A home is where families connect. God has adopted us into His family. God’s family is called the Body of Christ which loves and supports one another, just like a healthy family (John 17:20-23). The best way to experience this love and to spiritually grow is in a loving Christ-centered home church environment (Acts 2:46, Romans 16:5).
The center of “life together” is in the home church as mentioned in Acts 2:42-47 “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
Several decades later the church still met in homes. It says in Romans 16:3-5 – Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house.
In Colossians 4:15 – Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house.
In 1 Cor 16:19 – The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
Also 1 Tim 3 – …for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?
We see the standard for church leadership wasn’t seminary degrees, but how a man runs his own house. If a man cannot manage his own family, how can he oversee the family of God? The family concept for leadership qualification is connected to the home because the church was viewed as the family of God and also met in homes. Do you see how it ties together? We are meant to be a family, the family of God.
Today, we still see home churches meeting all over the world, especially in persecuted countries. However, there are more reasons than persecution to meet in homes. A little background…historically the church met in homes for about 300 years until the first church building was built by the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine. It was Constantine that began to bring the pagan concepts of the priest class vs the common folk. However this is not what the early church practiced:
1 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…
In Christ, we are all priests and many different members make up one body. Not all have the same function, but all are priests before God. Not all are teachers, not all are prophets and so on, but all have a spiritual gift to share and edify the body with. Also, it (1 Cor 12:31) says to grow and desire greater gifts. 1 Corinthians chapters 11-14 expands on how the church was to meet and in 1 Cor 14:26 Paul writes:
How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation (prophecy), has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
When the early church met, the various giftings of the Holy Spirit were shared to:
A)Worship God and
B)Spiritually edify each other (to build up the Body of Christ) 1 Cor 14 and 1 Peter 2:4,5.
The meeting was not meant to be a time of showing off your spiritual gifting nor dominating others but, to build others up. This is mentioned as edification and is mentioned several times in 1 Cor 14. Also, this is why Paul stuck 1 Cor 11, the chapter on love, in between the chapters on spiritual gifts and church order. 🙂
Many years ago in America, churches served the local community and the priesthood of believers was widely recognized (including Baptist churches and others). At that time, the family of God was a witness to the local community. However, today it is normal to not even know other true believers who live on your street. With this truth, how can we possibly fulfill the desire of Jesus to reach the lost with his command to love one another? “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35) In addition to removing the priesthood of all believers, we’ve made church into a business. It is a non-profit business, that’s what a 501c3 is. This should not be! As Jeremiah prophesied in chapter 31:
31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
In the new covenant, we now pray directly to God and know God personally. There is no priest vs common folk, no secular life vs religious life, this is a teaching from esoteric pagan religions, not the Bible and it is not in alignment with the new covenant.
So then why home church in America? Because it is what the Apostles left us! It was Emperor Constatine who changed this. Additionally, it fills a few critical needs. As churches have become more business-like and also stopped emphasizing things like; the priesthood of the believers, fellowship (and life together), breaking bread together, community testimony (and outreach) and discipleship/training/equipping of the entire body. We need to return to the original church model to fulfill the great commission of Christ….to go and make disciples. We don’t need any more Christians, we need disciples – followers. Sure we make mistakes, fall down, apologize and move on learning and growing from the experience as we follow God. This is the new movement of God, decentralized Christian gatherings fulfilling the saying, “The church came in meeting in homes and will go out, meeting in homes.”