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Love For the Church

Last week Bobby preached a sermon in how to know the true church.  My lesson prepared for the upcoming lectureship that I will be speaking at in August goes right along with last week's lesson.  The topic I am to speak on in August is "Love for the church".  We all know that in scripture the church is used to define the brotherhood. 

What we are going to be looking at today is the Lord's church as the institution.  The church is represented in scripture as many different things.  It is important that we understand exactly what the church, as an institution is, if we are going to show the proper love and devotion that it commands and deserves.   We can't say we love something we don't know anything about and if we truly love something we'll want to know everything we can learn about it.  The denominational world really doesn't seem to understand just what the church as an institution is.  And it's little wonder.  There are hundreds if not thousands of different churches out there, each having their own slant on the truth.  There are so many to choose from and in the eyes of the world, the church is devalued because there are so many different ones available.  People shop for a church like they would order a whopper from Burger King.  They want to have it their way.  We drive down the highways of our nation and we see billboards that read "attend the church of your choice".  There are so many different ones to choose from that the original is difficult to pick out.  There are so many available that the perception of the world is that the church is just a common everyday thing that can be found in a variety of different styles and configurations to suit anybody's individual taste.  Because of this the value of the original is diminished in the perception of the world. 

Many of the people in the religious world who claim Jesus Christ as their savior have no idea what the church really is and just how important it is.  Before we can love the church in the way Jesus expects us to, we first must have a good understanding of just what the church is and how valuable it is in the world. 

First of all, the church as an institution is a body.  Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:22-23 that Christ was made "head over all things to the church, which is His body".  The word "body" here means a collective group of individuals considered as the whole.  This is precisely what Paul was teaching the Christians at Corinth when he wrote "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body" in 1 Corinthians 12:10. Paul also taught that the body is the church in Colossians 1:18 where he wrote by inspiration, "And he [referring to Jesus] is the head of the body, the church".  And finally, the church, which is the body, is "of Christ" (Colossians 2:16.  The terms "church" and "body" are synonymous in scripture which means they are the same thing.  The church is the "body of Christ" and the body is the "church of Christ".

These scriptures we just referenced referred to Christ as the head of the church.  A body cannot function without a head.  The head rules over and commands the body.  The two are inseparable entities.  One cannot have a body without a head to direct it, and likewise it makes no sense to have a head that rules over nothing.  In scripture Christ is inseparable from His body; His church.  In Galatians 1:13, Paul wrote "For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it".  Paul wrote that he persecuted the church.  But when Jesus appeared to Paul on the Road to Damascus, He did not say "Saul Saul, why persecutest thou my church".  Rather, Jesus said "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9:4; 22:7; and 26:14).  Paul said he persecuted the church, Jesus said "why persecutest thou me?"  Jesus considered the church to be so much a part of Him that He counted Paul's actions against it to be the same as if they were directed against Him personally.  Therefore we can conclude that any action, whether good or bad, which is directed at the church is also directed at Jesus Himself.  Let's keep this thought in the back of our minds as we move forward with our lesson.  We are going to consider this again later. 

Inspiration also refers to the church as a house built by Christ, "For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.  And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;  But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end" (Hebrews 3:4-6.  The church, as a collective body of individuals serving Christ as their head, is referred to as Christ's house, or the house of Christ.  In Galatians 6:10, Paul referred to God's people as the "household of faith" and in Ephesians 2:19 as the "household of God".   In 1 Peter 2:5 we read "Ye", meaning all of the people Peter wrote to collectively, "as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house".  So we see here this house of Christ, this body of Christ, this church of Christ is a spiritual house, and not a literal physical one.  All of these terms; (house, body, church), mean the exact same thing and are in reference to an institution made up of the people of God. 

Peter went on to say the spiritual house of Christ was a "holy priesthood" in 1 Peter 2:5.  In Hebrews 10:21 the writer established Jesus as the "high priest over the house of God".  Jesus being the high priest over His own house is the same thing as Him being the head over His own body, which is the church.  Now we have four terms which are used in scripture to identify the church; house, body, church and priesthood.  And let's keep in the back of our minds that the house of God is a spiritual house made up of real individuals.  The body of Christ is a spiritual body made up of real individuals.  The holy priesthood is a spiritual body made up of individual priests. 

