Naming the church

1. “What church do you belong to” is a question many of us are often asked.

2. This is an important question.

3. To what church do we belong?

LIKE ANY OTHER QUESTION, IT IS OUR DUTY TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER FROM THE SCRIPTURES.

1) God used the word church in a wide variety of ways.

2) He even gave descriptions of the church that do not actually use the word church.

3) We will get to those a little later; we begin with the word “church.”

4) In the New Testament we find the expression “church of God.”

5) There are times when this expression is singular and times when it is plural.

a) In 1 Cor. 1:2 Paul said “unto the church of God.”

b) Two other times in the Corinthian letter he used these same words.

c) We find this same terminology again in 1 Cor. 10:32 and 1 Cor. 15:9.

6) One of the most striking passages that has these words is a text in 1 Cor. 11.

7) Prior to this verse Paul had some thing to say about women and head coverings.

8) He closes this description by referring to the church.

9) Here is the text, 1 Cor. 11:16 – READ.

a) 1 Cor. 1:2 says “the church of God.”

b) 1 Cor. 11:16 says something different: “the churches of God.”

c) Which passage is right? Both are correct.

d) There is the “church” singular in the sense of all the saved being a single group.

e) Since each group of saved people cannot meet together, there are individual congregations.

10) Denominations are quick to come forth and say, “Here is denominationalism in the Bible.”

11) “We are all different, but we are also all one in Christ.”

12) We can understand why people might adopt this conclusion, but Paul tells us this is not right thinking.

13) Let’s go back to the first chapter in the Corinthian letter.

14) We have an introductory point in 1 Cor. 1:13.

15) It is here Paul where we have Paul speaking about congregational division.

16) He condemned religious division at its most basic level—a local congregation. Verse 13 – READ.

17) We may also back up to verse 10 – READ.

18) Christ is not a Christ of division and divided bodies.

19) Jesus does not have a divided church with multiple doctrines.

20) He has “one faith” (Eph. 4:5) that is practiced in the congregations of His church.

21) Another description of the church makes this point even harder to miss.

22) Col. 1:18 refers to the “body of Christ.”

a) It is good to stop for just a moment and ask ourselves how many bodies a person has.

b) We have one head, and that single head goes with just one body.

c) A single head must be matched to a single body.

d) Furthermore, a head must be matched with the right body.

e) We cannot put a human head on an alligator’s body and make it work.

f) A similar thing is true for Christ.

g) His head can only go on the body He created.

h) A divine head is not going to go on a human church, a body created by men.

23) When someone asks us where we worship we could say “the church of God” or “the one body.”

24) A further description would be the one that we choose to use in this place.

25) Rom. 16:16 says, “The churches of Christ salute (greet) you.

a) A while back I was speaking with an elder from another congregation.

b) This man relayed part of a conversation that had happened several months ago.

c) He was having a religious discussion with a man who worshipped with a well-known denomination.

d) This other church member was asked if he would put “church of Christ” on their church sign.

26) The man said “no.”

27) When the elder asked him why, he said “this not a church of Christ.”

28) I’m sure this man meant thought of “church of Christ” as a denomination, something the church is not.

29) What do these three words mean?

30) They mean this is a place where Christ is honored.

31) This is a place where no man is in charge; Christ and His word are the only authority.

a) The man who didn’t like this expression and he said the sign would not have those words on it.

b) The elder then asked this question:

c) “If you will not say this is a church of Christ, will you say this:

d) “This is not a church of Christ.” He was not happy with that option either.

32) People care about the name/description on their church signs.

33) We see God’s concern in this same area because we find New Testament descriptions for the church.

34) God’s word gives us many options straight from the mind of God, but all too often these are rejected.

35) Jesus described the church as the “kingdom of God” in Mk. 9:1.

a) Mark records how Jesus said people living in His day and time would see the kingdom come.

b) Did Jesus tell the truth or did He not tell the truth?

c) If He told the truth, then the kingdom came in the first century. What kingdom came?

d) Was Rome overthrown? Was there a giant, earthly palace erected?

e) Did Jesus begin to reign in Jerusalem?

f) Acts 1 tells us the Lord went back to heaven. There was no material kingdom.

g) Jesus began a spiritual kingdom and rule that we now know as the church.

