Christ and His Church

The passage we just read gives us Christ’s design for His church. His design is that His church would be maturing, but more than that Christ’s design is that every member would be working to see that come about. Just like moms and dads are to play a part in how their children grow physically and intellectually, we are all supposed to play a part in helping one another grow spiritually.

Growing as a Christian is not simply a function of age or time. There can be old people who are Christians, or people who have been a Christian for a long time, who are still immature in their faith. More tragic are those people who think they are Christians but are actually self-deceived.

When people are perpetually immature or weak in their faith, or self-deceived about their faith, most of that will flow from a wrong or a weak understanding of the church. If your picture of the church is skewed or inadequate, your faith is going to be hindered because the church is the instrument of God’s work in the world at this time.

The very first time the word “church” is used in our New Testament is in Matthew chapter 16. Jesus says to Peter, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

In that statement, we get two important realities of the church. First, we see the certainty of the church’s victory and endurance. Despite opposition from Satan and the world, despite the countless Christians throughout history who have been killed for their faith, the church of Christ will continue until He comes for her.

The second reality we see in Jesus’ statement is Christ’s promise and power to build the church. That’s so vital to understand. You and I, individually or collectively, do not build the church; Jesus does that. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a responsibility. We have a role to play.

As a dad, I can’t make my little girl instantly grow taller, but I can make decisions about her life that promote healthy growth. In the same way, all of us are supposed to be working to see one another grow spiritually.

The moment we begin to believe or behave as if we are directly responsible to build the church, we start straying into all kinds of unhealthy and dangerous deviations. And those kinds of approaches are going to be man-centered and overly focused on external indicators, rather than centered on God and His word. When a group moves away from God’s design, they start doing things their own way. In some cases, that means you get an unhealthy church. In the worst cases, you get a false church, deceived about their faith and deceiving others.

The church belongs to Jesus Christ, and our responsibility is not to build it, but to be faithful to what God has said. As we think about how Christ builds His church, I’d like you to go with me to Matthew chapter 19. Matthew 19.

The gospels tell us that Jesus preached to large crowds, but they also give us examples of His interactions on a more personal level. Matthew 19 includes for us a conversation Jesus had with a rich, young man.

Pay attention to how Jesus, the perfectly faithful church builder, interacts with this man. Matthew chapter 19, verse 16—And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”

18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Today, some churches would take exception with what Jesus did. He drove this man away. The man was young; he would have brought energy to Christ’s movement. He was rich; he could have been a major donor. Couldn’t He have given him an easier commandment, and then sort of ramped up toward the harder stuff? What was Jesus doing?

Jesus wanted this man to see that all his personal righteousness wasn’t enough. He wanted Him to recognize his absolute inability to live up to God’s perfect standard, and He wanted him to know that obedience to Christ is what matters.

Calling someone to Christ has to include exposing them to their own sin. It needs to be made clear that nobody comes to God on his/her own terms. You come on God’s terms, because you’re a sinner doomed to hell. But God graciously offers salvation in Christ to all who turn from their sin and trust in the Savior who died and rose again.

In the case of this young man, it didn’t matter that he thought he had kept most of the commandments. He was still holding onto something. His riches, his possessions, had become part of his identity, and he was unwilling let that go.

Coming to Jesus for eternal life means surrendering your identity. The old you is gone, and now you serve Jesus. Your identity is in Him now. Jesus may not command you to sell all your possessions, but to come to Jesus, you need to be willing. That’s what it means that Jesus is Lord.

All by himself, a sinner will not surrender his life to Jesus Christ. Jesus said it’s impossible. But it becomes a reality when God calls a sinner to Himself and grants him new life. It all depends on God.

Go ahead and turn back to Ephesians 4. I share this story with you by way of introduction because I want you to see that the principles we see in genuine salvation are the same principles in genuine sanctification or Christian growth. The rules don’t change. We are to be faithful to the truth, and we are to be surrendered to Christ. And in all of that, we need to continually depend on Christ for anything worthwhile to take place.

The focal point of this passage is not the church, it is Jesus Christ. The church only exists in relationship to Him. Our duties responsibilities flow out of understanding who Christ is. With that in mind, let me give you some key truths concerning Christ and His church.

The first truth is this: Jesus gifts His church. Jesus gifts His church. We talked about this last week when we looked at verses 11 and 12. Jesus gives gifts to His people, and He gives pastor-teachers to a local church so that the church can grow. Jesus gifts His church. Jesus has gifted you and others to serve in and with His church.

The second truth is this: Jesus owns His church. Jesus owns His church. The church is not an accident. It’s not like a stray dog you find without a collar and decide to make your own. Jesus founded the Church. He is the cornerstone of the Church, Ephesians 2:20 says.

