THE HOUSE OF GOD, THE TRUE CHURCH

THE HOUSE OF GOD, THE TRUE CHURCH
Exodus 25:8,9,40; 1Timothy 3:15,16.
True churches still exist today. Who are they?

INTRODUCTION
One of the most significant chronicles in Old Covenant history is the record of the covenant making between God and a faithful, god-fearing man by the name of Abraham. In the covenant-making process, God promised to Abraham that He would make him a great nation, to bless him greatly and to make his name great; in turn, he and all his seed after him would be a blessing to all the nations of the earth. This was to be an everlasting covenant, but an important condition attached to the covenant was that Abraham and all his seed after him were to walk with God in continuing faith.
Some four hundred years later, a nation coming from the descendants of Abraham was born. Then without a leader, God identified a godly man from among them whom He chose in the person of Moses to lead the nation to claim the land that He had promised as a covenant inheritance to their father Abraham - Exo 3:7-10. God had not forgotten the everlasting covenant that He had made with Abraham – Gen 17:1-9. He heard the cry of His people under the bondage of Egypt and He delivered them – Exo 2:23-26; 6:1-8; Deu 4:37,38.
A landmark event in the early history of the nation of Israel after being delivered from Egypt was their covenant-making with God at the foot of Mt. Sinai – *Exo 19:1-8; 24:1-8. This covenant-making, sealed in blood, was in essence, a renewing of the very same covenant that God had earlier made with their father Abraham - Exo 15:1-21; 19:1-8; 24:1-8; Heb 9:16-22. Their covenant position and relationship thus established with God put Israel in the unique position as God’s elect and peculiar people. Thus did God declare Himself as their God, and Israel, His (covenant) people – Exo 6:7; Deu 4:20; 7:6; 14:2; 26:16-19; 28:9.
It is evident that God always makes Himself known to whoever would wholeheartedly and faithfully seek Him and follow Him. However, such a revelation of Himself to man is only possible to those who are in a covenant position and fellowship with Him. It is to those who have entered into such a covenant position and relationship with Him that Jehovah pledges to be their God, and them, His chosen and peculiar people. Because of His love for His people, God delights to dwell with them. Exodus 25:8,9:
“And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.”
It was not too long before Israel began to show signs of unfaithfulness in their covenant walk with God. A most saddening fact in the history of the covenant nation is their failure to continue to walk faithfully in their covenant relationship with God. Their testimony was one of disobedience and rebellion. Generations passed on and Israel as a nation went sliding further down into spiritual poverty, thus bringing upon themselves judgment and national chaos. Yet, God, in His faithfulness, loving-kindness and enduring mercy, remembers the everlasting covenant He had made with Abraham and his seed. He patiently continues to deal with the nation He chose and loved; each time, working through few faithful individuals (judges, kings, prophets) in each generation as His mouthpiece to call the nation to repentance and faith. Sadly though, Israel as a whole refused to take heed to God’s servants.
One of the servants that God used was a prophet by the name of Jeremiah. Through Jeremiah, God promised to make a New Covenant with His people – Jer 31:31-34. However, the New Covenant was not to be realized until the promised Messenger, Mediator and High Priest of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ the Messiah of God Himself came to earth to establish and to seal that New Covenant with His own blood (Mal 3:1; Heb 7:6-13; 8:6; 9:15-24; Mat 1:21; 15:24; Luk 1:67-79; 7:11-17; 24:21; Acts 3:11-25; 13:46,47; Jn 1:11; Rom 15:8; 9:1-5).
When Jesus, the messenger and mediator of the New Covenant finally came to the nation of Israel, not all of Israel received Jesus Christ as the Messiah of God to enter into the sphere of the New Covenant. Most of Israel rejected the Messiah and brought Him to the cross. It was only a small remnant of the people of Israel that repented and received Jesus as the Messiah to follow Him in faith and obedience. This remnant that responded to Jesus Christ and His message were those who recognized and acknowledged their sins and transgressions against God. They genuinely repented, trusting Jesus as the Messiah of God; and surrendered their lives to enter into the New Covenant position and fellowship with Him through water baptism administered by those authorized by God.
John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, whom God sent to the nation of Israel to prepare the way of the Messiah, was the first to be authorized to preach ‘the baptism of repentance,’ and to baptize in water, those who genuinely repented (Mal 3:1; Jn 1:6,33; Mk 1:1; Luk 3:3; Acts 13:24; 19:4; Mat 3:1-12). Those who genuinely responded to His preaching became the materials for the first New Covenant house or assembly (ekklesia) to be organized and established by Jesus Christ. The New Covenant relationship that is IN CHRIST JESUS demanded a life of continuing faith and obedience as His true disciples. Jesus spoke of this relationship as the ‘you in Me and I in you’ fellowship. Disciples in the Lord’s scriptural assembly were to abide in Christ which means that they were to remain in an intimate covenant fellowship with Christ, bearing the testimony of spiritual fruit in their lives. Otherwise, they would be cut off from the Covenant fellowship – Jn 15:1-8.
Now in the New Covenant era, God dwells not in temples made with hands, but with and in the New Covenant house, ‘the ecclesia,’ or the congregation of Christ through the Holy Spirit – 1Cor 3:16,17; 6:19,20; *2Cor 6:16; Eph 2:22. Jesus authorized and entrusted His assemblies with the work of the New Covenant Commission till He comes again – Mat 18:18-20; 24:14. It was through the first assembly in Jerusalem that other similar assemblies were established outside and beyond Jerusalem. The promised Holy Spirit empowers the Lord’s assemblies for this worldwide endeavor – Jn 14:16,17; 15:26,27; Luk 24:49; Acts 1:8; 2:1-13,33. Obedience to the command of Christ and yieldedness to the leadership of the Holy Spirit led to the establishment of other scripturally authorized assemblies all over the world. Jesus not only promised His indwelling presence with His true assemblies; He also promised the preservation of His scriptural churches until the end of this age – Mat 16:18,19; 28:20.
After the passing of the apostles, the ruling Roman Empire continued to expand far and wide. The year A.D. 313, particularly, marked the beginning of a new kind of treacherous machination by the Roman emperor, Constantine. He was the mastermind of an evil and powerful religious-political organization that came to power, taking after the name, the Roman Catholic church. This was the beginning of an age of religious tyranny and persecution upon the Congregations of Jesus Christ. The Lord’s churches endured great suffering and persecution during this dark age of over a thousand years. Under hot pursuit by the Roman persecutors, they fled to the safety of the woods and mountains or whenever there was a safe sanctuary for them to preach and practice their New Covenant faith. By the end of the dark ages, close to sixty million people that belonged to the Lord’s assemblies had been massacred by their Roman Catholic persecutors in an effort to obliterate the true churches of Jesus Christ from the face of the earth (Study the book entitled “The Trail of Blood” together with other historical records on the Lord’s true churches).
Later in the Reformation of the 16th century, many daughters or denominational groups called protestant churches were born to the Roman Catholic church. Quietly, alongside this span of dark history, though not without notice, the true churches of the Lord Jesus Christ by God’s divine preservation continued to propagate in many parts of the world in spite of the growing resistance from her enemies. Endless, bloody assaults by the false church and her protestant daughters threatened to destroy the Lord’s churches, but history tells us that the Congregations of Messiah continued to survive and mushroom.
Today, long after the dark ages, the influences of the Roman Catholic church and her protestant daughters are still very much present. These religious ‘tares’ among the wheat have brought about a blurring effect upon the world; an utter confusion to the extent that it has become very difficult to identify who the Lord’s true churches really are today.
It is timely for us now, to pause for some searching questions: Can all denominational groups and ‘churches’ that trace their origin back to the Roman Catholic mother church or to a human founder be the true churches of Jesus Christ? Is every group claiming itself to be a ‘church’ a true House of God? Does God dwell in all these denominational groups and ‘churches’ that are so divided in their teachings and practices? Was the indwelling Holy Spirit ever promised to them? After this inevitably long introduction, we are now ready to move on to the study of the history and principal characteristics of the Old and New Covenant House of God. It is with much prayer and hope that this study will aid every serious seeker to identify the true House of God today and especially desire to be a part of the Lord’s assembly as His covenant people.

THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND AUTHORITY OF GOD’S HOUSE

A. GOD’S OLD COVENANT HOUSE - THE TABERNACLE
The first mention of “the House of God” in the Old Covenant Book was made by Jacob (Genesis 28:17) at a place where he fell asleep. The Lord spoke to him in a dream about the covenant He had made with his grandfather Abraham, and when he woke up from his dream, Jacob named that place ‘Bethel,’ which in Hebrew means ‘the House of God.’ Jacob called the House of God, ‘the gate of heaven.’
On the other side of the Red Sea, up on Mount Sinai, God gave Moses His laws, statutes, ordinances, judgements, and instructions pertaining to every aspect of the life that His covenant people, Israel were to live in the promised land of Canaan. God also gave Moses specific instructions for the construction of a physical sanctuary, the House of God, so that He might dwell among them. The design of the House of God, the Tabernacle was of a divine pattern, a heavenly blueprint (Exodus 25 through 31). This included the detailed design and measurement of the exterior as well as interior furnishings; instructions concerning the priesthood, his apparel, and the priestly duties. God told Moses that he was to make all these after the pattern which was revealed to him on Mount Sinai (Exo 25:8,9,40; Heb 8:5).
“According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.” - Exodus 25:8,9
God did not need a House for His own sake, but because of His love and mercy toward His covenant people, the people of His choice, God desired to dwell in their midst, that they might constantly know Him, fellowship with Him and be in His presence. It was in this place called the Tabernacle (the dwelling place of God) where God put His name. When it was completed according to the divine blueprint, God’s glory filled the Tabernacle just as He promised He would dwell among His people (Exo 40:33-35).

B. GOD’S OLD COVENANT HOUSE - THE JERUSALEM TEMPLE
When David became the king of Israel, he endeavoured to build a more permanent dwelling in Jerusalem for the Ark of the Covenant. Since the days of Moses, the Ark of God had dwelt in a mobile Tabernacle carried about by the sons of Aaron. Just as God gave Moses a divine blueprint to build the Tabernacle, God also gave David a divine blueprint for the Temple to be built in Jerusalem. King Solomon, the successor of His father, King David, was later appointed by God to built the Temple (2Sam 7:1-13; 1Chr 28:1-6,9-13,20; 29:1; 1Kin 6:1,11-14). Again, when the Temple was completed according to the prescribed pattern, the glory of the Lord filled the House of God, just as it did the Tabernacle earlier - 1Kin 7:51-8:13,20,29 (also 2Chr 5:1,13,14). This again signified that God was pleased to dwell with His people.

Reflecting upon the Tabernacle built in Moses’ time and the Temple in Jerusalem built by Solomon, we see consistently, God’s divine principle called Institutional Authority. It is very obvious that God dwells only in the place (people or institution) where He has chosen to put His name (authority) - Deu 12:5-14,32; 14:22-26; 16:6,11,15,16; 26:1,2. We have seen that God CHOSE to dwell in the midst of His covenant people, Israel whom He loves. The Tabernacle was placed in the midst of the congregation of Israel. This was “the place where God had put His Name,” where His people could seek Him, meet Him, worship Him and serve Him. God was to be the centre and focus of all their lives.
God’s people in the Old Covenant knew that when they brought their sacrifices and offerings to God, they were to bring them only to the place where God had put His name and nowhere else – Exo 23:19; 34:26. There was no other place where acceptable sacrifice and worship could be made toward God. The people of Israel knew that God forbade them to offer sacrifices of worship in any other place where God had not authorized; and to violate this order of God would bring about severe consequences - Lev 17:1-9; Deu 12:32; Josh 22:1-34**. God only recognizes the place where He has put His name - 1Kin 8:12-30; 9:1-3; 11:13,36.
As long as Israel continued to walk in faith and obedience toward their God, they remained in covenant with Him; and God would be their God and He would recognize them as His holy people and would protect and richly bless them - Deu 28:1-14.

Note: Not all that believed became God’s people. For example: Nebuchadnezzar who recognized the God of Israel as the true God and even blessed God (Dan 2:46-4:3); Naaman the Syrian who trusted the God of Israel and was healed of his leprosy (2Kin 5:1-19); the Ninevites that repented at Jonah’s preaching (Jonah 3:1-10; 4:11), etc. All these acknowledged the God of Israel as the true God, but they were not God’s covenant people, for they never entered into a covenant relationship with Him, and could not walk with God in all manners that are pleasing before Him. Having no part with the House of God and having no provision outside the nation of Israel to make sacrifices for sins, they needed to repent, to turn away from idolatry and enter into a covenant relationship with God through the nation of Israel in order to have a share in God’s covenant redemption and promises.

