The Definition of The Church

Alright, to start tonight's lesson, let's continue on the subject of ecclesiology. If you don't have a handout, we have one who will take a handout to you and you can follow along. We have a key verse for ecclesiology that I'd like for you to take a look at. So take your Bibles and turn to Ephesians if you would like. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 22 and verse 23 is going to help us get a definition for ecclesiology, for the church. And as we study this particular subject, it will have a definition today. If you can perhaps even look at this whole handout as a starting definition of ecclesiology, it, I promise, will further unravel in the weeks to come. And so this is lesson 1 and we're going to be talking about the church, ecclesiology. But I want you to have a main verse, a key verse to hang all of this information on. And yes, it's in your handout, but I want you to see it first and primarily in your own Bibles. In Ephesians chapter 1, verses 22 and 23, "And He that, being Christ, put all things in subjection under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."

Okay, so on your handouts, we'll start with number 1 and the first part of the definition says, "The church of Christ is the whole company of regenerate persons." If you're following along and filling in the blanks, the first fill in the blank is regenerate, okay? So the church of Christ is the whole company of regenerate persons in all times and ages, in heaven and earth. The church is the great company of persons who Christ has saved, in whom He dwells. The second fill in the blank is dwells, and that is the fact that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. And so God's presence, in that of the Holy Spirit, is dwelling inside of those who have been regenerated. And to continue the definition, "He dwells to whom and through whom He reveals God." And so the third fill in the blank is reveals. And to continue on, the church is a spiritual body consisting of only the regenerate. The church is redeemed humanity in which God in Christ exercises spiritual dominion. The church is therefore dwelt by the Holy Spirit for God's glory, to be His ambassadors to the world.

The first reference underneath that definition is found in Colossians 1:18, and that is, "And He is the head of the body." If you like to make any notations, the word head is very important because He is over the church, and you can circle that. "And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence," okay? On the back, you'll have an applicational verse. So turn over and let's read Acts 2 together.

On the back, down at the bottom left, you'll see reference verses number 1. Acts 2:46–47 says this, "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."

And so you see that the church is made up of regenerate people. And in the New Testament, the New Testament scriptures refer to the church in two different ways. Ekklesia — we'll see this. And I've noted it in my book, Next Steps, that the church is referred to primarily as the body of Christ, those people who have been saved, who have repented of their sin and placed their faith and trust in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross. That is, that He died for the punishment of our sins, so He took that on. Okay, and then as well, the New Testament refers to it as a place to where we go and worship. And so you've probably heard it very well in that you are to be the church. And when the church leaves the building, the church is the church. And so we're to be the church.

The church is often referred to in our vernacular as "Let's go to church." And it's okay, biblically, to say that because the New Testament refers to perhaps like the synagogue, which would eventually, hopefully have more converts and transition into being a New Testament church. And that'd be located there at the same place. And they would be like, okay, let's go to church. Here in Acts, they're starting with at-home Bible studies. And it leads into worship. And it leads into prayer. And it leads into people getting saved. And the Word of God continues to spread rapidly. So much so they can't fit in one home. So much so they can't fit in ten homes. And it continues to grow daily. And so this is the conception of the New Testament church that we just read here in the book of Acts. It's fantastic.

Back on the front, by way of application, the fill in the blank word is member. Are you a member of the church? And now I'm going to ask if you want to give me a response. How do you know that you are a member of the church? And that is a synonymous question with: how do you know you're regenerate? How do you know you're saved? How do you know for sure that you're in the body of Christ, that you're part of the church? Anybody got an answer?

We have some wonderful insight from those who know that they know that they know that they've been saved. And then we have some results in people's lives as to why they really, truly, truly know. Do you have any insight as to why you have confidence?

