The Church

Himself through His Word and in the personhood of the Trinity.

And will recreate us through His Spirit

Us through the blood of Jesus

His church to do His work. This is our fourth pillar. To summarize:

During this mini series we will be looking at:

The church supports and encourages one another through time together in worship and Bible study. Christians celebrate Jesus’ covenant with them through the ceremony of the Lord’s Supper, remembering Jesus’ example of service and sacrifice. The church celebrates each member’s salvation through the ritual of baptism by immersion. The church is the hands and feet of the “body of Christ.”

Jesus promised that everything He had done on Earth would be accomplished through His church as well. Yes, we are a pale reflection of our Savior’s perfection, but Jesus is still the head of His church. Despite our imperfections, in His grace and through the power of His redeeming sacrifice, we will be a dazzling new creation.

the church as a whole,

In the world’s last days, when much of God’s message has been neglected and discarded, God calls us to remember the hallmarks of His truth. The book of Revelation tells of three angels sent to Earth with a final message of hope and warning. Their story symbolizes God's end-time mission for His people.

the church of the end time and its mission,

the church in unity through diversity,

the rituals of baptism and the Lord’s Supper and

The Holy Spirit empowers each of us with our own spiritual gifts and skills to share God’s love and strengthen others.

the empower of its members through Spiritual gifts.

This morning we will be looking specifically at the church.

Before we get into the Word I want to share a few definitions of Church.

C.S. Lewis, has a simple definition in his landmark book Mere Christianity:

“...the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs.”

Ellen White, one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist church describes the church in the first chapter of Acts of the Apostles:

Acts of the Apostles Chapter 1—God’s Purpose for His Church

The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. From the beginning it has been God’s plan that through His church shall be reflected to the world His fullness and His sufficiency. The members of the church, those whom He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, are to show forth His glory.

Our 12th fundmental belief defines the church this way

Our 12th fundamental belief defines the church this way:

The church is the community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. In continuity with the people of God in Old Testament times, we are called out from the world; and we join together for worship, for fellowship, for instruction in the Word, for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, for service to humanity, and for the worldwide proclamation of the gospel. The church derives its authority from Christ, who is the incarnate Word revealed in the Scriptures. The church is God’s family; adopted by Him as children, its members live on the basis of the new covenant. The church is the body of Christ, a community of faith of which Christ Himself is the Head. The church is the bride for whom Christ died that He might sanctify and cleanse her. At His return in triumph, He will present her to Himself a glorious church, the faithful of all the ages, the purchase of His blood, not having spot or wrinkle, but holy and without blemish.

Before we dig into the Word of God on this topic of the church let us open with a word of PRAYER...

In Genesis, God first establishes the vision body of the church in the person of Abram. Turn to on page 10 in your pew Bible

Genesis 12:1–3 NKJV

Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

(God’s people)

Here we see that God has told Abram that he will make him a great nation or people and bless these People.

In we see in Stephen’s message right before his death a retelling the history of the people of God. He describes the church as “the congregation in the wilderness… who received the living oracles”

Acts 7:38 NKJV

“This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us,

(Congregation given the living oracles)

In we see what Stephen was referring to. Turn to page 69-70 in your pew Bibles.

Exodus 19:3–7 NKJV

And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him.

(kingdom of priest)

In Peter’s first letter he echos Moses’ words by calling the 1st century church:

1 Peter 2:9 NKJV

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Now the Question stands:

(His special people)

Matthew 16:13–20 NKJV

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Jesus establishes Himself as the rock of the church in famous passage in the book of Matthew 16

(Jesus is the Rock)

In this passage Jesus explaining to Peter how He will build the church. Some believe that Jesus is saying that He will be the church on Peter but the context leads the reader to believe that Jesus is the rock on which the church will be built. This is support in passages like , (which we will look at shortly) and . God’s church is build on what Jesus has done for us and what God is doing through Him.

In as well as Paul uses the metaphor of the church being the body and Jesus as the head.

Ephesians 1:22–23 NKJV

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

(Jesus is the head, we are the body)

The Household of God is another metaphor used in Ephesians where the church is described in the terms of a building but not the build.

