The Church was birthed by the Spirit of God in a blaze of glory. (Acts 1:1-8 NKJV) "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

It is significant that the church was birthed on the day of Pentecost for several reasons.

• The day of Pentecost signified the giving of the law of God.

• The day of Pentecost occurred exactly 50 days from the feast of Passover.

• The Children of Israel met with God on Mt. Sinai where Moses first received the law of God. This occurred exactly 50 days after they ate the Passover meal in Egypt.

• The church received the Holy Spirit who writes the law of God upon our hearts instead of tablets exactly 50 days after the sacrifice of Jesus the fulfillment of the Passover Lamb.

• God wanted Israel to become an entire nation of kings and priests, but they feared the presence of God.

•When the church was born every believer became a king and a priest unto God.

(Hebrews 12:18-24 NLT) You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai when God gave them his laws. {19} For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice with a message so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. {20} They staggered back under God's command: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death." {21} Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, "I am terrified and trembling." {22} No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to thousands of angels in joyful assembly. {23} You have come to the assembly of God's firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge of all people. And you have come to the spirits of the redeemed in heaven who have now been made perfect. {24} You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which graciously forgives instead of crying out for vengeance as the blood of Abel did.

The Formation of the Church:
“I will build My Church...” (Matthew 16:13-19 NKJV) When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" {14} So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." {15} He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" {16} Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." {17} Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. {18} "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. {19} "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

In this passage Jesus makes two very important statements concerning the church.

He declares that He is the one who will build the church, (revealing that the origin of the church is divine, and not the work of man’s hands).

He declares that the church will be built upon the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and that as such the very gates (or strength) of hell itself will never overcome it.

The church was formed by the hand of God, and not through the efforts of man. (Psalm 127:1 NKJV) Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.

The church came about as a result of salvation, and as such the true church could no more be brought about through the work of man’s hands than salvation can by obtained through the efforts of man.

The believer is the work of God, and God alone. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, {9} not of works, lest anyone should boast. {10} For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

(Titus 3:5 NKJV)... not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

The proper order is God’s order. (1 Chronicles 13:1-10 NKJV)...{7} So they carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart...

Man always seems to want to try to carry the glory of God on the man made carts of our own understanding. (John 4:23-24 NKJV) "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. {24} "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

God never fits those molds, and will always break out of those confines. (1 Chronicles 15:1-13 NKJV) David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched a tent for it. 2 Then David said, "No one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever." 3 And David gathered all Israel together at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD to its place, which he had prepared for it .12 He said to them, "You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. 13 "For because you did not do it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order."

Man is always trying to turn from God’s prescribed way, and turn the church into something made after the liking of man. (Mark 7:1-13 NKJV)...{7} And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' {8} "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men; the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." {9} He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. {10} "For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' {11} "But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban"; ' (that is, a gift to God), {12} "then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, {13} "making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do."

We must keep our eyes fixed upon Christ and His word so as to not create something that has a form of the church but is not true to what God ascribes.