A Godly Vision of the Church

When you think about, or talk about the church what do you envision?  Some think of a building, and others an organization.  For some, corporate worship comes to mind, while still others think of some of the difficulties that take place within the church.  We all have ideas of what the church is supposed to look like, and how it is supposed to work.  We know what we think Christians should do, and how they should live together and we spend great amounts of effort and resources to see those ideas brought to fruition.  But is it possible that sometimes we forget what God envisions when He thinks of the church?  Has His vision and His plan been lost among all of our ideas and organization?

            The book of Revelation is the vision of the church that the Apostle John received from Jesus Christ Himself.  Through the imagery employed by the beleaguered preacher we see the difficulties that the church should expect to endure, but also the heights to which God will raise His people.  When it comes right down to it, that’s what this seemingly mysterious book of the Bible is about – God raising His people, and His church up to be what they could not be apart from Him.  It is about God receiving glory through you and me, and every Christian who has wholeheartedly served their God throughout history. 

            We spend time in our congregations and even in our personal lives looking for vision and trying to understand where God is leading us.  We like to use the verse from Proverbs 29:18 that tells us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish,” but many scholars teach that a more accurate translation of that verse is, “Where there is no revelation people cast off restraint.”  Is it possible that the church lacks power and authority today because our vision comes from the wrong places? 

            A lot of the conversation we hear today regarding vision is focused on being “practical” in the things we do within the church.  We want people to readily understand everything we teach and preach and try to avoid things that will require more thought than can happen during a Sunday morning service.  While there is nothing wrong with trying to ensure a better understanding of doctrine contained in Scripture, many times those teachings are compromised or left out altogether in the name of pragmatism.  But what consequence could this be having on the church?  If Scripture is God’s revelation, we are missing a great deal of His heavenly vision because we are not willing to search the Scriptures for it.  We consider doctrine impractical and hindering, but when we come to the Bible looking for God’s vision for His church that same doctrine becomes that which delivers us to the heights at which God has called us to live and function as the church.  We see these visions throughout the Bible.  If we will take the time to prayerfully seek the direction of His spirit we will find that God has not left us alone to come up with “our vision” for the church.  Pastors and laity alike are lifted to new heights by subscribing to the descriptions of the way God sees and empowers His church.  That’s what we see when we read John’s description of the “New Jerusalem” coming down from heaven.

 

            Despite the claims of what we hear on television and read in popular culture, the visions of this 21^st chapter of Revelation are visions of God’s church - the culmination of a thriving, victorious church.  This is the vision God has put in place for the church.  John tells us in verse 2, “I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”  Though many claim that someday God will open up the sky and a city will fall out, John makes the bride of Christ (which we know represents the church) and New Jerusalem synonymous.  And it does not only happen once, he reiterates the same thing in verses 9 and 10.  This is clearly something more than what we are so often led to believe.  This is the church!  It is the vision that God sustains for His people, and the beauty in which He sees them. 

Many Christians look at the church as a failed institution, something that needs to be radically altered to fit our modern culture.  They spend their time looking for “new vision” and something different.  The radical alteration that the church needs today is not one that will cause us to fit the worldly culture, but one that allows us to bring the world a different culture.  We need to catch the vision that God provided to John so many years ago, a vision of a great movement that will bring the culture of heaven to earth.  The purpose of the church has never been to conform to worldly culture, but to bring into a lost world a great counter-culture known as the Kingdom of God.  We see, through God’s vision of the church, the capital city of that kingdom, a triumphant people and a benevolent king.  God has NEVER called His people to stumble through this world in mediocrity trying to “find” some vision and direction; He has created us, and called us out of the world into His holy light to be a triumphant, victorious church - a church that has overcome the world and all of its sin and despair.  That’s why Jesus said, “On this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18),” and why the Apostle Paul reminded us that we are “more than conquerors through him who loved us (Rom. 8:37).” 

