What it is to be a member wk 9

Our Purpose

1 Corinthians 14:33 NASB95

33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

1 Corinthians 14:40 NASB95

40 But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.

God is not a God of confusion or disorder, this is important for both the individual believer and the church as a whole to apply.

Since God is not a God of confusion, that is God is unified in His triune nature, He expects His people to do everything in a proper and orderly way.

Obedience to this invites the blessing of God who is not a God of confusion but peace.

Righteous unity is critical for the church to experience God’s presence in its midst.

The Structure

The church's structure should not be determined by culture, business practices, or denominational traditions.

I. Determining the Structure

1. The Church is a fellowship

Acts 2:42 NASB95

42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Luke tells us that the early church was known for four activities that should be foundational for every kingdom-minded local church.

First, they were devoted to God’s Word.

You cannot grow beyond what you know.

The teaching of the apostles was to give believers God’s perspective on every matter so that they could learn, obey, and experience spiritual growth and make kingdom impacts.

Second, the early church was devoted to fellowship.

The early church shared life together, and shared the life of Christ within the family of God.

Third, they were devoted to worship, as they broke bread together.

Worship is the recognition and celebration of who God is, what He has done, what we are trusting Him to do.

Fourth, the early church was devoted to prayer.

The early believers followed the example that Jesus gave by spending quality time in prayer.

Prayer is our communication with our heavenly Father, who can do abundantly more than we can.

A. A top priority in a fellowship is unity

Ephesians 4:3 NASB95

3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Unity is not sameness, we are all different in many ways.

Christian unity is maintaining our God-created uniqueness but sharing a common vision and goal.

Romans 14:19 NASB95

19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.

The goal of the kingdom is not to keep other people in line with our preferences, but to pursue what promotes peace.

We are to build other believers up by being sensitive to their needs.

B. Any attitude that causes disunity is a sin.

Colossians 3:15; 1 Corinthians 1:10; 2 Timothy 2:14; Proverbs 17:14; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 1:27, 2:1-3; Colossians 2:2; Philippians 4:2; 1 Peter 3:8; 1 Corinthians 14:33; John 13:34-35; 2 Timothy 2:23; Romans 15:5-6, 12:16-18; Colossians 2:13-14

1 Corinthians 1:10 NASB95

10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Here Paul exhorts the Corinthian believers to reject division among themselves and to purse unity.

1 Corinthians 11:17 NASB95

17 But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.

In this text Paul is addressing problems the Corinthian church had when partaking of the Lord’s Supper.

The church was to come together as one, but there was divisions among them instead.

When there is division in the church it quenches the Holy Spirit.

C. Voting on church matters can lead to division

We must first seek Christ’s mind and then operate on the principles of the Golden Rule.

Matthew 6:33 NASB95

33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Because we all are different people, from different backgrounds, we all need to seek God’s will.

As believers we must understand it is not about what we want, or how we want it, but what is God’s will.

Matthew 7:12 NASB95

12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Paul tells the Philippians in chapter 2 to humbly consider others as more important than ourselves.

We must treat others the way we want to be treated, and really maybe even better than how we would be treated.

2. The Church is a Family

First we seen that the church is a fellowship, now we see that it is a family.

1 Peter 2:9–10 NASB95

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This chosen race includes believers from every ethnic group.

As we are people for God’s own possession, we need to remember we are now children of God, and all believers are in the family of God.

Ephesians 2:19 NASB95

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,

As believers we are no longer strangers or aliens, but have been made fellow citizens and members of God’s household.

We operate based on Relationships, not rules

1 Timothy 5:1–2 NASB95

1 Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, 2 the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.

Through Jesus Christ we have been adopted as sons and daughters of God.

So the church is the family of God.

Such a family mindset transforms how we think about and respond to fellow believers.

3. The Church is a Body

Ephesians 1:22–23 NASB95

22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

We are a body - not a business.

We are an organism - not an organization.

A. Therefore, we function based on spiritual gifts, not elected offices.

Romans 12:4–6 NASB95

4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;

Because you are part of the body, you matter.

But because you are only one part, it is not all about you.

We are to serve one another because of the grace given to us.

That grace is the spiritual gift that the Holy Spirit has empowered us with to serve others.

B. In an organization, maintenance is the focus.

In an organism, ministry is the focus.

we have a simple structure that maximizes ministry and minimizes maintenance.

Ephesians 4:11–12 NASB95

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

These gifts include empowerment for the leaders.

The purpose is to equip the believers to be able to do the work of the ministry, and to build up the body of Christ, the church.

God saved and equipped you for the work of the ministry, the work of service.

The church is a living organism composed of many parts working in harmony to contribute to the whole.

The church will only grow and mature when all the parts operate in harmony, in unity.