THE PERFECT CHURCH

© Carlos Padilla – March 2025

 

If Jesus Christ has only one Church, why are there so many churches, Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox’s, Evangelicals and other denominations? Why many Christians have changed church or are thinking in changing church? If the church is like the family, and one does not change family, why of church? Some think it does not matter to which church one attends, or if they keep changing, because the family is the same, and in a certain way it could be like that, but, what if the fruits of each church depended of the degree of compromise of each Christian? If we compared it with a company, it would be something similar, if in this company I am not doing well or I don´t feel realized, I leave to another one. Many, in the companies are only looking for a better life, a higher salary, or a better position, but the church is not a company and our reward is in Heaven.

“…Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; ²⁶ That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5.

“…For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

Christ commanded the apostles to fulfil the Great Commission, which is working during the entire history of the Church, until the return of Jesus – Yahshua in His Kingdom. While we await Him we live our Christian faith as His Church; but, will we be the perfect Church?

 

THE CHURCH IS GOD´S FAMILY

John 1:12 tells us that all those who received Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the power to become children of God. Therefore, those of us who have believed and live in Christ by His grace, have the same Father, and therefore are brethren in the faith (2 Corinthians 6:18), and even though it may seem obvious, one must live it and feel it. This family of the faith received from our Lord Jesus Christ the New Commandment to love one another. If those of us who have been baptized in water, and in the Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:6), show an authentic and brotherly love, and treat among us, we will truly be recognized as the family of God, the brethren in Christ, the Body of Christ, His Church, and that is evident in the way we treat each other.

A family that, like all, counts with members that have different gifts and positions that God Himself gives. So, elders, deacons, pastors or bishops (supervisors) are not more than the others, but must sere better and give example (1 Timothy 3).

The local church depends on its members making an effort to fulfil the “bond of peace”, for which, as the apostle Paul said, it is necessary to use humility and goodness to stand each other, with patience and with the love of God.

Today we find great migratory movements which have made that our society is formed by people of different origins, countries of origin, cultures, and different religious foundations. This has also made the churches be formed by disciples of different origins, and that we should take into account to not make of the cultures and their traditions, religious ways of life as if they were the Word of God, only because a certain culture or country is predominant in the congregation. The members of the church must always follow the foundation of The Bible to not let the church deviate from the neutrality of the Gospel.

THE CHURCH THAT BEARS FRUIT

The fruits of the global Church, of each local church, and of every Christian in particular are: The Gospel “The Great Commission” and good works. Both are fruit of the love of God, from each believer and from each church.

For the local church to bear fruit it must understand what their purposes are, why it exists, and each member must know his duty, his ministry, his call. In his book, Purpose Driven Church, Pastor Rick Warren, mentions in chapter five the importance that each church, and each Christian may find the purpose of God for each one. But before, the five basic purposes of the Church must be known, which are the foundation of all the spiritual building of the Christian work:

1.- Love God with all your heart. 2.- Love your neighbour as yourself. 3.- Go and make disciples. 4.- Baptize them. 5.- Teach them to obey God.

After, to find the specific purpose, warren recommends to study with your church what the Bible teaches about the Church, what did Jesus do on earth in His ministry, the names and parables used to refer to the Church, like wife, the body, the family, the sheep, etc. Examples of the New Testament of the first churches, and the Commandments that Christ gave them, not forgetting that Jesus is who builds and gives growth to His Church and to each church in particular. The Church is, mainly His, then ours, but for Him.

Why does the Church exist? What must we be as a church? What must we do as a Church? What does God want done, and how to do it? From what we discover, we must resume the calling and the fundamental purpose of each church and create a phase, a slogan, something easy to remember. But all this effort will not become one in us until each member of the congregation experiences what God calls him/her to do, and how to serve in his/her church. Matthew 22:37-40 and 28:19-20 are the two basic Bible Texts.

An example of how the people of God fluctuate in their compromise with the work of God, we find it in the Temple of Zerubbabel, in times of King Darius:

“In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, ² “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.” ’ ”³ Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, ⁴ “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” ⁵ Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! ⁶ “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes…” …⁸ Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord… … ¹² Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him; and the people feared the presence of the Lord.” Haggai 1. The story continues with prophet Zachariah in his book in the Bible.

