The truth about Building the Church

[aron]

Originally Posted by love4truth

Only the architect of a house knows where he wants to place a window, or a door, how many rooms there should be, whether the kitchen is large or small, whether to add a porch or patio, how many bathrooms, whether the master bedroom should get the morning or evening sun.

LSM apologists might reply in this way: "Yes, only the architect of the house (God) knows where to place all the materials such that it will be 'fitly framed' (Eph 2:21). But the Architect has revealed His plan, through the writings of the apostles, so that we now are not ignorant. He has given some as apostles, prophets, shepherds, teachers, evangelists (Eph 4:11) and so forth. We do have the divine arrangement made plain."

And, "Just as Moses was given the tabernacle plan, and Joshua given instructions on how to fight, and David given materials for temple building, so are the NT believers given the plan of the proper church life, which will consummate the New Jerusalem". Etc. In other words, the Bible is God's blueprint, or heavenly pattern, revealed to us.

Hebrews 8:5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."

Fine. But I would respond that the revealed NT blueprint is to believe into Jesus, and to love one another. The master plan is to receive one another in Christ Jesus, to bear with one another in love, to announce the good news, to comfort one another, bear each others burdens, etc. That does not need a new and special church organization to come into existence. God has in His wisdom already supplied you with a needy neighbor. Are you willing to spend and be spent? God can build His church if you will simply pay attention. If you are truly the person of God's design, alongside your fellow, then God can surely do a building work with you and among you that will glorify His name.

Instead, we were taught to ignore our neighbor and focus on the church life as the vehicle for promoting the ministry's high peak truths. That's what we got for the master plan, which would supposedly build up the NT church and consummate the labor of the ages. Our neighbor was only valued as a potential receptacle for the ministry of Witness Lee. Otherwise they were ignored.