Reawakening to the Church of Christ
1. The Church Is Not …
Reawakening to the Church of Christ. What is the church? This question cannot be answered fully in one sermon. It needs its own sermon series. And even today I may overwhelm you with a series of important statements, which will need to be explored deeper on their own.
The church is not a building although many churches meet in and operate out of buildings. The church is not business. It is not a social club. Although it may be organized and governed according to some social, human, and business principles. The church is not a political organization nor a humanitarian agency although it does speak out and act against social, political, and economic injustices as part of its missional and prophetic calling in the world. So, what is the church?
2. The Church Is …
The church is the Body of Christ. “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Eph 1:22-23). “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Cor 12:27). We are the body of Christ. We are the living, moving, breathing Body of our Lord and King. Just think about that. What a privilege it is to be the arms and legs and voice of Christ in the world. What an honor that, despite our deep brokenness, He chooses to show Himself through us. This comes with great responsibility. We are to reflect Christ at all times and in all things—in how we love one another, deal with conflict, serve our communities, celebrate, lament, care for “the least of these” among us, and in how we proclaim His good news.
The church is the Bride of Christ. Christ loves the church “and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph 5:25-27). On that final day, He will return to take us, His Bride, into His eternal Kingdom. “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’ Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people” (Rev. 19:6-8). Are we preparing ourselves for His return?
The church is the temple, the dwelling of God’s Spirit. “In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Eph 2:21-22). “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple” (1 Cor 3:16-17). The Holy Spirit fills us, dwells in us. He makes the church, Christ’s Body, alive and empowers us. We need to daily surrender to the Holy Spirit and invite Him to take charge of our lives and every trial we face.
The church is God’s family. “His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household …” (Eph 2:15-19). We are God’s children. Our Father knows us by name. We belong to his family. God doesn’t play favorites. We were all unworthy, each of us saved by grace, and we are all equal heirs. In God’s family, we are all on equal footing.
“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal 3:26-29). God’s household is a global, international, multi-cultural family. We are kingdom citizens. On that great day, there will be people from every nation, tribe, and language worshiping the Lamb. What a glorious family reunion it will be!
3. Jesus Christ Is the Head & Rightful Owner of the Church
The high and exalted Christ is the Head of the church because He is the sovereign and supreme Lord who rules over everything. God seated “him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Eph 1:19-23).
We, the church with Christ as our Head do not need to worry about political upheavals or economic downturns. There is absolutely no need for mudslinging, handwringing, or doomsday-ing because we know “his incomparably great power for us who believe.” No matter how dire or disastrous things may appear for the church, we do not need to be riled up with anger or overwhelmed with despair because we know that with the high and exalted Christ as its Head, the Church will prevail. In our current times of scandals, sociopolitical divisions, and declining church attendance, let us fix our eyes on Christ, the Head of the Church, who is seated at God’s right hand. He is the Rightful Owner of the Church. It does not belong to us, nor to any pastor or church leader, nor any denomination.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Mt 16:13-19)
Jesus Christ Himself is the foundation and bedrock on which He builds His church. Peter and his confession is the foundation in the sense that the church began with him and this confession. He received the revelation of this truth that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and on this Truth, on this rock, the church is built. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). Jesus is the truth, the master-builder, the pillar that proclaims the truth of salvation, the firm foundation, the solid rock that will withstand any storm, and the cornerstone that holds it all together. As church we proclaim the message of truth that Jesus is Lord, Savior, Messiah, Son of the living God.
And the gates of hell shall not overcome the church. We should not fear or be anxious. We should not look towards politics, governments, human leaders, money, or power to defend, save, or preserve the church. The church doesn’t need saving. It is in safe hands. Jesus Christ is the Head and Lord; He is the Owner, Cornerstone, Protector of His church. It will not go under. No government, no ruler, no authority, whether human, worldly, physical or spiritual can destroy or overcome the church. Many have tried throughout history and they have consistently failed. The church always prevailed. We must fix our eyes on our Lord and do what He called and sent us to do.
4. We Are Christ’s Ambassadors
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:17-20).
Tony Evans said, “God has an embassy in history. It’s called the Church. The Church is God’s embassy to bring the values of the homeland into foreign territory. The Church is not to represent the country it’s in; it’s to represent the country it’s from.”
When the Church forgets its proper ownership and the values of our “homeland” (the kingdom of heaven), it is no longer the embassy of hope as God intended it to be. Then it becomes merely a religious institution of the culture around it, misusing the name of Jesus. But when the Church steps boldly into its Christ-given role, it possesses the very power of the keys of the Kingdom. As ambassadors for Christ and citizens of heaven, we are His representatives on earth and have been given “the ministry of reconciliation.” We call out to the world, “Be reconciled to God.”
The church reflects God’s kingdom on earth. Our mission is to live out kingdom values in the current culture and society. We bring love, grace, and mercy instead of hatred and cancel culture. We bring value to all people instead of ethnocentrism, racism, and sexism. Every human being is created in the image of God and loved by God. We bring the gospel of salvation to all who believe. We are “not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Ro 1:16).
Jesus reflects Himself through the Church. As His ambassadors our work is to reflect the Kingdom in the culture. We are servants commissioned to present to the world “the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end [we] strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in [us]” (Col 1:25-28).
Jesus uses the church to counter the cultures of this world as He so powerfully demonstrated in his own life and ministry and teaches so beautifully in his Sermon on the Mount. In a world that tries to define the role of the Church in worldly, unbiblical ways, let us not forget that our calling as Christ’s ambassadors is to proclaim without apology that: the Kingdom of God has come; the way of salvation and reconciled relationship with the Father is through the atoning work of Christ on the cross; anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; a reconciled relationship with the Father makes way for reconciled relationship with one another; and “all this is from God, who reconciled us to himself though Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18).
We are Christ’s ambassadors. We carry the ministry of reconciliation. The Church is the answer to peace, unity, and harmony in a world that is filled with racism, tribalism, hatred, discrimination, and division. This ministry of reconciliation starts with the gospel, is at the heart of the gospel, and reaches beyond the walls of the Church as we take the gospel to the world.
5. The Church, A Stained Beauty
The church is a profound mystery. It is a complex mixture of the divine and human. Each church is a unique, local expression of the body of Christ. No church is perfect. Throughout history the church has taken on many different forms and expressions. “She has made countless mistakes and committed unthinkable atrocities. Yet, the church has also shown the world its most grace-filled, life-giving, love-splattered moments. She’s a mix. A muddle. A montage. A mosaic. No one story can describe her. No one photo can capture her. She’s complex and always has been. She is fragile and unstoppable … a beautiful mess, a stained beauty (John Stumbo).
Any single local church may come to an end, may pass from our memories, but the Church, the bride of Christ, the body of Christ, will endure. Of this we are certain because Jesus is Lord of the church. Therefore, let us reawaken to the church of Christ. To reawaken to the Church is to remember whose we are, to whom we belong, who we are, and what we are called to do, our mission. It is to live in the tension between the world and heaven. It is to defy the expectations of those who do not understand the ways of Jesus. The Church is a heavenly embassy existing on earth, created and sustained by Jesus Himself. We are the blessed, holy Church of Christ.