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...