THE CHURCH IS…

“Here is the church. Here is the steeple. Open it up and here are the people.” This hand rhyme has been around for years but the church has been around forever through promise, later establishment, and continuous growth. In Bible classes since our young childhood, the church has been defined to us as the people, not the building. In 2008, Webster defined the church as a formally organized body of Christian believers worshiping together. In 2002, William Smith in the Smith’s Bible Dictionary states, “the real Church consists of all who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ as His disciples, and are one in love, in character, in hope, and in Christ as the head of all having met the essential conditions of baptism, doctrine, fellowship, the Lord’s supper, and public worship.” How do you as define the church?

We are a much more mobile society today and therefore we see a lot of diversity in religious beliefs. Church buildings with various names on them testify to the division within the realm of spiritual matters. You have everything from the sign I have seen, “Independent, Fundamental, Pre-millennial, Separated, KJV” to the “Unitarian Universalist Church.” This latter group states, “Our religious approach is based on independent, free exploration. We do not feel that any person, any book, or any institution should tell you what you must think. You and you alone are responsible for your religious well-being. We have no doctrines and dogma that you must accept. We believe that ‘truth’ is ever-revolving, so we remain open to new scientific revelations and philosophical insights.”

Is this describing the church we read of in the Bible. Is this what Jesus died for? The answer is a definite NO! Our Lord pleaded for unity (John 17:20-21), He planned for unity (Eph. 4:16) and He paid for unity (Eph. 2:16).

I) The church is part of God’s eternal plan.

A) It is not something that just happened in a day, or as a substitute.

B) It was conceived through the infinite wisdom of God

C) God had a purpose, an eternal purpose, to bring the Church of Christ into being.(Eph.3:10,11).

D) From the beginning, the great purposes of God from eternity have been not only to send His Son to die for our sins, but to put into place the Church of Christ

E) It is hard for us to understand “eternal.”

1) Sometimes we abbreviate the meaning of everlasting.

2) We might say “it took you forever to run to the store.”

3) It may have seemed like a long time, but we know it was not forever, it was not eternal.

4) Hebrews 12:28

5) Daniel 7:18—possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.

II) The church is promised and prophesied in O.T.

A) God began to reveal through prophecy and promise that eternal purpose for the kingdom, the church.

B) Prophecy is a prediction.

1) There were Bible characters that could prophesy to foretell something before it actually happened.

2) The church was spoken of some 750 years before Christ came to this earth.

3) Isaiah 2:1-4—Lord’s house, established in “Last days” in Jerusalem.

4) Zachariah 1:16 prophesied the Lord’s house or church was to be founded in Jerusalem.

5) We can truly say a church not founded at the scriptural place is not the scriptural church.

6) Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar that during the days of the Romans kings, the God of heaven would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed (Daniel 2:44).

7) Daniel 7:13-14

8) Matthew 16:16-18—promise made to Peter and the other apostles.

III) The church in preparation.

A) When we think about preparation, we think of John the Baptizer.

1) John was prophesied to be a forerunner or preparer for our Lord to allow Him to prepare the church.

2) Matthew 3:1,2

3) He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness (John 1:23).

4) He was the friend of the bridegroom whose work was to decrease while that of the Lord was to increase (John 3:29,30).

5) The kingdom was to begin in Jerusalem and the law was to go forth from Zion (Isa. 2)

6) The work of John and the message he preached started in the wilderness of Judaea.

7) John made no claim to establish a kingdom, as some people would teach.

8) John knew his purpose and that was to prepare the way.

9) John knew he was not the light spoken of in John 1:7,8, but he was to bear witness of the true light of the world.

B) Jesus part of the preparation period of the church was a difficult one.

1) The preaching of Jesus pointed to the establishment of the church or kingdom.

2) Mark 1:5

3) While teaching the coming of a kingdom, he was still teaching them to observe the law of Moses (Matthew 23:1-3; 5:17

4) Matthew 16:18-

5) Mark 9:1

IV) The perfection of the church, which includes its establishment and growth.

