If you were asked, "Why are you a Christian," what would be your answer? What if you were asked, "What is the purpose of the church?", what would your answer be? Now there are plenty of ways that these questions can be answered, but are your answers based solely on God's Word or what you have come to believe about yourself or what the local church teaches? Jesus gave very explicit direction to His disciples as to their purpose and the purpose of all those who would believe upon Jesus based on their words.
Jesus told them, "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20) This is what has become known as "The Great Commission." When Jesus commissioned the disciples, He was granting the disciples certain powers and authority to carry out His message of redemption to all humanity. This was not an option but a command that the disciples fully understood. Jesus also tells us, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever the
Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees
Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be
in you." (John 14-15-17)
Not only would Jesus be with the disciples (all) in the person of the Holy Spirit, but He also tells them, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Obeying the commandments of Christ is one way of showing our love for Him. To use any reason not to carry out the Great Commission both corporately and individually reflects the believers or churches lack of love for not only the Lord, but also others. Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)
Now some who are reading this may feel that I am way off base, because you have been called to be a pastor, worship leader or some other ministry of the church, therefore you are not called to evangelize. This may be so, but to neglect the great commission for any reason would indicate that you are special in God's eyes and do not have to obey some of His commands which are set forth in God's Word. God means what He says and shows no partiality (Romans 2:11). This in no way is to cause condemnation, but to bring us to the place where we become more engaged with the Lord and His business. Seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) will move us from churchianity to Christianity.
Another thing to consider, is, due to Christ’s authority conferred upon the church, Jesus tells His disciples to make disciples, not to only have people make a so called profession of faith. Why? The reality is, many in the church today have never really experienced true conversion. This is evident in two ways. First, they can take Christianity or leave it. They were only interested in not facing hell when they passed from this life to the next. The second is similar, these are what the Apostle Paul calls "carnal Christians" acting like unsaved people. (1 Corinthians 3:1-3) In both cases, they live by their five senses. They let their feelings and emotions control them and never come to the place of growing in faith due to not knowing God’s Word, nor submitting to discipleship. "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32) To abide means to hold on to; to continue in.
Today many church building are filled with people who are not free, but bound by the things of the world and Satan himself because they do not hold on to or continue in God’s Word. They are not being made disciples, but are inundated with church programs that do not mature them spiritually. Temporal things are more important or have more place in their life than eternal things. This becomes very obvious in their life when a problem or trial arises. They flounder because they have built their life on sand and not the Rock, Jesus Christ. They have no foundation of the Word and therefore find it difficult at best to stand under the trials of life, under the schemes of the devil.
Look at some of the what’s and how’s of making disciples, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The Apostle Peter reveals, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38) First, there needs to be repentance. Recognizing that all have sinned and fall short of God. (Romans 3:23) Repentance is a complete turning away from the direction one is going to the direction of God. To be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ is repentance. It is acknowledging Christ as Lord and that sins are remitted. Forgiven as though they never happened.
Next, Jesus says, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. The disciples were to impart and instruct new disciples to attend to carefully, take care of; to guard; to keep, ALL THINGS that Jesus had commanded them. This was not in word only but in demonstration. In other words, the disciple were not only to teach God’s Word to the new disciples, as Jesus did to them, but how to function in the ministry that Jesus emulated before them to make more disciples.
I believe that one of the greatest needs of today is to realize what God has accomplished for us in Christ; who we are in Christ; how God sees us in Christ and all the legal rights and privileges that have been given to us in Christ. The disciples of Christ took the things that Christ had commanded very real and very serious. They knew that they were no longer natural people but supernatural and they showed us what that meant throughout the Book of Acts. Hosea the Prophet tells us, "My people are destroyed because they don’t know me (Hosea 4:6) However, Solomon tells us, "For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;" (Proverbs 2:6)
So let the Holy Spirit rise up in our lives and go forth in the name of Jesus for, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few" (Matthew 9:37) because the sole purpose for being a Christian and the sole purpose of the church is to win souls and make disciples. There is nothing to fear in doing this because Jesus is with us, even to the end of the age. PTL
Showing posts with label Purpose of the Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Purpose of the Church. Show all posts
Monday, January 26, 2015
Monday, October 7, 2013
The Purpose of the Church - Edifying Itself in Love
The second purpose for the church's existence is to edify itself in love. This is accomplished by the members ministering to one another. The Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul reveals how the church is brought into this purpose, "And He Himself (Jesus) gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:1-16).
Notice the five wonderful gifts apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, that Jesus gave to His church. Also notice the ministry that they bring to the church which causes growth. They equip the saints for the work of ministry, which is for the edifying of the body of Christ. When we look at church history and even look at the church today, we find that many sectors of the church reject the ministry of the apostle and prophet. Yet their purpose, (not function), for the edifying of the body of Christ is the same as the other three ministries, evangelist, pastor and teacher. Next, these five ministries are to function, till we all come to the unity of the faith. I suppose that those who do not believe that the ministry of the apostle and prophet exist today also believe that the church for centuries has been flowing together in the unity of the faith.
These five gifts are also to bring the church to the knowledge of the Son of God. The word knowledge here is the Greek word, epignosis which mean to have a full or complete knowledge. This complete knowledge would bring the church to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. But is this true for the church as we know it today? Maybe the rejection of the apostle and prophet is the main reason why the vase majority of the church is still a child being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. I like to say it this way, being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine created and accepted by faithless church leaders, that operate in and through their senses.
