Tag Archives: church

Christ’s Blueprint for the Church – “Preaches the Gospel”

Paul writes in Ephesians 3:8-11: “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The church was in the eternal plans of God. During the Old Testament times, it was a mystery, hidden for ages. But, God chose Paul, among others, to share His grace with mankind. Notice that Paul was given grace: 1.) to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and 2.) to bring to light for everyone what is the plan.

Those two purposes of God giving grace to Paul highlight for us the importance of preaching in God’s plan of salvation. He was called to “preach” and to “bring to light.”

The church picks up where Jesus left off in His teaching. Let’s turn to the book of Acts. As we seek to follow the blueprint Jesus left for the church, we observe that our preaching and teaching…

NEEDS TO BE FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT:

When the church of Christ begins in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit guided Peter and the rest of the apostles to preach, to teach the Gospel.

The first thing Peter does is quote from the Old Testament – from Joel 2:28-32. In verse 25, Peter quotes David in Psalm 16. In verse 30, he quotes 2 Samuel 7. In verse 34, he quotes Psalm 110. There are some 36 explicit citations of the Old Testament in the book of Acts. That’s more than one per chapter. Clearly the Old Testament was an important source of authority and teaching for the apostles and they believed that their audience needed to know the Old Testament.

NEEDS TO BE ABOUT THE LIFE OF JESUS:

Peter taught about the life of Jesus – “a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst” (2:22). See also Acts 10:38.

You can’t build your life on jokes or anecdotes or history or warm-fuzzy stories. The only foundation that is sure and stable is Jesus Christ. That’s why we’ve got to study and preach and teach the life of Jesus.

NEEDS TO BE ABOUT THE CRUCIFIXION:

Peter moves from the life of Jesus to the crucifixion in Acts 2:23 – “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”

But, before we can understand the significance of the crucifixion, we’ve got to understand the significance of sin. This is the part of preaching and teaching that so many people do not like. We do not like to be corrected. We do not like to be rebuked. We want to think that whatever we are doing is fine. So, the preaching of the church of Christ must preach on sin.

NEEDS TO BE ABOUT THE RESURRECTION:

The bad news is the crucifixion. The good news is in verse 24 – “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

The resurrection. What does it mean that the resurrection is a central part of our preaching? It means death to sin. Death to temptation. Death to the very process of dying.

NEEDS TO TELL US ABOUT SALVATION:

When Peter had grounded his preaching in the Old Testament, and told about the life of Jesus, His crucifixion, and His resurrection, he draws his lesson to a conclusion in verse 36: “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

The Jews then understood that they needed to respond. Faith demands a response. If you don’t obey, then you don’t really believe. So, they asked Peter what to do to be saved. And Peter told them (2:38).

So, preaching has to do with more than just preaching the crucifixion and resurrection. It also involves answering the question “What must I do to be Saved?”

–Paul Holland

Fruit Inspectors

A farmer one time invited a friend to come to his orchard and gather some apples. The friend declined and explained why by saying, “I passed your orchard and picked up one of the apples that had fallen over the fence, and I never tasted anything so sour in all my life. I don’t care for that kind of fruit.”

The farmer answered his friend by saying, “Those trees around the outside are for the benefit of boys passing by. I went 200 miles to select the sourest apples I could find to plant around the edge so that they might give them up as not worth stealing. Now, if you come inside, you will find that we grow a different quality there. They are as sweet as honey.”

The world is filled with fruit inspectors and the church will be judged by its fruit. Those who live closest to the world usually disappoint the fruit inspectors. Their irregular attendance, their complaints about the brethren, and limited involvement leaves a bad impression of the Lord’s church. Where are you in the orchard? Let’s try our best this year to be positive and to say positive things about the church and our brethren.

–Tim Woodward

The value of the church

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WHEN I WAS a little kid, I got a pretty nasty burn on my leg…

The doctor applied a bandage designed to adhere to the burned skin.  The bandage was made of a material that had a healing ointment in it, and as the burn healed and the skin began to grow, the bandage and the skin fused.  It worked almost like a skin graft, and it was very effective in the process of healing.

This is a picture of what the local church should be.  We are not to be a band-aid that provides a small amount of healing and protection for the hurting people around us, only to be taken off and once again made separate.  The church should be fused with those who have been “burned,” working as a unit to bring about healing.  Part of our strategy is to become a vital part of life in our region, not just to be a place for people to visit on the weekends but truly to be a healing place for a hurting world.  We want to be involved, to be part of the cure, and to be a resource for rehabilitation and spiritual restoration.  (Dino Rizzo)

“And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.”  Matthew 14:14

–Mike Benson

Is the kingdom the same as the church?

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Is the “kingdom” the same as the “church”? The answer to this question is both “yes” and “no.” In some places “church” and “kingdom” are virtual synonyms. In other passages “church” and “kingdom” do not mean the same thing.

Jesus said His people would partake of the Lord’s Supper in the “kingdom” (Mt. 26:29) and Paul said this activity is done in the “church” (1 Cor. 11:20-22). In Mt. 16:18 Jesus spoke of the “church” and then immediately spoke of the “kingdom” (Mt. 16:19). Paul said the saved are “translated into the kingdom” (Col. 1:13) and then spoke of the “church” just a few verses later (Col. 1:18). In this same book he referred to “fellow workers in the “kingdom” (Col. 4:11) and then spoke of the “church” (Col. 4:15-16). Paul wrote to the “church” at Thessalonica (1 Thess. 1:1) and then said these Christians had been “called into the kingdom” (1 Thess. 2:12). The Hebrew writer spoke of the “church” (Heb. 12:23) and then said these saints had access to the kingdom (Heb. 12:28). Jesus’ blood purchased a “kingdom” (Rev. 5:9-10, ASV), but Acts 20:28 says Jesus’ blood purchased the church.

Just as there are different words in the New Testament that describe “elders” to describe different facets of an elder’s work (compare Tit. 1:5 with Tit. 1:7), so “kingdom” and “church” are sometimes used in this same way.

While many passages do use “kingdom” and “church” interchangeably, these two words are not always identical. In Mt. 8:12 when Jesus said “but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth” He clearly was not referring to the church. Satan has a “kingdom” (Mt. 12:26), but this kingdom is certainly not the church. At the end of time when Jesus invites the saved into the kingdom (Mt. 25:34) He will not be inviting people into the church. In places where “kingdom” and “church” are not interchangeable, the word “kingdom” generally has the sense of “rule.” All are “in the kingdom” in the sense that each one is accountable to God for his or her actions (i.e. God reigns or rules over all people). Only those who become Christians are “in the kingdom” in the sense of being a member of the church and thus part of the saved.

More information about the “kingdom” in the sense of the church is available at www.abiblecommentary.com/newtestamentchristianity