140511 The Church of the Living God

1 Timothy 3:14-15 I (Paul) hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, ¹⁵ if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

Timothy was Paul’s son in the faith. As time went by, Timothy became a “fellow worker” as he matured in faith. He is mentioned about 20 times in the letters of the apostle Paul. In this passage of Scripture, Paul refers to Timothy’s need to know how to conduct oneself in the household of God. Then he describes the household of God as the church of the Living God. Paul adds to that description the concept that the church is to be, “a pillar and buttress of the truth” I want us to spend a little time this morning thinking about what the church really is.

Let me begin by explaining that the word which is usually translated as “church” is the word that is also translated as “assembly” or, “gathering”. The word would be used in the everyday language of the common people to represent a gathering in the public assembly. We are comfortable with the use of this word to represent the household of faith because it’s the word that Jesus used.

Jesus said he would build his church. Listen to the words that Jesus said in Matthew 16:18. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

In order to be fully understood Jesus’s statement has to be put in into its context. Jesus and his disciples have traveled into the district called Caesarea Philippi. And in that remote setting he asked them, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” After getting several answers Jesus asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Then, based on that answer, Jesus said, “… on this rock I will build my church”. First, let me clear up the notion that the church was built upon Peter! The word used for “rock” is the word that represents a large ridge of rock or a giant boulder. The name “Peter” means a small rock or, if you will, a chip off the old block! The “rock” that Jesus will build his church on is the confession of Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

It’s important to note that Jesus did not say, “You will build my church”. Jesus said that he would build the church! We can do all kinds of things that will help the church to grow in numbers but we cannot in a real sense “build the church”. That is the work of Christ! As we shall see, the church is a living organism. It is not a building made of materials like wood or stone. The concept of the church being a building helps us understand how we are bound together but this is only one of the metaphors that is used in the Bible. Please note that Jesus described the church as being a force the gates of hell cannot stand against. There is an old hymn called, “Hold the Fort”. The theme of the hymn is that the church is surrounded by the enemy — holding on — and waiting for Jesus to come! Well, that’s not what Jesus said! Jesus said that the gates of hell will not win out in a contest with the church. Gates are not an offensive tool. Gates are a defensive tool! Jesus will build his church and as it expands it will ultimately overrun the gates of hell. There are places in the world where the church seems to be surrounded and in a defensive posture but by and large the church is militant and on the move against the enemy. Jesus is able to build his church because…

Jesus died for the church. Let’s look at the comparison Paul used in Ephesians 5:25-32.  Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷ so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰ because we are members of his body. ³¹ “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

I usually use this passage of Scripture in a marriage ceremony. Because it so clearly points out the responsibilities of the husband. I believe the stability of a marriage is dependent upon the man’s treatment of his wife. Husbands are to love their wives in the same way that Christ loved the church and died for it! But the last verse of this passage makes it very clear that Paul intended to use marriage to illustrate the church’s relationship to Christ. In a good marriage husband and wife complete each other. However, in many marriages the expectation seems to be that the wife will submit herself to the husband and he will rule the roost. That’s backwards! The husband is to love his wife in the same way that Christ loves the church! My experience has been that when a woman knows that she is loved and protected by her husband she will have no trouble at all submitting herself to his leadership. If, on the other hand, she does not sense his love and protection; and sense that he is willing to die for her; she is going find it very hard to allow him to be the leader in the home. Man, if you want your to submit to you LOVE HER INTO IT!!

Jesus Christ is qualified to build his church because he died so the church could have life. Not only is he qualified to build his church but…

The Lord grows the church. Let’s look at a short statement given at the beginning of the church’s existence. It is found in Acts 2:47b. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Again, we need to put this statement in its context. Please, anytime you look at a short passage of Scripture try to see how it fits into the “big picture”! The day of Pentecost has arrived and the disciples are gathered in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came upon them. After that they move out of the upper room into the temple courtyard where there were thousands of worshipers gathered. Peter preached his first sermon and the disciples themselves began to witness in the languages of all the people that were there.

As a result of this witness, about three thousand people were added to the church! Following that, they devoted themselves to the process of becoming “the church”. They did this by focusing on the Bible, fellowshipping with one another, breaking bread together, and praying! The church had truly been established that day! They didn’t just go to meetings; they devoted themselves! Then, day by day the Lord added to their numbers those who were being saved. We must do everything that we can to introduce people to faith and make our part of the church a welcoming place where they will feel accepted, loved and nurtured. We can add people to the membership rolls of the local church but only Christ can add people who are true believers to the church. We can do the best we possibly can to be sure that they are properly taught but we cannot know for sure what their heart’s condition is. Only Christ can know if they are truly saved. We need to remember that…

“The church” includes all true believers. In Hebrews 12:1, we are told that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses that represent the true believers throughout history. That “great cloud” represents the universal church in paradise. In verse 23 of the same chapter the writer of Hebrews refers to, “the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.” There is no doubt that this is referring to the church. In fact, the KJV adds the words “and church” to make it very clear.