Okay. Very good answer. When you're saved, you've been changed. The prophet Ezekiel mentioned giving a new heart, which is new motives. And so you can take a look at your life. The BC days — before Christ, you could say — is that you had desires, or a heart for things, before you were saved. And then when you were saved, some things changed. And so that's evidence of a true conversion, a true regenerate person who has been saved, because you weren't really in control of your desires changing. But God gave you a new heart. He saved you. Instead of having a heart of flesh — the New Testament says — or a heart after doing selfish things or self-centered things, a life away from the self and towards the Savior, that change happened. And that is an example through and through Scripture. Fantastic. We had another hand go up. How do you know?

Very good.

Very well stated. Conviction of sin. Lost people can enjoy their sin.

Saved people cannot enjoy their sin anymore. They have the Holy Spirit of God residing within them. And that Holy Spirit of God has taken over, and they are falling under conviction when they sin. They feel guilt and shame and separation from God. And it is designed that way to prompt that believer to repent and to return. And so nobody's perfect after they're saved. We're all going to be working on sanctification, or getting better and better at being a Christian. But one thing is for certain: the ones who are saved know they're saved because they have different desires. They don't desire to do the same old sins. But yet when they do fall back into those same old sins, they fall under conviction. And that is new, per se, from what they have experienced before. And so that is evidence that they have been truly regenerated. Something external — that being God — came in, invaded their heart and changed things, regenerated their heart, given new desires, and now they are living out that new life. Very well. Anybody else before we move on? How do you know you're in the body of Christ?

Yes. Yeah.

Say that again.

Amen.

Very biblically stated. You've repented and then what? Believed? Okay. In Mark chapter 1 and verse 15, it says to repent and believe the gospel. And you have done that. And the Ten Commandments are what's used to help us to see that we've all fallen short of the glory of God. And so when we see that we have fallen short of God's standard, His Ten Commandments kind of typify the standards for which we can see a reflection upon the law towards ourselves — like, yeah, we don't measure up. Nobody can pass the test of the Ten Commandments. So we're all in agreement. And the New Testament says it this way. In Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." When you come to that understanding, then there's this sorrowfulness that sets in because you realize that you have broken God's holy standard, His law. And He, the innocent party, had to be crucified for the punishment of the sin that you deserve. And now once you've done that, that prompted you to repent of your sin. Lord, I'm sorry that You had to bear my punishment. You repent and turn away from that. And you believe in the fact that He actually died on the cross for you in your place. And so you've repented and believed the gospel. So you followed through. That's fantastic. Thank you for that. Anybody else?

All right. As ones who have been regenerated and saved, you know that the things that we've just said is true. And honestly, we could talk about the evidences of a true believer for another few hours. And so if you feel that there's more information than you're thinking with the thinkers, you're doing well.

Number two, in the New Testament, the Greek word translated as church is ekklesia, which means called out. And so the first fill in the blank is called — called out. Called out, and it was used commonly in the first century to mean an assembly or congregation of people. So we just mentioned that. In the New Testament, it is used to describe all Christians collectively. Collectively is the next fill in the blank, and is also used to designate their local assemblies. Local is the next fill in the blank. It describes those who are called out of the world into a special relationship with the church. The church exists through and because of Jesus Christ. And so the fill in the blanks are called, collectively, and local.

Hebrews 12, verses 22 and 24 is the first reference there. "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels and to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than — better than Abel actually." And so because of Jesus' mediatorial work, He mediated between a holy God and sinful man. Sinful man cannot approach a holy God, and a holy God can't be in the presence of sin. And so we had to have a Mediator, and that necessitates the God-man. So God wrapped in flesh was now made capable of mediating between the two parties. And so Jesus, being God wrapped in flesh, was able then to make a sufficient sacrifice, a sufficient atonement — a gift, or a sacrifice, to God on behalf of men, accepting the punishment of God towards Him on behalf of men.

So oftentimes we need a mediator in legal cases. We need someone to mediate between the two parties. Jesus was our Mediator. All right, by way of application, how is the church both on earth and also in heaven? Earth and heaven are the other blanks. And that is glorious to think about because there are saved ones already in heaven and you are in relation to them by being a child of God, as you are saved. And then as well, there are people who have yet to be born who will be saved, who will be part of the church. And yet at the same time, we have believers here on earth. So this is a grand concept.

