Who And What Is The Church?

Transcript

GR 1293
05-08-05
Who and What Is the Church?
I Corinthians 1:2b-3
Gil Rugh

In I Corinthians 1:2 Paul addresses this letter to the church of God which is at Corinth. The importance of the church, both in its universal dimension and its local dimension, comes out in this brief address that will be developed in the rest of the verse. He’s writing to the church of God, the one being at Corinth.

I want to review with you some of the things we said about the church, and it may be an extensive review. I want to cover some things that some of you have asked me about. First we noted that the Greek word translated church is the word ekklesia. Now the transliteration of the word—ekklesia. In most of our English words we bring it over eccl and however we end it, ecclesiastical, or ecclesiology, matters relating to the church. And sometimes it is used in a sense of generally religious activities. Comes from this Greek word. Ecclesiology is the study of the church, ekklesia. Compound word, we noted. The word ek means out of, the word kaleo means to call. So the basic root meaning of the word is to call out of something. I want to be careful I’m using etymology or the derivation of a word to establish its meaning in time. And we noted in the Greek cities the assembly of citizens in that city for political purposes was called the ekklesia. It was a political assembly, an assembly of citizens. They had been called out of their homes to meet for a political purpose. And it’s used that way on down; it’s used that way hundreds of years before the New Testament and right down into New Testament times. We noted in Acts 19 the word ekklesia as an assembly was used of a mob that was writhing in Ephesus, and it was also used of a lawful political assembly in the city of Ephesus.

So important we keep in mind the background use of the word. The word has become a technical word for us, and that technical use will begin in the New Testament. We’ll say something about that in a moment. But we want to be careful we don’t take the technical meaning of the church and the word church and read it back into prior history. That would make it an anachronism, and an anachronism is something used out of time. If we said that the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and took a Ford taxicab to their destination, that would be an anachronism. They didn’t have Ford taxicabs back then. We’re using something out of time. So if we take the technical meaning of the word church and think of what we think of as the church and then read it back before the New Testament, we will create confusion.

So first the word ekklesia was used just of a general assembly of people for a variety of causes. Secondly it was used in the Septuagint, abbreviated LXX, the seventy. That’s the translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek. Done about 200 B.C. The word ekklesia is used in that Greek translation of the Old Testament often for Israel or the assembly of Israel, portions of Israel. Some get confused because they say, well then we could say that the church was meeting in the Old Testament. Keep in mind it didn’t mean church then, it meant the assembly. So it was the assembly of Israel meeting in the Old Testament. And even in the Old Testament the word was used in other ways and we noted that Job who was writing several hundred years before there was even a nation Israel had said I will stand up in the assembly. The Septuagint uses the word ekklesia. Well it wouldn’t be correct to say, I will stand up in the church, because there was no church then. There wasn’t even a nation Israel then. And David in the Psalms in Psalm 26, we noted, referred to the assembly of the wicked. The Greek word in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, is ekklesia. Well you wouldn’t talk about I hate the church of the evildoers. There was no church. I hate the assembly of the evildoers.

So we need to keep in mind that the word ekklesia that we translate now church basically meant an assembly. It could be a political assembly of citizens in a Greek city, it could be an assembly of people who are acting like a mob like Acts 19; it could be an assembly of wicked people in Psalm 26; it could be an assembly of Israel in the Old Testament. It was just a general word for the assembly.

So when you come to the New Testament there is that background and that ongoing use of the word. The first use of the word ekklesia for church in a technical sense as we know it occurs in Matthew 16:18. There Jesus says, I will build my ekklesia. Now what did the disciples think He meant, I will build my church. We might think they were wondering, what is a church? But you understand He was saying I will build my ekklesia and they knew all about ekklesia. They knew about various kinds of assemblies. What was unique on that occasion was not that Jesus used the word ekklesia, but that He said I will build my ekklesia. What is unique about this assembly, Jesus said it will be my assembly, my group of people. With the passing of time as you move into the book of Acts and into the epistles of the New Testament, it becomes clear just what that assembly that Christ would build for Himself would consist of. And it comes then to develop the technical meaning, a church.

