The Church of God and The Fellowship of the Mystery

1 Corinthians 1:

1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

 2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Apostle.

Paul the apostle was called by God to be an apostle. Apostle means “one sent forth”. Paul was writing to the “church of God” which is at Corinth. And they are described as “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints”.  The church of God was also “in every place” and composed of “all that call upon the name of Jesus Christ”.

Church of God

What is “church”?  The word church means “of the Lord” or “Lord’s” as used in the “Lord’s supper” and “Lord’s day”. In Greek “Lord’s” is kyriakon.  So it describes to whom the church belonged to. The english word church is a translation of the Greek word “Ekklesia”. This word means “called out ones” from Greek words “klesis” (calling) from “kaleo” (to call) and “ek” (out). It is also from the Hebrew word “qahal” which means “to call to be assembled”. That is why this word “church” means “the called out assembly”. And if we add “of God”, it is “the assembly called out by God”.

Called out from darkness.

If the church of God was the called out assembly of God, from where did God call them out? Go out from where?

First Peter can help us be enlightened about this:

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Peter the apostle told those people that God “CALLED” them “OUT” from “DARKNESS” into his marvelous “LIGHT”.  Therefore God called out of darkness to assemble into the light. What is that darkness then?

Acts 26: 17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

 18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

To Paul the apostle was given this apostleship to open the eyes of the people and the Gentiles to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance. The people (Judah) and the Gentiles (nations).

Those people and the Gentiles were in darkness and they must be called out from that darkness into God’s marvellous light and be assembled together as the Church of God.

What is that darkness where they were in?

Isaiah 60: 1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

 2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

 3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

 4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

 5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

That darkness where they were in was the darkness of being alienated from the Lord. What happened?

Let us go back to 1st Peter in order to see, to whom Peter was writing his letters.

1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

The Scattered tribes of Israel

Peter was writing to the “STRANGERS SCATTERED” throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Who were these “SCATTERED” people?

James 1: 1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

These scattered people were the “TWELVE TRIBES” scattered abroad in different nations. These were “ISRAELITES”. Why were they scattered abroad as strangers?

Hosea 8:8 Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.

Why did Israel became Gentiles and among the Gentiles as vessel wherein is no pleasure?

Hosea 1: 9 Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.

Israel was called “Lo-ammi”  (not my people) and became no more God’s people because of adultery. Why adultery? That’s idolatry. Israel was turned from being GOD”S PEOPLE into being NOT GOD’S PEOPLE. Israel was “NOT RECKONED AMONG THE NATIONS” (Numbers 23:9) but because of her idolatry she was stripped of her right and became NOT GOD’S PEOPLE, therefore were GENTILES.

Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

Ezekiel 36:19 And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.

Israel was scattered among the nations and became part of these nations who have no covenant with God. But God planned to bring them back together through the New Covenant.

These people who were scattered abroad among  the nations were the 12 tribes of Israel. Remember that not all the tribes returned to the land after their captivity. Only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah with some of the Levites (Ezra 1:2-6).  The other ten tribes did not return. Where were they? They were in diaspora. Not even everyone in the tribes of Benjamin and Judah returned. So there were those who were scattered among the nations and became Gentiles. That’s why James said “twelve tribes scattered abroad”.

The Israelites who returned to Palestine were called “Jews” (Esther 3:6,10,13; 2 Kings 16:6). But the Israelites who did not return to the land were called “Gentiles” and “Greeks”. They were swallowed up among the Gentiles and forgot their restingplace (Jeremiah 50:6).

The Jews and Gentiles

In the New Testament, these Israelites were the dispersed among the Gentiles and were Gentiles.

John 7:35 Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?

These were also the “Spartans” or “Lacedemonians” in 1 Maccabees 12: 19-21   

 “And this is the copy of the letters which Oniares sent. Areus king of the Lacedemonians to Onias the high priest, greeting: It is found in writing, that the Lacedemonians and Jews are brethren, and that they are of the stock of Abraham:”

The Jews and Spartans were brethren and of the same family of Abraham.

