Everyone has their version of what the model church should be that would make them happy and satisfied in all aspects. But the perfect church just doesn’t exist. As one evangelist who visited a church I previously attended said, “If you ever find a perfect church, once you get there, it won’t be perfect anymore. That was a big Amen.
In Marji “Mike” Kruger’s 2007 article Marks of Community, he states that the book of Acts 2:42-47 highlights four things believers were distinguished by. They were
- The apostles’ teaching
- Fellowship with one another
- The breaking of bread
- Prayer
43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
This community of early Christians enjoyed the favor of nonbelievers in Jerusalem who were unaware of the events of Pentecost and were watching the life of the early congregation. They were devoted, which in Greek indicates someone who is steadfast and single-minded to a certain course of action. They were committed to following God’s word. The apostles’ teaching was considered to be authoritative because it was about the message of Jesus proclaimed by the apostles. It would have included words of Jesus, some accounts of his early ministry, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. It would have shown the importance of showing our love for Christ by our obedience. Here are some of the words of Christ as he stressed the importance of obedience. I find it interesting that Jesus never asked anyone to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself.
“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” [John 14:15 NIV]
“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” [John 14:21 NIV]
“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. [John 14:23]
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. [John 14:26]
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. [John 15:10 NIV]
You are my friends if you do what I command. [John 15:14 NIV]
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. [John 17:7 NIV]
Most of the above came from Mike Kruger’s 2007 article Marks of Community. However, I would like to add some things that God has laid on my heart. The first is that God the Father wants us to place His Son Jesus in a very special place. Christ Jesus was submissive from the beginning to the end in God’s plan of salvation leaving heaven in his eternal spiritual state with the Father and manifesting himself as Jesus in human form so he could accomplish the Father’s will according to His purpose. Because of this plus going through the agony and suffering for us so that we could once again stand before God the Father with a clean slate, he was made perfect through his suffering. And the Father made the name of Jesus higher than any other name. Jesus was truly at the heart of God’s grace which is why some people define grace as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. If you look at this, what better role model and standard-bearer could we have who would be better than Jesus? And the answer is none.
The role model church should be one who puts Jesus Christ in his proper position. Jesus is the head of the body of the church. Any church who elevates their personal agenda or a person higher than Jesus is completely out of order.
The role model church should always align itself with God’s will according to His purpose. This will require a lot of prayers to seek His wisdom on how to operate. By that I mean there are many good things we can do which may be pleasing to God. But we have to be in continual prayer to see what His timing is. He may not want us to act at a specific time. It could be because we might sabotage ourselves. It might be because we could seriously hurt ourselves in one way or another. It might be that He has something better planned for us. Remember In Jeremiah 29:11 when he says that He knows the thoughts and plans for us, plans to prosper us, never to harm us, and plans to give us hope and a future. And in Isaiah 55:8 and 9 where it is written that God’s thoughts and ways are not only different than ours but much higher as much as the heavens are higher than the earth.
So, a model church digs in and trusts God in everything-His truth, wisdom, sovereignty, judgement, righteousness, just to name a few.
A model church has to consider God a vital necessity in the lives of its saints. In order to please God and to find Him after they seek Him with all their heart, you have to have faith and believe that He is and is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him, [Jer. 29:13, Heb. 11:1, 6] A model church trusts God and does not have its confidence in man. [Ps. 118:8]
There are many deceivers that come into the church community and have the brilliance of as a great white light, and they gain the confidence of the saints. And this puts them in a position where they can steal from the church by the misuse of funds of the saints and from outside contributors. Many business people see the church as a business opportunity and once they get into the right position, they start commercializing things and focus more on bringing in money, so they can live lavish lifestyles and put less emphasis on saving souls or taking care of their saints. After all, the work of the ministry is done by the saints. Many prosperity preachers expect every saint to tithe, but they are not there for the saints if they are in financial distress. Some saints just don’t have enough money to tithe. And this brings me to my next point.
A model church knows that everything starts with the condition of the mind and heart. This was highlighted by a book by James Allen As a Man Thinketh, so is he. The way we think determines how we act. When we think one way, the body follows. The Bible wants us to think of the higher things and the more noble things like God. We should be striving to be more Christ-like so we can have the mind of Christ. As we grow in grace we should bear fruit, the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22 and 23-love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance
A model church will strive to embrace the 9 Gifts of the Holy Spirit. This would enable the saints to minister to others better as they embraced the call that God has placed on their lives. These are found in 1 Corinthians 12.
The saints of a model church will grow in grace and will progress in the different levels of righteousness demonstrating that we all are a work in progress. It is true that we get our righteousness from Jesus Christ but this does not mean we have arrived. I’ll give you two examples.
In Matthew 24:13 it is written he that endureth to the end will be saved. The second is the Bible mentions several levels of righteousness—the Righteous, the Consistently Righteous, the Uncompromisingly Righteous, and the 144,000. And I believe that all of these are tied to the level of doubt one has. The more righteous one is, the less doubt one has. And the importance of this is found in James 1:6-8. God dislikes those who doubt because He considers it as being double-minded. And anyone who doubts should not expect to receive anything from God.
A model church will be one who does not doubt the ability of God to do anything and everything.
A model church does not lean on its own understanding and lets the Lord direct its path, [Prov. 3:5,6] God knows what’s best and where He wants to take you. It is best not to resist Him or look back to the place He is taking you from. Let what happened to Lot’s wife be a valuable seminar.
A model church tests the spirits and lines everything up to the word of God.
The saints of a model church love one another with a filio (brotherly) love and an agape’ (Godly, unconditional) love, and that’s the way the world knows we (Christians) are His and that God is in us.
The model church gives food to the poor, ministers to the sick and disabled, and visits the incarcerated in prison.
In a model church all the saints who hold an office should encourage, inspire, and edify other saints so they will be motivated to serve the ministry, or serve at a higher level with the gifts that God has given them. This includes offering a program for discipleship for those saints who are led to participate.
A model church will be trying to be the aroma of Christ in that he perfectly pleased the Father in thought purpose and action. A model church will seek to know the will of God which is to know His word and to be Saved, Sanctified, Spirit-Filled, Submissive, Suffer for Christ’s sake), and Say Thanks.
CONCLUSION
Four main pillars of the model church community–the apostles’ teaching, fellowship with one another, breaking bread together, and prayer exists. But there are many other things that make a church a model church which could appear to be overwhelming. So, the best thing to do is use Christ as our example for everything, because he perfectly pleased the Father in thought, purpose, and action.
Are you committed to following God’s word and to submitting to His will?
Please share your comments.
Finding a great church is a struggle for many. Oftentimes there is more of an emphasis on maintaining personal cliques in groups within the church than welcoming all to come as they are. And then the other side is there are some churches that have become so worldly and accept anything, even if the Bible clearly says otherwise. You laid out very important aspects of a model church and it’s a blessing when you can find that. Fortunately, in the world of COVID and for those unable to find a home church, disabled, etc. we can also attend virtually or online. It’s not the same as in-person fellowship but having the greater access to reach more people and share the Good news is a blessing.
Well said Kamira. Your responses are always on the money.