Whose House is it?

1 Timothy 3:15-16 You will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Churches all have a group of elected officials that govern the body of members, whether they are called Church Councils, Board of Ministry, Executive Boards, Session of Elders, etc. As a part of our church’s Board duties, our Pastor has us read and discuss a book each year on the topic of church leadership for our growth as administrative overseers. This last chapter on Eldership touched on a subject, based on the Bible verse above, that caused me to take a good, hard look at what my thoughts, words  and actions communicated and revealed about my image of church. In a day and age when the gospel message and its reputation in this unbelieving world community are seriously threatened by man, the author asks if leadership is (1) faithfully executing their godly duties to the membership to impact the culture for Christ, (2) handling false teachings, heretical beliefs, and biblical attacks on society, and (3) conducting itself as God’s household, the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 

Ephesians 4:11-16 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

Sometimes I get caught up in what going on at church that I lose sight of who is the head of the church and whose church it really is. The author goes on to say that God’s household (the local church) is His chosen instrument for proclaiming to men and women the saving truth of the revelation of the God-man, Jesus Christ and proper structure, responsibility behavior, discipline, and love are required. God’s household should enrich and protect its members and be an inviting testimony of the gospel’s truth to the unbelieving world, as “the pillar and (support) foundation of the truth.” The church’s mission is to safeguard and proclaim the gospel of Christ. Every local church is to be a gospel lighthouse in the darkness of sin and unbelief that never deliver a bankrupt testimony as witnesses to the truth to a world that needs the truth of Christ. Whose house is it? It's God’s house and its sacred. Let’s get in and get involve with what God is doing in this society today, and live that reality out.  

Jesus told us in Matthew 5:14-15, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”

In Christ, Brian