Paul and Peter wrote and ministered to the children of Israel scattered abroad, the Gentiles. These were the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. These were the Romans, the Corinthians, the Galatians, the Thessalonians, the Philippians, the Hebrews.

The Jews were those Israelites in the land. The Gentiles were the Israelites scattered abroad as strangers. They were the two nations that God wanted to gather as one fold under One Shepherd and One King (Ezekiel 37:19-28; John 10:16). And this was fulfilled through the New Covenant of Christ to the house of Israel and house of Judah (Hebrews 8:10-13).

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

In Romans 11, when Paul was talking about Israel, he was talking about Judah (the people).  And when he was talking about Gentiles he was talking about the scattered Israelites.

Blindness in part is happened to Israel (Jewish nation) until the fulness of the Gentiles (the other ten tribes) be come in. And so ALL ISRAEL (those in the land and those scattered) shall be saved. These were fulfilled through the New Covenant when Christ Jesus Israel’s Saviour came.

The Fullness of The Gentiles.

Take note of the “fullness of the Gentiles”. These Gentiles were not “non-Israelites” although there are Gentiles who are non-Israelites.

Genesis 48:19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

This was a prophecy to Ephraim that his seed shall become a MULTITUDE OF NATIONS. These were Gentiles. Look at Revelation. In Revelation 7, the tribe of Ephraim was not included for Ephraim was “multitude of nations”.

Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

Therefore the Gentiles were those Israelites who were not Jews but were Israelites and Hebrews scattered among the nations. The fullness of the Gentiles came in and they became the Church of God or the New Covenant Church.

Mission Accomplished!

The gospel was preached to the “jew first” and then to the “Greeks” and to “every creature which is under heaven” (Colossians 1:23).

Remember that the apostles were commanded to “Go...into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15). And to “Go...and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” (Matthew 28:19). And they accomplished their mission: “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.” (Mark 16:20). They preached the gospel “beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47) to Judea and Samaria and uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).  

The promise was “unto you (Jews), and to your children, and to all that are afar off (Gentiles or scattered Israelites), even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” (Acts 2:39).

And “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”  (John 1:12,13).

The Israel of God.

There were Isrealites who did not believe the gospel. And there were those who believed. And those who believed were “born again” (John 3:7).  These were the Jews who were not only Jews outwardly but are “inwardly”.  

Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

 29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

These were the Gentiles (scattered Israelites) who were not only Israelites by blood but because they were inwardly.

Romans 9:6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:

Those Isralites (Jews and Gentiles) who did not believe were damned and they would suffer the “wrath of God to the uttermost” and that happened in 70 A.D. when God made their city and temple burned down by the Romans.

Those Israelites (Jews and Gentiles) who believed were saved and gathered into the Church of God. These were the reconciled people of God as One Body called the Body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

The Bible is the love story between God and Israel as “husband and wife”. Israel of old was the wife of the Lord. That wife became unfaithful and serve other gods (idolatry). And because God was her husband (Isaiah 54:5) her idolatry was considered as “adultery” (Jeremiah 3:8). As a consequence, Israel was put away and given a bill of divorce. She lost her right as God’s wife (or covenant people). She was exiled to the nations and became them. After that, God became a man (Christ Jesus) to save his people from their sins. Jesus died for them and he rose again. The New Covenant was established in the blood of Jesus Christ. God called Israelites in the land (Jews) and those Israelites in diaspora (Gentiles) to be gathered as one through the gospel of Jesus Christ. These people from the land and from the nations believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ and they were born again into the family of God. They were baptized by the Spirit into One Body and were called the Body of Christ. This Body of Christ was the same as the “Bride of the Lamb”, the “New Creature”, “the Israel of God”, “the New Jerusalem”. 

Not all Israelites became part of the Church of God but only those whom God called and responded through the gospel. These were those whom God has chosen to salvation “from the beginning”through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13). These were the “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:2).

This people called “the church of God” was “espoused to one husband” as a “chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2) and as a “glorious church, without spot or wrinkle” (Ephesians 5:27), “a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2).

