Chapter 35
THE DESTINY OF THE CHURCH
What is God's final purpose for the Church? Is there an ultimate purpose for the Church here on earth, or do we just hang on until Jesus comes? Is being in the Church just a convenient way to worship God until we're able to do it individually in heaven? Is the promise of heaven the only hope for the Church? We shall examine some of the passages of Scripture which deal with God's ultimate purpose and plan for the Church.
1. Which book of the Bible talks about the glorious destiny of the Church?
(a) Genesis (b) Matthew (c) Ephesians (d) Jude
When Jesus said that He would build the church, He also said that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it (Mtt. 16:18). This means that the church will be ultimately victorious. There is however an apparent contradiction in what the Bible predicts for the last days church. On the one hand, it says that there will be many people deceived in the last days by false teachers (Mtt. 24:4, 24; 1Tim. 4:1ff). It also says that the love of many will grow cold (Mtt. 24:12), that there will be tremendous persecution against believers and that there will be few that truly find the path to God and righteousness (Mtt. 7:14). On the other hand it gives the impression that the church will be a victorious triumphant army marching aggressively throughout the whole earth. So how do we reconcile the two extremes?
THE IMMEDIATE PURPOSE FOR THE CHURCH
God's desire for the Church now is that it will reach the world with the gospel. An equally important purpose is that it will be become complete (Eph. 4:13; 5:27).
2. God has placed various ministries into the Body of Christ to achieve what purpose? (Eph. 4:13-16)
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3. What parts of that passage suggests that it is God's intention for the Church to reach maturity?
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To speak of something as growing is to imply that it will one day reach maturity. This is actually the word used in the Bible to describe God's purpose for the Church. Other words used, though meaning the same thing are- complete, perfect, and glorious.
4. According to Ephesians 5:25-27, why did Christ give Himself for the Church? and what is His purpose for it now?
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We must remember that the words used to describe the kind of Church Christ is looking for (Eph. 5:25-27) are used to describe a Church made up of weak, sin-prone individuals that Christ has knitted together. Although individuals may go through their struggles with temptations and sin, the Church is to get on with its job, and thus die to itself, as it reaches the lost in a manner that is as natural as breathing.
5. Based on the two passages cited from Ephesians, what method seems to play the major role in achieving Christ's purpose?
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Christ desires the Church to reach maturity so that it will be better equipped to reach the lost.
6. In a local church setting that is moving on to attain maturity, what must we be mindful of? (Romans 14:1) There is difference between weakness and wickedness. Weakness may be defined as - not having the practised strength to overcome temptations. Wickedness on the other hand is - deliberately sinning and either hiding it or seeking to justify it. The Bible is very encouraging toward the church accepting and tolerating weak brothers and sisters. It is harsh and intolerant of those who are wicked. If we are to see revival, wickedness must go!
7. What role do you think unity will play in bringing the Church to maturity?
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8. Is doctrine important for churches to attain maturity?
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What kind of Church would Christ be satisfied to say that He had built? A losing, defeated one, full of factions and carnality? It may well be a mystery why Christ allowed so much of the Church to go into apostasy and corruption through the centuries gone by- but, from history we can observe the Hands of a skilled patient Restorer at work.
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About
33 A.D.
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The
Day of Pentecost marks the beginning of the Church.
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First
Century
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The
Church moved in the Holy Spirit, empowered by Him (many signs, etc.)
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By
the Fourth Century
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The
Church had largely abandoned most of the basic doctrines of the first
century- salvation by grace; water baptism; gifts of the Holy Spirit,
etc.
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About
1000 A.D.
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The
Church had largely become degenerate. Most of its leadership was corrupted
and the Word of God ignored.
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About
the Fifteenth Century
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The
Reformation had begun. Truths such as salvation by faith and grace were
restored. Water baptism by immersion was reinstated.
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Through
the Eighteenth Century
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The
message of holiness was restored into the Church through such men as
G. Whitefield, J. Wesley, C. Finney, etc.
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Through
the nineteenth Century
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The
Church has returned to an intimacy with the Holy Spirit- supernatural
gifts, ascension ministries, prophetic voice, etc.
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Twentieth
Century
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A
fresh understanding for God's purpose for local church as part of the
overall Body; the breakdown of such concepts as clergy/laity distinction;
all believers exercising their ministry gifts; every believer evangelism
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From history we can see Christ doing a work in the Church. Each generation compliments the one after it. Of course history also shows that not all of those in the Church flowed with what God was wanting to do. We must never hold too tightly to our traditions or heritage. Someone might say "My Grandparents were XYZ denomination, my parents were too, and so will I be till the day I die."
