Our Commitment - To the Church

Our commitment as a testimony of a local church is to God and to His w= ord.&nb= sp; Today we will see that our commitment is also to the church.<= /span>

The church is mysterious and requires revelation to see it (Eph. 5:32; Matt. 16:17-18). To many, the church is a building with steeples and stained glass windows. To others it is a denominational organization. Still others th= ink that it is simply a group of believers who assemble together. This last definition is not bad. However, we want to unveil what the Bible says concerning the church.

The word “church” comes from the Greek word, ekklesia, denoting a gathering, an assembly of called out ones. In ancient t= imes city officials would call the people of the city together for a meeting and that meeting was known as an ekklesia.&nb= sp; So what is the church? It is the gathering together of God’s called out ones. We, as believers in Christ, were c= alled out of the world with all its distractions and trappings to gather together= as the church for the purpose of God!

The church has two aspects: it is universal both in time and space and = it is local for practicality and exercise.&nb= sp; All believers are members of the one universal church. The membershi= p of the universal church expands beyond time and space. It includes all of the past, present, and future believers in Christ on the whole earth. The local church is limited by time and is bound by the ground of locality (1 Cor 1:2; Rom. 16:1; 1 Thess. 1:1; Rev. 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). The New Testament teache= s that there is only one church in each city and that each church is composed of A= LL the believers in that city (i.e. The city of Columbus has one church and includes all the genuine believers in Columbus, hence, the church i= n Columbus). This was ordained by our all-wise = God so that the oneness could be practically maintained by the believers, allowing= the saints to be built up in love. The matter of oneness will be covered in a future message.

The church is organic (living) and is even the resurrected Christ Himse= lf (1 Cor. 12:12; Acts 8:3; 9:1-5) living in and t= hrough His members. The church must be built and its builder is the Christ, the So= n of the Living God (Matt. 16:18). The building takes place through the operation of all of His living members with the perfecting help of the gifted ones (Eph. 4:7-13). The church does not have a name. All the members of the church are = one, having the same source (Christ) and goal (to gain Christ and express Him).<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The church bears ONLY the name of = the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 3:8) and He is its owner (Matt. 16:18). =

The church is also referred = to as:

The Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 4:12= ).

The One New Man (Eph. 2:15)<= o:p>

The House of God (1 Tim. 3:1= 5)

The Bride of Christ (Rev. 21= :2, 9; 22:17)

= It is through the chu= rch that all the above aspects are realized.&n= bsp; The church is precious to God. Christ gave Himself up for her (Eph. 5:25), obtaining her through His own blood (Acts 20:28). She b= elongs to Him alone. As His ch= urch, we should esteem it as highly as God does by pouring out our lives for its building up.