There are many other terms used in scripture which identify the church.  Time does not permit an exhaustive look at them all so we will just mention them in passing before we move on to the last big one.  Each one of the terms used to represent the church help to identify the church with the qualities we would associate with each term.  For example, the church, referred to as the "household of God" carries the meaning of family which is a quality of the church.  The terms "body" and "head" carry the meaning of a collective group under the authority of one, which is a quality of the church.  Some of the other terms in scripture used to describe the church are:

The "Sanctuary" with Christ as the "minister" (Hebrews 8:2).  Which carries the meaning of a place of refuge or safety under the protection of one.  

The "Tabernacle" with Christ as the "high priest" (Hebrews 9:11),  which is a picture of worship.

The "Temple of God" or "holy temple" (1 Corinthians 3:16, Ephesians 2:21-22),  which represents the dwelling place of God.

The "Israel of God" (Galatians 6:16). Paul describes the church as the true Israel in Romans 11, calling to mind thoughts of the church being God’s chosen people and special possession.

The "vineyard" (Matthew 20:1; 21:33–43) The purpose of a vineyard is to produce fruit. Jesus emphasizes fruit production in our lives in John 15:1–10. This term emphasizes that the church grows and produces fruit in the form of saved individuals.

The "heavenly Jerusalem", "Mount Zion" the "city of the living God"; all three of these terms are found in (Hebrews 12:22).  They all three refer to the church.

The "holy city" (Revelation 11:2) which carries the meaning of a community of people, separated from the world, living as a society.   

A "holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9) which carries the meaning of a common citizenship under the rule of an authority; a country or a kingdom.

The "bride, the lamb's wife" (Revelation 21:9, 2 Corinthians 11:2, Romans 7:4), which carries the meaning of love (Ephesians 5:25), purity (Ephesians 5:27), subjection (Ephesians 5:24) and faithfulness until death.

So let's look at what we have so far.  When we combine all these terms used for the church and their qualities what do we get a picture of?  What we see is a spiritual nation made up of all of God's chosen people as the citizenship; a dwelling place for God, where within is a place of safety and worship; growing in numbers and being faithful to Jesus Christ who rules over them.  A holy nation of people who are priests of God with Jesus Christ as their high priest and king.  In John 1:49, Nathanael declared to Jesus Christ, "thou art the King of Israel".  When asked by Pilate whether or not He was a king, Jesus answered, "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world" (John 18:37).  Jesus is a king and scripture positively places him as ruling from heaven (Hebrews 10:12, 1 Corinthians 15:25). 

This sounds like the description of a kingdom doesn't it?  Don't kings rule over kingdoms?  Wouldn't a "holy nation" also be a kingdom?  In Matthew 16:18-19, Jesus said, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven".   The kingdom...  Now here is where there is a considerable amount of confusion in the religious world with all the different millennial beliefs all of which claim that Jesus is going to return to earth and establish some sort of a physical kingdom.  How is Peter going to unlock the kingdom with the keys sometime in the future when he has been dead now for about 1900 years?  Jesus previously told His disciples in words that are impossible to misunderstand that the kingdom would come in their lifetimes (Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, Luke 9:27).  Perhaps somebody should let the Millennialists know that all of Jesus' disciples who were there with Him when He said that, are now dead. 

Paul taught the Colossians in chapter 1 and verse 13 that they had been translated [paste tense], "into the kingdom of His dear Son".  The Hebrew writer referred to himself and his readers as "receiving [present tense], a kingdom"  That means it is happening now, not some distant time thousands of years later.  When John wrote the Revelation, he affirmed himself to be "in the kingdom" of Jesus Christ (chapter 1 and verse 9).  One cannot be "receiving", and "translated into" and then "in" a kingdom that does not exist.  Jesus told the Pharisees as recorded by Luke in chapter 17, verses 20-21, that His kingdom "cometh not with observation".  He told them the kingdom of God was not something they could point to and say "Lo, there".  He then concluded that teaching by saying to them "the kingdom of God is within you". 

