The Institutional Church has become a colossal failure. The reason is that its inception came from a pagan, Constantine The Great in circa 343 A.D. and because it is not how churches from 33-100 A.D. operated. The Church from the beginning was threatened with persecution, this is evidence by the decision to create a commune for Christians, "And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had (in common). They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need." (Acts 2:44-45). The Early Church was forced to pull their resources together because of an edict by the Cesar to confiscate Christian lands. To curb losses, Christians sold their estates and properties and put them in pool or joint fund to build a community. It is because Ananias and Sapphira held back money, that God killed them (Acts 5:1-11). Their offense was blaspheming the Holy Spirit and withholding the holdings they promised to Christian community; others had given all they had for the good of all believers, but Ananias and Sapphira held some back for their own greedy gain.
We are told in a few verses later, that Early Christians met at Temple and in houses, "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:46-47), "Every day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ," (Acts 5:42), "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." (Acts 2:42)," and "With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart," (Acts 2:46). Many pastors will defend Constantine Institutional churches with this verse, citing, "everyday they met at the temple courts." This emboldens those who want a church building, convincing them they are in the right, but the reality historically is that the church met at Temple courts to get access to the scrolls of the Old Testament. Unlike in the time of Martin Luther with the printing press, or our own time with world wide internet, people did not have access to the Scriptures like people have had since 1600-2016 A.D. The Apostles and their Churches had to go to the Temple in Jerusalem and synagogues to get hold of the prophecies about Jesus Christ in Isaiah (53), Jeremiah, Zachariah, Daniel, the Pslams, and more. (see an example of this behavior in Acts 17:11
The breaking of bread in their homes and eating together was on Sundays (Resurrection Day, see Acts 20:7), and this included the Communion (Eucharist, Lord's Supper) of the Bread and Wine, as well as what Jews still call a communal meal. House churches were safest and most common set up, especially as the persecution against Christians grew (Acts 12:2) and it became dangerous to meet in public places like the temple courts. The Apostle Paul attests to house churches, "Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house," (Colossians 4:15) and gives instruction, "What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two--or at the most three--should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God. Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said. But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord, the one who is speaking must stop. this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged. Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can take turns. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace--as in all the congregations of the Lord's people." (1 Corinthians 14:26-34). Notice the Constantinian and Institutional (liturgical) church set up is not mentioned. There is no separation, with priests or pastors doing the work of teaching or prophesying, while the laity sits and listens; but rather the entire church participates! This is what was different about the early church, each member was important and contributed via The Holy Spirit.
It is important to understand that the House Church was God's intention all along, and that the building, a temple, and massive structure was never what the Lord desired. The prophet Samuel answers Solomon who wants to build the temple, David envisaged. Solomon probably thinks he is fulfillment of what Samuel says about a descendant of David establishing the temple, but Samuel is actually talking about the coming of the Savior Jesus Christ. Here is the account, "When King David was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, the king summoned Nathan the prophet. "Look," David said, "I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!" Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you." But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:
"Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. I have always moved from one place to another with a tent and a Tabernacle as my dwelling. Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel's tribal leaders, the shepherds of my people Israel. I have never asked them, "Why haven't you built me a beautiful cedar house?""Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning. and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever." (2 Samuel 7:1-13). Those last verses about Jesus Christ, Solomon did not reign forever, but the Savior Jesus Christ does at right hand of the Father (). It is evident that the Almighty had not desire for temple or building of stone, which was a pagan custom, and the God of Israel wanted to set himself apart from idols. The spirit Constantine the Great had was the one that filled David with ambition to build a temple, and we discover in New Testament that the Lord Jesus wants no church temple or building either, "And our fathers who received it brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations God drove out before them. It remained until the time of David. But it was Solomon who built the house for Him. However, the Most High doesn't live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says, is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?' asks the LORD. 'Could you build me such a resting place? Didn't my hands make both heaven and earth? "You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That's what your ancestors did, and so do you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn't persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One--the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it." (Acts 7:46-53). It is abundantly clear that the Trinity had no desire for a temple of stone and mortar, but instead as the prophet Nathan was told by the Lord Himself, would be established by the Messiah, "LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever." (2 Samuel 7:12-13). Jesus did this by being crucified outside the Temple grounds, "And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore." (Hebrews 13:12-13). Jesus died to create a new temple, a new house, his people, Christians!, "Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16), "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own," (1 Corinthians 6:19), "But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God's entire house. And we are God's house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ," (Hebrews 3:6), "What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people," (2 Corinthians 6:16), "In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit," (Ephesians 2:21-22), "so that, if I am delayed, you will know how each one must conduct himself in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth," (1 Timothy 3:15), "You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ," (Romans 8:9), "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me," (Galatians 2:20), "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test," (2 Corinthians 13:5-6). It is evident that we, Christian believers, are God's house and temple, and this is the fulfillment of what the prophet Nathan was told in 2 Samuel 7, and is emphasized by Stephan the Martyr in Acts 7.
