“And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence.” Ephesians 1:23
Do you ever wonder what God sees when He looks down at the Body of Christ? I do!
I wonder if He sees unity or a bunch of broken limbs trying to go in different directions?
When we hear the word “Church” today our first thoughts are of a building. What comes with that building-a name, Baptist, Church of Christ, Catholic, Pentecostal, Jehovah Witness, etc.
But what does the “Church” really mean.
I have asked a precious and dear friend of mine Ryan Burchett to take a few questions a little deeper about Church. It is lengthy but every bit is very important and necessary. I hope you find this extremely helpful especially if you are searching for a church home or if you have not attended church, maybe this will be an encouragement as to the necessity of going.
1. Church membership – what is the significance of being a member of a ‘church?’
2. Have we not fallen away from our real membership, Christ, because we are so caught up in the number of the ‘church’ membership?
3. How much different today is the meaning of church compared to the church in the Bible?
*First, we need to ask the question ‘why does the Church exist?’
Ephesians 3:10-11
“to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord”
-The Church was established in Acts so that God might be made known to the world. He died for ALL people, so it’s our job as the Church to show and tell of that great gift of grace.
*Church membership – what is the significance of being a member of a ‘church?’
Hebrews 10:24-25
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
-First, we meet together in our ‘churches’ so that we can be an encouragement to one another in the faith. Meeting together in fellowship/worship is very important to that faith.
Ephesians 4:11-13
“It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
-Secondly, we meet together in our ‘churches’ so that we can be instructed and taught, and through that instruction we reach full unity as a church body.
Bottom line, if we aren’t meeting together in fellowship with a Biblical church, we’re starving ourselves of Biblical teaching and instruction from those called by God to teach us more (pastors, etc.), and we are depriving ourselves of fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Jesus.
*Have we not fallen away from our real membership, Christ, because we are so caught up in the number of the ‘church’ membership? How much different today is the meaning of church compared to the church in the Bible?
-There are so many churches out there today, that we can’t make this general assumption for every single one of them. The fact is, yes, some churches have gone astray and teach false doctrines such as Joel Osteen’s church in Houston (and others like it) that teach a ‘health, wealth, and prosperity’ gospel. Then, there are others who fall under the ‘Emergent Church’ movement. They practice things like meditative prayer, which is a pagan Eastern culture ritual to hear from the spirit world. They also teach there is no Hell amongst other things. Again, false doctrine.
-However, there are other churches which are very Biblical and teach the truth in God’s Word as it’s presented. So we can’t make this claim of the church ‘falling away’ for everyone.
-On the other side of things, we may have the question ‘why are there so many different denominations stemming from the same book (Bible)?’ There’s something like 500+ different denominations that all claim the same Bible. That’s simply a human issue. Someone gets upset or disagrees with an interpretation; they make up their own interpretation, and form a new denomination.
-How we go about this division is by looking at the core issue: Does this difference in this particular denomination make or break the core theology? In other words, does that view/interpretation of that particular church change the gospel message? Does it change who Jesus is? Does it change the End such as what Heaven and Hell are, or if they really exist? These would be crucial issues that matter.
-Issues that wouldn’t really matter, for example, would be like the difference of opinion over using musical instruments or not in worship. Church of Christ will not use instruments for their own reasons. Baptists do. Both can seemingly find Biblical evidence to back up both points. So what do you do? Ask the question, does this change the core of Biblical theology? Does playing/not playing music change who Jesus is? Heaven or Hell? The Genesis record? The gospel? No, it doesn’t, so it’s not a crucial issue. That’s how we go about it.
-Another great message about issues like this is found in Romans 14. We all have different convictions than one another on different issues because none of us are on the same level in our Christian walk as the other. We’re all on our own walk with God. We’re all on the same path, but we’re at different points on that path:
Romans 14:1-14;22
“1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’” 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.”
-We all have different convictions about things, but as long as they don’t go against the essentials (gospel, deity of Jesus, etc.) then God says ‘That’s ok.’
One last thing; what it all comes down to is finding a Biblical church. Does the Bible give us things to look for in a church before we make a decision to join that body? Yes it does!
1. What is the IMAGE of that church? Colossians 1:18
a. “18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”
Where do we see this image in Scripture?
a. Creation – Genesis 1:26
b. The Fall – Genesis 5:1
c. Israel – Leviticus 11:44
d. Jesus – John 14:9, Hebrews 1:3
e. The Early Church – Gal. 3:26-27
f. God’s Glory – 1 John 3:2
2. Is there GROWTH in that church? Colossians 1:10
a. “10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”
What kind of growth should we see?
a. Members gain a sense of responsibility in evangelism
b. Increased prayer
c. Members sharing the gospel
d. More spontaneous ministry activities
e. Informal gatherings characterized by spiritual conversation
f. Increased & sacrificial giving
g. Increased fruit of the Spirit
h. Members making career sacrifices or changes so they can serve the Church
i. Husbands leading wives sacrificially
j. Wives submitting to their husbands
k. Parents disciplining children in faith
l. A corporate love for the lost
3. What is the source of LIFE in that church?
a. The Church finds its life as it listens to the Word of God.
What does this life give us?
a. Security
b. Joy
c. Peace
d. Purpose
e. Victory
I know this is a lot of info and lists, but if we can go through all of this as we search out a church, we will find the place God wants/needs us to be.
The bottom line is no church gets everything perfect all the time. In fact, the early church in the Bible didn’t either. They had just as many problems, if not more, than our churches do today. They had false doctrine being taught. They had people splitting churches and causing arguments. They had people not tithing. They had people not observing the Lord’s Supper properly. They had people who would skip church. They had idolaters, fornicators, adulterers, thieves, drunkards, etc. in their churches just like we do today. What should that tell us? Christ will take care of His church. We just need to apply the Biblical principles that we went through above and remain faithful. If a church that we are a part of is not doing the Biblical things required of it, then we need to find one that is. But we cannot afford to leave church fellowship altogether.
Ryan also has a blog called Along the Way you can find the link under Blogs that Inspire me. Check it out!
