THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TRUE CHURCH
(1) The True Church Is The Promised Church Of God
What Are God’s Promises?
a. Those Who Cannot Be Shaken Shall Be His People
Joel 3:16 The Lord also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the Lord will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel.
On the day that the Lord will roar, He will shake the heavens and earth.
Exo. 19:18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
Heb. 12:27 Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
The things which cannot be shaken shall become the refuge and the guarantee of salvation for the saved ones. The refuge is the promised church of the true God. Those who enter into His church shall have hope and protection.
Heb. 6:18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
b. His People Shall Be Satisfied And Not Be Reproached
Joel 2:15-19 15Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; 16Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. 17Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, "Spare Your people, O Lord, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' " 18Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. 19The Lord will answer and say to His people, "Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.
There was a period of desolation when the Lord did not spare His people. Rather, He allowed the Israelites to suffer hunger, be ruled over and be a reproach among the nations.
God instructed us to blow the trumpet, gather the people and sanctify the congregation before He comes again. We must be glad and rejoice because He will not ignore us or put us to shame anymore. The existence of His true church cannot be hidden any longer. He shall have zeal for His church and mercy for His people.
c. His People Shall Receive Grain, New Wine and Oil
Hos. 2:21-22 21"It shall come to pass in that day That I will answer," says the Lord; "I will answer the heavens, And they shall answer the earth. 22The earth shall answer With grain, With new wine, And with oil; They shall answer Jezreel.
Did God promise to give materialistic things to man?
No! Even our forefathers who ate manna in the wilderness had died there. What God has promised us is the bread of life.
John 6:50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.
God will give the bread of life to His people whom He has planted in His kingdom (i.e. the promised church of God).
d. His People Shall Be His Children and His Heirs
Gal. 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
Gal. 3:29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
How do we prove that the churches during the apostolic period were the promised church of God, just as Isaac was the heir of Abraham?
As the apostles were Christ’s, so were their churches.
How can one be of Christ?
One has to be born of the Spirit and not of the flesh.
Rom. 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
Rom. 9:8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
Prior to the promises of God, it was impossible for anyone to be His children and heirs according to the promise. It is because the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
1Cor. 15:46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
(2) The True Church Is Of The Spirit
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
He who is born of the flesh and he who is born of the Spirit not only have different characteristics but also different statuses. He who is born of the flesh sets his mind on things on the earth but he who is born of the Spirit sets his mind on things which are spiritual and from above. The mind of the flesh and the mind of the Spirit are different. Therefore, they walk on separate paths.
John 8:23 And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
The Jews claimed to be Abraham’s descendants but the Lord Jesus Christ refused to recognise them.
Why? Was the Lord Jesus Christ not referring to the flesh?
No! Physically, they were indeed from Abraham’s lineage but spiritually, they were of their father the devil.
John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
The Lord Jesus Christ knew that the Jews were of the world but He was of the Spirit, for He was born of the Spirit.
1John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
The Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples were aware that their status were different from the Jews. His disciples would not have testified that they were of the Spirit had they not received the power from above through the downpouring of the Holy Spirit during Pentecost.
Rom. 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
Paul determines whether one is of the flesh or of the Spirit by looking at whether one possesses the Spirit of Christ or not. Hence, after he asked several disciples in Ephesus, he determined that they were still not of the Spirit.
Acts 19:1-6 1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." 3 And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptised?" So they said, "Into John's baptism." 4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptised with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." 5 When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
(3) The True Church Is Free
Gal. 4:22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.
The two women symbolises the two types of churches, one in bondage, the other, free. He who is born of a bondwoman is born according to the flesh but he who is born of a freewoman is born according to the Spirit. Since we have been sanctified through the renewal of the Holy Spirit, we were not born of a bondwoman. Rather, we are the children of a freewoman.
Gal. 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
One who is free is one who is not shackled by the yoke of bondage.
Who were we enslaved to?
John 8:34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
Paul said that though we were once slaves of sin, yet now we submit to the Lord Jesus Christ wholeheartedly after having received the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit. We have been set free from sin to attain liberty. We are not Hagar’s but Sarai’s.
Rom. 6:17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
Whether in secular churches or in the true church, Christians who are still shackled by the yoke of bondage cannot be considered as free.