C. GOD’S NEW COVENANT HOUSE - THE CHURCH
Just as we have seen the principle of Institutional Authority in the Old Covenant, we will also see this same principle in the New Covenant. A God chose to dwell with His people in the Old Covenant days in:
· The Tabernacle (a mobile dwelling) and then,
· The Temple (a permanent dwelling in Jerusalem)
Both these dwelling places were designed and built after “a heavenly pattern.” We have seen how God’s glory filled both these dwelling places, thus endorsing His acceptance and recognition of Israel as His beloved covenant people. God was pleased to dwell in their midst so that they might intimately know Him, worship Him and serve Him. ## Yet, these were but a pattern (shadow) of things to come (Heb 8:5; 9:24; 10:1; Col 2:8-17).
The saddest news in the history of the nation of Israel is that they did not maintain a faithful walk with their God. They broke the covenant that they had made with God, turning to other gods, and repeatedly transgressed the laws of God (Hosea 4 through 14; Jer 31:32; Heb 8:9, et al.) In spite of this, God desired a better end for His people. Through His prophet Jeremiah, God spoke of A NEW COVENANT that He would make with the war-torn and divided House of Israel and the House of Judah (Jer 31:31-34). This was to be a better covenant established upon better promises, having a better and perfect sacrifice that was fulfilled at the sacrificial death of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, thereby replacing the first Covenant he made with Israel as a nation at the foot of Mount Sinai (Heb 8:1-13; 2Cor 3:6-11).
Jesus Christ is not only the messenger and mediator of the New Covenant, He is also the Head and High Priest of the New Covenant House of God (Mal 3:1; Heb 9:15; 8:1,2; Col 1:18; Eph 4:15; 5:23). By His sacrificial death, He purchased His church with His own blood (Acts 20:28; 1Cor 6:20). True churches of the Lord Jesus Christ are called “the house of God, the church of the living God” (1Tim 3:15). At His resurrection into glory, Jesus became the High Priest of the greater and more perfect Tabernacle in heaven. At His ascension, Jesus entered into the very presence of God, into that heavenly Tabernacle, (Heb 9:1-12,23,24), not an earthly building made with man’s hands (Acts 7:48-50; 17:24).
Just like the heavenly Tabernacle, a local visible New Covenant (Testament) church is not a physical building made with hands (Acts 7:47-50; 17:24,25). It is made up of called-out people who are in covenant relationship with God. Such are those who have repented of their sins and have put their trust in Messiah Jesus, are scripturally baptised into Him (Christ) and continue in the covenant fellowship as faithful members of a true church where Christ is the Head and High Priest. These are called disciples, saints, the faithful IN CHRIST, the elect of God, living stones, the Israel of God, the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit, etc. - Mat 4:19; Eph 1:1; 1Cor 1:2; Col 1:2; 3:12; 1Pet 2:5; Gal 6:15,16; Phil 3:3. They share many of the same promised blessings of the everlasting covenant that God first made with Abraham in Gen 17:7,8 (compare with Gal 3:7,13-16; 3:27-29; Eph 3:1-6). These are the saints of the Lord, the faithful covenant Bride people of God who will one day be resurrected into glory when Christ comes the second time to receive His Bride people to Himself at the marriage of the Lamb (Mat 25:1-13; 2Cor 11:1,2; Eph 5:23-32; Rev 19:7-9).
The saints will enter into the New Jerusalem, into the glorious presence of the Father where Christ is now sitting on the right hand of God’s throne, making intercession for the saints (Col 3:1; Rom 8:27,34; Heb 7:24,25). They will dwell forever with Christ in the presence of the angels, and of the Father into the ages of the ages (Heb 12:22-24 cf. Rev 21:3,22,23). There, in the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, the everlasting Kingdom of God, there is no temple, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it (Rev 21:22). The Bride people will sit on thrones in the heavenly Tabernacle, the New Jerusalem, to rule and reign together with their Bridegroom into the ages of the ages (Rom 8:14-17; Gal 3:26-4:7; Rev 2:25-29; 5:10; 22:5; et al.).

THE VITAL IMPORTANCE OF DIVINE ORIGIN AND AUTHORITY FOR A CHURCH TO BE A TRUE CHURCH
A church that is organized with Scriptural authority is a true church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and as such, is a true New Covenant House of God. It is the dwelling place (habitation) of God in the Spirit, the fullness of God, in which Christ is glorified (Jn 17:10; 1Cor 3:16,17; 6:19,20; 2Cor 6:16; Eph 1:21,22; 2:19-22; 3:20,21; Col 1:18,19; 2:9).
A. “Like begets like” is a Biblical principle. Only a true church can “give birth to” or “establish” a true church based on the heavenly authority it already has. Without proper authority, no person or church could administer scriptural baptism.
B. ‘Churches’ that are NOT founded upon Scriptural origin and authority are merely man-made organizations. Such organizations have NO scriptural authority to baptize, to represent Christ, or to do His work. This work has already been delegated by Jesus Christ ONLY to His true churches of whom He is their only Head and Founder. The Lord’s true churches DO NOT need the support from or be in affiliation with any man-made organization in order to do God’s work, whether Roman Catholic, Protestant or otherwise). To do otherwise is to despise the law of God.

TRACING THE DIVINE ORIGIN & AUTHORITY OF GOD'S TRUE NEW COVENANT ASSEMBLIES ON EARTH
The origin and authority of God’s true churches can be traced back to God’s chosen messenger, John the Baptist. The scriptures speak of God’s messenger, John the Baptist as the voice crying in the wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight” - Mal 3:1-3; 4:5,6; Isa 40:3-8; Mat 17:10-13; Mk 1:1-3. John was authorized and sent by God with a mission to make ready a people prepared for the Lord Jesus Christ - Luk 1:11-17; Jn 1:6,33; Mat 21:23-27. He fulfilled his mission by making and baptizing disciples. John preached the baptism of repentance in view of Christ’s coming kingdom and baptised only those who had truly repented and trusted in Jesus as their Messiah – Mk 1:4; Lk 3:3; Acts 13:24; 19:4; Mat 3:1-12.
It is very evident that Jesus Himself recognised that John the Baptist’s baptism was authorized by God:
1. Before Jesus began His ministry, He travelled from Galilee to Jordan to be baptised by John the Baptist. His baptism by John was a landmark event that fulfilled all righteousness (Mat 3:13-17).
2. Soon after Jesus’ baptism, He was introduced to the disciples that John had earlier prepared and baptized. These disciples were evidently waiting for the appearance of their Messiah (Jn 1:41). When John’s disciples met the Messiah, they left John to follow Him. Jesus duly organized them into the first New Covenant ekklesia (church) and commissioned them to the work of the Gospel of the Kingdom (Jn 1:35-2:2; Mat 4:18-22; 16:18-19; Mk 3:14-18; 1Cor 3:11). It is important to note that Jesus did not have to ‘rebaptize’ any of them, for He recognized the heavenly authority of John’s baptism.
3. During an encounter with the Jewish chief priests and elders in the temple, Jesus defended the authority of John the Baptist’s baptism as from heaven (authorized by God) - Mat 21:23-28*. To repent and submit to Scriptural baptism is to justify God (declare God’s righteousness). Those who rejected Scriptural baptism rejected the counsel of God against themselves - Lk 7:29,30. The same are those today who refuse or reject scriptural baptism from the Lord’s true churches.

THE PERPETUITY OF GOD'S NEW COVENANT ASSEMBLIES IN THIS AGE
Jesus promised to preserve His church through an unbroken perpetuity of scripturally organized churches throughout this age (Mat 16:18). Beginning with the first church He organized at Jerusalem, Jesus gave the authority and commission to His true churches, to go into the world to make disciples, to baptize them and to establish other true churches (Jn 4:1,2; Mat 28:18-20; Lk 24:47; Acts 1:8). Obedience to this Biblical pattern given by Jesus Christ to His true churches ensures a continuing perpetuity of true churches throughout this age.

