SERMON #3
THE CHURCH CHRIST IS BUILDING
1. WHO IS OVER THE CHURCH?
a. EPHESIANS 5:22 32
22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.
24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her;
26 that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless.
28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself,
29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,
30 because we are members of His body.
31 For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.
32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
b. EPHESIANS 1: 15 23
15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints,
16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.
22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH NOT ANYONE HERE ON EARTH NOT ME NOT YOU NOT ANYONE BUT CHRIST. THERE IS A REASON FOR THIS.
2. WHY IS CHRIST OVER THE CHURCH
a. John 1:1 5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
b. MATTHEW 28:16 20
16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.
17 And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 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.
c. COLOSSIANS 1:12 20
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
13 For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 And He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things have been created by Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.
19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
THE REASON CHRIST IS THE HEAD IS BECAUSE HE DIED FOR THE CHURCH, HE CREATED ALL OF THE WORLD AND EVERYTHING IN IT SO WHY SHOULD WE NOT BE OVER IT?
3. SO CHRIST IS OVER THE CHURCH, BUT CHRIST IS NOT HERE
TODAY SO WHO IS THE OVERSEER NOW?
a. Acts 20:17 28
17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. 18 And, when they had come to him, he said to them, "You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,
19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews;
20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
22 "And now, behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,
23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.
24 "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
25 "And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will see my face no more.
26 "Therefore I testify to you this day, that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
27 "For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.
28 "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
b. I Peter 5:1 4
1 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed,
2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;
3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
A. OTHER DUITIES OF THE ELDER
a. Acts 15:4 6
4 And when they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the.apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.
5 But certain ones of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed, stood up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses."
6 And the apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.
TO HELP THE CHURCH INTERPRET THE WORD OF GOD
b. James 5:13 15
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises.
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. TO CURE THE SICK WITH THE HELP OF GOD
B. THE REQUIREMENTS OF ANY ELDER.
a. Titus 1:5 9
5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might set in order what remains, and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,
6 namely, if any man be above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.
7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self willed, not quick tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, 8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self controlled,
9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.
4. ARE THERE OTHERS WHO HAVE JOBS WITHIN THE CHURCH?
a. Acts 6:1 6
1 Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.
2 And the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "it is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.
3 "But select from among you, brethren, seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.
4 "But we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word."
5 And the statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.
6 And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.
THESE MEN ARE WHAT WE CONCIDER. THE FIRST DEACONS.
THE WORD DEACON COMES FROM THE GREEK WORD DIAKONOS i.e. SERVANT. THE DEACONS WERE USED TO FREE UP THE ELDERS FROM THE MATERAL WORRIES OF THE CHURCH. THE DEACONS ARE NOT THE ONES WHO MOW THE GRASS OR REPARE THE ROOF, BUT ARE THE ONE THAT LOOK OUT FOR THE NEEDS OF THEIR CONGREGATION, NOT FOR THE UP KEEP OF THE CHURCH BUILDING.
THE WORD DEACON ONLY APPEARS IN ONLY TWO BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
a. PHILIPPIANS 1: 1
1 Paul and Timothy, bond servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons:
b. I TIMOTHY 3:7 13
8 Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain,
9 but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.
10 And let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.
11 Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households.
13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
SO WE HAVE CHRIST AS THE HEAD AND THE ELDERS AS THE OVERSEERS AND THE DEACONS AS THE CARETAKERS OF THE CHURCH. WHAT IS LEFT?
5. THE PREACHER
2 TIMOTHY 4:1 5
1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires;
4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.
5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
THE PREACHER WHOS JOB IT IS TO SPREAD THE WORD OF GOD. BUT, MAYBE NOT JUST THE PREACHERS JOB?
MATTHEW 12:30
30 "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
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.
