Purpose of the Church

Acts 2:47 And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

According to this verse, the immediate position of every person who is saved is the Church. This is the place destined by the Lord Himself so that His divine will towards a person is fulfilled. This divine will is seen in Ep 4:11-13 as follows:

1. We come to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God.

Faith and the Knowledge of Christ should never bring a person to confusion. Doctrines do that job because we read in Ep 4:14. Doctrines point at problems at others’ faith and keep promoting portions of doctrine that the promoter has learnt. This is in no way useful in building a person’s faith. There was one single faith in the early Church where they said that Jesus has risen and faith in Jesus is the only way that can lead to salvation. We read the term as unity of faith and not unity in faith which means that there is only one faith and that faith should bring us to unity. That faith is a clear understanding or knowledge of Christ. 1 Tim 6:10 speaks about drifting away from faith which is very much possible to believe in a God who provides more and more money.

The traditional church had failed in this one area where people were not brought to this knowledge of the Son of God. For those believers, Jesus was a person who had unjust demands for salvation and then it was because of many important men like Luther, unity of faith was achieved. The protestant reformation had taken place and in just twenty eight years 349 people were burnt and killed and this is just documented history. The unity of faith was brought to us with that much of blood and burnt bodies.

But this reformation was just the beginning of a pure Church and traditions popped up inside reformed or Protestant churches also causing them to fallback away from their original purpose and drift towards worldly survival. The Church should focus on building a clear faith among believers and encouraging a proper knowledge of Christ to them.

2. Equipping Saints for the work of Ministry

The problem is that saints have a tendency to remain inactive. But the verse says that it is required for saints to be trained well for ministry. We can read a similar phrase in 2 Timothy 3:16,17 where the Bible is given to us for this very purpose. It is not that pastors only should minister. A pastor is essentially a leader who feeds the congregation with spiritual food. There is a large difference between a priest and a pastor where a priest serves God representing people and so a mediator. But we should have only one mediator who is Jesus Christ according to 1 Timothy 2:5. This clearly means that treating a pastor as a mediator between God and us is clearly a sin.

Every saint in the church should be trained for ministry so that the love of Christ would effectively be seen in the world. The call follow me, I will make you fishers of men is not only for ministers but everyone. As per Mathew 16:25 and most other verses, Jesus has called everybody for full time ministry and that is the only way for progressing in Christ. We read in Revelation 1:1 that everybody is a bond-servant of God and that means loving God with all our strength. Jesus has been setting a very right standard for Christians where they have to lose their lives according to 2 Corinthians 4:11,12 so that the precious gospel will be shown in us, earthy vessels (v 7). Martin Luther’s one very important teaching is priesthood of everyone.

In Mathew 6:24 when Christ spoke about serving two masters, he continues to ask everybody to not worry about tomorrow and toil for mammon but seek the kingdom of God and its righteousness.

3. Edifying of the Body of Christ

The church as it has been formed has become the body of Christ and we are all members of it. But this body is not perfect and has to be edified or grown as required. We read in the following verses (Ep 4:16,17) that the whole body when grows causes the body to grow. Many organs may not become a beautiful body but a body where every organ grows proportionately is a treat to the eyes.

This growth and edification is brought to us by love. This love would ensure that every person or organ in the body would grow and we are willing to hold them throughout our lives. This is the reason why people were willing to give up their lives for Christ and the reformation. People like Anne Askew, a 24 year lady who was tortured on the rack but still stood up for Christ and then carried to a stake and burnt. William Hunter was a simple 19 year old who was visiting his parents but stood up for Christ and he was offered a great government position or death where he embraced death.

In Ep 4:17-20, we learn that it is possible to understand Christ for greediness and selfish needs, but it is fatal to the Church and us. According to verses 22-24, we have to put off the old man who is selfish and pride and put on the new man who renews, regenerates and was created according to God, in righteousness and holiness.

Measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ

This is the destination of the Church where we grow according to the mature fullness that is the Christ who is resurrected and sitting at the throne. Leading people towards anything less takes the church to a different destiny and does not make it worthy.

Amen.

Signs of a Healthy Church

Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

This is the first recognition to the first Church. The verse says that they had continued steadfastly in this meaning that they held on to these principles and tried their best to not give up. The reason for their strong hold in the doctrine is seen in the previous verse where they had gladly accepted the word of God. They were excited because they understood their sins and their statuses and remission of sins was a real excitement to them. When they were convicted, they immediately sought for cleansing and the blood of Jesus was the greatest gift to them. They gladly received the gospel as they received it. This gladness helped them to strongly hold the message they had just learnt.

Apostles’ Doctrine:

The doctrine has to come from the Apostles because they had one important qualification than all the others which we read in 1:21, being a witness of His resurrection. This responsibility was very important and made them busy that they had to fully concentrate on preaching this as per acts 6:2. It was not that they are promoted to higher positions, but it was because they did not have time.

