According to the Book of Isaiah, the Lord God will put His Spirit on His Servant and the Servant will bring justice to the nations. The Servant of the Lord is Christ—Head and Body. The purpose of the two thousand years of the Church Age has been to make of the Body a helper suitable for the Head.

For several reasons the Christian Church to the present date has not been brought to the level of maturity required for her role as the Body of the Servant of the Lord. Now the Spirit of God is emphasizing that it is time for the Body to be brought to maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ.

When the Lord Jesus came to the earth He taught a number of disciples, announcing to them that He was going to build a church, that is, a group of people called out from the world. The nature of the disciples and the Church is shown in the four Gospel accounts, the Book of Act, and the Epistles.

Almost immediately, probably still in the first century, the true nature of the Church was lost sight of and the Christian religion came into being. Today we have the Christian religion, and it is not always pointed out that while our Christian religion is one thing, what the Bible means by the "Church" is something quite different.

From the beginning the original concept of the Church was significantly altered.

First, a religion was developed which people could join, whereas in the beginning the Church was made up of people chosen by the Lord, who had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ—commencing with Christ during His lifetime on the earth and later in His resurrected form. Being a member of the Body of Christ includes a personal acquaintance with the living Christ. Such a personal acquaintance is not true of multitudes who have joined the Christian religion. This alteration continues to the present hour.

Second, probably in imitation of other religions, the goal of salvation changed from moral transformation and union with Christ to eternal residence in Heaven after one dies. Again, this alteration persists to the present day.

Third, the concept of a kingdom that is coming to the earth was lost. In my Evangelical denomination, which is as good as any, the term Kingdom does not even appear in the Statement of Faith. Does it in yours? Yet, the original Gospel was the Gospel of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth. Isn't the omission in the Statement of Faith rather peculiar?

Fourth, the concept of the Body of Christ, the revelation given only to the Apostle Paul, was set aside in favor of a priest (pastor) and congregation. The idea that each believer is to be a functioning member of a mature Body of the Christ was not often emphasized, and the clergy-laity division persists to the present.

To be continued.