The church is to be a related body of believers speaking the truth in love, that is growing up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." Let's look at some of the ways the church, every member of the body of Christ is to edify itself...
Making a long story short, first, it was my passion to see large numbers in the church (it still is) but to achieve this it would come at a price. Church programs would need to be implemented to meet social needs, replacing true discipleship to meet spiritual needs. The church grew rapidly but the people did not grow spiritually. The danger behind this is blending the glorious Body of Christ with worldly concepts for the sake of numbers. It is twisting the Word of God so people can feel good about themselves by avoiding any scripture that might sound offensive or seen as being intolerant. In other words, it's presenting a people pleasing passive gospel rather that a God pleasing life changing gospel. General William Booth said it best, “I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.” (This was spoken over one hundred years ago)
The second part of the equation is revealed in the ministry of Jesus. He also had a "feel good" crowd following Him. (John 6:26) But when the truth was revealed many of these followers were offended and walked with Him no more. (John 6:60-61, 66) After ministering to thousands of people in the three and one half years of His ministry on earth as the Son of Man, only four women and one apostle stood by the cross. (John 19:26-26) Then after His resurrection He was seen by Peter, then by the twelve and five hundred other brethren. (1 Corinthians 15:5-6) However, after His ascension only about a hundred and twenty disciple gathered in the upper room waiting for the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4, 15). Not a very large number of disciples after ministering to multitudes of people for three and one half years.
The point is that edifying one another in the church does not mean being social only, but more important being spiritual. The church must get back to relating on a spiritual level, God is Spirit (John 4:24) and love one another as God loves (Romans 5:3-8) for God is love (1 John 4:16) We must understand that the God kind of love in the believer is a fruit of the recreated spirit (Galatians 5:22) and for the church to truly edify itself in love, every believer must respond to the God kind of love that is spiritual and not the social kind of love that is carnal. Finally, the church must let all of the ascension gifts operate in their individual functions to fulfill the mandate of Ephesians 4:12-16. So, let us all decide to take our part in edifying one another in the God kind of love which is spiritual.
Notice the five wonderful gifts apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, that Jesus gave to His church. Also notice the ministry that they bring to the church which causes growth. They equip the saints for the work of ministry, which is for the edifying of the body of Christ. When we look at church history and even look at the church today, we find that many sectors of the church reject the ministry of the apostle and prophet. Yet their purpose, (not function), for the edifying of the body of Christ is the same as the other three ministries, evangelist, pastor and teacher. Next, these five ministries are to function, till we all come to the unity of the faith. I suppose that those who do not believe that the ministry of the apostle and prophet exist today also believe that the church for centuries has been flowing together in the unity of the faith.
These five gifts are also to bring the church to the knowledge of the Son of God. The word knowledge here is the Greek word, epignosis which mean to have a full or complete knowledge. This complete knowledge would bring the church to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. But is this true for the church as we know it today? Maybe the rejection of the apostle and prophet is the main reason why the vase majority of the church is still a child being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. I like to say it this way, being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine created and accepted by faithless church leaders, that operate in and through their senses.
The church is to be a related body of believers speaking the truth in love, that is growing up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." Let's look at some of the ways the church, every member of the body of Christ is to edify itself...
- Love one another (John 13:34-35)
- Comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18)
- Honor one another (Romans 12:10)
- Serve one another (Galatians 5:13)
- Be kind to one another and forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32)
- Esteem one another better than yourself (Philippians 2:3)
- Do not lie to one another (Colossians 3:9)
- Encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13)
- Do not speak evil of one another (James 4:11)
- Have compassion for one another (1 Peter 3:8)
- Fellowship with the Father, Son and one another (1 John 1:7)
Making a long story short, first, it was my passion to see large numbers in the church (it still is) but to achieve this it would come at a price. Church programs would need to be implemented to meet social needs, replacing true discipleship to meet spiritual needs. The church grew rapidly but the people did not grow spiritually. The danger behind this is blending the glorious Body of Christ with worldly concepts for the sake of numbers. It is twisting the Word of God so people can feel good about themselves by avoiding any scripture that might sound offensive or seen as being intolerant. In other words, it's presenting a people pleasing passive gospel rather that a God pleasing life changing gospel. General William Booth said it best, “I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.” (This was spoken over one hundred years ago)
The second part of the equation is revealed in the ministry of Jesus. He also had a "feel good" crowd following Him. (John 6:26) But when the truth was revealed many of these followers were offended and walked with Him no more. (John 6:60-61, 66) After ministering to thousands of people in the three and one half years of His ministry on earth as the Son of Man, only four women and one apostle stood by the cross. (John 19:26-26) Then after His resurrection He was seen by Peter, then by the twelve and five hundred other brethren. (1 Corinthians 15:5-6) However, after His ascension only about a hundred and twenty disciple gathered in the upper room waiting for the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4, 15). Not a very large number of disciples after ministering to multitudes of people for three and one half years.
The point is that edifying one another in the church does not mean being social only, but more important being spiritual. The church must get back to relating on a spiritual level, God is Spirit (John 4:24) and love one another as God loves (Romans 5:3-8) for God is love (1 John 4:16) We must understand that the God kind of love in the believer is a fruit of the recreated spirit (Galatians 5:22) and for the church to truly edify itself in love, every believer must respond to the God kind of love that is spiritual and not the social kind of love that is carnal. Finally, the church must let all of the ascension gifts operate in their individual functions to fulfill the mandate of Ephesians 4:12-16. So, let us all decide to take our part in edifying one another in the God kind of love which is spiritual.
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