Scripturally, “the church” is not the Baptist Church, the Methodist Church, or the Roman Catholic Church, etc. The church really represents all true believers of all places and all ages. At the same time…

“The church” may represent true believers in a region. Acts 9:31 says So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Again, let’s put that in its context. This is a time in the life of the church where there was peace and the opposition was confused and scattered. Saul of Tarsus who would later be called Paul the apostle had been stopped on the Damascus Road by the Lord Jesus Christ himself and taken into Damascus to be saved. He had been the leader of the zealots who were arresting the Christians, imprisoning them, and even putting them to death! When he was taken out of the picture the opposition seemed to collapse. Then Saul began to preach the truth about Jesus Christ. The Bible says that he confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus. After that his former friends were threatening to take his life — he escaped the city and went to Jerusalem to meet with the church leaders. When he was in Jerusalem he was a very outspoken advocate of the gospel. He was moved on to his hometown of Tarsus and then, and only then, did the church throughout the region enjoy peace and solid growth the Lord didn’t just “add to the church” the church throughout the region multiplied! Multiplication causes growth much faster than addition. Pray that our numbers will multiply!

The church is all true believers of all ages. Christ loved the church and died for it. It is possible to think of the church as all the believers in a particular area but…

The local church is what is seen. In Philemon 1-2 and in Romans 16:5, “the church in their house” is referred to.

For the first two or three centuries the church either met in rented space or, more commonly, met in homes. Today, much of the growth of the church is in “house churches” not in church buildings. Throughout Africa and Asia many people become true believers in a home. Many Christian leaders today do not recognize the house churches as being important. This is a serious mistake! These churches should be encouraged and strengthened. Someday they may grow to the point that they need a building but in the meantime they can effectively get the gospel into people’s lives. Many times the people who are reached through house churches are people who would not enter a church building even when one exists. It may seem hard to realize the fact that many people are not sure that they would be accepted by the people who go to a church building.

Today “the church in their house” might be a home Bible study. Being able to sit down in someone’s living room and fellowship with other people along with a Bible study can be attractive to some people who won’t, or can’t, come to church on Sunday. The house church or home Bible study more clearly portrays…

The church as God’s family. Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 5:1-2 reflect the idea that the church should be a family. Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, ² older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

In the beginning of the gospel of John we are told that Jesus came to his own country and his own people did not receive him. But those who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. These children are born again by the will of God. When a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ he, or she, is transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light! That’s another way of saying that when we are saved we are moved out of the family of Adam and Eve and into the family of God. There is a chorus we used to sing it goes something like this:

I have a new way of living, I have a new life Divine,

I have the fruit of the spirit, I’m abiding, abiding in the vine.

Abiding in the vine, abiding in the vine,

Love, joy, health, peace, he has made them mine.

I have prosperity, power and victory, abiding, abiding in the vine!

We have been brought into a new family with a new way of looking at things. I don’t know how many times I heard my parents say, “In this family we don’t do that!” whenever I made some comment that I shouldn’t have or asked to do something that I couldn’t do.

When we were part of the family of Adam and Eve we lived by one set of standards. When we become a part of the family of Christ we take on a new standard of living. The church worldwide is a large family. At the very least, we should look at true believers in other churches or in other countries as our cousins in the faith. The truth is they are our brothers and sisters. As Bill and Gloria Gaither taught us to sing,

I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God.
You will notice we say "brother and sister" 'round here,
It's because we're a family and these are so near;
When one has a heartache, we all share the tears,
And rejoice in each victory in this family so dear.
I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God.
From the door of an orphanage to the house of the King,
No longer an outcast, a new song I sing;
From rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong,
I'm not worthy to be here, but praise God I belong!
I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God

Jesus promised that he would build his church. As we look further at the church, as it is presented in the Bible, we will see that Jesus is literally “building” a temple of God made up of “living stones” and those stones are true believers of all ages and places. We will see that the church is the bride of Christ. The church is made up of sheep following a shepherd who is Christ.

In other metaphors, the Bible compares the church to branches on a vine; to an olive tree; to a field of crops; to a harvest; to a temple; to God’s house and the church is portrayed as the body of Christ. In the next few weeks we will look at several of these pictures of the church so that we can understand better what it means to be part of God’s church in the world today.

Most people today think of the church as a physical building and that’s too bad because it leaves them without an understanding of what the church really is. The true church is a living building made up of individual “living stones” that constitute a royal priesthood. Individual Christians really need to see themselves as part of a larger body. Each one fulfilling the role God intends for them. “Church” is not a building and is not an event it is a fellowship of true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ strengthening and encouraging one another. Are you part of that building? If not, today is the day of salvation now is the accepted time!

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.