The Church and God

The church is a means of God in the world. However we must always view the church as a means with no authority outside of itself.

You see the church has often thought that it has power to bind on earth. There are scriptural references which support this, but you see this assumes the church acts in accord with God.

However you see the church often does not have consciousness of the fact that it can be cut off from itself. Because the church has authority only as God has given the church authority.

You see this is the issue at the moment the church wishes to bind an action which is not God's it ceases to be the church. The church is under authority and cannot act apart from authority.

Often there is a confusion that the church has a vested authority in itself. All stripes of Christianity contain this error. You see however that as a means of God in the world the power comes with strings attached - that the means is God's.

You see a parallel in prayer. Why does God answer "no" or "wait" so much for prayer. You see God's plans are not our own.

We have a limited vision in ourselves to see what is right and wrong. Together as the church our vision is often clearer but you see we often cannot really know the will of God.

Many people questioned Paul's placement as an apostle to the gentiles. Really him? You see God often does the unexpected in the world - he does so to shame the wise.

You see God chooses how to work in the world. He can give a church power and take its power away. He does not need a specific church or denomination to carry out his means. He will carry out his means the question is how he chooses to do so.

We cannot stand against God and have no power or life apart from him. Often the world is thought to have permanence. The bible makes it clear the world is only held in existence at each moment by God.

God is good and not fickle and consistent in nature, but we are helpless. We can see things his way or not but always he is.

What is ultimate reality? God. We may like it or not but he is the beginning and end and all in-between is under his power.

He is good but he is not exactly what we would always think of as good. The issue there is we like to be bad at least to a degree and his purity is in a sense upsetting. We always have to come to see things as he does.