SERMON #2
THE CHURCH CHRIST IS BUILDING.
LAST WEEK WE FOUND OUT THAT JESUS IS BUILDING HIS CHURCH UPON THE FOUNDATION THAT HE IS THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD AND HE IS THE CHRIST MATTHEW 16:16.
WE THEN LEARNED THAT JESUS WAS THE CORNER STONE OF THAT CHURCH LUKE 20:17.
WE ALSO LEARNED THAT HE IS USING LIVING STONES (US) TO BUILD THE CHURCH WITH I PETER 2:410.
ALSO THAT WE WERE CALLED OUT TO BE SAINTS i.e. BELIEVERS ROMANS 1:6 7.
THAT NOW ALL ARE CALLED JEWS AND GENTILES THE SINNERS FROM ALL THE EARTH ROMANS 9:23 26 AND MATTHEW 9:12 13.
THAT WE WERE ALL CALLED FIRST BY HIS WORD THEN BY HIS SPIRIT COLOSSIANS 3:1216 & EPHE. 4:1 6.
TODAY WE CONTINUE LOOK AT THE CHURCH CHRIST BUILT.
1. WHY WERE WE CALLED?
a. 1 CORINTHIANS 1:4 9
4 I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,
5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge,
6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you,
7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
8 who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Fellowship; association, especially of friendly character; comradeship; companionship; close association with others having common interests, ideas, and beliefs.
(these notes are from Barnes on I CORINTHIANS 1:4 9)
1. In his feelings and views
ROMANS 8:5 11
5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so;
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
10 And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.
(2) In his trials and sufferings, being subjected to temptations and trial similar to his;
(a) I Peter 4:12 19
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.
14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
15 By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler;
16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God.
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?
19 Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.
(b) PHILIPPIANS 3:7 11
7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ
9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
(3) In his heirship to the inheritance and glory which awaits him;
(a) ROMANS 8:17
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
(b) I Peter 1:4 12
4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
7 that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ
8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry,
11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things into which angels long to look.
(4) In his triumph in the resurrection and future glory;
(a) Matt 19:28 29
28 And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life.
30 "But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.
(b) John 14:19
19 "After a little while the world will behold Me no more; but you will behold Me; because I live, you shall live also
(c) REVELATION 3:21 22
21 ’He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 ’He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
From all this, the argument of the apostle is, that as they FELLOWSHIP with Christ in these high privileges, and hopes, and promises, they will be kept by a faithful God unto eternal life. God is faithful to his Son; and will be faithful to all who are united to him. The argument for the perseverance of the saints is, therefore, sure.
ALSO FELLOWSHIP WITH HIS PEOPLE
Acts 2:40 42
40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!"
41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
THIS FELLOWSHIP RESULTED FROM THEIR FELLOWSHIP CHRIST, AS EACH ONE HAD FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST THEY WERE JOINED IN THIS FELLOWSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER. THIS IS THE AUTOMATIC FELLOWSHIP RESULTING FROM A COMMON LOVE AND FAITH IN CHRIST.
2. CALLED ALSO TO HIS PURPOSE
ROMANS 8:28 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
It implies that God had a plan, purpose, or intention, in regard to all who became Christians. They are not saved by chance or hap hazard. God does not convert people without design; and his designs are not new, but are eternal. What he does. he always meant to do. What it is right for him to do, it was right always to intend to do. What God always meant to do, is his purpose or plan. This purpose of saving his people is,
(1) One over which a creature can have no control; it is according to the counsel of his own will;
EPHESIANS 1: 11 12
11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
(2) It is without any merit on the part of the sinner a purpose to save him by grace;
2 TIMOTHY 1:9 10
9 who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,
10 but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
EPHESIANS 2:5 8
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,
7 in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
It is eternal?
EPHESIANS 3:11 12
11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,
12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
It is such as should excite lively gratitude in all who have been inclined by the grace of God to accept the offers of eternal life. They owe it to the mere mercy of God, and they should acknowledge him as the fountain and source of all their hopes of heaven.
MAYBE HIS GREATEST PURPOSE
(b) MATTHEW 28:18 20
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
PLAN OF SALVATION
ROMANS 10: 17
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
HEBREWS 11:6
6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Acts 2:38
38 And Peter said to them, "Repent,
ROMANS 10:9 10
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;
10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Acts 2:38
38 And Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
MATTHEW 7:21
21 "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, Will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.
