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Pastor Christopher Brock

March 16, 2024

Ephesians 2:19-22, New International Version

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”


If we were to do an exhaustive study on what the Bible says the Church is, we would be unable to carry the book because it would be too heavy. For today, however, we are going to look at three major aspects of the church. These three, when truly understood and embraced, provide a significant foundation on which we as the church can build upon. These speak to our identity and our purpose in the Kingdom of Christ.

 

The church is people. When a person believes in and accepts Christ the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within them. That person is the Church. Wherever that person goes, the Church is there. Wherever believers gather for fellowship and worship, that is the Church. This place may be at a church building, or it may be in someone's home. In addition, it could be on the street corner, the workplace, a restaurant, a park, a shopping mall, or any place. Wherever a believer goes, they take the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Church, with them.

 

The church represents Christ’s presence on earth. What we must remember as Christians is that we represent Christ. This does not simply mean in character or that we serve as His representatives but means that we truly are meant to be like His very presence here on earth. Wherever we go and whatever we do, we not only take His presence with us there– but we ourselves are acting like His actual hands and feet. When we pray for someone, it is as though Jesus were praying for them. When we give someone a hug, invite someone into our homes, take food to someone who is hungry, or help someone who is in need, we are serving as Jesus Himself who is doing the work.

 

The church is the bride of Christ. One of the most significant representations that the Lord has given to us is that of husband and wife. This relationship is designed to mimic and represent the intimacy that is to exist between us and the Lord. The Bible tells us very clearly in the New Testament that we as the church also represent the bride of Christ. This should not be viewed in terms of male or female rather, in the intimacy and love that are shared between a husband and wife. Jesus loves his church with the same passion, protection and caring that a husband should love his wife. In that way, Jesus is the husband, and each person who has accepted Him and their Lord and Savior is the wife.

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