The Church is the House of the Living God, the Household of God the Father

The completing ministry of Paul is a crucial part of the Bible. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He spoke a lot of things and He revealed many mysteries, but He had much more to say; therefore, He continued to speak as the Spirit of reality through the apostles in Acts and in all the Epistles, including Revelation.

Paul was raised up by the Lord and he was entrusted to “complete the word of God” (Col. 1:25). Without Paul’s Epistles, the entire revelation of God is not completed, not made perfect.

Paul especially spoke concerning man being a vessel to be filled with God and contain Him, Christ as the mystery of God, and the church as the mystery of Christ. Christ and the church – these two matters are very important.

The matter of the church especially, in the Gospels we see it mentioned only two times (Matt. 16:18 and 18:17), but not with many explanations or even a definition. In Acts the church is mentioned and described again and again, but it is not until Paul wrote his epistles that we find out more about the church.

In Paul’s epistles we see the definition of the church, the significance of the church, the goal of the church, the purpose of the church, the function of the church, and the nature of the church. The Apostle Paul really gave us “the charter of the church”, explaining what this new community is about.

We need to forget about any traditional understanding and religious concept concerning the church and come to the Bible in a simple way to see what the church really is!

In Paul’s Epistles we see that the church is the ekklesia (the gathering of the called-out ones), the house of God, the household of faith, the church of God, the pillar and base of the truth, the manifestation of God in the flesh, the Israel of God, the kingdom of God, the new man, the Body of Christ, the corporate warrior, etc.

Wow! Lord, do open our eyes to see the church the way You see it! Enlighten us to see a fresh vision of the church in all its wonderful aspects! We love You, Lord! We love the church, Your heart’s desire!

The Church is the Household of God

In 1 Tim. 3:15 we see that the church is the house of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth. By saying that the church is the house of the living God Paul implied that the church is the household of the living God. All the believers in Christ are part of the house of God, the household of God.

In the Old Testament, God had a people, Israel, and they were called, the people of God. But they were not the house of God! It is only in the New Testament that man can be regenerated and be part of the household of God, having God as his father!

We are begotten of God (John 1:12-13) and God is now our Father (Rom. 8:16). All the born again Christians have God as their Father, and no matter their race, culture, country, color, or background, they are brothers and sisters! By being born again with God’s life we enter into a “big clan” with all kinds of people, where we are brothers and sisters in God’s life!

The saints today are closer and more dear to us than our fleshly brothers and sisters because we are children of the heavenly Father! We are now fellow members of the household of God, and our qualification is that we have been begotten of God!

The church is not a physical building, but an organic entity that grows in life! The dwelling place (the house) and the family (the household) are one entity – a group of called believers, regenerated ones, indwelt by God Himself (see 1 Pet. 1:3; 2:5; 1 Cor. 3:16).

Christ is the Firstborn Son and we are the many brothers of Christ; together, we compose the household of God (see Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:10-12). Just as Christ is NOT separate from the members of His Body but He dwells in them, so the Father is not a separate member of His household but He lives and is in all His children (see Rom. 8:10; 12:4-5; 2 Cor. 6:16).

God today is our Father, and we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, in the household of God!

The Church is the House of the Living God

When Paul speaks of the church as the house of God, he referred to God as “the living God”. This means that because God is living, the church as the house of God is also living in Him, by Him, and with Him (1 Tim. 3:15)! Today we are the house of the living God: God lives in us and we live in God, by God, and with God!

God is living, and He is subjective to us – He lives, acts, moves, and works in the church as His living temple, the church. We are the living church of the living God, living in the Father’s reality.

In the church we boast of only one thing: we have the living God! When someone comes among us, what he needs to see is the living God in each of His children. It is here, in the church, that God can have His rest and put His trust.

God lives in the church. This is His dwelling place, where He lives and moves to accomplish His will and satisfy the desire of His heart. In the church composed of the many children of God born of Him with His life and nature God is at home, at rest, and peace.

Only those begotten by God to be His children are part of His family, and in His household it doesn’t matter what nationality, skin color, culture, background, or race you are: we are ONE! We are one in God’s divine life, and we are all children of God!

When we exercise our spirit indwelt by God we become God’s dwelling place in spirit, the church, the household of the living God (see Eph. 2:22). Praise the Lord for the church as the household of God, the house of the living God!

Thank You Father for regenerating us with Your divine life through the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Thank You for bringing us into Your family, Your household. We are so happy to be here, dear Father, enjoying all Your riches and Your wonderful presence. Father, we love You and we love all our twin brothers and sisters, our co-inheritors of Your riches, the members of Your household! We simply want to exercise our regenerated spirit to enjoy You, Father, together with all the saints, the members of Your house!

References and Further Reading

• Inspiration: Bro. Andrew Yu’s sharing and portions in, The Conclusion of the New Testament (msg. 208), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, “The Completing Ministry of Paul“, week 5 entitled, Five Aspects of the Church.
• Further reading:
  # 1 Tim. 3:15, footnote 2 and 3 (house of the living God).
  # Life-Study of 1 Timothy, msg. 3.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # The church is the house of the living God; / The church is the pillar and base of the truth. / And great is the myst’ry of godliness; / That God was manifested in the flesh.
  # But if I delay, / I write that you may know / How one ought to conduct / Himself in the house of God, / Which is the church, / The church of the living God, / The pillar and base, / The pillar and base of the truth.
  # The church is the building up / Of all God’s chosen and redeemed, / Regenerated and transformed people, / The ultimate work of God, / His counterpart, the new man, / The seven golden lampstands, / God’s house on earth, / The Body of Christ, / The desire of God’s heart.