God’s vision for the church is great and His purpose for it is deep and wide! The church has many important functions assigned to it by God. Each and every one of them is significant in our perspective of the church and what our proper expectation and responsibilities are towards it. When we know and understand the different functions of the church, it gives us a balance in our viewpoint, and it keeps us from disillusionment or disappointment.
Jesus is the Cornerstone
True church is first and foremost is established on the work of Christ as our Messiah. Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The Bible is our guide in all truth; it is the inerrant word of God. If any church or denomination questions the validity of the word of God, they are not the true church and are headed in the wrong direction and away from the truth!
We cannot just worship God and think we are following Christ. We cannot believe in Jesus and at the same time believe in other religions because they do not all lead to the same place. Our own humanism and social work in the community or around the world does not produce a true church as Jesus described it. The church must be built on Jesus. The Bible gives us the full account of creation, God, and His plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. That’s the foundation of a true church.
The church is the family of God
And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Galatians 4:6
When we come to salvation every one of us are adopted to the family of God, and we get to call God, “Abba Father”. We join a family along with all the others believers who are now our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Most of us have had dysfunction in our family of origin due to sin and rebellion. Now, God brings us to a new family to relearn how to do life in a new and healthier way. Just as an orphan, we have much to learn by letting go of our self-preservation and becoming a family member.
Our past patterns and selfish behaviors need to be denied, so we can take on a new identity in Christ. This is hard work and many times it’s going to make us feel like running away from the pain of change, but it is a very important part of our development to get established, settled, healed, delivered, and set free in the new life!
Our success in spiritual family will come from not looking to the church for our new identity, but to see the family as one who helps and supports us to establish our identity in Christ. If we don’t get this right, we are bound to have great disappointments down the road because someone or some people will eventually disappoint us. When our identity is established in Christ not in our pastor, elders, or others, then we can navigate through tough times successfully. Otherwise sin or issues in the church can wreak havoc in our spiritual life.
We all assume our identity is established in Christ, but we really don’t know until the tests and the difficulties come. If we have a faulty identity, God in His mercy will orchestrate circumstances in our lives to expose the false identity. While that’s a painful process, but praise God that He addresses false security and deals with it powerfully!
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.
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