grace. We are not under the law. We have now Christ’s ever abiding presence. Christ in you the hope of glory. We have now the completed Bible, the King James Version. We are complete in Christ. Wow!

We don’t need religion or a denomination. No need to affiliate to any denomination. Denomination is not God’s idea. It is still a human tradition not supported by the Bible. The head of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ. Every local assembly is directly under the headship of Christ. The bishops are only ministers of Christ. They are not head, but they are in the head….they are the eyes (overseers). They are the mouth (speakers). But they re not the head. For the head is One, that is Christ.

Why not try the house church? It is Biblical and practical.

Grace to all of you!