The church as we know it, as we talk about this being a church or churches today, had its beginning in Acts 2. That is the beginning of the church as we know the church. That’s the beginning of what Christ said He would build in the future in Matthew 16, I will build my assembly, my ekklesia. And that will become the focal point so that that word ekklesia takes on a technical meaning. So we don’t use the word church today for just any kind of assembly. It’s not used of an assembly of citizens for political reasons, or of a mob. We use it almost exclusively now in a technical sense of that people that Christ has called together for Himself to be His assembly, His church.

Now we also noted that the church is not the kingdom. We are not building the kingdom today. The church is never called the kingdom, and there is no indication that the kingdom is present on earth today. A number of you had questions about this. Let me just take a moment to take you to a few passages. Not because I don’t remember that I used these passages before, but I want you to at least have certain basic passages fixed in your mind when you think of the kingdom. And then you can go to other resources—Things to Come by Dwight Pentecost will give you many, many references to the kingdom in the Bible. The book on The Kingdom by Alva J. McClain will give you a marvelous explanation and development of the biblical doctrine of the kingdom. But turn back to Isaiah 2, and we’ll just look at one prophet, about the middle of your Bible. Once you understand what the kingdom is, then you will understand the church cannot be the kingdom. While you turn to Isaiah 2 let me explain something to you. Augustine, about 400 years after Christ, developed the idea that there would not be a literal kingdom on earth, but there would be a spiritual kingdom, a kingdom in the hearts of men. That became the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church as it developed, and so the view that we are in the kingdom today and the church is the kingdom and we are building the kingdom in the world. Now when the reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and others reacted against Roman Catholic doctrine, particularly on the issue of how is a person saved, justified before God, they did not change all the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. So the reformers continued with the idea of a kingdom present. That’s why John Calvin was comfortable trying to establish a mini-kingdom in Geneva, and it was a political kingdom. And people that opposed his rule or violated their laws got executed. That continues down to today. That’s why some of you have Roman Catholic background, some of you have Lutheran background, and the doctrine of those churches is that the kingdom is present today in the hearts of people. We are part of the kingdom, we are not looking for an earthly kingdom, we’re just looking for the time when God will bring a climax and end to everything and we go into eternity.

But that’s not what the Bible says about the kingdom. Look at Isaiah 2, and these are just passages where God tells us what the kingdom that will be established on earth will be like. Isaiah 2:2, now it will come about in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills; all the nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us concerning His ways, that we may walk in His paths. You know Jerusalem is built on a mountain. We talk about Mt. Zion, and so we’re talking about the kingdom that Christ will establish; God will establish on the earth; it will have its capital at Jerusalem, and it will rule over all other kingdoms. A mountain in biblical prophecy is often used to represent a kingdom. And here the ruling kingdom will be the kingdom that Christ rules over, and He will rule over all nations.

Look at the end of verse 3, for the law will go forth from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples. Now you note, this is the capital in Jerusalem, a physical place, a physical location with a physical ruler rendering judgment and decisions. Verse 4, they will hammer their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation and never again will they learn war. Now great confusion comes. We create United Nations and it’s going to fulfill Isaiah 2:4; we think it’s wonderful to put that on the building. Isn’t it great to have a Bible verse on a building? Well, no, because that verse has nothing to do with that organization. This is not the time when we beat our weapons of warfare into instruments of peace. And if you’ve read the news lately or watched the news programs, we have not come to the place where nation will not lift up sword against nation, never again will they learn war. So if you’re going to take these verses exactly as they’re given, we say that it is a yet future time. We can’t be in that period of time now.

Look in Isaiah 9. We’re looking at these because some people say, well that’s just your interpretation. Your church has its interpretation; our church has its interpretation. But you know the bottom line, it doesn’t matter what my interpretation is or your interpretation or another church’s interpretation. It only matters what the Bible says, and if we just read it and allow it to say what it says, it’s pretty clear. Isaiah 9:6, for a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us. Now was the birth of Jesus Christ an actual physical birth? Yes it was, in a natural, physical place, Bethlehem, and an actual point in time in history. The government will rest on His shoulders and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Now note this, there will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace. Sounds like what we read in Isaiah 2, doesn’t it? They won’t even learn about war in that kingdom. On the throne of David, well that’s a physical throne. David sat on that throne; David was a physical person with a physical throne. He was a physical ruler. Now here is a successor to David who is in the line of David, a descendant of David who sits on what we call the Davidic throne, ruling over His kingdom to establish it, to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. The birth of the child was literal; the throne of David is a literal, physical throne. I take it we’re talking about a literal kingdom.

