Understanding The Role & Purpose of The Church

Video: “Church Hunters”

Intro:

If you don’t ever check out our website, I encourage you to do so (have Jamie put it up). In recent years the necessity of belonging to a church—a specific church— has been marginalized. When Jesus began building His church on the day of Pentecost, He designed it so that His followers would of necessity dwell in community.

However, our western consumerism has no place in the church. Arthur Boers said in an article he wrote in The Other Side, “I often visit newcomers in town and find them to be church shopping. They want to know what they can get out of church. Churches are one more consumer commodity. Worship services are not a place for us to serve God and neighbor but a place where people expect to purchase the best: inspiring worship, good music, moving sermons, quality child care. As if we buy God and not vice versa.” Besides the influence of our western consumer culture, I believe there is an even bigger reason we have developed an unbiblical view of church—ignorance of its purpose.

If you don’t ever check out our website, I encourage you to do so (have Jamie put in up). In recent years the necessity of belonging to a church—a specific church— has been marginalized. When Jesus began building His church on the day of Pentecost, He designed it so that His followers would of necessity dwell in community.

However, our western consumerism has no place in the church. Arthur Boers said in an article he wrote in The Other Side, “I often visit newcomers in town and find them to be church shopping. They want to know what they can get out of church. Churches are one more consumer commodity. Worship services are not a place for us to serve God and neighbor but a place where people expect to purchase the best: inspiring worship, good music, moving sermons, quality child care. As if we buy God and not vice versa.” Besides the influence of our western consumer culture, I believe there is an even bigger reason we have developed an unbiblical view of church—ignorance of its purpose.

Message:

Understanding the five-fold ministry gifts

If God has placed you here, then I (or the gifts and anointing in me) are a gift to you from Jesus Himself.

As such, I have a very specific objective from Christ.

The first word of v. 12 is a small preposition that makes a large statement of purpose.

My job is to equip you for the work of service, which is the building up of the body.

Equip (καταρτισμος) means to make someone completely adequate or sufficient for something—‘to make adequate, to furnish completely, to cause to be fully qualified, adequacy; one lexicon says that this equipping comes through training and discipline.

2 Timothy 3:16 NASB95

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

to make someone completely adequate or sufficient for something—‘to make adequate, to furnish completely, to cause to be fully qualified, adequacy

So you can see that my primary responsibility is to teach you the word of God, and it may not always be what you want to hear.

This equipping is for the purpose of building you up. The Greek word for “building up” is οικοδομεω; it is a constructional term as in building a building.

Buildings are built from the ground up; therefore, the body of Christ is built up from the foundation, which is Christ Himself.

Build up (οικοδομεω) is also translated as “edify.” A building can be referred to as an edifice.

The objective of this edification is the primary subject of this sermon.

It’s goal

Unity of the faith.

The sense here being “oneness.”

Unity of the faith is to believe just as though we were all one person’ or ‘we believe in one and the same way.’

believe just as though we were all one person’ or ‘we believe in one and the same way.’

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. (Many translations say “one accord”).

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

There is great power in being of the same mind.

The tower of Babel.

Jesus said in that neither a house nor a kingdom that is divided against itself will be able to stand.

Knowledge of the Son of God.

This knowledge is an intimate knowledge of truth.

Truth is the basis for freedom; the more truth you know the freer you are.

If it makes you uncomfortable when I say something about pornography, or tobacco, or anything else, it is a good indicator that you are not fully walking in truth. Don’t get angry w/ me for fulfilling my pastoral mandate.

Completeness

Lack ye anything?

This is what the word “mature” is here. The Gr. τελιος means maturity or completeness.

The point here being that we would come to the place of being the exact representation of Christ.

It Guards us

Deception

We are open to deception when when one or all of these states exist:

Ignorant of the truth.

Isolated (it produces vulnerability).

Inconsistent (in either church attendance, reading the scriptures, or plugged into a particular church).

People who are deceived don’t know they are deceived; this is why the uncompromised teaching of the word is imperative as well as the incorporation into a body.

Vacillation

I’m not referring to growing in our knowledge or even having our belief or understanding changed; I’m referring to going back and forth due to NO understanding.

James said vacillation is doublemindedness and you are unable to receive anything from God.

But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

It produces Growth

Growth by maturation

8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

We are no longer children

Maturity purifies us b/c it helps us to discern between good and evil.

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Growth by support

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Support from each individual part (v. 16).

This is the purpose of the bodily service gifts listed in .

God places people in the body who will help facilitate its growth and development.

This is why we shouldn’t shop for a church; we should always seek God for a church and let Him guide us where we need to be.

Church is not about us individually; its not about what the church can do for us. Church is about us corporately and what we can individually do for it.