THE CHURCH - ITS COMMISSION
James Boeck
History records a long line of costly purchases. Among them
is the purchase of a single Rembrandt painting for $2,300,000.00 and sale of a
sculpture for $380,000.00. The greatest transaction ever made, however,
involved the Church of God purchased at the price of His own blood. No finite
measure could convey the value of this purchase.
Certainly God had a reason. What return does God expect of
His Church now that He has completed so priceless a purchase? Paul informs us
that we are His "work of art," "created in Christ Jesus unto good
works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them"
(Ephesians 2:10). To what "good works" are the redeemed of the
Church, the Body of Christ, ordained? What is our call of duty?
Could the commission of the Church be summed up in the Golden
Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"? Is it to
live out the ideals of the Ten Commandments? Do you suppose, as some teach,
that our commission is "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"?
Have we as the Church on earth been given the responsibility of solving the
physical and social ills of the world? Should we contemplate World Peace as a
result of our efforts?
God did not leave us to guess. The Scriptures offer a
distinct and enlightening understanding of the Mission and Commission of the
Church. In so doing, the Bible also provides us with a great sense of urgency
concerning our life and work as members of His Church.
We will pursue this study along three avenues:
The Church—Commissioned to Be the Instrument of God's
Working
The Church—Commissioned to Be the Habitation of God
The Church—Commissioned to Be the Display of God's Wisdom
and Glory
As we search the Scriptures, may the Holy Spirit impress on
our minds and hearts that what is true of the Church is true of us
individually.
1. COMMISSIONED TO BE THE INSTRUMENT OF GOD'S WORKING
God is at work!! What a comforting fact in this
"present evil age." If you ask, "How is He working?" listen
to this.
"For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to
do of his good pleasure. (Philippians2:13)
"Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in
the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God...." (Galatians2:20)
Christ is made known to the world through the life and lips
of the believer. We, as Christians, are to "magnify" Christ in our
body. We extension of Him. Hence, we are the instruments of His work on earth.
THE PREPARATION OF THE CHURCH
The tools God chose to work with were not "ready
made." We were "... dead in trespasses and sins . . . and were by
nature the children of wrath..."(Ephesians 2:1,3)
"But God. who is rich in mercy . . . made us alive
together with Christ (by grace ye are saved}..." (Ephesians 2:5,6) and
fitted us for the work He desired to do through us!
"Giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made us fit to
be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. . . ." (Colossians
1:12)
Notice as we proceed that the Church is prepared for its
commission in four ways.
Prepared by New Creation
"We are his workmanship, CREATED in Christ Jesus unto
good works, which God hath before ordained [prepared] that we should walk in
them. "(Ephesians 2:10)
This passage makes it clear that it is not our works that
save us. Good works, that are pleasing to God, cannot be produced by
spiritually dead sinners who are at enmity with God. Good works, acceptable to
God, come as a result .of our being saved into a new kind of life. Having been
made spiritually alive and endowed with a new nature, we have been made a part
of God's "new creation" in Christ. Knowing this to be true, we then
learn that we were, "created in Christ Jesus UNTO GOOD WORKS."
Paul persuades us to ..." ... be not unwise but
understanding what the will of the Lord is." (Ephesians 5:17)
The path is well prepared, all that we need to do is KNOW IT
and WALK IN IT. The latter is no doubt the most difficult part. There are so
many things that would hinder us from DOING the will of the Lord. Too much
resistance on an electrical system produces low voltage and poor performance of
equipment. Similarly, the "old nature" or the "self will"
is the greatest resistance to a walk in the good works that God has prepared
for us. God's desire is that . . .
"He might . . . purify unto himself a peculiar people,
ZEALOUS OF GOOD WORKS, (Titus 2:14) which are . "... good and profitable
unto men." (Titus 3:8)
Prepared Through the Word
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly thoroughly
furnished unto all good works. " (II Timothy 3:16,17
Please observe that the Word is "profitable" for
every spiritual need and "furnishes" us with the resources to be an
instrument of God's working.
"For this cause also thank we God without ceasing
because, when ye received the word of God winch ye heard of us, ye received it,
not as the word of men but as it is in truth, the word of God, which
effectually work-eth also in you that believe." (I Thessalonians 2:13)
The Apostle Paul was concerned that the believer would have
20/20 spiritual vision! He reminds us in Acts 20:20 that he ..."... . kept
back nothing that was profitable . . . ."