A) Tarry in Jerusalem Acts 1:4,8

B) Acts 2:1-4

C) Acts 2:37-38

1) This is when everything came together. This is when the church became a reality.

2) The eternal purpose was now in existence. The purpose and prophecy were fulfilled, and all the hard work during the preparation period had reaped its rewards.

3) The Church of Christ was now established and perfect on earth consisting of about 3000 members (Acts 2:41).

D) The makeup of the early church in the beginning was all Jewish people.

1) From this point forward the kingdom or church was a reality.

2) Later, the Gentiles would be included (Acts 10)

3) Once the church was established on the Day of Pentecost, the organization was the key to its success.

E) Look at some of the unique characteristics.

1) She wears the name of her head, owner and Savior Christ. (Rom. 16:16)

2) The members wear the divinely bestowed name of Christian (Acts 11:26)

3) God has always intended for Christ to be the head, but earthly leaders were designated to oversee the church and its work. (Elders Acts 14:23) (Deacons—Acts 6:1ff)

4) The mission of the church is to bring glory to God (I Cor.6:20).

5) The church’s entrance requirements are unlike any other belief system on earth.

6) The church’s guide is the Bible, the instruction manual that is exclusive and inspired of God

F) From the day of its great beginning and its perfection, the church and Christianity was a significant religious force, not only in Jerusalem but also in the remote corners of the Roman Empire.

1) The church seemed to come out of nowhere but soon it was everywhere (Acts 28:22).

2) Rapid growth (Acts 4:4).

3) The church’s growth was unstoppable.

4) Peter, John and others continued to preach Christ. (Acts 4:1-4).

5) Acts 8:1-4…persecution.

6) Work of Paul began in Acts 13 and continued through the remainder of that book.

7) Paul’s missionary work in Europe shaped history, planting the seed for the American Restoration movement.

V) Finally we will study the preservation of the church along with the roles of its members.

A) What does it mean to preserve something?

1) Some of you have been preserving items from the garden this summer.

2) They did this so that the food would not ruin or go bad.

B) We as the members of the Church of Christ must realize our role to preserve and keep the church the way Christ intended for it to be.

1) The only hope we can have is to be a member of the church we read about in the Bible.

2) Many today seem to be working overtime to distort the Lord’s church and to blur the distinction between the N.T. church and manmade, counterfeit churches, which exist in abundance.

3) To preserve the church, we must always be of the mindset that if we do not have example or Biblical authority for something, we cannot institute it in the church.

C) To preserve the Lord’s church, it is each member’s role and responsibility to gain knowledge.

1) In gaining that knowledge, we will always be able to share with others the good news of the gospel and in return will preserve the church. (Great commission –Matt. 28)

2) I Peter 3:15—be ready always to give an answer…

3) To help us meet our role in the church, we will study and gain knowledge so we can be that “light of the world” that our Lord spoke of in Matt. 5:14-16.

D) We will be able to defend the Lord’s church against false teachers. (Matt. 7:15).

E) We as members need to realize and find our role in the Lord’s church.

1) We must be faithful in our attendance (at all services).

2) We must “love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Lk. 10:27).

3) We need to strive to keep the glorious church from having any spot or wrinkle or any such thing… (Eph. 5:27).

F) Then come the end when He shall have delivered up the kingdom of God… (I Cor.15:24)

G) Chart: Which Church is the Right Church?

Con: The church is part of God’s eternal plan. It was promised and prophesied.in O.T. John the immerser and Jesus Christ prepared for the church. The perfection of the church, which included its establishment and growth. The preservation of the church, of which we play a major role. The Church Is… .Are you part of that church you read about in the Bible? What are you doing to make sure it remains the one found in God’s word?

[Based on Material written for Jackson/Smith County Youth Camp by Matthew Scoggins]