Church is the same. It is not ours. Not under our control (except as mentioned above). But like the world it is under the control of the Lord of all. Is that good? It is a little like the question Lucy asked the faun in the “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe”, is Aslan a tame lion? Is he safe? No, but he is good.
Not tame but good. It is scary having a God who is not tame. And who can’t be tamed, bribed or threatened. But very safe in a way also. What if he was controlled by people with different opinions to us?
The really good thing about Jesus being in control of everything, and having complete power to do what he likes, is that he can do what he likes. He can complete what he set out to do. He can bring all his good purposes to their completion despite any hindrances from others.
Which is exactly what he is doing. And part of his action involves us. He is gathering a huge company together to be his bride, to share the great feast in heaven with him. To gather this company he uses three means: his gospel, his Spirit and his disciples.
He has distributed his Spirit and his gospel to all his disciples. He hasn’t given them control of their world. He is in control. They are directed by his Spirit to use his gospel to gather his people. And that is good.
Dale