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The Biblical Significance of the Church: A Guide to Understanding its Role and Importance

Delve into the importance of the church in a Christian's life, from its roots in the Old Testament to the teachings of Christ in the Gospels and the early church in Acts. Understand how the church serves as a vital connection for spiritual growth and fulfillment in Christ, carrying out God's will and purpose. Explore the role of the Holy Spirit in empowering believers and the necessity of community and worship within the church. Discover insights from the Epistles on the God-ordained stature of the church and its role in nurturing and building up the body of Christ.

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The Biblical Significance of the Church: A Guide to Understanding its Role and Importance

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  1. June 25, 2017 Christ our Savior blesses us daily!

  2. Why the Church is Vitally Important for Every Christian! Romans 12:3-8

  3. Why the Church is Vitally Important for Every Christian! Romans 12:3-8

  4. Introduction: What does the Bible have to say about the Church? Mention the church to a group of Christians and you are likely to get a mixed response. Some might say that, while they do love Jesus they don’t love the church. Others might respond, “Of course we love the church.” God has ordained the church, a fellowship of the flawed, to carry out his purpose and will in the • world. When we consider the biblical teaching on the church, we realize the church is vitally important for growing in Christ. Like a branch that grows because of its connection to the tree, we thrive when we stay connected to the church.

  5. *The church in the Bible: Old Testament Life and worshipWhen we can look at what the New Testament teaches about the church, we first need to see what the Old Testament says about life and worship. God instructed Moses to build a tabernacle-a portable tent that represented the presence of God dwelling right in the middle of His people. The tabernacle and later the temple were places where God ordained the sacrifices to be carried out and the festivals to be celebrated. The tabernacle • and temple functioned as the central place of instruction and teaching about God and His will for Israel. From the tabernacle and temple, Israel sounded forth loud and joyful psalms of praise and worship to God. The tabernacle and the temple were meant to be the spiritual center for Israel.

  6. *The Church in the Bible: Christ and the GospelsThe church did not officially come into existence until the day of Pentecost, after Jesus had died and had risen. How ever, even in the Gospels we learn many things from Christ concerning the church. First, we have Jesus’ declaration, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18). • “Gates” likely represent the power of hell, which is no match whatsoever for Jesus. • Second, Jesus hands the church its mission statement and purpose for existence when He gives the disciples the Great Commission in Mt 28:16-20. As the church goes out into the world, it is called to make disciples, carrying out the task of baptizing the new disciples and teaching them all that Christ

  7. has commanded. These activities must characterize every local church’s work and life. The third thing we learn from Jesus concerning the church comes from His high-priestly prayer in Jn. 17. At the end of the prayer, Jesus expressed to the Father, “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known” (Jn. 17:26). We are literally the presence of Christ on earth and the church’s mission is exactly the same as Christ’s mission: to proclaim God’s name. • The incarnation model of the church means that we live and behave with full realization that we represent Christ to the world and to each other.

  8. *The Church in the Bible: The Book of ActsAct tell the story of the church, from its inception on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 to chapter 28 with Paul at Rome. In between, the church experiences tragedies and triumphs, sorrows and joys. The book of Acts tells the story of the young church, persecuted but bold. • Two things stand out in the life of the early church. One concerns the power of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the Gospels we see apostles who were scared, even to the point of hiding. Then in the early chapters of Acts these same apostles boldly turn the world upside down. The key to understanding what happened to them is seen in Acts 1:8 (in Christ’s prophecy), then in Acts 2 (prophecy’s fulfillment). The apostles received the Holy Spirit, and with the Spirit they received

  9. Power. This same Spirit still binds believers together and brings us into the family of God (Eph. 4:1-7). The Holy Spirit graciously gives us spiritual gifts, according to Romans 12:3-8 and I Corinthians 12:4-11. God has designed the church to be the place where these gifts are discovered, nurtured and used to build up the body of Christ and bring it to maturity, ultimately for the glory of God (I Cor. 14). • First, the same Spirit who worked powerfully in the early church continues to work in and through the church today. Second, the book of Acts shows how the church functions and what it does. Members of the early church “devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).