This church suffered much tribulation (Acts 14:22) but they were not appointed to wrath, but to obtain “salvation” by our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

Caught Up to Heaven.

This church was “caught up”...to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall they be ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

The church of God, the New Jerusalem is already in heaven, married to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb, who is the Lord God Almighty himself (Revelation 1:8,11). None left behind!

What happened to Israel that did not believe?  She was the whore, the adulterous woman. God punished her and poured his wrath on this adulterous woman through the Romans in 70 A.D. Her temple and city was burned down.

Revelation 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Israel did not believe the gospel and was punished. But Israel that believed was saved, as a new creature, the Israel of God.

When the church of God was caught up to heaven, the temple of God was no more here but in heaven.

The New Heaven and The New Earth.

Revelation 21: 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

John saw a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH. Most people when reading the book of Revelation interpret this book as a literal book.  But this book is a book of signs, numbers and allegories.  The New Heaven and the New Earth are not LITERAL heaven and earth. These are symbols. 

There is a literal heaven and there is also a figurative heaven. The book of Revelation talks about both. But in Revelation 21, this heaven is not literal heaven. Heaven is where God dwells and earth symbolizes the people of God, Israel. The earth is the land.

When God says new heaven, it means the new “dwelling place of God” or the temple of God/ tabernacle of God. New earth means the “new people of God”.

The first heaven and the first earth were PASSED AWAY. Yes they were! Why? What happened?

God, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and that is Jesus Christ.  When he was incarnated, the fullness of God was dwelling in his body. Therefore the temple of God or the “tabernacle of God” when God was made flesh was the “BODY OF JESUS CHRIST” (matthew 26:61). Now, after his death and resurrection, the church his body was created. And this body, the church of God became the TEMPLE OF GOD or the TABERNACLE OF GOD.

Remember, there was the temple of God in Jerusalem even before Jesus came. God was there. But since Christ came, the presence of God was no more there even though they still had their sacrifices there. That temple stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. (Hebrews 10:10). Yes, they would do that until its destruction.  Even before its historical destruction in 70 A.D. by the Romans, Jesus Christ already judged Jerusalem and its temple “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” (Matthew 23:38).

During the Acts of the apostles, God’s temple was the church of God and not the temple in Jerusalem.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

God declared that:

Acts 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

Acts 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

God was not dwelling in the temple of Jerusalem because since Christ’s resurrection, God was dwelling in the church of God, his temple.

The new earth means “the new people of God”. Since Israel the adulteress was cast away, God created a new people and that is the church of God, the Israel of God, which according to our study was the assembly of Israelites (Jews and Gentiles) who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Messias.  It is not replacement theology because it was still Israel but the “remnant” (Romans 9:27). This was the “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16) that was “the nation bringing forth fruits to whom the kingdom was given” (Matthew 21:43).

That new heaven and new earth was the church of God and it was caught up to the third heaven and enjoying God’s everlasting covenant with her  (Hebrews 13:20).

If the church of God is no more here, then does it mean that God is no more here? No!

God was finished with Israel. And as I said before, the Bible is a love story of God and Israel and they lived happily ever after.  Now how about us who are non-Israelites?

We are not called “the church of God”. If there is the church of God, there still exists the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11) for the church was “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 2:20).

There are no more apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers today. If there are people today who call themselves as such they are not real. They are ordained only by men. If men ordained them, who gave the authority to these men?  They get only their license from the human government. They merely want “titles of honour” and to be greeted in the marketplace. 

The so-called “church” today is not the real church of God because the real church is already caught up in heaven. Every activity done in the so-called churches today is not ordained by God. No one today can claim according to the Scriptures that they are the “true” church of God or the “true” flock of God. If somebody does, that is a false claim.

The church is fulfilled. The fullness of the Gentiles came in. And that is enough.The end time was finished. We are now living in a new order. And this order is not Israel first, Gentiles next. For today is the NEW MAN “Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.”   (Colossians 3:11).

