What we believe about God and the church (3): THE CHURCH
INTRODUCTION
Two weeks ago we looked at what we believed about God. Last week we looked at what we believe about God's great plan of salvation. This week we're looking at what we believe about the church. And even in the order we have taken these subjects we learn something really very important and valuable. Everything begins with God. He is the Eternal God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He was before all things and he will outlast all things. Before the world was made, there was God and only God. And then God created everything else. And so he is first. He was before everything else and literally everything else starts with God. And so it is appropriate for us to begin with God and what we believe about him.
But then, of course, this is true in another sense, because our salvation begins with God. Our life as a Christian begins with God. And we thought about this last week. Before the creation of the world, God chose his people. He chose them in order that they might become holy and blameless, members of his family, saved through Jesus Christ and set apart for eternal life. And so if someone is a Christian today, it is because God first chose them. Our salvation begins with God. And so having thought about God and what he is like, it was appropriate for us to go on and to consider God and his great plan to save his people.
And then what happens? When God saves someone, leading them to the Saviour, what happens next? Well, he brings them into the church. They become members of the church. So we begin with God. What God is like. What plans he has for us and how he accomplished those plans through his Son for our salvation. And those God saves, he brings into the church.
Now this is very obvious if we read our Bibles. In Acts 2 we have a wonderful, brief summary of the activity of the early Christians. In verse 42 we're told how the first Christians devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and to the fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to prayer. It goes on to say that, 'All the believers were together.... Every day they continued to meet together.' Do you see? They were together. They came together, they met together, they were a group. They did not live out their Christian lives separately and individually. Instead they met together and when they met it was to devote themselves to the teaching and to the fellowship and to the celebration of the Lord's Supper and prayer. Is that not a wonderful description of what the church does? There is the teaching, the word of God proclaimed and explained. There is fellowship together, sharing with one another, helping and encouraging one another. They are the sacraments, remembering the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is prayer. And then what else do we have in Acts 2? Verse 47: the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Now there you have it. The unbreakable link between those who were being saved and the church. God added to the church those who were being saved. Those who were being saved were being added to the church. When God saves someone, he brings that new believer into the church.
In other words, there was no such thing as Christians acting alone and separately. Believers, Christians, are members of the church.
Recently I was talking to a woman who said she followed Christ, but she was not interested in the church. She believed in Jesus but not the church. How would you have responded? What would you have said to her? I pointed her to Ephesians 5 where it says that Christ loved the church. And how has he loved the church? Paul tells us: Christ loved the church so much that he gave himself up for her. He gave up his life for the church. He died for the church. That's the measure of his love for the church and therefore that's the measure of the importance and value he places on the church. In Revelation 1 we read of the Lord Jesus walking among the lampstands and the lampstands represent the churches. And so there he is, walking among the churches, watching us, caring for us, protecting us, guiding us, rebuking us, paying close attention to the church. The Lord loves the church. That is plain. So how can we say that we love the Lord Jesus without loving what he loves? How can we turn away and reject what the Lord Jesus died to save? No, since Christ loved the church, then all who love him and follow him must love it too.
Well, what else does Paul say in Ephesians? '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 reason the Lord Jesus died on the cross was to make the church holy, it was to cleanse the church, so that the church will one day be presented before him as perfect. This means that the church is central to God's purposes and plans. The church is at the heart of God's plan of salvation. It was because Christ loved the church that he died for her. And he died for her so that the church would become holy and he wanted the church to become holy so that one day the church could come before his glorious presence, pure and spotless and perfect and radiant.
Christ loves the church. This tells us how important the church is. This shows us how we ought to love the church and value it and pray for it and support it and be part of it.
BRIDE
So what is the church? What is it like? Well in the NT we come across several images or pictures which help us to understand what the church is like.
