What is the Church?

Alright. Go ahead and grab a seat. Today is an exciting day because we are starting a new sermon series called Being the Church, where we are going to take the next 11 weeks to look at what the church is, and what the Bible says a church needs to have in order for it to be a biblical, Christ-exalting church.

If this is a topic that interests you I would recommend to you a book titled Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches by John S. Hammett. It is one of the most helpful books I have ever read on what it means to be a Christian who is a part of Christ’s body and much of the content for this sermon series, especially today’s sermon, is inspired by this book.

But before we kick off this series, I hope to convince you of why it is so important for Christians to know what the church is.

Why should we spend time studying the church? Isn’t it enough that we come to church on Sundays? Other than needing to be here, is there really anything else we need to know about the church for our Christian life?

By way of Introduction allow me to give you a few reasons why Christians need to know what the Bible says a church is so they can grow in their discipleship to Christ.

Jesus Loves the Church

First, Jesus loves the church, and because Jesus loves the church, Christians must love the church as well.

Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

This passage teaches us that Christ loved the church so much, that he willingly gave his life for it.

Jesus, the Son of God who is fully God and fully man, left heaven and was born on earth to live a sinless perfect life that we failed to live all so he could die under the wrath of God in our place for our sins on the Cross.

Then, 3 days later he rose again so that all that would put their faith in him would be saved and declared holy by God and brought into Christ’s Church.

Christ died for his church. And because Christ has loved the church so well, the church is called to praise his name and proclaim his glory to the world.

And Christ is working today, by the Spirit to make his church holy and perfect. Paul says without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, with the purpose, that the church would be holy and without blemish.

If the church is so important to the Lord Jesus, then it should be a primary concern for every Christian.

After all, if Christ died for the church and today is working to make it holy and pure, are we Christians helping or hindering that work? How would we even know whether we are helping or hindering if we don’t know what Christ wants his church to be in the first place?

Here is what the great Baptist Pastor Charles Spurgeon said about the church:

Nothing in the world is dearer to God’s heart than his church; therefore, being his, let us also belong to it, that by our prayers, our gifts, and our labours, we may support and strengthen it.

Not only must we study the church because Jesus loves the church, we must also study the church because God has given us the church for our protection and discipleship.

Protection and Discipleship

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Practically speaking, you need to know what a biblical church is so that you can be a part of one and continue to grow in your discipleship to Christ.

The Reformer John Calvin said the church is the mother of all the godly

And if your faith is going to be nurtured to grow so that you may be presented to Christ holy and without blemish, then you must be a part of a church that honors God’s Word and actually is a church.

This tells us that if this church is going to nurture our discipleship to Christ, then we must study what the Bible says a church is so we can measure our own church against that standard.

Are we honoring Christ in the way we gather? Are we a church that Jesus is working in to glorify his name on the earth? How will we know?

The only way is to study what the Bible says a church is.

Also, you may not be here forever. The Lord may move you from this church to a new city for a new job or closer to family. And if that happens you will need to know what a church is so that you will be able to recognize it when you see it to find a church that preaches the Bible so that you can continue to follow Christ.

And the sad truth is, that is easier said than done. In today’s culture, just because you go to a place that calls itself a church doesn’t actually mean it is. Many churches might claim to be a church, but they don’t meet the biblical standard for what God calls his church to be.

And there is danger in that because these false churches are deceiving people away from the narrow gate of salvation and all while using Jesus’ name to do so.

You need to know what a church is so you will know what to look for if the Lord ever moves you from this congregation to a new city.

On a related note, I may not even be here forever. I pray all the time that the Lord would allow me to give my life here. That he would allow me to do the ministry he has given me to do in this church for the rest of my life.

But He might take me home to be with Him or have other plans for me and move me somewhere else. At that point you will need to call a new pastor to lead you and shepherd you in being the church together.

If I am taken home and the Lord tarries in returning to us, I want you to know what a church is so that this church can continue being a church long after I’m gone.

We live in an age where Christians allow pragmatism to guide them more than what the Bible says in their church life.

Their primary concern is not “What honors the Lord?” Rather, they ask “What will make us relevant to the culture? What will help us to grow our church so more people can hear about Jesus?”

Now it is not bad to desire your church to grow. However, this pragmatic approach leaves Christians vulnerable to the danger that their church will be shaped by the concerns of the culture more than the will of the Lord who died for them.

The question is simple. If the church is God’s primary vehicle for his people’s discipleship, then how can a church nurture the faith of God’s people if they do not know what a church actually is?

The Church Brings God Glory

The third reason we must study what the Bible says a church is, is because the church brings God glory.

The church is central to what God has been doing through history to create a people for his own possession and glorify his name. The whole Bible tells the story of God sending Christ to save his church.

Early in the Bible, God promised Abraham, the father of the Jews, that all of the families of the earth would be blessed through him ()

Then, throughout the Old Testament, God is leading Israel to be his people and he works through them to bring the Messiah, the savior of the world in order to fulfill the promise to bless all the families of the earth through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

This is described in the Gospels where Jesus gathers a group of disciples and he calls them to go into all the earth to share the good news of salvation for all those that would trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.

Then, because of Christ’s work on the day of Pentecost in , the Holy Spirit falls on the disciples, they preach the gospel and 3,000 are saved and the church is born.

From here, Christians continue to plant churches that plant churches to fulfill the Great Commission and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded them.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Then the NT Letters instruct and guide these churches towards a life of discipleship and godliness together to glorify the name of Jesus.

And from NT times all the way through today, God has been continuing this work which will ultimately be fulfilled in which says Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

Baptist

The whole Bible traces God’s work to send Jesus to die for the church so that they would be saved from their sins and dwell with him for eternity in heaven.

The church is of central importance to God glorifying his name among his people.

In fact, Pauls says To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Summary

So to summarize, studying the church is a crucial task for every Christian because:

First, Jesus loved the church enough to die for it, therefore the church should be precious to us.

Second, the church is how God gathers his people to save them from their sin and help them grow in their discipleship.

Therefore, we must know what the Bible says a church is so that we can be a congregation that accomplishes the Lord’s purposes.

Third, God glorifies his name through the church, and because God glorifies his name in the church we should make every effort to join in that worshipful assembly as the Lord has describes it in his Word.

That being said, what exactly is the church?

ἐκκλησια

The NT Authors chose to use the particular Greek word to describe the church which is the Greek word ἐκκλησια (ekklēsia) which means a congregation or assembly.

In general Greek culture, the word ἐκκλησια was used to refer to any “assembly” or “congregation” of people such as in which describes a riotous crowd of pagans that gathers to worship a false god named Artemis in response to Paul’s preaching of the gospel.

Still, the origins of this word likely led to the church selecting ἐκκλησια intentionally to describe their gatherings as well.

So Why did early Christians use this word to describe the church? What did they desire to communicate about the church from this word?

ἐκκλησια is formed from two Greek words:

ἐκ (ek) meaning “out” or “from” and καλἑω (kaleō) meaning “to call.”

In light of this the ἐκκλησια are the “called-out ones.” God’s church are those called out of sin from the world to be his people.

In light of this the ἐκκλησια are the “called-out ones.”

Still, the origins of this word likely led to the church selecting ἐκκλησια intentionally to describe their gatherings.

So used in a specific NT sense, the church, or ἐκκλησια of God, refers to the community of believers who were called out by God from their slavery to sin from the world through faith in Jesus Christ.

The church are those whom God predestined in eternity past, called and justified through faith in Christ, and promised to glorify in the future through the resurrection when Christ returns.

Therefore, the church is not the physical building where Christians meet. Nor is it a religious institution or an ethical organization.

A church is the corporate gathering of those who have been called out of sin from the world by God through the gospel Jesus and have been transferred from the domain of darkness into the Kingdom of Christ to be God’s holy people.

Biblical Imagery

Continuing, the biblical teaching on the church is not limited to those passages that contain the term ἐκκλησια.

Instead, we might argue that the primary way the Bible teaches us about the church is through the images and metaphors found throughout the NT.

For the rest of our time together, I want to focus on three of these metaphors to give us a fuller picture of what the Bible says a church is.

People of God

The first metaphor we are going to look at is how the Bible describes the church as the people of God.

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

Peter here uses terminology from the OT that was used to describe the Jews and applies it directly to the church. He says that the church is a people for God’s own possession and he even calls them God’s own people.

Peter gets this idea from...

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Peter using this OT image to describe the church raises the question to the church’s relationship to the OT people of God, Israel.

Time does not allow us to get into all the nuances of this debate. Suffice it to say, some people believe that the church has now replaced Israel as God’s treasured people.

I believe this view is incorrect given God’s own faithful character. God is a faithful God who will never abandon his people and therefore is still working today to fulfill all the OT promises he made to Israel.

What then are we to make of Jewish people who have thus far rejected Christ as the Messiah especially as it stands with the church’s relationship to God.

Is it as if we are half brothers with the OT saints in some kind of dysfunctional family? Or to put it another way, are the Jews God’s people or is the church God’s people?

Paul has an answer for us in the book of Romans chapter 11.

Speaking of the Jews, Paul asks in I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! And Paul goes on from there to say that God did not reject those in Israel whom he had elected salvation through faith in the Messiah, but he did allow the rest to be hardened by their sin.

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!

Then Paul continues ; So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? Or was God simply cruel to them to allow them to go towards sin just so he could ultimately reject the Jews? Paul says...

By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

What Paul is saying is that God allowed the Jews to trespass God’s covenant and sin against him in order that salvation would opened to the Gentiles, that is non Jewish believers, which in turn would make Israel jealous of the joy of salvation that we Gentiles get to experience in Christ.

And God allows this in order to urge the Jews to turn from their sin because the promises of salvation were given first to them, but are now being enjoyed by the Gentiles!

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

This is why he says down in Verse 25 I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

God is allowing the Jews to live in disobedience so as to save Gentile believers and bring them into his people while at the same time urging the Jews to trust in Christ.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

As a result Gentile believers are grafted into the people of God Israel. Paul talks about this in . Basically he uses the image of a root and its branches. The root is God’s people Israel.

And Paul says some of the branches, that is some of the Jews, were broken off the root of God’s people because they did not believe in the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Gentile believers however wild branches who are grafted in among the natural branches and Paul says they now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

So God’s holy people are the root, the true spiritual Israel. The branches attached to the root are all the saints, that is the people from both Old and New Testament that trusted in God for salvation by faith.

Then you have Ethnic Israel. These are people who are ethnically Jewish, but have rejected the Messiah and therefore are broken off from God’s people because they do not have faith in Christ.

That means only those that have faith in the Messiah are a part of God’s people, Israel. The Old Testament saints had faith in a future promised Messiah, whereas we, the church today, have faith in the Messiah that has come, Jesus Christ.

And the Jews who have rejected Christ, are not a part of God’s people because they have been broken off of the root even though the promises of salvation were first given to them.

Think of it like this. Not everyone who comes to church on a Sunday is actually a part of the true church of Christ. There are false teachers and false believers who are not a part of God’s people even though they are physically present with a church because they do not have faith in Christ.

It is faith that marks the people of God. Not religious activity. The same is true today that was true for the Jewish people in the Bible.

What this means, is that Gentile believers in the church are made one with God’s Old Testament people, Israel. The church does not replace Israel. The church is grafted into God’s people Israel just as the Jews, if they repented of their sin and trusted in Christ would be grafted in again.

How can this be?

28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.

Circumcision was the sign of the Jewish people. It was the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant God made with Abraham to promise that he would make him into a great nation and bless all the families of the earth through his offspring, who Paul later identifies as Jesus.

That is why the sign of the covenant is associated with what produces this offspring.

But Paul says that just because you are circumcised doesn’t exactly mean you are a Jew, or part of God’s covenant people.

In the same way that the sign of the covenant was to cut off the foreskin of their male offspring, He says that a Jew is one inwardly who has had their heart “circumcised” or “cut off from sin” by the Spirit through faith in the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, the church stands one with the saints of the OT who had faith in the Lord and his promised Messiah as God’s people because all that have faith in Christ are a part of the One True Israel.

Going back to what does the people of God image communicate to us about the nature of the church?

First, it connects the church to the OT people of God and therefore God’s great purpose of saving sinners and calling a people to himself.

Second, the church is God’s people called out from the world to be a people for God’s own possession. Therefore, the church in every way must be shaped by its relationship to God.

That means that both God’s character and nature give shape to what the church is ultimately to be.

Allow me to highlight two specific ways in which the church as the people of God must display God’s character to the world then we will look at how we display God’s nature to the world.

Peter quotes and directly applies the OT Law’s expectation for the people of God to the church saying As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Holiness

First, the people of God must be holy. The God of the Bible is a holy God. Therefore, his people must be a holy people.

More than 60 times in the NT, the people of God are called saints, that is, holy ones.

This does not mean that they have attained a state of sinless perfection. Rather, it means that they have been set apart for God’s purposes, and exhibit this set apartness in their obedience to the Lord’s commands.

and directly applies the OT Law’s expectation for the people of God to the church saying

Love

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Not only must the people of God be characterized by holiness, but they must also be characterized by love.