On the night preceding His crucifixion, Jesus was being questioned by Pilate. To one of the questions put to Him, He responded with the words, "My kingdom is not of this world".  Jesus went on to say that He was sent to Earth to become a king.  That happened about 1900 years ago.  Jesus is reigning in heaven now.  What's he reigning over?  Well that's easy, he's reigning over us.  So who are we?  Together, as a single group, we are the:

1. Spiritual House, The household of Faith (an association of people)
2. The body of Christ,  (the collective sum of the faithful people of Christ)
3. The Tabernacle  (a place where faithful people of God went to Him in prayer and worship)
4. The Temple of God (a people who from within God dwells)
5. The Israel of God (God's chosen people)
6. The vineyard (a living growing fruitful association of people)
7. The heavenly Jerusalem, (the Holy City, the city of the living God)
8. Mount Zion (a solid, stedfast, stable, unmoveable people)
9. A holy nation (of people)
10. The bride of Christ (a pure and faithful people married to Christ)
11. The kingdom of God (a spiritual nation of God's faithful people on earth)
12. and finally, all of these rolled up into one, the church.  Identified in scripture as the Ekklesia which means "a calling out".  Strongs gives this definition: a Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both.  Vines Expository dictionary of New Testament words says: the whole company of the redeemed throughout the present era. 

All of these terms are used by inspiration to refer to the same institution; the same association; the same group of people.  There is only one group.  There is only one association.  There is only one body of people, practicing one faith, serving one God (Ephesians 4:4).  These terms used to describe the one body are all interchangeable.  There is only one house of God, one household of faith; there is only one body of Christ; only one Temple; only one Israel of God; only one vineyard; only one heavenly Jerusalem; only one Mount Zion; only one city of the living God; only one holy nation, only one bride; only one kingdom.  What does inspiration call this association; this body; this group; this nation; this kingdom of people?  Paul tells us. 

Colossians 1:24
Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

1 Timothy 3:15
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

All of these Biblical terms are used by inspiration to represent the church.  The church is all these things combined.  how much should we love the church, the body of Christ?  Before we can answer that question, we need to know what the church is worth? What is it's value?  Is the church worthy of our love? 

We have already seen that the church is the body of Christ and that when the church is persecuted, Jesus Himself is persecuted.  Jesus Christ considers the church as "His church", His personal possession.  What is the church worth to Christ?  We today often value things by a consideration of what they cost us to obtain them.  The more something costs, or the more we had to sacrifice to get it, the more value we place on it.  So then what did the church cost Jesus?  The purpose of this lesson is to determine why we should love the church so let's start at the beginning. 

We should love the church because God had it planned since before the creation.

The church is the primary part of God's plan which was devised even before Adam and Eve first inhabited the garden of Eden.  The Bible refers to this time as "before the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:1); likewise, Paul wrote, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us, with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love" (Ephesians 1:3-4).  Peter wrote, concerning the association of the Christians that they were "foreordained before the foundation of the world", (1 Peter 1:20).  The church as the institution of the saved was in the plans of God even before He created the earth. 

We should love the church because Jesus bought her at great personal cost. 
What price did Jesus pay for His church?

• He left Heaven:
  Philippians 2:6-8 "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

• He led a poor life on Earth:
  Jesus said, "foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20), and Paul wrote, "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).

• He shed His innocent blood:
  Peter wrote, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19). And what did that blood buy for Jesus? Paul said, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:25-27).
• But He died for people who were blemished, unholy, wrinkled, and spotted; Jesus didn't die for a ready-made, chrome-plated, spit-shined church just waiting to be carried off to Heaven. Jesus died for the thief, the harlot, the murderer, the alcoholic, and the self-righteous; He died for the restless teenager, the housewife caring for her children, the blue-collar worker, the rich and the poor alike. Jesus died for us even in our most repulsive states: Paul wrote, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).  Jesus Christ died for you and for me. 

