Church Is...?

1. Church as a temple

a. This is something that we have talked about quite a bit in the past

b. Again, of course, we are not talking about a physical building, are we?  We are talking about people

c. 1 Cor. 3:16Do you not know that you[c] are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

i. The NIV renders this passage like this:  Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?

ii. The plural helps us understand that not only is our body the temple of the Holy Spirit

iii. But, we together, are a temple

d. Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,[d] but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by[e] the Spirit.

e. 1 Peter 2:4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 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.

f. What does this picture of a temple mean for the church?

i. A temple is constructed by a builder

A temple has no will or ability of its own

. A temple can’t say, “Hey, I’d like to be a temple”

No, a temple must be constructed by a builder

4. In the OT, the Temple was constructed by workmen out of wood and rocks, and jewels and gold to be an earthly dwelling place for the spirit of God

5. In the NT the same is true for the church which is the temple of God

6. The Church also must be built by a Maker, that is God

7. We see this especially in the passages from Ephesians and 1 Peter

8. In both of those passages, it states clearly that “You are being built upinto a temple, or a dwelling place”

9. It is God who is building His church up into a temple for His Holy Spirit to dwell in

10. Now, unlike a building in that is a temple, we, the Church, have a will, a volition

11. No, it is not up to us to form ourselves into a temple, but it is up to us to allow God to do His work in our lives, both individually and corporately.

12. In other words, we need to participate in His work

13. Are you allowing Him to build you up into a temple fit for His dwelling

14. Are we together allowing him to do that work

ii. A temple is meant to be filled/resided in

1. The temple in the OT was not meant to just be a beautiful structure

2. No, the purpose of the temple was to be the House of God

3. We read in 2 Chronicles 7 how, when Solomon built the Temple and after he prayed his wonderful prayer of dedication

That fire came from heaven and the glory of the LORD filled the temple to such an extent that the priests couldn’t even enter the temple

And all the people bowed with their faces to the ground

That was the purpose of the Temple—to be, as it were, a dwelling place for God Himself, even though, as everyone admitted, it is impossible to contain the presence of God

But just like the Ancient temple of gold and jewels, you also are being built up into a dwelling place for the very presence of God to dwell

Did you know that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Is He finding in you, in us, a dwelling place suitable for Him

That is open to Him?

It’s possible for us as Temples to look good and nice, but not actually have Him dwelling in us

2.   Church is a Body

a.  This is probably the most common picture that we have

b.  There are quite a number of references in the Bible comparing the church to a body

c.   But it’s not only a comparison, it is a statement.  We, rather the Church, the Church is Christ’s body

d.  Romans 12:4-5 “4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

e.   1 Cor. 10:17 “17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

f.    1 Cor. 12:12-13  “12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

g.  And other passages like this

h.  This is one picture that is probably the most prominent in the NT—church is a Body

i.    And it operates like a body

How is the church like a body?

What are some of the implications for us when the Bible says, Church you are the body of Christ?

A.   1st characteristic. Well, just like our physical bodies, the Church has a head

   Col. 1:18 “18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”

l.    This word that is translated “head” can mean

i.    What is on top of your neck

ii.  It can refer to the whole person

iii. Or, it can refer to someone who has the highest status

m. In a sense, These are all accurate when talking about Christ as the Head of His Church

i.    In our human bodies, you can lose a limb, or you can have an organ removed, and still live. 

ii.  But you cannot survive without your head.  It’s impossible.  They haven’t invented a way to do that

iv.  It is your head that controls your body

v.   Your are fed and watered through your head

n.  And the same is true of Christ, the Head of His Church

i.    Through Christ, we as His Church are identified as His

ii.  He is the one who sustains us, who feeds us and gives us living water

iii. Paul, preaching in Acts 17says, “In Him we live and move and have our being”.  that is, we exist.

iv.  Without Jesus, our Head, we would be unidentifiable and dead.

o. So, as a body, we have a head.  that is Jesus Christ

B. Secondly, it is your body that identifies you.

People identify you by the way the shape of your body, your height, your weight, all these visual clues

People identify you by the way that you talk, the way your voice sounds, the kind of words and expressions that you use

As the Body of Christ, We are meant to identify Jesus

When people look at us, the church, the body of Christ, they should be able to identify Jesus

When people see us working and interacting with each other and the community, they should be able to say, “That looks like something Jesus would do”.

When people hear us talking, they should be able to identify the voice of Jesus

The question is, do they?

I know that we put effort into looking and acting right, but what about how we sound?

When people hear us talking, particularly about other people, do they think, “Man, that sounds like Jesus talking!”?

Luke 4: 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth.

Do people marvel at the gracious words that come from your mouth and from my mouth, especially when we are talking about difficult situations

or talking about people that we have disagreements with

Do you sound like Jesus?

p.  Third, as a body, we also have body parts

Scripture paints this picture for us of a Body with many different parts, just like a human body

Romans 12 gives us a nice list of possible giftings in church

1.   Prophecy

2.   serving

3.   teaching,

4.   exhortation/encouragement

5.   generous giving

6.   leading

7.   showing mercy

The parts of the Body of Christ are meant to:

Bring humility sobriety to us and to us

Romans 12:3 “3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”

ii.  We take the attitude that, not a single one of us is more important than the other one in the functioning of the body

iii. We do not have the right to rank our giftings and roles according to what we think is more important or more significant

iv.  Rather, we make every effort to use sober judgement.

