Let us examine again that little thing we dwell on so much here at International Missionary Baptist Ministries: the context.
We will start and stop with the second question because that is the one ignored here: Who was Paul addressing?
It wasn’t Christians in general; this is an epistle to the church at Rome so he is talking to members of a local, visible, New Testament church.
Some might ask, "If all this is true, how did this belief of a universal church come about? Everyone speaks of it as fact. How is this not scriptural if it is so accepted?"
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The Facts About the Body of Christ
Bro. Joe Roberts has covered the history of the church Christ started in a book he has written, entitled Church History Through the Trail of Blood.
In the fourth century, the Roman emperor Constantine was said to have a vision of a flaming cross with the words, “By this you will rule the world."
He reached out to the Christian churches to replace the Roman mythology with the Christian religion but those churches remaining true to the teachings of Jesus said "No", because Jesus wasn’t going to be forced on anyone.
However, some renegade churches saw this as a chance to grow and force their heretical teachings on both the churches that refused to accept them, and the citizens of the Roman Empire as well.
They said “Yes” to Constantine, and with the might of the Roman Empire behind them they spread like wildfire throughout the Empire, squashing those that opposed their teaching.
They referred to themselves as “catholicus ecclesia”
or universal church. To them the church was universal, but visible. They were everywhere.
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The Facts About the Body of Christ
When the Protestant Reformation began, as groups fell away from the Catholics, they continued to embrace this
“one universal church” belief because of their catholic roots so they wanted to be part of the one church, but not the Catholic Church. To pull this off they claimed they were still a part of it, but now it was spiritual, not physical, therefore invisible.
As each group broke away, most if not all clung to this belief. Those churches that remained true to Christ’s teachings survived in small, constantly persecuted groups.
They never considered themselves part of any universal church, visible or invisible.
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The Facts About the Body of Christ
The Sensational Future of the Bride The true church is called His Body here on Earth, but His Bride in Heaven.
Heaven has a capital city: the new Jerusalem.
That capital city will have inhabitants. The throne of God shall be there, so Jesus will live there. Jesus Himself speaks of this "place" in John 14:2
In my Father’s house are many mansions:
if it were not so, I would have told you. I go
to prepare a place for you.
The current occupants of heaven (at that time) had mansions that were prepared for them. Then what was being prepared for whom?
Did “you” mean He was talking to His disciples as apostles? No more than the Great Commission was given to them as apostles.
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The Facts About the Body of Christ
He was speaking to them as members of the New Testament church, the church of the firstborn. It did not need to be prepared at this time because it had no inhabitants.
What was He preparing?
The capital of Israel is Jerusalem. The kings of Judah ruled from there in the Davidic dynasty during the kingdom years. The last King will also rule from Jerusalem, but will transition His throne to the new capital that He was preparing to be occupied by His bride: where Jerusalem is the capital of their Promised Land, the new Jerusalem is the capital of the Promised Land of His church.
That local, scriptural, New Testament church He began with the simple phrase "Come, follow Me". The Body has become the Bride:
Revelation 21
9 And there came unto me one of the seven
angels which had the seven vials full of the
seven last plagues, and talked with me,
saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the
bride, the Lamb’s wife. 10 And he carried
me away in the spirit to a great and high
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The Facts About the Body of Christ
mountain, and shewed me that great city,
the holy Jerusalem, descending out of
heaven from God, 11 Having the glory of
God: and her light was like unto a stone
most precious, even like a jasper stone,
clear as crystal;
All believers go to heaven, but only members of the church of the firstborn, the local scriptural New Testament church will be allowed to live in the new Jerusalem. And we will have His name as well.
Jeremiah 23:6
In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel
shall dwell safely: and this is his name
whereby he shall be called, THE LORD