9. We have destiny here on earth as a Church. How did Jesus describe us in these passages- Mtt. 5:13,14?
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10. How does this line up with the prophecy in Isaiah 60:1-5?
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Praise God for Church here and now! But where does the responsibility lie for action? The Superintendents of our Organisation? The pastors of our churches? The elders of each church? The responsibility for the Church becoming what God has destined it to be lies with each individual member. If we sit around and wait for everyone to become perfect, or for all our problems to go away, we'll be waiting a long time! It's amazing how big a problem gets the more you look at it! As individual members of the Church we need to get mobilised for Jesus. This involves developing our love for Him through a) private Bible study, b) private prayer for ourself and for others, c) playing our part in the local church by serving whole-heartedly, d) witnessing to others at every opportunity. The advantages of getting an individual fired up are more easily achieved than getting a group of people fired up. An individual can move quickly and freely. They can also go into places where groups can't go.
OUR BLESSED HOPE
Time is running quickly out for the Church. We have Christ's Word that He will return for the Church. To an extent this happens every time a member of the Church dies and goes to be with the LORD. Yet there is this hope that every believer from every generation lives with- the return of Christ, at which point the resurrection of the righteous will take place (1Cor. 15).
11. How does Titus 2:13-14 describe those who have this hope?
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12. What do those who have this hope do? (1Jn.3:3)
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Those in the Church will be given a place of honor in the coming Kingdom of God. We will rule and reign with Christ. The Church right now should act as if they were who they are going to be. Our gatherings and services should be a shadow of what we will be doing through all eternity. Through the ages we have seen God bringing an overall correction to His Church, getting it back on its original path. From its glorious beginning, it declined into a heavily man controlled institution. Gradually God raised up reformers who often laid down their lives to pronounce correction where it was vitally needed. During the 1100's, a pious monk visited Rome and was amazed at what he saw. He commented about the enormous wealth of the church- "The first church could say `Silver and gold have I none, but in the Name of Jesus rise up and walk' , whereas the church today has silver and gold in abundance, and perhaps this is why they cannot say rise up and walk?" . Many who dared to make such observations publicly were permanently silenced. But God kept sending His "prophets" to call His Church to repentance and correction.
13. What aspects of the Church and its teaching can we observe from history were lost but gradually restored?
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14. According to Ephesians 5:26-27, what type of Church is Christ looking forward to?
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QUALITIES OF THE FIRST CHURCH
15. The following observations are made about the first Church: [a] It began with a _ _ _ _ _ _ move of God's Spirit- [b] It initially grew _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - [c] It experienced extraordinary _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - [d] It was a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Church, made _ _ _ _ _ _ _ by the governing authorities- [e] There were few _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ local ministries, if any- (word options:- rapidly, persecuted, unique, illegal, full-time, miracles.)
WHAT IS PERFECT?
To say that God is perfecting the Church to be without spot wrinkle or blemish, could conjure up a picture of a Church that is filled with people who never sin, or make a mistake.
16. How else does the Bible use the word "perfect"?
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17. What do the words of Peter in Acts 3:19-21 imply about the Church and its relationship to the Lord's return? (note also 2Pt. 3:12).
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The Church is headed for a glorious future- not just in heaven, but here on earth. Some regard Haggai's prophecy in Haggai 2:9 as referring to the glory that God will reveal in His last days Church compared to the glory of the original one. This has sometimes been referred to as the "double portion". For this reason many see the mantle of the first Church falling onto the last one, as with Elijah and Elisha. Where the Bible predicted one coming before Christ in the spirit and power of Elijah (as Elisha was), many scholars now believe that the Church in the last days will bear many similarities to the Elijah ministry of Elisha. The picture in Revelation 11 of the two prophetic witnesses has been taken by some to symbolise the last days Church. If this is right, we could expect to see the Church becoming more and more at odds with religious expressions of so called Christianity, and challenging its adherents to forsake their facades. The Church could become the prophesied "voice crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the LORD" literally preparing people for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ (Isa. 40:3).
When the Church is functioning according to the pattern of God's Word, it will be complete. Our foundation stone is Jesus. Our door is Jesus. Our roof/shelter is Jesus. Our solid walls are Jesus. This is the building pattern for the Church.
By simply studying the doctrine of the Church, we are being stimulated to put theory into practise, for what a man believes determines how a man will act. We can attain to being the spotless Bride here and now, albeit filled with frail humans and their egos which are so easily bruised. By returning to the Biblical prescription for the Church rather than building on man's ideas or traditions, we make the first step toward maturity as a body of believers. The responsibility rests with those called to leadership. We need to take a fresh look at everything we are doing in the name of "church" and see if it's Biblical, or merely human tradition.
Amen.