The Church

What great confusion there is over this one word, "church!" There is good reason for that confusion. Satan comes to steal and to kill and to destroy. He comes to deceive and to counterfeit. But the gates of hell will not prevail against the true church, the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are only TWO churches in this world - the true one and the one which poses as the true. One is the temple of God (Ephesians 2:21,22); the other is the synagogue of Satan (Rev. 2:9). Yet there are many thousands of organizations, each parading themselves as the true church of God, with names of blasphemy. But there can only be one true church. It therefore stands to reason that if we know what is the true church, we shall also know the false.

The word "church" means "called-out ones." The Greek root words are "ek," meaning "out" or "from," and "kaleo," meaning "to call." It means that there is a group of people called out. Called out by whom? By God, of course. "No man comes to the Son except the Father draws him." Called out from what? Those called out are called out from:

1) the works of darkness into the light: "For you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord: walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) proving what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Eph. 5:8-11). And "Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son" (Col. 1:13). And "...you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people: that you should show forth the praises of Him Who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light..." (I Peter 2:9).

2) the world which lies in wickedness: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (I John 2:15,16). And "...we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness" (4:19).

3) union with unbelievers: "Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has he that believes with an infidel? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father to you and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty" ( II Cor. 6:14-18).

4) Mystery, Babylon the Great: "Come out of her, My people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues" (Rev. 18:4). Who is Mystery? She is the great harlot, false religion, which poses as the bride of Christ, the true church. She is the false church, the bride of Satan, his synagogue. God calls out of her all those who would walk with Him.

The true church is the saints of God. Who are the saints? First of all, they are not extraordinary persons of great religious works. They are not people who are "canonized" by the Catholic Church. They are not people whose bodies have been dug up a century or so later to see if corruption has been stalled or arrested. They are not people proven to be saints because some sort of signs or miracles have occurred in relation to them after their death. Rather, the saints of God are simply true believers in Jesus Christ, people who have repented of their sins and submitted to Him as Lord in all of their lives. The saints are those who live not for themselves but for Him; they live not in make-believe but in reality, not in religion but in reality. Reality is what the true church is all about.

Saints of God are not of the world though in it. They do not go by carnal reasonings and are not motivated by the same things that motivate the world and unbelievers. Saints are ordinary people who have come into contact and rulership under the Lord Jesus, confessing Him before men, before the world. They have received His Spirit and are being formed in His image while He, more and more, manifests Himself through them in whatever way He chooses, much of the time unknown to and unnoticed by the world.

Saints are children of God, known in the Scriptures as sons and daughters of God. Their lives are hid in Christ and are not advertised by God to the world. Any advertisements are a sham, attempts to promote the selfish, ignorant and diabolical interests of men and their organizations formed hypocritically in the Name of the Lord Jesus. Saints worship the Lord Jesus in spirit and in truth, not in show and ceremony. They don't "go to church" because they ARE the church, the church being the body of Christ twenty-four hours a day. Obedient saints are doers and not hearers only of what God requires of them.

Saints love one another, by nature. This is not a worldly, romantic, social nor fleshly love but a spiritual essence springing out of a life from the Head of the body. Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another" (John 13:35). There is no partisanship with God's people if they walk in the light as He is in the light. Jesus had prayed, "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." If in heaven there is no partisanship, neither ought we support nor partake in such on earth, and we won't if we are the Lord's, worshipping Him in spirit and in truth. But He is the Workman and He will call out, purge and sanctify all that are His. Those that are His will have fellowship together; they will encourage, exhort, reprove, rebuke, admonish, pray for and work with one another, directed by the Head of the body of which they are an inescapable member.

Many saints have, since the beginning, fallen prey to falsehood and have practised religion in the Name of Jesus Christ as though they worshipped Him. As a result, they have suffered untold consequences; they have suffered the plagues and wrath of God. Their hypocrisies have always found them out. Many saints (sons of God) died in their sins, as in Noah's day when they took persons of the world in marriage, having been forbidden to mix with the world, instructed to keep separate instead.

