Why A Church?
July 22, 2012
Matthew 16:18-19
Introduction
- In Susanville we have around 33 different churches
- These are in various denominations as well as non-denominational churches.
- Yet Jesus told us, I will build my church, singular
- Matthew 16:18-19
- Church is Jesus body
- There is one body of Christ, not many
- So how do we understand this?
The Holy Spirit leads into all truth
- John 16:13
- When we accept Jesus, we all receive the Holy Spirit
- As Jesus told the disciples – Receive the Holy Spirit – John 20:22
- The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth
- Do you think we will ever know all truth in this lifetime?
- I don’t think so, we would have to know God’s thoughts about everything
- But there is a progression from knowing little truth, to knowing a lot, as the Holy Spirit guides us
- One reason why there are so many denominations, is that these denominations have received a portion of truth into which the Holy Spirit has led them, but they have not yet received all truth
- That process continues
- Each of us can stay at the point where we are at, or we can be growing.
- I love the pastors who come to our pastors breakfast on Wednesday mornings, we know that the body of Christ is bigger than our individual churches
- We accept that there are differences in understanding, so long as we believe in Christ, and in him crucified and raised from the dead
- That is the core of the gospel
- In this we can have total unity
- In the non-essentials we give each other grace, as the Holy Spirit is our teacher
- And in all things, the body of Christ should be united in love
Different functions in the church
- Church is made up of many members
- Jesus is head of the church
- Jesus is the Great Shepherd – Heb 13:20
- God appoints Under Shepherds, through the Holy Spirit – Acts 20:28-31
- Jesus gives different gifts to the church
- Eph 4:11 – apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers
- These are given for the edifying and growth of the body of Christ
- Jesus gives a gift to those he has called to a particular role in the church
- Paul directs Titus to appoint elders in each of the towns where Paul had witnessed in Crete – Titus 1:5
- He gives the qualifications for elders in the church – Titus 1:6-9
- An elder needs to know the word and hold firmly to the word he himself has been taught – Titus 1:9
- And he then passes that truth on to others – 2 Tim 2:2 – so they can teach others
The church is not a building
- When the word church is mentioned, the greek word used is generally “ecclesia”
- This word means those who have been called out
- From where have they been called out?
- They have been called out from this world, and the darkness in which they used to live
- Col 1:13 We have been called into the kingdom of Jesus
- The church is the sum total of all who have been called out of this world, into the body of Christ
- This is not dependent on which denomination a person is from, or which church he attends
- We are one body
- 1 Cor 12:12-20
- God has placed us in the body as he sees fit
- Sometimes we feel we don’t fit because God has taught us some things beyond what that part of the body understands
- Have the faith that God will move you when the time is right
- Jesus is in charge of his church
- Example
So why are we in A Church?
- We are in it so that we can be edified by those God has placed over us
- God has given them gifts for our edification
- When I say God has placed people over us, it doesn’t mean one person is better than another
- A pastor is a shepherd and part of his role is to lead the sheep to pasture and water
- This is a big responsibility and Paul warns us to be wary of that in James 3:1
- But we are in a church, the body of Christ, which encompasses all Christian churches and denomination, small groups, house churches etc.
- We love the diversity of God’s church, and we pray for the whole body, not just for our own denomination.
In closing
- Psalm 133:1-3 How good and how pleasant
Stay to say goodbye to BJ, this is his last Sunday with us
If you haven’t signed the card yet please do so
We bless BJ and Hannah and the work God is doing in them
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