"THE CHURCH JESUS BUILT"
The Nature Of The Church (Universal)
INTRODUCTION
- Understanding the nature of "The Church Jesus Built" begins with the
word church itself...
- From the Greek word ekklesia, it means "an assembly"
- Which is used most frequently in the New Testament in two senses:
- The church universal - that company of souls redeemed by the
blood of Christ
- The church local - Christians in a geographical area that work
and worship together as a congregation of God's people
- Our understanding of the nature of the church can also be enhanced
by...
- Contrasting the church universal with the church local
- Noting how the New Testament carefully delineates between the two
- Failure to observe the distinction between the church universal and
church local...
- Leaves one open to erroneous concepts of the church
- Leads one to present a confusing picture of the church in their
evangelistic efforts
[In this lesson and the one to follow, I would like to notice ways in
which the church universal is different from the church local. Let's
begin by looking at...]
- THE CHURCH 'UNIVERSAL'
- COMPOSED OF ALL CHRISTIANS...
- This is the church to which Jesus referred in Mt 16:18
- It is made up of all the saved, both living and dead - cf. He
12:22-24
- THERE IS ONLY 'ONE' CHURCH...
- Remember, the universal church is called the body of Christ
- Ep 1:22-23
- There is only one body (Ep 4:4); therefore, only one church!
- BEGAN ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST...
- In Jerusalem, following the death, resurrection and ascension
of Christ - Ac 2:1-47
- As Peter later referred to this day, it was the beginning - cf.
Ac 11:15
- ENTER ONLY BE BEING 'ADDED' BY THE LORD...
- One cannot join the church by their own volition
- Rather, they are added by the Lord Himself when saved - Ac 2:41,47
- THE LORD KEEPS THE BOOKS OF MEMBERSHIP...
- There is no agency on earth that keeps the registry of true
members
- Enrollment is in heaven; only the Lord knows those truly His
- He 12:23; 2Ti 2:19
- CONSISTS OF ALL THE SAVED...
- The Lord is presenting to Himself a church holy and without
blemish - cf. Ep 5:25-27
- Those in the church who are sinning and refuse to repent are
cut off, cast out, spewed out - cf. Jn 15:2,6; Ro 11:19-22;
Re 3:16
- MUST BE IN THIS CHURCH TO BE SAVED...
- For the Lord is the Savior of the body (which is His church)
- Ep 5:23
- Since the Lord adds one to His church when they are saved, one
cannot be saved and not be in the church universal!
- HAS NO 'EARTHLY' ORGANIZATION...
- The church universal has organization - cf. Ep 2:19-22; 1 Pe
2:5
- What organization exists is spiritual in nature
- Christ is the cornerstone, together with His apostles and
prophets as the foundation, and
all Christians are 'living stones'
- There is no earthly headquarters for the church
- E.g., no telephone number to call to speak with the head of
the church
- For He is in heaven!
- CANNOT BE DIVIDED...
- For there is no earthly organization to divide!
- If division appears to exist...
- Some unscriptural organization of churches must have been
created
- Such an organization can have division, but the Lord's
church universal cannot!
- Those who would seek to divide the church through doctrine,
conduct, etc., are simply cut off by the Lord Himself!
-- There is and always will be, 'one body' - Ep 4:4 (we need to
make sure we are remaining faithful to be in it!)
- DEATH DOESN'T AFFECT MEMBERSHIP...
- The church universal is made up of the saved, both living and
dead - He 12:22-23
- When one dies, they are still with Christ! - Php 1:21-23; 1 Th
5:10
CONCLUSION
- We have seen there are at least ten things true of the church
universal...
- Composed of all Christians
- There is just one
- Began on the Day of Pentecost
- Enter only by being added by the Lord
- The Lord keeps the books of membership
- Consists of all the saved
- Must be in this to be saved
- Can't be divided
- Death doesn't affect membership
- Our next study shall examine what is true of the church local...
In light of what we have seen thus far, we do well to ask ourselves:
Have we been added by the Lord to His church universal...? - cf. Ac
2:36-41,47