We sit through meeting after meeting looking for direction when Scripture is filled with examples of those who have – through a humble heart – come to know the power of God.  But there is a stark contrast between the lives we live for God and those of the heroes of the faith: We concern ourselves with the earthly they concerned themselves with the heavenly.  We concern ourselves with leading, they concerned themselves with submission.  We spend our time looking for the practical while they spent their time looking for the unimaginable.  These were men and women who did not limit themselves to what they knew they could accomplish because their human accomplishments would never compare with what God can do.  They approached God, not to find approval for their vision, but to seek His vision and allow Him to lift them to greater heights than the world had ever known.  They weren’t looking for worldly things to help them get by for a few years until the culture around them changed again, they looked ahead for what God wanted to do in the world THROUGH THEM.  “If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, A HEAVENLY ONE.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city (Heb. 11:15, 16).” 

The church has always been these faithful men and women who will seek God’s will and God’s vision above everything else.  It is not the doormat that so many of us want to make her as we talk negatively about the church and try to hide our association with her.  The church is described as something beautiful, in fact, Psalm 50:2 goes a step further by saying, “Out of Zion, THE PERFECTION OF BEAUTY, God shines forth.”  Are we looking for the same thing God is looking for?  The Apostle Paul reminded us that Christ died for the church, “so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:26, 27).”  Many Christians in our day don’t even look at a life of holiness as a possibility, but that was GOD’S VISION when Jesus hung on the cross and died at the gate so His people could be sanctified.  If this is God’s vision, why are we so willing to settle for less?  Why do we no longer insist on transformation of lives through the power of the Holy Spirit?  Why is a sanctified life no longer a necessity for the Christian, but some type of optional addition to our faith?  That is not what God intended.  God does not want us to drag His work down into the gutters where we live, but He wants to raise us to the heights of holiness and the altitudes of heaven itself.  That’s why John tells us in verse 10 that he was carried away to a “high mountain” to view God’s vision of the church.  That’s the only place from where you can really see such a thing.  And this vision is given freely to us today if we will allow God to raise us up to new heights through our submission to His Spirit and His will.  There is nothing that keeps us from experiencing the fulfillment of this vision of God except for us.

 

Look what God is teaching us about His church:

 

The origin of God’s city is ALWAYS Heaven.  That is as true today as it was nearly two thousand years ago.  If we are to experience God’s work it will always be when we turn our attention away from the sinful things of the world and toward heaven.  Scripture teaches us that the voice of God rings out from heaven, “The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice (2 Sam. 22:14).”  God’s salvation came from heaven when Jesus Christ came to earth to dwell among us.  His power came from heaven when the Apostles and disciples heard the sound of a rushing wind and the Spirit filled and empowered the church.  And God’s city, the New Jerusalem, is seen “coming down out of heaven from God.” 

            God has a vision for His church, and this vision can never be accomplished by means that originate with man.  Only those things that come from heaven are sufficient to accomplish the will of God in the world.  That’s why Scripture places such emphasis on knowing the mind of God.  Because, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isa. 55:9).”  Scripture continually teaches us that God’s work must be done His way, and His way always comes from heaven.  It never comes from a board meeting, a policy, bylaws or bureaucracy.  The things of God originate with God in heaven!

            John was even shown the difference between the things of God and the ways of man in this book of Revelation.  Chapter 13 verse 1 tells us, “I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten [crowns] on its horns and blasphemous names on its head.”  John saw visions of beasts that would be worshipped by the people.  These are systems that draw man away from God, just as the beasts in the book of Daniel represent ungodly political systems.  The problem we face is that man has a way of climbing onto the back of these beasts and going wherever they happen to go. 

Even the church does this at times.  John goes on in the 17^th chapter to show us this.  In contrast to the pure bride of Christ we see in Scripture he saw something completely different.  “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters’…And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names…The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls…And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abomination (Rev. 17:1-5).’”  If a pure woman represents the church established by God, this prostitute represents a false religion, one that takes people away from God.  She is adorned with all the things valued by the world, jewelry, gold, scarlet.  But look at the position she has placed herself in:  She is SEATED ON A BEAST!  When we see visions of Jesus in Revelation the “Son of Man” is seated on a horse.  Horses can be domesticated, and they will listen to the one who rides them and take them where they want to go.  YOU CANNOT CONTROL A BEAST!  It will go wherever its nature takes it.  This woman has placed herself in a position where she is not in control of her destination.

