The Architect of the Church
"... and upon this rock I will I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
God
is
the
architect of the Church, which is spoken of by Jesus, our Chief
Apostle and cornerstone of the Church. We must recognize that the Church
was
determined in the mind of God before the foundation of the world and
before
man and woman (Ephesians 1:9, 3:10,11). Since God is the architect of
the
Church, He has the one and only true pattern, plan and blueprint for the
Church. The very idea of this glorious instrument was His
idea. This is not something that man thought or conceived. It must be
remembered that God had the idea of the Church and we must concede to
what
God has designed, not to what we have designed. So we see that the
Church is not the ingenuity or invention of man. Church is never an
event or service, it is a lifestyle of people sharing their lives 24-7
with
God and with one another in the power of the Holy Spirit. The
concept and understanding must
be understood in the mind of every believer and follower of Christ.
Let's consider the meaning and usage of the word "church". The
word church comes from the Greek word "ekklesia". The meaning in it's simple
form means, "the called out ones." In
the New Testament alone the word "ekklesia" is used 114 times and of
this use 110 times the use is referred to as the "called out ones" of
Jesus Christ.
Jesus
Christ established the usage of the "ekklesia" and
refers to "His Church", when Jesus says... "My Church". You see this
differentiates believers of Christ from all other groups or company of
people. We are free
citizens of the heavenly kingdom summoned by Christ to proclaim the
gospel of the Kingdom, assemble together, study, worship, praises and
fellowship. (Philippians 3:14, 1 Cor 1:24-26, 2 Peter 1:10).
The people of God may meet in a building or house, but the Church is not a building, house or any other material or natural structure. It is dangerous for us to place all our energies and time into glorifying a facility and miss placing our energies and time on the true spiritual house that God is dwelling in (Hebrews 3:6), which is the body of believers. Seriously, the place where the people of God meet is only an auditorium for the Church. It is a shed for the sheep, and we must not consider the "sheep-shed" as more important than the "sheep-fold".
We
are not a denomination, sect or organization. When we
speak of 
"Christ Universal Church" or "Cell Church", this should never
be understood to declare the totality of "His Church", we are simply one
visible expression of the universal or worldwide company of believers
who follow after Christ. It is not our ecclesiastical
system or denomination, group or sect that will enter the Kingdom of
God, it is individual believers who are the living stones of His temple,
not our's.
You see... His Church is so much bigger
than what our participation is as part of a local church. So our view of
church must not be narrow. In truth, the Church is an earthly expression
of the heavenly "Kingdom of God" in the earth. The
Lord is the owner of the Church and declared that He is building His
Church. Christ did not give it to man to build, but says that he will
build it upon Himself.
However,
Christ has called us to be co-laborers
with Him in building on the foundation of the Church. There is no way
that God would trust man to do such a project alone. We are simply
helpers and co-laborers, the master
plan and blueprint is in the hands of the Lord and this plan can not be
enlarged or improved by man. That is, in spite of all our labors and
programs, unless God adds people to the church, then they are not in His
Church. For He says.... "if I be lifted up, I will draw all people unto
Myself:.
We must remember that the Church belongs to Him, Christ owns the Church, He purchased it with His own blood, designed it, built it and makes claim to it for all ages. Christ is the one that placed the New Testament's structure and order in the Church. He is the source of our faith and Christ has established this divine instrument in the earth to fulfill the mission of God through this designed order and structure. We have been entrusted with this order, pattern and structure. The Church is a living and spiritual organism that demands us to be unified and one in mission and purpose with our Lord.
Jesus
declared
in Matthew 18:19... "Again I tell you, if two of you agree on earth
(that is come together, harmonize or be made one) about anything,
whatever you ask, it will come to pass and be done for you in the name
of Our Father in Heaven."
We are a body of believers that is marked by
agreement. The Church is one body with many members, one
flock with many sheep, one vine with many branches, one family with many brothers and sisters. and one
army with many soldiers.
Church
leaders
are not given to lord or rule over the Church (body of
believers), but to nurture and help them to grow. Our focus is on this
mission and purpose, not on personalities within the Church. As
followers of Christ, we recognize Him as the Supreme personality of the
Church, so there is no need to focus on particularly charismatic men or
women.
We want to touch and impact our world with the love, life and power of Christ that resides within us through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. But if the application of our Christian walk and worship is not limited primarily to buildings or corporate meetings, we will miss opportunities to touch the lives of those outside of the "traditional church" and certainly would have little or no impact on the rest of the world.
We want to touch and impact our world with the love, life and power of Christ that resides within us through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. But if the application of our Christian walk and worship is not limited primarily to buildings or corporate meetings, we will miss opportunities to touch the lives of those outside of the "traditional church" and certainly would have little or no impact on the rest of the world.
The Plan
We
are planting Cell Churches and establishing Worship & Training
Centers across the southeastern states of: SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA and
TN, wherever two or three are gathered in His name and for His purposes.
Existing congregations can also connect with us as we establish and
expand the Kingdom of God into other regions locally, regionally,
nationally and internationally through our Ambassadors Ministerial Fellowship as Covenant Churches.
The Design
Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people, and the Lord added to their number daily those that were being saved (Acts 2:46-47).
There was reason why Jesus disciples met from house to house. You see, the Church as Jesus saw it was to be an organism (a living thing), by which people would come to know God through dynamic relationships with others who had come to know Him. It was not to be an organization or denomination. In other words, the church was to be comprised of individual cell, just like our natural bodies are and when these cells are joined together, they make one body. So it was intended for the Church. That is why the Church is called the "Body of Christ", not "bodies of Christ". Each "cell church" serves not only to deepen relationships, but also to reach the un-churched in a personal way.
Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people, and the Lord added to their number daily those that were being saved (Acts 2:46-47).
There was reason why Jesus disciples met from house to house. You see, the Church as Jesus saw it was to be an organism (a living thing), by which people would come to know God through dynamic relationships with others who had come to know Him. It was not to be an organization or denomination. In other words, the church was to be comprised of individual cell, just like our natural bodies are and when these cells are joined together, they make one body. So it was intended for the Church. That is why the Church is called the "Body of Christ", not "bodies of Christ". Each "cell church" serves not only to deepen relationships, but also to reach the un-churched in a personal way.
The Purpose
So, I hope you see that Cell Church is more than just a small-group Bible Study, as they provide an on-going network of relationships for new and growing Christians. The emphasis being that we are all members of one body, with gifts differing accordingly, as the Holy Spirit has distributed them. There is no need to compete with so called organized religion or main stream churches or denominations, because Cell Churches are in fact a vital part of it and serve as a living expression of what Christ intended when He started His Church.
A Royal Priesthood