What is the Church?

Hey man, this is God's word. You may be seated.

Want to consider with you this morning, the question, what is the church? It's very important question to consider as a Christian. But certainly, as we begin as a church, what is the church? What, what is this? That we are now a part of In this particular place and I think Paul in one verse in chapter two skews me and verse two of chapter 1, First Corinthians 1, I think Paul sums up wonderfully for us. Some very important aspects of the church and it's just in his greeting. That's how Paul. Just naturally talks to the church in, Corinth are what he has to say to them, how he speaks about them. That will really direct our thoughts for this morning. There are many things that the New Testament, say about the church, 1st Corinthians 12, we see that the church is the body of Christ, that imagery of Christ's body, right? Talkin about hands and feet and all the rest that were part of him, and he is our head. So that image of the body of Christ is all throughout Paul's writings, and we see, it talked about it. Many other places in the New Testament, we're also described as the bride of Christ in Ephesians 5. The bride of Christ that Christ is our bridegroom. We are married to him as his bride and we await the day when we will see our bridegroom's face and we will gather at the marriage, supper of the lamb and have a meal, that will be far better than this because we will sit with him until this bride of Christ that he has laid down his life for his bride and one us and purchased us. He cares for us, he nourishes us and so on. We're also described in 1st Peter 2 and a fusions to, as this spiritual house that Likens itself to this idea of the temple for the Tabernacle throughout scripture, this place where God, dwells and 1st Peter 2 is so powerful there, right? As it calls us, living stones that were built into this spiritual house, to be a place that worships God, that we ourselves are built into this house where God can do well, and where God can be worship and so not just individually for us as individual Christians. But God actually has in mind to do something with us. Together corporately as a body, right? And so this idea of a spiritual house, also in Acts 20 verse 28, we're told that the church are those whom Christ obtained with his own blood, Those whom Christ, obtained, with his own blood and so he bought us a purchased us shedding his blood for his bride for his church. So we are purchased at a high price and that price of course is price on blood. He obtained us with that blood 1st. Peter 2 also tells us that we are God's special people And that Peter uses interesting Lee enough. In 1st, Peter 2, there to use some Old Testament ideas about God, Special People Israel. And he says those same things are true of you church, but he says, in 1st Peter 2 and so we are now brought into being God's special people as the church and lastly connected to Dad and Romans 9, Romans 11, Galatians 6. We are now part of true Israel for grafted in is Paul says in Romans 9:4 brought into what is true. Israel. And Paul says in Romans 9 there that not all Israel is true Israel. Just because you can trace their lineage back to Abraham doesn't make you part of true Israel as Paul says, but that you are essentially now is he will talk about in Christ in the Messiah and of course we are as a jerk as many more things I could say about what the church is recording the New Testament but I wanted to give some indication Pictures of that and those are all kind of connected to what Paul says in verse 2 in our texts. But those are rich themes that are throughout the scriptures that should help us. As we even read the Bible ourselves to think about, what does God have to say about who we are as his people. What does it mean to be part of the church? Is this just a place that you're now sitting for an hour and a half on Sunday mornings in a YMCA. I know that this is not a church building and so apparently the church can exist whether it's in a church building or not, right? We can do this out in the field, we can do this in a barn as many of our brothers and sisters have done in the past. Thankfully, we don't have to do it in a bar. I was reading about our, our Baptist friends, back in England, during the 18th century and one of my heroes Andrew Fuller at his church and initially met in a bar. And at night. So we set this up last evening. So at night on Saturday, night's the farmers would come and clean out the barn in preparation for Sunday mornings to worship. And so, thankfully, we didn't have to clean out stalls on Saturday night to prepare for worship, but we could Point is clearly the church is us right? You know, that old little thing. I forget how it goes with the fingers and all the rest inside their the people, right. It's not exactly right. Because actually you're not, this is the church that the people inside the stapler, the church, right? And so we want to be clear about that especially as we begin because some will find this to be a bit of a stumbling block, we're sitting at a gym and there's Dad fan that's going to be our friend for the next hour long. We're here and we can't shut it off. That's always going to happen. So, just get used to that white noise. It's kind of soothing really after a while. So some will find this to be a bit of a stumbling block. But