God that made the world, and all things that are therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands. Acts 17:24
Everywhere you look there are church buildings – to the small country church, to large auditoriums with sophisticated architecture. It is not at all uncommon in some areas in the US (like in the south) to find 4 to 6 (sometimes more) “churches” on one city block. Although God repeatedly tells us in His Word that He does not reside in anything made with human hands, we refuse to believe Him. As a matter of fact, we insist that He must be wrong. We are adamant that He needs our “church building” in order to properly worship Him. We still worship Him as the Jews did in the Old Testament, and refute the biblical fact that Jesus has replaced the temples of the past. We discount that Jesus clearly said that we are now in Him, and we are as “living stones.” What we have created and understand to be “church” is found nowhere in Scripture.
We attributed an air of mysticism, and spiritual preeminence to the buildings we erect. It does not matter how large or small the building is, or what it is made of (brick, glass, wood; vinyl siding) – we deem spiritual attributes to it. We insist God is more preeminent inside this thing we have built with our own hands – as opposed to outside of it. If you happened to say it’s the people inside the building that matters, then it is also true that it is the people outside the building that matters. Two or more believers… Any deference to the building is deemed sacrilegious. Yet we continue to believe that somehow God is honored by our idolatry and our ignorance to His Word.
Steeples reach into the sky as if arms outstretched out to Heaven. Most church buildings have either a steeple or a cross on top to symbolize this. Everything inside, from the pews, the altar, the pulpit, the hymnals, are viewed as possessing spiritual qualities in and of themselves. We attribute an element of mysticism to the actual objects themselves – we see these inanimate objects as “holy things.” The sanctuaries we produce with our own hands is deemed holy and reverent. We have now replaced the synagogues of the past, with our own building, our own rituals, and our own observances. It is nothing but idolatry to believe that being subjected to a person with a religious title, or a building, or certain religious acts are required for our relationship with God. We refuse to accept God’s Word that Jesus through His death replaced all of these things – only because we do not want to believe it.
The whole process, the “church” itself and its rituals are seen as spiritual entities. We have been led to believe that the man or woman preaching up front has a special anointing of the Holy Spirit, and must somehow know more spiritually than we do. No one can pass their anointing to another person – (a mystical concept) often promoted by “church leaders.” Many falsely assert that they are able to maintain a mystical “covering” over their followers – if you will, like an umbrella of protection. It is a false teaching. We revere our “church leaders” – we IDOLIZE them. We have unequivocally allowed them to usurp Christ’s lordship in our lives. As far as the sermon – the pastor or priest must come up with one, regardless whether an individual hears from the Holy Spirit or not. Come Sunday (or whatever day for that matter) – there’s going to be a sermon.
Charles Newbold writes, “The word church, as we use it, speaks of an illegal, unholy mystical union which embodies buildings, institutions, denominations, and people. These have been so fused and confused with each other that they perpetuate the dangerous lie that this Thing we call church (buildings, institutions, denominations, and the people associated with them) is Christ’s assembly of called-out-ones. This Thing we call church looks good in its outward appearance, but is often inwardly controlled by men and women ambitiously, often unknowingly, seeking something for themselves.”
In the Old Testament ritual observances typified worship in every area of life. Animal sacrifice, the burning of incense, attendance at the temple and other rigors were imposed on the people of Israel. God’s Word, however; tells us that all of this were but shadows of the worship to come in the New Covenant. “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ (Colossians 2:16-18).” But men in their carnal natural has still maintained the law with a mix of old traditions and the new. The True Church is us – it is a way of life. It is not a show, or a sermon by a priest or pastor, nor a musical performance, or groups and activities, all with men dictating and sanctioning times of worship by pre-programming the Holy Spirit.
In the Old Testament, the High Priest was in authority over the men who entered the temple. They remained separate from the other Jews, and this same aura of mystery, tradition, and authority has now been adopted by today’s priest/pastors. We are enamored by those with this false “spiritual authority.” The sanctuary or platform from which they preach, is typically elevated on some level above the ground where their followers sit. It is not just about giving the audience an unobstructed view – there is a great deal of symbolism involved. This elevation symbolizes the hierarchical, authoritarian relationship which is not from God Almighty, but instead is spawned out of the rules and traditions of man.
Wake up! Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church. There is no other – men no longer have authority over other men. Men no longer have preeminence over other men in the Body of Christ. And rest assured, in the original scriptures there was no such thing as men holding an office – that life form developed out of Catholicism. In the original Scriptures, the word “office” nor anything with such a meaning ever existed. We will discuss later how the elders in the New Testament did not rule and have authority over believers. They literally were elders – older and trusted men in the community. The elders were guides and led by example – they did not “lord” over the believers who trusted them.
Can you find one occurrence in the New Testament books were “worship” in the ceremonial/specific sense (going to a specific place to worship) was required of followers of Christ? The answer is no. In Old Testament, God only dwelt in temples built with human hands because the Holy Spirit had not yet resided within believers. In the New Testament, we see a move away from ceremony to where every believer in the Body of Christ is a priest. We now have direct access to God the Father through the Holy Spirit. For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law (Hebrews 7:12).
We are still operating under the law. Now, the “church system” is in exact opposition of what Jesus commanded us to do in the New Testament. Not only does God no longer require a mediator between us and Him – He forbids it. For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and man, which is the man Christ Jesus, (1 Timothy 2:5). Protestants, this is not referring to just the Catholic priest – it is referring to any man or woman who places themselves in a position of authority over another believer. Jesus is our only spiritual authority, but for most that is not good enough. Your failure to see this is rooted in your friendship with the world.