To God Be The Glory in The Church

2023 Philippines Conference “To God Be The Glory in the Church” Qualifications – Pastors – Deacons – Reason for Letter 05Apr2023

Chapter Overview:

Qualifications for Overseers (3:1-7) Pastors Qualifications for Workers (3:8-13) Deacons Reason for the Letter (3:14-16) Ordering God’s House

Intro:

1. The Identity of The Church

a. God-Made, God-governed, and God indwelt habitation of God’s people for the purpose of God’s Glory

2. The Mission of The Church

a. Embody and Manifest God’s Truth

b. Defend God’s Truth from Error and Compromise

1 Timothy 3:14-16 NASB95

14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15 but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. 16 By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:

He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.

…pray

14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15 but in case I am delayed, I write..;.

Hoping To Come To You

The longing of Paul’s heart

1 Thessalonians 3 NASB95 Encouragement of Timothy’s Visit

3 Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, 3 so that no one would be [a]disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. 4 For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; [b]and so it came to pass, [c]as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to [d]find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.

6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, 7 for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; 8 for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord. 9 For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account, 10 as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith?

11 Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; 12 and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 13 so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the [e]coming of our Lord Jesus with all His [f]saints.

….

Purpose Statement:

but in case I am delayed, I writeso that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God

thou oughtest <dei> to behave thyself <anastrepho>

anastrepho, (an-as-tref'-o): from 303 and 4762; to overturn; also to return; by implication, to busy oneself, i.e. remain, live:--abide, behave self, have conversation, live, overthrow, pass,return, be used.

The Identity of The Church

15 but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

(1) it is the church of the living (and active) God

ro 8:9-11 “9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Romans 8:9-11 New American Standard Bible 1995

9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is [a]alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [b]through His Spirit who dwells in you.

To God, Be The Glory, in The Church!

The Church …is not a human idea.

The Church… is not developed by human imagination.

The Church is not the result of counsels of wise men, formulating this religion we call Christianity.

The idea of the church, is God’s Idea!

The Church, is actually a supernatural outflow of God, keeping His promise in the Gospel, that message which is the power of God unto salvation to all that believe.

The scriptures give rise to the manifestation of the church.

It is out from the prophetic and apostolic writings, breathed out, prepared, and preserved by the holy spirit, illuminated to our minds and engrafted within our hearts, that the church emerges upon the world scene, regulated by That Word of God, and is revealed as the bride of The Lord Jesus Christ.

…

If somehow, you wiped out every Christian, and every trace of Christianity from the world. If it were even possible, every church, every hymnal, every commentary, every video, every recorded sermon.

And you left nothing behind, except the Bibles, and that was it.

The church would reemerge, and in the hands of saints and martyrs, they would carry the Gospel to the ends of that new world. Because The Church is God’s Idea, God’s Design, fulfilling God’s purposes, it is not, nor can it ever be, a mere function or idea from the culture around it, lest it cease to be the church.

It exists because God The Father decreed and covenanted with His Son, that The Son of God would receive a Name, A Kingdom, and a Bride. And that bride is hand picked by The Father, Redeemed by The Son, and transformed by The Spirit, and unified to all its members.

…

She is unique. She is robed in the garment of the righteousness of her husband. There is nothing else like her in all the world. Her dimensions are biblically defined. Her parameters are biblically explained. She has officers, and specific qualifications for those offices, that are detailed in scripture, and biblically enforced. She has ordinances, and laws, rules, government, boundaries, that are specific to her, she is unique. So that though she appears to be in the World, it is clear, that she is distinctly not of the world.

And the banner that hangs over the church, that hangs over the bride of The Lord Jesus Christ, is this: “To God Be The Glory In The Church.”

There is no other institution given to the world, even of all the different charity organizations that do exist, because there are plenty that aren’t Christian. Even of all the successful businesses that exists, that provide some unique service, that they are uniquely qualified to give. Even of all the different governments, of all the different nations, of all the different institutions in the world that exist which God made, … there is No other institution given to the world by God to address the sin malady of all mankind, and its only hope of salvation in Christ, except the church. She alone is that institution given to the world to address the fundamental issues regarding life, death, sin, meaning, man origins, man’s purpose, our past, present, our impending future, eternity, hope, and far above all these things the identity of The Living God Himself.

We get to tell the world who God is!