A shaking is happening, where many churches that have been in public eye and have a building, cathedral, and chapel are moving to ordinary houses. As persecution strips down the Constantine cathedrals and steeples through the Chinese officials and sickles of ISIS, we see the hand of the Almighty Trinity at work! It is my opinion that the future of Christ's church lies not in ruins of Constantine's cathedral, but in the houses of church members. I believe the Protestant Reformation did not do enough. We received the Holy Scriptures and broke ties with Rome, but we failed to rid ourselves of last vestiges of Constantine's corrupt church model. This is why I believe Jesus Christ is using Governments and Terrorist groups like ISIL/ISIS to destroy the church buildings, and push Christians back into the home, where the church belongs. ISIS became famous by conquering Iraq, which is modern day Babylon, and it was Nebuchadnezzar who with his Babylonian armies destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple (2 Kings 25), just as the Roman Titus would in 70 A.D. destroy the Second Temple. We see that God Almighty wants the building to be destroyed. He dwells in His people, Christians now, and has no need of stone, wood, or other material buildings. I believe there is a circle going on in history, that "as it was in beginning, so it shall be in the end," and this is testified by Jesus who says, "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:37). As it was in the days of the Church in Acts, so it shall be in the Last Days when the Alpha and Omega is returning. The Church shall be as it should always have stayed, in houses and the only house of the Most High God being the bodies and souls of His people (1 Corinthians 3:16).
The Church has been captive to Constantine's model of the pagan church. The time has come for us to return to meeting in houses. This will create some important bonuses for Christian community. Firstly, it creates intimacy. If you eat together and spend time visiting each Sunday in one another's houses you feel closer because you know what each other's daily living quarters looks like (part of your life) and setting isn't as formal, but more conduscive to friendship.
Secondly, it is safer to meet in the home. As persecution increases, and dangers abound, it will be harder to slaughter the saints if they never meet in same place every Sunday, and especially if their meeting place is in ordinary looking homes, than giant cathedrals or church buildings that make big targets for terrorism and government regulations.
Thirdly, in semetic cultures eating together is a sign of bonding and true peace; you cannot easily eat with those you are angry with, and often the first thing Israelis ask about peace talks is "are they eating together?" Eating in Middle Eastern culture shows you trust the person and that all is well between you because you can stomach eating with them; its a sign of intimacy or closeness.
Fourthly, meeting in homes allows the Gifts of Holy Spirit to move more freely (see 1 Corinthians 12). Paul mentioned earlier about people "coming with hymns (songs), prophesies, and even tongues and having interpretors." Most mainline churches will not allow these gifts to move, and yet St. Paul command each member be able to participate in them! A massive building of six hundred to thousands of people makes this impossible, and so if churches meet in smaller groups in houses, it allows for enough time for each to prophesy, speak in a tounge and interpret, and more.