Biblical

Ephesians 2:19–22 NKJV

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

(Household of God, the people are the church)

Toward the end of his letter, Paul uses the family to show us how Jesus loves His church. Turn with me to the fifth chapter of Ephesians on page 1127 as we take a moment to explore this passage.

Ephesians 5:23–27 NKJV

For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

-27 (Head as the husband, love the church)

Here we notice a few things. Paul uses the relationship between husband and wife to show the relationship be Jesus and His bride, the church. We need to understand that culture of the day to get a better idea of what is going on here. During the time of Paul women were little than property. By many during the time they were see as only slightly better than a slave. This section of scripture is know as the house codes which were common in those days but the difference in the Christian codes were the responsibilities of the husbands. The Christian husband was to not treat his wife as a slave but as an equal. This is the idea of servant leadership. Paul calls the Christian to be different from that of the world. This is the way the church is to be, different.

Colossians 1:17–18 NKJV

And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

(Jesus is the Head of the church)

Fellowship

We see this clearly as Jesus speaks to his disciples in .

Matthew 20:25–26 NKJV

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.

We are to remember we are not the head of the church. Even as leaders we are called to serve. But to what end?...

Next we will look at why the church exists. At a pastor’s meeting a few years ago the speaker put it this way:

We are here for those who are not here yet.

What he meant was that the church is not a social club. We are called to mission, to service. Paul describes this mission as his personal calling in . Turn with me as we look at his calling on page 1126.

Ephesians 3:8–11 NKJV

To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

(Preach to the gentiles)

And the good news he has not called the perfect to this job. He called flawed people to reach his lost sheep. Before going back to heaven just met His disciples on the mountain to give them what is now know as the great commission. Lets look at it in Mathew 28 on page 967.

Prayer

Matthew 28:16–20 NKJV

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

(Discipling)

It is important to remember here that these men are the ones who walked with Him and talked with Him. They saw his heal the sick, feed the hungry and even raise the dead to life. They were the living proof of his resurrection. Notice how the Bible say that they worshiped Him but some doubted… God did not call men and women of perfect faith or knowledge. He called flawed humans to carry the great message of salvation to the world.

He called us to disciple the nations and to baptize them. We are called to teach people to observe the words of Jesus, notice that this comes after the baptism. You don’t have to know it all before you come to Jesus.

We see this in actions in the opening chapters of the book of Acts. Turn to Acts Chapter 2 on page 1053. Here we will see the amazing sight of 3000 people joining God’s church.

Acts 2:38–42 NKJV

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

(DNA of the church)

To be a member of God’s church they were called to repent and be baptized into Jesus Christ and they were given the Holy Spirit. Then Luke gives us the DNA of a health church beginning in Verse 42. Of the 3000 that joined the church that day they were given this advice:

A thriving church is on that is a biblical church

Fellowship is increditibly important and often over looked.

Meant as communal meals and possibly the Lord’s Supper (which originally was a communal meal)

This was not just personal but corporate prayer.

Genesis 12:1–3 NKJV

Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Exodus 19:3–7 NKJV

And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him.

Matthew 16:13–20 NKJV

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Matthew 18:18 NKJV

“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Matthew 28:19–20 NKJV

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Acts 2:38–42 NKJV

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Acts 7:38 NKJV

“This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us,

1 Corinthians 1:2 NKJV

To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Ephesians 1:22–23 NKJV

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

-

Ephesians 2:19–22 NKJV

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 3:8–11 NKJV

To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Ephesians 5:23–27 NKJV

For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

-

Colossians 1:17–18 NKJV

And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

1 Peter 2:9 NKJV

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

The Church

Pillars of Grace

We believe God Reveals

We Believe God Creates

We Believe God Redeems

We Believe God Inhabits

The Church

The church is God’s family on Earth, serving, celebrating, studying and worshiping together. Looking to Jesus as its leader and Redeemer, the church is called to take the good news of salvation to all.

What is the Church?

Who leads church?

The Rock of the Church

What is the purpose of the Church?

Continue Steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine

Fellowship

Breaking of bread

Prayers