Yes, saints have perished because of sin, because of willfulness, iniquity, selfishness. Doctrines in "Christian" circles teach that such cannot happen, that a saint is one who is ever saved and who cannot fall or that if he does fall, he will not remain fallen because he has "eternal security." Men have their chosen Scriptures to support their arguments and can be very convincing but they fool only themselves and those who love iniquity. They cannot fool the sincere worshipper of God. This much is true and should end all debate about whether a Christian (saint) can be lost or not: if he believes and obeys the Lord, he will not fall, he will not perish. Only rebels will tempt God; only the phonies, the hypocrites will deliberately sin, thinking or seeing if they can get away with it. So in obedience salvation is guaranteed; in disobedience one is not fit for the kingdom of God anyway; destruction is guaranteed instead.

The church of God is without earthly banner or government legalization or registration. It is not fashioned by men. Imagine, Jesus' spiritual body formed by carnal man, sinner man; the Creator's body formed by His creatures! Can anything be more absurd? Does Jesus Christ need a license by sinners to operate in His own earth in order to save sinners and be a witness to them? Does God need permission from His creation to do it good when it is not in its own power to redeem itself, when it is thoroughly opposed to God as the Scriptures teach, and for which cause it needs a Saviour? Since when does heaven need man's permission to speak and to live in truth? Again, I say, absurd! Are not truth and righteousness a responsibility of all men under God, and not merely something they do only if permitted by other men? Therefore, the body of Christ rules on earth and is not subject to the ordination of men, though members of the body of Christ obey the laws of this world where those laws do not contradict or oppose the laws of God.

Let me tell you this: Any structure or organization that has a name, a license from the government (whatever earthly government it may be), fancy church buildings and hirelings for leaders (that is, priests, pastors and teachers on staff with salary), religious garb of any kind, canned prayers and "church services" where you can count on a program of some sort, usually on Sundays as well as other days of the week, when people get all dressed up to "attend", various "ministries" specializing in youth, college and career, children, the slums of cities, etc., that structure or organization is not the church of God.

"But we register with the government not because we feel we need its permission but so that we can have tax deductions for tithes and offerings." Great! Imagine the widow giving all her living and asking for a receipt from the priest at the temple who in turn gets a tax credit from the Roman government! Imagine those in Acts, giving all they had after selling their possessions and getting a receipt from Herod for financial advantage. Imagine Jesus saying to Peter, "Before you get the church going, make sure you register with the government so that you can give out tax-deductible receipts. Otherwise, God won't be able to bless you as much financially, and some of your people won't give as much."

"We get a license only because the government is trying to protect society from cults and charlatans. It isn't a bad thing. The fact that we can get a license shows we are legitimate." Really? Are you not aware of some of the blatant groups formed in the name of religion and church, licensed by the governments in Canada, in the U.S. and around the world? Even Satan worshippers can be licensed in the name of religious freedom. I tell you, getting a license from the government is not a mark of legitimacy before God but the very opposite. If the world is willing to grant a license, it therefore follows that the world accepts the licensee. But Jesus said that His true followers would be hated and persecuted by the world.

Are not Buddhists, Muslims, Ba'hai and many others registered by the government as legitimate religious organizations or churches and yet you would say they are deceived and deceiving people? But you are as them because you are no different if you are a member of a religious organization registered with the government. Has it not been governments throughout history, religious and otherwise, which have persecuted the saints of God, the true church, unto death, sometimes slaughtering whole cities to destroy perceived threats to their dominion and authority? I tell you, the piper will demand payment and you will not be spared, not you nor your children nor your children’s children. Do you believe me?

The church of God is seen, yet not seen. Members are real but not identified as a formal organization. When they meet, it is not to have "church services." There will be prayer, a discussion of spiritual matters as well as mundane, some Bible study, gifts manifest, song, and ministering to one another. A few of these elements or activities could be missing from time to time. The thing is that it is God Who leads and directs; the Shepherd makes the decisions and the sheep follow. Much of the time, they do not meet but they function in spirit as the body of Christ nevertheless, everywhere they are, in all that they do, together or apart, He being ever with and in them. The Church is a living organism at all times.

There are not nearly as many saints (true Christians) as is supposed. There weren't many in Noah's day, Abraham's day, any day, and not many today. Vast numbers profess faith in Christ but few, very few are for real. Some are living in sin so that one can hardly tell if they are true believers or false brethren. For all intents and purposes, they are as the phony, yet the grace of God purposes to deliver them by election. Such can be in the harlot systems for a time but they will eventually come out in obedience to God or perish. Those being called out are in conflict with the children of darkness in varying degrees, depending on how much they have responded to God's call.

