ENJOY THE NOW-CHURCH

The context in which Jesus, the Christ, spoke of building His church in Matthew 16:18, is quite different from "church" as we think of it in our days. What I refer to as the "now-church". Technically, the usage of "church" in the mind of Jesus the Christ, referred to an assembly of the called out ones, constituting the governing body of the kingdom on earth. It carries the connotation of how Israel was called out to be the radiation of Yahweh's kingdom to the nations (Acts 7:38). But until maturity takes the body of Christ into that appreciation, the now-church brings to mind a building or a gathering of people to worship Yahweh in Jesus' Name. Church as a place of worship or as a people who gather to worship, has become an inseparable aspect of our lives and faith walk. Therefore, a total enjoyment of life will be impossible without the enjoyment of your now-church. If you don't learn to enjoy the now-church, you will soon subscribe to an individualistic walk with Christ which will deprive you of the immense blessing of the community of sons of God (Ephesians 3:15-19, Hebrews 10:24-25).