How does this all apply to us today?  Revelation 13 said the beast rose up out of the sea.  Revelation 17:5 tells us, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.”  This false religion is built on something that rose up from man.  This woman is seated on something that man created and subsequently lost control of.  We spend our time devising structures and programs that we are sure God will bless, though we have spent little time seeking His direction.  We get together with other Christians to talk about ideas, potential and vision without much thought given to prayer and study of God’s word.  We cast a vision that turns into 5 and 10 year plans that have come entirely from our own knowledge and limited earthly wisdom, and then we CLIMB ON TO THE BACK of that beast and go wherever it leads us.  We create programs that are supposed to lead us toward God and what we have really done is set loose another beast that will carry the people of God further and further away from the city of God. 

The works of man are NEVER a substitute for the work of God.  The method Scripture teaches us of discipleship and building of a relationship with God comes not from studies and statistics, but submission and prayer.  The revival in God’s church that so many long to see comes from a submission to the word and the will of God.  A desire to see Him glorified through the church and a willingness to pay whatever cost may come with that.  God’s ways come from heaven and will lead us to His city, and His vision of what the church should be, while man’s ways lead away from that very thing. 

“After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven….and he called out with a mighty voice, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great (Rev. 18:1, 2)!’” Consider what this angel was proclaiming:  Babylon IS FALLEN!  It does not say that Babylon is falling, or has fallen.  It says it “is fallen.”  From their beginning, the ideas of man that are substituted for those of God are fallen.  They were never pleasing to God, and could never really accomplish His purposes.  When we take our live into our own hands and cease to look to His Word and Spirit to direct us we have placed ourselves at the mercy of a beast that was fallen from its start. 

When we begin to see this vision of God’s church, and the lives that her people live, then that prayer life that we have been neglected suddenly becomes important again.  The opportunities to hear the proclamation of God’s word suddenly become vital and “practical” and the fallen works that have replaced them are no longer so important.  We begin to understand – just as God’s people have understood in days gone by – that the church has never been built on the works and thoughts of man, but on the doctrines revealed by God.

 

John tells us that the God-given vision of New Jerusalem revealed a city that was built on the foundation of the Apostles.  “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (v. 14).”  We talk a lot about what is essential and what is not essential in the Christian life, but if we are to live a life that sees the heights to which God would raise us it must be built on the doctrine we see in Scripture.  When God began to add to the church in the book of Acts we read, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ DOCTRINE and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers (Acts 2:42).” 

This revelation shows us the relationship God wants with us.  It clarifies and fulfills the revelation in the Old Testament.  John tells us that there were twelve gates surrounding the city and the twelve had the names of the tribes of Israel.  When John saw God’s light in the city he pointed out that these gates were always opened.  Too many times, we stumble around in the darkness of this world trying to “find God.”  The truth is, we stumble around in vain.  He has revealed Himself, AND CONTINUES to reveal His will.  God has a vision for our lives, and for His church, and that is shown to us as we begin to study, and allow the Spirit to guide us into, the depths of His word. 

When we allow doctrine to begin to work in our lives we experience something more than what we could create for ourselves.  We don’t have to wander aimlessly through the dark anymore, but are led into an ever-closer walk with God as we follow the light that He reveals to us.  We see God’s grace and vision in ways that we may never have imagined.  We look back at the Old Testament and see a God of judgment that causes us to tremble and fear.  But when we look at it in light of God’s vision we see something greater.  We see the depth of God’s mercy when we look at the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden.  We understand when we look at God’s perspective that they were not cast out as punishment, but they were removed from danger.  God eliminated the possibility of them eating from the tree of life and living eternally in their fallen state.  The flood of Noah shows us the lengths to which God will go to preserve His people.  The flood restricted the evil that had spread across the earth like a cancer and allowed His followers a new beginning.  Even the tower of Babel shows us the protection that God sometimes gives us from ourselves when he confused the languages to keep man from building a structure that would have turned their attention away from Him.  (Sound familiar?)