Jesus Christ died for a world of lost sinners.  With His blood, sweat and tears, He took a group of people and transformed them into something priceless to Himself.  He transformed them into something He valued more than He valued His own life.  He loved the church enough that He willingly left Heaven, came down to earth and clothed Himself in flesh and died at the hands of those He came to save.  And for anyone today who thinks they didn't have anything to do with putting Jesus on that cross, we need to remind ourselves that our sin is what made it necessary for Him to be there.  We are as guilty of the blood of Christ and the ones who drove the spikes through his hands.  But because Jesus was God, the Son, and because He was innocent, and because He willingly, out of His own freewill, came here to offer His life in place of ours, God, the Father, has accepted that sacrifice by Him to serve as the death WE deserve.  That is a gift and a blessing of unparalleled magnitude given to mankind by the grace of God.  God wasn't under any obligation to do what He did.  He quite simply did it because of His love for us, the church. 

We should love the church because she alone possesses, defends, and propagates the most priceless commodity on Earth—the truth!

In a world full of lies, there's but one institution on Earth committed to the preservation of truth—the church: Paul told Timothy that "the house of God, which is the church of the living God" is "the pillar and ground of the truth" (First Timothy 3:15). If the church ceased to exist today, religious and moral truth would cease to exist in the lives of people and there would be no hope for anybody. 

Jesus indeed suffered for the church, but He was not alone in that.  Since then, countless people who also loved the church defended it (Titus 1:9-11, Jude 3-4), Suffered for it (2 Corinthians 4:8-11), and died for it (Acts 7:59-60, Revelation 2:13).  We should love the church because countless men and women esteemed the pillar and the ground of the truth of more value than their lives.  They, like Jesus Christ, loved the church more than they loved their own lives.   

We should love the church because she glorifies God in the world today.  Ephesians 3:21 reads, "Unto Him [God the Father] be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen"  God is glorified by the church through Jesus Christ.  How is God glorified in the church, which is the body and bride of Christ, the household of faith?  Certainly when we praise Him and worship Him, He is glorified.  But are we free to worship God as we see fit?  Is God glorified if we devise our own worship and serve God in the way we want?  We all know the story of Nadab and Abihu, two sons of Aaron, who offered strange fire before the Lord and died for it.  When Aaron saw that his sons had been slain, Moses said something to Aaron which we need to consider.  In relaying to Aaron what God had said to Him on this matter, Moses said, "I [God] will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified."  When Nadab and Abihu took it upon themselves to offer strange fire instead of the fire God authorized, God was not glorified before all the people.  God prescribed how and what He wanted for the fire and these two priests of God did something else.  God was not obeyed by these two men, therefore He was not sanctified and He was not glorified before the people.  The church today, who is a kingdom of priests, glorifies God when they serve and obey God according to the way He has prescribed. 

Jesus told the Samaritan woman that they who worship God "must worship him in spirit and in truth."  The word "must" is an imperative and this statement by our Lord means that it is possible to worship God out of spirit and out of truth.  Well that's what Nadab and Abihu did.  They offered worship out of truth.  What's truth?  Jesus answers that for us in John 17:17, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth".  The church, the household of faith, must worship God in truth which means according to His word.  In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote these words in chapter 10 verse 3, "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God".  It is a commandment to serve God acceptably.  Hebrews 12:28, "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably", HOW? "With reverence and godly fear".  Today, when the church, the household of faith, the body, the temple, the holy priesthood, the kingdom, the bride worships God in truth, acceptably, with reverence and Godly fear, God is sanctified and glorified before the people.  When God is not worshipped in this manner, God is not glorified and those who engage in such worship have placed themselves in the same position that Nadab and Abihu found themselves in.  We should love the church, because she and only she glorifies God on earth. 

Which brings us to our last point.  We should love the church because she is unique, one of a kind.  And she is the only institution on earth whereby we can be saved. 

Paul wrote to the Church in Ephesus in chapter 4, verse 4, "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all".  Paul said there is only one body.  That means there is only one household of Faith.  Only one Tabernacle, one Temple.  There is only one Israel of God, only one vineyard, one heavenly Jerusalem, one priesthood, one mount zion, one city of the living God.  There is only one bride of Christ and there is only one church.  Only one association of saints and according to Paul, the saints have only one faith. 

