Focus: Church In My House

Text: Philemon 1:2

"The church in thy house."

In the early days of Christianity, church was a function of the home. Believers in Christ opened their homes for spiritual gatherings and activities. It was a lovely thing. Spirituality was a reality from the homes of Christ-centered individuals and families.

In Romans 16, Paul was talking about Priscilla and Aquila, how helpful they had been to him and how they had put their own lives on the line for him, and then he says, "Likewise greet the church that is in their house." In 1 Corinthians 16:19, Paul speaks of them again, "Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house." Then in Colossians 4:15, Paul says of another believer, by the name of Nymphas, "Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house." Our text has to do with Philemon and the church in his house.

The Apostles kept the fellowship of the Spirit from house to house. Lovers of Christ gathered in homes to fellowship with God and with one another. Believers were known right to their own homes. I can tell of the reality of this sweet experience in my own life. From house to house we experience the genuineness of heavenly love. Faith is down-to-earth practical. Joy bubbles in our hearts and flows out to others. You know, Christianity is really contagious when it is wholesomely and wholeheartedly embraced and winsomely practiced.

In the real sense, church is most authentic and attractive when it begins from the hearts and homes of Christians. Can it be said that your house is a church in reality? Is the head of the church, Christ, the happening presence and authority in your house or home? Is He the final authority in your life? Is He the first and last word in your life? How about your children and all who live in your house? Are they a visible expression of the church of Christ around where you live?

Remember that as Christians, we are the temple of God, and the Spirit lives in us. In the Greek, the general word for temple is 'hieron.' It refers to the temple itself and all that is in it and surrounds it. But that is not the word used by Paul. Paul used the word 'naos,' which exclusively or specifically refers to the holiest place in the temple, which was separated from the rest by a veil. In that holiest place we find the shekinah glory, the mercy seat, the ark of the covenant, and inside the ark, we find the law, the rod of Aaron, and the pot of manna. So when Paul says that we are the temple of God, he is saying that we are the most holy place of God. We are God's shrine or sanctuary - God's mediums of manifestation. We are the church of Christ, and by extension, our houses and homes.

Let the shekinah glory of God shine forth from your life. The light of the divine presence is seen through you. Make your own home the church of Christ.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter