The Church

The Church Is Gods Idea

“church,” which is used to translate the New Testament term εκκλησια (ekklesia) itself is in some sense metaphorical. In Greco-Roman usage it referred to any group of people gathered together for some purpose. This secular usage is preserved in the New Testament by Luke in Acts 19. Twice he refers to the rioting crowd as ekklesia (19:32, 41), and once he uses the term for the legal assembly that will be required to resolve the problem. 4

Caesarea Philippi stood only twenty-five miles from the religious communities of Galilee. But the city's religious practices were vastly different from those of the nearby Jewish towns.

In Old Testament times, the northeastern area of Israel became a center for Baal worship. In the nearby city of Dan, Israelite king Jeroboam built the high place that angered God and eventually led the Israelites to worship false gods. Eventually, worship of the baals was replaced with worship of Greek fertility gods.To the pagan mind, the cave at Caesarea Philippi created a gate to the underworld, where fertility gods lived during the winter. They committed detestable acts to worship these false gods.

Caesarea Philippi's location was especially unique because it stood at the base of a cliff where spring water flowed. At one time, the water ran directly from the mouth of a cave set in the bottom of the cliff.

The pagans believed that their fertility gods lived in the underworld during the winter and returned to earth each spring. They saw water as a symbol of the underworld and thought that their gods traveled to and from that world through caves.

To the pagan mind, then, the cave and spring water at Caesarea Philippi created a gate to the underworld. They believed that their city was literally at the gates of the underworld the gates of hell. In order to entice the return of their god, Pan, each year, the people of Caesarea Philippi engaged in horrible deeds, including prostitution and even more detestable acts

When Jesus brought his disciples to the area, they must have been shocked. Caesarea Philippi was like a red-light district in their world and devout Jews would have avoided any contact with the despicable acts committed there.

It was a city of people eagerly knocking on the doors of hell.

Matthew 16:13–18 (ESV)

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 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.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you

my Father who is in heaven

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock

I will build my church,

The Church is Offensive: and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Who do you say Jesus is

God defines His Church in the scripture

We must be carful that we do not turn the volume up on the commentators that don’t know the game, never played "Nastia" Valeryevna Liukin

The church is the bride of Christ. (Importance)

“Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb” (Rev. 21:9).

“The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure” (Rev. 19:7-8).

“For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:12).

“‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (Eph. 5:31-32).

The church is the family of God. (Family)

“I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:18).

“Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother'” (Matt. 12:49-50).

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19).

“As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10).

“Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity” (1 Tim. 5:1).

Both Paul and Peter call the church God’s “household” (1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Pet. 4:17)—another word for “family.” What’s your family made of? Members, of course. Family members aren’t simply names on a paper, or a file folder of marriage and birth certificates. A family is a network of relationships and obligations. Family members are bound to one another. They share meals, they celebrate together, they mourn together, they rejoice together, they make decisions together, and, when apart, they long to reunite.

The church is a family. Like the natural family, the church family is a network of relationships and obligations. Members unite with one another as brothers and sisters. Our commitment to one another shows itself as we do “family things”—gathering, caring, laughing, weeping, worshiping, and serving. Once again, the New Testament conceives of membership not as an item on a checklist, but as a way of life. Just like being a husband and a dad shapes my life and priorities, so too does being a church member. Regularly attending a local church but not joining is like frequently visiting a neighbor’s house; you may enjoy the occasional fellowship but you’re not a part of the family.

The church is the temple of God, built with living stones, with Christ as the foundation and cornerstone, and the Holy Spirit indwelling it.

“The household of God [is] 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” (Eph. 2:19-22).

“‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’ . . . ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'” (1 Pet. 2:6-7 [Isa. 28:16; Ps. 118:22).

“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” (1 Pet. 2:5).

“Do you not know that you [plural] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor. 3:16-17).

Flock

The image emphasizes that members of the church as the sheep of Christ belong to Him. Jesus emphasizes that the flock is “My sheep” (John 10:26, 27) and that they are secure in His hand. Moreover, the sheep respond to the Shepherd’s voice—there is intimacy, for the Shepherd knows His sheep individually, and they recognize His voice and respond to Him.

Israel had a relationship to the Lord as sheep to a shepherd (Psalm 23) and was called a flock (Ps. 80:1; Jer. 13:17), but in the Old Testament that figure was restricted to Israel. The uniqueness about the church being a flock and Christ the Shepherd is that this flock is composed of both Jews and Gentiles. Jesus declared, “I have other sheep [Gentiles], which are not of this fold [Jews]; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock [the church composed of Jews and Gentiles] with one shepherd” (John 10:16).

Branches

Agricultural The Church as Plant/Field/Vineyard/Vine

Jesus is the true vine (John 15:1), while the Father is the farmer who tills the land in order that the branches may bear fruit (John 15:1). Church-age believers are the branches that draw their life from the vine because they are “in Him” (John 15:4, 5). The branches receive their life-giving nourishment in their attachment to the vine; as they remain in the vine, they are able to grow and bear fruit.

Christ’s exhortation to the church is to “abide in me.” Abide (Gk. meno) means essentially “to remain,” “stay,” or “live.” In this context it means to remain or continue in the realm in which one finds himself.[7] Thus to abide in Christ is equivalent to believing in Christ. This relationship of abiding begins at the moment of faith, and continues as we walk by faith (cf. 1 John 2:22, 24, 28)

“The figure of the vine thus demonstrates the vital relationship between the members of the church and Christ.”

First, they point to solidarity between God and the people of God. God comes to dwell with them. They are a body whose head is Christ (and only Christ) and a temple where God lives. Second, there is unity among believers in Christ. Walls between Jew and Gentile are broken down. Although there is diversity, the diverse members of the body function in harmony. God’s people are fellow-citizens and family. believing, behaving and belonging, there is a strong emphasis on the belonging aspect and being part of a family. Third, the church has a mission to make disciples. The army metaphor points to this, as well as explicit instruction such as Matthew 28:18-20. Also the body metaphor is tied to Paul’s advice about spiritual gifts and the need for each to be involved in service, although not all in the same way. Finally, metaphors such as citizen and kingdom point to the transcendent and triumphant future of the church. The church is not in its final form on this earth. The bride is making herself ready for something more. Yet the present life and worship of the church already anticipates and participates in this future. This is how we do it…

As “members of the household of God” Galatians 6: ● We pursue relationship with each other. ● We encourage one another. ● We take special attention to “doing good” to one another. Ephesians 2: ● We treat each other as a family, not as strangers. ● We commit to one another as “members” of the household of God. ● We remember and live in light of our foundation on God’s word. ● We read, memorize, preach, and teach God’s word day by day. ● We submit to Jesus as the cornerstone of our foundation. ● We look to Jesus and submit to Jesus as the head of our household of faith. ● We take seriously our responsibility to be a dwelling place for God within our city. ● We do these things as we are created into a context where the Spirit dwells and the gospel advances. 1 Peter 4 ● We build one another up in the midst of suffering. ● We develop a biblical understanding of suffering and we work hard to persevere with one another as we suffer. ● We hold each other accountable. ● We bear each other’s burden, and speak truth to one another.

1 Peter 2 ● We take discipleship (following Jesus) seriously. ● We actively work out our faith in community, knowing that Jesus saves us and calls us together as his house. We build each other up, knowing that together we are being built by Jesus as a “spiritual house.”

● We surrender to the work of the Spirit, knowing that it is God who works in us to sanctify and unity us.

“A lamp on a stand” – the church to a lamp on a stand, with Jesus as the light and believers as the lamp. It suggests that the church is a beacon of light, shining the way for others to follow.

“A city on a hill” – the church to a city on a hill, with Jesus as the foundation and believers as the citizens. It suggests that the church is a visible and influential community, shining as a beacon of hope and truth for others to see.

“A military unit” – the church to a military unit, with Jesus as the commander and believers as the soldiers. It suggests that the church is a community of believers who are united in their fight against spiritual forces of evil.

John 6:53–67 (CSB): 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, 55 because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna your ancestors ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”

59 He said these things while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

MANY DISCIPLES DESERT JESUS

60 Therefore, when many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is hard. Who can accept it?”

61 Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to observe the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 The Spirit is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some among you who don’t believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning those who did not believe and the one who would betray him.) 65 He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted to him by the Father.”

66 From that moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”