Without The Church of The Lord Jesus Christ, which is like a bright city set on a hill, by whom The Gospel Light is taken to the nations… The World lies in darkness…

without the church, which God made to be the caretakers of His Holy Word,…there is no prophetic voice from God to the nations.

Apart from the church, the nations are without hope and without God in the world.

The Church has been made to carry the torch of the testimony down through the ages. As the grand ambassadors of God’s glory, declaring the matchless majesties of God’s Gospel of Grace in His Son. And no other institution bears that right nor responsibility. … Remember?....

Luke 4:41 New American Standard Bible 1995

41 Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be [a]the Christ.

…

They proclaimed him “You are the Son of God!”… He silenced them. That honor and that right to identify him as Christ and Lord would be reserved for His Bride! He has opened our mouths and told us to Go and proclaim His Gospel to the nations

It is the highest dignity in this life, to be sent forth by God Himself, to be the proclaimers of the highest good, the highest justice, the highest righteousness, as found only in Christ Alone, The Way The Truth and The Life, that right has been given to His bride only!

Within The Presence

which is the church of the living God

And in view of all this, even after all this, yet still the Lord has gone further, This is the main point of this entire message: The Lord God has chosen to something so breath taking, so difficult for us to understand, so wonderfully curious, and demonstrated his covenant love for her, in that He has also made the church the unique dwelling place of His spirit on earth!

He said to her, “And Lo, I will be with you always even until the end of the age.

Ephesians 2:19-22 New American Standard Bible 1995

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the [a]saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy [b]temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

..

The Lord God appears pleased to dwell and to walk in the midst of His lampstands, his churches, and be their light and their life, illuminating them and invigorating them from within, doing so now, on this side of heaven, on this side of eternity, on this side of the coming death, resurrection, judgement. He has elected to dwell uniquely with in the assembly of his gathered people, and to minister His grace to them through His word and appointed means, personally.

The Church is utterly Supernatural in this regard.

When we lose sight of the supernatural aspect of the church, when we lose sight of the fact that the church exists as spiritually regenerate individual people, who in one sense have lost their individual identities, by the spirit of grace within them, denied themselves, picked up their cross and are now following after Jesus, and are now being conformed, to the image of Jesus Christ not only dividually but also corporately. And we as a people collectively are now called the body of Christ.

When we see that, we will know and understand why we have been called to dwell in unity, and as we grow and mature, we grow up into Jesus Christ which is our head. We are no longer our own, We have been bought with a price. We are spiritually indwelt of the spirit that raised Christ form The dead. And we are spiritual stones that when we are gathered and assembled together, the scriptures tell us we make up a spiritual house, a spiritual dwelling place where spiritual sacrifice is made.

1 Peter 2:4-5 New American Standard Bible 1995

4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is [a]choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, [b]are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

…

When we lose sight of that supernatural reality. It opens the door, for every kind of worldly business, social club, entertainment driven, ideologies to creep in and try to redefine what Is the church. And when you redefine what is the church based on whatever the newest fads of the age and the culture are, you lose the definitions of the church, the boundaries of the church, the order of the church, the dignity of the church, and when we are no longer gathered together in spirit and in truth as it is found in Christ alone, we no longer have our eyes fixe upon hi in the knowledge of the Gospel. Then where is our Lord? And to whose glory is everything happening in the church then?

..

Looking back at our main text in 1 Timothy, addressed partly to the Ephesians:

Paul would love more than anything to get to Ephesus, and to be with timothy and to be with the church there, especially with all the issues that they have going on. But he writes, and he writes everything he writes about the office of the pastor/elders, and their non-negotiable qualifications, about the office of the deacon and his qualifications, about the role of the men praying in the church, as leaders who lead in prayer and in holiness, about women’s roles in the church, not as teaching men or as authorities in the church, but as those who show submissive gentleness, how we are to care for the widows in the church and to know when they are qualified for church support, about praying evangelistically for the lost and even for our leaders in government, about the necessity of defending right teaching, sound doctrine, how to accomplish church discipline when members become unruly, and ungodly, and must be recovered from the snare of the enemy… Paul writes all this, he writes all this detailed instruction for the church, not because this is just good principles of wisdom, No, Paul writes all this about the order, and about the structure the church should be, because incase he is delayed, he wants to ensure that everyone will know HOW we ought to conduct ourselves in the household of God, which is the church of the Living God, the pillar and support of the truth. It’s not simply because these are wise ideals, right ideals, true ideals, it is because these are ideals that are right in light of the fact that God dwells in the midst of the assembly of His people. No institution can boast that.