1.   Sober—clear thinking

2.   To understand clearly the role that we all have in the body of Christ

v.   So, we think clearly about our giftings

operate together in unity and harmony

You know some people like to talk about how they can multitask.

But as you probably already know, scientists say that multitasking is actually a myth.

We don’t actually mulitask. Rather we skip from task to task in rapid succession making us more inefficient

The body actually does better when we focus in on one task and do that to the best of our ability

And so it is with the Body of Christ

When we are agreed on our mission and the task in front of us, and we are committed to that task, we are much more effective

bringing people to Jesus

making disciples

sending them

And bring growth and maturity to the church

Eph. 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

3.   Church is a Family

a.  Scripture is rich with references to Believers being part of a family…the family of God

Eph. 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,[1]

More often, this picture of the church as a family is found in how Apostle Paul and other writers address the other believers

“Brothers”

Brotherhood

b.  And this idea of being a family of God has its foundation, not on what we as Believers do, and not on how we choose to structure ourselves as far as church goes.

c.   Rather, it is based completely on who God is and what God has chosen to do:

d.  That is, God has adopted us!

e.   In John 14, Jesus has broken the news to His disciples that He is about to leave them  (actually, if they had been paying close attention and would have had hearts of understanding, they might have picked it up before this)

But Jesus has said, “Hey, I’m about to leave you.  But don’t worry.  You know where I’m going and you know the Way to get there”

f.    And Thomas gives voice to the feelings of distress that they all must have had at this time:

i.    “Lord, we don’t know where you are going.  How can we know the way?”

ii.  I imagine that truly their hearts are grieving at the news that they have just heard

g.  John 14:18  “18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” 

h.  When Jesus uses this word, I think that He is identifying very clearly what they are feeling.  “We are going to be like orphans”

i.    We’ve given up everything for you, Lord:  homes, family, livelihood, friends

ii.  And now you are going to leave us!

iii. We are going to be like children living on the street!

i.    But Jesus tells them, “No, hold on!  Don’t be so sad!  I’m not going to allow you to live like orphans.  I’m going to come back to you!  I’m going to send My Spirit to reside in you and inside of you!

j.    Yes, you have given up much for my sake, but you are going to have a new family.  You are going to be adopted.

k.  And then, as we make our way through the NT, we start to see time after time, this idea, sometimes stated in different ways, that we, as Believers in Jesus as Messiah, have been  adopted into a new family!

Apostle Paul, especially uses this term. (the only one to use this term)

3 times in Romans

1 time in Galatians

1 time in Ephesians

Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. [2]

l.    I don’t have any personal experience with adoption, as far as my immediate family…I have a number of cousins who were adopted

m. And I know that adoption can be very hard, especially if a child has experience abuse or trauma

i.    And it can be very hard for the adoptive family

n.  But on the other hand, how many children, left destitute and alone, or living in a hellish, abusive, situation, have been given a second chance at a fulfilling life, because someone has reached out and taken a chance on them

i.    Dared to give this child a second chance, and loved them and given them a new family..a home to live in

o.  We are traveling this journey with Holly and little N. and I just want to weep at the situation that many children like him are in.

ii.  But Holly has reached out and given this little guy a second chance.  The future looks uncertain and big, but we promise to stick with you and support you in this!

iii. And I want to thank you, Holly, for demonstrating to us what God did for us

p.  Church, this is what has happened to us. Without God, would be like street children: alive physically, yet abandoned and alone.  Deceived by the deceiver and then abandoned to fend for ourselves out on the street!

q.  But God, rich in mercy, reached out and adopted us back into His family through Jesus Christ!

r.   Romans 8:15 “15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!””

s.   Ephesians 1:4-5 “4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”

t.   And we could go on.  You and I, through Jesus Christ, have been adopted into a new family.  That is, the family of God!

u.  But church, how often do we, as adopted children, go back to living like street children

v.   You think about how children on the street have to live in order to survive

i.    They have to create their own rules

ii.  They have to put themselves first.  IT’s surivial of the fittest

iii. They might have a very small group that they live with

iv.  But overall, they take care of themselves first

1.   Children at the airstrip in Mozambique

v.   They live lives of fear and mistrust.  They look at everyone with suspicion or as means to their own survival

vi. They are alive physically, but it is up to them, and them alone to survive.  No one is going to give them what they need

w.  And church, can this be a picture, a tragic picture of how we tend to be in church?

x.   We’ve been given a new life, adopted into a new family, yet, for weird reason (I think it’s called a sinful nature), we tend to go back to living like we are street children

i.    We acknowledge our adoption in our heads, but in our practice and interactions with each other, we can act like street children

ii.  We make our own rules, create our own way of living, create our own way of “being a Christian”

4. Church as a flock

in our passage from 1 Peter, we have this picture. Church is like a flock of sheep

sheep who need a shepherd

And we’ve been given those shepherds

Our heavenly shepherd, our earthly shepherds

The thing is, it’s our tendency to think that we don’t really need a shepherd

Unlike real sheep who don’t ever question the presence of a shepherd,

for them, it’s a natural thing

Elders are commanded to shepherd the flock that is among them

And by God’s grace, this is what the elders at Fairview have tried to do.