Turn over to Isaiah 11:6. And we won’t go into all the first part of chapter 11, but if you read it, part of that had to do, and Jesus applied it to Himself during His first coming. While He was physically present on earth doing certain physical things, He said, this is Me. Now as you understand if you’ve read much of Old Testament prophecy, the Old Testament prophets saw the first coming of Christ and the Second Coming of Christ together. God had not chosen to reveal to them that in between the first coming of Christ and the Second Coming of Christ there would be a period of, well now it’s been almost 2000 years. So that’s not an error, they weren’t wrong, that was just something that God had not revealed. So they can talk about the first coming of Christ, a child will be born. They can talk about Him suffering and dying, and they can also talk about Him ruling and reigning. In fact Peter wrote in his letter in the New Testament that the prophets didn’t understand how the Messiah could come and suffer and die and also rule and reign in glory, because God hadn’t chosen to reveal this period of time that we are living in.

Pick up with verse 6, this is the ruling of this coming King. And you’ll note from verse 1, from the stem of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David, so He is in the line of David. Remember He sits on the throne of David, we just read, and He’s a descendent of Jesse who is the father of David, who established the Davidic throne. Verse 6, and the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the young goat and the calf and the young lion and fatling together. A little boy will lead them, also the cow and bear will graze. Their young will lie down together; the lion will eat straw like an ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra; the weaned child put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Now that’s just not true today. Once in a while you’ll see a program where they show things that people do. And someone will be cute, there’s a zoo and they climb over a barrier and stick their arm through to pet the lion or something, or the bear. Big mistake. Why? I mean doesn’t the Bible say that the cow and the bear will graze, the young will lie down together; they will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain? So why don’t you just go up to the Henry Doorly Zoo and climb in with the bear and cuddle up? Wrong time. Don’t mistake the time; it will be fatal. But if you read this you get the idea. You know what people do? They say, well that doesn’t mean literally, that means spiritually. Why? Where did we undergo that transition? You know what people ought to say? Well all the prophecies that have been fulfilled up to today were fulfilled literally, just as you read it. But the prophecy yet to be fulfilled will be fulfilled metaphorically, allegorically, spiritually, whatever word you want to use. That’s how they end up with the church as the kingdom. No, the church is not the kingdom. The church is the church and the kingdom is the kingdom.

One more piece of evidence. Go to the New Testament, Matthew 25, and then we have to move on. Matthew 25:31, but when the Son of Man comes in His glory. And Mathew 24 talked about that. He comes in the fullness of His glory and they’ll see Him all over the world. And all the angels with Him. As the Son of Man, He was the child that was born. The angels are actual, literal beings. Then He will sit on His glorious throne. That’s the throne we talked about when we read Isaiah, the throne of David. All the nations will be gathered before Him. Those are physical entities, nations. What we have is at the Second Coming of Christ to earth, all peoples from all nations who are alive at that point in time will be gathered before Christ and He will sit on His throne. And He will separate from all people, believers and unbelievers. Verse 34, then the King—the King who is going to rule over a kingdom—will say to those on His right, come you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. This is something that God has planned and prepared for them before He created the world. But it hasn’t had its beginning until this point. Here are people who are believers in Jesus Christ and now He returns to earth, but they weren’t in the kingdom. Now He says you can go into the kingdom. The kingdom didn’t exist up to that point. What will be required for the kingdom to begin? It will require Jesus Christ to be on earth on His throne. Are we in the kingdom today? No. So it’s not a matter of whether our church teaches one thing, and someone else’s church teaches another thing. It just matters what the Bible says; let’s just read it. What does it say? God promises a coming kingdom, a kingdom on this earth, a kingdom on this earth with Jerusalem as the capital and His Son as the King. And these are the characteristics of that kingdom—perfect peace and harmony, even in the animal world. Well none of these things have happened so we know we’re not in the kingdom.

All right, so the church is not the kingdom. We emphasize that because when the church thinks it’s the kingdom, it gets into all kind of things. Well the church ought to be involved in peace movements because the church is to bring peace to the world. The church ought to be involved in solving poverty because in the kingdom there is not to be poverty. And the church ought to be involved in resolving social ills because in the kingdom.... Well we’re not in the kingdom. So even with good intentions we end up opposing what God says He is doing. Well if I have good intentions, won’t that count? No. You don’t run your house that way. In our home when we had children at home, and praise the Lord they’ve grown up and have their own homes now, what a relief. But we didn’t run it on good intentions; we ran it according to the rule of law. I mean this is what is said and this is what must be done. And everyone in our family could not have their own interpretation of what I said, since I was responsible for the family. Sometimes the kids come up and say, oh I interpret it this way. And you say, well that’s pretty good, we’ll count that. Another kid comes up and interprets it just the opposite and you say, that’s pretty good, your intentions were good. You say, wait a minute, we can’t run our family this way. What do you end up saying? You know what I said, what I said was clear. So that’s how we need to approach the Bible. We read the passages, and those are just a summary of the dozens and dozens of passages relating to the kingdom. It’s pretty clear. We’re not in the kingdom, if you’re going to take the Bible at face value.

All right, come back to I Corinthians, so I don’t forget, this is where we’re going. Another thing we learned about the church--the church belongs to God. It is the church of God; it is not my church; it is not your church; it doesn’t belong to a certain denomination or certain group of people. The church belongs to God. We looked in Acts 20:28 where we are told He purchased it with His own blood. Titus 2:14, where Christ gave Himself to purchase for Himself a special group of people.

And then lastly we noted that there is a universal church and a local church. By universal church we mean all believers from Acts 2 down until the rapture of the church when the church is brought to completion and they formed the universal church. It is sometimes called the invisible church, but we need to be careful. That can be misleading. The church in the world today is not invisible; it has a physical presence and manifestation. That’s the local church. It’s invisible in the sense we don’t see it all, and it’s comprised not only of people who are physically alive right now, but loved ones who have gone to glory who are believers in Jesus Christ. And all the church will form the Bride of Christ as Revelation 19 talks about the Second Coming of Christ. But the universal church today includes believers all over the world and believers who are in glory. The Apostle Paul is part of the universal church, but he is in glory. Believers in China are part of the universal church. But the universal church has its presence manifested on earth in the local church.

And so that’s where we pick up in I Corinthians 1:2, to the church of God (the church belongs to God because He purchased it for Himself) which is at Corinth. And that expression, which is at Corinth, is literally a present participle, a participle in the present tense. To the church of God, the one being in Corinth. And we noted, he doesn’t write to a part of the church, the part of the church which meets at Corinth, to that piece of the church or that portion of the church. He writes to the church of God, the one being in Corinth, because the local church is a full or complete manifestation of the universal church, but it is not all there is to the universal church. But the church being in Corinth is the church of God. So it is complete in that sense. We also noted that when the church had its beginning in Acts 2 in the city of Jerusalem, the universal church and the local church were the same. Because on that Day of Pentecost we had the baptism of the Spirit occur for the first time, which places people into the church, the body of Christ. And so for that period of time, initially, the church at Jerusalem was the church, both universally and locally. And the church at Jerusalem was not only the manifestation of the universal church, it was all there was to the universal church on that occasion. Now it would grow and develop in Judea and Samaria and so on, but it begins in the context of a local, physical body of believers.

So God’s intention is that the local church be a full and clear manifestation of the church of God, what the church is. The way it functions, the way it operates and what it does is to manifest the church. The local church is in the same relationship to Christ as the universal church. I mean, how do you get into the universal church? You are baptized by the Spirit of God. What makes up the local church? People who have been baptized by the Spirit of God into the body of Christ. So the local church is complete as a manifestation and expression of the universal church.

