Saturday's Mumblings-Let's Reclaim the 1st Century Church

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Saturday's Mumblings—Let's Reclaim the 1st Century Church

1. For Christians living in the 21st century to find the true church, they must seek the church of the 1st century by following the church view of the 16th-century Reformers.

The medieval church was already not a church.

That is why the Reformation took place.

Therefore, just as the circulation of 16th-century spirituality in the 21st century was a desperate struggle within the church shrouded in darkness at that time, contemplative prayer and the New Apostolic Movement are also desperate struggles for survival within a distorted church.

If it were the church of the Bible, such things would be unnecessary.

The church, having become the body of Christ who fills all things, simply needs to hold the head; there is no reason to engage in such shoddy behavior.

Therefore, we must learn Paul's view of the church.

I state emphatically that no matter how hard you search in the 21st century, there is no church. It is merely a synagogue.

2. Holding seminars to reform the church and raising slogans proclaiming a "healthy church" does not make it a church.

Setting aside the church's textbooks and fixing the church with model answers devised by humans is merely a formality.

Even if one professes discipleship training, financial transparency, pastoral leadership, social contribution, and cultural events, one cannot call it a church unless the history described in the Book of Acts takes place.

There is no such thing as a good church or a bad church; there is only one.

It is simply a matter of whether something is a church or not; weighing personal preferences is merely a matter of human taste, not an attitude toward God's church.

There is not a single Reformed theologian or believer who has bypassed the Book of Romans.

That is how essential salvation in the style of Romans is.

Personally, I have even thought that it would be better if the Book of Acts followed Romans.

This is because Paul conducted his missionary work from Acts chapter 13 onwards with the theology of Romans.

Therefore, if one acts up claiming to be a church movement based on Acts without understanding Romans, it is merely collective energy gathered from passion.

A church that fails to clearly explain why humans must receive salvation, the process of salvation, and the consequences of that salvation cannot be called a church.

Therefore, ministry is either to witness the living Word of God to people or to personally accept them into the community until the time of God's revelation arrives.

3. Simply being accepted into the community until the time of God’s revelation and one’s own time arrives is generally enough to be considered a good church.

Of course, it is best if there is revelation that leads to immediate salvation, enabling one to know the truth and grant the faith to seek God.

That is why the Book of Romans is essential.

No pastor can escape it.

It must be acquired and embodied.

Only then can one grasp the mystery of the church in Ephesus and the church in Colossians.

It is secular for the 21st-century church to follow books that follow current theological trends instead of seeking out Paul's epistles from twenty centuries ago.

Pastors today say they hold dual jobs because there are no churches for them to serve.

The very term "dual job" implies viewing the church as a workplace.

It implies that a church is considered a church only when it possesses organization, systems, buildings, and people.

No. The church is one in the universe.

In serving that church, it makes no difference whether one holds a dual job full-time or self-supporting one.

Paul also held a dual occupation through self-support.

However, he never agonized over it.

He worked for the church, the body of Christ, in this way, and for the church, the body of the Lord, in that way.

Why make a distinction?

4. Without the church, I cannot find answers regarding what my relationship with God is, how I approach God, or what I can obtain from God.

I have provided medical support in mission fields for quite a long time, but I do not claim that I have dedicated myself to the Gospel based on that.

I endured hardships and traveled dangerously for a long time, but that is not a big deal to me.

The moment I testify to the word of truth and follow that truth to grasp Christ, the Head, joy bursts forth.

This is because I have become a member of Christ, the Head, and a tributary of the river of living water.

The church is the body of Christ.

It is the fullness of Christ, who is the sum total of the energy and mass of all things (Eph 1:23).

The church is absolutely not a house of culture or art.

No matter how loudly science makes its noise or how much human desire for culture surges, the church's unique function and role cannot be compromised.

Therefore, we living in the 21st century must deeply study Paul's epistles, which are the only bridge connecting us to the church of twenty centuries ago.

Instead of trying to make the church look impressive by organizing trivial events and miscellaneous gatherings, we must seek the original church.

I say it again: the church is one.

The struggle of the 16th-century Reformers was to return to the church of the 1st century.

Therefore, the church, which was reformed by their blood, must not be merely a name.

Go to Romans.

Seek the church of Ephesians and Colossians.

And through the Book of Hebrews, pursue the heavenly community that has crossed the river of the world.

Let us rejoice in the sufferings of ministry and fill up in our flesh what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His body, the church (Col 1:24).

Written by Pastor. Yohan Kim

Translated by Missionary Sookyung Chung

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