The Mystery of Christ and the Church

Main Text

Ephesians 5:29–32 ESV

29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

Paul refers to the church as a profound mystery.

Mystery - Mystērion

Paul uses this term frequently throughout his letters to the churches to reveal to the entirety of God’s plan to bring salvation through Christ

Look At These Striking Statistics...

Ligonier Ministries alongside life way Research conducted an up-to-date survey about the state of the church back in September of 2020. This is what they found...

26 percent think that church ministries cannot be effective to the world unless their worship services are “entertaining.”

39 percent agree that “materiel blessings” are a guaranteed reward of faith.

46 percent take a relaxed position on sin, agreeing that people are generally good by nature.

65 percent believe that Jesus is a being whom God created (as opposed to the belief in the incarnation of God, the Word made flesh, the only way that salvation is possible… The Gospel!

30 percent agree with the statement that “Jesus was a great teacher, but was not God. Can you believe this!? This is the church!

18 percent believe that the Holy Spirit can lead a Christian into sin.

Lastly, 42 percent of all evangelicals embrace the blatantly idolatrous heresy that “God accepts the worship of all Religions.”

What Did the Ekklesia Look Like in the Early Church?

The meetings of the early church were marked by every-member functioning, spontaneity, freedom, vibrancy, and open participation.

Hebrews 10:25 ESV

25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

7 The first-century church meeting was a fluid gathering.

It was not a ritual. And it was often unpredictable, unlike the contemporary church service.

Colossians 3:16 ESV

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

How Can We Do Something that We Already Are?

“We are better than ever at “doing” church but have long forgotten how to “be” the church. Meanwhile, while we entertain ourselves with the latest church-growth strategy and rave about how great each other are, the world is going to hell in the proverbial handbag. Read the tweets from us pastors on Twitter. We are too busy trying to sound wise and philosophical with our little 140-character quotes. We are undoubtedly impressing each other, but I do not think God is impressed. The truth is, we keep speaking and doing what we know in order to distract the conversation from what we do not know. I was watching a documentary by Erwin McManus, and one of the gentlemen he interviewed said something to this effect, “We don’t want to be found out that we actually don’t know as much as people think we do.” - Frank Viola

Ekklesia in the New Testament

Throughout the New Testament, ekklesia always refers to an assembly of people, not a place.

Ekklesia, in every one of its 114 appearances in the New Testament, refers to an assembly of people.

For example, the term occurs in Matt 16:18 as part of Jesus’ promise to build His “church” (tēn ekklēsian) on “this rock.”

Matthew 16:18(ESV) - And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

What Are Things the Church is Not?

A Place to Come and Spectate.

A Video Game (Craig Grocell)

An Online Event (There is no such thing as having online church)

A Seminar

A Small Group

A Building

Metaverse! (New!)

John Cooper Gets It.

Make Pastors Uncool Again.

“Pastors shouldn’t be rock stars. Yeah I said it. A rock star promotes himself, builds his brand, and entertains people. It’s his job. A pastor is supposed to lay his life down for his sheep. He serves, he protects, and he equips the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12). So why does it seem like many of our celebrity pastors are obsessively self-promoting, building their own brands, and protecting themselves by never preaching or teaching anything that would put them in Twitter prison? Yes, it’s sad and devastating to watch our leaders fall into sin, but when the foundation is built so poorly it shouldn’t be all that surprising. Many Christians have been saying this for years and its past time that I join them: I’m tired of celebrity pastors. Pastors aren’t supposed to be cool. They’re not supposed to be fashion trend setters. We are ALL called to decrease, that Christ would increase both in our hearts and in our lives (John 3:30). HIS fame should be known, not OURS. Celebrity Pastors, get out of the way! You’re hogging the spotlight by making yourself the story. Instead, you should be taking some hits on the front lines by stating clearly what God commands. Celebrity pastors seldom do this. Instead, most of what we hear is rhetorical gobbledygook, veiled mysticism, and repackaged new-age movement self-help promotional material disguised as the work of the Spirit. My pastor helped change my life in college. “Really, who?” Exactly. He remains faceless, nameless, and will never get the adoration of the world because his desire was for Jesus to have all of the glory. He taught me how to read and understand the Bible. He took my midnight phone calls, he instigated the necessary but uncomfortable conversations, he taught me the importance of sexual purity, and he even taught me how to paint a house and balance a checkbook. It almost sounds more like being a father, doesn’t it? Working, serving, teaching your kids and never expecting a “thank you” or a hand clap is what pastoring is all about. Pastors, I am thankful for you. Many are serving faithfully and you will be rewarded by God. But for the pastors who are receiving their reward on earth, I have a request for you: please stop looking for adoration from the world. We don’t need you to look “awesome”, we need you to be fearless and preach the gospel according to the unchanging, authoritative Word of God. Stop finding clever ways to evade questions. You know the ones—God’s commands about sexual morality, Gods authority structure in the Church and at home, biblical justice instead of the religion of modern social justice. Answer them. And answer them clearly for heaven’s sake. Please stop trying to find new ways to explain the perceived inconvenient truths of God’s Word. You ought to love what He loves and hate what he hates. This used to be a prerequisite for church leadership. Today, its deemed radical and even bigoted. Play time is over. The spiritual battle is raging, and the field is full of wimps and boys who have never picked up a sword because it just “feels mean.” We need generals and leaders who don’t care about their brand, their look, their “likes”, or making allegiances with the world. In short, it’s time to make pastors uncool again.”

The Temple

It can be rightly said that Christianity was the first non-temple-based religion ever to emerge.

In the minds of the early Christians, the people—not the architecture—constituted a sacred space.

The early Christians understood that they themselves—corporately—were the temple of God and the house of God.

1 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV) - If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Ephesians 2:20-22 (ESV) - Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

We Are Ekklesia!

Romans 12:5 ESV - So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

There is a cry for the real church to stand up!