06/14/2023
"HOUSE CHURCHES"???
The early believers shared a life in common and that life is Christ in us, working in us to will and do of God's good pleasure. Because they shared their daily lives together it was "natural" to gather in their homes for the most part.
The concept of a dedicated building to gather in did not really show up until the early 300's AD when the compromised church of Rome committed fornication with the kings of the earth (at that time Roman emperors, starting with Constantine.) That "union" created a hybrid form of "Christianity" that did not even exist before that.
Although there were very few examples of a dedicated building to gather in that showed up in the late 200's and beyond, largely the believers met in homes (or even open fields and caves during times of persecution. It is not so much the concept of gathering in homes but rather that they shared their lives in common in Christ. They were a living expression of the Kingdom of God on the earth. A colony of heaven. Their sole focus was on Jesus and the long awaited Messiah, the one anointed to be king of a kingdom that has no end.
So when you surmise that I am a proponent of "house churches" I would have to say yes but just gathering in a home is not the total picture. It is not what we gather in but who we are gathered to and with and why we are gathered. The deeper question to ask is, "Is Jesus ruling over the gathering... Is he the only preeminent one or are others perhaps unconsciously taking his place in the gathering.
The ideal gathering and sharing of life in common is when the gathering is smaller and those that are more mature in the faith (elders) allow the Spirit to move in the midst in such a way that everyone can grow in the expression of their gifts to the edification of the whole. That is the prime purpose of gathering is that we all grow up into the fullness of the expression of Christ into a diverse but perfect unity in Him. That is what draws unbelievers to Christ - when they see the supernaturally assembled gathering living and walking in unity before the Lord in their locality.
Jesus prayed, "Father I would that they would be one even as You and I are one... so that the world may believe that You sent me." He tied the drawing of people to himself from out of the world to that very unity.
I was very fortunate to have been drawn to the Lord at a time when the Lord was moving tremendously in those that were open. Because the institutional churches were not very open to what God was doing we would gather in our homes, in restaurants and even spontaneously on the street in full view of the population of our locality. Even though we met in different homes, their was a supernatural unity. Even when we didn't know each other at times, (those of different gatherings) there was an instant recognition of Christ and a bond of unity when we would meet others that we did not know before that.
It went on like that for about 2 years until the leadership of the institutional churches, because they saw the fruit, encouraged those of that move to participate in their "services." Sadly their motivations were not pure because underneath it all they were only trying to expand their church organization yet remained separate from all other church organizations. That move slowly subsided and was swallowed up by the institutional churches.
It wasn't that there wasn't fruit from that but rather the leadership clung on to their man made traditions that slowly eroded the freshness and spontaneity of that move of God. Their focus was on their "services" led by men (a word foreign to the New Testament) rather than the spontaneous "love (agape) feasts" led by the Holy Spirit, the sole Ambassador of Christ.