Then he goes on to say,"For I have not shunned to
declare unto you ALL THE COUNSEL OF GOD."
"And now brethren, I commend you to God, and to the
word of his grace, which is able to BUILD YOU UP, and to give you an
inheritance among all them which are sanctified."
(Acts 20:27,32)
It is impossible to be ignorant of God's Word and expect to
serve Him acceptably. The child of God will be effective in his ministry to the
degree that he is faithful in the study of the Word (II Timothy 2:15).
Prepared Through Spiritual Offices
"And he gave some, apostles: and some, prophets; and
some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers [teaching pastors]."
(Ephesians 4:11)
The Church is gifted with evangelists and pastors who are
teachers. The offices of apostle and prophet were withdrawn when God's written
revelation to man was completed.
Evangelists are personally gifted of God for the work of
"heralding" or "announcing" the Gospel. Their work is
primarily to those outside of Christ with a view to them being "born
again" and being made members of the Body of Christ.
Teaching pastors are given . . ." ... for the
perfecting of the saints . . . ." (Ephesians 4:12)
The Greek word translated "perfecting" is katart
ismos. The English word artisan comes from that root. It is the description of
a man who either SHAPES or MENDS things with his hands. Jesus found James and
John " . . . who were also in the ship mending [katartismos] their
nets." (Mark 1:19)
As the nets were, so are Christians in need of mending and
shaping. Paul urges the Corinthians to "be perfect" (katartismos),
i.e., mend your ways. The pastor's function is that of "mending,"
"shaping," and "adjusting" the saints through the Word of
God. As the Word
is taught and applied by the Spirit, the believer is
effectively prepared for the ministry.
Spiritually "adjusted" Christians are commissioned
to do "the work of the ministry," with a view to the "edifying
of the Body of Christ." Every believer is a minister! A careful
examination of Scripture will reveal that the layman is included in the
commissioning of the Church. "The work of the ministry" can be summed
up in obeying, living, denom-strating, serving, preaching, and teaching the
Word of God's grace.
It is important for the Christian to remember while we are
doing "the work of the ministry," that it is God's power which
accomplishes the results through us!
"For this I also labor, striving according to his
WORKING, which worketh IN ME mightily. " (Colossians 1:29)
When Christians perform the work of the ministry, their
labor climaxes in "the building up of the Body of Christ."
"From whom [Christ] the whole body joined and knit
together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working
properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love. " When
Christians discover that they are not mere "passengers" on the way to
Heaven, they will become useful to the Lord here on earth. (Ephesians4:16RSV)
Prepared Through Spiritual Gifts
Though evangelists and teaching pastors are particularly
set apart for the study of the Word and the proclaiming of the same, other
members of the Church are not excused from being directly concerned and
involved in those same tasks.
Each member within the Church has also received a
"measure of grace" or "spiritual gift" (Ephesians 4:7). An
extended list of spiritual gifts is found in Romans 12:3-8 and I Corinthians
12. It is extremely important to understand the temporary nature of the
"sign" gifts which are included among the "ministry" gifts
in these transitional passages of Scripture. The manifestation of the sign
gifts disappeared from the pages of Scripture the moment God set aside the
"sign seeking" nation of Israel at the close of the book of Acts.
Only the non-miraculous endowments for service remain. (For further study on
this subject please refer to Tongues and the Sign Gifts, a booklet by Vernon A.
Schutz, Grace Publications, Inc.)
THE OCCUPATION OF THE CHURCH
"Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. . .
."(II Corinthians 5:20)
Our occupation is that of being "ambassadors to an
alien land"! Why?
"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we
look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. " (Philippians3:20)
Heaven is our homeland, the seat of our spiritual
government.
We are emissaries of God, who in Christ is reconciling the
world unto Himself, and He has now assigned us to invite men, women, and
children to be reconciled to Him.
