What or Who constitute the Church?

The children of God constitute the church


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ichuka:
What or Who constitute the Church?

The church is the BODY of Christ, the BRIDE OF CHRIST.

On earth this body is different races, tribe and tongues... all as ONE.

ichuka:
What or Who constitute the Church?

According to Jesus Christ, His Church refers to His followers...those who are born of the His Spirit - they are Children of God, and not the devil.

Those who belong to Him have been set free from slavery to sin and are instead Sons of God for they know the Truth and the Truth has set them free - John 8.

The Church is an organised assembly of baptised believers. It is local and visible.

What is the Church? It is Christ in living union with His own, that wheresoever two or three are gathered together in His name there He is in the midst. That is the Church. You do not build special buildings and call them "the Church." You do not have special organisations, religious institutions, which you call "the Church." Believers in living union with the risen Lord constitute the Church.

ROM.16:5 says
"Likewise greet the church that is in their house."
This was the home of Priscilla and Aquila. This church was in their house. This house was not the church. The church was in their house. The command was to greet the church. This certainly begins to throw some light upon this subject.
(1 Cor.16:19; Col.4:15.

IEph1:22-23 says
And he hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."
Col1:18 "And he is the head of the body, the church."
These above verses planly teach the church to be the body of Christ. What is the body of Christ?
1Cor.12:27.. "Now ye [Christians] are the body of Christ, and members in particular."
The body of Christ is the church. The church is Christians. This enables us to understand how the church could be in Priscilla and Aquila's house, and how we can greet the church.

2..The church is that part which is taken out of Christ. We need to see the two aspects of Adam, and then it will be easy for us to understand. On one hand, Adam stands merely as himself; on the other hand, he is a type. As far as Adam himself is concerned, he was made of clay. All natural men are made of clay. But Adam also typified Christ. The fact that Eve was made from Adam signifies that the church is made from Christ. Eve was made with Adam's rib. Since Eve came out from Adam, she was still Adam. Then what is the church? The church is another form of Christ, just as Eve was another form of Adam.

"The church is just Christ simple". Oh, there are many people who think that the church is the coming together of the "people" who believe in the Lord and who are saved. No, this is not true! Then who constitutes the church? The church is only that portion which has been taken out of Christ. In other words, it is the man which God has made by using Christ as the material. It is not a man made of clay. The material of the church is Christ. Without Christ, the church has no position, no life, no living, and no existence. The church comes out of Christ.

First Corinthians 10:17 says, "Seeing that there is one bread, we who are many are one Body." This verse means that even though we are many, the bread which we break is one; therefore, the Body is also one. The apostle Paul clearly stated that the one loaf represents the Body of Christ, that is, the church as a whole. Though we are many, yet the Body is one. When we remember the Lord, I take a little piece from the loaf, you take a little piece from the loaf, and others do the same. For many centuries throughout the world, al Christians have taken a little portion of this loaf and eaten it! If you could take all the pieces they have eaten and put them together, they would become the whole church. The church is not an individual "I" plus an individual "you." It is not Mr. Ade plus Mr. Chuka or even all the Christians in the whole world put together. The church is the Christ in you, the Christ in him, and the Christ in all the Christians around the world throughout all the centuries put together. Our natural man has nothing to do with the church. The only part of us which is related to the church is the portion of the loaf which we have eaten. This is especially shown in the Gospel of John, where it is revealed that all those who believe in the Lord have Christ dwelling in them and are therefore one in the Spirit.

The church is composed of that which is out of Christ. Man's talent, ability, thought, strength, and all that he has are outside the church. Everything that comes from the natural life is outside the church, and anything that is brought into the church of the natural life will only result in a tearing down, not a building up. Only that which comes out of Christ is in the church. Eve was not made from clay, but from Adam, the one who typified Christ. The preciousness is that God took a rib from Adam and made Eve. Only that which came out from Adam, not from clay, can be called "Eve," and only that which comes from Christ can be called the church. Whatever is not from Christ has nothing to do with the church.

Some people were very frank before they believed in the Lord. After they were saved, they used their frankness to serve God. They considered their natural frankness to be quite useful; they were proud of it. But from what source does their frankness come? Is it from Christ? Has it been dealt with by the cross? Oh, if it is not out of Christ, if it has never been dealt with by the cross, it is of no use to the church! Eve was constituted only of that which came out of Adam, and the church, likewise, is constituted only of that which is out of Christ. Whatever is of man himself is not the church.

Amen