Those which are the Lord's and walking with Him are without earthly banner, without legal license, without man's will or doing. Saints are not baptized into the body of Christ by water but by the Spirit (I Corinthians 12:13). The true church is mystical. Though it is composed of flesh and blood members, it is not acknowledged by the carnal man. The church includes those here on earth and those who have passed on in Christ. The church is the living temple of God, made without hands.

Church members or saints may be alone for a time. They may not know that there are others. Elijah thought he was the only one when the Lord informed him that He had reserved unto Himself 7000 others, all of whose knees had not bowed to Baal and their mouths had not kissed him. Many examples are there of saints of God being alone for periods of time such as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, many prophets, John and others. There is nothing at all strange (at least not to God or other saints) about a saint being alone. It is taught in the false church that one must not be alone for he will fall prey to the devil as a stray sheep. The opposite is true, and of course, it would be. If one remains as a true believer in the fold of any organized church, he will die because that organization is one of the thousands that mimics the body of Christ but upon whom the wrath of God is and will be poured out until it is destroyed.

The harlot church loves pomp, ceremony, ritual, formality, power, fame, greatness, physical prosperity, respect and praise of men. So it gets a name, a license, erects a fancy building (as fancy as it can afford), holds "services", produces uniform study literature and organizes all sorts of activities to "win souls" and raise money. The leaders of the harlot church are trained and taught in Bible schools or seminaries by men...but not by God. They receive degrees and diplomas, sometimes dress in religious garb, wear "clerical" collars and call themselves by any variety of titles. The harlot church advertises, vaunts itself and presents itself as the true and living church of God. Thousands do these things proclaiming (explicitly or implicitly) all others are "off base." The harlot church adulterates all that is good, true, honest, just and pure. It is recognized, applauded, respected, accepted by the world. Its leaders are often famous and loved by many. These are all the works of men, the paths of the destroyer (Psalm 17:4).

Jesus clearly warned that His church would be hated, not accepted nor respected by the world (Matthew 10:22; 24:9; Luke 21:17; John 15:18,24; 17:14). The world did not love us then; it does not love us today. What is loved is of the world and not of God. "For that which is esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15).

Tell me, when did you ever hear or read of Jesus wearing religious garb or His disciples wearing any? Was it not those with religious garb who killed Him and His followers? When did Jesus call for "church" buildings? When His disciples were impressed with and remarked on the structural magnificence of the temple, did He not downplay such? Did He ever indicate to them that they should build their own when the temple was destroyed? Did He call on His disciples to have titles? Did He ever institute formal ceremonies or rituals? Did He encourage any of the religious garbage you see today? Not in the very least. In fact, it was people with those very kinds of things who were His greatest opposition, and men killed Him because He testified against the world.

Only true believers know these things to be true. The tares will love the false, cling to it and defend it, diplomatically or vehemently. But read about Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots in Rev. 17 and 18, and know both her work and her end. Those in her die with her. Those who come out, the called-out ones, are saved. They follow the Lamb wheresoever He goes, not loving their lives to the death.

So many of you say you believe. You think that because you have an intellectual acknowledgment of God, are nice to people, are positive thinkers, do your bit in your community, "live by the golden rule," therefore you are accepted of God or that He will require no more of you. Wrong! Are not many in the world in agreement with your philosophy and similar in conduct? Of course they are! I tell you, both you and they will perish in ignorance, falling drastically short of what real Christianity is all about.

"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25) is a verse that has been used as a bludgeon on the heads of every true saint when he decides to follow the Lamb "without the city." The saint cannot fellowship or assemble with darkness, with infidels, with sons of Belial, with the tares, with those who walk in unrighteousness.

But now I will inform those of you who "go to church" of your need to heed that verse, that admonition. Note it says "the assembling of OURselves together." "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness." Indeed, when one remains in or goes into organized religion or into darkness of any kind, knowing better, that one has forsaken assembling with the true church. He has taken the broad path that leads to hell.

