The Church & The Christ

I have given my life to the church. I have spent nearly every Sunday of my 36+ years gathering with the church and much more time besides: Monday evening meetings, Wednesday Night Youth Groups and Bible Studies, Thursday small groups, Saturday service projects, revivals, classes, seminars, conferences. I haven’t done the math (and can’t imagine how to begin calculating it), but I’ve probably spent more time with the church than anything else, save sleeping.

I’ve given my life to the church. The Church is, easily, one of my favorite topics. I’ve written on it, spoken about it, preached about it, taught classes about it. Ecclesiology is my very favorite -ology; it’s the study of the Church. I love the Church—the global church and the local church.

This is not to say that the church hasn’t hurt me or disappointed me or angered me; it has done all of those, with some regularity. I do not view the church through rose-colored glasses. I see the church for what it is. And still, for all its failures and shortcomings, its ugliness and sinfulness, I love the church.

I know many reasons—both spoken and unspoken—people avoid the church. For some, it’s the hypocrisy. For others, something happened, something was done or not done, said or not said, and that’s that.

It was 2.3; now, it’s 1.8. I imagine this number will get smaller and smaller on average. Just a couple years ago, the average Christian attended a worship gathering 2.3 Sundays/month. A more recent study says the number is down to 1.8 Sundays/month.

There are many reasons people/Christians avoid the church. Rarely will you find a person who has only ever had good experiences with the church; that’s a lot of the reasoning. Factor in overall busyness and scheduling conflicts, I’m surprised we make it to church as often as we do.

For some professing Christians today, the church appears to be irrelevant or optional. Why even bother? Why not just stay home in your pajamas and watch your favorite preacher online or on TV—church in the comfort of your own home! Sweet. Better yet, skip the preaching altogether and cue up Netflix or Hulu or something on Amazon Video with their virtual bevy of viewing options.

The Church isn’t what it should be. And yet, our experience with the church doesn’t negate what it is.

The Church is founded by Christ (Matthew 16:18-19). Christ loves the Church and gave Himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25). Christ identifies intimately with the Church (Acts 9:4-5). Christ calls the Church His own bride and His Body (John 3:29; Ephesians 5:30).

That’s what’s true of the Church—each of those, gloriously and unchangingly true. To add to these, in our text this morning Paul speaks to the high value God places on the Church.

We, the people of God, get to gather together with one another and worship the Lord. We are His people and we have the great honor of bearing His name and proclaiming His word. Let us never forget!

>If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to 1 Timothy 3. And if you are able and willing, please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word—the reading of this glorious passage focused on Christ and His Church:

1 Timothy 3:14–16 NIV

14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!

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These verses are the theme verses of the entire letter; the central verses giving us crucial reminders. Paul tells us explicitly the reason he’s writing, and he reminds us of the Church’s significance and of Christ’s supremacy.

The Church's Significance

Far from the perception of the church at this point in time and in this particular cultural moment is what God has to say about His Church.

What God’s Word says about the Church—the Body and Bride of Christ—matters infinitely more than what the world says about it. What God says matters more than how we feel; what He says regarding His Church matters far more than our experiences.

We need to think about the Church in these terms. We need to think about the Church as the Bible would urge us, as Christ would have us.

Verse 15 gives us a few descriptors of the Church and its significance.

1 Timothy 3:15 NIV

15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

We are God’s Family

Paul’s giving instructions for how God’s people ought to behave in God’s household. God’s people, God’s household. Did you catch that?

The Church is His household, His family unit, His children (adopted in Christ). If we—His people, when gathered—make up the Church, we need to think about ourselves as His own household.

My household includes one wife, three sons, and a daughter. With the exception of our ridiculous dachshund who does absolutely nothing I say, my household listens to me (mostly) and abides by my wishes (within reason). They follow my lead (most of the time). I’m a little extreme in a few areas and quite obsessive in others, so the analogy breaks down at several points.

For argument’s sake, let us say that since it is my household, the members of my household conduct themselves accordingly, according to my rules. The kids know to shut the door behind them (“Were you born in a barn?), they know how to behave at the dinner table (elbows off, no smacking, chew with your mouth closed), they understand the bedtime routine (brush your teeth, brush them again, go to sleep), they know they’re supposed to treat their mother in a certain way (with kindness, respect, love, and plenty of hugs). And those are just a few of our “one hundred rules”, according to Patience.