Number three, in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word — which I won't try to pronounce — qahal in Hebrew, I may butcher it. So the Hebrew word refers to those who were called out and assembled. In the Septuagint, this Hebrew word is often translated as ekklesia. Even the earliest appearances of this Hebrew word is translated this way in Deuteronomy 9, 10, 18, and 23. And thus it informed the New Testament writers who described the Israelites — Israelites is the first fill in the blank — in the wilderness with the word ekklesia. And this is found in Acts 7:38. That's fascinating.

Now, the multiple uses of ekklesia in the Septuagint describe an assembly of people called out from the world to be a special people of God. It's important to realize that as a church, you've been called out the same way that God had chosen people, the Israelites, called out to be separate from the Canaanites and the Moabites and all the -ites, not to live like that, but to be called out, to be separate — same as the church, to be called out to be separate from the world. And so our lives are to be characterized by speech and character that is not like the world. We're separate. And so you are a peculiar people, the Bible says, a different kind of people who've been set aside or are being made more and more in the image of Christ. That's striking to a lost world that thinks it's normal and even a lot of fun to sin. And you no longer feel like it's fun to do those past things. And they are curious about that. That's the reason why the light of Christ through us draws the lost world out of darkness and into the light of Christ. And so we're called out, special, peculiar people — the church.

This calling came with special promises which were to be met with faith and love and worship and obedience. Although the church is a distinctive new covenant reality — new is the next fill in the blank — it is at the same time a continuation of God's one plan. Continuation is the next fill in the blank. The continuation of His one plan of redemption of humanity, centered on Jesus Christ, God's promised seed, Galatians 3:16 and 29.

This is an important concept, and if you have your Bible, please turn to Galatians 3:16 with me and see this one plan from before time, fulfilled in Christ. And you can turn or simply listen. But if you have not marked Galatians 3:16 in your Bibles, I would encourage you to do so. This is proof that not only are we of Abraham, our father of faith, but everything that God has planned — and He has one grandiose, glorious, magnificent plan that is unfolding over history. It's been said that history is His story. God's one single plan is being fulfilled, it has been fulfilled and furthered in Christ. And so in Galatians 3:16 it says now the promises — that's referring to all the Old Testament promises, all the covenants, the Abrahamic covenant, the Noahic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, the Davidic covenant — all of these promises throughout the Old Testament are leading up to something. "Now the promises," Galatians 3:16, "now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed."

"He does not say 'and to seeds,' as referring to many, but rather to one, 'and to your seed,' that is Christ." It's important to see that the covenants are fulfilled in Christ. We are a part of God's grand plan as ones who will be saved, be separated from the world, be drafted to become part of the church, and now we are a separate and peculiar people. But all of this culminates in Christ. And so we are Christians — Christians in Christ, little Christians, little Christ — we are in Christ. And this is part of God's grand, glorious, wonderful plan.

I love Galatians 3:16 because it's very specific. And even in the New King James Version, the word seed is capitalized as a very clear reference to Christ. And then so we know that all of the promises — if you go through and examine the covenants in the Bible, the Old Testament Bible — they lead to Christ, lead to Christ, lead to Christ. And we've looked at Deuteronomy 18:18 in the past and have seen that Jesus is the fulfillment of David's line. Matthew chapter 1 in the genealogy is also a testament to that — Abraham and David. So very important verse, to be able to see that we, the church, are in Christ and it's God's one plan that is continued on.

On number three, you have Hebrews 11 as a reference, Hebrews 11:39–40. "And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us." The applicational thought is this: who are God's chosen people then?

God's chosen people — well, this idea continues to develop throughout history, and now we are God's chosen people, those of us who have been selected for salvation, those who are Christians, those who have repented and believed the gospel. And so 1 Peter 2:9–10 explains that.

