The Church
OUR CHURCHES come in all styles and shapes - secret meetings in homes; wide-open gatherings in amphitheatres; worship services packing thousands into a sanctuary while an overflow crowd watches on closed-circuit television; handfuls who kneel in urban storefronts.
Buildings will vary, but the church is not confined to four walls. The church of Jesus Christ is people, his people, of every race and nation who love Christ and are committed to serving him. The church of Christ will be recognised by the Truth - the Word of God, and ALL of it!
The "church age" began at Pentecost (Acts 2). Born in Jerusalem, the church spread rapidly through the ministry of the apostles and the early believers. Fanned by persecution, the gospel flame then spread to other cities and nations.
~ Taken from footnotes NKJV
Ephesians 4:4-6 ~ NKJV
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all!
Ephesians 1:22-23 ~ TPT & NJKV
And Christ alone is the leader and source of everything needed in the church.
God has put everything beneath the authority of Jesus Christ and has given him the highest rank above all others. And now we, his church, are his body on the earth, and the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Footnote TPT: That is, as we are those who are filled (completed) by Christ, we also complete (fill) him. What a wonderful and humbling mystery is revealed by this verse.
Having been raised from the dead, Christ is now the head of the Church, the ultimate authority over the world. Jesus is the Messiah, God's Anointed One, the One Israel longed for, the One who would set their broken world right. As Christians we can be confident that God has won the final victory and is in control of everything. We need not fear any dictator or nation, or even death or Satan himself. The contract has been signed and sealed; we are waiting just a short while for delivery! Paul says in Romans 8:37-39, that nothing can separate us from God and his love. ~ NKJV footnotes
~ One body, one Spirit
~ One faith, one baptism
~ One God, one Father of all
KEEP THE UNITY
BEAR WITH ONE ANOTHER
Ephesians 4:1-4 ~ NKJV
Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith and one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all!
From Christ:
Grace-Gifts given to the Church
Ephesians 4:7-16 ~ TPT
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Apostles
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Prophets
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Evangelists
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Pastors
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Teachers
Important!
These gifts are not for having a title -
They are for service to others.
And he has generously given each one of us supernatural grace, according to the size of the gift of Christ. This is why he says:
“He ascends into the heavenly heights
taking his many captured ones with him,
and gifts were given to men.”
He “ascended” means that he returned to heaven after he had first descended from the heights of heaven, even to the lower regions, namely, the earth. The same one who descended is also the one who ascended above the heights of heaven, in order to begin the restoration and fulfillment of all things.
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God...that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. (NKJV)
And their calling is to nurture and prepare all the holy believers to do their own works of ministry, and as they do this they will enlarge and build up the body of Christ.
These grace ministries will function until we all attain oneness into the faith, until we all experience the fullness of what it means to know the Son of God, and finally we become one into a perfect man with the full dimensions of spiritual maturity and fully developed into the abundance of Christ.
And then our immaturity will end! And we will not be easily shaken by trouble, nor led astray by novel teachings or by the false doctrines of deceivers who teach clever lies. But instead we will remain strong and always sincere in our love as we express the truth.
All our direction and ministries will flow from Christ and lead us deeper into him, the anointed Head of his body, the church.
For his “body” has been formed in his image and is closely joined together and constantly connected as one. And every member has been given divine gifts to contribute to the growth of all; and as these gifts operate effectively throughout the whole body, we are built up and made perfect in love.
Ephesians 3: 5 ~ TPT
There has never been a generation that has been given the detailed understanding of this glorious and divine mystery until now. He kept it a secret until this new generation (church age - time of the gentiles). God is revealing it only now to his sacred apostles and prophets by the Holy Spirit.
Here's the secret:
The gospel of grace has made you, non-Jewish believers, into coheirs of his promise through your union with him. And you have now become members of his body - one with the Anointed One!
It was hidden from ages past until now, and kept a secret in the heart of God, the Creator of all. The purpose of this was to unveil before every throne and rank of angelic orders in the heavenly realm God's full and diverse wisdom revealed through the church. This perfectly wise plan was destined from eternal ages and fulfilled completely in our Lord Jesus Christ, so that now we have boldness through him, and free access as kings before the Father because of our complete confidence in Christ's faithfulness.
Ephesians 5:11 ~ NKJV
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.
The very things they do are too vile and filthy to even mention. Whatever the revelation-light exposes, it will also correct, and everything that reveals truth is light to the soul. ~ TPT
Fellowship: friendly association, especially with people who share one's interests.
Unfruitful works of darkness: any pleasure or activity that involves or originates from sin or is associated with sin. We need to expose these rather. Our silence may be interpreted as approval.
Philippians 1:15-30 ~ TPT
It's true that there are some who preach Christ out of competition and controversy, for they are jealous and ambitious. Many others have purer motives - they preach with grace and love filling their hearts .. being destined for the purpose of defending the revelation of God.
