Spirit and Life Devotional is a daily publication by Pastor Chinaemerem Ibezim, senior pastor of Able Ministers Chapel, a church based in Calabar, Cross River State.
[pull_quote_center]”For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.” I Corinthians 11:18 [/pull_quote_center]
In trying to understand the church, there are two words to consider: ekklēsía and kyriakos. Ekklēsía means people called out from the world and to God. Kyriakos is the word from which the English word “church” was gotten; it means “belonging to the Lord”.
The first thing you observe is that it refers to a people and not a person. You are a Christian but not a church; individually, we are temples of the Holy Spirit, and collectively, we are the Church of Jesus Christ. No one should ever isolate himself from the church; it’s very important that believers gather together regularly as a church.
Two people make up a church. Whether they are referred to as “mushroom churches” is irrelevant. A church is not defined by its numerical size, but by the people and the presence of God. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20. Whether they gather under a tree, in a room, or by the river doesn’t matter as long as they are gathered together in the name of Jesus.
Make sure you go to church and participate actively in the service. Jesus will be present and your life will be transformed. Amen.
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