Love

says that “God is love.” He has shown his great love for his people in sending his Son to die for their sins, and because God is so loving to us, we should love him in return by obeying his commands as well as make every effort to love one another.

John hits at exactly this idea in By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

The people of God must love God by practicing righteousness in obeying his commands as well as love one another to display God’s own love for his people.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

The church is to reflect God’s holy and loving character.

Trinity

Not only do the people of God display God’s character in their holiness and love, but the Triune nature of God himself also speaks to what it means to be the God’s people.

The Bible teaches that God is Trinity. That he is three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and One God. God is Three in One.

God is our Heavenly Father. Therefore, the church is his family. Not every person is one of God’s children. says that only those who believe in the Son are adopted as God’s sons and daughters. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

However, because God is Trinity, we cannot limit our understanding of the People of God to God the Father. Christ the Son is God as well.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

As says, it is only by receiving the Son that we are born again and brought into the people of God.

We are the people of God because we are a people saved by the Son.

Finally, the people of God are also the people of God the Holy Spirit.

In his benediction of The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Interestingly the NT term for Fellowship is not found in Matthew Mark Luke John or . However, once the Holy Spirit falls on the saints in , Luke, the author, uses the word fellowship to describe the church’s relationship to one another in .

To have fellowship with one another means that we are participating in or sharing something in common with each other.

The Holy Spirit gives the gift of fellowship to the church to make God’s people aware that they share a new life in Christ, which in turn radically alters how they relate and interact with one another.

Therefore, the very nature of the church is dependent upon the Spirit’s work to give us fellowship with God through faith and fellowship with one another as he bonds us together in Christ as one body.

In summary, the church as the people of God reflects God’s character in their holiness and love for one another, as well as God’s Triune nature through their adoption as sons and daughters of the Father through the work of Jesus the Son to share in the fellowship of faith by the Spirit.

This is what it means to be the people of God.

Body of Christ

The second image we are going to look at this morning is probably the biblical image of the church that first comes to mind when you ask “What is the church?” and that is the body of Christ.

Paul is the only NT author that uses this image to describe the church and does so in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and Colossians.

Yet in those four letters, Paul uses the image of the body to communicate different truths about what the church is.

In Romans and 1 Corinthians, Paul uses the body of Christ metaphor to emphasize the relationships that members of a church should have with one another and in Ephesians and Colossians he uses it to describe the church’s relationship to Christ himself.

Let’s start with what being a part of the body of Christ means for our relationship with one another.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

What this means is that though the church is made up of individuals, these individuals are unified in one body.

Notice also that Paul tells the Corinthians that they are the body of Christ. This is Paul speaking to a local congregation and saying to them, they in themselves, are the body of Christ.

Now this does not devalue the Universal church. The universal church is sometimes called the invisible church and consists of all believers from all times.

From this, some Christians believe that the body of Christ only refers to the Universal church. However, Paul applies this term to a local congregation of believers.

Local churches, therefore, are fully the body of Christ themselves. The local church, or visible church, consists of b

This is one of the reasons we believe local churches should be autonomous. They do not need to be part of a larger body of churches in order to be the church like the Catholics believe.

Every local church is fully the church in itself while still being a part of the Universal church, that is all believers from all times and all places

Now, Paul is the only NT author that uses this image to describe the church and does so in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and Colossians.

Yet in those four letters, Paul uses the image of the body to communicate different truths about what the church is.

Let’s start with what being a part of the body of Christ means for our relationship with one another.

Now for local churches, to be the body of Christ highlights two key aspects of how members relate to each other.

Unity in Diversity

First, being a part of the body, means we have unity in diversity.

and -10 both proclaim that in the church there is a diversity of race, sex, and class. There is even diversity in individual’s gifts to serve the body and function within that body.

But despite all this diversity, we are all part of the one body of Christ.

That means that every person in this church might not be your favorite type of person, but we are still one with each other because we are one in Christ.

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

However, some Christians erroneously take the Bible’s teaching on the oneness of the body and assert that there can never be any division between Christians and to allow any such division for any reason is a sin that divides the body of Christ.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

They assert that churches must not only accept diversity in race, sex, and class, which is true and good, but they must also accept diversity in faith and doctrine even on issues essential to orthodox faith.