When we look out into the religious world, do we see only one body of Christ practicing one faith?  No we do not.  There are a host of bodies out there and they each have their own individual beliefs and practices on the faith of Christ.  Paul had a lot to say about divisions in the church.  To the Christians in Corinth, he wrote in chapter 1, verse 10, "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."  That is not what we see today among the churches today claiming Christ as their savior.  Paul taught the Romans to "mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them."  We are not to even company with those who cause division in the Lord's body.  Paul taught the Philippians that those who do not walk the path of faith as he walks are "enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things" (Chapter 3:18-19).  In Galatians 1:9-, Paul wrote, "If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed".  He then went on to say in verse 10, "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ".  Those who serve themselves or serve men over God are not the servants of Christ. 

We live in a world of religious division, with several different gospels.  The scriptures condemning this sort of thing are clear.  We need to make sure we are in the church, the household of faith, that Christ established.  Because there is salvation in no other.  The Psalmist wrote "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it" (Psalm 127:1).  We need to make sure we are in the church, the city of the living God.  In the same verse of the same Psalm, we read, "except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain".  Jesus taught in Matthew 15:11, "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up".

If we are not in the church conceived in the mind of God before the creation; the one that Jesus came to earth to live for, to suffer for, to bleed for, to die for then we do not love the church.  If the church we are in is not the body of Christ then we love another.  We love one that has divided from the truth and is therefore an enemy of the cross of Christ.  If we are not in the church, then we are not in the body of Christ.  If we are not in the church, then we are not in the household of faith, the tabernacle, the temple, the vineyard, the heavenly Jerusalem, the Holy city, Mount Zion, the holy nation.  We are not part of the bride of Christ, and we are not in the spiritual kingdom of God. 

How much should we love the church?  Let's ask that question like this; How much should we love the society of people who are members of the body, the household of faith, the tabernacle, the temple, the vineyard, the heavenly Jerusalem, the Holy city, Mount Zion, the holy nation, the bride of Christ, the spiritual kingdom of God? 

How much did Jesus love it?  Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it".  Jesus loved it enough to die for it. 

How much should we love the church? 1 John 3:16 "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren".  According to John, our level of love for the Lord's church needs to be the same as his.  He died for it.  And if need be, we need to do likewise.  And many many before us have. 

At the beginning of this lesson we looked at Paul's persecution of the church and what Jesus considered it to be.  Paul said he persecuted the church, Jesus asked him "why persecutest thou me?".  In the same context of Ephesians 5:25 where Paul said Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it, he went on to write, by inspiration:

"That he might sanctify and cleanse it [the church] with the washing of water by the word,  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.  He that loveth his wife loveth himself.  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:26-33).

Jesus Christ and His church are compared with the union between a husband and his wife.  Bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh.  Jesus loves the church as His own body, just like a husband should love his bride.  The union of the two shall be one. 

Jesus Christ and the church are two components of the same spiritual union.  To the degree that we love Christ, we love the church.  To the degree we love the church, we love Christ.  Jesus Christ and the church are one.  That is why when Jesus confronted Paul on the road to Damascus He asked "Saul Saul, why persecutest thou me?"

We cannot love Christ and not love His body.  We cannot love Christ and reject His church.  We cannot love Christ and not love the kingdom, we cannot love Christ and not love the vineyard.  We cannot love Christ and not love the household of God.  We cannot love Christ but not be a part of His church.  We cannot love Christ and be a part of any church that is not His body. Jesus said, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:8-9).  As we go through this life, let us be diligent and examine ourselves, whether we be in the faith and prove our own selves as we are commanded in (2 Corinthians 13:5).  There are a lot of churches out there that claim Jesus Christ as their savior but are, in reality, enemies of the cross of Christ.  There are a lot of churches out there that were started by men and teach as doctrine the commandments of men.  Therefore there a lot of churches out there who claim to be the Lord's body but are not.  We don't want to be found loving a body that is not a part of Christ.  We don't want to be found loving a body that is not married to Christ.  We don't want to be found loving a kingdom, or a household, or a vineyard or a priesthood, or a body that was not bled for, died for, built by, purchased by, washed by, nourished by, ruled by, owned by, or married to Jesus Christ. 

