"When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God." Luke 24:50-53
Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven
"In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight." Acts 1:1-9
40 Days
Prior to that fateful Sunday, Jesus told His followers that it was for their benefit that He was going away. Because He added that unless He does, the Holy Spirit will not come to them, the Holy Spirit will not be sent to them and will not come upon them. And if not, the church will not be built.
The church was thus first started not when Jesus came down, but after He was taken up into heaven.
How?
Before Jesus was taken up, His followers went to the temple daily, to meet with God and give Him honor.
After the promise that they will be "baptized with the Holy Spirit, they eventually stop coming to their old temples and old synagoues.
Temples of the Holy Spirit
Because as the apostle Paul wrote that they were the temple of the Holy Spirit, we, believers in Christ, are the church -- the temple of the Holy Spirit, the House where the Spirit of God dwells in.
Meaning, the Holy Spirit does not dwell (as people in the past have limited Him to) in structures made of stone, but within every believer. Because as Jesus told them, He will send the Holy Sprit to every believer after He left, leaving them not as orphans and without help.
Body of Christ
So since that time, the body of believers -- otherwise known as the body of Christ was and is the church.
Made up of all believers in Jesus Christ, the church started on that day of Pentecost -- that day which Jesus promised when the Holy Spirit first came upon the first believers (otherwise termed as baptized in the Spirit). And this is when they first became "witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and continuing to this day, to the ends of the earth" (including the cyber world).
Jesus told Peter that the church will be built on this rock. Several different interpretations have been made because of this statement, and new extrapolations are still popping up.
But one thing we do know, Jesus is the Rock, and is the foundation, and the cornerstone and upon which the church is built, and is the Head. His believers, is the body. Apart from Him (or His Spirit), His followers can do nothing (even if they are or they think they are doing something).
All the Parts Make Up the Whole Body
Each member of this body of Christ, then until today, is an integral part, each is an individual part, and each having a unique role.
Paul said, in the body of Christ, God has appointed first apostles, next prophets, third teachers, then those who perform miracles, then those who have the gift of healing, then those who help others, those who are managers, and those who can speak in a number of languages, not because of their own strength but as the Holy Spirit enables.
Which Part Are You?
If you are part of this body of Christ, and in case you still do not know, you need to find out what your role is, and yes, when you do know, to do it.
Church before this consisted of a handful of "selected" people "lording" it over the multitude, who come together on their holy days to sit in the pews and essentially do nothing else but to feel good, give token semblance of gratitude and reverence, do lip service, perform their rituals, drop their donations or do their good deeds and then go back to their usual good old self when they leave the building. This is what we call as religion, or as detractors say "organized religion".
Jesus being taken up to heaven has done away with this old system -- of course not that some who still do or still think of church the old fashioned way are aware of anyway. Jesus actually abolished all their little churchy rules and regulations, plus their long list of dos and don'ts.
The Holy Spirit living in each believer has changed all these. Believers are changed from the inside out. And the process starts when both the mind and the heart have both understood and acknowledged what Jesus Christ has done for them and are assured, and are reassured daily, once baptized by His Spirit.
"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is,because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames." 1 Corinthians 3:11-15
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