I keep stressing this because there are a number of people today who are confused on this in a variety of ways. One way is they think that the church needs to be unified, meaning local churches all need to get together to display the true picture of the church of Jesus Christ today. That is not true. Paul does not tell the church at Corinth that they ought to join together with other churches in Greece like Thessalonica and Philippi so that the people of Greece could see the church more fully and clearly. In Revelation 2-3 Jesus writes to the seven churches of Asia Minor which are on the same coastal route of that time. But He doesn’t tell them, you need to unite together so that people see the church as it really is. He addressed each local church as an individual unit. In fact there is one church, the church of Laodicea, He says if they don’t begin to function more like the church they are to be, He’ll spit them out of His mouth and be done with them. Because in reality they were a church in name only.

It’s important that we understand that each local church is a complete entity, and the church has a physical expression. So any idea that it’s not important what church you go to or it’s not important if you’re part of a church, the important thing is you have believed in Christ and you have the Spirit dwelling in you and you’re part of the body of Christ, the universal church. We don’t want to get caught up in those physical things like local churches and all the trappings that go with it. Well the Bible knows nothing of a person who would be a true believer in Jesus Christ and wouldn’t be part of the church. Because if you are part of the body of Christ, the manifestation of the body of Christ is the local church. You say, what local church? The local church the Spirit of God directs you to be part of. I meet someone and they say, oh yes I’m a believer. Where do you go to church? Well I really don’t go to church, I stay home and read my Bible and pray and let the Spirit work in my life. I say, how can you say you’re part of the church?

You see by failing to understand what the New Testament says, the local church is and its relationship to the universal church, people come to confusion in their lives and their walk. Sometimes people view churches as being too narrow. Why don’t we get involved to express ourselves? I don’t think the Bible says churches can’t work together. I don’t think I’m saying that is wrong. What I’m saying is that it’s not necessary for the church to truly express itself as the church, because that is the role of a local church. Let me read you one quote from the book that I’ve recommended to you by Earl Rademacher, The Nature of the Church. The working method of God in the world at any given time is to carry out His purpose through the members of the body of Christ who are living in the world at that time. And the New Testament always views these members of the body as banded together in groups known as local churches. Thus the church is in the world in the form of local churches, which are physical organizations with physical relationships and definite physical responsibilities. The local church is God’s agency in the world transacting God’s business. Any relationship or responsibility incumbent upon the universal church must eventually find its outworking through the localized counterpart. That does not mean there are no places for ministries that go on outside the church. Earl Rademacher who wrote this for over thirty years was associated with a seminary and was the president and a professor and so on. We need to understand the relationship of the church, the body of Christ and the church, the body of Christ and the local Church. And this is where God is doing His work. And that’s God’s plan for us.

I’m not opposed to what other people are doing. I’m involved often in conversations with people who want to draw this local church into other activities, sometimes good activities. Sometimes people wonder, why can’t we be involved; why aren’t we more involved. You know I don’t feel compelled to jump on every bandwagon that comes by. I don’t mean that disrespectfully. I’ve had conversations with men and I’ve just had to say, we have to agree to disagree. I am pouring my life into the local church that God has made me a part of, and I do not see us putting our energy into the vision you have for doing something. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it; that’s between you and the Lord. We talk about where I see the role of the church, what the Bible says. You’ve said you have this. Then I can only say, be faithful to the truth, be faithful to God, and may the Lord bless you. I mean most people that contact me aren’t contacting me saying, how can we get involved in your local church to build it. They’re saying, I want to tell you how your local church can get involved in my idea. It takes all my energy to be involved in this local church and to be part of what God is doing here. So people think, oh they’re exclusive, they’re closed off, they don’t want to be involved with other people. That doesn’t mean I’m against what they’re doing, it just means I am totally taken up with what we are doing, and what I believe the church of Jesus Christ is.

