Last week we talked about individuals who say “church” isn’t in the bible, and that you don’t need to go to “church” to be a believer, yet the Bible teaches much differently.
I had one person say that Jesus never went to church, so why would I need to? Jesus Himself was part of a church contrary to what some think. He WAS and IS the church, and was always part of an assembly except for the few times He wandered off to pray alone.
The first thing Jesus did in His ministry was gather 12 people to accompany Him as the nucleus of a new community (Matt.4:18-22). That’s an assembly. On the day of Pentecost Peter preached to the crowds and 3,000 people responded. They did not go home and become followers of Jesus privately and independently, but “They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teachings and to the FELLOWSHIP...” Saving faith entails a new community!
The account of Paul and his ministry reinforces this connection. During his first ministry journey, Paul and Barnabas went back to each of the cities in which they had preached, “strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith,” and they “appointed elders for them in each church” (Acts 14:22-23).
In his ministry of the gospel, Paul did not just make converts, he integrated those converts into new communities he called churches. From the beginning, God’s gospel created a new social solidarity.
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The word translated “church” comes from two Greek words that together mean “called out from the world for God.” The word is used throughout the Bible to refer to all those who have been born again (John 3:3) through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 10:9–10). The word church, when used to reference all believers everywhere, is synonymous with the term Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22–23; Colossians 1:18).
Scripturally the “Church” is first a community of ALL True Believers for all time. It is made up of all who are truly saved. Paul says in Eph. 5:25 “Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for Her.” Here the word Church is used to apply to all those whom Christ died to redeem, all those who are saved by the death of Christ.
Jesus Christ Himself builds the church by calling His people to Himself. He made a promise in Matthew 16:18: “I will build my church.” And Luke is careful to tell us that the growth of the church came not by human efforts alone, but that: “The LORD added to their numbers day by day who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). And Acts 2:44 says: “ALL THAT BELIEVED WERE TOGETHER.”
All throughout scripture God has always called His people to assemble and worship himself, it’s not just a New Testament concept.
The New Testament “Church” didn’t start happening until Jesus came to the earth, and after Jesus’ death and resurrection, there were technically no “churches” as in building yet. The disciples and others in the book of acts still periodically attended the “temples,” but they met together regularly. And after time and God building the numbers of His church, people began building places where they could assemble since the numbers were growing. This is why we see people meeting in their homes in the New Testament. The church had just begun, but as numbers grew, they began building places they could all gather together.
Next week we will look at more scriptures which talk about the “church” and the importance of gathering.
Last Update: Jul 10, 2017 7:24 am CDT