Today, God is making His appeal to a lost race through the
Church. He has chosen us to be vessels of the "word of
reconciliation" which He has deposited in us. We have been "put in
TRUST with the gospel" (I Thessalonians 2:4). When we deposit our money in
a savings account or a "TRUST" fund, we expect that it will bear
dividends. This is God's expectation having deposited in our TRUST the Gospel,
"the word of reconciliation." Could there be a higher OCCUPATION? May
God the Holy Spirit impress this truth on our minds and hearts.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CHURCH "Preach the Word"
Paul tells us that the ministry he received of the Lord
Jesus, was . . .
" . . . to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
" (Acts 20:24)
. .
His advice to Timothy was .
"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine." (II Timothy
4:2)
Preach the Word "Rightly Divided"
Paul warned of the possibility of "wresting" or
"distorting" Scripture to one's own destruction. God, the Giver of
the Word, has "breathed out" to us instructions for studying His
Word.
"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman
that need-eth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."(II
Timothy 2:15)
Miles Coverdale, who first translated the entire Bible into
English over 400 years ago, saw the necessity of applying this principle when
studying the Bible. He wrote:
"It shall greatly help you to understand Scripture if
you mark not only what is spoken or written, but of whom and to whom, with what
words, at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstances,
considering what went before and what follows after. "
Augustine said:
"Distinguish the ages and the Scriptures harmonize.
"
For further study in this area, examine the booklets in this
series of studies on the Church: The Church—Its Creation, and The Church-How Is
It Different?
Preach the Word to ALL MEN
God desires . . ."... all men to be saved, and to come
unto the knowledge of the truth." (I Timothy 2:4)
Paul knew the weight of the lost world upon him and
testified "from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully
preached the gospel of Christ. Yea, so have I fully preached the gospel, not
where Christ was named. . . ." (Romans 15:19,20)
His passion was . . .
" . . . to make all see what is the fellowship of the
mystery, which from the beginning of the ages hath been hidden in God . . .
." (Ephesians 3:9)
He did not rest until he could say,
" . . . I testify unto you this day, that I am pure
from the blood of all men." (Acts 20:26)
Let us now consider the second great aspect of our
commission!
II. COMMISSIONED TO BE THE HABITATION OF GOD
The Apostle Paul used three figures of speech to teach us
this truth. None of these terms are applied to God's called out assemblies of
other ages.
A HABITATION - A BODY "For in him dwelleth all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily.(Colossians 2:9) "... and gave him to be
the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him
that filleth all in all. "(Ephesians 1:22,23)
"For it pleased the Father that in him should all
fulness dwell. " (Colossians 1:19)
There is a great temptation today to make Israel and the
Body of Christ one and the same. So that we might hurdle that temptation, God
has given us a relationship to' Christ which is obviously different from that
of Israel. They are the Bride of Christ, we are His Body. Their hope is earthly,
ours is heavenly. They are a part of God's prophetic program, we were His
secret. In spite of these differences both will be entirely satisfied in the
position they have been given. The fact that Christ is the HEAD and we are HIS
BODY demonstrates our special relationship to and needful dependence on Him.
Not only do we need Christ, but we need each other as we
serve Him collectively. Because ...
"... the body is not one member, but many. "
"But now hath God set the members every one of them inthe
body, as it hath pleased him. "
"And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need
of thee: nor again the head to thefeet,I have no need of you. " (I
Corinthians 12:14,18,21)
This interdependence can be illustrated. When your home is
built correctly and the shingles are carefully laid on the roof, you will have
a dry home. The shingles "work together" to prevent the roof from
leaking. As these shingles are "dependent" on each other for a common
cause, so are the members of the Body of Christ.
A HABITATION - A
BUILDING
The seco-nd figure that the apostle 18 uses in revealing the
Church is that of a "building."
" ... ye are . . . fellow citizens with the saints and
of the household of God,""In whom ye also are built together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit."(Ephesians 2:19,22)
"... ye are God's building," we are told in I Corinthians 3:9.
Paul, "the wise masterbuilder" was raised up by
God to reveal the wonderful message of Grace, from which we learn that.. .
"In whom [Christ] ye also are builded together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit. " (Ephesians 2:22)
What is happening today in the Dispensation of Grace, is
that Jew and Gentile are being joined together in "one new man."
"The middle wall of partition" has been broken down so that both
could be built together for God's dwelling place.
A
HABITATION - A TEMPLE
The third figure that Paul uses is "temple."
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God. and that
the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (I Corinthians 3:16)
"What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the.
