The Congregation, The Church, and The Club by Bro.Santosh Poonen
- Summary: The true Church of Jesus Christ is a
spiritual Body of disciples who have taken up their cross. On either
side of this narrow way are these two cliffs: Congregations (comprised
of people who have an Old Covenant relationship with God), and Clubs
(comprised of people who have no Covenant relationship with God).
- Quote: Jesus went to the Cross first out of love for
the Father, and only then out of love for us because the Father
commanded Him to (John 14:31).
- Quote: This bi-directional love can be represented by the vertical and horizontal beams of the cross (Matthew 22:35-39).
- Quote: The vertical beam of our cross is seen only by
God in secret, because it involves the heart, mind, and soul. God has
intended it this way, to see who are the ones who really fear Him alone.
- Quote: The horizontal beam of the cross is what identifies us outwardly as followers of Jesus (John 13:35).
- Quote: A beam by itself is no cross.
- Quote: The cross at Calvary was only the last of over 12000 (365days * 33.5years) crosses that Jesus carried (Luke 9:23).
- Quote: The Church today is comprised of disciples
(cross-bearers) who follow Jesus in saying, “I don’t do what I want, but
only what God wants.”
- Quote: The Congregation is simply a large gathering of
vertical beams, for whom the Cross has done nothing new. Their
relationship with God is only external and on the basis of the Old
Covenant.
- Quote: The Church is the Body of Christ comprised of disciples whose relationship with God is on the basis of the New Covenant.
- Quote: If you haven’t hidden your devotion to God, you haven’t understood the New Covenant (Matthew 6:1-18).
- Quote: Uniformity in the body or the soul can be knit
by human means. Church unity comes when “the two become one in spirit”
(Ephesians 4:3), which is something only the Holy Spirit can knit among
disciples who have surrendered their will to God (Colossians 2:2).
- Quote: In daily situations when I give up my will, I
am filled me with the spirit of Christ by fellowship in His sufferings.
The more I walk this way, the more my heart is knit together in
fellowship with others who have the same spirit.
- Quote: Unity in the Body does not come from glueing
organs together, but from the same blood flowing through all of them
from the Head.
- Quote: The Club is built out of love for others,
driven by human compassion and care. Relationship with God is on the
b
- Summary: The true Church of Jesus Christ is a
spiritual Body of disciples who have taken up their cross. On either
side of this narrow way are these two cliffs: Congregations (comprised
of people who have an Old Covenant relationship with God), and Clubs
(comprised of people who have no Covenant relationship with God).
- Quote: Jesus went to the Cross first out of love for
the Father, and only then out of love for us because the Father
commanded Him to (John 14:31).
- Quote: This bi-directional love can be represented by the vertical and horizontal beams of the cross (Matthew 22:35-39).
- Quote: The vertical beam of our cross is seen only by
God in secret, because it involves the heart, mind, and soul. God has
intended it this way, to see who are the ones who really fear Him alone.
- Quote: The horizontal beam of the cross is what identifies us outwardly as followers of Jesus (John 13:35).
- Quote: A beam by itself is no cross.
- Quote: The cross at Calvary was only the last of over 12000 (365days * 33.5years) crosses that Jesus carried (Luke 9:23).
- Quote: The Church today is comprised of disciples
(cross-bearers) who follow Jesus in saying, “I don’t do what I want, but
only what God wants.”
- Quote: The Congregation is simply a large gathering of
vertical beams, for whom the Cross has done nothing new. Their
relationship with God is only external and on the basis of the Old
Covenant.
- Quote: The Church is the Body of Christ comprised of disciples whose relationship with God is on the basis of the New Covenant.
- Quote: If you haven’t hidden your devotion to God, you haven’t understood the New Covenant (Matthew 6:1-18).
- Quote: Uniformity in the body or the soul can be knit
by human means. Church unity comes when “the two become one in spirit”
(Ephesians 4:3), which is something only the Holy Spirit can knit among
disciples who have surrendered their will to God (Colossians 2:2).
- Quote: In daily situations when I give up my will, I
am filled me with the spirit of Christ by fellowship in His sufferings.
The more I walk this way, the more my heart is knit together in
fellowship with others who have the same spirit.
- Quote: Unity in the Body does not come from glueing
organs together, but from the same blood flowing through all of them
from the Head.
- Quote: The Club is built out of love for others,
driven by human compassion and care. Relationship with God is on the
basis of no covenant, so personal devotion to God is absent, or minimal.
- Quote: In the Club, it doesn’t matter how tall the vertical beam is, as long as the horizontal beam is sufficiently long.
- Quote: In the Club, the emphasis is only on more activity and more time spent together, but this does not breed fellowship.
- Quote: The members of a “Club”:
- try to find their security in man and membership, not in God
- get offended when corrected
- expect others to pamper them
- experience no spiritual growth year by year, and slowly backslide
- Quote: The most religious thing you can do is build a
house for God based on good preaching. The most spiritual thing you can
do is build God¡¯s house based on obeying His Word. (Matthew 7:24-27)
- Quote: The wise man and the foolish man both listened
to the same sermons. The difference was that the wise man decided to
take his secret life before God seriously, and the foolish man didn’t.
- Quote: The foolish man’s house is a mansion, but its fall is just as great (Matthew 7:27).
- Quote: The Club is a gathering of convenience. The Church is a uniting of fellowship in Christ’s sufferings (Philippians 3:10).
- asis of no covenant, so personal devotion to God is absent, or minimal.
- Quote: In the Club, it doesn’t matter how tall the vertical beam is, as long as the horizontal beam is sufficiently long.
- Quote: In the Club, the emphasis is only on more activity and more time spent together, but this does not breed fellowship.
- Quote: The members of a “Club”:
- try to find their security in man and membership, not in God
- get offended when corrected
- expect others to pamper them
- experience no spiritual growth year by year, and slowly backslide
- Quote: The most religious thing you can do is build a
house for God based on good preaching. The most spiritual thing you can
do is build God¡¯s house based on obeying His Word. (Matthew 7:24-27)
- Quote: The wise man and the foolish man both listened
to the same sermons. The difference was that the wise man decided to
take his secret life before God seriously, and the foolish man didn’t.
- Quote: The foolish man’s house is a mansion, but its fall is just as great (Matthew 7:27).
- Quote: The Club is a gathering of convenience. The Church is a uniting of fellowship in Christ’s sufferings (Philippians 3:10).
