“The Church in the Mind of God”
by
District Elder M. L. Maughmer, Jr.
Opening: “The Church in the Mind of God” This topic speaks greatly within itself. It is the church in the mind of God, not in the mind of man. It is not the church in the mind of some political organization that is trying to please the sinful nature of mankind by destroying every good and moral fiber of godliness. It is the church in the mind of God. Isaiah 55:8 says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord”. 1st Corinthians 2:9-10 says “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” Therefore, since God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and the deep things of God are only revealed to us through the spirit, then the thoughts man has are incorrect concerning the church if they are not the thoughts of God.
God has a purpose for the church it is the eternal purpose of God, which He purposed in Christ Jesus Eph.3:11. Anything other than this eternal purpose of God is not what God had in mind for His church regardless if you go through 40 days of this or 40 days of that trying to develop and drive the church by a purpose other than the eternal purpose of God. Understand that everything is driven by purpose, but if that purpose does not line up with principle than it is the wrong thing.
****When the Church doesn’t understand its purpose it will try to do what only God can do. WHY because if it doesn’t understand its purpose it can not be in its proper position; therefore, becomes ineffective in what it is trying to do because it is operating out of what God had in mind in the beginning.****
PURPOSE: is an object or result aimed at, intention. To be able to reach that purpose there is a process that must take place.
PROCESS: A process is a natural phenomenon marked by gradual changes that lead toward a particular result, a natural continuing activity or function, a series of actions or operations conducting to an end, a continuous operation or treatment.
The Church goes through a process in order to fulfill God’s eternal purpose and this process is called METAMORPHOSES.
METAMORPHOSES: is a change of physical form, structure, or substance especially by supernatural means, a striking alteration in appearance, character, or circumstances, a marked and more or less abrupt developmental change in the form or structure of something.
The process of the metamorphoses of the church is 3 fold:
1.) The Church in the mind of God – (Embryotic State)
2.) The Church in the world – (Maturing Phase)
3.) The Church in Glory (Destiny) – “The Final Metamorphoses”
Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”. This expected end is Destiny. Destiny is reached when the church fulfills God’s purpose, not mans idea of categorized purpose.
Matthew 16:18 says “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Notice two words in this passage of scripture. 1) my is an adjective and means pertaining to oneself. 2.) Church it is singular, yet today we have many different churches (denominations) we have Apostolic, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Church of God, then there are those that are called Non-Denominational and the truly sad thing is that they all are saying something different. How can this be the church in the mind of God?
John 17:11& 21 says “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” These verses stress UNITY. One of the aspects of the church in the mind of God was a unified church, not a church neither divided by denominationalism nor perpetuated by the rudiments of this world. A church that is unified in the eternal purpose of God. The word Catholic Church literally means Church Universal, one church. We understand that down through history man has corrupted the “Catholic Church” with traditions, vain philosophies, and the rudiments of men; however, the concept of a unified church is what God had in mind for the church Jesus built.
WHAT IS THE CHURCH?
Webster’s Dictionary defines Church as a building designed for worship for groups of Christians.
The Holman Bible Dictionary says the word Church comes from the Greek compound of “ek” = out of and “klesis” = calling. A literal meaning would be “the called out”. The term “Ekklesia” is used 112 times in the New Testament and it always refers to and is translated as the Church. This is why the Bible says in Acts 7:38 “This is He, that was in the church in the wilderness..”
NOTE: The ekklesia of Christ (Church of Christ) are those (people – living organism) and not an it (organization – building) that have been called out. 1st Peter 2:9-10 says “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy”. Therefore the Church is a special highly purchased living people of God who have been called out for an eternal purpose. (the word peculiar means purchased at great expense)
Understand the Church is an organism and not an organization. Eventhough we are the organization of the Original Glorious Church of God in Christ of the Apostolic Faith Inc. we are not the church. Yes we make up part of the church, but we are not the church that Jesus built. We are an organized group of people within the Church.
Organism: is a complex structure of interdependent and subordinate elements whose relations and properties are largely determined by their function in the whole. An individual constituted to carry on the activities of life by means of organs separate in function but mutually dependent: a living being. In other words I need you and you need me in order to survive. WATCH THIS: Independently I am the Temple of the living God I am not the church, but when we come together as many members in one body we make the church.
Organization: the act or process of organizing, the condition or manner of being organized. Notice is said nothing about living.
The Bible says in Matthew 22:32, Mk 12:27, and Luke 20:38 “For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him”. Therefore since a building is not a living thing, it doesn’t matter how much it cost or how beautiful it is, God is the God of the living, the people of the church, not the building.
WHAT IS THE MIND?
The Bible is inundated with scripture that mentions the mind. The mind is the part of a person that is capable of thinking and reasoning. The Greek word for mind is “Phroneema”, which means inclinations. Although there are no Hebrew words for mind several other words have been translated as the mind. The one Hebrew word which is called “Sekviy”, pronounced sek-vee is heart and the word heart is often translated as mind. Proverbs 23: says “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee”. 2.) the element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and especially reasons, the conscious mental events and capabilities in an organism, the organized conscious and unconscious adaptive mental activity of an organism.
The mind is where the thought process takes place. It literally is the beginning of anything. To truly understand the mind of God, which is the deep things of God, we must be revealed them. The Bible says in Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.” 1st Corinthians 2:9-10 says “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God”.
The mind is the beginning process of anything. Genesis 1:1 says “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. This is literally the most prolific verse of the Bible. If you can not believe this verse you will not believe any other part of the Bible. “IN THE BEGINNING” what is the beginning? Many people will say the beginning was when God created it, it was the start of time and existence; however, the true beginning started in the thought process.
