For Gods Glory: The Power of the Church
THE TROUBLED - TRIUMPHANT CHURCH
Sermon 16 – “For God’s Glory: Power, Purity, and Love”
1 Cor. 5:1-13
3 Part Series on Church Discipline – Part I – Matt. 16:16-19
Introduction
Today we begin, anew, our journey through the Book of 1st Corinthians…..but before we launch into chapter 5….we need to be reminded of the original, primary theme we are exploring through this epistle of Paul’s…..that of Body Life! More specifically, it’s the praxis of faith as the Body! It’s living out ‘being the church’! 1 Corinthians gives us the answers to so many of the questions we face….both as believers and the “assembly of Believers”…..the church.
Here are a few of the questions I originally posed to the church and promised we would address them Paul addressed them in the letter:
1.) One of the over-arching themes of 1st Corinthians is how the church is to relate to the world? The church is to be called out from the world….from the culture around it and assemble together to worship. But, how does that work? How do we practice or walk-out being the church within our culture?
2.) What happens when sin enters the church……or another way of saying that is - what happens when the world is in the church? After all, we are all sinners saved by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ – even the Apostle Paul fell in this same category! How do we, the church, deal with sin in the Body? Are we to deal with it, or is it simply to be expected and ignored?
3.) How must the church respond to division within? Is division and disagreement ok within the church? Must the church Body be in 100% agreement in all things?
Much of the first 4 chapters of 1st Cor. has dealt with both question 1 – “How does the church relate to the world?” and quest. 3 – “Division in the church. But chapter 5 brings us to look at all three of these simultaneously…..and it requires that we have a clear understanding of the church! Especially, we need to recognize that the Triumphant Church is the church that exists for God’s Glory while exhibiting power, purity, and love! (Repeat) The church is called to reflect the glory of our Heavenly Father…..and we do it in holiness (purity), in power, and in love!
Power: (thru weakness) -
The Body of Christ, in some ways is a paradox – for Christians are:
Ø commanded to meekness and humility
Ø to show mercy and be pure
Ø to rejoice and be glad when insulted and persecuted for the sake of Christ; (First 3 points - Matt.5:3-12)
Ø to be salt, light, and bring the good news of hope to a rebellious and wicked world (Matt. 5:13-16; John 20.21).
Ø We are to be fishers of men and disciple makers in all the nations (Matt. 4.19, 28.19).
At the same time, the Body of Christ is entrusted with the very power of God! The power to raise the spiritually dead to life and the power of eternal life is proclaimed and lived out within the community of Believers (the “called out one”) called the Church! God has removed the veil of sin and the blindness wrought by the god of this world and allowed us (the church) to view the glory of the Father in the Son once more (2 Cor. 3.18-4.1-6)…..and to not only view His glory but to display it for this world and the heavens to see:
Eph 3:10: “so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”
How does the church display the manifold wisdom of God?
By demonstrating through our weakness the power of God to change a rebellious sinner into a lover of God and men! By collecting these disciples (followers / learners) into a community (the church) and gifting them in different, but equally valuable ways, in order to reflect the beauty and majesty of Jesus Christ to the world!
The Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven
In order to fully appreciate the power….the value….the necessity of the church before we get to the purity and love of the church….we need to go back to its NT roots. {I say NT…..because there are many similarities between the OT covenant people and those in the New Covenant…but I want to concentrate on the church!} Even in the NT, there is disagreement as to the founding of the church…..most see the beginning of the church at Pentecost in Acts 2, but I want us to see Jesus’ pronouncement of the church….so turn with me to Matt. 16:16-19
Read Text
The central truth of this short passage is obvious….in fact it is the climax to the entire Gospel to this point….that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah! Jesus acknowledges the truth of his identity as the Son of God in his response to Peter (as the spokesman for the 12) AND he tells us much about the church to come!
- Identity
Matt 16:17
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.
The confession of Jesus as the Christ is declared not only as truth, but as divine revelation. Peter has revealed what the Father has given him…that Jesus is God’s Son! Peter and the 12 did not, indeed could not, come to see Jesus as the Christ unless God the Father revealed Him to them! No amount of preaching, teaching, education or experience will show the truth of Christ outside of God’s gracious revelation!
John 6:45 (From Jerem. 31)
45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me -
It is this revelation….this truth of the person of Jesus Christ upon which the church is built! Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church…..and the Apostle Paul further states that the church is, “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”
(Eph. 2:20-21).
- The Birth of the Church
Matt. 16:18
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.
Matthew uses the emphatic Gk to bring clarity to the importance of Jesus’ response to Peter. Literally, v.18 is, “and I, the Messiah, say to you (the one who has just declared this truth!), you are Peter (petro – masc.s… stone or rock fragment) and on this large rock (petra – fem.) I will build my church….” In the Gk, Jesus uses a pun to show both the importance of Peter as well as Peter’s confession!
