The Church of the Living God (Part 3)

1 Timothy 3:15 tells us, "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."

In part 1, we learned about our living God, who established His church. In part 2, we discussed what the church really is. In this final installment, let's discuss what it means to be part of God's church, part of the Christ's body here in the earth...

1 Cor 12:12-14 - For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many.

Typically, when we think about 1 Corinthians 12 we think about the discussion of the nine gifts of the Spirit. However, as the chapter progresses, we see in verses 12 through 31 a wonderful discussion of how each of the members of the body of Christ (the church) fit together in a harmonious relationship that maximizes the potential for ministry.

Paul says all the members of the body are significantly important: In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. (Verse 22)

So, we see that just because you're not a teacher, pastor, or someone mightily used in the gifts of the Spirit, you still have talents and gifts from God; you are not only expected to use these to minister in His kingdom, but you are vitally important to the body!!!

1 Cor 12:25-26 - This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

We are in this together, and we need each other for ministry. I've heard people say they were reluctant to pray for others, say a powerful visiting evangelist, because they felt they were lower down in the chain of spiritual power. That's nonsense!!! I really believe it's also a trick of the enemy to keep us from ministering to one another. In fact, at the end of several epistles, after the apostles just finished expounding the word to the saints, they ask for prayer from the saints!!! Here's one example:

1 Thess 5:25 -  Brethren, pray for us. (See also, Rom 15:30, Eph 6:19-20, 2 Thess 3:1, Heb 13:18)

Ministry is simply service, and the Bible is very clear that there is a virtually limitless number of ministries. A couple of unheralded ones are spoken of in our passage from 1 Corinthians: the gifts of helps (helping others) and governments (leadership). We don't typically think of these as gifts from God, but Paul lists them right alongside apostles, miracles, and diversities of tongues in 1 Cor 12:28. If you desire gifts that you don't already have, Romans 2:11 tells us there's no respect of persons with God, so seek God for what you want, and if it's His will, He'll give you what you need to work effectively in His kingdom.

So, never minimize the gifts God has given you. Use them to the fullest, unlocking their full potential through prayer and fasting, and take your rightful place in the body of Christ. You have power when you pray, fast, and study the Word. The church needs you!!!

The Church of the Living God (Part 2)

1 Timothy 3:15 tells us, "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."

In our previous installment, we discussed how we serve a living God, who established his church in the earth. But what is "the church?" Let's be honest, when most of us think of church we think of a place of worship where people gather on Sundays. Perhaps there are other days of gathering such as a mid-week Bible study or prayer meeting, but the basic concept is the same: the church is a place of worship. For instance, in the picture below, if I asked where is the church, most people would say it's the outline of the building around the people. In modern thinking they'd be correct, but after examining scripture, we see they're actually wrong.

First, let's look at the word "church." WARNING: this portion of the study includes references to Greek and/or Hebrew and may cause drowsiness; please do not attempt to read while driving or operating any kind of heavy machinery. The word church is derived from the Greek word "ekklesia" (pronounced ek-klay-see'-ah). The core meaning is simply "a calling out." Another very typical way to translate the word would be "assembly." Now, when we think of "assembly", rather than "church," it makes much more sense. An assembly requires that something or someone be assembled together, otherwise it's not an assembly.

Now, those that are called out should be obvious, it's the ones called out by God into His kingdom (see John 3:3-5 and 1 Peter 2:9). This shows us that the church isn't a physical location, but rather, wherever God's people are assembled together. This is why if a group of saints rents out a night club on Sundays, the building is a night club every other day, but becomes a church on Sundays. Why? Because the people of God are gathered there. We can also see why the Bible refers to the homes of believers as churches (Acts 8:3, Rom 16:5, 1 Co 16:19, Col 4:15, Philem 2). Anywhere believers gather together to worship God and refresh one another in fellowship and ministry is a gathering of the church.

Before we go further, let's look at Hebrews 10:25, Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Here we are warned not to forsake (which means to stop) assembling together. Now, it may be technically true that you are the church while sitting at home on your couch in your moo moo with a Bible in one hand and a cup of hot chocolate in the other, but we have scripture (and not just Hebrews 10:25) that clearly indicates that we are supposed to assemble together with other believers in order to exhort, admonish, and edify each other.


The last evidence I want to examine is Colossians 1:18, And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. Here we see that the church is the body of Christ. Again, Christ's body is not made up of brick and mortar, but rather of people. When we are born again, we become part of the body of Christ in the earth (Rom 12:4, 1 Cor 12:12-13, Eph 4:4, Col 3:15). It's hard for a member of the body to survive without being connected to other members, and so it's vitally important that we connect (assemble together) in order to minister to one another and worship our great Savior in spirit and truth...

So, to recapitulate, we'll return to our initial example. Remember the picture of the people inside the church? Actually, it's a drawing, not of people inside a church, but rather of the church inside a building...

In the next portion of this study, we'll examine what it means to be part of the body and how every member of the church is an important, integral part, necessary for ministry and reaching our world...

The Church of the Living God (Part 1)

1 Timothy 3:15 tells us, "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."

It's amazing that so many religions are built upon extraordinary individuals who lived and impacted the world around them, then died; their followers continue in their footsteps, establishing whole "religions" devoted to carrying on the teachings of the founder. Men like Buddha, Confucius, and Mohammad, all had a tremendous affect on those around them, and still we see the aftereffects of there lives. Yet, each of them lived and died, and in reality, that was that.

