[Subversive Underground]
The Radical Church of Jesus
by Keith Giles
When Jesus announced his ministry and proclaimed his Gospel of the Kingom it was like setting off a bomb in the heart of the city. People got excited. The religious leaders of the day got nervous. The political leaders took notice.
Jesus entered a religious society that was permeated with Jewish tradition and influenced by Pagan practice.
Both Judaism and Paganism share three commonalities: The Temple, The Sacrifice and The Priesthood.
What is the Temple?
It's the Holy Place. It's where God's Spirit dwells. It's where those who are hungry to meet with God go to connect with Him.
What is the Sacrifice?
It's intended to atone for the sins of the individual and to provide access to God.
What is the Priest?
These are the ones who perform the sacrifice. They are the ones who are worthy to enter the "Holy of Holies" and approach God. They hear God's voice. They relate the message of God to those who are outside the Temple. They are concerned with the Spiritual health and education of the people of God.
THE CHURCH THAT JESUS BUILT
When Jesus established the Church he did not build something with a physical temple or a daily animal sacrifice or a special group of elite clergy. The Church that Jesus built was out of the ordinary. It was radical. It was unlike anything that had ever come before it.
The Church Jesus built effectively destroyed all three conventions of Judaism and Paganism.
Take that in for a moment. Consider the implications of this fact. Jesus inspired and established the first system of religion without a physical temple, an animal sacrifice or an elitist priesthood. This was something brand new.
IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH
When Jesus came he told the woman at the well that the time was coming, and indeed had already come, when those who seek God would not worship Him in the Temple, or on the Holy Mountain, but in Spirit and in Truth.
Jesus told the Pharisee that if they destroyed the Temple he would build it again in three days. Of course, we know that he was speaking of the Temple of his body, but we also know that the actual Temple was destroyed in just a few short years following his crucifixion and it remains so to this very day.
JESUS - THE SACRIFICE
On the cross, Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world. There is now no longer any need for a daily sacrifice to be made, which is why the Temple was, and is, unneccessary to the one who seeks intimacy with God.
JESUS - THE HIGH PRIEST
On the cross Jesus became the High Priest (see Hebrews chapter 4 and 10) who once and for all made the sacrifice for us and lives forever to intercede for us.
JESUS - THE TEMPLE OF GOD
As Jesus suffered on the cross, an earthquake rocked the city and the veil (all 300 pounds of it) was ripped in two, destroying the Temple and rendering it obsolete.
Why did Jesus do this? He did this in order to announce a new Kingdom. A Kingdom where you and I would become the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19, 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:19-22).
He did this so that you and I could become the new priesthood (1 Peter 2).
He did this so that you and I could become the daily sacrifice (Romans 12, Luke 9:23).
In this new order, in this new organic, vibrant and thriving organism called "The Church", Jesus gave birth to something the world had never seen before. He said it would require new wineskins and that the old wineskins or systems of thinking and living would not be able to contain it.
YOU ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD
If we are God's new temple what does that mean?
It means we are now the Holy Place. Our souls are now the place where God's Spirit dwells. We carry around with us the immediate presence of God where those who are hungry to meet with Him can come and connect with Him.
YOU ARE THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD
If you and I are the new priesthood it means that we are the ones who perform the daily sacrifice. We are the ones who are worthy to enter the "Holy of Holies" and approach God. We can hear God's voice. We have the honor of conveying the message of God to those who are outside the Temple. We now play an active role in the spiritual health and education of God's people.
YOU ARE THE DAILY SACRIFICE
If we are the daily, living sacrifice it means each of us have special access to God. Because of His ultimate sacrifice on the cross, our daily sacrifice bears witness to our desire to follow Jesus, surrender our lives to Him, and worship God with our entire being.
UNDERSTANDING WHO YOU ARE
You and I are this same Church. We are the people of God. We are part of something more unique and fabulous than any of us could have ever imagined.
Who are you in Christ? You are a new creation. You are the Temple of God. You are the Priests of God. You are the daily, living sacrifice to God.