Our God is all present, the incarnate Son of God is seated in the heavens, but the Spirit is uniquely manifested in His Church, as the source of life to His people. So much so that when we enter into the assembly of the spiritual stones, we are to do so with a certain measure of gravity, and even joyful yet real fear.

Hebrews 12:28-29 New American Standard Bible 1995

28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us [a]show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 New American Standard Bible 1995

5 [a]Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. 2 [b]Do not be hasty [c]in word or [d]impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.

When Jesus Christ Returns.. He is not coming back for nice church buildings, and successful ministries. He is not coming back for commentaries and good books that some men wrote. He is coming back for His bride who He loves and who he jealously guards.

The Mission of The Church

I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

σαρκὶ

(2) it is a pillar of the truth

the pillar <stulos>and <kai> ground <hedraioma> of the truth.

stulos, (stoo'-los): from stuo (to stiffen; properly akin to the base of 2476); a post ("style"), i.e. (figuratively) support:--pillar.

hedraioma, (hed-rah'-yo-mah): from a derivative of 1476; a support, i.e. (figuratively) basis:--ground

… This building is designed functionally and purposefully…

The Holy Spirit has made the Overseers, the elders. Christ said if you love me feed my sheep. Elders are to feed and protect. The Offices are given. But consider this: Why were the offices given according to Eph 4? For the edifying and the maturing of the church. Why were the gifts of the spirit given? For the building up and the edifying of the church. Why were the epistles written? To govern and to clarify the doctrine of the church, so we would know how to conduct ourselves as the church. Why do we go to the nations? To make disciples, obedient to the teachings of Christ who enter into the ordinances of the church, namely believer’s baptism. Honestly, True missions is best described as biblical churches working to plant more biblical churches.

The church is where God has invested his greatest authority in the land. She has not been given the sword like The government has been given the sword, as Rom 13 says 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil…..

The government bears the sword, not the church, but the church has been given the prophetic voice and authority to rebuke the government when they have misused their sword, and dishonored the God who gave it to them.

She has been given the Gospel to proclaim, and the light of eternity to live by, and the presence of her God is with her.

And I am afraid that there are many who have lost sight of what the church is..

..

(3) it is a protector of the truth - The Guardians of the Truth

The Pillar and The Stay // The Ground// The Foundation of The Truth.

And because they have lost sight of what the church is, they have turned back from a fearful, awestruck, reverence from perceiving the dignity, of the church’s role in the world. And because they don’t see it, , everything else suffers. Soon they begin to forsake the gathering together occasionally, they forsake bearing one another’s burdens, and stirring one another up to love and to good works, they lose sight of their need of the means of grace, faithful preaching of The Word, corporate prayer, regularly taking The Lord’s table together, church discipline, and so on. everyone begins to ignore the roles God assigned them, Men become weak and negligent in leadership, women and children begin to dictate the direction, emotions replace the scriptures, human preferences replace God’s commandments, personal feelings replace truth. And regardless of how big or successful the organization may look on the outside, The Lampstand is taken away, the light is gone, Christ is gone, the church is dead.

The absence of God’s Spirit means there is no deep convictions in the congregation anymore, lives are no longer changed, and so entertainment is brought in to fill in the gaps where real Christianity once existed. And the church is now just a social club, built to meet our felt needs, where we worship ourselves and pretend we love Jesus, when really we love food, potlucks, games, bounce houses, big crowds, and sentimental stories.

Instead of “To God Be The Glory”, The banner that hangs over the church now is “To my personal preferences be the glory”

If what we have built is just an organization that suites our own individual preferences, if what we have built is designed to meet our needs, entertain us, and comfort us, gather our friends and guests, if it’s meant to be our religious social club, and we show up when we want, and how we like, Then make no mistake, we are worshipping ourselves, we do what we do for our own glory, and Christ is on the outside knocking on the door, calling us to repent.

Many times, we cannot prove from the scriptures why we do what we do as a church. As one preacher once said, if we are going to cater to anyone’s preferences, lets cater to God’s preferences. No one else died for the church. Christ died for His church. We need to get out of His way.