However, to have unity with other people who believe and preach a different gospel is to have unity with others while dividing ourselves from Christ.

Some Christians erroneously believe that there can be no division between Christians and that churches must not only accept diversity in race, sex, and class, which is true and good, they must also accept diversity in faith and doctrine.

Paul says There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

True unity is rooted in a unity around Christ and his gospel.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

It is only in Christ that we have unity.

Christians must divide from those that preach a different gospel, even if they claim to be Christian while doing it.

We cannot sacrifice our unity with Christ as the head of the body for the sake of unity with others who go about preaching a different faith.

And some will argue that it is unloving to divide from others who do not hold to biblical doctrine on essential issues of Christian orthodoxy, and to do so is to commit the sin of sowing division in the body of Christ.

But I would argue those that diverge from God’s Word have divided themselves from the body of Christ because, according to the NT, the sin of division is always leveled at those that drift from the gospel, not those that uphold the gospel.

We are to have unity in diversity in our body because we are unified faith in the gospel.

Mutual Love and Care

The second way that the body of Christ metaphor shows us how members are to relate to one another is that there should be a mutual love and care for each other as we are all members of the same body.

So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

This means that each member of the body belongs to all the other members.

But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Don’t miss this. God is the one that has brought our members together, and he desires that all the members of the body have the same care for one another.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Its as if you twist your ankle, all the other parts of your body compensate to help you walk even if you limp.

The same is true of the body of Christ. We are to care for one another because we are one with each other in Christ.

This is reflected in the “one another” commands the NT gives. That Christians love one another, forgive one another, bear one another’s burdens and so on.

Members of the body must love and care for one another.

Where Romans and 1 Corinthians emphasize how the members of the body of Christ interact with each other, Ephesians and Colossians use the body metaphor to highlight the church’s relationship to Christ.

Head of the Body

In these books, Christ is called the head of the body 5 times to communicate that Jesus has authority over the body, and because he has authority over the body, he cares for the church to help it grow.

Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Christ being the head of the church means that the church’s role is to submit to him and his will as it is revealed in His Word.

That means a true church will aim to be a church built on the Word of God, instead of being made in the image of its members or the culture around them which is idolatry.

But Christ does not exercise his authority over the church as an oppressive dictator. Instead, he exercises his authority for the benefit of the church because he loved the church enough to give his life for it.

And Christ uses his authority as the head to provide for the church what it needs to grow. And this growth is not numerical in the Bible but spiritual.

describes this growth as

Unity in the faith

Knowledge of Christ and his gospel

which leads to maturity in godliness

So that we are not tossed around by false teaching but can grow into him who is the head, into Christ ().

The church, as Christ’s body is to submit to him as the head so that they can grow under his leadership in godliness, and being one body love one another in Christ despite all their differences that normally divide people in the world.

The church is the body of Christ

Temple of the Holy Spirit

The last image we will consider today is that the church is called the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

The church is a building, not of brick and stone, but of God’s own people, among whom God himself lives through faith.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

Elsewhere Paul refers to individual Christians as the temple of the Holy Spirit to communicate that the Spirit, through Christ, indwells each and every believer

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

But here, Paul speaks of the whole church collectively as the temple of the Spirit.

The word used for temple is naos which refers to the actual sanctuary in which God’s Spirit dwelled as opposed to the word hieron that describes all the temple mount.

This tells us that Pauls main point is that when the church is called God’s temple, it emphasizes that God himself indwells or inhabits the church yo be with his people by the Spirit.

This is made explicitly clear in So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, 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 the Spirit.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, 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 the Spirit.

Therefore, God himself dwells with his people by the Holy Spirit in the church.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

The church as the Temple of the Holy Spirit tells us something very important about the nature of the church.

Worshiping People

Just as the physical temple in the OT is where God dwelled in the midst of his people and they worshiped him, so too God dwells with his people by the Spirit in the church and therefore, the church of God must be a worshiping people.

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.

Peter compares the church to living stones that are being built into a spiritual house. Here again, the word house was used in the OT and by Jesus in the gospels as a synonym for the Temple.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

And God’s purpose in building this temple is so that his people will be a holy priesthood who will minister to the Lord and offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God. Namely worship of God in spirit and truth.

The church, as the Temple of the Holy Spirit, must be marked first and foremost as a people who worship the Lord together.

What Does the Nature of the Church Mean for Us?

We have seen together how the church, as the ἐκκλησια, is God’s assembly called out of sin from the world through the gospel of Christ.