Those who preach Christ with ambition and competition are insincere. Yet in spite of their selfish motives be overjoyed! For what does it matter as long as Christ is being preached? If they preach with mixed motives or genuine love, the message of Christ is still being preached.
No matter what, continue to hope and passionately cling to Christ, so that he will be openly revealed through you before everyone's eyes.
Whatever happens, keep living your life based on the reality of the gospel of Christ, which reveals him to others. Be united in one Spirit and one passion - celebrating together as conquerors in one faith. Then you will never be shaken or intimidated by the opposition that rises up against you, for your courage will only prove as a sure sign from God that you have found a new life!
God has graciously given you the privilege not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for him. For you have been called by him to also endure the conflict and opposition - do not give up!
It means we should not spend too much time on scrutinizing the preacher but rather the message.
If the message is Truth and does not contradict the Word of God, let's focus on the Bread, not the person.
Philippians 2:1-5 ~ TPT
Be joined together in perfect unity. Look at how much encouragement you have found in your relationship with the Anointed One! You are filled to overflowing with this comforting love. You are experiencing a deepening friendship with the Holy Spirit and have felt his tender affection and mercy.
So I am asking you, my friend, that you be joined together in perfect unity - with one heart, one passion, and united in love. Walk together with one harmonious purpose and let abundant joy fill your heart.
Be free from pride-filled opinions, for they will only harm your cherished unity! Don't allow self-promotion to hide in your heart, but in authentic humility put others first and view others as more important than yourself.
Abandon every display of selfishness. Possess a greater concern for what matters to others instead of your own interests. And consider the example that Jesus, the Anointed One, has set before you - let his mindset become your motivation!
Philippians 2:12-18 ~ TPT
Believers Shine like Lights in the World
Continue to make this new life fully manifested as you live in the holy awe of God - which brings you trembling into his presence. God will continually revitalise you, implanting within you the passion to do what pleases him.
The Church is not built on modern ideas, but rather on the spiritual heritage given to us by the early apostles and prophets of the Christian church. Christ alone is the foundation and cornerstone.
Christ our Cornerstone
You are 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.
Colossians 1:15-17 ~ NKJV
Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all Creation.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
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.
No man on earth is the head of a church. Jesus Christ is the head. It could not be made more clear in the scriptures. Every church leadership is subject to Christ and should lead the church according to Jesus' will, way and word.
Jesus Christ is the Word of God. If you are not preaching the Word of God then you are in danger of not submitting to the leadership of Christ and you are trying to be the head and call it YOUR church.
I could never and will never understand why a Pastor would want to print a massive picture of himself and erect it next to 'his' church building!? Just think a bit - if Paul lived today, would he have done that? I think not!
Ask yourself the question: 'why do I want my picture erected at my church?' See if you can come up with a good and acceptable answer.
If the Word speaks during your services then God is speaking.
If you are always speaking on your own interesting topics then YOU are speaking, not Christ.
Any church that is not grounded in the Word and is not Word-based first and foremost, is no longer under the leadership of Christ. If you only preach part of the Word, then you are not submitting to the leadership of Christ. If you are not preaching on certain parts of the Word, because it is too difficult or you fear it will cause offense, then you are not submitting to the leadership of Christ, instead, you are tearing out certain pages of the Word. You cannot separate the Word from Christ! If you do, you are preaching a different Christ - one that you made up according to your own liking.
If Christ was truly the Head of the Church, all the different denominations we have today would not have existed. Paul was very eager to get rid of false teachings and believes as soon as he heard of them in the churches. He was straight to the point and confident in the Word of God. He was not scared to point out the errors and false teachings, and he addressed them speedily and brought correction without the fear of offending some. Paul feared God and not the people. He was not concerned that he might lose a few members by correcting them, because he was not driven by the numbers but by God.
Colossians 1:22-23 ~ NKJV
By His blood, you are presented holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight - IF indeed you continue in the FAITH, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of THE GOSPEL which you heard.
BAPTISM
Colossians 2:11-12 ~ NKJV
In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
In this passage, circumcision is related to baptism; therefore, some see baptism as the New Testament sign of the covenant, identifying the person with the covenant community.
Jewish males were circumcised as a sign of the Jew's covenant with God. With the death and resurrection of Christ, circumcision of the flesh is no longer required. Now it is a circumcision of the heart. It is a spiritual operation, not a bodily one. God removes the old nature and gives us a new nature. ~ Taken from footnotes NKJV
More will follow..
I chose this picture because the church is in us and alive through us - we, the believers in Christ, his followers. Church is not the building we go to every Sunday.
Christ must be evident in our lives and will be seen in our eyes and through our words and actions.