There’s a beautiful hymn called “The Church’s One Foundation.” It was written in 1866, and it’s rich with theology. The opening verses says this: “The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord; she is his new creation by water and the Word. From heav'n he came and sought her to be his holy bride; with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.”

You and I should never forget that the church belongs to Jesus. It’s not mine. It’s not the elders’. It belongs to Jesus. And Paul reminds us of that at the end of verse 12. We are the body of Christ. We belong to Him.

Let’s move on to our next truth. Jesus gifts His church. Jesus owns His church. Number three, Jesus directs His church. Jesus directs His church.

When Paul talks about building up the body of Christ he’s not talking about numbers. He’s not talking about getting more people to join. He’s talking about our personal growth, our spiritual edification. Even if no new people were added to our church, we could be obedient to the Great Commission because we are learning to obey all that Christ commanded. We desire people to come, but numbers are not the measure of faithfulness or success. What pastors want is for the sheep in their care to grow, to mature spiritually.

And what does that maturity look like? It looks like Jesus. Jesus is the trajectory of the church. We’re not after people who are simply more obedient or who give more offering. We want people to look more like Christ. That’s the direction. That’s what growth looks like.

Look at verse 13. It starts with the word “until.” Sometimes, we think of that in terms of time. But it also points us to the goal or the direction. If pastors are teaching to equip the church for ministry and mutual edification, what’s the goal? When is our role in that done?

We feed the flock until we all attain to, or arrive at, three things. Number one, we are aiming at the unity of faith and knowledge. Number 2 we are headed toward mature manhood. And number 3, we are headed toward the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Those are three different ways to talk about spiritual growth, or spiritual edification. There is a doctrinal component; that’s the unity of the faith. One day, we are all going to agree completely. But that’s not just going to be an intellectual thing. Behind any doctrinal disagreements, the real question that needs to be answered is not, “What does this church or that church teach?” The real question is, “What does Jesus say?”

Doctrine is simple an extension of Jesus Christ, and that’s what you see in the middle of verse 13. Unity of the faith is unity of the knowledge of the Son of God. Doctrine is not intended to be cold and detached. It’s how we know Jesus Christ.

Spiritual life and spiritual growth mean knowing Jesus more and being more like Him. So, if you want to come to Jesus, but you don’t want to surrender to Him or be made more like Him, that’s not going to work. That will end in eternal judgment instead of eternal life. That’s not the biblical Jesus. You don’t have a Jesus who is going to save you, and you get to decide whether He is your Lord or not. That is not biblical Christianity.

You don’t make Jesus Lord. He simply is Lord, and we are called to recognize it and submit to it. That’s what repentance means, and that was the gospel of the Jesus and the Apostles. You turn from whatever it is you’re following or chasing after, and you surrender to Christ. You call out to Him for mercy believing that His death and Resurrection are the only basis of salvation, and you entrust your life to Him. When that happens, your life changes.

Last week, I mentioned Paul’s words at the end of Colossians 1. He worked so that his people would be more like Jesus. In Galatians 4, he says he wanted Christ to be formed in them. He wasn’t talking about salvation; He was talking about sanctification, spiritual growth. It wasn’t just the Apostles and the elders or pastors who worked to that end. We’re all called to do that. Jesus is the direction of the church.

Let’s continue our list with a fourth reality. Jesus protects His church. Jesus protects His church. Look at verse 14. Growing to be like Christ isn’t just a step toward our eternal destiny. Here, on earth, it is how Jesus protects us. If we’re all growing to think like Christ and to act like Christ, what happens?

Verse 14 says this process of mutual edification is taking place so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

The greatest hindrance to your spiritual growth is not something outside you. It’s your own sinful flesh. You feel things and think thinks and do things that inhibit your growth. In Christ, we are saved from the penalty of sin, and we have power over sin, but we are not freed from the presence of sin. In Romans 7, Paul calls this a body of death.

Instead of being led by Gods truth, we are tempted to follow our own desires. That is one of the characteristics of children. They don’t have discernment. They don’t have sound judgment. Their ball goes bounding into the street, and they go running after it because they don’t know any better.

We do the same thing every time we sin. We do the same thing every time we accept some teaching because it’s attractive to us. But the more we grow, the less we start acting like little children.

Instead of being like a little rowboat in a storm, getting pushed and pulled around by the wind and waves, we are anchored in the truth of God. Paul isn’t just after Christian converts. He wants Christians who are equipped to respond to what he calls human cunning and deceitful schemes.

The reason you and I get scam phone calls and scam emails is because there are people in this world who fall for that kind of thing. But when you’ve been prepared properly, you’re much less likely to be fooled.

It’s the same idea spiritually. False churches are out there saying, “Join us and you will go to hell.” They’re out there portraying themselves as genuine churches. Unhealthy aren’t out there saying, “Come join in Christianity Lite.” They’re talking about living a full life in Jesus Christ.

So, how are we supposed to know which churches are the healthiest ones and which churches are actually dead? You learn that by studying and by learning the Scriptures.

If you’re fairly new to our church, I’d like you to know that what you see us typically doing is not the norm in many churches. We open our Bibles, we look at it, we read it, and I do my best to give you a clear explanation, using other passages to support what’s being said. We take this as God’s word. That’s one of the primary marks of a healthy church. it's not just a message based on the Bible; it’s the message of the Bible. Once you hear that enough, you start to realize there’s a difference.

You start hearing someone preach, and you wonder, “Where is he getting this? What is he basing this on? Is this just cherry-picking verses? Or is the pastor helping us understand God’s story of redemption in Christ for His own glory? Am I actually seeing for myself and learning the Scriptures?

In Acts 20, when Paul gave his final words to the elders from Ephesus, he said this. Acts 20:28-30: Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert.

Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ founded this church. Wouldn’t that have guaranteed its faithfulness? No. Paul knew that it could be led astray by the deception of Satan. So, he warned the leaders to stay on guard. They needed to protect the truth.

Why do people or churches start drifting from the truth and adjusting the message of Christ? It happens because they lose their focus on the word of God. Many times, it’s a gradual shift, but it can happen because they want to appeal to the culture or accommodate their own sin. They start making allowances assuming that’s a better way to help Christ build the church. And what they’ve lost is their grip on the authority of Scripture.

Paul warned Timothy about this in 1 Timothy 1:18-19. He said—This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child... that... you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith. They allowed the waves and the winds of deception to destroy them.

When I think about a doctrinal issue, my primary question is not, “Is this a salvific issue or not? How important is this?” That’s not the best question. A better question is, “How clear is this in Scripture? How clear is it?” Even if it’s a small detail, if it’s clear in the Scripture, I’m going to take a stand on that issue because once you start compromising on small things, you’ve opened the door to everything else. It's just a matter of time.

For example, if someone says they’re a Christian, but then they say they don’t really believe there was a man named Noah that God saved from a global flood that killed the rest of the world, does that mean they’re not really a Christian? Not necessarily, but the danger is already there because if Noah wasn’t real, were his sons real people? What about his grandsons? What about his descendant Terah, and his son Abraham?

What about the connections Jesus and Peter and the author of Hebrews make with God’s salvation of Noah and Christ’s salvation of His church? Once you start minimizing or ignoring or finding ways around clear teachings from the Scriptures, you’ve set yourself on a dangerous path. It’s the path to spiritual immaturity, or even worse, spiritual death. The Scriptures are a unit. Jesus said Scripture cannot be broken.

We almost out of time, so I’m just going to give you the final principle for today, and we’ll continue our study next week. The final reminder for today is this: Jesus empowers His church. Jesus empowers His church.

Jesus is the gift-giver for His church. He is the owner of the church. He is the direction of the church. He is the protector of the church, and He also is the one who enables us to be a functioning part within the Church. It all depends on Him. We’ll talk more about that next time as we look at verses 15-16, but let me simply close with an encouragement to you.

When we remember who Christ is in regard to His church, and when we remember that we are part of Christ’s church, that reminds us and compels us to participate in what Christ is doing. If you are a member of this church, God has designed you to be an active part of our church’s spiritual health.

You’re not just called to contribute to the functions of the church, like serving in a ministry or helping paint a wall. You are called to contribute to the spiritual health of the church.

Your role in the church as part of the body of Christ is to work so that the rest of us will think and act more like Jesus. That’s what we as elders want to model for you, and that’s what we want to help you do better. That’s the direction of the Christian life, and you’re supposed to be a part of that.

As brothers and sisters in the faith, we’re not just trying to connect with one another on an earthly level. We are helping one another be more like Jesus in doctrine and in life. And we are helping one another be anchored in the truth, rather than being swayed by the deception of Satan.

When someone tells you they had a bad day, it’s not enough for us to simply sympathize with them, we need to encourage them in the Lord. If a man is angry with his spouse, he needs to be exhorted to treat her with love, sacrificing for her. If a woman is mad at her husband, she needs to remember that God is still in control  and she is called to respect him. And the list goes one. We can’t just allow our brothers and sisters to be swept away by their own interpretations of life. We need to know the truth and exhort them in it.

We need one another. We need to be taking an active role in helping direct and protect our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.