Jesus’ Intention for the Church By Isaac Arikawe - Part 2

A true church is one whose revolutionary impact is first 

felt within her immediate community.

"There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek in Dorcas) she was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor”

(Acts 9:46)

Without doubt, Jesus of Nazareth still remains the most popular and influential personality that ever lived on the surface of the earth. Many people in the world have either at one time or the other heard about Him. This does not necessarily mean all those who have heard about Him believed in the work of His sacrifice for humanity, but somehow they must have heard about His name.

History records that Jesus, though He was God in nature, lived among men; he dined and wined with men. He related with all kinds of people: families, disciples, Jews, the poor and the rich, religious leaders, politicians, etc. He also worked with Joseph (his earthly father) as a carpenter. This means that He was dealing with His father's clients as well. History shows that He studied and practiced even the Jewish culture and religious laws; He studied the administration of nations, life-styles of people, languages of every sector, etc. to the extent that it became so paramount in His teachings. He used the words, languages and events that people could easily relate with and understand to teach the messages of God's kingdom.

On many occasions, Jesus taught and corrected the people's impression by quoting the books of the law and the prophets (the Old Testament). If He had not studied these things, He would not have been quoting them as references while teaching. For examples, in order to describe the relevance of the people of the Kingdom, he likened them to salt and light, things that people relate with every day (Matthew 5:13-16). He taught on the subject of divorce by first quoting from the Law of Moses, found in Deuteronomy 24:1. He quoted it accurately for them before He then set forth the teachings of the new dispensation (Matthew 5:31-32). He dealt with issues of temperament. He redefined who a murderer is contrary to what the Law of Moses explained it to be based on its standard of judgment and righteousness. He was saying that in the New Testament, merely calling someone a fool or an idiot is equivalent to murder. He established this by quoting from Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:17 and Matt. 5:21-22. All these are to establish to us that He made correction by first studying what people believed in and lived by.

Let us take another case as the last on Jesus' interaction with this world- its operating system, people and their various cultures. In Matthew 8:5-13, Jesus met a Roman officer- a controller of soldiers- who had a very sick servant and requested Jesus' assistance in making him well.  In the course of their discussion, Jesus discovered a great virtue in this Roman officer. He declared that he had never seen his kind of faith, not even among the people of Israel who claimed that the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were their fathers. What we can see in the established principles in the above scriptures is that Jesus dealt with people from all backgrounds and cultures. Although He was a Jew, He understood Romans more than the citizens of Rome. Little wonder He could borrow terminologies from other languages and cultures.

JESUS BORROWED THE TERM “CHURCH”

Jesus was on earth for a defined mission, which was to preach the gospel of the kingdom and destroy the works of hell. Throughout the scriptures, His message centered round “the Gospel of the kingdom of God” (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; Mark 1:14-15). He declared His mission statement saying, “I must preach the kingdom of God in other towns too because for this pur pose I have been sent” (Luke 4:43 NKJV). In order to make His vision and mission clear to the people, Jesus decided to borrow words and terminologies from natural phenomena and from the people's cultures. He likened the church to things like salt, light, etc.

Moreover, it should no longer be a subject of argument to ask if  people were familiar with the word “church” (ekklesia/ assembly) before the days of  Jesus; otherwise, there would have been a need for the listeners to ask questions on the meaning of each word that sounded strange to them in order to have a clear understanding. If this were the case, He himself would have told them beforehand what the word(s) might mean. This is to prevent the listeners from getting confused and the essence of His message being misunderstood.

“I will build my Church”

“Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means 'rock), and upon this rock (of revelation) I will build my church and all the powers of  hell (gates of Hades) will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid (bind or lock) on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit (loose or open) on earth will be permitted in heaven. 

(Matthew 16:18-19)

If for instance I decide that I am going to design my own car, what will that suggest to you?  Does it suggests to you that I am going to manufacture a particular brand of car similar to what I have seen somewhere else? Or does it suggest to you that I want to design something that eyes have never seen on earth before so that I could call it my own branded car? If you are still thinking of what to answer, then pause for a minute and interpret the statement based on your own understanding.

The truth is this, when I say, “I am going to design my own car,” these are some of the things that it could suggest to you:

·I must have seen a sample of something called a car before.

· I must have understood the purpose and the functions of a car

· I must have had a clear understanding of the ability and capacity of the already existing type of car.

· I must have been aware of the efficiency and limits of the already existing car.

- I must have discovered the shortcoming, deficiency or challenges of the already designed car.

With all these said above, there must be functions or something I must have discovered which I need or which I am looking for in a car that the already existing car(s) does not possess. Therefore, if I have a genuine purpose in designing another brand of car, the questions below must be taken into consideration:

What do I really need in a car?

What capacity and ability am I looking for?

