I am the Storehouse

At the end of the Gospel of Matthew Jesus gives what has come to be known as the Great Commission. Jesus tells the eleven disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20)." Christians have taken this instruction to heart and, today, there is hardly a place on the planet that hasn't at least heard of Jesus Christ. One thing you do not read is Jesus saying to go out and build churches of bricks and mortar. Many Christians seem to think that there is something holy about the places which we gather for fellowship. For example, when trying to defend Christian tithing, a Christian writes:

"God says bring all your "tithes" to the Storehouse(church were you are member), we say, oh that's for only people in the Old Testament. Why would God tell them (people in the "old testament to do, but not "you")"

There is no doubt that the Bible commands to bring "the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house (Malachi 3:10)." However, there are two things that seem to go ignored by many Christians. First of all, this passage begins with the Lord talking to the descendants of Jacob. Who are the descendants of Jacob? It is Israel! In other words, God is talking to Jews not Christians. Secondly, and more importantly, is the fact that the storehouse is not the church where Christians are members. The Church is not a building, it is each individual member of the Body of Christ. "His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility (Ephesians 2:15-16)." The Church is individual Jews and Gentiles who have placed faith in Jesus Christ. There is nothing spiritual or holy about the places we attend in which to worship and fellowship with each other.

When you make the mistake of believing that the church you attend is the Church, then all your other findings will be off. And like the individual above you will have to twist Old Testament scriptures in order to justify your belief. How many of you have been sitting in church and had one of the leaders say something like, "Thank you for coming to the house of the Lord!" Now, I have attended churches or fellowships that have met in an old grocery store, an elementary school gymnasium and the nursery of a YMCA. Am I to believe that those places are God's storehouses? Not to be silly, but I even belong to an Internet fellowship. Is the Internet God's storehouse also? God may be present in these situations, but it isn't because He dwells in these buildings or on the web. If He is there it is because He is dwelling within the spirit of each individual believer in attendance. The question must be asked, "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you (1 Corinthians 3:16)?"

Case closed. The individual believer is the Church. Our membership is in God's family that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. If Christians want to bring their tithe to the storehouse, then I will volunteer to be that storehouse. After all, if the church is the storehouse and I am the Church then it is the logical thing to do, right? Of course, I am just kidding. But, do you see how we can get all mixed up in our theology when we don't correctly discern scripture? Christians are not Old Testament Jews living under the Levitical Priesthood. Christians are not commanded to tithe. The church we are members of is not a "storehouse." Jesus is our High Priest. Christians live under the New Covenant and are to excel in the "grace of giving (2 Corinthians 8:7)." The Church is individual believers all over the world that form one Body. God told Jews to tithe and not me because I am not a Jew! God did not save us in order to put us back under the same law which was given to lead us to Christ in the first place.

I sincerely believe that at the root of all this confusion over tithing and storehouses is the desire to have our flesh blessed. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)." As Christians we already have every spiritual blessing. Therefore, our tithes wouldn't be of any use in that area. If you already have everything, what more is there to get? That is why Christians turn to having their fleshed bless by subjecting themselves to the law. God does grant fleshly blessings for those that obey the law. However, He also has an unpleasant list of curses that Christians seem to ignore when they try to live under the law. Furthermore, not everybody who tithes gets blessed. I am a proof of this point. I used to tithe, faithfully, and found myself in more financial turmoil for doing so. The problem is that Christians tithe because by doing so they believe God will be pleased with them and bless them. Unfortunately, many Christians don't realize that they are expecting something from God He didn't come to give by participating in something He has not commanded us to do. God doesn't want your money. God wants you!