what we need to do as a congregation is help them. See this is the church, this is who the church is. This is what the what the church is. It's these people. It's us when we're calling people to come and be a part of this, this is what we're calling him to be a part of this. And we want them to come and join us in this way, because think, about some of those themes, write the body, the bride, the spiritual house, it's not even a real house. It's a spiritual house, right? And so, we want to take ourselves away from maybe some of the connections that we have to a place. We are located in a place but we are the church gathered just as much as we are the church scattered. So when we're done here in a bit that clock is not working but when we're done here in a bit will still be the church. We're still be Reformation Bible Church as our scattered. I know some of these are very Elementary things but it's very important that we as a church plant really understand what a church is, right? It's just as if a gardener went to plant a plant and he didn't know what he was planting how ridiculous would that be sometimes. I feel like that when we planted home we have help from my mother-in-law to plant some of our Flowers. Cuz I don't I know that you're supposed to water them. That's about as far as I go and I don't really do that very well. But how ridiculous would it be if we planted a church but we had no idea what a church even was. What are we planting? I don't know. We're just supposed to do these things right? We don't want to do that. We want to be very clear about what a church is and the scriptures are not quiet for us. Thankfully in that way to break down verse 2. To help us see how Paul talks about the church and we'll just kind of do it phrase by phrase and you'll see what I mean, how helpful Paul is inverse to their? He says, to the Church of God right away, we see Who's it is? The Church of God, right? So he was writing to a church that the Corinthian Church but he acknowledges and helps them. Even to see this is God's, this is God's Church to the Church of God right now. And he wants to acknowledge that and help them to understand that this is God's Church the Church of God. But look at the rest of the phrase there that is in Lawrence. And so this is helpful to say that God's church is everywhere. Thankfully by his grace, all across the world today, right? Believers are gathering and doing the same things were doing and doing the same things that Believers have been doing for the last two thousand years. But there's a particular specialness that even a word about this gathering in the bar, right? That sets us apart from every other Gathering that's Gathering today. We love them and so far as they love Jesus, and they're preaching the gospel, right? But we are gathered in the Name of Christ, as a local church, a local body here in the bar and so that sets us apart. So it's the Church of God that is in Corinth, right? That's the particular place where it is. He goes on to those Sanctified in Christ. Jesus, we're so used to thinking about sanctification, as the ongoing process of are becoming more like Jesus, right? That is what sanctification is. It is a lifelong process of our being made wholly, of our being made more and more like Christ that will happen for the rest of your lives until you see the Lord. But notice little grammar. Time for us this morning that's a past tense. Sending Sanctified right to those Sanctified in Christ Jesus. Now, we'll see in this sentence, two parts of sanctification, those Sanctified, past tense, and Christ Jesus. The rest of the freight, the next race called to be Saints together. It's the same Greek word. And that's an ongoing thing, right? So your Sanctified it's happened, but you're called to be Saints on going together. So, there's something in Salvation and sanctification is just a part of Salvation, right? You have salvation. That's the big topic. It's what Jesus does for us. God the Father, does the Holy Spirit does for us, our Triune God Saves us. But a part of that is our justification that we are declared righteous before a holy God. We're not righteous but God declares us, right? Just because of Christ. And then once were Justified Sanctified, right until we see a two-part sort of peace to that, there's an act of God to say. I'm sick defying you, he's done that. He set us apart, he's made us holy, but there's an ongoing process that we will continue to be sanctified. And so, we have to, we have to grasp that because there are so many ditches in this whole idea that many have fallen into there. Are those who say will God is just think, defied us, and it's done, and we don't have to do anything. We just let go and let God do all the work he's already done it. That's not what the verse says, right? Yes, he's done it, but you're to do it. Right. But that's built on the foundation of what God is already done. So it is not safe to vacation is not simply that God does everything and we just sit back and do nothing and sanctification is not that we do everything and God does nothing. It is Ed, God acts and then we now act from that act, there's a foundation for what we do and that is God's Act of sanctifying us. And we know work from that, right? Paul says, look with me for just a little help on this flip Ian's chapter 2, Paul explains this. So helpfully in Philippians chapter 2,

