What is the Church Part 2

Part 2 of 2

Ephesians 4:4-16

[Last week we asked the question, "What is the Church?", and looking at the story of the Exodus as an example of how God deals with His people we said that the church is:

  1. a movement concerned with setting people free; and
  2. a coming together that gives believers identity with God; and
  3. a refuge so that those who trust God do not need to be overwhelmed by evil; and
  4. a family that knows God as Father; and, finally,
  5. a witness to watching worlds that God is just and holy and merciful.]

READ TEXT PASSAGE

I. THE CHURCH IS THE HABITATION OF GOD ON EARTH

It is 'where God dwells with His people.' The New Testament gives two great representations of the CHURCH. In I Peter 2:5"...you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

"The one great representation of the Church is as the TEMPLE of God— the place where God is worshiped, where He is high and lifted up. Not the physical building of brick and mortar— but the people of God, individually AND together are an habitation of God for worship.

The other great New Testament figure of the Church is as the BODY of Christ. Throughout this passage the message is "The Church is the BODY of Christ— a mystical continuation of the Incarnation."

And so the Bible teaches that every believer is a "living stone" in the Temple that is THE CHURCH; and every believer has a vital part in the Body of Christ that is THE CHURCH!

But there are many voices and many faces claiming to be "the one true Church," OR, claiming to be a part of the "one true church." How may we know, and be sure? (The CHURCH may be (much) broader than we think in some respects; and it may be (much) narrower. We all are concerned, or ought to be— about knowing the TRUE church!)

II. THE ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC, APOSTOLIC CHURCH JESUS INHABITS

A "thumbnail definition" (necessary but not sufficient) is to ask: is the church "creedal?"

Four creedal "Notes:" One - Holy - Catholic - Apostolic.

  1. "One" - Eph 4:4-9 Unity

    One day, possibly sooner than any of us thinks, a trumpet blast will sound and the church will be called to meet the Lord of the church. (Matthew 24:) Jesus said that He would send His angels with the great sound of the trumpet and gather his elect from the four corners of the earth.

    At that time the unity of the church will be most apparent. The CHURCH will rise to meet Her Lord not as Nazarenes or Baptists or Catholics; not as Calvinists or Lutherans or Wesleyans. These labels and denominations may serve important, even vital functions here and now. But there is an even deeper, more vital, underlying unity that pervades the Church of Jesus Christ.

    THAT UNITY IS THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST!

    It is confessing that Jesus Christ is VERY God and VERY man, and that He is Lord of all, Lord of the church!

    And every believer is a living part of this one true church. And there will be a gathering!

  2. "Holy" [The church is ONE, the church is HOLY.] (Ephesians 5:27)

    The more we understand of the word "holy," the more we respect it and even stand back from it in awe.

    "Holy" belongs to God! Only God is holy in an underived and pure sense. All holiness is HIS.

    And we see the church as human. WE are a part of the church, so how can the church be HOLY? If WE belong to the church— and if we have such a high view of what "holy" is to be— then how can the church be holy? But in Ephesians 5 we read that Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it, that He might present it to Himself glorious, without blemish, a HOLY CHURCH!

    1. "HOLY" does pertain only to God— one definition of "HOLY" is just that: belonging to God! What is HIS is HOLY! And the church is HIS!
    2. In order to make the church HOLY, Christ not only LOVED the church, Christ DIED FOR THE CHURCH. "That He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate." The church is made up of those who have been washed in the precious blood of Jesus. They are not faultless, because they are human. They are blameless, because they have been washed in the sanctifying blood.
    3. To be more specific, this HOLY church is made up of all whose sins are washed away, and who are partakers in the blood and body of the Lord.

    I am not a liturgist, and I do not ascribe saving power to the God-ordained sacraments of the church. But the holy Church of Jesus Christ is made up of all truly baptized and communicating members; those who have made themselves subject to the Lord of the Church.

    In baptism our sins are washed away and we die to an old way of living. The sacrament is an outward sign of the inward reality.

    In communion we are partakers of the divine nature, and once again, the sacrament humbles us before God as we realize our total dependency on the blood and body of our Lord.

  3. "Catholic" - Eph 4:12-13 Unity in Diversity The church is WORLD-WIDE! We get the idea that where WE are is the center of God's love and attention— everything else is peripheral. But Christ's church is BIGGER THAN WE THINK! There is not only a diversity of GIFTS (we're used to THAT!) There is .... A diversity of PEOPLES:

    (Zechariah 2:11 "And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: "

    Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.")

    The church of Jesus Christ is world-wide; there is a place for individual, provincial churches, of course. But each of us needs to remember that we are connected to a greater whole; that we are part of Christ's great Body world-wide.

  4. "Apostolic" - Eph 4:15-16

    Eph 2:20 says that the church is "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief Corner Stone."

    The church of Christ is diverse in gifts and cultures, but it is ONE in its essential faith and creed. But we also believe the church is confessional. It is not enough to say: "We believe what the apostles taught and believed!" Or even to say, "Our church has a direct line of succession from Peter!" But we must say, "I confess the same LORD the apostles preached and knew!"

    Romans 10:10 says: "With the heart we believe unto righteousness, and with the MOUTH we confess unto salvation!"

    (Eph 4:15-16) Holding to the truth in love we are to grow up into the Head of the Church, even in Christ. (Note: We are not simply to grow in grace as individuals, so that WE can do OUR thing. But we are to HOLD TO THE TRUTH ONCE DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS (Jude 1:3) and grow up into Christ as Christ is the Head of the church!

(Conclusion:)

Perhaps this has been more like a lesson than a sermon; take heart, the sermon is almost over. But if the answer to the question, "What is the Church?" is: "The CHURCH is a continuation of the incarnation, the Life of Jesus!", then, What does that have to do with you and me? The New Testament gives two representations of the church, as the Temple of God, and as the Body of Christ.

SO, how does that make any difference in my everyday life and living? That is a fair question. Most of us are not very interested in abstractions or unrelated theological ideas.

  1. But a call to follow Jesus Christ is a call to be an active and vital part of Christ's Church! Every believer is to be a part both of the TEMPLE OF GOD, that is the Church; and of THE BODY OF CHRIST, that is also the Church.
  2. Being a part of the Temple has to do with what we ARE IN CHRIST. Every believer is to be a living stone in the Temple. Perhaps this speaks of a certain passiveness a being inhabited, being set apart for God's glory, for His worship. Just as a cathedral speaks volumes, so the inhabited Church,ÜjÜ the Temple, points to God and glorifies Him, and exists for His glory. Everything we say or do ultimately springs out of what we ARE. And if we exist to glorify God, and to be inhabited by Him, we will be to His glory.
  3. But being a part of Christ's Body speaks of what we may DO IN CHRIST. There is not only a passive role to fill, but an active and exciting part to play in the dynamic life of the Church. Not every member of Christ's church is an evangelist or preacher. But every member is called to be a WITNESS! We all contribute our energy to the LIFE of the Body. We are all concerned with what Jesus is DOING in this need world. YOU have a contribution to make (to Christ's BODY) that will make an eternal difference!WHAT IS THE CHURCH? The Church is Jesus Christ living in US!

The CHURCH is JESUS living in YOU!

#306 In Christ There Is No East or West

#311 I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord