My friend, did you know that the Bible says that the church you read about in the New Testament is the bride of Christ? And did you know the Bible says, too, that "Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her?" Yes! It says that! But, do we love Christ's church? Oh say! That is the question. We have a guest to lead us in Bible study about Christ and His Church today.
We are so glad you have joined our Bible study today. In spite of what the "church growth" people are telling us, there are many, many people today who are, as we are, searching the Scriptures for the Lord's way of salvation and His way to live the Christian life. And you have joined that host of people by your radio or television set today. Oh say, we pray we'll all be blessed.
All this month we have been hosting guest speakers. To be perfectly honest and up-front with you, after 27 years in the ministry, I needed a little break-- and, we wanted to introduce to you some younger men who are doing some excellent work in churches of Christ around over the country. But I'll be back with the anniversary message next week, and I am looking forward to that. It will be the first program of our 28th year of continual television ministry. Oh, I hope you won’t have to miss that program next week. I am looking forward to being back.
But our guest today is widely known among churches of Christ. He grew up in a family of preachers-- and I might add a family of great preachers. His father, his uncles and even his brothers are good preachers. They all know what constitutes good preaching and they do it. He is married to the former Laura Colley. They have two children. He holds degrees from Faulkner and Freed-Hardeman Universities and done graduate studies both at Southern Christian University and Emory University. He has been preaching about 23 years in Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas. As a matter of fact, he preached here in Oklahoma City at the North MacArthur church from 1994 to 2004. He is now the preacher at the Lewisville, Texas church of Christ. He is Jeff Jenkins, and after the hymn, the scripture reading and prayer, we'll hear him on a subject about which he is especially passionate: "Christ and His Church."
We are reading from the book of Ephesians, chapter 5. We will begin at verse 22. “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Now with that in our minds, let us go to God in prayer. We are thankful, Lord, for the teachings that we have about Christ and His church; that He loved her so much that He gave Himself for her. Help us, Father, in our study today to glean the teaching from our guest speaker that we can have a greater appreciation for the church and all she means to us today. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!
Thank you, brother Mack. It is an honor to be with you today and we are thankful that you have joined us for this television broadcast and the opportunity to study the word of God. The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 25, “Husbands love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” Two or three different times in this great chapter, as Paul tries to describe and tries to define the marriage relationship, he illustrates the marriage relationship with the relationship between Christ and His church. And what Paul is trying to tell us here is that husbands ought to love your wives just like Christ loved the church; that wives must be in subjection to her husbands, in submission to their husbands, just as the church is to Christ. But, I want to point out today that the apostle Paul makes it clear in this passage that Jesus loves the church; and that brings to our mind today, “Is it important for us to love the church?”
Now, I don’t have to tell you that we are living in a day today when there are many people in our world who seem to place less emphasis upon the church than ever before. There are those who think the church is outdated. There are those who think that the church is irrelevant. There are those who think that the church doesn’t matter; you choose the church of your choice-- it doesn’t matter what the Lord might say. There are those who show little concern for the church. Sometimes there are billboards that you will see as you are driving down the highways that may say, “Come and visit us. This is nothing like church;” and people try to build some type of community that isn’t anything like church. And so based upon all of that, why should we love the church?
I want to share with you today three observations in my own mind about why we should love the church. Number One, I want to suggest to you that we should love the church because the church is a part of God’s eternal plan. In Ephesians chapter 3 the apostle Paul writes, beginning in verse 10, “to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according (now listen to verse 11) according to the eternal purpose which He purposed (or some translations say which He accomplished) in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul reminds us in this great passage that the church was founded in the mind of God, or that the church was established or planned in the mind of God, before the foundation of the world. Before God created the world, before God spoke the world into existence, before God said, “Let there be light,” He had made up His mind that He would allow the church to exist in this world.
Now we learn in Acts chapter 2 that on the day of Pentecost the church actually had its beginning. We don’t have a lot of time today to look at all of the background of Acts chapter 2; but suffice it to say that in this great chapter we learn about the beginning of the church. And what I want to suggest to you today that the church of Christ, the church of our Lord, the church of Jesus Christ was not founded by some man; it was not founded during the American Restoration Movement; it was not founded when settlers came from another land to America; but the church was founded by Jesus Christ himself. And the church is the only institution in our society that deals with the ultimate issues of life-- issues like death and life and judgment and forgiveness. And so because of that, it is important for us to know that this was God’s plan-- it wasn’t our plan.
In Matthew chapter 16 the Bible tells us that when some people came to Jesus that He was near the coast of Caesarea Philippi, and He asked the disciples a question. He said, “Who do you say that I am?” And Simon Peter answered and said, “Some men say that You are Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus said, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus replied by saying, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who art in heaven. And upon this rock, (what he means by this-- upon this confession) I will build My church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”
Now there are several things we can learn from this passage. One is that the church belongs to Jesus. He said, “I will build My church.” Friends, it is not my church; it is not your church; it doesn’t belong to the preacher; it doesn’t belong to the elders or the deacons or the Bible class teachers. It doesn’t belong to the people. The church belongs to Jesus. He said, “I will build My church.”
But also notice He said, “I will build.” Jesus Christ is the One who will build the church. We can’t build our own church. We can’t come up with our own idea; but Jesus will build His church. Notice He said, “I will.” That implies that it is still in the future; it had not yet come into existence while Jesus was on the earth. But we learn that it did shortly after his ascension that we read about in Acts chapter 1. We learn that the church did come into existence in Acts chapter 2.
And in Mark chapter 9, verse 1 Jesus said that, “Some of you who are standing here will not taste of death until you see the kingdom of God come with power.” Now back in Matthew 16:18 and following, Jesus used the word church and kingdom interchangeably. Now He says some of you will be alive when the kingdom comes; it will come with power. And in Acts chapter 2 we learn that the kingdom did come and it came with power. And so we need to understand today that we ought to love the church because the church is a part of the eternal plan of God. Aren’t you glad today that you can be a part of a church that existed in the mind of God before the world was ever created? It wasn’t started by some man; it was not man’s idea; it wasn’t founded by a group of individuals; but Jesus Christ himself established the church. And it was in the mind of God long before the world was ever created.
But, I want to suggest to you today secondly, that we should love the church because of the good news itself, because of the gospel. In Romans 1 verses 14 through 16 the apostle Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ (the word gospel there is the Greek word euaggelion. It literally means the good news.) “I am not ashamed of the good news of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation.” The word “power” there comes from a Greek word that we get our English words dynamic, or dynamite, or dynamo. And Paul is saying that this good news is the dynamite of God that will bring about the salvation of man. The gospel, I suggest to you, still has the power to save men. And the church is not only the recipients of that power, but the church is also the dispensers of that power. We must never forget that it is the gospel that will save a lost and dying world. We must never forget that it is the gospel that will save men.
Listen, it is not our own educational acumen; it is not our own ingenuity. It is not because we are smart enough or bright enough or intelligent enough. It is the gospel! I am amazed today as I look around and see religious groups and so called churches who are trying to save man in some other way. And we are told that the Bible for instance does not need to be taught as much. There are churches that say, “We don’t want to talk about the Bible. We don’t want to teach the Bible.” And so they will have dramatic presentations and a lot of music and a lot of other types of entertainment. But it is the gospel that is the power to save men. It is not solving world problems or ending wars. It is not the outlawing of homosexual unions or ending abortions. It is the gospel! It is not electing the right politicians. It is not making our families happier, healthier, and wiser. It is the gospel? It is not ecumenism in working in concert with all religious groups of our world that will save mankind. It is the gospel! And ladies and gentlemen, if the last fifty years has taught us anything, it should have taught us that the greatest need in our world is the need for the gospel; that the greatest longing of the human heart is to know God; and the greatest hunger of the soul can only be satisfied in Jesus. The problem is that there are a lot of people who will go to church today. They will walk through the doors of a church building; and they will be starving for the gospel. They will have an empty place, a void place deep within their heart; and they will have a need. But the problem is on too many occasions they will be fed a steady diet of substitutes rather than being fed the word of God. The greatest need of our world is to know Jesus Christ; and we have an opportunity to take that gospel to the world. And that is why we should love the church.
Then I want to suggest to you today finally that we should love the church because of the love that is provided for us by the church. In John chapter 13, verses 34 and 35 Jesus said, “By this will all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one for the other.” Now occasionally I hear people who are critical of the church. I even hear preachers who mock the church and who make fun of the church. They talk about the church in an ugly way. But remember the Bible describes even in Ephesians 5 as we mentioned at the outset of the broadcast today; the Bible describes the church as the bride of Jesus Christ and how can you claim to love Christ and not love His bride. How can you claim to love Jesus and not love the church? I would suggest to you today that if we are going to love Christ we must love His church, because the church is His body (Ephesians chapter 1 and also Colossians chapter 1).
And I want to suggest to you today that the church provides a loving community. I don’t know about you, but I know I have seen it in my lifetime. I have seen it time and time again. I’ve seen it when my wife found out that she had cancer. I have seen the love that was manifest in our own family and how people have taken care of us. I’ve seen it when I lost my mother to death recently. I’ve seen how the church has rallied around my father and my family and how they have shown that great love. I’ve seen it when people go through disasters; when there were those natural disasters, the hurricanes on the Gulf Coast recently, when the tornadoes have come through and ravaged entire communities of people. I’ve seen the love that is manifest in the lives of God’s people to those who in need. Don’t tell me that the church is unloving; don’t tell me that the church is uncaring; don’t tell me that the church is irrelevant-- because the church is the body of Jesus Christ and the church provides a loving community. And because of that we should love the church, and we need to do everything that we can to let people know that you can be a part of something that was in the mind of God long before the world was ever created; that you can be a part of something that has the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ; that you can be a part of something that will provide for you a loving community whenever you go through the trials and the tribulations of this life. Jesus loved the church so much that He gave His life for the church.
I ask you today, “Do you love the church?” I hope that you do. And if you don’t today I hope that you will fall in love with the church of Jesus Christ; and that you will do whatever you need to do to become a part of that church. If we can assist you in that we will be glad to do so. Would you pray with me? Holy Father, we are thankful until Thee for Thy marvelous love for us. We are thankful that in Your infinite wisdom, before the world was created, that You made arrangements for the church to exist in this world. We are thankful that the church is a part of Your eternal magnificent plan. We are thankful that the church has the opportunity to share the good news with a lost and dying world. Father, help us to remember always that that is our reason for existing-- to teach the gospel to the world, to tell people that God will forgive their sins. Father, help us to love the church because of the loving community that is provided for us. Father, we pray today for those who are hurting. We pray that the church might rally around them and that we might continue to show our love to each person who has need. Father, thank You for loving us so much that you allowed Your Son to die upon the cross so that the church might be purchased with His blood. And we are thankful that we have the opportunity to love the church. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
Thank you Jeff Jenkins for your message about Christ and His Church. We hear it said so often, "I don't preach churchanity; I preach Christ-ianity." Or, "I love Christ, not the church." Well, friend, the church is people. The church of our Lord is His redeemed people. You see, the first time the church is mentioned in the Bible as being in existence is in Acts chapter 2, verse 42. There the Holy Spirit is saying "and there were added unto them about three thousand souls." Now if you have trouble with the word "them"-- who they are-- look at verse 47. There the Scripture says, "And the Lord added to the church daily those that were being saved." You see, the Lord's way is different. People don't come to the Lord-- they are not saved, and then given the opportunity to choose from the many, many churches which one may want to join. When the Lord saves people, He adds them to His church. He knows who He has saved, and He makes no mistake about it, and He writes their name in the "Lamb's book of life in heaven." That is Revelation 21, verse 27.
If you would like to study more about the church that you read about in your Bible, you might want a copy of this little book titled, "Churches of Christ, Who Are They?" It contains the text of four television programs I did here in June of last year in response to a national TV news network programs that falsely identified the New Testament church as "a cult-like sect." The TV audience requested some 125,000 of them. And the amazing thing about it is that requests are still coming in daily from our TV and radio audiences and others who have seen or heard about them. Well, we have them in Spanish, too. Yeah, there is the one in Spanish. If you would like a copy of either the English or the Spanish, simply request it. Be sure to specify which one you like. Be ready, I'm going to give you our address and telephone number in a minute. They are free, except when they are ordered in bulk.
If you'd like a free printed copy, or a free CD or an audio cassette tape of Jeff Jenkins' message today, please address your request for it In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083. Our e-mail address, in case you're into that, is searchtv@searchtv.org. Or you may use our toll-free telephone number, in which case, we will even pay for the call. That number is 1-800-321-8633. Visit our website; you can read the program again there or you can hear it or you can see it again if you like.
Say, it has been good to have you with us today. I'm looking forward to next week, when, the Lord willing, I'll be back with the message on the 28th anniversary of this television ministry. We would like to have you worship with one of the churches of Christ in the viewing area of this station. They would welcome you too. Why don’t you just do that? If it is too late this week, do it next Sunday, will you! If you need help locating a church, let us be that help. We hope to have you with us right here next week, too. And I hope that we will not miss a one of you-- everyone of you will be back Tell your friends and your neighbors, your associates about the program and invite them to listen, too. God bless you now. We love you.
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