(4) The True Church Is Perfect
Rev. 21:2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
The New Jerusalem refers to the place of abode of the true God, a place that bears His name. Why does God want the holy city, the New Jerusalem to come down out of heaven from Him once more in the last days?
Rev. 21:1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
Spiritually, ‘the first heaven and the first earth’ refers to the old Jerusalem (i.e. all the churches in the past). ‘The first heaven and the first earth had passed away’ refers to how those churches had become redundant by the coming of the holy city, the new Jerusalem (i.e. the true church).
John the Baptist had baptised and preached about the gospel of salvation before the Lord Jesus Christ ministered on Earth. However, he decreased and gradually became the past after the Lord Jesus Christ started to evangelise.
John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
The ‘true church’ will come down out of heaven from God. Obviously, she will be completely different from all the secular churches for she is the Bride of the Lamb who pleases Him.
Isa. 62:1-5 1 For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns. 2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord will name. 3 You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God. 4 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you, And your land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you.
The ‘true church’ shall be perfect, holy and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Song. 6:9 My dove, my perfect one, Is the only one, The only one of her mother, The favourite of the one who bore her. The daughters saw her And called her blessed, The queens and the concubines, And they praised her.
Rev. 19:7-8 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Why must the church be like a bride who is without blemish?
It is because she will be the wife of the Holy Lamb. If she is not perfect and holy, she can neither see His face nor please Him.
Eph. 5:26-27 26that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
Heb. 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
Eph. 5:31-32 31"For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
The true church is the wife of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, she must not have any spot or wrinkle. Rather, she must be holy and be without blemish.
How can a church be sanctified?
A church will be sanctified if all her members are sanctified, for the body of a church consists of the congregation (i.e. her members). A person would only use pure gold if he wishes to build a house of gold. Likewise, since the Lord Jesus Christ wishes for His church to be sanctified, all her members must be holy and perfect for only by having perfect saints can a church also be perfected.
Heb. 6:1UP Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection,…
It is expected of every believer of the true church to go on to perfection, unlike believers from secular churches who are Christians in name but are devoid of the characteristics of true Christians. Believers who are unwilling to reach perfection are unworthy to be utilised as the construction materials of the holy temple. Therefore, Paul encouraged us to strive towards perfection.
Matt. 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
The Lord Jesus Christ has predestined before the foundation of the world for His believers to be perfect. Today, this instruction also applies to the true church. In fact, only the church that can fulfil this requirement can be considered as the true church. Therefore, members of the true church must strive to be perfect just as He is perfect. In addition, they must walk in His footsteps and grow on His root to receive salvation and abide with Him forever.
(5) The True Church Is Holy
Eph. 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
God had chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. He had predestined us to receive salvation. As such, we must be holy and without blame before Him in love.
How did the Lord Jesus Christ sanctify us?
Col. 1:22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight--
Through the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, we had been reconciled with God and can now stand before Him. Since God is holy, we too must be holy when we reunite with Him.
1Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light;
John 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
A church that consists of saints is a holy nation.
Rom. 11:16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
2Cor. 11:2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
How can a church which is filled with filthiness and sins edify and sanctify her members?
The Lord Jesus Christ says:
Matt. 7:16-18 16You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
Eph. 5:26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
A church is sanctified and cleansed with the washing of water by the Word, through the correct mode of baptism and spiritual nurture of truth.
1Pet. 1:15-16 15but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."
Since God who called us is holy, we also must be holy. When we are holy, the church also will be holy. The church that is holy is the true church of God.
(6) The True Church Is Glorious
Isa. 11:10 "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious."
‘A Root of Jesse’ refers to the root of David. This refers not only to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, but also to the true church of the Lord Jesus Christ of the last days.
Rev. 5:5 But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."
2Chron. 2:6 But who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?
1Kings 8:29 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, 'My name shall be there,' that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place.
The church is a place to burn incense before God. It is God’s resting place and a glorious place that bears His name.
Jer. 17:12 A glorious high throne from the beginning Is the place of our sanctuary.
‘Our sanctuary’ refers to the place where Israelites would gather together to worship God. Today, this sanctuary is the true church of God that has mesmerised many since the beginning. She is the magnificent and glorious high throne of God.
Some recordings in the Bible of the glorious sanctuary are as follows:
Ps. 145:11-12 11They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power, 12To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
Eze. 20:6 On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, 'flowing with milk and honey,' the glory of all lands.
Isa. 60:7LP …, And I will glorify the house of My glory.
Hag. 2:9 The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,' says the Lord of hosts. 'And in this place I will give peace,' says the Lord of hosts."
Rev. 21:11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
The true church of God is magnificent and glorious as she is clean, not having any spot or wrinkle. As the true church is without blemish, only a church which is holy is worthy to be the spouse of God.
(7) The True Church Is The Only Saved One
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
How can we come to the Father who is the True God?
Obviously, we have to walk on the way that leads to Him. The way is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Since we only have one God, there is only one way. Not every way is the same for not all ways will lead us to the heavenly home.
Heb. 10:19-20 19Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,
John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Eph. 1:22-23 22And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Eph. 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
Paul says in Ephesians 1:22 that the church is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. It is clear that only one church and her believers will receive the Holy Spirit and the hope of salvation. As such, God gives us His body for the Bible records that ‘Nor is there salvation in any other, but there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).
John 10:16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
All the saved ones must be gathered together as one flock. Today, Christianity has been divided into hundreds of different denominations, factions and sects. Nevertheless, God does not recognise them for His sheep are not in their midst. Rather, God shall personally bring His sheep who are the saved ones to Him.
The prophets in the Old Testament prophesied about the salvation of God.
Mic. 4:2 Many nations shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Isa. 60:3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
Jer. 51:9-10 9 We would have healed Babylon, But she is not healed. Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country; For her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies. 10The Lord has revealed our righteousness. Come and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.
Joel 3:11 Assemble and come, all you nations, And gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord.
‘Many nations’, ‘Gentiles’, ‘Babylon’, and ‘all you nations’ refer to the various Christian denominations and religious groups. Among them, those who are the sheep of God will hear His voice, go up to His mountain which is the house of the God of Jacob and return to Mount Zion (i.e. God’s true church – The True Jesus Church). They will gather together as one flock that is united in one body to form the only church that can be saved and become the Bride who will be received by God eventually.
Rev. 21:9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."
1Pet. 3:20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
The Earth would have to go through two rounds of destructions after its creation. The first destruction was by a great flood during the time of Noah. Only Noah’s family of eight were saved while all other living creatures were destroyed.
2Pet. 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
God has preserved the Earth only for it to go through the second destruction via fire for the perdition of the ungodly during judgment day. On that day, all elements will melt due to fervent heat.
Will anyone be saved?
Yes! However, only one family will be saved.
As the Lord Jesus Christ says:
Luke 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
This family is the church of the living God.
1Tim. 3:15LP …., which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Eze. 37:22 and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.
Dan. 2:44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
There is only one kingdom that God wants to stand forever. It is the true church that shall neither be destroyed nor be divided into two. Prior to the destruction of all the other churches, God had established the true church personally. She shall be the only church that shall be saved.
Song. 6:8-9 8 There are sixty queens And eighty concubines, And virgins without number. 9 My dove, my perfect one, Is the only one, The only one of her mother, The favourite of the one who bore her. The daughters saw her And called her blessed, The queens and the concubines, And they praised her.
Although there are many queens, concubines and virgins, there is only one who is the love of God, His dove and His perfect one. God had sacrificed Himself and shed His blood to redeem her as His very own. She is the only begotten one by the Spirit, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride for her husband.
Conclusion
The main aim of the Lord Jesus Christ coming into the world ‘in the flesh’ was to preach the Heavenly Kingdom. The work of preaching the Heavenly Word is progressive and therefore the Lord Jesus Christ said:
John 18:37LP To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
John 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by Me.
The True Jesus Church submits to the Lord’s instruction to partake the Lord’s flesh and blood in the Spirit, to be in one body with Him and to live for Him.
The True Jesus Church, being born of the Holy Spirit and the True Word, portrays God’s thoughts and image. She has the Holy Spirit as her witness and therefore, is the only true church with God dwelling in her. She is submissive in accepting the commission to witness for the Truth. She relies entirely on the Bible as the standard of the Truth in her preaching.
~ The End ~
(The Holy Spirit Times – The Gospel of Salvation)