Number four, union with Christ is the presupposition of the church. This is important because you are no longer your own. When you are saved, you have the deposit of the Holy Spirit of God within you. That means you are in union with Christ. "Christ in you, the hope of glory," Colossians 1:29 says. Christ in you. So you are no longer separate as an individual with these isolated abilities. You cannot operate on your own because you have the Spirit of the living God living in you. You could not be alone if you tried. The doctrine of the union in Christ is a primary doctrine for us all to continue to understand. There could be seriously fifteen or twenty one-hour teachings just on the doctrine of our union in Christ.

But the Old Testament, the Old Testament leads up to this New Testament reality and the New Testament speaks to this doctrine over and over and over and over again. Even in the Great Commission, Jesus says, "Lo, I will be with you always." And so even in Hebrew language — though they recognize the word "always" is not part of their language, they do not have a word for "always" — the meaning doesn't change because "Lo, I am with you," and that is a very clear indication that God is with you 24-7. It never stops. And so, yes?

[Audience member asks a question.]

Very good point. I kind of tied it all together there. And to reiterate just a little bit so that everyone could hear, the point is evidence of the true believer, one of the evidences, would be being able to understand the language of the Bible. And so when you hear things like flesh and blood — for her example — that is intriguing. It's not repulsive. It's intriguing. Like, what did He mean by flesh? What did He mean by blood? So you continue to read. And to kind of further illuminate the idea, Jesus spoke parabolically, spoken in parables, and he defines this as trying to get people to come in and figure it out. So some would think of these parables as ludicrous, you know, "Why would He ask me to eat His flesh and drink His blood?" That is just repulsive. But for the believer, we truly understand that we must consume all of whom Christ is theologically, and He to become part of who our body is. You must drink the same cup that He drank, the cup of the cross, which He said — Jesus said to God the Father when He's praying in the garden — "Can You take this cup from Me? And nevertheless, not My will, but Your will be done."

So these things are spiritually understood. The Holy Spirit inside of you illuminates the truth to your mind. It's evidence that you've been saved, because to your point, the Holy Spirit helps you to understand. John 10:26 was the reference quoted, and that says that the Holy Spirit's role is to illuminate the truth of the Scriptures to your mind. And so as you study, you are truly able to grasp these thoughts of God. It's wonderful. Thank you.

All right. To further drive home the idea of this, number four, continuing on — "Union with Christ" is the presupposition of the church. And so the word presupposition is that pre-thought, that pre-idea. We understand that to be part of the church, you're in union with Christ. This alone transforms. So the next fill in the blank is transforms. "And to a Christian, this alone makes possible the vital and spiritual fellowship between God and redeemed humanity. The same life of Christ, which unites man to God, also unifies the redeemed to one another."

Now we have another fantastic portion of Scripture right here, and the reference in 1 Corinthians 12:13–14 is great. I want you to circle the word "one" as I read it. And this is a great exercise because we are one in Christ, and in Hebrew thought and literature, they're going to repeat what needs to be understood. So listen to this. Now, those of you who are thinking, "Well, the New Testament was written in Greek. Why are you saying Hebrew?" It's because, yes, the New Testament was recorded in Greek, but the culture in which they lived in wasn't Greek culture. That was Hellenism invading into their Hebrew culture, or Roman culture invading into their Hebrew culture. The majority of these Jews — Jesus being a Jewish man, the majority of like Matthew, a Jewish man — the majority of their culture was being lived out from their Hebrew roots and their Jewish roots. And so their idioms, their slang, their foods, their customs, their traditions — it was all that. And so as these teachings are being recorded in Greek, you still see the remnants of Hebrew thought.

And so now take a look at how many times the word "one" is repeated. In 1 Corinthians 12:13–14, it says, "For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, and so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks." And so it doesn't matter anymore whether you've been born inside the chosen people, the Jews, or outside, because now we're all one in Christ. It says, "Whether slaves or free." So it doesn't matter even if you've been bought by a Roman slave owner and you're a slave, or it doesn't matter if you are outside of that as a Greek individual, or you're a Jew. It doesn't matter where you're at. You can be slave or free, Jew or Greek — it doesn't matter. When you're saved, you're now one in Christ. "And have all been made to drink into one Spirit." And so the application is this: in whom alone do we find life and favor?