BIBLICAL TERMS DESCRIBING GOD’S New Covenant PEOPLE – MEMBERS OF THE LORD’S SCRIPTURAL ASSEMBLY
[NOTE: The Protestant theology of the Universal Invisible Church loosely apply many of these terms to anyone who is simply ‘saved from hell’]
1. “Disciples” – The first mention of Christ’s disciples is found in Jn 2:2. Only the first four books of the New Covenant abundantly use the word “disciple(s)” to address members of the Lord’s church.
2. “Christian (Christ’s ones)” – Acts 11:26 (used for the first time); 26:28; 1Cor 3:23; 15:23; 2Cor 10:7; Gal 3:26-29; 5:24; 1Pet 4:16.
3. “The Habitation Of God In The Spirit” - Eph 2:22. The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is a New Covenant PROMISE given by Jesus to His New Covenant Church. It is not promised to all the saved outside the Lord’s church according to Protestantism. Jesus called the Holy Spirit, “the Promise of the Father.” It was on that historical Day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2 that The glory of the Lord filled the first New Covenant HOUSE OF GOD. It was upon the faithful remnant of the first New Covenant assembly (about 120 of them – Acts 1:15) who obediently waited with one accord in one place, at Jerusalem that their glorified and ascended Messiah sent “the Promise of the Father” (Jn 14:16,17; 16:7; Lk 24:49; Mat 28:20; Acts 1:4; 5:32).
Thus, God (the Holy Spirit) dwells in the midst of His New Covenant Congregation (Rev 1:13; 2:1). God, dwelling in the midst of His covenant people is a covenant promise (compare Lev 26:11,12 with 2Cor 6:16). Jesus promised His true churches His continued presence throughout this age through the promised Holy Spirit that empowers them to do His will until He comes again (Jn 14:15-17; 16:7-13; Mat 28:20; Lk 24:49; Acts 1:1-8).
a. The Promise of the Father is fulfilled - Acts 2:1-4,33,38-39; 5:32.
b. The Promise of the Father still remains in the Lord’s churches - Eph 1:13,14,22,23; 2:20-22; 4:30; Rom 8:14-17,23; Gal 4:6,7; 2Cor 1:21,22; 1Jn 2:20,27; 3:24.
4. “The House Of God” - 1 Tim 3:15,16.
5. “The Temple Of God” - 1Cor 3:16,17; 6:19; 2Cor 6:16; Eph 2:20-22 (“ye,” “you” - plural).
6. “The Church Of God” - 1Cor 1:2; 10:32; 11:22; 2Cor 1:1; Gal 1:13; 1Tim 3:15.
7. “The Churches In Christ” - Gal 1:22; 1The 2:14.
8. “The Body of Christ, the fullness of God” - Col 1:18,19,24; 2:9,10; Eph 1:22,23; 4:11-16; 5:23.
9. “The Bride Of Christ” – Mark 1:18-20; Jn 3:29; Rev 19:7-9; 21:1,2,9. Jesus purchased His true churches, the bride people with His own blood. Through His holy Word, they are to be sanctified in order to be spotless and without wrinkle, holy and without blemish, ready to be presented to Himself at His coming (Acts 20:28; Jn 15:5; 17:17; Eph 5:23-32; 2Cor 11:1,2).
10. “A Chaste Virgin” – 2Cor 11:1,2 (Eph 5:25-27,32).
11. “God’s Husbandry/Building” – 1Cor 3:9; Eph 2:20-22.
12. “The Flock of God/Sheep” – Lk 12:32; Acts 20:28; 1Pet 5:2,3; Mat 10:16; 26:31 (Zec 13:7); Jn 10:1-29.
13. “The Epistle of Christ” – 2Cor 3:2,3.
14. “The Children (sons) of the Living God – Rom 9:24-26.
15. “The People of God” – 1Pet 2:10.
16. “Living Stones” – 1Pet 2:5 (Mat 3:9).
17. “Heir-sons” – Jn 1:11,12; Rom 9:4; 8:14-23; Gal 3:26-4:7; Tit 3:7; 2Cor 6:18; Heb 6:17; 12:23; Jam 2:5; 1Pet 5:3.
[Israel – Exo 4:22; Deu 14:1; 32:6; 1Chr 29:10; Isa 63:16; 64:8; Jer 31:9; Hos 11:1]
[Christ – Mat 3:16,17; Mk 14:36; Rom 1:4; Heb 1:2].
18. “The Circumcision Which Worship God in the Spirit” – Php 3:3.
19. “The Israel of God” – Gal 6:15,16.
20. “A Royal Priesthood” – 1Pet 2:9 (cp. Exo 19:5,6); Rev 1:6; 5:10; 20:6.
21. “A Holy Nation (distinct from all other nations)” – 1Pet 2:9 (cp. Exo 19:6); Jn 11:52.
22. “A Peculiar (purchased) People” – Tit 2:14; 1Pet 2:9; Eph 1:14 (cp. Exo 19:6).
23. “Saints” – Acts 9:13; 26:10; Rom 1:7; 16:15; 1Cor 1:2; 14:33; 2Cor 1:1; Eph 1:1; 4:11,12; Php 1:1; 4:21; Col 1:2; Gal 6:10; 1The 5:27.
24. “Brethren (brothers/sisters)” – Heb 3:1; Mk 3:35; Rom 16:1; 1Cor 7:15; 9:5; 1Tim 5:2; Jam 2:15; 2Jn 13.
25. "The Elect” – Jn 15:16,19; Eph 1:4; Col 3:12; 1The 1:4; 1Pet 1:2; 2Pet 1:10.
26. “Able Ministers of the New Covenant” – 2Cor 3:6 (v.6-11).