In the same way all are part of the work of rebuilding the Temple in this Text, today, in every church it is needed that we all form part of the work of the Holy Spirit so that the Church of Christ bears fruit of new believers by the evangelization which is the Great Commission, Matthew 28:16-20. That we go up to the mountain for wood, like the one of the Cross of Christ, like the prayer, and lift the Church of the Lord, His Temple. It is not only the work of the pastor or of the elders, but of the entire community. And if those in power come with us, as we read in the case of the previous Text with King Darius, who confirmed the decree of Cyrus, in Ezra 4, then it is of great blessing. The example of the story of the so called Temple of Zerubbabel must be alive for us today, in the end times, for the consecutive and permanent construction and maintenance of the Church, which is our Temple.

The denominations, whether the believer is Protestant or Evangelical, Episcopal or Catholic, or Orthodox, usually imply difficulties to remain in the Trinitarian common doctrinal trunk, based in the Creed of the Apostles, and all may battle for the truth, and the true Biblical faith. But it will occur that once the Bible has been studied, and having lived the experience of your church you will have to decide if you may continue to be part of a congregation that does not put the Word of God in first place. If the church in which you are puts first its traditions, age, denomination, leadership, etc. before the truth of the Bible, it becomes a Babylon, and the Lord Jesus warns us to leave from it “my people” says the Lord in Revelation 18:4.

The doctrines must be based in the Creed of the Apostle as we said before, which is Biblical and general for everyone, which includes two sacraments: baptism and the Holy Supper. The churches that have more they add them through tradition. The basic Christian doctrines include: The Trinity of God, to have a personal relationship with the Father, with the Son, and with the Holy Spirit; the revelation of God in the Bible inspired by Him; sin, something we all have, and the need of repentance to be born again; faith in the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross; the resurrection and ascension of Christ; the justification by faith alone, through grace; works are for love to God and to our neighbour, not a merit for salvation; sanctification through the Holy Spirit in us; be part of the Church through the local church; evangelization; and the second coming of Christ for the Kingdom of God who give us eternal life.

Pastors and bishops, and all the disciples and believers must remember one of the key Texts of the Church in which the apostle Paul teaches about the gifts that God has given to His Church, in 1 Corinthians, chaps. 12 and 13. Paul mentions eight ministries: “

“…first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.” And it continues saying that not all have all the gifts, and that the pre-eminence of love is the most important. We know that not all the gifts are permanently present today, but God is the same and continues to do miracles. The purpose of the church is not only one, but it covers various ministries. The worship in the Church to give ¡Glory to God! And the so important missions, charity and good works, which we must all support, or participate, or do. Constant prayer, and the study of the Bible while we are in this world.

Cultures are mixed today, as we have mentioned, although there are ghettoes where only those of a certain ethnic group, origin of culture gather, but the tendency, especially in the west, is that immigration is filling the churches, which are also the nations that we must evangelize, so it is not a negative thing, but the contrary, but an effort is needed to receive the foreigners and help them adapt to our culture, without leaving theirs. But let us not forget to reach the new generations because they are the future of the Church and of the world, so we must learn how to communicate with them and from them. We are talking of all those things that do not oppose to the sane Doctrine, as we must come out of everything that is against God, whether local or foreign.

Churches that close and others that open. In the old Europe some churches close and their beautiful buildings become businesses, while poor churches and new ones pay rent or premises in an industrial area. If your church closes because there is no assistance you may go to another or gather in houses with brethren, or wait to find another. The new churches that open usually do it to cover an area with no testimony, or because a particular denomination believes that in that area there are believers alike who do not have a church there. It is understood that these new ministries must be the fruit of a vision of a leader or group of leaders, to whom God has called to such work, “You will know them by their fruits,” Matthew 7:15-20.

THE PERFECT CHURCH VS MY CHURCH AND MY EXPERIENCE

The Biblical Church model should be the mirror in which to look to every church, but the world keeps changing, and the Church, although it must keep the foundation in Christ, it must know how to adapt the strategy to each time, which does not mean to cede to the world tendencies.

Many could say that today the churches are not reflecting the Perfect Church. The question is deeper than that. I would say that each one of us who are Christians, must look into the mirror of Jesus Christ, and from there ask ourselves how we are serving the Church, from our church, to our family and to our neighbour, and to the world for the glory of God. The famous phrase of J.F. Kennedy: ¡ask not what your country can do for you, me, instead ask what you can do for your country! can be extrapolated to my church, and for the Church. What can I do for my church, and for the Church? Although you ought to know that the Church, and your church already does a lot for you, in prayers, in giving you true friends, in help, as a fraternity, as family, etc. If it does not do it, seek what you can do for it. I don´t mean that all circumstances can be saved; sometime a change of church is needed, but not before working for it.