The gates of hell are all these organizations which pose as the church of God. Did you hear? I'll repeat: The gates of hell are all these organizations which pose as the church of God. They open their gates to all those without and shut them on those within. They are the "high places" condemned by God in the days of Israel of old. Yet, the Lord will deliver all those who not only want the truth but have a love for the truth. Jesus has the keys of death and of hell and opens and closes as He wills. He will set any captive free who prefers the Creator to the creature for worship.

"Are you going to church?" is commonly asked. I say "I am the church!" As I am a true believer, am I not a member of His body, and therefore IT? I am also in it 24 hours a day, every day.

"Yes, but don't you need to get fed?" implying that only by going to a "church service" can one be fed spiritually. What IS a "church service" anyway? Jesus is real, natural, "down-to-earth", as are we, in that we were created as Him. Do you really think He is asking for a bunch of people to sit or stand around (or dance) in front of Him, mouthing all sorts of things as though He got some sort of pleasure out of getting His ego stroked, as though He loved your foolish, stupid flatteries? Do you really perceive Him to be such a fool, such a damned, glory-seeking, arrogant, pompous tyrant? Truly, are you not creating Him in an image you fancy of yourselves and in your perversity, treating Him the very way you would like to be treated yourselves by men if you could have such opportunity? Tell the truth, if you can, and say it is so.

Little do such people who think this way realize that the sheep of God have a Shepherd WITHIN them and that He feeds His sheep daily and faithfully. And, in the fullness of time, He sends His apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to feed His sheep. Sent of God, they feed the sheep what they receive from the Chief Shepherd, not lording it over them but being an example to them. The food gives healing, nourishment and guidance to those in need and who ask for it. They also use the rod when needed. Correction is crucial. The True Friend gives His true friends to His sheep that all may become His true friends in the end. They have no titles, no degrees in theology (which word God hates), and are not hired by congregations or organizations. Imagine, sheep hiring a shepherd and telling him what he ought to do, when and how he ought to do it and for how much!

Children of darkness, children of iniquity, hiring unto themselves preachers to tickle their ears, performers to entertain them, vessels of balm to salve their wicked consciences! Would it not be far better, unspeakably more profitable to put away sin, vanity, the gods of pleasure and entertainment? People, these are the whoredoms God speaks of and hates. It is for these very reasons that things do not go well for you.

Because preachers are eloquent, persuasive and impressive, do you think therefore that God will excuse you or justify you in your sins? Do you think you can play "church" and escape damnation with your substitutes for His righteousness? If you do think so, whether consciously or subconsciously, you are in for rude awakenings. And then you will say, "But how should I have known? It looked so good, so real! They were 'uplifting Jesus' and always talking about being good and godly. We were singing hymns to the Lord...doesn't the Bible talk about that...in Psalms, Acts, Corinthians and so many other places? I thought I was doing right! How could we have been so wrong? The pastor was a close friend. He helped us out a lot at times when we needed it. The church prayed for us when we had problems. I should have known that the counterfeit would pose as the real! What was I expecting...sneers, horns and tails? What did I think truth was anyway?!" People, the religious garb, the pulpits and the pews are the horns and tails. The smiles and flatteries are the sneers; the regulated, dead praise and song are the sacrifices of fools, all unacceptable to God (Eccles. 5:1,2). Remember Nadab and Abihu (Ex. 30:9; Lev. 10:1,2).

The false church teaches some truths, common sense and law, which is good, but never does it teach one to take up the cross in obedience by faith, against all reason and logic, at all costs, for it would lose its own, and a house divided against itself perishes. To deceive, it must have some good, some apparent truth, but the things it gives are dead (though appear to be much alive in the flesh) and breed only pride, vanity and self-righteousness. Unless the old man is crucified within by obedience to God's personal directions, all in the end is lost. By the grace of God we stand and are kept by our Saviour, Whose body we are.

Much of the time, we stand alone and so it must be because the Lord proves us: Will we walk with Him because WE choose to do so or because OTHERS choose to do so and we wish to be with them? Do we do the right thing or the popular thing? Abraham was called alone, obeying through faith, and so are all his children. But comes the time when "God sets the solitary in families" (Psalm 68:6), and then is a day of great rejoicing. It's a long awaited homecoming! Of these and thus is the church of God comprised. Glory to God!

Victor Hafichuk