We can read the purpose of the doctrine in Romans 1:7 where every believer should obey to the faith. This is the start of the book of Romans and in the End also Paul concludes with the same statement. The faith that initiates in us through signs and wonders should bring us towards obedience where we forsake the world behind us and come forward to obey Him who is resurrected. The doctrine can be written as “The kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mathew 10:7) and then (Acts 2:38,39) that only when we repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who teaches and makes us worthy of the kingdom of God.

It is very important for the church to never deviate from this doctrine. If any other way or method is prioritized more than repentance and grace, we are in a wrong place. The Church should be steadfast in this teaching and not anything else. Every member of the church should be motivated to proclaim that Jesus is Lord. We may have had money, sin and lust as our lords, but a true repentance is to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Fellowship:

1 John 1:7 gives the motivation towards fellowship which is walking in the light. Since Jesus is the light and we walk with Him, our darkness becomes open and so, we get knowledge about ours and others’ problems also. To handle this situation that easily brings condemnation, Jesus recommends Fellowship to us. The word fellowship itself points to equality in the church. We have fellowship with God means that we want to partner with Him by desiring His kingdom. Fellowship is clearly explained in Philippians 1:7 where we are partakers of the same grace that was given to one person. God’s abundance grace has been shed on all of us so that we all understand the position of ourselves in sin and so, come to Christ together and partake together in the grace. The fellowship is clearly demonstrated in the early church where they said that everything that belongs to me is yours and all that is yours is min according to John 17:10. The interesting part is that they gladly shared and not forced. Not a part of the Church shared everything, but all those who believed did that. Their faith on the heavenly kingdom is so strong that they could open up all their savings into the Church and shared.

Breaking of Bread:

The breaking of bread is a constant and a steadfast happening in the church. They broke bread not on intervals but used every opportunity to break bread. The remembrance is that we all consume Jesus as the only food we can nourish upon. As per Luke 24:35, we properly recognize Christ only when we break bread. A church should ensure that Jesus is the only bread that can give life and keep honoring Jesus in our lives. We do not understand Jesus if we do not take Him as our food and the church will be a boring place where we are forced to sit for hours. But if we look at the time as an opportunity to remember the Lord’s sacrifices in our life, gladness will flow in our hearts.

Prayer:

Steadfastness in prayer is something the early Church did. In Colossians 4:2,3 Paul advises them to continue steadfast in Prayer and be watchful in there also. Prayer at times can be very deceiving and we have to be careful while praying for things that we do not agree for. If we say Amen to somebody who seeks evil, we are not vigilant and will lose ourselves. Prayer should exactly be a format from Mathew 6:9 onwards. Complete selfless submission to God is expected in prayer. That’s why Paul says, Pray also for my needs. Since they were already praying, the requirements of Paul should have been included in the prayer. But Paul says, Pray also for me because that petition is not part of the steadfast prayer we are expected to do originally. As a church praying for material needs, security and solutions are not denied here. But our steadfast prayer together in fellowship should be declaration that Kingdom, Glory and Power should be His alone.

With these signs, every church will be able to progress well in the Lord’s will. And as per Acts 2:46, 47 they were all glad and had no deceit in their hearts. The reason is the above four priorities in the Church. As soon as people were saved, God Himself ensured they are in this righteous church.

Amen.

Power of the Holy Spirit

Acts 2:2-4 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

When the Holy Spirit has come it was completely felt by everybody inside the room and not one person missed receiving the Holy Spirit that day. It was visible and audible that something new has happened in the upper room. We read in the following verses that people came in seeing the signs and wonders. But the identity of those who came amazed is they are devout people from all parts of the world. These people saw wonders because of their devotion. But others did not see any wonder in this incident and called this as drunkenness. The power of Holy Spirit is similar where devotion and a need for holiness makes it convincing and effective. But if we are of the world completely, we see things as stupidity.

The first result of the Holy Spirit is establishing the wonderful works of God as per verse 11. This is the first sign of the Holy Spirit from us. The power of God is displayed in us so that many people will hear the works of God and not exalt us. When people hear that God is great they come together and understand how great Jesus is. We read this is Romans 15:18-19 where Paul uses the power of God to establish what Jesus did through him so that the complete gospel of Christ is proclaimed. God gives us divine power so that this Gospel is proclaimed to the ends of the earth. We get power so that we are witnesses that Jesus has risen.

Peter, in the first sermon does this work effectively. Starting with speaking about the power of God in the prophecy by Joel, he ends with the invitation that whoever calls in the name of the Lord shall be saved. Then to establish who LORD is, Peter boldly speaks about Jesus who was killed by divine purpose of God, has risen up from the dead and this Jesus is LORD (v36).

