This Is The Church

By: Ayana Bryant-Weekes

“This is the church. This is the steeple…” Remember these catchy lyrics to the youthful finger-play we learned as children? Gleefully folding our hands into the shape of a church building and towering belfry, chanting, “This is the church. This is the steeple...” My guess is that this chant may have been an innocent catalyst for some of the misunderstandings we have about The Church and our role in it; one of the many subliminal nuances that strayed us from God’s true intent for The Church; The Body and the building. 

[Ephesians 1:22, 23] He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence. (MSG)

Throughout the bible, in God’s several illustrations of The Church, it is not referred to as a particular location. Ephesians 5:25-32 describes Christ’s relationship with the church as that of a husband and wife, not a husband and his Man Cave. God even told us in Acts 7:48-50 that The Church, The Body, was not made by human hands.

 “Yet that doesn’t mean that Most High God lives in a building made by carpenters and masons. The prophet Isaiah put it well when he wrote, Heaven is my throne room; I rest my feet on earth.
So what kind of house will you build me?” says God.
“Where I can get away and relax? It’s already built, and I built it.”[Acts 7:48-50]

So if The Church is not a building, then what is it and why do we have to go every week? First of all, we aren’t forced to go; God is not some attendance-taking college professor ready to reduce our spiritual grade a full letter after three absences but, as Creator of all things, built us to need each other.  It has become my experience that the ‘church building’ serves a communal purpose for its members. “…Open the doors and see all the people...” The gathering (assembling together) we are instructed not to abandon in Hebrews 10:24-25, satisfies the interaction our humanity craves. Requiring that The Church uphold a central location, whether it’s a physical place or an online following, encourages us to make connections, grow and learn about and with each other for the sake of building The Kingdom.

When you view The Church as a place, you can become a stranger among the people who can help you unlock your purpose. These conversations and time spent together are all taking place while in corporate worship to God at a determined place and each experience broadens our perspectives and deepens our insights. “…Close the doors and hear them pray…”

[Colossians 3:14-16]  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

The bible tells us that our belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior makes us fellow citizens and members of His household.  [Ephesians 2: 21-22
] In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

“…Open the doors and they all walk away.”  

The church as a building has designated days and times for its utility, but The Church, The Body, is a 24/7 housing unit for the spirit of God and a constant invitation to become a part of a marvelous work.