Also, if the one I am planning to design will not be better in any sense of judgment compared to the already existing one, it does not make any sense re- designing another brand of car.

Let us not forget that it was the statement of Jesus, “I will build my church” that led us to the case study above for our proper understanding as we proceed in this journey.

At this juncture, I do not know the part you belong to, whether we share the same or different opinions. The truth of this is the fact that there were churches (assemblies) that Jesus saw before concluding that he would build His own kind of  church (Assembly/ ekklesia), the kind that has never been seen in the world before then. This is a church with a different “technology,” to be “configured” or built with the best “software” that can never be corrupted by the system of this world. It is a church with an in-built anti-virus that is competent of handling or subduing any “virus” from the pit of hell.

It is imperative that you bear in mind that there were also other churches apart from the Roman government, such as the church (assembly) of Israelite (God's people) in the wilderness.

“The Lord gave me the two tablets on which God had written with his own finger all the words he had spoken to you from the heart of the fire when you were assembled at the Mountain” 

(Deuteronomy 9:10).

Other versions like King James Version concluded the last part of this scripture with “… out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the assembly.”

We could see the nature and deficiency of this kind of church when we read down to Deuteronomy. 9:12. “Then the Lord said to me, 'Get up! Go down immediately, for the people (ekklesia) you brought out of Egypt have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted gold and made an idol for themselves?”

The classes of the assemblies we have seen so far could not fit into the technology that Jesus was planning to invent, that is, His own kind of  church, which will rule over the earth, establishing the kingdom of the Father. This was the primary point of all his teachings and messages, the assembly that will judge the devil on earth by their operating system (lifestyle and dominion). The kind of church Jesus was talking about building was the kind that the prophet Obadiah saw and declared thousands of years before Jesus came.

“And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's” (Obadiah Vs 21 KJV)

There are four major words to be considered in the passage above:  The Saviours, Zion, Esau and Kingdom. We shall look at these words one after the other.

Saviours: This is plural and it tells us that it was not referring to Jesus. This also means that the era of one-man-show has gone. The emphasis of heaven today is corporate anointing- the assembly. It is not the kind of assembly where God will be speaking to Pastor Moses alone in the wilderness while the congregation will be completely alienated from hearing God. God is raising the assembly of Joshua, where everybody will be involved in taking the battle to the gates of the enemy.  (See Joshua 3:5-6, 13).

Jesus would not have made mistake by saying He was going to build His own kind of Church that will show the world the express image and power of God and show the kingdom of darkness the manifold wisdom of God.  It is by this that He will bring the whole earth to the Lordship and worship of our God - as the main function of king and priest, which was the level Jesus was targeting for the kind of assembly (church) he was planning to build. This will not be for the priests (pastors), a particular set of people alone but every member of the assembly. This was the revelation Peter caught:

“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a royal priests (every member of the assembly) a holy nation; God's very own possession (My church). As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Don't forget that ekklesia (the church) means the assembly and also the “called out.”

(1 Peter 2:9)

Zion: In considering the second key word from Obadiah verse 21, we find the word Zion. Zion in the spirit typifies the assembly of the saints, the people of God; the redeemed, which can also be called the church.  What Jesus had in mind in redesigning the concept and the technology of the church was to raise men (saviours) from this assembly that will present the true values of God on earth and stand as a singular standard that will pull down the works of the enemy.

Esau: The third keyword is Esau. The Mount of Esau stands for the mount of wickedness, corruption and perverse generation. When everything would have been put under control, the Kingdom, which is the fourth key, will come to stay. It was the same prophetic future (insight), which God opened the eyes of John to see; that it shall come to pass when Jesus' kind of Church is built on earth, the kingdoms of this world shall become the Lord's.

“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven. The world has now become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.” 

(Revelations 11:15).

Beloved, I believe the Holy Spirit would have illuminated your hearts to a point where you should now agree and see that

Jesus had a distinctive picture in mind as regards the type of church he wanted to build compared to the existing ones on earth. It may be the Romans', which are political and subject to human influences and a specific geographical location   the Roman Territories or the church in the wilderness that could not withstand corruption. 

The “technology” Jesus had in mind to establish in the church in order to demonstrate the full dominion on earth without any geographical barriers has not been seen on earth for now. We shall proceed to look at the full content of Jesus' kind of church and other churches (assemblies) as the Spirit of the Lord would grant us deeper revelation.

Kingdom: The word “kingdom” derives its meaning from two important words: 'king' and 'domain'. The word 'king' talks about rulership, dominion, authority, power and governance. In the same vein, the word 'domain' defines territories, boundaries, locations, realms etc. Kingdom is far bigger than church. Kingdom refers to the entire realm of God's creation, where rulership and authority are needed; it may be physical or spiritual. When the saviours shall arise and take their full responsibilities in all facets of life, globally, then the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.