Many think the church is like hospital, and only go when they are very bad expecting a quick diagnostic and a spiritual “pill” that will heal their soul, and life, to continue with their lives far from God. For years I was searching for a church as a “fighter jet carrier” to launch evangelistic attacks, but my brethren did not, until I understood that the spiritual battle has many front and the army, many different corps. But we must never forget that the Church is the target of the attack of the enemy of this world, as exposed in the Text of Revelation 12 when the woman is persecuted by the dragon.

My perfect church is, therefore, the real church, the one each of us lives, shares and of which is part, with its defects and imperfections and virtues, like we all have being sinners reformed and in reform by Christ. The Perfect Church has been won by the Lord Jesus Christ with His saving work, and He has prepared Himself through sanctification and purification of the souls, through the fire of the Holy Spirit, the also called “Bride of Christ” for the “Weddings of the Lamb”. That Perfect Church is the one that will be in eternity and that is formed of all of us who are saved by grace, through faith in His work, and in repentance that transforms through the new birth of our spirit from the Holy Spirit, persevering in the faith by His great love, to be able to see the Kingdom of God and to receive it, John 3.

Recently I could enjoy, together with my wife, a spiritual retreat with brethren of different churches and denominations, in Seville, two days of a cold winter weekend, but it was warm in the spirit. I think it should be an example of how to enjoy a family in Christ, even though each was from a different place and church. In the same way, in my seminary, when I did my degree we were brothers of different churches, countries and denominations, and a spirit of unity was ruling, with respect and brotherly love. From there we have supported missions in different parts of the world. I pray that many Christians can experience healthy and holy Christian relationship, because they provide peace and spiritual growth, as well as hope in Christ, in a world more hostile and closer to the day of the Lord.

My experience as a Christiana in the church has gone through several periods; I am sure that like many brothers/sisters that I have met along the years. From the call of the Lord I began to read the Bible, but my Catholic family origins were not providing an experience similar to the one of Jesus and of the apostles in the Bible. After some time with brothers who came out of a church with some Pentecostal and Baptist influence, I also came to know Spanish and foreign brothers of other origins. Finally for some years I hosted gatherings in my house, preaching and pasturing. Then I had the blessing of knowing brothers from the theological seminary where I studied my bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies, and since then I count with good friends in Christ, from different places of Spain and from the American continent.

This journey as part of the Church has allowed me to share with and accept brothers from different theological and cultural backgrounds. The most important I have learned is that none of us is perfect, and that many brothers have a heart for God, and are my friends, but I do not share all their doctrinal points. These differences in the Evangelical world make that denominational separations remain, and that many friends in Christ cannot be part of the same church. I have shared with great theologians, teachers, brothers both poor and rich, humble, and others arrogant. We have helped people in misery, abandoned, in need, others with families with problems, and others that have left churches and sects which had left them empty in the faith.

I believe an effort is needed from all of us for unity to exist and that the love of Christ, and the brotherly love bit the division and the ghetto, and this happens both in the Protestant and Evangelical church as well and in the Catholic, and in others. The Church is the family of Christ, in which we all want to be and be part of. It does not matter with what brothers to be, as long as we respect each other and receive each other brotherly, and I do not refer to allowing heresy, abuses or worldly living, but to the Christian love which allows us to share the Gospel from a Biblical Christianity before traditions, and to do the good works for the glory of God.

 

CONCLUSION

To be part of the Perfect Church, or from another perspective, to help our church come close to the perfection of Christ, Who deserves a holy Church who loves like He loves us, first we have to mature and go from mere believers to become disciples of Jesus. We must stop putting first a denomination and seek the work that God wants. For that I recommend reading the Bible Study “Discipleship Plan”:

https://www.yahshua.net/discipleship-plan/

We can also grow with the story of the Church trough history, so I recommend reading:

https://www.yahshua.net/rome-biblical-and-theological-history/

Finally, the gift of the Second Epistle of Peter, about the virtue and the seven gifts of God, which help us to grow spiritually, in the Biblical Study about Virtue:

https://www.yahshua.net/virtue.htm

If we love the Lord Jesus Christ – Yahshua, we also love His Church, for which He gave Himself on the Cross. I close with Psalm 133:

“¡Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing life forevermore” ¡Amen!