And verse 12, I'll start in the middle of the verse there where he begins work out your own salvation pulse is work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you both to Will and to work for his good pleasure. So what God has worked into us to those Sanctified in Christ Jesus, we are to work out with fear and trembling called to be Saints together, right? It's all over the place. When you read the scriptures and you see what states are the keishin, is there is a work of God that empowers our ongoing work. We did not work from our own gumption, our own efforts Our Own Strength. But we work from a foundation that God has laid. And even as we saying right now from that Foundation, is we're not trying to just come up with this. We're working from a foundation that God has laid, so Paul explains that elsewhere, even in Philippians, back in our texts. Now he Al's this church to those Sanctified in Christ Jesus. This also tells us something about who is the church,

who is the church? The church are believers. That's what the church is. We welcome and will welcome. Many people it regardless of where they come from to be come and sit and hear, and listen and be part, but they do not become part of us until they are part of Christ. That's so important. So, who's in and who's out. And that's not like, we don't like you if you're out, it's just there's a clear Mark, who is the church and who is not Well, we we welcome those who are not yet because if we don't, how did we ever get in right until we want to welcome with open arms? Anybody who are not yet Believers? But we must say that, who is the church are those who are believers to those Sanctified in Christ Jesus, Paul is not writing to all the unbelievers in Corinth, Paul is writing to the church to the Believers in Corinth. Now, It's true that among the church. Sometimes people can profess faith in Christ and do all of the things and say all the right things and repeat after all of the words in on and on and on, but not actually be in Christ. And so we want to work as Believers to help one another grow. And sometimes that might come to the, the surface for you. That maybe you've seen, you know what I have been kind of living this for however many years, but I don't know that. I'm actually a Believer and that's not something that's shameful that. Praise God. That he has shown you that now. Okay, let let's have you work through what you're to do next and that is to repent and receive Christ as your savior. Right? And so Paul it labors here in just a little phrase to help them to see that Believers are the church, and they're called to be Saints together with all those who in every place called upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their ongoing work is to continue to be who they are.

Who God has made them those Sanctified in Christ. Jesus, keep being that. So we can talk so much about what is God, calling you to write and all of you had to wrestle with that. As we thought about this church plant is that I'm calling you to this guy calling you to be part of this. And sometimes we we have muddied the waters with calling because we wait and this is not on topic, but I have to say it anyway. We wait to think about calling, is this feeling or this impression as though calling is something that works through our veins or our minds, or our pulse quickens and therefore, I'm Caldwell know. There's all kinds of things that the scriptures call us to and so we can say, you don't have to bring example, you don't have to ask as a Christian. Am I called to share the gospel with non-believers what Jesus has given you the Great Commission? So yes You don't have to ask. Should I disciple people around me? God is called you. Your lord has called you to make disciples. Yes? Right. There's all kinds of questions as we look to the scriptures you don't even have to ask the question. Am I called to this read the Bible? And does it tell you that you are then you are now, that's for free. I'm not talking about that. But there is a calling gear that your ticket in you to be Saints. Continue to be in that Saints. Word is the same thing. The same route that's used in Sanctified, keep being those Sanctified is another way to think about it being that keep living that out. And as we think about the membership covenants, that's really what that is about. That we keep going and keep helping each other, keep going, right? We need to be fed through the word. We need to be keeping short accounts with God as we are faithful in prayer. Only end of individually but corporately right we're to love one another where the love Lord, with all of our heart soul. Mind and strength, right? All of those things keep going, keep going. We're called to be Saints together. But look what it says, Call of Duty Saints together. With all those who in every place, call upon the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, he's already said that he's addressing the church in Corinth, he's talking to the Corinthian Church, but he's reminding them, remember Church? You are called to be Saints together with all those who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus do for us for a practically RBC. You are called to be staying together with alpine with Jacques and with me, shed and was Jack keil. And with all of our other brothers and sisters, do we know people that I don't even know that, you know, right and other faithful churches around us that are preaching, the gospel wear called to be Saints together with them. And so Paul wants them to know, look, yes, you're the Church of God that is in Corinth and you're a special people, a special local body, but you are connected to something that is beyond you. And so you see those, those two pictures of the church that it is both this big thing writes that exists throughout time, but surrounds geography, but it's also this local thing, right? And both are connected in. Even in that Paul makes that clear your call to be Saints together. All those, who in every place, call upon the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ there. Again, he can't stop, reminding them that the church are, those who call Upon Jesus, or those who are in Christ. Are those who are trust in Christ, right? He can't get away from that. He can't get away from reminding them. That's a church is made up of Christians. All of those who call upon the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, even in that, right? That tells us something about the normal Christian Life.

Are you a Praying person?

Not just one time when you were encouraged to believe in the gospel and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. But are you a person who is defined by an ongoing, calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? Individually. And will we be at church? That is known to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ together. We've been doing some time praying in preparation for this surely individually but a different other times we're going to be doing that on Sunday nights praying together as well as spending a little bit more time in the word. Fellowshipping So, I hope that we are at church that continues with all the other Saints to call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and he finishes right that ends look at that end phrase, both their lord and H.

