About His Holy Church
After two thousand years there are many opinions as to what a church is or should be. Christ defined the Church in His teachings and still today the definition of that institution established by Jesus Christ is dependent upon Him.
"His Holy Church" is not a name but rather it is a phrase which implies several things. It is "holy" or sanctified which has to do with the separateness and uniqueness of the Church which was not of the world but established by Jesus Christ. The fact that the Church is "His" simply asserts that Jesus established the Church and therefore it belongs to Him. Only He can define it. The word "Church" itself is translated from the word ekklesia which means "called out".
The word "church" today is used in several different senses.
It is the body or community of believers bound by common love for The Father, Jesus Christ, and each other in accordance to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
In its most general sense it is the religious society founded and established by Jesus Christ, to receive, preserve, and propagate His doctrines and ordinances.
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[6]The Greek word didache tanslated doctrine means that which is taught, concerning something
2) the act of teaching, instruction
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[7] The Greek word dikaioma is translated both as righteousness and ordinance, but also judgment and justification. It means that which has been deemed right so as to have force of law
1a) what has been established, and ordained by law, an ordinance
1b) a judicial decision, sentence. We see it used in Luke 1:6 "And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless."
As a people the congregations of the Church are united under one form of government by the profession of one faith and allegiance to and in the Father, Christ and the ways of the Holy Spirit, and the observance of the same rituals and ceremonies rooted in that love.
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[1] CHURCH In its most general sense, the religious society founded and established by Jesus Christ, to receive, preserve, and propagate his doctrines and ordinances. A body or community of Christians, united under one form of government by the profession of one faith, and the observance of the same rituals and ceremonies. Black's Law Dictionary 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th... eds.
If the Church is "one form of government" cannot be like the govenmens of he "world" or the gentiles who "exercise authority" because Jesus said we were not to be that way.
What is often called the Church today is not one body according to one form of government, nor is it professing one faith, nor does it seem to receive, preserve, and propagate the same doctrines and ordinances of Jesus. Most churches today have changed drastically from the early Church which had spread throughout Europe, Asia and the world during the first century.
That early first century Church was as varied as the people who formed its members, but there were certain underlying characteristics and precepts that remained consonant in the early Church which is surprisingly and consistently absent in the modern churches.
What are these changes, what do they mean to us today, and how can we get back to that early path laid down by Christ?
Were these changes wrought by God the Father and His Holy Spirit or were they the creation and the devolution of men? Are these deviations from the original path of the appointed Church part of the Good News or are they a fulfillment of the great deception and delusion prophesied from the beginning?
To answer these questions several things are required. While we seek to understand all things, we recognize that knowledge of God and His ways is derived by, and through, the divine revelation of God, according to His Holy Grace.
For over a thousand years the Good News of the Kingdom of God has been under a constant assault from the powers of the world, and the lies of the adversary. In these modern times the Gospel of Jesus Christ is often misinterpreted, misunderstood, or even unknown. The history, including the lives of those members of the early Church, and their writings, have sometimes been hidden or destroyed, certainly distorted through sophistry, in an attempt to blot out the true history and teachings from the minds of the people.
Today, in most institutions of religion, as well as in the halls of the secular world, the truth may be difficult to discern, since we are often reading opinions about history rather than the facts of history.
"And the one man that dares to tell the truth
is called at once a lunatic and a fool."
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"Strange times are these in which we live, when old and young are taught
falsehoods in schools. And the one man that dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and fool." Plato: 429-347BC, Greek philosopher.
The jobs of the Church are many but at least one directive of Christ was to preach the Kingdom of Heaven.
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The "Kingdom of Heaven" and the "Kingdom of God" are translated from Greek phrases that are referring to the right to be ruled by God rather than ruled by men who think they are gods.
And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 10:7
"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15
"Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead:
but go thou and preach the kingdom of God." Luke 9:60
What or who is the true Church?
What should it be doing?
What should it be preaching?
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[8] The Greek word kerusso is translated preach 51 times,but also publish. It means
1) to be a herald, to officiate as a herald
1a) to proclaim after the manner of a herald
1b) always with the suggestion of formality, gravity and an
authority which must be listened to and obeyed
2) to publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done
3) used of the public proclamation
Only God can answer these questions.
It is up to every man and woman to determine the answer to those question by letting the Holy Spirit in their minds and in their hearts.
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[4] Hebrews 8:10 "For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:"
We must seek the answers as we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, diligently studying His word to understand what His Church truly is to be: its function, its purpose, and its structure.
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2Ti 2:15
The word "study" in the text is from the Greek word spoudazw (spoudazo) which is normally translated endeavour, do diligence, be diligent, give diligence,
be forward, or labour.
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[5] spoudazo AV-endeavour 3, do diligence 2, be diligent 2, give diligence 1,
be forward 1, labour 1, study 1; 11
1) to hasten, make haste
2) to exert one's self, endeavour, give diligence
The Ministers at His Holy Church are dedicated to assist those who are seeking to know Christ, to receive and propagate His doctrines and ordinances. It is up to every man and woman to determine who those ministers are and up to the ministers to become the living stones of His Holy Altar in service to Him by serving the people who seek to live by faith.
What is the will of the Father and the Gospel of the Son for you?
In order to preach the Good News that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand we need:
to study History, and obtain knowledge about the context of Christ's teachings;
to go beyond encapsulated teachings seeking the righteousness of God in His Precept upon Precept;
to break the bonds of our preconceived notions with humility and truth;
to see clearly the nature and extant of the early Church in its most pure state in accordance with the purposes and doctrines of Christ.
May the brethren of His Holy Church be of service to you in your pilgrimage to discover the Truth, the Way, and the Life.
"Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it." Luke 13:18-19
Footnotes:
1 CHURCH In its most general sense, the religious society founded and established by Jesus Christ, to receive, preserve, and propagate his doctrines and ordinances. A body or community of Christians, united under one form of government by the profession of one faith, and the observance of the same rituals and ceremonies. Black's Law Dictionary 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th eds.
2 Plato.
3 The "Kingdom of Heaven" and the "Kingdom of God" are translated from Greek phrases that are referring to the right to be ruled by God rather than ruled by men who think they are gods.
