The Real Church
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. Hos 4:6
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Rev 14:12
There are many denominations that claim to be the ONLY TRUE CHURCH and some even state that if you are not a member of their "True Church" you probably will not be redeemed by Christ.
Not only is this thinking unbiblical but it is a massive deception.
Jesus said in John 4:23, 14:2 and 15:19
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:13-14, 25
"For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another."
What we learn by these verses is that those throughout the ages, Jews and Gentiles alike, who keep the commandments of God according to the word of God, and have faith in Christ, are Christ's congregation.
The word "church" first appears in the writings of the early "Church Fathers" long after the death of the apostles and Christ.
The word church was used in place of the original Greek word "ekklesia," in the New Testament. Ekklesia is used 115 times in the original Greek scriptures, and is always translated as "church" even though the word "church" did not exist in the original languages of the Bible.
Translators that translated the Septuagint (the name given to the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) used the word ekklesia as a Greek word replacement of the original Hebrew word: `edah (phonetic spelling: ay-daw') meaning the "gathering" or "congregation" of Israel.
It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word `edah is a feminine noun fitting perfectly with the fact that Christ is our bridegroom and we are His bride !
The first time the word `edah or ekklesia is spoken in the New Testament is by Christ, in Matthew 16:18,
"…And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my `edah or ekklesia…..(congregation)"
Christ only used this word three times and only in the book of Matthew. The first believers knew that they were the " `edah " or "ekklesia", which is Christ's congregation and Christ's Bride.
The word "church" is just another creation of man and a term used centuries after the era of the first believers.
The Emperor Constantine also ruled that "the congregation" of Christians be called "the Church" giving the body of believers a physical definition and title so that all the people would be under his control as Constantine then became the Emperor of the Church as well as Rome.
The first complete English bible was the Tyndale bible in about 1524, but that bible translation did not use the word "church" anywhere in its pages, it used the correct word "congregation."
When the King James version of the Bible was translated, King James made fifteen specific edicts for this translation. One of those mandates stated that this bible was to use the word "church" in the translation and not the true word "congregation."
This was very important for King James to use the word "church" because he had to have and retain control over "the church" just as Emperor Constantine in the past.
Curiously, they only used the word church for verses in the New Testament and did not bother with the identical verses in the Old Testament which the New Testament refers too.
For example, the New Testament scripture at Hebrews 2:12, quotes the Old Testament scripture at Psalms 22:22, word for word ;
Psalms 22:22... I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
Hebrews 2:12... Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
It is interesting to note that mostly all churches and denominations in the US have chosen to place themselves under the authority of the US Federal government with the 501c3 IRS status and are really corporations.
When a church or ministry files to become recognized as a tax-exempt organization under 501c3, it then becomes a corporation, according to the IRS, and a "creature of the State". The State is Sovereign over its Corporations .
According to Norton v. Shelby Co., a 501c3 organization/corporation is a "creature" of the legislature, created by the state and therefore controlled by the state. It has no constitutional rights except for a limited first amendment right to advertise; (Va. State Board of Pharmacy v. Va Citizen's Council or the "Ashwander Doctrine").
In other words, this fictional "person" has no rights. It only has privileges - which can be taken away at anytime by the state. In fact, all statutory organizations, (created by legislature) and known as "public entities" are controlled by the state.
So if you still believe your church is the true church with Christ at the head, under 501c3 the US Federal Government says otherwise.
The First Amendment provided for religious liberty. Christians in America have the opportunity to perform the great commission without restrictions from state or federal governments.
Even though the civil government made this offer, churches did not have to accept it. Since the ratification of the First Amendment, the federal government has never forced a church to incorporate or get 501c3 status. The Supreme Court still understands that the state cannot legally interfere with a church who does not willingly submit itself to the state.
Churches have existed long before being allowed to receive 501c3 status and can still obtain tax exempt status without going that route, should they choose to do so.
Most unregistered churches operate by the Internal Revenue Code (26 USC 170-B) which states that financial donations to an unregistered, unincorporated church are automatically tax-deductible as explained below:
"I am not the only IRS employee who’s wondered why churches go to the government and seek permission to be exempted from a tax they didn’t owe to begin with, and to seek a tax deductible status that they’ve always had anyway.
Many of us have marveled at how church leaders want to be regulated and controlled by an agency of government that most Americans have prayed would just get out of their lives.
Churches are in an amazingly unique position, but they don’t seem to know or appreciate the implications of what it would mean to be free of government control." (from the Forward of In Caesar's Grip, by Peter Kershaw)
"It is impossible to have religious freedom in any nation where churches are licensed to the government. " George Hansen, Member of Congress (ret.)
Christ's Ekklesia is a spiritual congregation that follows the laws of God, as taught by Christ, and not a physical organization or corporation that can boast of superiority or manufacture new laws and teachings made by mere men.
In the Book of Revelation it is written;
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Rev 22:13-14