Who's In Charge Here?

Before we get into the application of our lesson for today I want you to see the great mission of Jesus which has been laid out by Almighty God. If we fail to fully understand this my friend we will never understand the purpose and the power of the Church and we will go on missing out on God's best for us.

Ray Steadman has written about his observations concerning the Church in our day by saying,

The church, of course, is the new creation. It is healthy to remind ourselves of that because many churches seem to forget it. The church is something eternally new that the world has never seen before. It is quite different from any other organization or organism among men. It is a sad thing to observe the loss of this concept among Christians.

As I travel about I have noted the way people think about their church. I am afraid that the most widespread concept is that the church is a religious country club, operated for the enjoyment and benefit of the members; it makes its own rules and exists for its own purposes. That is a far cry indeed from the New Testament description of the church. Others look upon the church as a collection of emotional misfits who are waiting for the first bus to glory. I fear some of us give them good reason to think that!

Then there are those, like the Colossians, who are a group of eager beaver religious fanatics, running after every new doctrine that comes along, especially if it offers a good feeling and has a sense of magic and mystery about it. That, to many, is the church.

I am afraid that Mr. Steadman is right. We have missed God's purpose for us assembling together and as a result we have misused and mangled God's awesome creation, the Church. There is still hope for us if we will repent of our sin and return to God's ordained purpose for the Church.

My aim this morning is that by the time we all leave here we will understand and commit to being the Body that God has called us to be. Before we can commit we must understand so let's get started.

If you look at our Scripture you can see that God has laid out a great and glorious scheme for history. First, we are told that God has created all things both in the Heavens and on the Earth through Jesus. The things that are visible and invisible have been created by Jesus and for Him. All of creation was made for the glory of its Creator, but it has become tainted and marred by sin. Secondly, Paul next tells us that Jesus is the Head of the Body, the Church. Thirdly, Paul tells us that Jesus is the first born from the dead, no other has ever been raised from the dead in glory. Last of all, God was pleased to have all of His fullness dwell in Jesus in order that He might reconcile creation back to Himself. Now we must ask the question, "How is God reconciling His creation to Himself?" The answer is, "Through His Body under the leadership of the Head, who is Jesus our Savior." Jesus has called you and me to embody His love, mercy, grace, compassion, and offer His salvation to those who are yet to know and experience His saving power.