GOD'S NEW COVENANT HOUSE IS A LIVING WITNESS
The New Covenant Congregations of Messiah are His living witnesses on the earth, reflecting the glory of God. They should be:
1. Living in holiness as a "chaste virgin,” pure and unblemished, separated from the world, betrothed to one husband, Jesus Christ (Jn 15:18,19; 17:16; Eph 5:23-32; 2Cor 11:2).
2. Making a difference as “the Salt of the earth and the Light of the world” – a character and testimony that repudiates sin in this world and reflects the glory of her Head, Jesus Christ (Mat 5:13-16).
3. Abiding faithfully in Christ (in the covenant relationship) - Jn 8:30-32; 15:1-6; 1Jn 2:28 (Gk. abide = meno - to continue, remain). This involves a steadfast continuity in the covenant relationship, keeping and obeying the Word, walking according to that rule of faith (Jn 14:15,21-24; Gal 6:16) as the Israel of God. This is the “you in Me and I in you” relationship Jesus spoke of in John 15:1-5 to His church disciples.
4. Bearing spiritual fruit (Jn 15:7,8,16; Rom 6:22; 7:4; 14:17,18; Gal 5:16-26).
5. Willingly partaking of Christ’s sufferings - Mat 16:24-26 (Mat 19:27-30); Mk 10:28-30; Jn 15:18,19; Phi 1:29; 2Tim 3:12; 1Pet 1:7-9; 2:19-23; 4:12-16; Heb 13:12,13; 2Tim 2:12; Rom 8:17,18; 2Cor 4:16-18; 2The 1:3-5.
6. Putting God first in ALL things, forsaking ALL Else - Col 1:18; Lk 14:33.
a. Willing to forsake self - Lk 9:23-26.
b. Willing to forsake loved ones- Lk 14:25-27,33; Mat 10:32-39.
c. Willing to forsake possessions - Mat 19:16-30
7. Loyal and obedient to only ONE true Shepherd - Jn 10:4,5,27; 1Pet 5:4.
8. Loving the brethren - Jn 13:34,35; Rom 13:8-10; 1Pet 1:22; 1Jn 3:10-24.

MEMBERS OF GOD'S NEW COVENANT HOUSE
The local assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ are made up of:
1. Faithful Members (1Cor 12:18-20,24-26) - properly baptized believers called “living stones,” “holy priesthood,” “royal priesthood” - 1Pet 2:5,9.
2. Godly Men Appointed By The Church For Specific Spiritual Duties (1Tim 3:1-7):
a. Bishop/Elder – Overseer/under-shepherd of the church 1Cor 12:28 (Luk 6:12-16); Eph 4:11-16; Titus 1:5.
b. Ministering-servants (diakonos) is a generic word describing ‘service’ (diaconea = ministry) but has been transliterated as ‘deacons’ in many other versions – Php 1:1; 1Tim 3:8-13). In the Lord’s church, these are brethren who have been proven faithful and spiritual, and are appointed to carry out specific tasks on behalf of the church. (Acts 6:1-3; Rom 16:1; Col 1:23,25; 4:7; 1The 3;2; 1Tim 4:6. eg. Paul & Barnabas - Acts 11:27-30; 12:25).

THE OORDINANCES OF GOD'S NEW COVENANT HOUSE
To the Lord’s true churches, are given two New Covenant ordinances to be kept faithfully (1Cor 11:2) in memorial of Jesus Christ, their Savior and Head until He comes again:
1. Baptism - Jn 4:1,2; Mat 28:19,20.
2. Lord’s Supper - Mat 26:17-29; 1Cor 11:1,2,17-34.

GOD'S NEW COVENANT HOUSE IS THE CUSTODIAN OF GOD'S TRUTH - 1Timothy 3:15 (Mark 13:32-37; Matthew 28:18-20).
The Bible is a Book of Covenant Truths (Old and New Covenant) written by people in Covenant with God, primarily to instruct God’s Covenant people in their covenant walk with their God. Also written in them are God’s Covenant Promises specifically to His covenant people.
The mysteries of the Kingdom of God and the accompanying blessings of the Kingdom are promised to God’s Covenant People who have been given the indwelling Holy Spirit to comprehend the depths of these mysteries (Mat 13:10-17; Lk 12:32; 1Cor 2:1-16). Jesus also gave the keys of the Kingdom of God to His New Covenant institution, His true churches (Mat 16:18,19; 18:17-20). They are to keep the covenanted Kingdom Truths by teaching, preaching and propagating the Gospel (good news) of the Kingdom until He (the Messiah) comes again (Mat 24:14). The keys of the Kingdom of God speak of the keys of knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom which the spiritual leaders of the nation of Israel had forfeited because of their unfaithfulness – Mat 23:13 cf. Lk 11:52.
John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, the apostles and the Lord’s churches, all preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom parables and mysteries that Jesus taught to His disciples (church brethren) beginning from Matthew 13 to 25 (and other parallel passages in the other books of the Gospels) reveal this. Study the following verses to see the importance of the Gospel or the message of the Kingdom: Mat 3:1,2; 4:17,23; 6:33; 9:35; 24:14; Acts 1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23,31; 1Cor 6:9,10; 15:50,51; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:5; Col 4:11; 1The 2:12; 2The 1:5; 2Tim 4:1,18; Heb 1:8; 12:28; Jam 2:5; 2Pet 1:11; Rev 1:9; 12:10. No mention is made anywhere of the protestant gospel of salvation from hell.
Only the Holy Spirit of God together with the Covenant and Kingdom Truths can sanctify and preserve the Lord’s churches from this evil age in order to receive a full reward of the inheritance in the coming Kingdom of Christ (Jn 17:17; Acts 20:32; Eph 5:26,27; 2Pet 1:1-12; 2Tim 4:18).

