Gather my saints together unto me – Psalm 50:5
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers – Acts
2:42.
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is – Hebrews 10:25.
The Word of God speaks of The Church of God as a single body of believers – called out ones (Eph. 5:25,27; Col. 1:18).
At the same time we see Scriptures referring to Churches of God (Acts 9:31; 16:5; I Cor. 11:28; I Thess. 2:14). In the
book of revelation, the Lord mentions seven churches in Asia (Rev. 1:11). From these Scriptures we understand that while
the Church is one, local groups of believers are seen as churches which are an integral part of the universal Church.
The Church is one and so, cannot be divided. But, the gatherings of believers at different places, especially on the
Lord’s Day to worship, break bread, pray, and learn from the Scriptures, constitute local churches, like the church at
Ephesus and so on. We see in Acts 20:7: Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples (Church at Troas) came
together to break bread, Paul preached unto them. We also read about church gatherings in different homes: church in
Aquila and Priscilla’s house (Rom. 16:5); in Nymphas house (Col. 4:15); in Philemon’s house (Phile. 1:2).
A building is never to be called a Church. Church is a living body of people called out of the world for the Lord by His
redemptive power. As Brother Watchman Nee emphasizes, believers assembling together is absolutely essential to the life
of a church. Apostle Paul counsels the Hebrew believers with the words: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as the manner of some is – Hebrews 10:25.
From Eph. 3:10 we understand that God has a glorious and eternal purpose which He has purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord,
and in that purpose He has desired to reveal his manifold wisdom through the Church to all the principalities and powers
in heavenly places. The local Church or the local Assembly of Believers is a small part, but a significant part of the
universal Church and therefore has the honor to reveal the wisdom of God to the world around it. The transformation of
mortal man, a sinner, into a new creation in Christ Jesus, itself is a great miracle and reveals the wisdom of God. All
those who have experienced such a transformation by the work of the Holy Spirit are added by the Lord to His body, the
Church. No man or institution can add people to the Church; it is the work of the Lord and we are his coworkers only –
Acts 2:47; II Cor. 6:1.
As the early believers gave great importance to meeting very often (Acts 2:42-47), we, at Little Flock, believe in the
importance and necessity of believers gathering together in the name of Lord Jesus Christ, as often as possible, and
certainly on the Lord’s Day. We believe, the most important part of the worship service on the Lord’s Day is to observe
the Table of the Lord, as the Lord Himself has ordained (Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22: 19,20;Acts 11:23-31).
With worship and Thanksgiving, we observe the Lord’s Table remembering the death of the Lord Jesus Christ for our
redemption (Acts 11:26). Psalm 87:2 says, “The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob”. From
this we see that the Lord loved the assembly of Israel on mount Zion more than their gatherings elsewhere. When Israel
met at the temple situated on mount Zion, their hearts and minds were focused on the Altar and the Atoning Sacrifices.
In the Old Testament, Zion stands for the church of the New Testament. As such, this presents a clear picture of the
believers gathering together in fellowship around the Lord’s Table to remember his atoning sacrifice on the Cross of
Calvary.
As the early Church was, we believe, we should be a witnessing church. Our witness to the world should be in presenting
the gospel through spoken word and also by showing Christ through our lives and works (Acts 1:8; 4:33; II Tim. 4:2;
James 2:18-22; Titus 1:16; II Cor. 6:3-5).
The early disciples, as we read in Acts 2:42, continued steadfastly in the (1) apostles’ doctrine, (2) fellowship, (3)
breaking of bread, and in (4) prayers. Andrew Bonner (1810- 1892) says: Acts 2:42 is a test of true discipleship. In the
Little Flock Christian Fellowship we emphasize the importance of these four anchors. Brother Bakht Singh (1903-2000), a
man of God from India, says, Christian life is like a journey in a sea – full of storms. There may be storms in homes,
families, neighborhoods, and in nations around the world. These storms – doubts and fears etc – try to shake and weaken
our faith. But knowing our need, God has given us these four anchors. Our prayer and desire is to hold on to these four
anchors as we serve the Lord as laborers together with Him.
Blessing of the Lord out of Zion – The Church:
They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house – Psalm 36:8.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness
of thy house, even of thy holy temple – Psalm 65:4.
The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion – Psalm 128:4.
There is a special presence of the Lord when His people gather together in His name. There He is in their midst (Matt.
18:20; Rev. 1:13). There we can experience heavenly satisfaction. There we can receive a special blessing that is
promised to His household.
You are welcome to contact us for more information on this subject.
The gates of hell cannot prevail against the church which the Lord himself is building
(Matt. 16:18).