As we grow in our Christian walk, and look for direction for the church, it is imperative that we remember that God had a plan for us, and for His church before we ever came along.  That plan is eternal, and the beauty of the works He wants to do in us and through us exceeds any life we could ever create, or church we could ever organize.  God’s plan originates in heaven and it is built on nothing less than the eternal wisdom of our all-powerful God.

 

When we think about God’s vision for the church we see a city built on what He has revealed.   We also see a city with a specific purpose: to be a “Light to the nations…”  The God-given responsibility of the church is to reflect the light of God’s presence into the world around us.  If this is to happen, God must first live among us.  In John’s vision we see the city where God lives among His people, and is an active part of their lives.  He provides for their needs and displays His power through their lives.  The greatest part of this vision of such a city is that God is BUILDING THAT CITY TODAY among His people.  He is working through His church to shine His light into a darkened world from a city that transcends man-made divisions, race, geographical boundaries and every other barrier that has ever kept His people apart.  That’s why John tells us “the sea was no more” in verse 1.  Remember what the sea was?  It was “nations, tribes, people and languages.”  In God’s city there are no more nations, there is simply one nations: the Kingdom of God.  We are not divided by various cultural influences because we are all a part of one culture, the culture of heaven that has come to earth through the work of Jesus Christ in our lives.  You see, culture is what this is all about.  God’s vision is not to call people out of the world who will spread a program, or an organization.  God has called people together from every part of the world to live and spread a culture, maybe even a counter-culture that reveals a greater set of values, and a higher world-view than anything promoted among man.

This culture of God stands out from the world and shows the lifestyle to which God has called us.  That is why Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden (Matt. 5:14).”  The church is responsible to shine ALL the light she receives from Jesus Christ.  He lives among us and instills within us the values held by all the hosts of heaven.  C.E. Orr taught us, “He was the light of the world in his incarnation, and now the church, his body, is the light of the world.  Incarnate he was a light because of his purity and power, and he lives the same pure life and manifests the same marvelous power in his body, the church…”  We wonder why we see so little of the power of God at work in the lives of His people today, but we so seldom allow His culture (taught in Bible doctrines) to permeate our lives.  But God’s intention goes much further than that.  This culture must become so much a part of our lives that it follows us everywhere we go.  The culture of heaven should be the culture of our homes, the culture of our workplace, the culture of our relationship, and yes, even the culture of our congregations.  That is why Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” 

Jesus did not come to establish a culture of independence from God’s word as some are teaching today.  He did not come to usher in a culture of independence from God’s holy standard.  But He did come to show us something more, something greater.  He came to raise us to the heights of heaven during this life on earth.  He came to live the culture of heaven here among man, and to empower us to live that very same culture everywhere we go.  He taught us through His nights spent in prayer a culture of dependence on the power and provision of God.  He taught us in His work with His disciples a culture of perseverance.  He showed us through miracles and healing a culture of empowerment.  And He displayed through the resurrection a culture of victory.  The church has been left with the charge of carrying this culture into all the world, and creating it wherever we go.  Is that happening?

We spend a lot of time praying for our needs and our personal relationship with God, and we should, those things are very important.  But how much time do we spend looking at, and praying over God’s vision for all of us together – the church?  As we search for direction and vision it is imperative that remember what God has already revealed to us.  We spend so much time trying to re-invent the wheel, and so little time looking for a great move of God through which He will establish His vision.  In a day when we literally have the world at our fingertips, and unmatched potential for personal and corporate growth, we must be continually more careful to make sure that the vision we are pursuing is a vision that comes from God.  The church can no longer afford to release uncontrollable beasts into the world.  How long has it been since you have spent time at an altar praying for something bigger than yourself?  As the world speeds on at a torrid pace toward hell, are you willing to cast yourself at an altar and pray for the one hope, the body of Christ – the church?