Let us be diligent to make sure we love the church Jesus suffered and bled and died for.  Let us be diligent to make sure we love the body of Christ, the church of Christ.  And let's strive always to make sure we are who we say we are on the front of the building.  On the front of the building out there are the words "church of Christ".  Let's always make sure we are the church of Christ and that we love the church of Christ.  Let's act like we love the church of Christ both in word and in action.  John wrote: "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him" (1 John 3:18-19).

It's not the building, it's the household inside.  It's not the physical structure, it's the brotherhood that assembles therein.  It's not the blocks and the mortar, it's the priesthood that worships therein.  It's not the concrete and the shingles, it's the body of Christ inside.  Not the bricks and the lumber, rather it is God's chosen people, the bride of the lamb who assembles herein in his name to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.  And we need to love His body, His church as much as He did. 

To be in Christ is to be in His church. If we are not in the church then we don't love Christ. Let's love Christ and His church, for there is salvation in no other.  If there is anyone out there who is not in the church, the body of Christ, then there is only one way to get there.  Before we can be in Christ's church we must be in Christ.  The steps to that are

• Hear the Gospel. "How shall they call on him whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?"(Romans 10:14).
   
• Believe. "And without faith it is impossible to be wellpleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him" (Hebrews 11:6). "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18)

• Repent of past sins. "The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent."(Acts 17:30). "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15).  "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:5).
   
• Confess Jesus as Lord.   "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33).
  
• Be baptized into Christ.  Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  When we are in Christ, we are in His body which is the church.  That is the only way in scripture to be placed into the body, the church of Christ. 

If there's anyone here today who is not in Christ, in His body then you have the opportunity right now to put Christ on in baptism.  One cannot claim to love the body of Christ is they are not in it.  If anyone has any need, whether it be baptism or the prayers of the church, please let that need be known now as we stand and sing.

Love for the Church – Exhaustive Sermon Outline

Introduction

The church is more than a building—it is the body, the household, the bride, and the kingdom of Christ. To love the church as Christ loved it, we must understand its nature, its value, and its uniqueness. This lesson examines the biblical description of the church, why it is worthy of our love, and how that love should be lived out daily.

I. Understanding the Church as an Institution

1. The Church as the Body of Christ

   • Ephesians 1:22-23 – Christ is head over all things to the church, which is His body.

   • Colossians 1:18 – The body is the church; the church is the body.

   • 1 Corinthians 12:12 – Many members, but one body.

   • Colossians 2:16 – The body is “of Christ.”

   • Acts 9:4 – Persecution of the church is persecution of Christ Himself.

2. The Church as the House of God

   • Hebrews 3:4-6 – Christ is the Son over His own house; we are His house if we hold fast.

   • Galatians 6:10; Ephesians 2:19 – The household of faith; the household of God.

   • 1 Peter 2:5 – Built up as a spiritual house.

   • Hebrews 10:21 – Jesus as High Priest over the house of God.

3. The Church as the Priesthood

   • 1 Peter 2:5 – Holy priesthood.

   • Hebrews 10:21 – Christ as High Priest over His own house.

   • Spiritual priesthood made up of all Christians.

4. Other Scriptural Descriptions

   • Sanctuary (Hebrews 8:2) – Place of refuge under Christ.

   • Tabernacle (Hebrews 9:11) – Place of worship.

   • Temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 2:21-22) – Dwelling place of God.

   • Israel of God (Galatians 6:16) – God’s chosen people.

   • Vineyard (Matthew 20:1; John 15:1-10) – Fruit-bearing people.

   • Heavenly Jerusalem/Mount Zion/Holy City (Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 11:2) – Community set apart.

   • Holy Nation (1 Peter 2:9) – Citizens of God’s kingdom.

   • Bride of Christ (Revelation 21:9; Ephesians 5:25-27) – Loved, pure, and faithful.

II. The Church as the Kingdom

1. Christ’s Promise and Establishment

   • Matthew 16:18-19 – Church and kingdom used interchangeably.

   • Mark 9:1 – Kingdom to come in the lifetime of the apostles.

   • Colossians 1:13 – Christians already translated into the kingdom.