CONCLUSION
The true churches of the Lord Jesus Christ have their beginning with the first church at Jerusalem started by Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. Jesus authorized and commissioned this first assembly in Jerusalem to go into the whole world to make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and to teach them to observe all things whatsoever He had taught them (Mat 28:18-20). Out of this first church, was planted other churches in Judea, Galilee, Samaria, Damascus, Antioch, and beyond (Acts 9:31 and the whole book of Acts).
All the churches identified in the New Testament scriptures were founded and organized upon divine origin and authority, having been established by the Biblical pattern established by Jesus Christ Himself. Only churches established upon this Biblical pattern can administer scriptural baptism. Without scriptural baptism, no true church can be established. ‘Churches’ or ‘organizations of men’ that are NOT founded upon divine origin and authority DO NOT have God's promised indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. God will not dwell where He has not authorised to put His Name. He will not receive worship from unauthorised institutions, denominational groups (catholic or protestant) or even ‘churches’ bearing the name ‘Baptist’ which have a questionable origin, authority and organization, for such ARE NOT His true House. They that worship God must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. The true churches of the Lord are both the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit of Truth as well as the pillar and ground of the Truth.
Christ did not promise the Holy Spirit to indwell a person the moment he is saved at first faith. This is a false doctrine propagated by Protestantism. Those who have truly repented of their sins and have trusted in Jesus as their one and only Saviour (Messiah), and are subsequently engrafted (Rom 11:13-24; Gal 3:26-29; Acts 2:38) into God’s New Covenant position and relationship IN CHRIST through scriptural baptism, become members and disciples of Jesus Christ in God’s New Covenant assembly. Only then will they partake of the indwelling Holy Spirit. These disciples are also called God’s (New) Covenant people.
The first and earliest nickname given to the disciples of the Lord’s churches was “CHRISTIANS” (Acts 11:26). The name ‘Christian’ has for a long time been loosely used to denote anyone who has first trusted Christ for salvation but is not in the Lord’s church. This is a grave departure from its original usage in the Bible. Other terms like “disciples,” “in Christ,” “saints,” and those mentioned earlier have been misapplied by protestant groups to describe people who first believe in Jesus as Savior.
Through the passing years, the disciples of the Lord’s true churches were given many other nicknames like: Novations, Donatists, Paterins, Montanists, Paulicans, Cathari, Waldenses, Arnoldists, Henricians, Bogomils, Albigenses, Anabaptists, etc. By the early 16th century, they came to be known simply by the name “Baptists”. Nevertheless, a word of caution is in order here: Not every group today bearing the name “Baptist” is a true church. Some are false churches preferring to use the name “Baptist”. False churches cannot progressively improve to become true ones without proper authority and organization. Others, having aligned themselves with Protestant theology have departed from the faith (Rev 2:5; 3:16). True churches of the Lord Jesus Christ still exist today because Jesus Himself promised that He WILL PRESERVE His divine institution until He comes again (Mat 16:18; 28:20). Can we not simply believe His promise?

How will you respond?
In Ephesians 2:10-16, Paul wrote to the Lord’s church at Ephesus describing the contrasting difference when they were once “without Christ,” (outside of the covenant) and when they were “in Christ” (in the covenant). To be without Christ is to be outside the body of Christ, the Lord’s scriptural New Testament assembly. The apostle Paul further described those “without Christ” as aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. The description of those who remain “without Christ” (outside the covenant relationship “in Christ”) is one that is bleak and hopeless.
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There are decisions that you must make, before God can change all this. Are you willing to obey God’s Holy Scriptures on this (Lk 7:29,30; Mat 3:13-15; 21:23-27)? Are you a member of a scripturally organized New Testament church? Have you been scripturally baptised? Those who have received doubtful or unscriptural baptism need to seek scriptural baptism and to enter into a true covenant relationship with God “IN CHRIST” (Read Acts 2:38,39; 19:1-7; Gal 3:26-29).