We see power as the world defines it. But the power God gives us is different as per 2 Cor 12:9, the power of God is perfected and defined in weakness. Paul continues to mention that when he is weak in the world’s eyes, he is actually strong. This is how we establish that Jesus has risen by the power of God to this world. In Acts 2:40, Peter summarizes to the crowd to be saved from this perverse generation. The whole generation is corrupt and we have to be saved out of this to prove Jesus has risen. Now, according to Romans 8:11, we continue to prove that Jesus is Lord by proving to the world that we are raised from the dead. Let us note that the flesh should be raised and not just the soul. If the soul is separated from the flesh it automatically has no temptation to overcome. Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit would raise our flesh so that it no longer is a slave to the earth’s false richness.

In Luke 24:49, Jesus commands to stay put till we are clothed with power from high. Unless we show this power to the world, we are naked with the world’s sinfulness. We should be ashamed if we still pursue and boast about worldly richness but boast about weaknesses so that we prove that Jesus has saved us out of this perverse generation.

According to 2 Timothy 1:7,8, the Holy Spirit is of power, love and a sound mind which does not deviate away from what His will is and so, we are expected to accept the sufferings according to the power of God and the gospel. We know that the cross was the biggest display of God’s power and so according to the power and the gospel, we have to be saved from the pleasures of the world and embrace suffering so that Christ will be manifested in us. We have to prove to the world that Christ is Lord and the world is not.

As per Romans 15:13, we are given peace and happiness that comes by faith and not worldly blessings by the power of God that brings hope. When we have the power of God in us strengthening us to suffer and overcome, God give us hope. This hope has to become faith and then peace and happiness. There are no rewards mentioned here, but all we get in this world is hope. But hope is enough to build happiness.

The statement in Acts 2:32 is the result of the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

One Accord

Acts 1:14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

This quality is attributed to the Church even before the greatest gift, the Holy Spirit is given. It was days after Jesus had ascended and now all of them had a single intention which was Christ first achievement after His resurrection. The election of Mathias could have been done when Jesus was present or after the Holy Spirit was given to them, but it was done in this tiny ten day gap using lots. We do not see lots anywhere else in the Bible after this incident because the Holy Spirit had driven people everywhere. This was the human decision which God had approved because they had made this decision in one accord.

In Philippians 2:1,2, we read that even if we have received a small amount of mercy, grace or love from God, we are expected to show that in amounts of unity to God. We can see similar utterances from Christ as “forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”. The relationship and fellowship with other is where we display our gratitude towards Christ. Paul continues in the verses asking us to consider others more important than ourselves. Selfish ambitions and conceit will come to us but we should ensure that we do not let those feelings act anything in our lives.

The purpose of the fellowship or the church is given in verse 11, where every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord and the name Jesus should be exalted above all other names. This eternal purpose should be fulfilled in every church or otherwise, that church loses its identity.  To have the Lord’s Name lifted up, the Church should emphasize the fellowship. In Ephesians 3:9-11, we read the mystery of Fellowship which makes the wisdom of God known among all the powers of heaven through the Church. The mystery is that the gentiles are fellow partakers of the promise in Christ along with the Jews.  The Church has this purpose to be served and so, every person in the Church should have one mindedness for this purpose. Any deviation from this purpose will cause the Church to lose its motive and become a place of entertainment.

The early church’s display can be seen in Acts 2:42 where they were devoted to fellowship as much as doctrine. Just because we know something better than another person does not make us superior in any way in the church. A person who is devoted to fellowship gets higher responsibilities and that’s why Jesus is very much impressed with people who are humble. How great is the wisdom of God that He first humbled Himself so that everybody would do the same and thus lifting high His own name because people become victorious in His Name.

As per 1 Cor 1:10, the completeness of a church is seen in unity. For this not only the whole Church would have one mind but also one judgement. There is no point in a person being part of a church without agreeing with others. As per 1 Cor 12:4 onwards, God gives different gifts to each person so that the Church will collaborate together and be built. But when all of us expect the same gift from God, the presence of these gifts is ignored. Verse 10 speaks about the gift of discerning of spirits which is very much required in this age as many people come and deceive us as per 1 John 4:1. If one person recommends not going behind particular preachers, we should atleast consider if what they say is right or wrong. If discernment is not present, the unity of Church will break as many false doctrines will enter the Church.

One mindedness has another problem where a single person individually cannot have a single mind. When we go out to the world, the mind changes to worldly priorities and makes us wander. For this reason, we can read that including family of Jesus, every disciple had to stay in one place and wait till the greater gift arrived. But we visit plenty of places and have various kinds of fellowships which confuse us and make us lose our fellowship with God. The method given to us that is not to go behind any preacher or pastor, but to wait together as a Church in unity. In John 17:20-23, we read Jesus’s expectation that we should be one as God the Father and Jesus the Son are one.

Amen.