Who do you find life in? Jesus Christ. We're all made one in Him.

When Jesus prayed in John chapter 17 that we, the church, would live and operate in unity — or even better yet, in union with Christ like He and the Father are in unity — what a tall order that is. And just as Jesus was submitting Himself to the Father's will, so do we submit ourselves to one another. We really, really, really truly serve one another, bend every back, help one another. That's the church. You guys do a great job with that, by the way.

Alright, number five. The church is nothing less than the body of Christ. Body is the fill in the blank. The church is a supernatural body manifesting the very glory of God. United to Christ, the church receives spiritual life from her living Head. Head is the next fill in the blank. And might I encourage you to capitalize the word Head as it is a proper reference to Christ.

Continuing on, "United to Christ, the church becomes the vessel of God to bear and display the fullness." Fullness is the fill in the blank, of His power and grace. The reference there is our key verse, Ephesians 1:22–23, "And He put all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."

The application of thought is this: is there anything not under — that's the fill in the blank — under the feet of Christ? And as you read through the New Testament, you'll see that everything is underneath Christ's headship. Here it's emphasizing the church. But Christ is Lord of all. He is not only just the Creator of everything that you can see. John chapter 1, first few verses. Genesis chapter 1, first few verses. Both attest to Jesus as being the means for creating. Not only did God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit — the triune being as one — create everything, but He's over all things and He sustains all things.

This is a truth that believers see in creation when they look at the sun, the moon, and the stars. And when they look at the clouds, and the sun rises and the sun sets. And when they look at the animal kingdom, look at the trees, all the ponds, all the forest, and everything — not only has been created by God, but is sustained by God as well. When you're a Christian, these beauties become more and more awe-inspiring.

And so you are made to be more and more in awe of your Creator. And that draws you into worshipping Jesus, glorifying Jesus. And so you don't take credit for anything because you know the best you could do is mess something up anyway, right? The best that we could do is something temporal that's going to fall apart. Look at what God has done, especially as image bearers creating you and I. In Genesis chapter 1, verse 26, you all bear the image of a glorious and wonderful God. So this is wonderful to know that Jesus — not only is He Head of the church, but He is over all things and He supports and sustains all things. Everything is under His feet. Everything is under Jesus' feet.

Number six. The church is both — it's the first fill in the blank — both the recipient of God's revelation in Christ, okay? You have received God's revelation. God has given His Word, and the church verifies and knows internally, by way of the Holy Spirit, peace and verification. It's not even that this is Scripture. When you read other documents of antiquity, you can discern as a Spirit-filled believer the difference between God's Word and something that is just maybe good literature. There's a distinguishing there. God has given His Word Himself to the church, okay? The church is both a recipient of God's revelation in Christ and also the revealer of Christ. In union with Christ, the church has received the very wisdom of God — wisdom being the fill in the blank. 1 Corinthians 1:30 attests to this. In James chapter 1, verse 5, the Bible says that you can ask for God's wisdom and He will not keep that from you. And so He has given His own thoughts, His own wisdom to the church. We are the children of God because the Word — the next fill in the blank is Word — of God has indwelt us. And in Christ, we thus behold the very glory of God.

The church in union with Christ becomes a witness — that's the next fill in the blank — witness to the nations of Christ. Matthew chapter 28 attests to this, an embodiment of God's perfect love before the world, the ultimate revelation of God's glory to lower creation, and even the full revelation of God's glory to angelic beings. Now you see this here, there, and everywhere.

Now in John chapter 17, verses 20 to 23, you have another opportunity to circle the word "one" and see how this really gives strong language to the union, the doctrine of the union in Christ. And so I'll read this and you can circle the word "one" as I go through these verses again to drive home these points. John chapter 17 and verse 20 on your handout says this, "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word." Okay, this is a reference to the church, those who will be the church. "That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You." Isn't that beautiful? Just as the Father is in Christ and Christ is in the Father, that union is being prayed for, the unity in Christ.