  10. All these activities are essential to growing in Christ, and all occur within the local church. *The Church in the Bible: The Epistles With a few exceptions, these books were written to churches, stressing again the God-ordained stature of the church. In the Epistles, especially the letters of Paul to Titus and Timothy, Paul clearly could not conceive of living the Christian life apart from the church. Paul and other NT writers often use word pictures to describe the church. At one point Paul calls the church the household of God ( I Tim.3:15). The church is a family (Gal.3:28; Heb.13:1; I Pet.1:22). The church is a building ( Eph. 2:20-22; I Pet. 2:4-5). The church is pictured as a flock of sheep ( I pet. 5:1-4). And one of Paul’s favorite metaphor is of the church as

  11. Christ’s body ( Eph.4:11-16; I Cor.12:12-27). All of these metaphors contribute to a fuller understanding of how to live the Christian Life as a part of the church. • The church is even pictured as a bride (II Cor. 11:2-4; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:1-4). It is the bride of Christ-a bride for whom Jesus died. In the context of urging husbands to love their wives, Paul writes that “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her’ ( Eph. 5:25). What more could be said to underscore and establish the importance of the church for the Christian life?

  12. *The Church as the Communion of SaintsFrom the very beginning of God’s dealing with His people, the Bible has stressed community. In fact, biblical discussion of godly living is almost always set in the context of growing together, in community, as God’s people. • For Christians today, and for the last 2,000 years, God has established the local church as the vehicle for that community. Some current movements seek to replace more traditional understandings of the local church, seeing a group of friends meeting together, for instance, as church. That’s not quite the picture that we see in the NT.

  13. In the NT, we see young and old mixing, as older women and men are to teach younger women and men. We see people coming together to worship who come from different stages in life, different occupations, and different backgrounds. Paul stressed that social divides typical of most groups in society have no place in the church. The church should be a place of diversity, where each person can contribute to the whole. Limiting oneself to a circle of peers is not sanctioned by Scripture and does not promote spiritual growth. • Sadly, in our day there are churches in which leaders try to dominate their congregations rather than shepherd them in the model of selfless love of Jesus. But those bad examples do not take away the biblical command to gather and worship as a church. Local churches undoubtedly have their flaws, because they are made up of flawed, sinful people.

  14. The Apostles’ Creed refers to the church as a “Communion of saints.” As we come into the church we sometimes imagine that there will be no problems, no conflicts, and no frustrations among our community of saints. But we forget that we are a community of flawed people, still burdened by our imperfections and failures and sins. It is precisely because of our flaws and faults that we need each other.

  15. Summary:1) Many today are confused about the role and place for the church in their lives, saying God I love and Jesus is my Savior but the church I don’t need. 2) The church is where God intended for spiritual growth should take place. Where truth is to be examined and encouraged in the lives of each of us. 3) The church is a place in which we reside that that Hades cannot not keep me from my reward. 4) The church is a place where the Holy Spirit was poured out and empowered the Lord’s disciples and that is for us today. 5) The Christian life was to be lived in fellowship with the church.

  16. 6) The church is a vehicle for the community to come to know God and find salvation.7) The church is a place where social divides are not to exist, but we are to have a common bond with all.8) The church is where saved sinners come to get help from one another to fight the good fight and achieve God Himself relationally and therefore His presence.

  17. Benefits of attending church!1) Church anchors us. (It provides much needed balance!)2) We receive spiritual strength at church. (Strength/Lifts us up!)3) Church provides fellowship. (Enriches our lives!)4) Church provides opportunities to serve. (Give back!)5) We get to know God. (Learning about God!) 6) Church gives us a chance to reflect on Gratitude. (Thanks!) 7) Church helps us connect us socially. (Friendship!) 8) Church allows us to feel reverence. (Awe about God!) “There’s just something about being here that calms me down, makes me feel connected and whole, and simply allows me to breathe again.” Research shows- less depression/social support

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