There have been vast arguments and many theologians have tried through the centuries to interpret, “this rock” as meaning only Peter (Roman Catholics) or only the confession (some Protestants)….but Scripture doesn’t demand such differences….for both are in view here! Jesus is clearly speaking to Peter (in fact, emphatically speaking) here and it is Peter who takes the leadership role in the early church
(Acts 2-12). Of course, no where in this passage do we see any kind of papal succession, or papal infallibility, or even exclusive authority – all of which Roman Catholics give to the Pope. However, the clear language (in Engl. and Gk) that Jesus says, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” indicates a pre-eminence to the confession. Otherwise, why wouldn’t Jesus say, “you are Peter, and upon you I will build….” The church is built on the faith of those who are “living stones” and have been “called out of darkness and into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2.5, 9b).
- The Power of the Church
“…I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” 16.18b
The last part of v.18 and all of v.19 bring us to where I want to park for a while….for here we get a taste of the power of the church. First, we see who we, as the church, belong to when Jesus says, “I will build my church…” and His church has power even over death and the grave! Literally, it’s the “gates of hades” which is similar to sheol in the OT; it’s the place of the dead. Jesus is making a statement about the power of the church – and He’s telling us that NOTHING – nothing in this world or the next can overthrow His church.
Application – What a powerful statement! Think of the most powerful forces and people in our world. Our community saw just over a year ago what destruction and death can be brought by a single storm. The world has lived with the reality over the past 65 years that all life as we know it could be obliterated by weapons that derive from splitting the smallest atom. We read every day of powerful people who rule over companies….over communities and over nations. It’s amazing the pomp and ceremony that is required when the presence of President Obama is expected. To most, he would be considered the most powerful man in the world. But guess what….he’s not more powerful than death! When his days are over, he will die. In this world, the most powerful force is not the physical laws of science or nature…it’s not atomic science or kings and kingdoms…the most powerful thing on earth is the church! For only the church can stand against death!
Next, we find authority given to Peter, and later to the church.
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.”
Jesus gives Peter a gift…..and it is given to Peter, for the “you” is singular….Jesus gives him the keys to the kingdom of heaven. We find here, 2 meanings.
1.) What do we do with keys? We open things! Peter is given authority to open the doorway to the kingdom of God. This is the power vested in the preaching of the gospel! We see Peter first using this authority in Acts 2:14-42 as he preached the gospel at Pentecost. Of course, the power is not that of Peter or the preacher or witness, but the power is that of God working through the gospel message!
2.) But there is a second authority given here….the authority within the church! Peter was given keys….plural….more than 1 key. First for admittance, and then for exercising authority…..authority over doctrine and behavior. This is accomplished through the practice of church discipline.
Binding and Loosing
We find this meaning (the exercising of church discipline) in this text and confirmed later in Matt. 18. So many people read v.19 and say, “Oh, we can bind and loose demons and dark forces”…but this has nothing directly to do with spiritual warfare. So what is Jesus saying?
Matt. 18:17-18 (which we’ll look at in detail next week) says,
Mt 18:17-18
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
In both Matt. 16 and 18, the translation of the Gk is difficult because of a rare Greek verbal construction. The HCSB gets it right….and a better translation of both would be this:
Matt. 16:19 “19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven.” (HCSB)
In other words, Jesus teaches in Matt. 16 and 18 that both the preaching of the gospel and the exercise of church discipline have already been approved and prepared by God in heaven. When the gospel is preached and lost folks respond, they have already been loosed by God; and when the church exercises discipline over an unrepentant sinner, the sinner is already bound by God in heaven. If the sinner repents, we can be confident that God has already “loosed” this person in heaven!
Caution
Scripture makes it clear that the church is NEVER allowed to judge those within the church or teach anything other than what God has given us in His Word. It is Holy Scripture….taught and applied by the Holy Spirit that forms our doctrine (teachings) and it is the Word of God that draws the boundaries by which we are called to live and serve as the Body of Christ….wholly belonging to Jesus Christ and not any man!
Conclusion – In order for us to fully understand 1 Cor. 5&6, we need to see the power of the church….the purity of the church…and the love of the church! Cragfont Baptist is called to reflect the glory of Christ as the Holy Spirit transforms into the very same image of Christ! The Triumphant Church exists for God’s Glory and images Christ to the world through exhibiting power, purity, and love!
May God grant us the grace to do just that!
Let’s Pray
Most Holy & Righteous Father – What a privilege it is to be a part of your Kingdom…..to be called into and to become a part of the Body of Christ…the most powerful body or force on earth. Father, by your grace, may we exercise the gifts you have given us….may we display the your manifold wisdom…..the wisdom of the cross of Christ to all those around us who are in desperate need. Need to know you…need to have peace with you…..need for hope!
Mighty God, make us salty and light bearers that are worthy of the name of your only Son…..Holy God, empower us to exalt our Risen Savior and live our lives as holy people!
Amen
Invitation –