And in the Scriptures, God has used metaphors and images to describe what his church is meant to be. The called out ones are called out to be the people of God, the body of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit, again reflecting God’s Triune nature.

But what practical applications do these images from Scripture have for our church.

God’s Assembly

The Bible’s emphasis is clear. The nature of the church centers on God, and not man. It it not a human invention or a social club. It is God’s assembly.

This shows us that our first concern must be to please God as a church and worship him alone.

Not only this, but the way in which we gather must be in accordance with what God has said in his Word.

We are not free to organize the church however we choose. In an age where many churches are driven by pragmatism, or they are driven by whatever works gets people in the seats, true biblical churches as God’s assembly will not rely on what works, but rely on what Scripture says.

That means that all programs, events, activities and priorities, must be driven by God’s Word with the aim of glorifying God and making disciples.

Continuing, as God’s assembly we are reminded that we are not only a people who are called out of sin, but also gathered together by the Lord.

The very word for church assumes that the church is a corporate gathering of believers. Therefore, joining a church and committing to that church in covenantal membership should be the priority for every person who claims to be a Christian and says they are a part of God’s people.

Becoming a member shows the validity of that profession by putting that profession into action by actually becoming a part of a local congregation of believers.

After all, if God is gathering his people in an assembly, and you are not gathered with them because you refuse to join in membership, where is your confidence that you are actually a part of his people?

To show that you are truly a part of God’s assembly, you must join his church in membership.

Number two. The nature of the church teaches us that we are...

A Gospel Assembly

It is through the gospel that God calls out his people from the world and gathers them together in Christ.

It is only when people put their faith in Christ and trust in his sinless life, sacrificial death and bodily resurrection for the forgiveness of their sins that they are born again and gathered into the church.

Therefore, the gospel is the means by which the church exists, and if a church ever loses the gospel, it ceases to be the church.

The Reformers even said that the preaching of the gospel, above all else, was the definitive mark of a true church.

Therefore, we cannot neglect doctrinal orthodoxy. We must stay true to the gospel message as it is revealed in God’s Word.

Now no church is perfect, and every church is wrong somewhere on some doctrinal issues. But the job of the church is to repent of the err whenever and wherever the Spirit reveals it and grow in Christ.

However, churches can be imperfect and yet still be valid churches. But if a church errs in regards to the gospel, they cease to be just an imperfect church, but they actually become an invalid church.

According to the Bible, to lose the gospel is to no longer be a church.

The third application the nature of the church has for us is that we are to be a...

A Spirit-Empowered Assembly

Without the Spirit’s work in God’s people, the church is a dead body.

It is his presence that regenerates the hearts of believers and gives them fellowship with God and one another so that the church is alive with born again worshipers of God.

Therefore, a church only grows in Christ and fulfills its call to glorify God and make disciples as the people of God submit to the Spirit and his work within them.

Paul says that we can grieve the Spirit meaning that we can resist the Spirit’s work and we grieve him when we refuse to listen to him as he guides us through the Word and we choose our sin instead.

The church must enjoy and follow the Spirit’s work to give us fellowship with one another and grow us in our discipleship to Christ in order to be a Spirit-empowered assembly that accurately reflects our nature as the Temple of God’s Holy Spirit.

This also tells us that it is not by our strength that the church is built, but only by God’s power. Just as it was when God’s people rebuilt the Temple during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, God builds his church today Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.

It is God who builds his church by the Spirit.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Conclusion

What is the church?

The church is God’s assembly, called out of sin from the world by God through the gospel to be his people and reflect his nature and character, to submit to Christ and love one another as his members of his body, and to worship him together as the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

May God give our church the grace to reflect the Bible’s teaching on what a church is and for God to glorify his name through our congregation.

Let’s Pray

Scripture Reading

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 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. 18 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. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 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. 18 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. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Related Media

Related Sermons

What is the Church?

Introduction: Why study the Church?

Jesus Loves the Church

Protection and Discipleship

The Church Brings God Glory

Baptist

Summary

ἐκκλησια

​

Biblical Imagery

People of God

Holiness

Love

Love

Trinity

Body of Christ

Unity in Diversity

Mutual Love and Care

Head of the Body

Temple of the Holy Spirit

Worshiping People

What Does the Nature of the Church Mean for Us?

God’s Assembly

A Gospel Assembly

A Spirit-Empowered Assembly

Conclusion

Let’s Pray

Scripture Reading