Updated June 24, 2020
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Church house
1 Corinthians 16:19
The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. (NIV 1984)
In some parts of the United States of America, the building in which church services are conducted is referred to as the church house. Just like they have court house and the like. We say that we are going to the church, they say that they are going to the church house.
This is a very interesting turn of phrase because, when the church was in its infancy there were no church buildings, the church met in small groups mostly in the houses of members and followers. Faith flourished in the family and among friends, and through the homes, entire communities were turned upside down.
So critical were these house meetings in the formation of the early church that the apostles, Paul especially, constantly referred to them in their letters. The practice, of course, started at the founding of the church itself. We see at the beginning of Acts that when the Holy Spirit was poured out they were actually in someone’s house. “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” Acts 2:2.
We might put that occurrence aside, however, because they had no idea what was going to happen, however, the record shows us that right after the three thousand were added to the church they immediately began both public ministry – in the temple – and private ministry – in the homes. Acts 2:46 “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts …”
After a period of major conflict and the intervention of Gamaliel in the Jewish ruling council the believers continued to do what had become their habit and format, public and private ministry “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.” Acts 5:42.
This goes on in every circumstance, so as another example when Peter was in prison the believer met to pray and they chose as the venue for the prayer meeting the house Mary. “When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.” Acts 12:12
Lydia got saved, she and her household were baptised and immediately her home became a guest house for the visiting ministers, “When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.” Acts 16:15.
Soon after this, her home became a meeting place for believers in Philippi during a crisis for the church there, “After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.” Acts 16:40
As the apostle Paul continued his itinerant ministry he would write letters to churches, mostly to the churches he founded but, sometimes, to churches he just heard about. In most of those cases, Paul specifically mentioned the people in the churches and from those references we can determine that many of these churches were meeting in private homes and not in public places. Here are some examples.
The last chapter of the letter to the Romans is really a collection of personal greetings and comments about individual people. At first, it doesn’t feel like scripture until we realise that in there are examples of how the church is organised, how our relationships ought to be, and how we should be commended by the believers if we have lived right.
So, Paul writes “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house.” Romans 16:3-5
We see this again as he continues in verses 10 and 11, “Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.”
As the last example, Paul had the problem of the runaway Onesimus, he had to write to Philemon and he starts out by greeting not just Philemon, and then his family, but also the church that met in their house. “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home:” Philemon 1:1-2.
The church house should really be the houses where saints gather in private for fellowship, instruction, worship and for the breaking of bread. House fellowship is not an end to public ministry in its various forms, but house fellowship should not come to an end because of large-format public ministry. The church would do well to be deliberate about encouraging believers to open up their homes for the church.
Postscript:
During the current COVID-19 pandemic many church leaders, and members too, can’t seem to wait for when things get back to normal. Of course, by normal they mean, when we get back to the kind of public ministry and gatherings by which the church has been characterised recently.
COVID-19 though, should be a lesson to us that we can get back to the normal model of New Testament church, albeit improved by the tools and technologies available to us today. With widely available connectivity and a device in almost every palm, ministry is about to be reshaped for individual engagement, and for family and friends sharing. The church is about to go back to the house.
Think on these things:
- Prior to COVID-19, when last did someone from your church leadership visit you at home?
- Would you consider visiting someone at home if they were missing from church or if you heard that they had some struggle or difficulty?
- Would you attend a bible study or prayer meeting if it is planned for someone’s home rather than at the church building?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that our homes will be a place of ministry to relatives, friends, neighbours, church people and other who would knock on our door.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex