The Transforming Glory of the Church 1 Peter 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Intro: - Church attendance is down, participation is down, and baptisms are down. - There are many opinions out there as to why, and there are even more programs and theories on how to fix the problem, but they apparently do not work. So what does? - The Bible. God has spoken and told us everything we need to know about the church to be successful, and to define success, but we are still seeking philosophies and opinions instead of God s Word. - The problem lies in biblical ignorance on the subject of the church. Why? We think we already know all there is to know about church. But what we know are traditions and man-made ideas and theories. Today s church is mostly built upon pragmatism. Whatever works. But how do we know if things are working if we cannot even define success? - Our lack of biblical teaching on the subject has lead to its worldly absorption. The church is being taken over by a consumer mentality. - We are going to look at 5 biblical doctrines of the church and see how knowing what God has revealed to us about the church can transform our love, passion and commitment to the church forever. Before we begin I want to define what the church is. We get the word church from the Greek word ekklesia, which means an assembly or congregation. As it relates to the church it refers to a congregation of the people of God. Wayne Grudem defines the church as the community of all true believers of all time. Although we will learn that the New Covenant church formed in the New Testament, the concept of God s people being assembled together was first introduced in the Old Testament under the Old Covenant. In the dessert God instructed Moses to assemble the people together at Mt. Sinai. The Hebrew word used there was Qahal, which is translated ekklesia in the LX. The church is a spiritual house or temple where God now dwells through his Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. THE CHURCH IS PEOPLE; NOT A PLACE, ACTION, OR BUILDING. 1. The Origin of the Church
When did the church begin and how does knowing this transform how we think about it? - Answer to yourself this question. When do you think the church began? The church began in eternity past in the mind and heart of the Triune God. - Romans 8:29-30 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. - 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 For we know, brothers [a] loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. - Titus 1:1 Paul, a servant [a] of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, God s elect or chosen is a reference to the church. When did this pre-determination take place? - Ephesians 1:4-5 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us [a] for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, It was in eternity past, before time as we know it, that God conspired to create a certain people, whom he knew would be born under the curse of sin and separated from him, to rescue them from their sin and eternal damnation. (Talk about God s plans verse ours). He did so because it was all part of a plan. It was according to the purpose of his will to make known [a] to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ (Eph. 1:9). When God said, let there be light He had already known us in his mind, chose to love us and send his Son to doe for us to save us, assemble us and fulfill his glorious plan of redemption through us. How should that transform how we think about the church? - There is nothing greater on this earth right now than the church in the Triune God s world. The church is at the center of God s activities on this earth. God has a plan to reconcile the world to himself and receive eternal praise and the church is his chosen catalyst to bring that plan to fruition. Is there anything going on more important and exciting than that? NO!
2. The Value of the Church Let s look at the value of the church in God s eyes. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, [a] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - This verse tells us just how much God loved the church. You may say, no it says how much he loved the world. But, it does not say that he gave his Son for all the world. It says that he gave his Son for all who believe. Who are they that believe? The Church. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that he might save the church. - The salvation of the church was worth the life of God s Son. - You may argue at this point that Jesus was resurrected and is now alive, so what kind of price was that in the end? He is crowned the Head of the church. The church is so valuable to God that he has made his Son the head of it and the church is his body on earth. We do not deserve to be the body of God. - Don t get me wrong, Jesus is the pinnacle of the Father s love, but he truly loves us to allow us to reside in his beloved Son and represent him on this earth. - We are going to study marriage next week. We all know what the Bible says about husbands love for their wives. Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. How should this transform the way we think about the church? If God loved us enough to give his Son die to save us, and Jesus loved us enough to give his life to save and sanctify us, how should we think about it? And to think that so many people who claim to believe these biblical truths are so apathetic to the church. 3. The Purpose of the Church The next question we need to ask is why did God choose us and love us enough to sacrifice his own Son to save us? Because he has a plan and we are a vital part of that plan. - Remember our main text says, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. What does that mean?
The Old Covenant people of God served as the gateway for the nations to learn about and connect with God. God chose to dwell among the Jews in a distinct and personal way. If anyone wanted to meet God they had to come to the Jews and become a Jew. The Jews were the appointed tenant farmers over God s vineyard on earth, which is his kingdom. They possessed the covenant, the law, the temple, the tabernacle, and most importantly, they possessed the promise of restoration and eternal life with God. Through parables recorded in the gospels, Jesus teaches that all of these earthly responsibilities have been stripped from the Jews because of their hardness of heart and irresponsible actions and thus given over to Gentiles. The Parable of the Two Sons (Mt. 21:28-32) - Jews refused to go and work the vineyard so the Gentiles entered in to work The Parable of the Tenets (Mt. 21:33-46) - The Jews persecuted the prophets and Messiah sent by God so the kingdom was taken away from them and given to another people who were producing its fruits. The Parable of the Wedding Feasts (Mt. 22:1-14) - The Jews were the original invited guests but they refused to come to the wedding feat with the Master. Therefore, the invitation has been extended to another people who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. The Kingdom Responsibilities We are Levites. We are the priests on the earth where people can be introduced to God and taught how to worship and serve him. We are Scribes. We are the ones that study the Word of God and learn how to properly interpret it so that we can teach the world all about him. We are the Pharisees. We are the ones that can teach and lead others to see how we should understand politics and ethics in light of God s Word. We are the Sadducees. We are the ones that maintain the building in which we gather for worship and the order that guides our worship. We are the average Jewish Joes like Joseph that God wants to do extraordinary things with so the world will see him through us. We are the tenets of God s vineyard. We not only speak to the world that we see but also the world we do not. Eph. 3:10-11 through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, - How should this transform our commitment to the church? If we are the gateway for the lost to come to God through Jesus, its no wander the world is trouble. We are
failing miserably. We are in some ways no better than the Jews were at it when Jesus came to the earth. It is a tremendous responsibility. 4. The Hope of the Church What is the outcome of the church? - First, contemplate the outcome of your job and earthly life. The outcome of the church is heaven. Look at how Paul addresses the church at Colossae. Col. 1:3-5 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, Heaven is what motivates the church s love and faith. It is the motivation of all that we do. It drives our commitment. The church is the ark that carries people safely through the waters to eternity with God and all the saints. Some are getting on and hanging out for a while then getting bored and/or enticed by the world to get off. Some are standing around the boat just waiting to jump on at the last minute. While others are firmly planted inside the boat rejoicing in the hope that one day it is going to set sail for glory. I have bad news for the first two groups. Only those firmly planted inside the boat will be on it when it sets sail. 5. The Contents of the Church That brings us to our last point. What is the church made up of? - I ve made it no secret. The true church consist only of those who have been born again by the Spirit of God, and have trusted in Jesus as their Savior, and have submitted their lives to his sovereign lordship. Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Conclusion: - If you do not love the church, care about its purpose on earth, value it above all else in your life, you are either a backslidden Christian or dead in your sins and trespasses.
- If you are a backslidden Christian, now is the time to repent and come home. If you are lost, now is the time to come to the Father through Jesus. CG Discussion Questions 1. Have you ever thought about the Triune God in eternity past thinking about you and the entirety of your life, in love choosing to save you from your sin, and using you to accomplish God s purposes on earth? 2. How does that thought make you feel and affect your view of the church? 3. Let s be honest with each other. How much do you value the church in your life? What does your schedule and checkbook say about how much you value the church? 4. It was pointed out that it was the Colossians hope laid up in heaven that motivated their faith in Christ and love for all the saints. Does this hope have any noticeable affect on your faith and love for the church? 5. What are some ways that our actions contradict the belief that the contents of the church are born again Christians only? (Infant baptisms, allowing visitors to attend without ever questioning their faith, allowing sin to go on un-disciplined in the church, etc..) 6. What does a biblical commitment to the church look like? 7. How should we treat unbelievers in the church knowing they are not yet a part of the true church?