NOTE: All comments in brackets [ ] or in parentheses ( ) as well as highlighted text (bolded and/or in blue) are from the author of this study.
Bible quotations are in maroon.
The Bible describes and speaks of God’s true church as being the “little flock.” But, isn’t God desperately trying to save the world and doesn’t He have the power to do so? Isn’t Christianity in its many manifestations, worldwide in its reach and scope? Are there not very large Christian congregations all over the world busily preaching the Gospel and leading men to salvation? Are not the several, very large, wealthy and powerful Christian churches in the world positive proof that God’s Church may have started off as a little flock but was destined to grow into several great and influential churches drawing men from all nations to salvation with their gospel messages?
How can we reconcile the “little flock” of the Bible with the many and often large and very wealthy Christian churches of this world who in many instances are also actively involved in the politics of this world?
There is only really one way of finding out and that is to go the source of truth, the Holy Bible and see if the matter can be clarified. If the Bible does not hold the answers we need then there is no way of correctly determining if all these Christian churches are simply different and acceptable versions or flavors of God’s Church from which Christians can choose as best suits them?
I will build my church
Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Christ who was the son of God (Mat 16:16) and who as God’s son was also a God being, in the same way that the son of a human being is also fully a human being, says that He would build His Church or God’s Church. He also said that the “gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” It was never to die out, throughout the ages; until the end of humanity there would always be a church of God that would exist on the earth.
What is a Church?
The word “church” refers to a group of people who hold a common set of beliefs which are religious in nature. In most instances, these religious beliefs are derived from the text of a book or from writings which are considered to contain the instructions of a god being to mankind which if followed leads to an after-life where all needs and wants are forever fulfilled. Christians have their sacred texts and so do other religious groups of the world and this leads to there being several different kinds of churches in the world both Christians and non-Christians.
So, a church can be said to be a collection or assembly of people who hold in common a set of beliefs derived from writings that are considered to be instruction from a deity on how to live their lives so as to have access to a never ending after-life of ease and fulfillment of all their needs.
Christians have their sacred scriptures, the Holy Bible; the Jews believe that only the Old Testament is valid as they consider Christ to have been an impostor and a false prophet who they rightly put to death; the Muslims have the Koran; the Mormons have the writings of John Smith who is said to have received special revelation from Christ; the Hindus and many others also all have their own sacred texts transmitted to them by their own deity.
There exists a great variety of Christians and non-Christian churches all over the world with most of them claiming to be the one true church that everybody would follow if they knew the truth.
We will limit ourselves to looking at the Christian churches in the world considering we are interested in the teachings of God as found in God’s Bible.
Becoming a Member of God’s Church
How does one become a member of God’s Church? Is it simply a matter of finding a congregation and joining it after having first spent time listening to the teachings of a great variety of churches so as to find the one that best fits our own beliefs and which has leaders which we judge to be trustworthy?
What does the Holy Bible have to say about how one becomes part of God’s Church?
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
The first part of the process is that the God being who begat Christ in Mary’s womb and who then became God the Father must first draw the individual to Him. “No one” can come to Christ by himself all of a sudden deciding he wants to do so; the Father must draw him.
This is the calling out process which is done by God the Father who is the one who decides who He will call and when He will call them. It is not based on how men have been conducting their lives up to that point; it is solely God’s decision. In time, all of mankind will be called and given a chance for salvation.
God the Father will give those He calls sufficient information for them to be able to knowingly and willingly make the decision to commit themselves or not to living a life of obedience to Him. They are entirely free to accept or not God’s calling.
Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Ancient Israel, individually and as a nation, was unconverted and God was giving them the same choice that every human being that has ever lived will have to make: will they obey God or not. Of significance is the fact that ancient Israel was never given access to God’s Holy Spirit and were not at that time able to choose but in a physical way i.e., at that time their challenge was to follow the letter of God’s law and not the spirit of the law which they could not know. Their blessing and cursing would be physical and material; not spiritual. Their calling to eternal life would come at the time of the 2nd resurrection.
In New Testament time, God has a spiritual nation of Israel which is made up of individuals from all nations of the world and not only Israel. In the book of Acts we read of how God taught Peter that salvation is not only to Israel but to also to all the other nations of the earth.
Act 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
Act 10:35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
Act 10:36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
Act 10:37 That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
Act 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Act 10:39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
Act 10:40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;
Act 10:41 Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.
Act 10:42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
Act 10:43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
Act 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
Act 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 10:46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
Act 10:47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
Act 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
And Paul in Rom 2:28-29 tells us that being a Jew or an Israelite it not a matter of being one outwardly i.e., having been physically born as a Jew and that being circumcised in the flesh is what makes one a Jew or an Israelite in God’s eyes.
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
God’s nation of Israel is now made up of those who are Jews inwardly i.e., whose goal is to obey God in all things as the Jews say it is theirs also. And, their circumcision is of the heart; what counts is their attitude of obedience to God which is something that is found in the mind (heart). And New Testament Christians are charged with following not only the letter of the law but the spirit also. And, they obey God not out of a desire to obtain the praise of men, but of God; this is what is most important to them.
He who is a Jew or an Israelite since the First Coming of Christ are all those from all the nations of the world including Israelites whose goal in life is to obey God to the best of their abilities. God’s nation of Israel is a nation of Spirit-begotten individuals from all the nations of the world. It is not a physical nation though made up of flesh-and-blood individuals but one where physical-material men have made the commitment to obey God after having been called.
After having been called by God the Father, one must make the decision to either return to their former life in the world or to walk in newness of life accepting that from now on God will define good and evil for them rather than themselves doing it and they will try to the best of their abilities to obey God’s law.
Ancient Israel was God’s non-Spirit begotten nation. It was never a converted nation as the Holy Spirit had not yet been given for Christ had not then yet been glorified.(John 7:39)
Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Joh 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
The Holy Spirit is not something that had been available from the beginning; it only became available after Christ was glorified after His death on the stake. There was first needed a sacrifice that would really forgive sin which would make it possible for the holy spirit beings called God and the Spokesman to be able to dwell in men because God cannot dwell with sin. The state of a true Christian is to continually without sin being imputed to him. Upon being called and chosen God imputes no sin to men as long as they remain faithful. God the Father and the God being that is the Spokesman can then work in their minds in the same way that Satan works in the minds of the children of disobedience. (Eph 2:2)
In OT times, Christ’s sacrifice was far in their future. Men’s sins remained and this is why God’s Holy Spirit was not and could not be part of the Old Covenant.
In NT times, spiritual Israel is God’s Church and those who have become part of it are those called by God the Father and who have been chosen because they have committed themselves to obey God in all things.
God’s Church for most of its existence has been invisible to the world as it is first and foremost a spiritual organism. It is something that resides in men’s mind, an attitude of obedience to God in all things; it is not something outwardly visible to other men. God’s Church is not a visible organization of men owning lavish buildings on large properties with the main and most opulent building being the church. In Old Testament times God had a physical temple; in New Testament times, God does not dwell in temples made by men’s hands (Act 17:24) but in truly converted Christians who are God’s temple (1Co 6:19).
Since it is not something visible to the world, it then becomes impossible for men on their own initiative to conduct a search of the world’s churches and be able to find God’s Church. For a brief period in the history of God’s Church it has been a visible organization but this was exceptional and very likely it is something that will never again occur. The purpose for having had such an organization has been fulfilled and there is no longer any requirement for the Church to be visibly organized as a corporate body. That purpose was the preaching of the Gospel to the world as a witness before the coming of the end (Mat 24:14).
Committing to God and not Compromising
In order to inherit salvation one must first be called and chosen (John 6:44-45) but this is only the first step and one that the many do not take as Christ very plainly tells us.
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
They are not chosen because they decide to remain in the world rather than set off on a new life of obeying God in accordance with the truth He is giving them. These individuals are like Lot’s wife; they don’t think that this present evil world is as bad as God tells them it is and they choose to remain in it.
And then, the few who follow their calling and are coming into God’s Church are given a very serious warning by Christ.
Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
They are told to not come into God’s Church with an attitude of compromise with the world which is the broad way that leads to destruction. Christ tells us that it is the many that try to keep a foot in the world and a foot in the Church thinking everything will be fine anyway; that they can manage it and not lose their salvation.
A few very short, simple and clear Scriptures which require no interpretation make it very evident that this cannot be done.
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Luk 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
It is the many coming into God’s Church who do not fully abandon their old ways which were contrary to God’s law and eventually, Christ says, they go fully back to them and lose their salvation for a little leaven (opposition to a lesser or greater part of the truth) leavens the whole lump. Opposition to God in one aspect of His law will eventually expand to opposition to all of God’s law.
So as we can see, though many are called, few are chosen and of the few who are chosen, few remain faithful. This means that it is the very few of all those called who will inherit salvation as unpleasant a realization as this can be.
It also means that God’s true Church which is a spiritual organism made up of only those who are trying to obey Him to the best of their abilities and who are not compromising with the ways of the world will always be small.
As we have seen with the coming into being of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) that even though there was over a 100,000 people attending services, that it was the smallest of minority that stayed with the truth. Some stayed in the WCG after it started departing from the truth and some joined one of the many false churches of God that arose after the death of Mr. Armstrong and all are sitting contentedly in their comfortable pew being reassured by their ministers that all is fine and that they are all going to heaven.
True Christians from the foundation of God’s Church have always refused to compromise the truth they had to remain in a church which was no longer teaching the truth it had received from God through His end-time Elijah in the case of the WCG. They preferred to be on their own; abandon friends and family who chose to remain in these false churches and continue obeying God as they had committed themselves to do when they were first called no matter how personally inconvenient it was for them to do so and God took notice.
Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
Those that feared the Lord after leaving their congregation which had turned from the truth, “…..spoke often one to another….” What did they talk about? Was it about how well their gardens were growing, what a good week they had, how nice a meal they were going to have, the previous night’s hockey game? Mal 3:16 says “….and the LORD hearkened, and heard it….” He paid attention to what they were saying.
Did the Lord pay attention and notice what they were saying because God is interested in gardening, dining out or hockey?
Hmmm! Probably not.
So they must have been talking often to one another about the truth of God that they had in common. God heard them fellowshipping spiritually and He took note of it. He saw they maintained their interest in the truth and were interested in talking about it. They engaged often in spiritual fellowshipping with others who also refused to remain with a congregation of God’s Church which had departed from the truth.
These true Christians also spent time thinking about God and how He is working out His master plan of salvation for mankind, what it means to be born again, what is the Holy Spirit, the meaning and manner of celebration of the feast days for New Testament Christians, etc. etc. etc.
AND, it caught God’s attention: “…..and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD…. ”
“….Them that feared the Lord….“ are the ones that “….spake often to one another….“ and “….thought upon His name….“
And God says about them:
Mal 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Mal 3:18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
They and only they are God’s Church, the little flock spoken of by Christ. God who is their Father will give them, His sons, the Kingdom.
Luk 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Gardeners talk about gardening, architects about architecture, cooks talk about cooking, etc. They talk about it when they get together with others who have the same interests because it is what is on their minds.
Mat 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Luk 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
In other words, men speak about those things which interest them and what they speak about makes it clear what it is that interests them.
What do you talk about when you come among fellow believers of the truth?
Will what you talk about get your name written in God’s book of remembrance?
Conclusion
As we have seen, Christ referred to His Church as being the “little flock.” We have also shown how God’s Church is not something that one can choose to join after having done a survey of the many churches that exist out in the world. God’s church is a spiritual organism, it is something that occurs in the minds of men when God calls them and is therefore not outwardly visible to other men. In a room full of people, it would be impossible for anyone to be able to pick out who among them are the true Christians. God makes it clear that individual Christians are the temple in which He resides. True Christians in most instances do not know one another. They are scattered all over the world and do not constitute a humanly visible organization. True Christianity was never to become a large, wealthy organization with millions of followers with a mandate to convert the world.
God’s Church will always be the “little flock” for many are called but few are chosen and of those that are chosen few remain faithful; they go back into the world out of which they had been called.
God's Spiritual Nation 