The Church in the Shadows

The Church in the Shadows

By Apostle Felix

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91: 1

It is important to talk about the church in the shadows as we progress with the subject of the resurrection of Christ. Church is a Greek word that suggests a congregation or an assembly. The word church was not introduced by Christ. It was a word that was used way before Christ came to earth. Church was referred to a congregation or an assembly of people. In the Hebrew, the word ‘Qahal’ has been translated into English as ‘an assembly or congregation.’ We can find the word ‘Qahal’ in Genesis 28: 3, when Isaac blessed his son Jacob to be fruitful, to multiply and to become a multitude of people. The word multitude is Qahal, which has been translated as church.

And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people. Genesis 28: 3

That word can also be found in Genesis 35: 11. God appeared to Jacob at Bethel and repeated the same promise God had made to Abraham of multiplying Abraham’s descendants. God called out Abraham so that He could start a congregation with Abraham, a church, a congregation or a company of nations (people groups).

And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins Genesis 35: 11

This was a church in the shadows. What do I mean? What I mean is that God was using the congregation of Israel as a typology and a shadow of the church Christ was coming to build. A shadow is a dark figure cast upon a surface by a body intercepting the rays from the source of light.

Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Colossians 2: 17

The church in the shadows had the ordinances and the rituals but lacked the life of God. They had the letter but the letter had no power to induce life. The church had the religious organization but yet they were all enslaved by sin. It was a church that had the form of godliness but yet lacking the power of God. What is the power of God? The power of God is the power that resurrected Jesus from the dead. The resurrection power.

And I continually long to know the wonders of Jesus more fully and to experience the overflowing power of his resurrection working in me. I will be one with him in his sufferings and I will be one with him in his death. Philippians 3: 10