The Fellowship of The Mystery.

We are not in the church of God but in the “FELLOWSHIP OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST”. “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9). Yes, the church is in the fellowship but this fellowship is not only the church but goes beyond.

This fellowship is THE FAMILY OF GOD IN HEAVEN AND EARTH:

Ephesians 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

Ephesians 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

As I have said the Bible is the love story between God and his people Israel. To them pertained “the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises” (Romans 9:4).  Jesus Christ came to save them from their sins. He came to restore them and reconcile them to God. We are not included according to prophetic Scriptures.

But there is the Mystery which “from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God” and “in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men” (Ephesians 3:5,9). This mystery was revealed only to Paul (Ephesians 3:3).  The apostles and prophets did not know it.

The mystery is that: the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. (Ephesians 3:6).

This mystery is already revealed, therefore it is now called REVELATION. We are now in THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE MYSTERY REVEALED (Ephesians 3:9).

Paul declares the mystery: The Gentiles should be fellowheirs.  The Gentiles here has now a different meaning. Because there are no more Israelites today who are Gentiles, the meaning of the Gentiles here is “ALL MEN”. That is explained in Ephesians 3:8,9. In v.8 Paul used “Gentiles”, in v. 9 he used “All men”. It is parralelism. He repeated the phrase using a different term.  The Gentiles (all men) or “people of the nations” are “fellowheirs” with one another. Now at this time in the fellowship of the mystery, non-Israelites can be children of God and heirs of God, not by covenant but by his grace.

The Gentiles should be of the same body. What body? It means the Gentiles (all men) are members of the same body, not the body of Christ, the church which composed only of Israelites, but of a unique body – the fellowship of the mystery. It says “of the same body” not of “Israel church” but that every man of the Gentiles can now be members with one another.  It means “joint-bodies”. All equal and the same.

The Gentiles should be partakers of God’s promise in Christ by the gospel.  The gospel of God, the gospel of Christ, the glorious gospel were the gospels given to Israel and today are also the gospels given to us – all men – and we are partakers of the gospel of Christ. We are saved by believing the gospel. And the difference is that they the Israelites where the “chosen generation” (1 Peter 2:9), chosen FROM the beginning (2 Thessalonians 2:13) and “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:2). But we in the fellowship of the mystery were “chosen in him BEFORE the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4) and has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

We today are not required to be “repent and be baptized for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38) but in Christ “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace”. (Ephesians 1:7). We simply have to trust Christ (Ephesians 1:12,13).

We today do not have to conduct church services. The church of God in the first century were to not forsake the assembling together but they have to exhort one another  and so much the more, as THEY SEE THE DAY APPROACHING. (Hebrews 10:25). That day already happened. We are not in that day.

Why we are not the church of God.

I declare it boldly that we are not the church of God. For that church of God was already caught up into heaven. If that is the case, we have to analyze the verses which seem to say that we are the church.

Ephesians 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Paul in these verses was talking about Jesus Christ’s resurrection and ascension far above all heavens and he put all things under his feet, and he gave him to be the head over all things to the church – his body. There was already the body of Christ church in his resurrection and ascension and he was the head of it. It was not talking about us today.

Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Paul was talking about the church during his time, the church that was prepared as a glorious church for Christ’s coming to happen in their generation.

The epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians are so rich in truths about the mystery but remember the original audience and their time and what things must happen in their generation.

For example, Ephesians were “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of their inheritance” UNTIL “the day of redemption”   (Ephesians 1:13,14; 4:30). We today are not in the same situation.  We are not waiting for the day of redemption, i.e. the redemption of the body at Christ’s coming. That day already happened. So there is no need for us to be sealed with the Spirit.

No church, no pastors.

No need for church services. No need for priesthood. No need for church leadership. How can there be church leaders if there is no church. God does not authorize anybody today to build a church. If no one is ordained to do so, then if that church is established it is not a tue church. Then its leaders are not true also.