And so when you operate in union with Christ and in unity with the church, there is peace. You say peace like in Psalm 23, how God leads sheep to sit down and to be able to rest by flowing rivers of water — they experience that internal peace. And when you operate like that, peace is the byproduct. And when you get — we've used the word catawampus, or sideways with people or sideways with God — there's a disruption of your peace.

And Christ being your peace makes the judgment call of what is peaceable or not peaceable. And at that point, you have to make a decision in your own life. Am I a sinful cause for the disunity or the lack of peace? Or am I contributing to the peace? And I'm just feeling the fact that this is not pleasing to the Lord? You truly know inwardly when there is a disruption of your spirit due to a lack of union in Christ or unity with the church, because it's that intimate and that close — as is Jesus with the Father and the Father with Jesus. That's what the high priestly prayer is praying here.

And to continue on, it says, "That the world may believe." It's important for you to realize that the unity that we have with one another and the unity that we have with God is not just for your personal benefit. So when you go home and you're like, "I'm good with God. I'm at peace." That's great. That's a benefit. "I'm good with the church. To the best of my ability, I have loved and been a blessing to everybody I possibly can at church. I'm at peace with all mankind." That's a benefit. But now let's push on to just a little bit more. The purpose. Why? Well, it's not about you. You have a benefit of the peace of God. But it is right here according to His high priestly prayer. It's so that the world may know.

You see, this unity among people is disorderly. We serve an orderly God who has created all things to work accordingly. And when it is disorderly, it also disrupts you in your spirit. Who of you looks around the world and sees chaos and disorder and says, "Praise the Lord." No, it's not pleasing. And so those things that are in unity are pleasing.

That in itself helps the lost world to desire the light of Christ. Because when you display unity, when you display God's glory, when you display union with Christ and unity with the church, it is for the world to know.

It has a purpose behind it. So our unity is so important because it actually addresses the lostness in the world. And lost people will see our strangeness and our unity and desire that same peace.

Families that are at peace are a great testimony to families who are not at peace. And churches that are not at peace are not glorifying to the Lord.

So I can go on and on. But the purpose here is that the world may believe. And he's going to reiterate this purpose, that You sent Me, verse 22, "And the glory which You gave Me, I gave them, that they may be one." So the glory that God owns, has, and now distributes to the church is given to us. Say why? So that we may bask in His glory? Well, yes, that's one benefit. But why? When you glory in sunrises, sunsets, observing creation, observing how you are a reflection of God, when you glory in these things, why? Well, "that they may be one, yes, just as We are one. I in them and You in Me" — this is verse 23 — "that they may be made perfect in one." Here's the purpose: "that the world may know."

And so we literally cannot be in union with Christ and in unity with the church and not go into the world and please God. We must go forth and make disciples. It's not just a commission, it is who we are. It's the purpose for why we are living. It's not just to worship God — I would even say that that is due, okay? But now we are not only benefited with all of the benefits of being in union with Christ, but we are Christians. John MacArthur said it like this, "To be a Christian and not to make disciples is a contradiction."

Christians make disciples. That's what Christians are, that's what they do. So you see it here. Now to finish the verse off, let's start with verse 23. "I in them and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me." So we go and tell them what Jesus did.

Application — all right, consider that angels marvel at Christ in you. And in Hebrew thought, it is absolutely amazing as to how esteemed angels are. God used angels everywhere in all kinds of different ways, even at the birth account, revealing to Mary and Joseph the things that are to come. And so now angels are marveling at the fact that we have union with Christ. Incredible.

Number seven, as we try and wrap up quickly here. The church cannot be defined in merely human terms as a group of individuals united for social, benevolent, or even spiritual purposes. The indwelling Christ makes the church superior — let's fill in the blanks — to and more permanent than all humanitarian organizations. Put your finger there and hold your spot.