There's a sense in which I think in our Christian lives will weekend, we want to make Jesus our own. He's mine is my Lord. I have a relationship with Jesus and praise God for that but the wonderful thing is we don't we don't own him. Right. He has bought us, he's purchased us. And so he's our lord is my Lord but he's yours and he's every other believers Lord as well. And so, Paul makes that clear, this is one of those things that as we're reading, maybe you're reading through 1st Corinthians, say in your Bible reading time. Most likely when you go to the greeting part, you kind of just plow through it until you get to what he's got to say. Just like when you read a letter right here, Nick like you don't really just sit and ponder over dear Nick. Wow, right. We don't read that that way, but if you slow yourself down as you read the Bible and just marinate on, look at what Paul saying about the church in just his greeting. There's so much there that's just assumed and he assumes that, you know, that that there's no like long description about. But here's what I mean by Church of God, and here's what I mean by those Sanctified in Christ Jesus, right? He may talk about that elsewhere in the letter. But I find it interesting that he just feels free to just say it. And were then called to be students of the word to spend time. Thinking about, what does that mean? Help me not to just plow through that gloss over that, right? And so such a powerful statement. So as I as I draw us to a close here this morning, I want to just lay in on a few things that I think provide from this text a helpful foundation for the kind of church that we need to be. First, that we would be at church. That knows who it belongs to.

And we will be at church, that knows who it belongs to.

There will be a Temptation for all of you who are part of this small group to really own this. And I hope that you do. I hope that you have a sense of ownership and investment in what we're going to be because this cannot exist. Just on a couple people write this is about all of us together investing in the body but be careful. That it doesn't get in the way of you remembering who this belongs to. And I would ask that. You would pray that for me. And that you would pray that for Joel and for James, this doesn't belong to me, this doesn't belong to them. This doesn't belong to us, we belong to God. This is his until he gets to say how this works, right? I will be an interim pastor. It might be a it by God's grace. A 30-year interim stint. Maybe 20, I don't know. But I'm only going to be here for a little while in God's eyes. And he's got somebody else perhaps. Should the Lord Terry and should our BC by his grace continue. He's got somebody else in mind already to stand here. And so we have to remember who we belong to. So when we, when we kind of get maybe in a place, where we start saddest, we want to own it, we want to be invested, but let's just keep that that anchor in our hearts and Minds this belongs to God And that's important number to, we want to be at church that recognizes its place. Now, this is a play on that phrase is hinged to the last thing I just said, right? You think about people to say know your place. That's kind of what I mean, but also recognized our place. Where are we? Where has God put us? We don't want to be a place. We don't to be at church. I should say that. Ignores where we're at, I think sometimes Church Plant if they're not careful. Can just be a group of people that go meet in a particular place and it has no bearing on the place. We don't want to be that we want to be. I know some of you don't live in the bar so if you live in Navarre by address but you're actually live in Brewster or wherever we don't want to be a church that simply just comes and meets here in Navarre. We want to be at church that is focused in this broader area. Not just of our but south side of Massillon, Perry Brewster beat City. Strasburg we are in a place that we want to be focused and our ministry be focused so we don't just simply want to be a man of the church that meets in Corinth. That's not what it says, right? It is a church that is of god that is in Corinth and their Ministry is focused in Corinth and write reflection in that way. And so we want to be careful of that. We want to be mindful of that. We're going to pray to that in that we recognize our place. Thirdly, we want to be a church that is made up of Believers belabor this point. So I won't beat it to death but we want to be careful about. Who is the church? Who is our BC? And then who are the people that we are trying to reach Hazard BC? And there's going to be times where people are coming in and and sort of sampling and we haven't got to know them yet. And we don't know where they're at with the lure. And we don't want to confuse them by saying well you're just part of us cuz we like you and we don't want to confuse ourselves by saying never mind about all of the things about what it means to be the church. Let's just just forget about all that. We want to be careful about because what we're saying is, what does it mean to be in Christ? There's such a close connection between the gospel and what is the church because the gospel the message, right? Of our Salvation is not just, that we would be individual representatives of Jesus who just kind of live our lives know, but that we would be part of Jesus, his body that we would be part of Jesus, his bride that we would be part of him part of his church. And so there is no idea in the New Testament that you can be this kind of amorphous blob. Disconnected from the church. And so we went to guard that very carefully. Not because we're exclusive and clicky, but because Jesus tells us this is what it means to be a part of the church. And so having said that, we don't want to mean that we are not a church who welcomes and opens our arms to people that would come and be a part of us because in that we're not guarding just that we're all friendly together. That's all we're trying to guard here. We don't want to be insular so that people can't break in. That's going to be a thing that we're going to have to be careful about. We're going to grow in Fellowship over these next seven weeks, really tightly. And we already know so many of us already know each other so well But we want to be careful that we're not this bubble. That is people try to come in, they can't break through because we all are just friends and now I can't be a part of it. We don't want to be that kind of a church continue to grow in your relationships and friendships with one another. But we don't want to be exclusive in that way. We do want to be exclusive where the Lord tells us to be exclusive. And that is to say, are you in Christ? That's what we're inviting you into. You can come and be a part of us. You can come and enjoy the things that we're doing me. Once you to hear the word, we want you to hear Ministry, we want to be ministered to, but the line that we're calling you to step over Means everything. We're calling you to repent, and believe in the gospel. And when you do that by God's grace, that makes you part of us in a way that you weren't just five minutes before we went to guard, that very closely because God cares about that. So many times churches, get in a mess because those lines get blurred. We don't want to do that. So we want to be at church that's made up of Believers forcefully. We want to be at church that's made up of believers who pursue growth and holiness. We want to grow in Holiness, we want to follow this calling that were called to be Saints. So may we continue to do that part of the reason why we've used the membership Covenant that we, you would know that you have a part to play in my growth and in James is gross and everybody else is grow, just as much as I have a part to play in your own We're called to be Saints together. That's what we should care about our pursuit of Holiness. That's why we've confessed our sin. We want to be a place that can be open and honest with one another because sin would have you be alone.

