Quiet Time Notes

Notes from my daily Quiet Times with God

First Thing First

June 13th, 2025
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Adding or removing optional features of the church does not change the essesnce of its character

A "church" with just good plan/works but no real faith in Jesus Christ, His direction, His protection, etc is not a church at all

Types of diverstity in the church:

1. Mistake an accidental feature of the church for an essential one
2. Church can treat essential features as optional
3. Church may burden itself with many accidental features to make it impossible to love the essential
4. Church is so careful not to add accidental features that is can not adapt to changing circumstances

1,3,4 has a form of a church but #2 ceases to be a church

The most basic esssential feature of the church is that it's origin is from God

Ephesians 1:11-18 - God call you to be His holy people

Ephesians 1:22-23 - Church, His body, fullness of him who fill everything in everyway

The church is God's idea, God's choice, and God's act

God is acting, churching (reconciling), "ekklesia" = gathering of people, the world to Christ - 2 Corinthians 5:19

We need to rid ourselves of the view that the church displaces God as the primary actor and replaces him with human actors

If we forget this, we will try "to make it happen" by our own power

Our task is to let ourselves be churched by God

Key Phrase: We need to rid ourselves of the view that the church displaces God as the primary actor and replaces him with human actors

Notes from: Rethinking Church by Ron Highfield.