All right, let’s go on and look at the church for the remainder of our time. He’s writing to the church of God which is at Corinth. Now he’s going to explain even more fully what the church of God, the one being in Corinth, is. He’s writing to the church of God which is at Corinth. Another way to say that, he’s writing to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus. Now there are three English words that translate words that come from the same basic Greek word—sanctify, saints and holy. They come from a family of Greek words, hageads or hageatzo the verb, means to be sanctified, to be a saint, to be holy. The basic meaning of the word is to be set apart. God is holy because He is set apart from all sin, all defilement. We talk about those who are sanctified; we talk about those who have been set apart from sin for God. Saints are those that God has set apart for Himself. People who are holy are those set apart from sin and its defilement. Same basic idea in these words. So when he says he’s writing to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, that word translated have been sanctified, it’s a participle. We usually have “ing” on our participles in English. It’s a perfect participle. Remember perfect tense, something happened in the past, and it continues or its results continue into the present. So it denotes something of permanence. So these are those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus. Something happened to them in the past and continues to be true of them in the present. They have been sanctified so they are now sanctified. In Christ Jesus. And he’s writing about those who have been set apart by God in Christ to belong to Himself. The word sanctify, sanctification could be used a variety of ways in the New Testament. Some of you are well familiar with this. We often think of it as distinct from justification. In justification God declares a person righteous. In sanctification God now continues His work of molding and shaping that person to bring them into conformity with His own character and person. We talk about progressive sanctification and that is a use of the word in the New Testament.

But another common use of the word sanctification is to refer just to our salvation, and that’s what he is talking about here. Look over in I Corinthians 6:9, Paul says, do you not know the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. There is the kingdom. We’ll talk about the details of that in the context of the background we’ve already established for the kingdom. The unrighteous will not be going into the kingdom; the church is not the kingdom, but the church will be part of the kingdom and will rule and reign in the kingdom with Christ, as we’ve seen on other occasions. Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Now note this, such were some of you. But you were washed; you were sanctified; you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. You might think in the order of things he should have said you were washed, you were justified, you were sanctified, that sanctification should come after justification. But not always. What happens is, you were washed, cleansed from your sin and its defilement. Isaiah 1, come now and let us reason together, though your sins are red, they will be white. You were washed. You were sanctified, you were set apart by God for Himself and He declared you righteous. That’s the pattern. Sanctification here referring to that package of our salvation, where God set us apart for Himself. This is often used, but for time we won’t go through some of the other references—II Thessalonians 2:13, I Peter 1:2 refer to this dimension of sanctification.

So come back to I Corinthians 1. So when he writes to the church of God, the one being in Corinth, another way of saying that, he is writing to those who have been set apart in Christ. So you’ll note, it’s not just a physical entity. The local church is a physical manifestation of the universal church, but the spiritual dimension is what makes the physical, local church what it is. We are comprised of physical people here. The only true members of the church are those who have been set apart by God in Christ. They are further identified as saints by calling, or literally, called saints. As I noted, the word saints is from the same basic word as sanctified. Some modern translations have it holy ones because that sometimes is the way the word is translated—holy. Because you are holy when you are set apart from sin and its defilement. You are a saint because you are set apart from sin; you are sanctified because you’ve been set apart. Same idea pervading all these words. That word, called saints, in verse 1 Paul was a called apostle. He was an apostle by the sovereign, effectual call of God to that role. So the Corinthians and those who are part of the universal church and the local church are saints by the effectual, sovereign call of God. That is His sovereign work. That’s why Paul wrote to Timothy and said, I endure all things for the sake of the elect, the chosen, that they might come to the salvation which is in Christ Jesus. Because that call is His sovereign work.

You know confusion over this. Paul was writing to those who are called saints. We see much in the news, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church now because they don’t know whether they want to make the previous pope a saint on fast track or not. God makes saints, and He does that when He calls a person to salvation in Jesus Christ. The Corinthians were saints at the time Paul wrote. We are saints by virtue of faith in Christ. It is key for what is going to go on. Let me just read you a passage from I Peter 1:14-16. As obedient children do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you (God is the Holy One who called you), be holy yourselves in all your behavior. Because it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy. Peter also wrote that we have become partakers of the divine nature through faith in Christ. So we now manifest the very character of God. God is One who is set apart from sin, so we are to be holy ones, saints. Because we partake of His nature we are to be like Him and we, too, are to avoid sin and all of its defilement.

