Topic: The Church: Living for God’s Purpose - Matthew 16:18
Teacher: Nelson Masinde
PREFACE: God desires His people to live with a great sense of purpose for their lives. It is a sad statistic, but according to some polls, 36% of born-again Christians are still trying to find out the purpose of their lives. This is in contrast to only 49% of non-believers still trying to find
out the purpose of their lives. God wants every Christian to live for His purposes on this earth and has made them clear in His word.
3 Areas of Purpose All Christians are Called to Walk In
A. We are called to grow up/mature as followers of Christ.
The call of the Great Commission is a call to grow as we follow Christ. – Mat. 28:19-20.
Hebrews 6:1 - Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about Christ, let us press on to maturity.
Things that promote your growth and progress spiritually:
Systematic Bible reading,
Bible classes
Disciplined prayer times, and
Meeting with spiritual mentors and/or peer fellowship
B. Playing our part in building the body of Christ, the church on earth.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 18 - For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,.. But now God has placed the members, each one of them in the body, just as He desired.
Matthew 16:24-26 - We must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.
We are citizens of heaven (or a colony of heaven on earth) and are seeking to make His church
all He desires.
Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship/commonwealth is in heaven (we are a colony of heaven), from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians 4:26 But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.
Ephesians 2:19-20; 4:1, 15-16 -
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,..but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
When you embrace this purpose, you wake up and think thoughts like, “How can I help motivate, serve, and encourage my brothers and sisters to live the lifestyle of heaven on earth? What can I contribute to seeing my fellow citizens’ live God’s ways in the earth? Who can I help disciple in the ways of God?”
C. We are to be ambassadors for Christ. This is not disconnected from the other two purposes
2 Corinthians 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
The word “ambassador” means, “to represent one royal court to another.” We are representing God and His ways to the world around us in order to see them reconciled to God.
This has to do with both aspects of evangelism: Demonstration and Declaration
Everyday when we get up and go to work, to the campus, or to the marketplace, we go as ambassadors of Christ who are trying to see mankind reconciled to Him.
This purpose and mission should motivate us and dominate our thinking. We don’t just go to our job, class, or store; we go to our mission field as ambassadors of Christ.
If this isn’t at the forefront of our thinking we will tend to live in futility.
The Local Church: Building a House Where His Presence Dwells
PREFACE: In its simplest form the church is relationships. It is walking out a joining together with God and those He joins us to in the Local Church. Relationships in the Local Church are not to be a nice theory of fellowship but to be a way of life serving God together.
Local Church - An identifiable group of believers who are joined together by God in a way of life serving God under the oversight of God-given pastors. This includes worship, prayer, serving, fellowship, and mutual submission.
A. The practical living of the truths of relationships and the Church involves a commitment to the Local Church.
B. The context of the Bible (specifically the New Testament) is the context of the Local Church.
The New Testament was written to Local Churches and it is only in that context that it can be properly understood.
The Church is mentioned 114 times in the New Testament, 96 of those times it is in reference to the local Church.
C. We tend to individualize the scriptures which causes us to misinterpret their Local Church context.
Examples: Rom 12:1-2, The context is vs 3-18
1Pet 1:23, The context is vs 22-2:10
You can read your Bible with individual glasses, or corporate glasses. It is obvious that the Bible is a corporate book. It is not just God’s personal love letter to you, but is His love letter to His Bride, the Church.
D. To correctly experience the Biblical design of relationships there must be a joining together in a Local Church.
To say you are functioning right with the head (Christ) and are not functioning right with the body (The Church) is an abnormality. Many believers want only a relationship with the head but not the body, which is a distorted image of the plan of God.
The New Testament was written to Local Churches and it is only in that context that it can be properly understood.
The Universal Church
THE EXPERIENCE OF THE EARLY CHURCH
This was the Church that “turned the world upside down”. Acts 17:6. They made a great impact in the earth. This is in great contrast to society’s view of the Church today as boring, irrelevant, impersonal, and full of hypocrites.
Quote from “Restoration In The Church”
A. The Church of Pentecost.
Acts 2:36-47; 4:31-33; 5:42
Authentic Christianity “Coming under the loving Lordship of Jesus, and being joined to a company of imperfect people who are learning to live a new life in a new way.”
B. One of the hallmarks was that they were devoted to fellowship. Acts 2:42.
Fellowship - Koinonia - a having in common, partnership, a shared life, or a common life. It is where we get our word “community”.
Their view of Church was not a building, a meeting, or an organization. They saw it as a joined
together group of people (people in relationship with God and each other) relating and working
together on a regular basis to extend the Kingdom of God.
C. Examples of the life of fellowship in the Early Church’s experience.
They prayed, broke bread, and received teaching together. Acts 2:43
They were together and held things in common. Acts 2:44
They shared material possessions as any had need. Acts 2:45, 4:32
They walked together living their lives on a daily basis. Acts 2:46
They ate meals together in their homes. Acts 2:46
They praised God together. Acts 2:47, 4:24
They met in the Temple and from house to house. Acts 2:46
They were united in purpose, one heart one soul. Acts 4:32 (They had a common destiny in God together).
There wasn’t a needy one among them due to their benevolence. Acts 4:32
The Universal Church is…
The Bride of Christ – Eph. 5:25-27; Rev. 19:7-9, 21:2
The vehicle through which He accomplishes His purpose on earth - 1 Corinthians 12:12–27
The carriers of the presence of God on the earth – Acts 7:48; John 14:16-17
The change agent in the earth – Mat. 5:13-16
The reflection of Heaven to the earth – Gen. 1:26, 2 Cor. 3:18
The temple and residence of the Holy Spirit – Eph. 2:19-22
Composed of all believers from all churches across the entire earth that profess the name of Jesus.