God's Design for the Church
The Healthy Christian • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 5 viewsGod has a design for His church: The pastor is given to equip the saints; the saints do the work of service. When everyone does their part, there is growth in the church (maturity) and the kingdom.
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11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
INTRO: Do you ever find yourself just absolutely amazed at some of the gadgets out there? I mean, when you think of all the moving parts in machines- whether it’s your car, your heat pump, your washing machine, whatever, it is pretty remarkable. I still don’t know how all the computer parts work so that I can access software, email, and the Google.
But all of these things were designed to function in a specific way for a specific purpose. Compact cars were not designed to pull horse trailers and Dump trucks are not designed for parking garages.
But what about you? What about the church? What have you been designed to do?
We are going to get into some of that in our time together this morning. But before we do, I want to spell out a few foundational ideas that will set the stage for us.
First, we must understand that God is intentional. From the foundation of the world, His plan is perfect.
Everything that we see in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation reveals a God who has designed his creation for his glory. You and I are part of that.
We must also understand that redemption is part of God’s perfect plan.
John 3:16 says that “... God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
And we must understand that the church is God’s design for proclaiming the Gospel and helping the world come to know the redemption plan of God.
Christ is the builder of the church- the chief cornerstone. (Eph. 2:20)
In regards to his redemptive purposes, Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 “18 “...upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
So, God’s intentional mission is to bring the world to redemption. He’s paid the price for that redemption already by stepping into His creation in the person of Jesus Christ, living a perfect life, and dying a sinner’s death. He took the punishment that you and I deserve so that we could stand in His righteousness on the day of judgment. And through the empowering of His Holy Spirit, He has established his church to take up this mission - to be ambassadors of Christ, reconciling sinful men to our Holy God, which is the purpose of his design. (More on that in a couple weeks).
What I want us to explore today is the design of God’s church. How is it engineered? What are the parts and how do they work together?
ILL: When I was in my teens, I wanted to know how some things worked. How do radios work? TVs? Carburetors? And because YouTube and Google were not invented yet, the way I satisfied my hunger for knowledge was by taking things apart and studying the pieces. PSA- don’t do try this on things that you need...
Today, we are going to look at the Biblically defined parts of God’s church so that we can see God’s design and learn how we are supposed to function.
So, if you picked up a bulletin, I invite you to use the enclosed sermon guide and follow along. The message is titled, “God’s Design for the Church.”
It’s important that we don’t think about the church as a building. Granted, buildings do have a design, purpose, and function. But unlike a building which is constructed using cement blocks and bricks, the church is made up of living stones. You are part of the design, purpose and function of the church.
But that metaphor can get confusing. So instead of using the building metaphor, I want to use the ‘train’ metaphor.
Do you like trains? I hope so. I want you to see the church like a train.
Trains, unlike cars, run on tracks that are fixed. These tracks are the mission of the church. God has laid them. They are the same for every church-train.
But trains can all look different and have slightly different specific uses. Some trains carry circus animals, some carry passengers, some carry coal, and some freight. Even so, every church-train has the same basic design:
1st is the frame. This is rigid and strong and is made to ride on the tracks. The cars, or ministries of the church, may have different uses, but they all need this frame.
Then there are the Engineers. These are the people who help get the right cars behind the engine. They make sure all the cars are necessary, rightly loaded, on the right set of tracks. They keep a schedule, assure the engine has fuel and has been properly maintained. They regularly inspect the train and its surroundings, and are ultimately responsible for the cargo.
And then there is the engine. The engine is what pulls the cars. Without the engine, the train will never make it to its destination. An engineer cannot pull the cars… no, he’s not built for that. Now, sometimes that engine is loud, sometimes it needs some repair, but when its running well, that train is doing what it’s designed to do.
Now that you all know how trains work, let’s talk about God’s Design for the Church. That is the title of the message. You can follow along by using the sermon guide in your bulletin. Prayerfully we’ll put it all together in a way that makes sense and will help us here at LRBC.
Ready? Let’s dive in.
The Church is Built Upon Apostles and Prophets (11a)
The Church is Built Upon Apostles and Prophets (11a)
(READ)
We understand that this category has been fulfilled. There are no biblical prophets or apostles today. To help us see more clearly, let me point you back to Eph. 2:20-22. Speaking of the church, Paul writes:
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
So the frame or foundation of the church was laid by prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ bringing both together as the fulfillment of the Prophets and the authority and director of the Apostles.
This is a gift to the church and we recognize it in the form of doctrine. Doctrine (which sounds pretty serious) is a biblical word referring to what we teach and what we believe; it is what we hold to be true about God, the church, and the world. What we know about God, salvation, ministry, gifts, prayer, sin, etc. all is given to the church through the prophets and apostles, revealed perfectly in Jesus Christ and delivered to you and I through the Holy Spirit authored Bible.
We stand upon the word of God. We receive our direction, our unwavering frame from which we live from the Bible. We don’t change it. We don’t omit parts we don’t like or understand. We don’t add to it where we think we know better.
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
And when we understand this, we understand the the Word of God is sufficient in these things. For the past 2000 years, faithful Christians have studied the Word of God, fought for it, died for it. Sadly there are many congregations who call themselves churches, but who deny the authority or relevance of God’s Word. But that ain’t us!
And any church that compromises their foundation is not able to stay on the tracks God has laid. The Bible gives us a strong and sure frame so that we stay on course.
The church, because we belong to Christ and are designed by Him, is built upon the Apostles and Prophets.
Everything we do is based upon God’s word.
The Church is Led by Pastor-teachers (11b-12a, 13)
The Church is Led by Pastor-teachers (11b-12a, 13)
(READ)
So, We see the word ‘evangelist’ in here as well. I think Paul had in mind those who would be missionaries or church planters- taking the Gospel to areas where there was not witness, and establishing a church. You can think of Barnabas, Philip, and others. These work with pastor-teachers and are sometimes themselves pastors; every church began with one who brought the gospel to a new area.
In the original Greek, the word pastor is the same word for shepherd. So, it’s the idea of one who leads and feeds, protects and instructs the church. Pastor-teachers are also a gift to the church, given for a purpose. What is that purpose?
Equipping the saints.
The word ‘equipping’ means literally to make whole. It is the role of a pastor teacher to guide and teach the church in such a way that the church is made whole.
What does that mean? Well, to understand this, we need to skip down to v. 13. (READ)
The church, as a body, is not whole until every part is mature in their faith to the point of being like Jesus. (Do you remember our memory verse for this month? - Col. 1:28)
We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.
So, it is the role of the pastor-teacher to guide and instruct the church to be like Jesus.
He is to teach faithfully the Word of God, never skipping the uncomfortable parts. He must rightly interpret and apply the Scriptures so that the church may grow in their faith and understanding.
He is to counsel in congruence with God’s Word so that the church can discover how God has gifted them and how their lives are to be influenced by the Gospel.
He is to organize, evaluate, and guide church programs to accomplish the mission and vision of the church.
He is to challenge and correct errors within the body, being himself a model and representative of Christ.
He is to intentionally lead the church to accomplish the Great Commission, reaching the community and the nations.
He is to oversee the daily operations, staff, and ministries.
There’s more, but at the core, he is to shepherd and instruct the church to be a genuine reflection of Christ. That is God’s design. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Pastor-teachers are under-shepherds; messengers and agents of Christ in the local church who are responsible to see that the church is on mission, all for the glory of Christ.
The church is built upon prophets / apostles, led by pastor-teachers.
The Church is Us (12b)
The Church is Us (12b)
We’ve said this before, but we must continue to remind ourselves that the church is not a building nor is it something we do. WE are the church. YOU, collectively are the church. No one person is the church. The church is the body of Christ. One Christian CHURCH- all saints from all ages and places, many local churches (in specific contexts) and many members, all on the same tracks!
12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.
27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.
And because YOU are the church, you have a role. Every believer; every member of this church body has a role. What is it?
(READ 12)
YOU are the Engine. You are who do the work of ministry. Now, some of that ministry is done within the church walls. These are programs we have that teach, serve, and worship. But the work of the ministry is beyond this building!
The programs that we have here are designed to equip YOU so that you can serve wherever you work, live, or play.
The programs that we have here are designed to equip YOU so that you can serve wherever you work, live, or play.
We teach the bible so you can be confident in your beliefs. So you can know for certain who you are and why you exist.
When you serve here, it’s both an act of love for neighbor here and practice so you can love your neighbor out there.
When you worship here, it is teaching you to put your eyes upon Jesus out there.
When you give here, it helps you see the bigger picture and live generously as Heirs of the Kingdom of God.
And when you are living out your calling as a member of Christ’s body, you are helping build up this body.
You see church, this church was designed for a purpose and that purpose is all about the GLORY OF GOD! The church is built upon the Apostles and Prophets- Christ is the Chief Cornerstone! It is led by pastor-teachers and, well, the Church is YOU.
Why it Matters (13-16)
Why it Matters (13-16)
ILL: I want you to imagine that you are putting together an IKEA bedroom suite. A million parts- Swedish instructions. And the tool that you need is a specialty wrench that they don’t sell at Lowe’s. Nope- it’s a proprietary tool. Every bolt is one of these kind.. it was designed this way. But all you have is a pair of pliers and a hammer.
You see, you can try to assemble that with the tools you have, referencing the vague pictures along the way, but you won’t likely get too far. You’ll give up or break something. Attempting to do things the wrong way is frustrating. Instead of this, all you have to do is go IKEA and buy the proper wrench and get English instructions.
It matters that we do things the way the designer intended.
When the church is not operating like it’s designed to; whether it’s off the tracks, if it has a wobbly frame, if the engineer is not intentional or the engine is running a few cylinders short- that church-train is not going to be successful in accomplishing God’s purpose.
We must return to the designer. God has given us all the tools and instructions we need to ensure we are working properly! We just got to go back to His word. And when we understand who we are and how we fit together in the big picture, it makes all the difference how we function and in our perspective about the church and each other.
(READ 14-16)
A healthy church is fit together well and looks like Christ to the world. But if we ignore God’s directions, then our testimony is that we know better than God how His church should be organized and operated or that we just don’t care.
Are all our parts working? Do we have parts in the wrong places, people trying to do what they are not designed to do? Do we have parts or people who are not engaged? Folks, in Christ’s church, there are no spare parts!
Look here- (16b) if every part is not plugged in and working, then the body itself falls apart.
Instead, the design is that we are working together to grow as a body. Growth includes maturity (sanctification) through obedience, and growth in numbers as we accomplish our mission.
So, today, I want to extend an invitation for you to commit to church Christ’s way. That simply means that you will agree to pursue God’s design according to His Word. Let’s look at His instructions, discover our roles, and glorify God through this body.
For some of you, that might mean that you take the next step toward becoming a church member. For others, it may mean that you reprioritize God’s church in your life. Either way, I extend the invitation to come forward in our final hymn or talk with one of our deacons or staff before you leave.
We are the church. Let’s be the church on purpose.
[PRAY]
Discuss: What are some of the foundations that Christ’s church is built upon?
Discuss: You are part of the ‘engine’ of the church-train. How is your working relationship with other parts?
Discuss: The picture of health in verses 14-16 is vivid. How well does this describe LRBC? What area of ‘growing up’ are you engaged in?