Isn’t it something how Paul starts out this letter? I am writing to the church of God that He purchased for Himself with the blood of His Son. The one being in Corinth, that physical assembly in Corinth which is the manifestation and expression of My assembly in that place. The people comprising it are those that I have set apart for Myself in Christ Jesus. They are My called holy ones. What do we know the church of Corinth for in our day? The carnal church, the worldly church, the church having all kinds of trouble. And Paul says you’re the sanctified ones, you’re the holy ones; you’re the church, the assembly that God has purchased for Himself. You see He’s laying the foundation for dealing with things that aren’t the way they should be. You have to understand, what is the church. It is the assembly of the holy ones. What is this church to be? The assembly of the holy ones. That sounds awfully arrogant. Well, what is the church? Has God not set us apart for Himself? So sin is a contradiction to what we are, it is a serious blot on the testimony of the body of Christ in the world. So serious a letter that Paul will give serious warning about taking that which is inseparably joined to Christ and joining it in things like immorality. These are serious matters, and we must understand the church.

Okay, he goes on. They are with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. He’s not writing to believers everywhere, although the Spirit of God is going to use it that way, but those who are set apart, those who are called saints. The church of God at Corinth is not all there is to the church. They were called saints together with those who call on the name of the Lord. You see that play on the word there. They are called saints because they have called on the name of the Lord. It goes together, if you will, two sides of the same coin. And so wherever people are who call on the name of the Lord, they are also called saints. Part of the problem the Corinthian church will have is arrogance. They are acting like they are in the kingdom; they don’t understand they’re not all there is to what God is doing in the world.

Turn over to I Corinthians 4:7, for who regards you as superior. They have an exalted view of themselves. What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast if you had not received it? You are already filled, you have already become rich; you have become kings without us. And indeed I wish that you had become kings so that we might reign with you. Do you know what he’s saying? You’re acting like you’re in the kingdom. I wish you were, because if you were in the kingdom I would be in the kingdom, too, and we’d be ruling and reigning together. Something is not right. You’re living like you’re the cream of the crop and living as kings. And down in verse 9 ff. he says we apostles are the bottom of the pot, we’re the scum of the earth. Something is wrong. You Corinthians in the church at Corinth are trying to live like you’re in the kingdom, and we apostles out here are being treated like scum. Something is wrong. Where do you get such arrogance to get off like you’re in the kingdom? We’re not in the kingdom. I wish you were in the kingdom, because if you were in the kingdom, I’d be in the kingdom, because the church is going to be in the kingdom as a unit. They understand what God is doing.

So back in chapter 1 verse 2, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. You know how you get saved? You know how you become part of the church? You call on the name of the Lord.

Back up just before I Corinthians into Romans 10. And we’ll break into the thought here, the flow. Verse 12, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all. You’ll see this concept of Him being Lord and Lord of all, and calling on Him. The same thing he does in summary fashion in the verse in Corinthians. Abounding in riches for all who call on Him. For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach without being sent? So here is the pattern. God entrusts one of His servants with a message, He sends them out, they go out and share, proclaim, not as a formal preacher, but proclaim, make known this message of Jesus Christ that you are a sinner, lost and condemned before God. But Jesus Christ, the Son of God, suffered and died to pay the penalty of your sin. He was raised in victory. You must believe in Him to be saved, call on His name. So what happens? They are sent, they share the gospel message so that people hear, some when they hear believe, and when they believe they call. So it’s just the expression of the heart. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Sometimes when we share the gospel with someone we ask them if they would like to pray. That doesn’t mean that prayer saves someone, but we know if they truly believe in their heart that Jesus Christ died for them, then that response is God, save me. And we break down in pieces that which happens as a package here, because when a person truly does believe, they call on the name of the Lord. For whosoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. And in that believing is the turning to God for their salvation.

You know what? Every place in the world that someone calls on the name of the Lord for salvation, we are joined with them. They are called saints, they are set apart by God for Himself; they are part of a local church in their area which is a manifestation of the church of God in that place. Just jot down II Timothy 2:22, Paul says to Timothy, now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart. There is a characteristic of all those who belong to God, of all those who call upon Him and thus experience His salvation. They flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. That’s why John could write, by this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious. Those who practice sin are of the devil, those who practice righteousness are of God. You are not saved by doing righteousness. You are saved by grace through faith. The true salvation changes a life, changes a heart, makes you a partaker of the divine nature. And thus you manifest it in all areas of your life.

