"The Church" Part 1 of 3 Kathryn Kuhlman It's His Church

I hold in my hand a letter from a young seminary student. He's a stranger to me. I've never met him. He writes, Dear Miss Kuhlman, I have stopped in the middle of my Greek assignment to write you. Having just today finished your book, I Believe in Miracles, I read every chapter. I was... thrilled at God's transforming power in the lives of people. I had experienced the new birth. But as I read your book, a great burden welled up in my heart, which has been with me, increasingly so, the last several weeks. This burden is the fact that so much of what is done in our churches today is completely human endeavor. As I read your book, I saw how God's Spirit alone is the answer. All the theology, all the Greek, All the degrees that I might get will not determine my usefulness in God's kingdom. I know now the meaning of the words. It's not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord. Pray for me. And the young man signs his... Full name gives his full address. He's a young seminary student preparing to preach the gospel. We're going to have a heart -to -heart talk. In all probability, I will not be able to finish it today. We will continue. And I pray with all the earnestness of my being. that the Holy Spirit shall take my mind, shall quicken my mind, shall speak through lips of clay to give you something that only He can give. I pray He shall open your understanding to the deep truths of His Word. You know, I consider the book of the Revelation the greatest of all prophetic books. That's my personal opinion. Oh, I reeled that wonderful book of the Revelation. The thief of the Revelation is Jesus Christ. And the Revelation begins with the Revelation of Jesus and his church. And before I begin talking about the seven stages of the church as given here in the first three chapters of the book of Revelation, I think it's only fair that we shall have an understanding as to just what is meant by the church. You are a Catholic and you say, My church. I am a Protestant. I say, my church. You may belong to another organization and you say, our church. Jesus says, my church. Before I will finish speaking, We will settle that question once and for all. Which is the right church? Which is the true church? First of all, remember something. The church is not a continuation of the Jewish dispensation under another name. If the scriptures put Moses and the law in one dispensation and Christ and grace in another dispensation, let us respect the divine order and not join together what God hath put asunder. There could be no church. until the day of Pentecost, as recorded in the first chapter of Acts. The church is the body of Christ. In Ephesians, the first chapter, the 22nd and 23rd verses, you read these words. and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him, Jesus, to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body. There could not be the church during the dispensation of the Jews and law. The church could not exist until after Jesus himself had come because he is the head of the church. Let me repeat. And have put all things under his feet and gave him, Jesus, to be the head of all things to the church, which is his body. We see immediately. that this headship was not possible until Jesus had been raised from the dead. Seated at the right hand of the Father, the church, therefore, could not have been in existence before there was a head. For God does not make headless things. The church, then, is the body of which Christ is the head. Quote a little further in 1 Corinthians, the 12th chapter. For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jew or Gentile. whether we be bond or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit. Oh, that's wonderful. Therefore, we are born into his body. Therefore, we see there could be no church until the day of Pentecost. Paul is led to the Ephesians. Continues, there is one body, the church, and one spirit, the Holy Spirit. Even if you are called into one hope of your calling, one Lord, Jesus, one faith, one baptism, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. one god and father of all who is above all and through all and in you all there should be no mistake as to what paul meant by the one body now ye are the body of christ So we, being many, are one body in Christ. The fact that the church is a body made up of living members shows that it is not an organization. This is something that I pray that the Holy Spirit will make very real to you. I pray with all the earnestness of my being that somehow the Holy Spirit shall so penetrate our minds, our hearts, that this glorious truth that has robbed the church of so much of its spirituality shall come through and be made real to your heart and mind. Church is a body made up of living members. It's not an organization. It's an organism. An organization is made up of distinct units, like doors and windows and floors and roof of a building. These things can be removed, replaced by new parts without destroying the integrity of the building. But a human body is an organism. You cannot remove an eye or an ear or an arm or a foot or even a finger or even a tooth. without destroying the integrity of the body and causing a mutilation. And so we see from this wonderful body that Christ is talking about that to lose one member of his body, which is a church, is to mutilate it. Neither can the church as the body of Christ die. For whoever saw a dead body attached to a living head, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ will never die. It is impossible for this wonderful body of believers to die. It cannot. It's the most impossible thing in the world. I know we look around about us and we talk about the falling away. We talk about the deadness of the church. We talk about the lack of spirituality. But remember, beloved, it is impossible for this wonderful body of believers, the church, His church, to ever die. It will never become a dead body because Christ is the head and our head is alive and can never die again. For in the book of Revelation, he said to himself, I am he that liveth and was dead. That's on the cross. And behold, I am alive forevermore. And as long as Christ lives, and he says his life shall be forevermore, this wonderful body of believers, his body, the church, will live regardless of the spiritual drought and the lack of spirituality and the falling away. Death will never come to his church. All to me that's very modest. See something else. A person can exist without a physical body as a soul exists without a physical body between death and the resurrection of the body. But that existence cannot be made manifest. And so the only way that Christ, who is now in glory, can manifest himself to the world is through his body, the church. That's the only way. He is not here on earth. We do not see him. in bodily form as he appears in our midst? No. But he still exists as great high priest seated at the right hand of God the Father. Because of this position, he no longer walks this earth. in person as he walked along the shores of Galilee. Instead, he manifested himself to the world through his body. The church, this glorious church of the living God. Do you understand the importance? of this wonderful church, not as an organization, but as an organism. Believers. This church made up of born -again men and women. Oh, this is wonderful. And the only way the church can see Christ today is in the Christian believers. This is probably what Paul meant. When he wrote to the Philippians, for me to live is Christ. In other words, for Christ to live again in Paul so that the world, the unregenerated, might see Christ manifested in Paul. There is... Responsibility of the church is tremendous. As we continue in this heart -to -heart talk, I pray to God that every minister, every born -again Christian will see his great responsibility as a member of his church. All right. Now, if you will, please, go to the book of the Revelation. I just laid the groundwork as to what the church is. And before we begin with the seven stages of the church, as Paul saw it in the Spirit, I want that we get the introduction. The word says, being in the spirit on the Lord's day. Oh, John had a glorious vision, the Lord himself. One of these days when I get the glory, I want a long talk with John. You and I have had wonderful heart -to -heart talks together, but I am anticipating. A heart -to -heart talk with John in person. And for once, I'm going to keep my mouth shut. And I'm going to let John do all the talking. Oh, that's going to be a glorious day. John said, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. That wonderful vision as he beheld the very Son of the Living God. He heard a voice, and then he saw a form. He heard this voice saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. What thou seest, write in a book. This is what he saw, and it is of great importance. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlestands. Now, if I understand this correctly in the spirit, these were not like the candlesticks in the temple and in the tabernacle. Sure. They were very familiar with candlesticks in the temple. They were very familiar with candlesticks in the tabernacle. But these were not like the candlesticks that they had in the temple. Those were seven -branched. Six -sided branches and the central shaft made the seven. But John saw not one candlestick. He saw seven separate candlesticks. They were seven separate lampstands. Christ is represented by the seven -branched candlestick in the holy place. and the Spirit of God is represented by the seven lamps upon it. But during his absence, during the time of his priesthood, a barren glory, his people are to be the lights for him in this world. And so John sees in this first vision not one candlestick with seven branches, but seven distinct lampstands in the form of a circle and in the midst of them he sees one like unto the son of man girt about the breast with a golden girdle it is the lord judging in the midst of his assemblies. Then what do we learn about these lampstands? What do these candlesticks symbolize? Here it comes. This is wonderful. They picture for us the whole course of the church's history until the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his absence, the church of God is responsible to keep a light burning in the midst of darkness. And believe me, the darkness is creeping upon us very rapidly. And the only real light in the world today, the only light of hope and of assurance, is in Jesus Christ the Lord, the only real hope, the only light that the world has is found in Jesus Christ the Lord. There was a day when Jesus said, as he walked upon this earth, I am the light of the world. But the day came when he turned and said to his people, Ye are the light of the world. In his absence, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is restored. Responsible to keep a light burning in the midst of darkness. Know that. His church. That is the responsibility of the church. We represent Jesus. The only way the world can see Christ today is in the Christian believer. And how can that light be kept burning? What did that light? The oil of the Holy Spirit. That's what the prophet meant when he said, it's not... by might. It's not by power, but it's by my spirit. It is the oil of the Holy Spirit. In and through the believer that makes it possible for the believer to shine and the church to shine and give the church the power. Ye are the light of the world.