The church doesn't exist to do humanitarian works. You'll never outwork the good deeds of the Catholic church, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, because they lean upon those to be saved. And so we're not saved by works, but our salvation produces works. And so out of the love of God inside of us, we do good deeds, but we're not doing the good deeds to be saved. All of the false religions got it backwards. And so we don't exist to be a humanitarian organization, for the defining of the church is different.

Mere human institutions die, but the church cannot, as it was founded by the eternal Christ. Because Christ lives, the church lives. That's the next fill in the blank — lives. Because Christ prevails over all, so will the church. The church is made to be Christ's first fruits, in that by His gracious will through the gospel of Christ, we are set apart — the next fill in the blank is apart.

For Him above all others, we are first fruits, not only in our salvation in Christ, but to spread His love so that all the world will be pervaded with the new life. Now you can go on to read these examples in Matthew and in James, but the applicational point is this: are you making disciples? That is the fill in the blank — disciples. Are you making disciples?

Through your local church, 2 Timothy 2:2 gives us that model. Paul made Timothy, his spiritual son, into a disciple of Christ. Timothy went forward to make faithful men in the church, disciples of Christ, and these faithful men went on to tell others about Jesus Christ, to disciple them. And so making disciples is not only the Great Commission, what we do outside the church, but through the church we are to be making disciples — praying for it, participating in it, persuading people to Christ, showing them the futility of the temporal sin in this world, and not to focus on the things of this world because they're just going to go away. They're not eternal. But life in Christ — that is what is primary. And when we spread the life of the Lord Jesus Christ and people come to Christ, then we make them into a disciple because the Word of God fashions their life.

Jesus said in Matthew chapter 4 — I think it's in verse 19 — "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men. I will make you into a disciple maker. I will make you into an evangelist. I will make you into one who can spread the Word of God, which conforms people to Christ, which transforms people's lives."

Is it not better? I mean, lost people all around the world marvel at the product of the United States because by and large people believe that the United States was founded upon Christian principles. And this is the best example of what the Word of God can do worldwide in all of history, as to what it actually has done now in America — far from perfect, entrenched with gross sins. But you look at what we have as opposed to Hinduism, as opposed to Buddhism, as opposed to atheism, as opposed to all the other — you know, Islam, all of these other religions that characterize major countries — do not even come close to what Christianity has produced. And so it is by and large agreed upon. Yes, even Richard Dawkins says that he would prefer a country based upon Christian principles to live in.

The atheist Richard Dawkins prefers life that has been produced by Christians, though he doesn't believe in it.

So we agree life in Christ is better in all ways, shapes, and forms.

All right, number eight. As God can be seen — the first fill in the blank — only through Christ, so the Holy Spirit can be seen only through the church, okay? You are visually displaying Christ to people who do not know Christ. As Christ is the image of the invisible God, so the church is appointed as the image of the invisible Christ.

In 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, verses 18 and 19, it talks about how we are to be reconciled to Jesus. The applicational point is this: are you an ambassador for Christ? Ambassador is the fill in the blank. Are you an ambassador for Jesus Christ? And I'll read 2 Corinthians 5:20–21 on the back, the bottom, number eight. If you want to see it for yourself, flip over on the back. The bottom right says this, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ." Now then, okay, the height of this lesson — you've been saved, gloriously saved. You're in the church. Well, what for? Well, a lot of benefits and a lot of reasons. Primarily, now you're an ambassador for Christ, to go forth and to share the gospel and make disciples. "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We implore you" — okay, this is your attitude towards non-believers — "we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. Verse 21, For He made Him" — that's Jesus Christ — "God made Christ, He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

This is your attitude towards a lost generation — to be an ambassador for Christ, to tell them of the glories of Christ, and to tell them about the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on behalf of those who repent and believe. And then He was buried, and then God raised Him from the dead, and He lives today. A glorious gospel.

Let's pray together. Lord, thank You for the opportunity to study ecclesiology, the doctrine of the church — the who, what, when, where, and why. Thank You, dear Jesus, for this study. And I pray Your many blessings as we continue to unfold all of these wonderful precepts about the church. We do love You. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.