These Last Days (5)

“And I also 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.” Matthew 16.18

The context for discipleship
The Church is the primary sign and outpost of the Kingdom economy, the conduit through which the Kingdom flows over the earth, and the context in which the work of making disciples goes forward. This makes the Church very important, and building the Church at the very top of the Lord’s agenda for these last days.

Indeed, central to the divine economy is the work of our Lord Jesus Christ in building His Church. For this work He has poured out His Holy Spirit, given His people His Law and all His Word, raised up pastors and teachers, and established an order and priorities for carrying out His will.

But this is not a work which we may take on in whatever manner seems appropriate to us. The Lord has declared that He will build His Church, and He entrusted the Apostle Paul with the blueprint for pursuing this great work.

The blueprint
In Ephesians 4.11-16 Paul, picking up on the Lord’s idea of “building” the Church (cf. v. 12), shows us both what the outcome of that project is to be and the process we must follow in order to accomplish it. Paul says a church is being built-up when it is growing in unity and maturity, so that, increasingly, as a body, the local church constitutes the present incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s understanding of a healthy, growing church thus has very little to do with facilities, numbers of staff or attendees, size of budget, variety of programs, or degree of contemporaneousness. For Paul, a local church is being built up when it evidences unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, and maturity in discerning, speaking, and living the truth of God in love. A local church is healthy when the Kingdom economy of God flows through into the surrounding community.

If this is not the focus of our efforts in building our own churches, then we’re working for something other than what the Apostle Paul explained as the outcome our Lord is seeking. We will not be able to achieve this outcome until we submit every aspect of the life of the church to the Word of God, beginning with His Law.

Getting healthy, growing churches
Further, Paul told us how to achieve the outcome of healthy, growing churches. He outlined the process for making disciples – real disciples, people who are equipped, soul and body, to serve others with the grace and truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and who are, in fact, doing so: pastors and teachers equip the followers of Christ to live for and serve Him in their own Personal Mission Fields. This is the work of shepherding God’s flock, as Jesus and the apostles explained (cf. Jn. 10; Acts 20.28; 1 Pet. 5.1-3).

We do not build the church by running programs, raising money, or bending over backward to accommodate the cultural preferences and conveniences of our contemporary generation. We must build the church the way Jesus did, investing in people for extended periods of time, making disciples, equipping them for ministry, and then sending them out to live as witnesses for Christ and His Kingdom.

Does this sound like what’s happening in your church?

One of the indicators of a healthy, growing church, according to Paul, is that every member of the Body has become equipped and is serving others with the gifts God’s Spirit supplies (Eph. 4.11-16; 1 Cor. 12.7-11). Churches are not healthy when 20% of the people do 80% of the work, while 80% of the people wait around to be served. This is not a healthy church but a church in need of the reviving power of God’s Spirit. For every member to be thus equipped and serving, every member must submit to the process of becoming a disciple, a true follower of the Lord. And pastors and teachers must make it their business to make disciples until we all contribute to the building-up of Christ’s Body, according to His agenda.

The work of making disciples and building the local church are thus intimately connected. If we are faithful in making disciples, we should realize increasingly healthy churches, which serve in their communities as signs and outposts of the Kingdom and the divine economy, and through which the goodness, righteousness, and truth of God flow to every nook and cranny of their community, and the church becomes a thing of joy and beauty to its neighbors (Ps. 48.1).

As we persevere in this effort during these last days, God will build our congregations into true spiritual communities vibrant with worship, mutual edification, compassionate sharing, and fervent outreach to the larger community. That such churches are so few and far between in our day is a measure of just how much work we have to do in pursuing this aspect of the divine economy.

For reflection or discussion
1.      What does “build My church” look like in your church? How does the work of Christ’s agenda go forward within your congregation at this time?

2.      Healthy churches demonstrate unity and maturity in the Lord. Look at Ephesians 4.13-16. How would you explain each of the terms Paul presents here?

3.      Healthy churches become healthy according to the pattern outlined in Ephesians 4.11, 12. To what extent does this pattern represent what happens in your church?

Next steps – Conversation: Talk with a church leader or pastor about how your church assesses its health. How do your church leaders determine whether or not yours is a healthy, growing church?

T. M. Moore

This week’s ReVision study is Part 10 of a 10-part series, “The Kingdom Economy.” You can download “These Last Days” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.