(The Church) Her Position, Purpose, and Future

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ -

      Let us celebrate Christ's church and the work He is accomplishing through her!

1)     The Prophecy of Christ’s Church

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ first prophesied the establishment of the Christian church. This announcement followed Peter’s revelation and declaration of who Christ was.

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:17-19).

We learn three things from this portion of Scripture. Jesus will build His church, and as its foundation, He will give authority to His apostles to oversee and under shepherd His church. Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:16-20).

Knowing He was soon ascending to the Father, He spoke to them of the coming guide and helper, the Holy Spirit. He left them these words of confirmation and instruction.

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:44-49). It is through obedience to His word, faith in His promise, and God’s sovereignty that Christ’s church was born.

2)    The Birth of Christ’s Church

Waiting upon God in the upper room the following birth of the church took place.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2: 1-4). This was the beginning of the church of Christ. Ordained by the breath of God in the form of the Holy Spirit, the apostles and all who gathered in the upper room transformed into vessels for the kingdom. The Gospel boldly proclaimed, brought immediate growth to the church.

3)    The Gospel Outreach

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day (Acts 2:38-41).

4)    The Characteristics of Christ’s Church

Obedience to the word, the Commission of Christ, and compassion for the needs of others brought service, unity, and continuity to the daily life of the church. Verses 42-47 give us insight to the way Christ’s church looks.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

We have in these verses a glimpse of unity in both faith and Spirit. Spiritual disciples were common exercises among all the brethren. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly (Acts 4:31).

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet (Acts 4:32-37).

5) Church Growth

As needs developed the laborers of the church increased. Addressing need was the source of growth and tools and methods to handle that growth emerged. This is a different approach from developing methods and tools to promote growth!

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:1-4).

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith (Acts 6:5-7).

As the Spirit moved through the clay the church grew. The care extended to each other soon began to reach out to the surrounding area. Missions and missionaries began to move out into the world.

6) Church Mission and Missionaries

a) Philip in Samaria

          Outreach ministry, like any form of ministry, is established by Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit. Directed and empowered to go is the only way the church will move out in the commission. Often the church needs a nudge and sometimes the majority of mission work comes at the heels of tragedy, persecution, or some other life altering event. This was the case in Acts, chapter eight. 

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said (Acts 8:4-6). So as to keep the church visible in this movement, Christ sends Peter and John to confirm and empower new believers with the Holy Spirit.

 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17).

The Holy Spirit continued to reveal Himself as the agent for spiritual discernment when He instructed Philip with specific missionary instructions.

b) Philip and the Ethiopian

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” (Acts 8:26-29).

The term missionary quickly became plural, missionaries. And the Gospel began spreading rapidly throughout the entire regions as prophesied.

c) Ananias in Damascus

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered. But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength (Acts 9:15-19).

            The Gospel was spreading and God’s elect were increasing in number.

 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers (Acts 9:31).

The Gospel message was not for Jews only. Peter soon discovered that Christ’s salvation was for all who believed. He received conformation of this through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

d) Peter & the Gentiles

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism  but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God (Acts 10:34-46).

            In the following Scripture passages we see how the number of believers grows exponentially. The Holy Spirit continued to move men in great numbers and the church grew and grew.

 

e) The Church in Antioch

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people (Acts 11:19-26).

The precept of practicing spiritual displines such as prayer and fasting took on new dimensions of understanding as prophets and teachers were called by upon by the Spirit to anoint and set apart chosen servants for the work of missions. The verses in Acts 13, show how Christ uses servants of the church to anoint His chosen.  

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off (Acts 13:1-3).

Church growth and outreach were established in this order and are still carried out in this way today in successful churches. What we discover in these precepts of continual growth is a balance of a body that loves the Lord, (prayer, fasting, studying the doctrine); loves Christ’s church, (teaching, serving, caring for the bodies needs); and loves its neighbor, (Gospel outreach).

This is the church that Christ is building and these New Testament passages are the methods the Holy Spirit uses to bring about spiritual growth.