   • Revelation 1:9 – John in the kingdom.

2. Nature of the Kingdom

   • Luke 17:20-21 – The kingdom is within you; not a physical nation.

   • John 18:36-37 – Christ’s kingdom is not of this world.

   • Hebrews 12:28 – A kingdom that cannot be moved.

III. Why We Should Love the Church

1. Planned Before Creation

   • Ephesians 1:3-4 – Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.

   • 1 Peter 1:20 – Foreordained before creation.

   • Revelation 13:8 – In God’s eternal plan.

2. Purchased at Great Cost

   • Philippians 2:6-8 – Christ left heaven, humbled Himself, and died on the cross.

   • Matthew 8:20; 2 Corinthians 8:9 – Lived a poor earthly life for our sake.

   • 1 Peter 1:18-19 – Redeemed with His precious blood.

   • Ephesians 5:25-27 – Gave Himself for the church to make her holy.

   • Romans 5:8 – Died for us while we were still sinners.

3. Possesses and Proclaims the Truth

   • 1 Timothy 3:15 – The church is the pillar and ground of the truth.

   • Jude 3-4 – Defend the faith.

   • Titus 1:9-11 – Rebuke false teaching.

4. Glorifies God

   • Ephesians 3:21 – Glory to God in the church by Christ Jesus.

   • John 4:24 – Worship in spirit and truth.

   • Hebrews 12:28 – Serve God acceptably with reverence and fear.

   • Leviticus 10:1-3 – Nadab and Abihu’s disobedience shows the necessity of worshiping as God commands.

5. The Only Body That Saves

   • Ephesians 4:4-6 – One body, one faith, one baptism.

   • 1 Corinthians 1:10 – Speak the same thing; no divisions.

   • Galatians 1:9 – Any other gospel is accursed.

   • Psalm 127:1 – Unless the Lord builds the house, labor is in vain.

   • Matthew 15:13 – Plants not planted by God will be rooted up.

IV. The Proper Love for the Church

• Ephesians 5:25 – Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.

• 1 John 3:16 – We should be willing to lay down our lives for the brethren.

• Ephesians 5:26-33 – The relationship between Christ and the church is like that of husband and wife; one body.

Call to Action

If we truly love Christ, we must love His church with the same depth, devotion, and sacrifice He demonstrated. Love for the church is not expressed merely in words, but in obedience, unity, and service. Let us live in a way that honors the body He purchased with His blood, worship Him in truth, guard the doctrine, and serve one another with compassion. Let us be sure that the church we are part of is the very body of Christ described in Scripture, and that we are living as true members of it.

Key Takeaways

• The church is the body, house, kingdom, and bride of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Peter 2:5; Matthew 16:18-19; Revelation 21:9).

• It was in God’s eternal plan before creation (Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20).

• Christ purchased it with His own blood (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:25-27).

• The church alone upholds and proclaims the truth (1 Timothy 3:15; Jude 3).

• God is glorified in the church when we worship as He commands (Ephesians 3:21; John 4:24).

• Only one body, one faith, one church is recognized by God (Ephesians 4:4-6).

Scripture Reference List

• Ephesians 1:22-23 – Christ as head of the church, which is His body.

• Colossians 1:18 – The body and the church are the same.

• Acts 9:4 – Persecution of the church is persecution of Christ.

• Hebrews 3:4-6 – Christ over His own house; we are that house.

• 1 Peter 2:5 – Spiritual house and holy priesthood.

• Matthew 16:18-19 – Church and kingdom used interchangeably.

• Colossians 1:13 – Christians already in the kingdom.

• Ephesians 1:4 – Chosen before the foundation of the world.

• Philippians 2:6-8 – Christ’s humility and sacrifice.

• 1 Peter 1:18-19 – Redeemed by Christ’s blood.

• 1 Timothy 3:15 – Church as the pillar and ground of truth.

• Ephesians 3:21 – God glorified in the church.

• Ephesians 4:4-6 – One body, one faith, one baptism.

• 1 John 3:16 – Love for the brethren requires sacrifice.

Prepared by David Hersey of the church of Christ at Granby, MO