Holy Spirit who is in you. whom ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"
(I Corinthians 6:19)
It has been said that, "We belong to God the Father for
He BUILT US; we belong to God the Son for He BOUGHT US: and we belong to God
the Holy Spirit for He LIVES IN US!
And now for the final aspect of our commission.
III. COMMISSIONED TO BE THE DISPLAY OF GOD'S WISDOM AND
GLORY
The outline of our commission to be instruments of God's
working, sketched what the Church is to "do"! The study of our
commission to be the habitation of God has shown what the Church "is"
in Christ. The understanding of our commission would be incomplete without a
glimpse of what the Church is to "be" in Christ through the ages of
the ages!
The ultimate reason for all of God's works is His own
glorification in Christ. His work in and through the Church is the crowning
glory of glories!
"Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. " (Ephesians 3:21)
God's desire is.."that we should be to the praise of
his glory . "(Ephesians 1:12)
God's wisdom concerning the Church, the Body of Christ, was
once kept secret in God Himself.
"However, we speak wisdom a-mong them that are perfect;
yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the princes of this age, that come to
nothing; But we speak the^wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom
which God ordained before the ages unto our glory; which none of the princes of
this age knew; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory [the glory]."(I Corinthians 2:6-8)
That wisdom is NOW revealed to God's people by the Spirit (I
Corinthians 2:10).
Satan, the god of this age, brought about the crucifixion of
Christ. But the act through which he
It was by (means) of the cross that the Church, the Body of
Christ was also formed (Ephesians 2:16)!! attempted to destroy Christ, now
results in the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and the adversary's own
destruction. It is "this Gospel of the glory" which he now works so
viciously to conceal, and withhold from those that are lost (II Corinthians
4:3-6).
By means of the cross, Christ . . . "... spoiled
principalities and 22
powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them
in it. (Colossians 2:15)
Note the thrust of Ephesians 3:9,10!
"And to make all men see what is the fellowship
[stewardship] of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been
hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that NOW unto
the principalities and powers in heavenly places [the heavenlies] might be made
known by the church the manifold wisdom of God"!
Since the word "men" is not in the original text,
we can conclude that the scope of our stewardship of the Mystery includes the
rebellious principalities and powers in the heavenlies as well as all mankind.
One day every knee shall bow to the name and glory of Christ. In the meantime
God's wisdom is being made known "by the church" whether we are aware
of it or not.
Our being the display of God's wisdom and glory will not
cease with the rapture of the Church. Ephesians 2:7 reveals to us the glorious
privilege we will have of being on display to the angels.
"That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding
riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. "
We will be trophies of His grace forever!
A close scrutiny of Ephesians 6:11-17 will disclose to us
that "the whole armour of God" is not only helpful now in our pursuit
against the "wiles of the devil," but will be helpful "in the
evil day." In I Corinthians 6:3 we are told that we are going to
"judge angels." After the Church has been caught home, the
Tribulation Period will begin. According to Revelation 12:7-12 there will be a
war in heaven after which Satan will be cast down to the earth for the rest of
the Tribulation Period.
From the time of the rapture of the Church until the time
when Satan is cast down to the earth, the Body of Christ will have a warfare
with him. It is during that time that we will be perfectly arrayed with
"the whole armour of God." Our "old man" will have been
separated from us and our "new man" will have complete control. Satan
doesn't have a chance. He is a loser because Christ has "spoiled
principalities and powers" on the cross (Colossians 2:15). It is in this
capacity that the Church will be a DISPLAY OF GOD'S WISDOM AND GLORY.
We echo the humble wonderment of the Apostle Paul,"Oh
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how
unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out. " (Romans
11:33)
Our commission! How vastly more than a golden rule or a
social program! Considering that we as members of the Church, the Body of
Christ, are commissioned to be the instrument of God's working, the very
habitation of God, and the triumphant display of His wisdom and glory through
endless ages, what kind of people should we be?
"I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you
that ye walk [lead a life] worthy of the vocation [calling] to which ye are
called" (Ephesians 4:1)
6 Mid - Acts Dispensational Bible Studies (Click Here)
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6 Mid - Acts Dispensational Bible Studies (Click Here)
How God
Saves Men
Believing Christ
DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ
DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans
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