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Becoming a Christian: Lesson 3 - The Church, Christ's Body

Introduction

• The purpose of the lesson before us is to learn something of the origin and nature of the church as it is revealed in the New Testament.

• We hear the term "church" used in a variety of senses today. Some use it to refer to a building, some to a man-made organization and some to a "religious social club"

• We want to restrict ourselves to the use of the word as found in the New Testament.

The New Testament church is a body of people who belong to the Lord.

• The meaning of the word "church" comes from the Greek word "ecclesia". The literal meaning is "to call out". This is the word used by NT writers. The word as used by Jesus and the apostles describes a "called out body of people".

• It is the body to which the saved are added.
  • Acts 2:47:praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

• Christ is the Head of this body. The terms "body" and "church" are used interchangeably.
  • Ephesians 1:22-23: ²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
  • Colossians 1:18: And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

• We must conclude: The church is not a building, but a body of people who are called out of the world by Christ.

The word "church" has two usages in the New Testament.

• Refers to the called out in a "local" sense.
  • 1 Corinthians 1:2: To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ�their Lord and ours
  • Galatians 1:1-2: ¹ Paul, an apostle�sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead� ² and all the brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia

• Romans 16:16 and 2 Corinthians 8:23-24 speaks of local congregations.
  • Romans 16:16: Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.
  • 2 Corinthians 8:23-24: ²³ As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. ²⁴ Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.

• The second use is those who are the called out in a "universal" sense. All members of the church the world over.
  • Matthew 16:18: And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
  • Ephesians 5:23-25: ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

    ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

Being "called out" is a divine calling by Jesus.

• 1 Peter 5:10: And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

• Called into the fellowship and peace of the one body.
  • 1 Corinthians 1:9: God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
  • Colossians 3:15: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

• As a result of our calling, we have a new relationship. We now belong to God. The price paid? We are bought and paid for by Jesus, thus, I belong to Him!
  • Romans 9:25: As he says in Hosea: �I will call them �my people� who are not my people; and I will call her �my loved one� who is not my loved one,�
  • 1 John 3:1: See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
  • 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: ¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
  • Acts 20:28: Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
  • 1 Peter 1:18-19: ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Ownership of the body is in Christ. This is why the church is called the "body of Christ".

• 1 Corinthians 12:27: Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
• Jesus said He would "build My church". What is so significant about this is that "My" denotes ownership. The church didn't originate with man, but through the precious blood of Jesus. Thus, the church belongs only to Jesus, not to any man!
  • Matthew 16:18: And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

It is the body of the saved. There is ONE body and ONE Savior! Entrance into that body is by BAPTISM!

• Ephesians 5:23: For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
• Ephesians 4:4-5: ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
• 1 Corinthians 12:13: For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body�whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free�and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

The Bible uses another term to describe God's people: The kingdom

• Colossians 1:13: For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves

• The church and kingdom are used interchangeably.
  • Matthew 16:18-19: ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.�

• The kingdom was foretold in OT prophecy.
  • Daniel 2:44: �In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.
  • 1 Chronicles 17:11-14: ¹¹ When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³ I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. ¹⁴ I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.��
  • Isaiah 9:6-7: ⁶ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David�s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

• Christ is the king to the kingdom, just as He is the Head to the church.
  • John 18:36: Jesus said, �My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.�

• Just as the King and the Head are the same Person, the kingdom and the church are the same body of people.

• If the kingdom and the church are the same, we must conclude the rules of admission are the same. Water and Spirit parallels.
  • John 3:3-5: ³ Jesus replied, �Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.�

    ⁴ �How can someone be born when they are old?� Nicodemus asked. �Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother�s womb to be born!�

    ⁵ Jesus answered, �Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.

  • 1 Corinthians 12:13: For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body�whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free�and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
  • Matthew 7:21 �Not everyone who says to me, �Lord, Lord,� will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

The New Testament uses another term to describe Christ's body:

• The Household of God.
  • Ephesians 2:19: Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God�s people and also members of his household
  • 1 Timothy 3:15: 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.

• God is the Father, Christ is the Son over the house
  • Hebrews 3:6: But Christ is faithful as the Son over God�s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

• Those called in God's house are sons and heirs.
  • Galatians 4:4-7: ⁴ But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. ⁶ Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, �Abba, Father.� ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but God�s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
  • Romans 8:15-17: ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, �Abba, Father.� ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God�s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs�heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

• There are only two kinds of children, we are one or the other.
  • 1 John 3:10: This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God�s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

• The terms of admission? Obviously, they are the same as for the kingdom and church.

• Admission is by birth into God's family. A seed must be planted. The seed produces faith in Jesus Christ, which leads to the new birth.
  • Luke 8:11: �This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God."
  • 1 Peter 1:23: For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
  • Galatians 3:26-27: ²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

• When we are in Christ, then we are children of God.

• All of God's children are in His family. God has only one family. Question: If the church is God's family, how many churches does He have? How many of God's children are in the church?

Conclusion

• There are other terms found in the New Testament that are descriptive of the church.
  • Ephesians 2:19-22: ¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God�s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 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.
  • Matthew 20:1-16: ¹ �For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

    ³ �About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, �You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.� ⁵ So they went.

    �He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶ About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, �Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?�

    ⁷ ��Because no one has hired us,� they answered.

    �He said to them, �You also go and work in my vineyard.�

    ⁸ �When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, �Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.�

    ⁹ �The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹² �These who were hired last worked only one hour,� they said, �and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.�

    ¹³ �But he answered one of them, �I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn�t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don�t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?�

    ¹⁶ �So the last will be first, and the first will be last.�

• We must remember, respect for Christ DEMANDS that we respect that body He purchased with His own blood.