Not so with another important historical figure, a man whose teachings have filled the whole world as prophesied in Daniel chapter two, a man born of a virgin in a little town called Bethlehem, a man who lived, died, and was buried. He, and only He, rose again the third day by the power of the Father and lives today to oversee His glorious work. The cross is EMPTY, the tomb is EMPTY, and Jesus Christ reigns on the throne as the true and living God, the head of the church, which is His body in the earth!!!

What a price God paid to robe himself in flesh, taking on the form of man, Creator becoming as one of His creations, to redeem us from the stain and sting of sin and death. He lived out the gospel for us to follow after and established his kingdom here in this world. That's what Jesus meant when He said "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven" (Mt 6:10).


Truly, we serve a living God, and now, as His body in the earth, it's our job to live His kingdom. We need to be kingdom-minded (Mt 6:33), focused on impacting the world around us through good works, love, light, and truth...


So what is this thing that He established? What is this church of the living God spoken about in our opening scripture? Let's explore this in greater detail during this series, "The Church of the Living God"....

Use What You've Got

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” ² Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. (Ex 4:2)

Don't you just love this exchange? Here God is telling Moses he's been chosen to go and deliver the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage and Moses asks, "what if they don't believe me?" What did he expect? Did he think God was going to scratch His head and say, "Shucks, I guess I didn't think of that?" This is God asking you to do it Moses, He's obviously going to make sure you're able...

Or is He? It's kind of easy for us to have faith in this situation because we know the outcome, but the magnitude of what God was asking was completely astounding. Imagine God asking you to barge into the White House, point your finger at the president, and tell him it's time to put God first in this country again, or else. Actually, that's a bad analogy because the worse that would happen would probably be some jail time and being labeled a crackpot. Moses would risk being killed by Pharaoh, so the stakes were a little higher.

"What's in your hand," was God's response to Moses's concerns, and that's really where I want to focus. God calls us to work for the kingdom, but sometimes we wait around for some miraculous sign or until we feel we're as good as someone else, but God wants us to just go out and use what we have. Remember the feeding of the five thousand? The disciples found a boy with five loaves and two fish and Jesus not only fed all the people but they took up twelve baskets of fragments (see John 6:9-13).

Ecclesiastes 9:10 tells us Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, and Luke 12 shows us that the servants who are watching and doing are the ones who will be blessed. There are definitely times when God will give us new jobs to do, but we should never sit around waiting for some special call or commission before we get active in the kingdom. Do what you know to do now...There was as staff in Moses's hand, something very familiar, and that's what God told him to use.

In the parable of the talents (Mat 25), each servant is given a different sum, but each was expected to go out and use what they were given to grow what the master already had. So, it's incumbent upon us to do the same. Do you like to sing? Perhaps you should use that for the kingdom. Do you enjoy fellowship? Use it for the kingdom. Are you knowledgeable in the Word of God? Use that to reach people and bring them into the kingdom of God. The list could go on forever, because each of us has different talents, abilities, likes, and dislikes. Nevertheless, we should all do our part to impact the world around us.

Don't worry about the things you don't have or can't do, that's why we have brothers and sisters in the kingdom. Just like God provided Aaron to be Moses's mouthpiece (Ex 4:14), we can leverage off of each other's talents to work together. The thing God wants you to do is step out and begin using what He's already given you for the benefit of His kingdom...

Sowing & Reaping Part 2: A Timeless Principle

The Bible teaches us that whatever we sow we will also reap (Galatians 6:7). This series of posts will focus on that concept in general, and focus in on several areas in our lives where we can sow the right seed, and reap a harvest of rewards and benefits from God...

The concept of sowing and reaping is as old as, well, literally as old as dirt. What we put into the ground is what we get out. We can't plant apple seeds and expect a banana tree to grow in its place. That thinking is completely absurd in the natural world, but somehow people tend to lose site of it when it comes to spiritual matters. Let's examine the principle as laid out in Galatians:

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:7-9, NIV)

This seems pretty simple doesn't it? So why do so many people seem oblivious to the principle? The end result of sowing is reaping, and no matter what we sow, we will reap in the end. When we sow things in our secular lives, we shouldn't be surprised to reap accordingly. Likewise, if we spend time sowing into our spirit, we will receive the benefits of our labour. To often we see lop-sided men and women of God who think that sowing seed bountifully in one area will cause them to reap a diverse harvest full of variety and plenty. Again, if I plant ten thousand apple trees, I should expect to get several hundred orange trees out of the effort.

Let's get a little more specific. A man who's devoted to providing for his family spends time working to earn money so their needs are met. This is completely Biblical. However, if I spend 120 hours a week working to make money, but rarely spend time with my family, what will my harvest be? Think, a family with plenty of stuff who has very little relationship with their father/husband, and possibly kids who barely know my name...

A woman who's dedicated to making sure her children are intelligent and educated, thoroughly equipped to succeed in the world is a good thing. But if that drive turns into neglecting their emotional and spiritual needs, she may end up with successful kids who don't love God and don't care one iota about their fellow man.

We could go on and on with this but I think you see the point: the Bible teaches balance in life, and that means if we want to reap good things in all areas of our life, we must sow seed in those areas. In our next few installments of this series, we'll talk about sowing seed in several different areas (spirit, family, and finances) of life in order to reap a harvest of our maximum potential...