The first picture is one I've already referred to. But it is fundamental. It's the church as the bride of Christ. In Ephesians 5 the apostle Paul is giving instructions to husbands and wives about how they ought to treat one another and relate to one another. Husbands are to love their wives. Wives are to submit to their husbands. Now, why is this? Why should they treat one another in this way? Because they are to model the relationship which exists between the Lord Jesus and the church. As the church submits to Christ, so wives are to submit to their husbands. And as Christ loved the church, so husbands are to love their wives. In this way, marriage is a visual aid, a picture to represent the relationship which exists between Christ and the church.
Now, the important thing for us to note right here is what this tells us about Christ's attitude towards the church. He loves the church. Now, isn't that a wonderful thing to know? We come here on a Sunday and gather together as the church of God. And perhaps we feel sometimes how small we are. And we feel insignificant and unimportant. We're disregarded by the mass of people living in Ireland today. But we are not insignificant to God, because the Son of God loves us. And perhaps other people laugh at us and mock us. They are scornful. They criticise us for what we believe and they think that we are foolish for coming to worship on Sundays. But look, the Eternal Son of God, the King of kings, loves us. And then of course we see our faults and our mistakes. And we are ashamed of them and we think to ourselves that we are so unacceptable to God. Others find fault in us. We find fault with ourselves. God will surely find fault with us. But then we remember this: the Son of God loves us and he loves us so much that he was prepared to die for us in order to make us holy and perfect and blameless so that one day our faults and blemishes and failures will be gone and we will appear before him radiant and perfect. And right now, in this present life, he is patient with us and forgiving, because he loves us.
To many people living in Ireland today, God seems so remote and far away. They wonder whether it's possible to make contact with him and to know him. Does God know me? Can I know him and his help? But those who members of God's church can say with confidence: God does know us. He loves us. Because Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
So what is the church? It is like a bride because it is loved by the Lord Jesus.
VINE
The second image I want to mention is that of a vine and its branches. In John 15 the Lord says these words:
John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
He is the vine and his people, the members of the church, are the branches. And the branches bear much fruit. A couple of weeks ago John and I were down at the canal in Naas and the bushes were bursting all over with blackberries. John had a basket which we filled with berries. And that is what the true church is like, says the Lord Jesus. It is bursting with fruit, and the fruit is a sign and demonstration of life. In vineyard, the life of the vine flows into the branches and produces fruit, grapes. And in the church, the life of Christ, his mighty power and great grace flows into his people, the members of the church, and produces spiritual fruit.
Now, let us think about this. You look at a tree or a plant in the depths of winter and there is nothing growing on it and so you naturally wonder, 'Is it alive? Is there any life in that plant?' You cannot tell, because there are no leaves and there is no fruit and so there is no sign of life. But come back later in the year, and there are leaves and there is fruit and you know there's a plant that is alive and well and flourishing. And that's the way it is with the true church. There is life. There is vitality. There is the life of Christ flowing through us and his life in us produces an effect, it makes a difference, it produces fruit in our lives.
Well, what is this fruit? It is the effect of Christ living in us. And when Christ and his mighty power is flowing through us, then it affects what we think about and what we talk about. It affects what we love. It affects what we do. With Christ's life charging through us, we become like him so that the members of the church begin to live like him. A branch that is attached to an apple tree will produce apples. A branch that is attached to a pear tree will produce pears. And a person who is attached to the Lord Jesus will produce the character and the qualities of the Lord Jesus.
And so what is the church? How do we recognise it? What is it like? It is something that is characterised by life, and vitality, and therefore by fruitfulness.
BODY
The third image used of the church is a body. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth and he says:
1 Corinthians 12:12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.... 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Paul uses this image for several reasons. Firstly, he wants to make the point that each person is vital in the church. Think about our own bodies. Each part of our body is vital. We need our arms and legs and hands and feet and eyes and nose and mouth. And whenever we meet someone who is missing one of these, we're aware of their great loss and how difficult life is for them. Someone struggles to get around, because he is missing a leg. Think of how someone who cannot see is prevented from doing certain things. They are limited, restricted. And each member of the church is vital and indispensable. The body is made up of many parts. And if one part is missing, then the whole body suffers. If one part of the body is missing, then the rest of the body feels it. And that's why it's always a shame when people are missing from church. They think it doesn't matter. It doesn't really matter if I come to church or not. But it does matter, for we are all part of the one body.