There are no more apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers today. And also there are no more bishops and deacons today. I have changed my view about that. That’s because of the insights I am receiving from the words of God. I discovered something I did not know before. When I did not know it before, I believed that there were no apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers today because these were gifts that were temporary, only until the completion of God’s revelation.  And I taught that bishops and deacons were the ones that replaced and or the ones remaining after that completion. But something changed my mind. If there is no more church of God here on earth because it is in heaven, then there is no need for “bishops and deacons” because they are connected to the “church of God” (1 Timothy 3:1,2,10,15).  The bishops were the “rulers of the church of God” (1 Timothy 3:5). 

I have believed that the flock was Israel and pastors were to shepherd the Israel flock. So if there is no flock, then there are no shepherds. Now, I say that if there is no church, then there are no bishops.

No need for church leadership because there is no need for the church. Does it mean no need for assembly?  No, not that. If we are going to assemble together today, that is not “church” but “fellowship”. And that fellowship is around the Word of God, the Bible.  What we have to do today is to “study....rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).  And we have to preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine (2 Timothy 4:1).

Bible Study and Evangelism.

Yes, what we have to do during assembling together is “Bible study”.  And since it is God’s will that ALL MEN be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4), we must preach the “unsearchable riches of Christ” (in the gospel of Christ) and “make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery”  (Ephesians 3:8,9).

Since we are no more in that church leadership because that is finished already, everyone – man, woman, child can preach the gospel. Everyone is equal and the same.

Stewards of Sound Doctrine.

If today there can be “BISHOPS”, they are not “rulers of the churches” but “stewards of God”

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;

And that is the only  definition of the bishop in this age if the church does not exist on earth. Bishop means “overseer”, “manager”, “steward”. There are still things that we must  be “stewards” of. Like “sound doctrine”. The bishop in Titus   must be “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.” (Titus 1:9). It means he must be the “STEWARD OF FAITHFUL WORD”. It is not about a title but a work of ministry.

Thats how I see it. If I am a bishop, it is not because I rule or oversee a church, because there is no church today. I am a bishop because I am a steward of faithful word and sound doctrine. That’s it. A man may be a bishop because he is a steward of some project. No church involved.

How about if we have still assemblies, they are not called “church”?  Yes, they are not church for the church is already in heaven. But they can only be fellowships or simple gatherings, not church. No church today because, if there is, it must apostolic. And no apostles today. 

We are not required to gather together every Sunday or every week. There is no such thing as Sunday or Saturday as the Lord’s day. But every day is the Lord’s day.We gather together only and have fellowship in houses, or wherever. No formal attire, no worship services, no praise and worship, no church program, no water baptisms, no prayer meetings, no Lord’s supper, no church activities, no tithes, no offerings, no church buildings or worship centers. No church planting, no church leadership, no church council, no commitees, no board of demons, no church elections. We  gather together only to study the Bible and to preach the word of God to one another and other people. If we are going to collect money, do it only for the sake of evangelism and Bible teaching.

Complete in Christ.

Because we are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10), we already have the “spiritual body”, “the heavenly body” in contrast with our “mortal body” and “corruptible body”. We don’t wait for it. It is already clothing our spirits. We dont have to wait for the second coming of Christ for he did that already and he came for his church in the first century. We are not waiting for the coming but we are looking for the “appearing” of Christ (Colossians 3:4) with us. That happens when we die. Remember, we are already “risen “ and “sitting” together with Christ in the heavenly places far above all heavens. Our resurrection happened already and its when Christ was risen.  Now when we die, we just leave this mortal body and use our “spiritual body” in us in the heavenly places.  Those heavenly places are heavens far above all heavens – far above the third heaven where the New Jerusalem is.  Thats our destination.

As we believe in the gospel of Christ, we have eternal life in Christ and Christ dwells in us as “Christ in you” (Colossians 1:27). Christ is eternal life and immortality. Therefore we have life and immortality (2 Timothy 1:10) in Christ. After we have done our part here on earth, we will continue living the joy and bliss with Christ and the saints in the heavenly places for ever.

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