Back to I Corinthians. With all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. There is only one Lord. Remember we read in Romans 10:12, there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him. Now this is important for what is going to develop in the letter. There is only one Lord. The church lives under the authority of one sovereign Lord, the universal church and every local church. Now this lays the groundwork, there is something wrong in the church of God which is in Corinth. They have divisions, they have conflicts. That’s where Paul is going to start later in chapter 1. What’s wrong, there is only one Lord. When there is division in the church something is wrong. Someone trying to usurp the place of the Lord of the church? If He is Lord, and there is only one Lord, and we all bow before Him, and that’s what he says here, their Lord and ours, so wherever anyone has truly called on the name of the Lord and thus been set apart and so on. They only have one Lord. So how is the church at Corinth being torn apart by conflicts and factions? Someone or some group or some groups are not submitting to the lordship. As Jesus said to His followers when He was on earth, why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I tell you? And what He tells us is in this book. So many people think the church, well we’re voting, we’ve decided this is the way it is. Doesn’t matter. Who is the Lord of the church? Doesn’t matter if we get 99.9% vote on something. If it’s not in agreement with what the Word says, if it’s not what the Lord of the church says, it’s wrong. We could get 100%, it would be 100% wrong if it’s in conflict with what the Lord has said. There is only one ruler. There is only one authority. That’s true for all believers.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. You are a marvelous group of people, an honored and privileged group of people, Paul says. You are the church of God in Corinth. You’ve been set apart for Him in Christ. You are His holy ones; you are part of a glorious band who call upon the name of the Lord. We all have that one Lord, because God in His sovereignty, as Ephesians 1 says, has given Him as Lord over the church. And I desire for you the fullness of His grace for all of your life. Not talking about salvation here, because he is writing to those who have experienced that salvation, but that ongoing grace of God that makes provision for His people in every area of our life. He is our resource, He is our sufficiency, He is the one in whom we find all that is necessary for life and godliness. And we have peace from Him. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and as a result we have the peace of God. You know what God’s intention for His people is, the reason He joins us together? That peace and well-being, that tranquility of heart, well-being of soul? It is to characterize us in all that we do. Not God’s intention that His people be torn apart by anxiety, by fear, by confusion, by frustration, by the pressures of life. In the world you have tribulation. Jesus said, be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. Paul’s desire is for this Corinthian church. The fullness of God’s grace is the provision for all of their life, and that ongoing presence of His peace and tranquility in their heart and mind that will manifest itself in the peace and tranquility of that local church.

What a beautiful, beautiful position and role we have as the church of God in this place. I don’t say with arrogance that we are better than another local church in another place in this city or another place. No, but this is what we are. How exalted and honored to be the church of God in this place, to have been set apart by God for Himself, to be His holy ones. You see, understanding that that is the doctrine of the church controls us in all that we do. Let me just summarize this quickly if I could.
1) The local church is the physical manifestation of the church of God in a specific place.
2) It is made up of those who have been set apart in Christ to belong to God.
3) The members of the church are saints by virtue of His call.
4) All who call upon the name of the Lord become part of the church.
5) All who call on the name of the Lord come under the lordship of Christ.
6) The Father and the Son provide grace and peace for those who belong to them.

We need to be careful about trying to redo the church in light of what will be acceptable and work today. Our goal is not to fill this church building with unbelievers. It would only create confusion. The church is truly comprised of those who belong to God; they are His holy ones. We welcome those who are unbelievers to come and hear the Word of God. We don’t change what we are or what we do to make it more pleasing to them. That would be a denial of what we are. They are welcome to come and observe the holy ones of God assembled to honor Him by functioning as He has directed. But this is the church of God meeting in this place. It is comprised of those set apart for Him, His holy ones, those who have called on His name and live under His lordship. You see, understanding what the church is, what God has called us to be, shapes what we do and how we function. It keeps us from the confusion and corruption that is often brought into the body of Christ.

Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your great grace. Thank you for the power of your salvation that enables those defiled by sin, corrupted and condemned, to experience the power of your cleansing, the awesome privilege of being set apart from sin to belong to the living God, to be called holy ones. Lord, thank you for the church, for all those who call upon the name of your Son as their Savior, and for the manifestation of that church in the world today in local churches. May this local church be a true testimony to the saving power of our God. We pray in Christ’s name, amen.