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
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