Fifthly, meeting in houses saves money. Instead of having to heat, provide electricity, hire security, and renovate a giant church building, each member of larger Church (Fold) maintains their own daily homes and meets together in the small groups and churches (Flock). Rather than having church members have to support a giant building in addition to their own lodgings: mortagages and rent for their own homes, they merely pay for their own homes which each become houses of worship and were they live the rest of six days of week. This allows the funds that would have gone to maintaining a building, go to other needs like a brother's medical bills as he is treated for cancer, a sister who needs money for day care because she is single mother who works, and more.
Sixthly, house churches produce a greater amount of saved converts than the giant cathedrals. In China alone, conversions in house churches is growing so exponentially, that many house churches are having to break into more house churches, so that there is enough room! In contrast, Constantine's Church remains almost empty, with only the frozen chosen attending liturgy.
Seventhly, house churches can avoid the messy scrapes over social issues like Gay marriage, Gay bishops, Transgender bathrooms, Abortions, Contraceptives, and more. Because the church is in individual houses, rather than an institution that can be controlled by government via discrimination laws, the house churches can hold fast to Truth of the Gospel, and not compromise the convictions they have. The Government is unable to enforce a house church of indiviudals to provide contraceptive or appoint a gay pastor via descrimiantion laws, because the house church is private group and not an institution.
Many will oppose the move back to the house churches on the grounds that they require a temple to meet in. There are pastors that say, "people do not trust, unless there is building." These same leaders want to keep Constantine relic alive, so that they can enjoy the control and power they have had for 1900+ years. Jesus said, "But, as for you, desire not to be called Rabbi, for one is your Master, the Christ; and you are all brothers.And don't address anyone here on earth as 'Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ." (Matthew 23:8-10). The Early Church had no ecclesia, everyone in the congregation was a priest, "But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9). Everyone who confess Jesus is God and believes He was raised from dead is a priest! It was Constantine that instiuted a pagan priesthood concept, a return to Levite priesthood that is obsolete (see Hebrews 5:1-10, Hebrews 8:4-7). There are certain gifts of leadership in church, but they are not exlusive to one man or woman, while rest of church remains spectators, the Apostle Paul says these gifts of leadership are, "And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues," (1 Corinthians 12:28) and "Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers." (Ephensians 4:11, NLT). When you look in Greek, these offices are gifts, not positions, but giftings. Some have leadership gifts, so certainly anarchy and chaos are not what Christ wants, "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace--as in all the congregations of the Lord's people." (1 Corinthians 14:33). The problem however, is that many pastors and priests out of seminary treat their role as position akin to Congressman, President, and Judge; when leadership is a gifting not a post and position that allows them to lord over and marginalize the rest of flock!
A good leader is more of an overseer, administrator, and facilitator, who helps the house church function with equality regarding time and turn. As Paul said, "But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord, the one who is speaking must stop. this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged." (1 Corinthians 14:30-31). The Facilator acts as one who helps this happen, by keeping "disorder" at bay. The trick is that adminstrators should help each church member partake and particupate, and curb confusion when it arises. Sadly, most seminarian pastors and priests do the opposite, seeking to monopolize teaching time, revelation sharing, and prophesying to themselves. This is another flaw of Constantinian Instituional Church set up, the leaders do not facilitate and help churches particupate in what the Apostle Paul lays out in 1 Corinthians 14, but instead choose to hold members captive, keeping them from growing in Christ.
I believe the answer to The Future of Christ's Church is found in the Past churches of Acts. The time has come to return to the home, and stop propping up the old system of Constantine. Christ is forcing this as the climate of persecution grows. When many would hesitate leaving the cathedral and system of Constantine, Christ has provided the impetus and push to get those who hestitate back in the homes; this push is persecution. It is time for Churches in America to understand that the Instituion is finished, and that we need to return to the intimacy of the home church. Many are already on board with G3 groups and other programs that take people clinging to the cathedral and church building, and slowly adapt them to the home setting. While this is a noble transition phase, we must be prepared at any moment to leave the frescos, steeples, and candles of the cathedrals for Christ's church in the home. Better yet, we should transition now before persecution forces the matter.
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