THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH

WHY DOES THE CHURCH EXIST?

God has set His church on the earth for a purpose. Satan has always attempted to hijack God’s purpose for the church, and he has used people to do this. People use the church to serve themselves. The church today is more about the people than about God. We must return God’s church back to Him and restore God’s purpose back to the church. Here are the ten purposes of the church:

1. To reveal the government of heaven on the earth

Matthew 6:10 “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done”, God’s government and order in the heavens visible on the earth (Gen 28:11f). The church first establishes God’s government in the saints, and through them into every domain of society “on earth as it is in heaven”. The church is a glimpse of God’s government in the heavens. Society must see the church as regal and royal. They should admire our order, ranks and authority. Therefore, everything we do must be governed and

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ordered well: an ordered life, ordered family and marriage, ordered in the way we think, speak and carry ourselves, ordered in our dealings and associations etc.

To reveal Christ as the standard and measure of all things

Christ is the standard and measure of all things according to Col. 1:15-16 and John. 1:1-4. All our “success” must be measured against Christ. His standards are the only valid standards. He is the measurement of all things because He is the cornerstone. His Body, the church, is the standard for everything that takes place in the earth. The church is the standard bearer even for the nonChristian world (1 Cor. 14:24-25). When nonChristians look at our lives, our families and how we manage our resources and so forth, they must say: “Let’s go up to Zion and there learn the ways of God.” (Isa. 2:3)

To be the voice of God in the earth.

The church is the conscience of society. We have the prerogative of speaking up and throwing light on everything happening around us. The church cannot shrink back, barricade itself off and refuse to be a voice in society. We must hear what the Lord is saying and go and tell the masses,

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including the non-Christians. The church must be able to speak into people’s lives at any time and in any place. The church is all about being God’s voice in the earth.

To extend and expand God’s Kingdom into every domain of society

The church is called to invade every domain and penetrate every strata of society. In Dan. 2:34- 35 and 44 we find the stone which was cut out by the hand of God striking the statue and becoming a great mountain that fills the whole earth. 1 Peter. 2:6 tells us that the stone is laid in Zion, the church. The stone proceeds out of the church. Thus, the purpose of the church is to strike every other kingdom and fill the whole earth with God’s Kingdom. Kingdom expansion is not limited to the four walls of our local church; it must go beyond. Our members must get into every domain and change the world. They must be trained to take over in their domains where God has positioned them, whether in education, business, politics and so forth.

To manifest the manifold wisdom of God against principalities and powers

This is confirmed in Eph. 3:10 “to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be

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made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places”. The wisdom of God that proceeds from the church has the power to override and shut down the schemes and fiery darts of the enemy (Eph. 6:11,16). Our members must be trained to win battles in the spirit world and not in the natural only. In the natural the enemy may have power over them but, in the spirit, they have power far above all principalities and powers. Therefore, our members must be trained to take their problems into the spirit world and deal with them there. This approach provides permanent answers and will eliminate the need for draining counselling sessions.

To become the dwelling place of God

1 Tim. 3:15 reveals that the church is the house or dwelling of God. The church is not built for our gatherings, programmes and services; it is for God. Therefore, whenever we gather, God must descend, manifest among us and move freely in our midst. God must descend from the heavens and dwell among us. The God factor is essential. The church is God’s dwelling place. “Dwelling” means to make a place home and to live and express oneself freely and with no restrictions. We cannot put God under house arrest in His own house! Is God able to manifest in

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any form He wants to? Can He express Himself freely in Groundbreakers? If He can, then we have built the church accurately.

To break dividing walls between peoples, tribes and nations.

The church is not a melting pot of cultures. The church is where every culture is broken, and only Kingdom culture prevails. The church is where we break everything that is outside heavenly culture. The church cannot be dominated by one single culture because this divides the church. Eph. 2:14 says “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.” The church must understand that every dividing wall is broken. Only the culture of the Kingdom remains. Not even the prevailing culture of the city or environment can be dominant in the church. Kingdom culture is the dominant culture and we must work towards that culture alone.

To fulfil the pledge of the Father to the Son

Act. 2:34-35 reveals the Father’s pledge to the Son was that He would make all His enemies His footstool (“Sit at my right hand…until I make

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10. your enemies your footstool”). God will do this through the church because Psa. 110:2 tells us “The LORD will send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!”. God is using us His church to fulfil this pledge to bring every enemy in total subjection under Christ. The purpose of the church then is to complete and finish Christ’s final battles with His enemies (. i.e. sin, sickness, satan). The Church will also deal with and destroy the final enemy of Christ: death!

To express the covenant relationship between God and man

Abraham walked in such a level of covenant with God that God worked with Him as a “friend of God” (Jam. 2:23; 2 Chr. 20:7; Isa. 41:8). Like Abraham was God’s friend and ally, the Church must manifest this same dimension of covenant with the Father. When we walk in covenant with God, He moves on our behalf. He attests to our covenant with Him with signs, wonders and miracles.

To sum up all things in Christ, both in heaven and on earth.

Eph. 1:10 says that “in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in

heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” God’s ultimate plan is to gather all things in heaven and earth together in Christ. And God will use His church to bring everything in subjection to the Christ. The church is called to pull everything together and align it to Christ. Because the church is called to align all things to Christ, it must itself be accurately built and aligned to the Head of the church. To be able to take hold of the powers of the air and change our city, the church must be built strong. What happens in our environments cannot change until the church is built accurately and arises to a position of power. God’s purpose for His church is that she would cause entire cities and nations to be changed and adjusted to the measure of Christ.