A lot of people have misconception about the church
They don't know what it is and some people just because of these misconceptions
they are not able to fully appreciate the function of the church
All right. So this is what we are going to do right now because when you fully understand what church is
then you will have a better way of developing this habit. So what is the church
Alright, so let's start with some misconceptions of people. People would say some people think that a church is our
or like those in the countryside with crosses the top of its roof
So this is a very good example of what a church is for some people
And others would think that these are a mongous European medieval, medieval cathedrals whose images are popular around the world
You probably have seen them and you maybe have visited some of them in Europe
Not even in Europe, but even here in the Philippines, there are just so many very big churches
And I would say that they are like a work of art because of how beautiful and elaborate the structures are
So some people think that those are the church. Now, others would suggest that a church is any place that is built for a place of worship
Some churches will just rent a hall, rent a function place. So they think that place would be equivalent to a church
But what does the Bible really say about this? Now, this is just not a thing or this is not just what some people
think because if you go into the dictionary I went to dictionary.com and they said that a church
is a building for public Christian worship. So notice, take note of the word a building for public
Christian worship. Some suggest that it's a public Christian worship of God, a Christian religious
service. So it's not just a structure but they are thinking that church is a kind of
of religious service. None of the church or the church, the whole body of Christian
believers, alright? Sometimes church, any organized group of Christian believers professing the same creed and acknowledging the same ecclesiastic authority, a Christian denomination
So there are a lot of ways people define church. Now we are not going to talk about what people
think in this lecture, okay? We are going to talk about to talk about what the Bible says about the church
Now these are the key principles we need to remember. The word church doesn't appear on the Old Testament
So this is something that is just found in the New Testament, okay
So you don't see here, you can go from Jenses to Malachi
and there's no word church there. And then the word church is mentioned in the New Testament
80 times and in 79 verses. So it's been mentioned multiple times but in just the New Testament
All right so for the word churches it's it is mentioned 37 times. The first mention the word church is in
Matthew 16 verse 18. So it's worth looking into it. What does the Bible says about about the church
Okay, so let's go there. And incidentally, this is the first mention of the word church is mentioned by our Savior, Jesus Christ, or properly known as Yahshua
He said here in Matthew 16, verse 17 to 19. Jesus answered and said to him, blessed are you, Simon, bar Jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven
And I say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you lose
on earth will be loosed in heaven so you can see here that it is Yahshua or Jesus Christ
who's going to build his church now this is some just a quick uh quick note here yesua is not saying
he's going to build this church upon Peter okay this is not what the original text
actually means when he says on this rock this is actually Yeshua is actually
referring to himself on himself he will build his church not on not on Peter okay
so that's just a quick note in Matthew 16 verse 17 to 19 so we're going to look
into the Greek word for church so that we would better understand what it means
So the Greek word for this word is Ecclesia. Ecclesia, notice here what it means
A gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly
An assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating the assembly of the assembly of the
Israelites, a gathering, a throng of men in a Christian sense, assembly, a company, and those who are
So we could see here repeatedly that this word Ecclesia is actually referring to people
Okay, I apologize for my handwriting here. I'm just using the mouse
So it is actually talking about people. and not building. All right, it's not the building
So we could see here, look at this. They are the cold out ones
And they are the assembly, a gathering, assembly company. So, Ecclesia actually means the people
It's not referring to the building, the physical structure where people gathered
it is actually referring to the people themselves. Look at this. In Romans 16 verse 3 to 5, it says, greet Priscilla and Akila, my fellow workers in Christ, Yeshua
who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the gentas
Notice this. Likewise, greet the church, greet the church that is in their house
Now, we need to realize if the church is a building, then it doesn't make sense for Paul to say, greet the building
All right? Look at this. He won't say greet the church, or if this church means building, then it won't really make sense
Paul says, greet the building. But rather, he's actually saying greet the brethren
Okay? Greet the brethren. A church is not a cold and lifeless concrete building, but rather it is a body of warm and living people who have dedicated their lives to God
Right? Very important. A building with no worshipper is nothing but a structure in a biblical sense
You may have the biggest church buildings, you might have the cathedrals, very big, and yet
if they are empty, if there's no worshippers, there's no people in there, it all becomes nothing
They're in vain because that building will never be called a church
All right. So that is very important to take note of. Now, we are going to answer some key questions here
All right. So please pay close attention because these are very important
So the first question is, who build? the church. Okay? So obviously we know the answer
Yeshua answered and said to him, blessed are you, Simon, and he said here and I will
and I also say to you that you are Peter on this rock I will build my church Okay so and there a promise and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it
So who built the church? Who built it? It's Jesus Christ or Yeshua
Next question here. When did the New Testament church begin? So where did it all happen
Well, it's on the day of Pentecost. Look at this. when we found here in Acts 2 verse 1 to 4 and in 47 when the day of Pentecost had fully come
they were all with one accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a rushing
mighty wind and it filled with the whole house where they were sitting then there appeared to
them divided tongues as of fire and one set upon each of them and they were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance
And then verse 47, praising God and having favor with all the people
And the Lord added to the church daily those who are being saved
Look at this. So the church experienced exponential growth starting on the day of Pentecost
which also signifies the day when God, Yahweh, has powered down the Holy Spirit upon his people
So that's when the New Testament began. And then the next question is, what is the purpose of the church
So the church is not simply a social club that a lot of people would just come and go
No, it's more than that. It's not simply just a gathering or a family unit
No, there's a purpose for the church. There's a reason why God built the church
And he said, but he, endures unto the end shall be saved
So what is the purpose? And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations
And then the end will come. So this is very important. This is one of the main missions of the Bible
This is the purpose. This is the reason why Yeshua or Jesus Christ built his church
It is for the church to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God
The gospel means the good news. Good news of what? Good news of the coming kingdom of God
You can't get anything better than that. There's no better news than that than for the kingdom of Yahweh
the kingdom of God established here on earth. That is actually the gospel, the coming
kingdom of God. Now the next question is how do you become part of the church? How do you become
part of the church? This is very important because some people think that it is enough to just
attend church. It is enough that my name appears in the in the lag book of the church. Now is that
what makes a person really a member of the body of Christ the church? Well look at this. Read
Romans 8 verse 14 to 17. He says, For as many as are led by the spirit of God
these are sons of God. What makes a person son of God
It is by being led by the Holy Spirit. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear
but received the spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out Abba Father
Okay? When you have the Spirit, When you have that, you have become an adopted son of our Father in heaven
The Spirit himself bears a witness with our spirit that we are children of God
And if children, then heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him
that we may also be glorified together. That's Romans 8, verse 14 to 17
So it tells us that those who are the true Christians, the ones who are part of the true
church are the ones who have the Holy Spirit in them. They are being led by the Holy Spirit
Okay So that makes a person part of the church Next question here Who is the head of the church Now this is very important because some people think that it their pastor it the pope it the minister
No, these are human beings. They are not the head of the church
Who is the head of the church? Look at this. Ephesians 1, verse 22 to 23
And he put all things under his feet. This is talking about Yeshua, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and gave him
him to be the head over all things to the church. Alright
So this is, this shows us that Yeshua or Jesus is actually the head of the church. Okay
So you don't look at people, okay? Oh, my leader, the leaders of our church let me down, they have disappointed me, they made me, they have offended me
Would you let people to hinder you from becoming part of God's church
church? Of course not. Because at the end of the day, they are just still human beings. But you
have to look to Christ who is actually the head of the church. So we have another question
here. Is the church the body of Christ? Let's see. Ephesians 1.20 to 23 and he put all things
under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to church, which is his body
So we could see here that the church is his body. If Christ is the head, then we are the body of that same body
Of the same of the church. So a very interesting ogy here
Next. Next question. Who are the members of the church? Who are the members of the church
Look at this. How can we, who are the members of the church
John 644 to 45. It says, no one can come to me
unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up at the last day
And then he also repeats almost the same idea or the same wordings here in verse 65
And he said, therefore I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted
to him by my father. Now this is very important point because some people think that it is Yahshua or Jesus Christ who is calling them
actually when it comes to our calling it is the father it is him who personally handpick us he
he look at he look at all the earth he says oh i want you in my church i want you in my church
hey you josh hey you peter hey um uh whatever whatever the name is he personally handpicked them
and called them by their name that's how personal god is when it comes to this church
It is God who is calling people and no one can come to Yeshua if God doesn't draw that person to him
All right. Also in 1st John 3 to 1, it says, Behold what manner of love the father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of God
You see, we are not just simple, we are not any ordinary
members, we are actually the children of God. And that is one amazing thing that we should be
thankful for, to be called the child of the most high God. And finally here in Romans 8-9-4
but you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If indeed the spirit of God dwells in you
now if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he is not his. For as many as are led by the
spirit of God. These are the sons of God. So very important point here. And how do you receive the
Holy Spirit? You receive it by repenting and then having being baptized by a minister of God and also
having their hands laid upon you so that you will receive the Holy Spirit
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