Send can thrive in your life when it tells you that you are all alone. And you can't say anything to anybody about what you're in. Send would have you be alone but that is a lie. That is a lie. There is great, freedom and blessing that the Lord gives us as we confess our sins. Yes to him. but often times our sins are against one another and were called to confess our sins, one to another when we've sinned against one another, But also to not be afraid of being honest. Would you help me in this as you pray for me in this? Would you, I want to grow, right? That's born from a desire. I want to grow in Holiness. I would have become more like Jesus, That's what you want as Believers in Christ, that's what I want until we want to be at church. This made up of believers who pursue growth in Holiness. We will not arrive this side of Glory. We will not make that full extent, right? But we want to keep going towards that. Finally fifthly, we want to be at church. That is in fellowship with other like-minded and like hearted churches and Ministries. We want to be a church that is in fellowship with other like-minded and like hearted churches and Ministries. We already have one baked in with our sending Church Alpine but that's not going to be the only one. We're going to be a part of a couple networks that helped us as a church plant. Not simply just for resources but there are good. Brothers and sisters that I've met already who are in our greater reason Akron, Canton and Cleveland who are just like us and we don't want to be this island. That's all disconnected from other. Good gospel, preaching churches because that only strengthens the witness of the Gospel in an area. You look at missionaries and what, what strengthens Jaques Ministry me sheds Ministry because there are a whole mess of them in a region that are after the same thing and it's not some kind of a contest or who has more. Are we secretly? Don't like them or we have a thing against them. I don't want to be a part of any of that. And I don't want our church to be a part that have that kind of spirit. The reality is there's going to be some churches that don't do what we do and don't believe what we do and we're not against them. But we just acknowledge that we're not really after the same thing, okay? We're going to keep doing what we're called to do, but we do want a partnership with other Ministries and other churches that are like-minded and like carded, and that's going to be the litmus test. Do we understand core things? Who is God? What is the gospel is? The Bible authoritative? Yes, right. Those kinds of Korra things. I have dear friends who are Presbyterians. We don't agree about what we're supposed to do with babies and a couple other things, but we agree about a lot of other things about the gospel about who God is about the fact that the Bible is authoritative, right? And so, those kinds of things are what? I hope we can develop I know that maybe you've not come from that kind of background, so that might be new for you. But this is the New Testament, Church friends, Paul, at the end of Romans, he's talking to all these other churches that are all kinds of other places that he loves and encourages, right? And they're not all Paul's Church. They're all churches of God that are in Rome that are in Corinth better in Ephesus. Wherever we want to be that kind of church in all of those things. As you probably could tell are things that come directly from what Paul talks about in our verse for today. And so may God help us be that kind of church. We're going to talk more about the church in the days to come. And I certainly each of the weeks of the seven weeks together will be focused on yes, a text, but really a theme focusing on core things that make up who we are. And I want this to just be part of our blood. Hopefully, many of these things are not new to you, but I want this to be sort of this is this is who we are is RBC. This is how our Define. I'm going to pray and then we'll move to a time of response at the table. So would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you for your word. That is true and Powerful. We thank you for your spirit that helps us to understand it and also uses it mightily in our lives. And you've done that you continue to do that, and we ask that you would keep doing that. Father, would you bless us? Now, as we respond as we come to the table together. Thank you for your presence with us and we pray in Jesus name, amen.