Assembly / Church of God
There are many congregations, churches and assemblies. Some Christians wonder if this diversity is correct.
A second question could be: To which of these Christian conviction of faith should I turn to?
Or to put it another way: How should someone who is looking for a Bible-oriented church find his/her way around?
The terms "congregation", "church" or "assembly"
These terms ultimately all designate the same thing, namely the totality of all born-again Christians on this earth, regardless of which specific “church” or “community” they go to. The New Testament was originally written in the Greek language. Whenever there is a German translation of “community”, “church” or “assembly”, the word “ek-klesia” appears there. This expression can be translated literally as “calling out” or “called out”. We find that this meaning is best illustrated by the term “assembly”. People who have previously lived in different, worldly connections, God has called out of these in order to gather them together on a new basis. However, because the term “congregation” has established itself among many Christians and some understand “assembly” as a term for Christians with a certain conviction of faith, we continue to use the term “congregation” here.
The church is not an organization but an organism
Even if we speak of “many congregations, churches and assemblies”, the congregation of God is neither an organization nor a building, as the term “church” is commonly used, for example. It is an organism made up of people. Paul writes to the Church of God in Corinth - and he means people in Corinth who are "sanctified" and called saints. These are not people to be canonized after death. These are people whom God has set aside for himself so that they belong to him and serve him. They are saints because God has given them his own sacred nature, eternal life.
How is that possible? Quite simply: These people have been converted, God has given them new life so that they were born again. They are redeemed: "If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1: 9). "But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to be children of God, to those that believe on his name; who have been born ... of God" (John 1:12, 13). "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
Who is in the church?
Who is in God's Church? Anyone who has confessed their sins before Jesus Christ - that is, confessed in true repentance - and accepted Him as Savior. In connection with personal faith, one has been sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Only the faith in Jesus Christ and his work of redemption saves us, not belonging to a specific Christian group, church, congregation or assembly. It is personally believing that the Lord Jesus died for one's sins and bore the penalty for one's personal guilt. In this way one becomes a child of God and at the same time a member of God's church.
The church in one place
So far we have only spoken of the one, worldwide church of the Lord Jesus, to which all redeemed, all true newborn Christians belong. However, the worldwide church cannot easily become visible to the outside world because it is impossible for all true Christians to come together in a certain place. Therefore the New Testament also knows another aspect of God's worldwide church: the church at a certain place. It represents the worldwide church of God and becomes visible when the local assembly comes together in one place. We would like to present this biblical truth through our meetings.
We meet regularly in Darmstadt for communion, to pray together, to preach the Bible and to study the Bible. Everyone is cordially invited. You are also welcome to contact us beforehand. We are available for a personal conversation.