Weekly Devotional 2-5-24 The Mission of The Church
In His first advent Jesus chose eleven men through whom He would establish His church (Matthew 16:18). He commissioned them to go throughout the world teaching and baptizing those whom He would add to their number (Matthew 28:19-20). Small groups of believers were brought together by their endeavors and these groups came to be known as local assemblies, local churches. Dr. Luke’s letter to his friend Theophilus (The Acts of The Apostles) informed him and us how this small band of men grew to hundreds of thousands. In that it was the Lord’s plan that His church would continue past the lifetime of those original eleven apostles, He made provision that His church would be nourished. We read of that provision from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians,
“7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore He says: ‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.’9(Now this, ‘He ascended’—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:7-16).
We read from verse 11 that He (Jesus—the Risen Lord), “gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers”. From verse 12 were read of His purpose in this supplying, “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” And from verses 13-16 we read of what He intended; that they (we) “13 all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
Much of the organized church (so called) has gotten away from the Lord’s purpose of maturing the saints to pursuance of other endeavors i.e., increasing the size of their congregations – whether or not the additions are truly born-again Christians, increasing the size of its properties, adding new buildings, starting schools with the intent of introducing or enhancing humanistic moral attitudes (not necessarily Christian) into their local communities. All these pursuits may be good but to what end? Jesus cautioned His disciples saying “what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26). If it is not the churches intent to point people to Christ and then maturing them in their understanding of Him and His purpose for them, it has missed the mark. John MacArthur in a sermon a few years ago (Saved or Greatly Deceived) speaks of the consequence of the church stepping away from what the Lord intended. [To find that sermon just go to the search bar on your computer, write in John MacArthur-Saved or Self Deceived, part two]. In that sermon MacArthur proffers that many people believe that they have a relationship with the Lord but do not. What a tragedy, the church, in many cases, has become like modern day Israel. Israel in practice, is no longer the spokes-men of God to the world. Many are born into that populace but never come to a saving knowledge of God, nor do they point others in that direction. Jesus commission to His apostles, and by extension to the church was and is “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; Amen”.( Matthew 28:19-20a).
Lord, help us return full heartedly to your calling and commission.
Steve
Stevelampman.com
Transforming Power; the Work of God on Behalf of Man