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Adult Class: September-November 2006

The Church

Lesson 13

The Ongoing Need For The Church

            There are many in the world who consider the church in general, and specific congregations in particular, to be a useless and outmoded feature of spiritual growth and development. Yet while the death of the church has been repeatedly proclaimed, it still serves as the body of Christ, and it is the spiritual society that gives structure to the maturity of individual Christians. The need for the church is woven throughout the book of Ephesians.

            Paul makes it plain in that book that those who are in Christ are in His church.

• In Christ we have every spiritual blessing—Ephesians 1:1-14.
• In Christ we have hope and a future—Ephesians 1:15-23.
• In Christ we have been saved—Ephesians 2:1-10.
• In Christ we are one people—Ephesians 2:11-3:13
• In Christ we have power through the Holy Spirit—Ephesians 3:14-21.

            So, if all these things are ours in Christ, and if those who are in Christ are in His church, then it follows naturally that in the church we have:

• Unity—Ephesians 4:1-16.
• A new life of holiness—Ephesians 4:17-5:21.
• New daily ethics—Ephesians 5:22-6:9.
• Equipment for godly lives—Ephesians 6:10-24.

            In truth, the church has very powerful practical effects in lives and in society. It is followers of Jesus Christ who have brought about virtually every good thing in society, and on the rare occasions when an unbeliever accomplished some good thing, it is because he imitated godly teaching!

            The church is the God-given family of mutual support and encouragement that we all need to live for Him in the face of relentless pressure to conform to the world. It is in the church that we find an outlet for the God-given energy within us that transforms us into the likeness of Christ. Here we have ministry; here we have family; here we have urging to do what is right; here we find acceptance; here we are loved.

            In one of his books, writer John Ortberg draws upon the story of the paralytic who is brought to Jesus, as it is written in Mark 2:1-12.

1. The man is brought to Jesus on a mat. The mat shows everybody that something is not right with this man. All of us have a “mat.” In the church, we don’t have to hide that and be ashamed of our humanity.
2. The friends point out that we all need support; none of us can go it alone.
3. We all need friends who are stubborn for our good.
4. We need friends whose love for us is shown by getting us closer to Jesus.
5. We need friends who will risk rejection, ridicule and injury to help us.

            This is the church. The church is the purpose of God. There will never be a time this side of eternity when the church will not be needed on the earth. This is who we are, and who we must be, in order to fulfill the plea of Christ that “all of them may be one.”