I have to be honest to start this whole series of posts on the church. Yes, I have occasionally complained about “the church”. Ok, ok, maybe I have complained a bit more than that. I have read a few of the recent “manifestos” about how the church needs to change, and uttered an amen or two. There are times when I have to use a whip and a chair to herd my family to church on Sunday mornings. However, I have to wonder, when did “the church” become a bad word? With the amount of negativity that is out there today, you would think we were talking about a root canal or a trip to the proctologist.
In the upcoming weeks, we will be discussing what the Bible has to say about the church, talk about all this focus on the New Testament church, and even delve into the deep waters of the Emerging Church movement. Before we do any of that, I feel we need to step back and remember just what it is that we are talking about. Too many have an irreverent, careless attitude when discussing something that God seems to care a whole lot about. On the other hand, we can’t keep sticking our heads in the sand and act like there isn’t something monumental happening right now in the Western church.
The apostle Paul spent most of his life (actually risking his life) in order to see churches planted all over the Roman Empire. In three passages specifically, he gives us God’s view on the church. In 1 Timothy 3:15, he says, “… 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.” First, Paul calls the church “God’s household”, which means that the church as God sees it isn’t a lifeless institution, but the people He calls His own and that “live” with Him. Not only that, but He also says that the church functions as the “pillar and foundation of the truth”. How does it do this? God uses the church to teach the world truth through the study and teaching of His Word that happens in church, as well as through the behavior of the church members. I don’t work in construction, but I think things like pillars and foundations are pretty important to a building. Based on this illustration, take out the church, and the whole thing God is building comes crashing down. (Yes, I know Jesus is the foundation and cornerstone in other illustrations)
In Ephesians 3:10-11, Paul blows us away with the following, “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Wow! Paul is saying that God is using the church to make His wisdom known to spiritual powers. How does He accomplish this? In the context of chapter 3, the point is that as Jews and Gentiles come together in the church, the world (both natural and supernatural) will see God’s ultimate plan to unite us all in the redemption of Christ. Most people would be thrilled to get a revelation FROM an angel, but do you realize that as a part of the church, you are a revelation TO an angel?
Finally, Ephesians 5:25-27 should give us pause before we speak about the churh, “… just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” The Old Testament prophets such as Hosea introduced the theme of God’s people as the bride or wife of God. Paul continues this in presenting the church as the bride of Christ, and this comes to ultimate fulfillment in Revelation 19 where we see the marriage supper of the Lamb. To those of you who are married, how do you (or would you) feel when someone is bad mouthing your wife? Warm and fuzzy? I don’t think so. Yet, we often speak of the church forgetting the great love that Jesus has for it, even giving his own life to purify her.
Look, the church isn’t a building or a bunch of programs. The church is the people of God, gathered together to worship, disciple, evangelize, and love this dying world. Yes, we have to meet somewhere and we will discuss house churches and the lot later. No, the New Testament never refers to one individual Christian as a/the “church”, so we are talking about a group. She may be a woman with problems, but she is God’s household making His truth known, a vessel to show God’s wisdom to the heavenly powers, and the bride of Jesus. Let’s show some respect and fear of God as we discuss the church.
The Bible Nerd 