As God’s household, Paul’s letting us know we are to operate under God’s rules and God’s direction.

This first letter to Timothy should encourage us as the children of God to come before our Heavenly Father and ask, “How should we behave? What do YOU want us to do?”

This thought stops me dead in my tracks. If we are part of His household, we need to behave in a certain way. And we should be concerned, most concerned with what He wants us to do. Not so much with what we want to do, but what the Lord Almighty wants us to do—how we conduct ourselves here, our manner of operating.

After all, we are His family. His family. His.

The Church is significant, this church is significant; it’s not “just church”; it’s God’s household, God’s family.

We are God’s Dwelling Place

We are, according to verse 15, the church of the living God. This, opposed to the church of some inanimate, ineffectual idol or of some person who lived for a while and died and stayed dead. We are not the church of Joseph Smith or of a Buddha or any other mere mortal who lived for a bit and died (they’re all really dead, like super dead).

We are the church of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lived, who died, who conquered death, who rose from the dead, who ascended to heaven, and who sits at God’s mighty right hand.

We are the church of the living God.

In the book of Genesis, when Jacob encountered the living God, he took the stone he had used as a pillow for his head and set it up as a pillar to God. He poured oil on top of it and called that place Bethel even though the city used to be called Luz. He called it “Bethel” which means “the house of God.”

The place where the living God is—that’s the house of God, the dwelling place of His presence.

When the Israelites built the tabernacle, the Lord said:

Exodus 25:8 NIV

8 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.

The same thing was said of the temple Solomon built:

1 Kings 6:13 NIV

13 And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.”

God chose to dwell with His people.

When we turn the page from the OT to the NT, a change takes place. There is no special city, no tabernacle, no building where God dwells. Instead, God now dwells with His people.

2 Corinthians 6:16 NIV

16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Ephesians 2:22 NIV

22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

We—church—are the dwelling place for the living God. The Church, the corporate body of Christ-followers, is the place where God lives and dwells and manifests His presence.

Consider how significant this makes our weekly gatherings: the church gathers and the Lord, the living God, is among us. We are His household, worshipping in His presence, listening to His Word, eating at His table.

How awesome the privilege.

It's not “just church”—it's the church of the living God.

We are the Guardians of God’s Word

This is what Paul meant when he says we are the pillar and foundation of the truth—we are guardians of His Word.

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Diana, was in Ephesus—the very town in which Timothy was pastoring.

The temple had a massive, shining marble roof held high with more than one hundred columns all around it, each column measuring over 18 meters high.

When talking about pillars and foundations, the church in Ephesus would have easily pictured this in their minds.

This image should characterize the church’s guardianship of the truth of God’s Word.

The church has the privilege and responsibility of protecting God’s Word.

With each generation of the church, our task is passing this Word on to the next. We are to hold to this, defending it against false teaching that would threaten it. From the first century to the twenty-first century, this is our task.

As its foundation, the church’s task is to hold firm the truth. We are to be unwavering in our support and holding up of the truth.

The church has the privilege and responsibility of proclaiming God’s Word.

Like the columns of the temple, we lift high the truth of God’s Word. We want the Word to be our mark, our message, our light in a dark, dark world.

The world doesn’t need our opinions, our innovations, our creativity, our wisdom. What the world needs is what we lift high—the Word of God. So let us magnify it, amplify it, spotlight it, and spread it.

It's not “just church”—it's the pillar and foundation of the truth.

The Church is significant because God dwells among us!

The God who spoke the world into being, the God who has absolute authority and sovereign power over every single thing in creation, the God who calls the stars by name and holds the nations in His hand—the all-powerful, all-knowing, indescribably great, infinitely holy God of the universe calls us His household, His Church, His gathering, His people.

Talk about significant...

Christian, I don’t know how you do what you’re called to do if you’re not connected to and committed to the local church. So many people avoid the church. So many Christians avoid the church; they want nothing to do with it. And they have no place for it. They believe that they can be who the Lord would have them be, to do what the Lord would have them do apart from His people.