We are a people unlike any the world has ever seen or imagined before. We are the Church.
"Conversatio Morem!"
-kg
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SPECIAL THANKS: I want thank Frank Viola for bringing this amazing insight into focus for me. See his book, "Pagan Christianity" for more inspiration.
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PRAY FOR CHARLES AND DIRK
My buddies Charles and Dirk are currently attempting to lead a traditional church into the house church arena. As you can imagine, it's not easy. Please join me in lifting them up in prayer as they humbly and obediently step forward into this exciting and uncertain new frontier.
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HOUSE CHURCH IN SEATTLE
My two dear friends Heather and Daniel Cosby are looking for families and individuals in the Seattle area who are interested in meeting together to form a new house church. If you or someone you know lives in or near Seattle, Washington and might be interested in joining them, please contact me with their info at:
"ELYSIANSKY" (AT) "HOTMAIL" (dot) "com"
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ONE CHURCH UNDER GOD
I'd like to invite you to join me on Sunday, June 22nd as part of a special joint service between our "Mission" House Church and Soul Survivor Church.
John Thomas, who lead worship for us at the Non-Con, will be our worship leader and I'll be bringing a message about what the Biblical concept of Church is all about. If you're in the Orange County area be sure to drop by!
Details:
The Mission and Soul Survivor Church Celebration
on Sunday, June 22nd at 11am
at Soul Survivor Church in Triangle Square
1870 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, CA 92627
*Directly underneath the Edwards Cinema, on the corner of Harbor and 19th.
Parking is free inside the structure.
There's a google map over here:
http://nonconsched.blogspot.com/
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TODD HUNTER'S "THREE IS ENOUGH" BLOG HOME PAGE
One of my mentors over the last several years has been a guy nanmed Todd Hunter. He is the former National Director of the Association of Vineyard Churches, the former President of ALPHA USA, and currently starting his own non-profit group - "The Society for Kingdom Living" which will also coincide with something called "Three Is Enough".
Be sure to go to the link below and read more about what Todd's up to and prayerfully consider starting a group like this in your sphere of influence.
FIND IT HERE
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WITH THIS RING
My buddy Ken Eastman is the pastor of a series of six house churches locally called "The Well". His wife Ali started an astounding non-profit group called "With This Ring" where women are encouraged to donate their wedding rings, as she has done, to dig wells and provide safe, clean drinkng water for hundreds of impoverished children and families in Africa.
Find out more
HERE
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[END TRANSMISSION]
1 comment:
Hey! Great post. Pagan Christianity is a great book. I appreciate it. The one thing that I wonder if viola missed, though, is the severity of the massive individualism in our culture and how that plays into the house church movement. For instance, 1 cor 3:16 is written in the plural. In greek it's "...you (group) are the temple of the Holy Spirit..." In an ancient context the temple was what communicated the reality of a particular god. When, in John 2, Jesus talks about His body being the temple and John includes that His disciples remembered these things after His resurrection we start to get a clearer picture of why the early church called themselves the Body of Christ. Especially when you consider that Christianity was first planted in cities (pagan was latin for "countryman" lol - crazy, huh?) and those cities were on average around 30,000 people and under 2 square miles. Those early Christians were the visible presence of God in that community as they interacted together with that community day-in and day-out. Church, then, wasn't just about being together once a week. It was a group of people who met together intentionally once a week but were together organically every day. I think a house, like a church building, is too small to encompass that kind of life. Unfortunately the only places that can be lived out these days is in urban mixed-use centers or small town (def not suburbs) - at least with out being cloistered off in a monastary or commune or something. Your friends who are looking at starting the house church in Seattle are set up for something good. Seattle has some perfect mixed-use centers and I know of two different churches who are not confining themselves to either a house or a building and are actually inhabiting a neighborhood as their place of doing church as they live work and play there. We do the same here in downtown Tacoma. I can get your friends in touch with those peeps if you want!
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