36) This is why Jesus said what He did in Jn. 3:1-7.

37) Nicodemus was told that he (and others) had to be “born anew.”

38) Water (baptism) and spirit (God’s word) had to be used.

39) When these elements are used in the right way, a person “sees” (enters) the kingdom.

40) What kingdom do we enter? The church of Christ, the churches of Christ, or the kingdom.

41) The kingdom of God is also sometimes referred to as the “kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 16:19).

42) Col. 1:13 refers to it slightly differently: it is the kingdom of the Son of His love.

a) Paul said the kingdom belongs to the Son.

b) Why say that?

c) This is correct terminology because Christ died for the church (Acts 20:28).

d) It was Jesus who purchased the church with His blood, and He was the builder (Mt. 16:18).

43) Two other descriptions for the church stand out.

44) It is the “church of the Lord” (Acts 20:28) and “the temple of God” (1 Cor. 3:16-17).

45) Anyone who castigates the church is thus speaking against God’s temple.

46) All attempts to destroy the church (God’s people) are a heinous example of sacrilege.

ONCE A PERSON BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH, HER OR SHE IS DESCRIBED IN MANY WAYS.

a) One of these ways (images) is a “rebirth.”

b) We are “born anew” (Jn. 3:5-6).

c) Eph. 2:1 refers to this as our being “made alive.”

d) “Renewing of the Holy Spirit” is how it is expressed in Tit. 3:5.

e) We are “begotten again” (Jas. 1:18).

f) We are a “new creature” (2 Cor. 5:17).

2) We have a brand new life and a brand new existence in God’s spiritual kingdom.

3) We have been purified from our sins so the Bible uses the image of a “bride” to describe us.

a) If the Bible just pictured a bride, we might not have an exact understanding of the point.

b) God was very specific with this analogy in Eph. 5:25-27.

c) Heaven’s bride (the church) is pure, unspotted, no wrinkle, stain, or any such thing.

d) This is how God pictures the members of His church/body.

e) Christians become part of the body that is called “the wife of the lamb” (Rev. 21:9).

4) Another dimension to this subject involves the word law.

5) A lot of people run around saying, “I am a Christian, and I can do whatever I want.”

6) These people are misguided, and they are not servants of Christ.

a) We have previously established that one description of the church is the word “kingdom.”

b) A “kingdom” is something that has a ruler, subjects, and laws to govern the kingdom.

c) Christ is the king, and He has given laws for kingdom membership and continuing good standing.

d) Gal. 6:16 refers to walking by a “rule.”

e) Phil. 3:16 says a similar thing; it too has the word “rule.”

f) There is a “law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).

g) There is a “law of liberty” (Jas. 1:25) and the “royal law” (Jas. 2:8).

h) This also the “law of the Spirit” (Rom. 8:1).

7) If everyone is in the same body and following the same rules in the same way, what will happen?

8) There will be unity, the very thing Jesus prayed for in Jn. 17.

a) In the denominational world we do not find unity; we see chaos.

b) “Unity” is usually and sometimes only found on some special point or circumstance.

c) People say “We have put aside our differences for this great task.”

9) To many, that sounds so noble and generous.

10) From a Biblical perspective, it is absolute nonsense.

11) God’s people (the saved) do not unite on just special occasions.

12) Unity in doctrine and purpose means unity day after day.

a) We have the “unity of the spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3).

b) We have “one heart and mouth” to glorify God (Rom. 15:6).

c) We are bound together by love and unity (Col. 3:14).

13) The church as we find it in the New Testament is not a sect. Neither is it a denomination.

14) It is not a social club or recreational institution.

15) It is not a building. It is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

a) Not long ago I was speaking with someone from the church (he doesn’t live in our area).

b) He said to me, “The Bible is an important source of authority.”

c) Just as he finished that sentence I turned to him and said,

16) “The Bible is our ONLY source of authority.”

17) We cannot and will not be God’s people if we use any our guide for religious matters.

18) We cannot be part of Christ’s church if we are not doing that.

19) We would like to say that each one present this morning is a member of Christ’s church.

20) For that to happen, we must have obeyed Christ’s plan: faith, repentance, confession, and baptism.

21) We would also like to say that each one who is here is as active as they can be in Christ’s body.

22) If either of these things are not true, there is one more time to correct our course.