Today, we are going to look at the “house church”. Is having “church” at home ok, or must we go to a different place to “have” church? It is simple, church can be held anywhere, anytime, anyplace; even in your own home. Let’s go through the verses in the Bible that talk about house churches. Romans 16:5: “Likewise greet the church that is in their house.” Here, there was no separate building in which they fellowshipped; it was simply “in their house”. Even more interesting is that there are only two members of this church which have been named – Priscilla and Aquila. Were there other Christians who fellowshipped with them? Maybe, but the verse does not say either way so we don’t know. And furthermore, it was in their own home. They were also not addressed as an elder, deacon, or bishop, but yet they had a church. 1 Corinthians 16:19: “The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.” Here we have “the churches of Asia” – multiple churches (multiple groups of Christians coming together to worship in different places), but not the actual name of a church. Again, we also have a house church here – in the house of Aquila and Priscilla – an ‘unnamed’ church. Colossians 4:15: “Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.” No separate physical building – the church was in Nymphas’ house. Philemon 1:2: “And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:” Again, no separate physical building, no name; the church, or gathering of believers, was in their house. General references to churches: Acts 2:47: “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” “The church”. But which church? Was it the Church of Rome, or Corinth, or Ephesus, etc. (as mentioned in the Bible)? No, it was just “the church”, meaning that He added to His body of believers as a whole, not to any certain group of Christians at a particular place. Acts 5:11: “And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.” Again, it is not describing a name, a building, or even an area. It is simply, “the church”. (Other similar passages: Acts 8:3; 9:31; 11:26; 12:1; 12:5; 14:23; 14:27; 15:3; 15:4; Romans 16:23; 1 Corinthians 6:4; to name just a few). Church by location: Acts 7:38: “This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:” Here we have the very first church in biblical history, which was actually from the Old Testament when the Jews were in the wilderness. What was the name of the church? The “Church of Sinai”? Or the “Church of the Wilderness”? No, we have just “the church in the wilderness”; those in the wilderness who believed in God. (This is the Old Testament, so remember that Christ hadn’t even come, yet here they are called the church. This is because they believed in God and the ‘promised land’ - the promised land was always a representation of Christ to come) Acts 8:1: “And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem…” Here we have a general location, Jerusalem, but it was not called the “Church of Jerusalem”; it did not have a name, only a way to identify its location. “The church which was at Jerusalem”. Acts 13:1: “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch…” Again, Antioch is only the general location, not the actual name of the church. Romans 16:1: “I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea . . .” General location only, Cenchrea. 1 Corinthians 1:2: “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus…” Again, not the name of the church, but this verse shows a two-fold meaning: 1) the church belongs to God, and 2) that particular church (body of believers) was in the city of Corinth. 2 Corinthians 8:1: “Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;” The key here is “churches”, plural. The area of Macedonia in the Bible was a large area, and it wasn’t practical for Christians in Macedonia to meet in a single location, hence we have multiple churches in Macedonia. However, “the churches of Macedonia” is not the name of the churches, it simply describes the location of the churches – Macedonia. 1 Corinthians 16:19: “The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.” Here we have “the churches of Asia”. These are multiple churches (gatherings of believers), but again, not the actual name of a church. We also have a house church here, in the house of Aquila and Priscilla. (other similar passages: Acts 11:22; Rom 16:4; 2 Cor 1:1; 2 Cor 8:1; Gal 1:22; Col 4:16; 1 Th 1:1; 2 Th 1:1; 1 Pe 5:3; Rev 1:4; Rev 2:1; Rev 2:8, etc…)
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