And why does it matter? Because of the different functions we carry out. Think again of our own bodies. We need our legs and feet for walking. And we need for arms and legs for carrying. We need our eyes for sight and our ears for hearing. Each part has a vital and necessary function and the body only functions properly when all parts doing their job. Well, it's the same in the church. We all have our part to play. We all have a certain function, some role that we can perform as we seek to serve God together. Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians to speak about the various gifts which God has given to his people in the church. One member of the church has this gift which is vital. Another person has this gift which is also vital. A third person has another gift and it too is vital. No one has all the gifts, for they are spread out among us. Paul says, 'God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.' God has arranged the church this way. Each member is vital and each member has something wonderful and vital and necessary to contribute.
And so what is the church? It is a body made up of many parts. Each part is necessary because each part has a role to play and a function to perform and a gift to use for the glory of God.
TEMPLE
And the final image I want to mention today is the image of the temple. What is the significance of this image? Well, what was the temple in the OT? It was the place where God was said to dwell. When King Solomon was dedicating the newly built temple in Jerusalem, he realised that God was far too great and awesome and powerful to live in a temple. he realised that not even the highest heavens could contain the Lord God. However, very wonderfully and very graciously, God had chosen to meet his people in the temple. When the people wanted to worship God, they came to the temple. When they wanted to offer sacrifices, they went to the temple. When they sought God's forgiveness, they went to the temple. Though God is everywhere, his people knew that they could meet him in a very special way in the temple.
And when the apostle Paul says in the book of Ephesians that the church is now the temple of God, that is what he is referring to. Listen to what he says:
Ephesians 2:21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
People are looking for God. They are wondering where to find him. How can they know him? Well, where do we find God? Here, among his people, the church, because God dwells among his people by his Spirit. Think about this. If we are God's people, if we are members of the true church, men and women who have been chosen by God before the creation of the world, predestined to be adopted as his children, called by God through the preaching of the gospel and enabled to respond to that call and to leave behind our life of sin and to turn in faith to the Saviour and so to cling to him for dear life, if we are members of the true church, then God is here, among us, dwelling with us by his Spirit. And he dwells within us. He doesn't come and visit his people from time to time and they go off and leave us. He dwells among his people. He lives within them. He makes our hearts his home. Listen again to Paul:
Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
CHRIST
Well, in closing did you notice the place given to the Lord Jesus in all of this? The church is like a bride because we are loved by the Lord Jesus. The church is like a vine tree; we are the branches and the vine is the Lord Jesus. The church is like a body; we are the body of Christ. The church is like a temple; because the Lord Jesus dwells in our hearts through faith and by his Spirit. In other words, what is it that makes the church the church? What makes the church different from any other organisation and club and group? Are we just a group of like-minded people, no different from any other kind of group? Are we like a sports club, only instead of supporting a football team, we support God? Are we like a golf club. One group of people like golf and another group of people like religion? Is there anything that makes us different?
Yes, there is. The difference is the Lord Jesus. It is because of our relationship to Christ that we become members of the church and we only remain members of the church because of our relationship to him. And that's why we make so much of him. Because the church will only grow as people come to know and to love and to trust and to rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Presbyterian Church makes much of Christ. That's one reason why we don't have bishops and archbishops and a hierarchy of leaders. There is only one leader, one head of the church and it is Jesus Christ. The minister and the elder and the deacon are no more important than anyone else. We only differ in the gifts that he been given to us and the role that has been assigned to us. But the job we all have, the calling that has been given to every one of us, is to love the Lord Jesus and to point people to him so that they too will trust the one who loved the church and gave himself for her