The Church: Fellowship and Worship (for Fundamentals of the Faith)

Sunday, April 27, 2025

The Church: Fellowship and Worship (Fundamentals of the Faith) (Based Significantly on the teaching material from John MacArthur)

Main Points for Takeaway:

1.) The universal church is the body of all believers around the world, of whom Christ is the Head. Summary Point: The Nature of the Church

2.) The church is seen in local bodies, structured according to God’s design to accomplish His purpose of building His church. Summary Point: The Ministry of the Church

3.) The church seeks to promote the true worship of God. Summary Point: The Life of the Church

The Nature of the Church

Please read Ephesians 4:4-6

The universal church is the body of all believers, referred to as the body of Christ. The church of Jesus Christ is not an organization; it is an organism. It is not a building with offices; it is a fellowship that includes all believers. The church is not a program of various activities; it is the body that grows individually. The church should not be focused on administration, but rather on ministry. The church is people: living and loving, learning and laboring, leading and following, together for the glory of Jesus Christ who is the head.

The Church as the body of Christ.

Christ as our head means that He is Shepherd, King, and the ultimate source of guiding practice for our lives. (Colossians 1:18)

Made up of those called by God. (John 10:14-16)

Christ baptizes each believer with the Holy Spirit and places them into His body. (1 Corinthians 12:13)

The Church as a family

We are all children of God. (John 1:12-13)

We are all brothers and sisters. (Romans 8:16-17)

God is our Father and Christ is our Brother. (Hebrews 2:11)

The local church is a smaller group of believers that come together to worship, fellowship, receive teaching from the Bible, and evangelize their local area.

Summary: The universal church is the body of all believers around the world, of whom Christ is the Head.

The Ministry of the Church

Christ’s Gifts to the Universal Church (Read Ephesians 4:11-16)

Apostles - The Apostles were uniquely chosen men—eyewitnesses of the risen Christ and directly commissioned by Him (Luke 6:13; Acts 1:21–22; 1 Cor. 9:1). Their role was foundational, serving as authoritative witnesses and writers of New Testament Scripture (Eph. 2:20). There have not been any new apostles since the completion of the New Testament canon.

Prophets - A prophet either foretells or “forth-tells” the truths of God to God’s people. The purpose of the prophets, like the apostles, was to lay the foundation of divine truth upon which the church would be built (Eph. 2:20). Upon the completion of the New Testament canon, the office of prophet ceased.

Evangelists - An evangelist is a person who is particularly gifted in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. Evangelism is something that all Christians should be doing, but some are more gifted than others. This is one of two roles in the church that still exist today.

Pastors/Shepherds/Teachers - A pastor is someone who shepherds, cares for, and protects God’s people. Teaching is the primary function of pastors. The job of pastor/shepherd/teacher is to faithfully preach the Word of God (2 Tim 4:2-4). This is the second of the two roles that still exist today.

The Purpose of Christ’s Gifts

These gifts are meant to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

The saints are all believers, members of the church.

The work of ministry is to build up the body of Christ.

The saints, not the pastors of the church, are responsible for building up the body of Christ in love.

Each saint has been specifically gifted by God, to serve in ways that only they can, so that the body of Christ can function according to God’s purpose. God’s purpose is to build His church through His saints as the means.

The Local Church

A healthy church has three ministry roles in play.

They have appointed elders.

The office of biblical elders “is not a passive, ineffective, uninvolved committee, but a Spirit-appointed body of qualified [men]”, who function as shepherds jointly pastoring God’s flock. (Alexander Strauch)

Elders are…

Appointed in every church.

to rule

to oversee and shepherd

Meet specific qualifications laid out in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9.

Members are to obey and submit to their leaders.

They have appointed deacons.

Deacons served the needs of the church, under the direction of the elders.

Their qualifications are clearly stated in 1 Timothy 3:8-13.

They have formal church membership.

As Christians, we are called to not just show up on Sunday mornings. We are called to be faithful members of a local church so that we can minister to others with our spiritual gifts so that the church body grows.

If you are interested in joining Sun Valley, I would recommend signing up for one of our next Basics classes. The next one is scheduled as of now for October 18th.

Summary: The church is seen in local bodies, structured according to God’s design that accomplish His purpose of building His church.

Worship - To ascribe worth or value. The word worship is derive from the ancient practice of bowing oneself to the ground in reverence.

The Life of the Church

Close communion with God through prayer and a fuller understanding of God through the teaching of the Scriptures should drive the Christian to worship God.

Worship belongs to God alone.

Our God is a jealous God and is not willing to share His worship with any other person or thing.

God is worthy to receive worship because He is the creator of all things.

As such, Christians should have nothing in their lives that rivals God in adoration and worship.

God desires true worship. (Read John 4:23-24)

God wants our worship to be true. This means that we must be worshipping in truth and worshipping from the heart.

Don’t just worship with your lips; God wants worship from the heart! (Read Matthew 15:8-9)

Worship God in truth. To worship God in truth, one must seek to know Him by learning about His attributes and actions. How do we come to know these things? Through His Word.

On Sunday morning, Spirit and Truth worship is promoted in the Scripture passages read, the songs sung, and ultimately in the sermon preached.

Why does worship define the life of the church?

Worship was the reason why we were created.

John MacArthur writes, “The worst deed committed in the universe is failure to give God honor, or glory. Above everything else, God is to be glorified. To glorify God is to exalt Him, to recognize Him as supremely worthy of honor, and to acknowledge His divine attributes.”

Yet because of our sin, we need Jesus to reconcile us to God, because left to ourselves, we cannot worship God rightly.

As redeemed people in Christ, we can worship God according to the way He desires as we are transformed by the renewal of our minds.

Worship doesn’t just happen with singing on Sunday morning, but in every area of our lives. We seek to walk in a manner worthy of God who called us.

John Piper writes, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” We go on mission and share the gospel with the lost because we want to see them saved and brought back into right relationship with their Creator who deserves their praise.

Summary: The church seeks to promote the true worship of God.