What Is The 'True Church'?

     Many times I have heard the announcement come with sincerity from the pulpit, "Isn't it great to be in the house of God today! There's no where else I'd rather be than in church on a Sunday."  If I'm being honest, even though I know this statement is made by people who are truly excited to be in God's presence with their brothers and sisters, the expression continues to get my proverbial goat. When we as the body of Christ continue to use expressions such as this, it can bring confusion to those in and outside the realm of believers. It says to the believer that it is the building and not the individual which holds the power and Spirit of God. To the unbeliever it paints a picture of damnation to their souls if they dare to step foot into such a building. I'm sure you all have heard it from at least one person who is an unbeliever or maybe you have even said it yourself before you were saved (I did); "If I ever step foot in a church the roof would collapse right on me! The church would get struck down with lightning! God would strike me dead!" --you get the point. So now we have a picture of who or what the church is to the believer and unbeliever alike, but what does Jesus actually call the church according to scripture? Romans 12:5 "So we, though many, are one in Christ, and individually members of one another." Ephesians 2:21 "In whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit." 1Corinthians 3:17 "If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."  There are many passages in which detail who the church of God is, but these are a select few.
   The scriptures reveal a much clearer picture of who the true church is. It is not a building, but it is each and every believer who make up this spiritual building, bearing the Spirit of God. The building referred to many times in scripture as the church is no longer a physical structure but a spiritual one. This is why Jesus is quoted saying, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." He was not referring to the temple of stone which was present in Jerusalem but to the transference of God's Spirit from the physical building to the spiritual body.
   The scripture does make it apparent that we are to continue to gather together in fellowship and to encourage one another, though the place in which we gather is of no significance. Whether it is a small home or a large building it matters not to God. The condition of the building is not what he is searching for; it's the condition of the hearts of his people which catches his attention. I suspect pastors who care more about what the building looks like rather than what God's sheep look like are missing the point. Sometimes we wander off course and begin to focus on things that don't really matter, I know I have a habit of doing this. But the bottom line remains, you can remodel or rebuild a building as many times as you'd like, but its a waste of time, resources and effort if the true church is dying or being neglected. It's not a sin to want a nicer place to meet in, but it can become one if we are doing it for the wrong reasons i.e. envying other churches who have larger, fancier buildings, believing it's the building which attracts sinners, or prioritizing something fleshly (a building) over something spiritual (Christ's body). We don't need a nicer building or better programs to attract the lost sheep, the Spirit and power of God is what draws people to himself.
   Dressing up to meet in a building with your brothers and sisters is of no relevance since the same Spirit dwells in you while you are at home in your PJ's. Jesus tells us that if we treat someone differently or with less respect for coming into a meeting with filthy or unappealing apparel we are sinning as a result of partiality. We have formed a custom to dress up so ornate for our meetings that those who are without don't feel at ease coming into our presence by reason of shame and inferiority. This is why we are instructed not to wear gaudy, extravagant, or expensive apparel but to be modest in how we present and conduct ourselves. Truthfully God could care less whether you show up in a suit or in rags, he does not judge by what he sees with his eyes, as the prophet Isaiah puts it, he judges with righteous judgement. 
    We have unintentionally infused truth with tradition and it's time there is dissolution of the two. God is clear, do not add or take away from the word. Adding our own interpretations based on what we conclude the scriptures might be saying is adding to his word. This was the very thing which Jesus detested about the Pharisees and Sadducees. They were placing yokes upon the people which he never asked or gave them permission to do, setting stumbling stones in their path. He's mindful enough of this issue to address it through Peter, "..knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." The only yoke we should be carrying is the yoke of God's love, love for each other. This yoke is easy and its burden is truly light, in both senses. We carry the light of God when we carry the yoke of Jesus.
   "By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another." Each and every believer is the church! Next time you hear an unbeliever make a statement about how the world would come to an end if they stepped foot in a church, kindly make it known to them that we (the individuals) are the true church and that a building has no power or authority to harm them. God bless and keep diving deeper in Christ!