God’s Word says otherwise. Christ says otherwise. And Christ is supreme.

1 Timothy 3:16 NIV

16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

The Christ’s Supremacy

It’s Christ’s supremacy—His nature, His fullness, His character, His work—that makes the Church what it is.

The mystery from which true godliness springs relates to Christ’s supremacy. Godliness is one of Paul’s favorite words—he uses it 9 times in this short letter.

To have godliness is to have a God-consciousness, a God-centeredness that permeates everything you do. Having godliness means being centered around God.

So what about this is a mystery? When you see the word mystery in the NT it’s not talking about something hidden or difficult to figure out (*Shrug*, “It’s a mystery!”).

Mystery is something that was hidden for a time but that has now been revealed.

The mystery of godliness has everything to do with Christ.

Paul’s not calling the church toward good behavior. He’s calling the church to act in accordance with the truth of who Christ is and what He has accomplished through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension.

Those who have been saved by the gospel will live godly lives. Those who are in Christ will reflect Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can make a person godly; godliness has everything to do with Christ.

The Church is defined by her relation to the glorious Christ. What we believe about Christ affects our relationship to the Church. You cannot love Christ and care little for His bride.

Treat a man’s wife horribly, express your hatred for a man’s bride, and see how that man reacts. Any husband worth his salt will not stand for that. Take that feeling, multiply it times infinity, and you’ll just barely start to scratch the surface of Christ’s love for His Bride, the One for whom He gave His life, the One He washed clean and gave a dress to wear, a dress as white as snow.

If we see Christ for who He is—supreme—it will ignite our love and passion for the Church.

Christ displays the majesty of God, this we see in verse 16:

Christ appeared in the flesh

Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. This is the beauty and majesty of the incarnation, the glory of Christmas. God in human form. God with us. God come to save us.

Christ was vindicated by the Spirit

The Holy Spirit affirmed that Christ was God’s Son. At Jesus’ baptism the Spirit descended upon Christ, making clear that He was indeed the Son of God. Christ’s signs and wonders also bore witness to the Spirit’s presence in His ministry.

Ultimately, however, the resurrection was the decisive vindication of the Spirit.

Romans 8:11 NIV

11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Christ was seen by angels

Angels sang at His birth, they announced His resurrection, they worshipped Him from before the creation of the world—in fact they shouted for joy as the Triune God laid the earth’s foundation (Job 38). Angels witnessed His ascension and testify to His glory.

Christ was preached among the nations

Beginning with the early disciples and continuing until today, Jesus Christ has been preached and proclaimed far and wide, among the peoples. And so shall it be, forever and ever. If we don’t do it, if no one does this, the very rocks will cry out with praise and a message of Christ’s salvation, full and free.

Christ was believed on in the world

Right now, the world ‘round, people in Asia and Africa, in Europe and South America, in Russia and Rich Hill, people are believing in Him and experiencing salvation, eternal and abundant life with Him; freedom from the penalty of their sins, freedom from death.

God is saving people all over the world. Do not despair; God is on the move, bringing people from death to life. It happens. Did you know that an estimated 2 million Muslims are coming to faith in Christ each year? God is bringing those far from Him to a saving knowledge of His Son. Christ was and is and will be believed on in the world.

Christ was taken up in glory

There is no denying the fact, the event of the ascension. 40 days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven, taken up before their very eyes. Angels said to them:

Acts 1:11 NIV

11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Jesus was taken up to the Father’s right hand where He reigns as King over the entire universe.

>This is who Jesus is. Jesus is supreme. This is none like Him. And now, catch this truth: Christ lives within you!

This Christ, the Son of God incarnate, the One vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angles, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory—this Christ lives in you, Christian!

The Son of God resides in you, giving you power and strength and grace and godliness.

As the household of God, we need to realize what all this means to us as Christians, as the Church.

These truths—these 3 short verses—should radically affect the way we live our lives and the way we function as a church body.

There is nothing like the church in all the world, no other body more significant in all of history, nor will there ever be. This is because the Church is intimately connected to Christ and Christ is intimately tied to the Church.

The Church and the Christ go hand-in-hand. We must grasp who Christ is. And we must not forget our essential identity: God’s household, the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.