See, we can talk about elders, deacons, qualifications, ordinances, believers baptism, Lord’s Supper, we can talk about church membership, adopting healthy doctrinal confessions that guard against wolves, we can talk about not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the occasion of some is, we can talk about all the New Testaments “one another’s” that we should be doing in one another’s life,… but, if you don’t see this one great primary principle first, that this is Christ’s church, it is not our idea, it is not our system, it is not even our religion, it’s His Bride! If we don’t see that first, then all these other very important doctrines will be misunderstood as though they were just good wisdom principles left behind by those who have died and passed on. Either we see King Jesus, with fear in our eyes, and love in our hearts, as the one worthy to be worshipped according to his preferences, knowing that he died for His bride, He gave his all for his bride, He was pierced, he was wounded for our iniquity and slain our justification, and he lives, now seated at he right hand of the throne of the Father where He ever lives to make intercession for His Bride, right now, and He is worthyof all honor, worthy of all praise, worthy of all adoration, whose name is to be blessed and had in reverence forevermore, either we see that or we are just going through religious church motions without a real deep heart shaking understanding of why we are even doing what we’re doing.

And the welcome mat is wide open for every charlatan, huckster, and strong willed personality to come in and sway the emotions and the sentimentality of the of the people to do whatever seems good to them. Either we will be pawns of the culture and pawns of the age in which we live, and be swept away in the madness… as one preacher once said “There is a price to pay for guarding your heart, and if you’re not willing to pay it you will be swept away with the age”…

Or, you will join the remnant, the few, the precious few…. As Christ says there will be few

Who stand upon the firm foundation of The Word of God, and who stand upon the confident assurance, That Jesus Christ is worthy of our worship, our lives, our obedience, our everything, and confident that Christ will build his church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

And stand with those Men and women of God who went before us, and said here I stand I can do no other.

…

With theworld cast in the darkness it is right now, and with the whole world lying in the wicked one, and everything at war, the scriptures say man is violent and the thoughts of men are only evil continually… James says:

James 4 New American Standard Bible 1995

4 [a]What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? [b]Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. …

There are wars in our own minds and emotions, wars in our families, wars in our relationships, wars in our communities, culture wars, wars of ideas and words, wars of governments, international conflicts, and military campaigns, wars and rumors of wars,

And in the midst of all the madness, darkness, and violence, our loved ones, our closest ones, are dying and perishing, and heading to an eternity in hell. we cannot afford to forget who and what the church is, and we cannot afford to lose the presence of God in our churches, We cannot afford to lose the Spirit who blesses our Gospel preaching, convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement, who draws men unto himself, and who can alone save the lost and redeem the doomed, and set free the captives into the eternal glory of his saving grace.

Listen, this world does not know, and cannot have truth, unless we as the watchers on the wall hold our position and stand guard and man the long and the hard night watches. When they threaten us, and taunt us to leave our ramparts and our bastioned defenses, to leave our secure places, and to join them out there in the fields of merriment and comfort where they lie in wait and ambush to kill us, that they may mock the God we serve. In a land where our adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, We must do everything to Stand Firm and endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ

Make no mistake, The King is coming. The King is coming. But He asks this question, this isn’t my question, this is his question :”When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith in the earth?” Because He knows, there are some who will read this passage, and will still be a rebel, still bear allegiance to the culture out there, although they sit in the church in here, and they do not believe that He is the exclusive owner, and He has the exclusive rights to all the glory in the church, and He makes the decisions, he is king, and this is his castle.

When He comes, what will he do with those who tossed his word and his honor behind their back?

It is our job, each of us, as the church to be The Pillar and The Stay // The Ground// the Guardians of the Truth

To speak to the world on behalf of King Jesus, to proclaim His Gospel to the ends of the world, to guard and protect the dignity of his bride, and to do so knowing that He has promised “Lo I will be with you always, even to the end of the age” The Lord is building His Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Lets us all say…

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To God, Be The Glory, in The Church!Introduction

1 Timothy 3:14–16 NASB95

14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15 but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. 16 By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.

The banner that hangs over the church reads: “To God Be The Glory in The Church”

The church is not man’s idea.

The church does not emerge from the imaginations of man.

Section 1

here is how the picture of a pineapple helps us to visualize infralapsarianism

John 15:8 KJV 1900

8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.