ILLUSTRATION: If you were to make a cake or build a bench before you get the box or the wood you have decided in your mind what you wanted and the purpose that you wanted it for. The beginning started in your mind, everything else is steps in the process to being what started in your mind into fruition. Therefore, WATCH THIS, I have in my mind decided what I want, how I was going to have what I wanted, the steps to get that which I wanted, and the purpose I wanted it for. Therefore the beginning is literally in the mind of the creator. Since the mind is the beginning of the process and the purpose is decided in the mind before the steps in the process start then the church was in the mind of God before the foundation of the world.
Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”.
THE CHURCH in the MIND of GOD.
WHAT WAS GOD THINKING?
Eph. 3:11 says “according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The word “Eternal = Heb. Word owlam – always: everlasting, perpetual. God’s eternal purpose was to have His will be done on earth as it was in heaven and to bring many sons unto glory. (Hebrews 2:10). In other words His eternal purpose was to have a heavenly kingdom here on earth. That is why when the disciples asked teach us to pray, Jesus replied “When ye pray, say Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth”. Luke 11:2.
In Matthew 16:18 the words Jesus spoke to Peter are very prophetic and they actually let us understand what God was thinking concerning the Church. Let’s examine this scripture and explore God’s mind through His revelation. Matthew 16:13-19 says “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (18) And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”.
Now understand that Eph.3:11 said “according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The eternal purpose was to bring many sons unto glory and establish the heavenly kingdom on earth. This is a process that was made possible through Jesus Christ becoming our propitiation Romans 3:25. Remember when Adam sinned he broke that spiritual connection between God and man Romans 5:14-21. When Jesus came in the flesh he defeated flesh and established the way back into a proper relationship with God. That is why the Bible says in John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”.
Let us understand what was on the mind of God concerning the church. In Matthew 16:18 the words that Jesus spoke to Peter tell us what literally the mind of God, but it is only through revelation that we are truly able to grasp what is said. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The name Peter means little rock; however, Jesus was letting them know that He is the rock that the church will be built upon He is the foundation, the chief corner stone. I will build my church, the church belongs to God, it is not mans church, it is God church. It is not churches, it’s only one church. Now this is a promise and a command, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
A gate is a device used to control passage, it is used to keep something in or out. The gates of hell are to try to keep the church out and the lost souls (sinners) in captivity. However, Jesus said that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The word prevail means to gain ascendancy through strength or superiority, to triumph, to be or become effective or effectual, to be frequent, to be or continue in use, to use persuasion successfully.
Therefore the Church in the mind of God is to be an unstoppable force that razes hell, preaches the gospel to the poor; heals the brokenhearted, preaches deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. God never had in mind a place to come for social gathering and to be entertained. He never intended people to be separated by organizationalism or denominationalism. He intended for a called out people that have had their eyes opened and given salvation to go back into the world and be an unstoppable force.
Matthew 28:19-20 says “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen”. In the original Hebrew the 19th verse simply says “GO”. This is the commission of the church and responsibility of the church and is what was in the mind of God for the church, the going out and making disciples of all men.
Matthew 24:14 says “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come”.
Paul explains the responsibility of the church in 2nd Corinthians 5:18-19 when he writes “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation”.
Understand the eternal purpose of God, which he purposed in Jesus Christ was to bring many sons unto glory Eph. 3:11 & Hebrews 2:10. Jesus is the head of the church, the church is His body, the body carries out the functions that the head commands it to do. Therefore the body, which is the church is to reconcile man back into a proper relationship with God bringing many sons unto glory. Hell and all its demons are not able to stop the church. We are not to judge the world yet and condemn them for the Bible says “not imputing their trespasses unto them”. The church can not save the world, the church only lead them to salvation. That is the meaning of Hebrew 2:10.
SUMMARY: In the beginning, which is in the mind of God, He had a purpose for mankind. God knew that man would fall breaking that relationship between God and man. He knew that the only way for man to be reconciled back into a proper relationship with Him was going to be through the pure blood of Jesus Christ. God knew because He is omniscient that He would have a church and commission them with the purpose of reconciling man back to Him through Jesus Christ.
He revealed His plan and purpose to the disciples at Caesarea Philippi, commissioned them at Bethany (Luke 24:50) and started the church on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts 2). Although the disciple have died and gone on into glory the work of the Church continues still today.
Paul said Christ sent him into the world “for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; 17delivering thee from the people (sin), and from the Gentiles (the world), unto whom now I send thee, 18 to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” Acts 26 16-18.
The church in the Mind of God is to be an unstoppable force that is to open the eyes that the god of this world has blinded, reconcile them back into a proper relationship with God, while being the light of the world Matthew 5:1, which will bring salvation to the world. The purpose of the church is not to save the world but to lead many unto glory. The Church is the household of God that is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit Eph 2:19-22 and the pillar and ground of the truth 1st Timothy 3:15, and has been given the ministry of reconciliation 2nd Corinthians 5:18.
When the church understands the eternal purpose of God, what God had in mind for the church and stop trying to out church the people down the street, stop trying to see which church building has the most members, because we have a misconception that numbers means saved, which choir, praise dancers, and praise leaders are the best and have the entertainment value, when the church realizes that their job is not to save the world that’s God’s job, but lead them to salvation, open the blinded eyes that the god of this world has blinded form the gospel then the church will be an unstoppable force in this world.
District Elder M.L. Maughmer, Jr
Assistant Pastor
O.G.C.O.G.I.C.
Boanerge Ministries
www.boanergeministries.com
