THE CHURCH OF GOD

It is worthy to note that the one church Christ has founded is named the Church of God. The name - Church of God - is mentioned 12 times in the New Testament, which denotes God's church and sanctity.
From about A.D.50 to around the 1950s, the Gospel of the kingdom of God which Christ was sent by God the Father to proclaim to mankind was not widely preached! But this was prophesied to be so by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, 'But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this world has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God,should shine on them.'

In New Testament Greek, the church (ekklesia) is the called-out ones of a congregation of people. They are callled by God (John 6:44) to separate themselves from the practices and the 'get' way of life of this world whose god and ruler is Satan (2 Cor 4:4). The church is called to depart from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. The kingdom of light is the kingdom of God that will be established on earth once Satan is bound (Rev 20:3).

The church of God is not the means by which God is trying to save the whole world. There is no record anywhere in Scriptures of Jesus trying to give the 'altar call for salvation'. In fact, He spoke in parables that the masses will not understand what He was trying to teach His disciples. When asked by His disciples why He spoke in parables, He replied, 'Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries  of the kingdom of heaven (God), but to them it has not given.' (Matthew 13:10-11). But to those who are outside  (those not being called), all things come in parables (Mark 4:11b).

What then is the purpose of the Church that Jesus founded?  Apart from having eternal life through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Church is to learn the way of God's government with the 'give way of life' and develop the character of Christ in order to become the king priest in the life to come. This gift of eternal life will happen in the future at the time of first resurrection for those who are called in this church age, for we shall be saved (future tense) by His life  - Romans 5:10. Those who are called to be kings and priests will rule and teach probably over one hundred billion resurrected mortals at the second resurrection during the millennial age with God's whole truth. They have first to be tested to become qualified in this life and age (1 Peter 4:17) just like Jesus did in the wilderness with Satan at His first advent (Matthew 4: 1-11).

The Master Plan of God involves God reproducing Himself in man to be born again as immortal spirit beings into His divine Family! The Church is the firstfruits whereby God is accomplishing this as He predestined those He has called (John 6:44) to become begotten (means not yet born) of the Father - the Head of the God Family. Human family and reproduction is a typology of this truth. Christ in John 10:30 says, 'I and My Father are one' - signifying that there are only TWO supreme personages in the whole universe - and the Jews are about to stone Jesus for blasphemy. Jesus was cool and collected in His reply, quoting Psalms 82:6, 'You are gods'. The Feast of Tabernacles depicts the coming millennial reign of Christ together with the born again spirit beings of the divine Family of God.

Traditional Christianity assumes that the Church exists as a 'soul saving station'. If that is the case, then how were people before the time of the founding of the Church saved? Scriptures is clear in Genesis 3:24 that after Adam and Eve sinned, the tree of life and God's Holy Spirit were cut off from mankind. Except for the select few who were predestined by God to be His sons - who were sealed with the Spirit of God until the time of redemption (Eph 1:13-14), the rest of mankind cannot know God unless God reveals His truth to them (1 Cor 2:13-14). Even for the true Church of God in this present age, it forms only a tiny proportion in relation to the world's population. Are they implying that God is the loser and Satan is the winner. The whole world has been deceived by the great deceiver (Rev 12:9) about the real purpose and time order of God's Master Plan!

No doubt some may say that in the Old Testament era, Israel was the 'Church'. That is acceptable. But note that its primary role was not to proselytise to the pagan world around. In fact, on many a count the Isrelites cannot even save themselves, let alone the Gentiles! But the masses in Christiandom do not realise that the Gospel cannot be proclaim to the world until Christ had overcome Satan at the wilderness and His glorification (John 7:39), only then could the Spirit of God descend upon the Church to empower Christ's disciples. The first Adam and his descendants have failed to reclaim the government of God lost to Satan. Christ has to come as the second Adam and succeeded as an Overcomer to replace Satan and founded the Church for those called out of Satan's world!

Notice that the prophet Isaiah prophesied that the GOVERNMENT will be upon the shoulder of Christ (Isaiah 9:6-7) who will return to reign and inherit as KING over all the nations of the earth (Psalm 82:8). One of His purposes at the first advent is to announce the Gospel of the kingdom of God to the cities (Luke 4:43). But to those who are not being called, Christ made no attempt to reach out to them. Is God then a respecter of persons? By no means as all those who are called by God are called not just for salvation but for a specific purpose and task (1 Cor 12:18). There are no pew seaters for those called into the kingdom of God! They are being trained for reaching the whole of humanity when God called the masses after Satan is taken into incarceration.

Those called in this church age have a harder task as they have to overcome Satan, the pull of society with its corrupt system and the fallen nature of man. However, their rewards are also much greater for those who overcome shall share the throne with Christ as the 'Bride of Christ' with all the inheritances and rewards that come from the Father in heaven. The Church of God then, is the instrument by which the Heavenly Father goes about calling those who are willing to be trained and disciplined in God's government and righteous way by rejecting Satan's way of government. They will in due time be resurrected unto salvation as immortal God beings to assist Christ in bringing salvation to the whole of humanity during the millennial age!

When God's divine Family (church of the firstborn - Hebrews 12:23) are gathered together with all of humanity (the general assembly - Hebrews 12:23), they will all bow their knees to worship Christ and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11). The supergovernment of God is strictly a God Family business as those without the fruits of the Spirit and righteous deeds will not qualify (see parable in Matthew 22:1-14). And for those who understands what has been written here are probably called by God to become members of His divine Family but you have to make a choice whether to be so chosen - 'for many are called but few are chosen' (Matthew 22:14; 20:16b).