The Church

Introduction:

  1. "Jesus - Yes! The Church - No!" read one placard.
  2. There is a greater hunger for Jesus than for the church
  3. Polls indicate that there is a spiritual hunger out there, but people don’t want to satisfy their hunger pangs with the church.
  4. Some are disillusioned with the institutional church
  1. Some have been hurt by the church or suffered a bad experience at church
  2. Some have a wrong view of the church
  1. Some choices
  1. liberal church where faith is undermined and the best you can get is humanism with a religious overcoat.
  2. Pentecostal church where you can get an emotional charge devoid of any content
  3. Biblical church that is grounded in the faith (content) and energized by the Spirit (emotion). We want a church that is alive, not necessarily lively. We want a church that is living, not dead. Biblical and doctrinal, not just emotional.
  1. Definition of the church
    1. Modern uses of the term
      1. building
      2. denomination (Lutheran, Catholic)
      3. territorial (Church of England)
    2. Biblical uses of ekklhsia (ekklasia)
      1. Basic root meaning of the word = "called out assembly"
      2. Used 114 times in the New Testament
        1. 5 times it refers to a political assembly (Acts 19:32)
        2. almost every usage refers to the local assembly or gathering of believers ("church at Corinth")
        3. Universal Church
          1. Some use the word "invisible." That is not a biblical term. But this use refers to the entirety of all believers who make up the body of Christ.
          2. There are some Baptists who do not like this use of the term. They think that the church is always the local church and that there is no such thing as the universal church.
          3. While ekklhsia usually does refer to the local church, there are instances when it refers to the Universal church
            1. Eph. 1:22-23
            2. Eph. 5:23ff
            3. Matt. 16:18
            4. Acts 12:1
            5. 1 Cor. 10:32
            6. 1 Cor. 12:28 Note: since He set apostles in the church and they are the foundation (Eph. 2:20), then this implies a usage broader than "local" because if it were local, then each local church would need to have apostles and prophets.
            7. 1 Cor. 15:9 "I persecuted the church of God" not "churches of God." Remember, Paul carried on his persecution in various cities. He doesn’t say he persecuted churches, but the church.
            8. Col. 1:18, 24
          4. "Universal" does not mean the "sum of many individual churches." Only believers make up the body.
        4. Other uses of the word
          1. house churches
          2. gathering in general
    3. Meaning: "A called out assembly"
      1. the word evolved from a political meaning to a technical religious meaning
      2. "called out" from the world
      3. we "gather together"
      4. not a building, but a people. We don’t go to church, we are the church. We gather as a local church.
  2. Nature of the church
    1. Organism
      1. Has life, spiritual vitality
      2. Growth in both quality and quantity
    2. Organization
      1. Has structure, living cells must have some structure
      2. Organized way of doing things, "decently and in order."
  3. Metaphors used to describe the church
    1. Body (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:12; Rom. 12:3-5; 1 Cor. 12-14; Col. 1:18)
      1. Christ is the head
        1. Ruler
        2. Source of life (this is a possible meaning, but I’m not sure that it is the biblical meaning)
        3. Sustainer
      2. Relationships
        1. Unity in doctrine and fellowship (1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4)
        2. Diversity (biblical diversity is within the parameters of Scripture)
        3. Dependency (symbiosis)
          1. Some are leeches or parasites always taking what they can get from the church
          2. Some are amputees never getting involved
          3. Rom. 12:4-5 "members one of another"
          4. Gal. 6 "bear one another’s burdens"
    2. Temple/Building (Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Pet. 2:5; 1 Cor. 3:9)

      3. Note: Scripture often refers to the individual as the temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19-20)

      1. Foundation
        1. Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:10-11)
        2. Apostles and NT prophets (Eph. 2:20)
      2. Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:6-7)
        1. Bottom cornerstone
        2. Head capstone
        3. Keystone of an arch
      3. The stones (1 Pet. 2:5)
        1. "Living stones"
        2. Do not have a holy building, we are to be an holy people
        3. We are not to be lifeless like a building. Remember this metaphor is used only to teach one aspect of the church
      4. Bride (Eph. 5:25-27; 2 Cor. 11:2)
        1. demonstrates the love of Christ for the church
        2. demonstrates the moral purity of the church
        3. demonstrates the doctrinal purity of the church
      5. Family (Eph. 4:25; Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12; "brethren")
        1. We are members, one of another
        2. Verses showing our mutual responsibility
          1. 1 Cor.10:24
          2. Rom. 13:8 love one another
          3. Rom. 14:13 judge not one another
          4. Rom. 15:7 receive one another
          5. Rom 15:14 admonish one another
          6. Gal. 5:13 by love serve one another
          7. Gal. 6:2 bear one another’s burdens
          8. Eph. 4:32 kind one to another
          9. Eph. 5:21 submit to one another
          10. 1 Thess. 4:18 comfort one another
          11. Heb. 10:24 consider one another
      6. Other metaphors: army, flock, priesthood

Conclusion: