Nuggets
- We are the temple/church.
- We look forward to that day when the church is called home.
- Wherever we reside — on earth or in heaven — we are God’s.
God’s Adopted Church
The Foundation of the Church
The Perfection of the Church
The Design of the Temple
In the last devotion, we discussed the Gentile’s church — those that don’t believe that Jesus is the Messiah and Savior of the world. They don’t believe in the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. With this devotion, we will start discussing God’s church.
I found a really good sermon by Baker that we are going to as the foundation of this series. It will mostly provide headings and some verses.
Let's Put It into Context
Church, according to the Holman Bible Dictionary, is “the term used in the New Testament most frequently to describe a group of persons professing trust in Jesus Christ, meeting together to worship Him, and seeking to enlist others to become His followers.”
We recently discussed being adopted by God. Paul employed this term “… to describe the status persons receive from God when they have been redeemed by Jesus Christ (Galatians 4:3-7).”
The Church Below
“Unless the LORD builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the LORD watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain” (Ps. 127: 1 CSB)
It is easy to think of the church as a building. Well, that is what we call the building.
True, the church must be started and overseen by God. If the church is not pointing toward the One true God, it is laboring in vain.
But look at it this way. We are changed at conversion. “They are reborn — not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God” (Jn. 1: 13 NLT).
We are the temple/church. “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (I Cor. 3: 16 NIV).
God builds us, over time, to be more like Him. “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2: 12 ESV).
This is done through regeneration and sanctification. Regeneration is the change in us that God brings about when we go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive. Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul beginning with regeneration and ending with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness.
Baker made the point that, after we are adopted by God, the church belongs to the heavenly Jerusalem. “No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering” (Heb. 12: 22 NLT). Paul wrote that we already “… have come …” (Heb. 12: 22 NLT).
I know. That kind of threw me for a moment. I figured that was reserved to eternity. Baker argues that, since we have the promise of that and Jesus is Redeemer, we can start claiming it now.
We do know that this is where God dwells. “Why gaze with envy, you mountain peaks, at the mountain God desired for his abode? The LORD will dwell there forever!” (Ps. 68: 16 CSB).
The Church Above
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Phil. 3: 20-21 NIV)
We look forward to that day when the church is called home. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (I Cor. 13: 12 ESV).
We know Jesus said that He was going back to prepare for our arrival. “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also” (Jn. 14: 2-3 CSB).
“On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city. Salvation is established as walls and ramparts” (Isa. 26: 1 CSB).
On that day, we will be made perfect. “For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy” (Heb. 10: 14 NLT). Perfect means holy, sanctified, and righteous.
Why is God making us perfect? “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus” (II Tim. 1: 9 NLT).
Membership to God’s church is available to all — if we accept it. “For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us” (Eph. 2: 19 NLT).
The Household of God
“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Eph. 1: 5 NLT)
Wherever we reside — on earth or in heaven — we are God’s. He has adopted us as His children. We didn’t do anything to earn this privilege. We admitted our sins, believed Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer, and confessed God as Sovereign Lord. We accepted His gift of salvation He made through His grace.
Because we accepted His gift, we are part of God’s family. “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named” (Eph. 3: 14-15 ESV).
God is our Father, and Jesus is our elder brother. “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Rom. 8: 29 NLT).
Families take care of each other. “All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had” (Ac. 4: 32 NLT). To me, that means their relationships and the needs of others was more important than what they owned.
Some believe becoming a member of God’s family is more like being a slave. The reasoning behind this is probably because we have to submit to God’s Will.
However, that is not the case. “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’” (Rom. 8: 15 NIV).
In fact, the opposite is true. We have now have a freedom when we are a child of God that we don’t have when we are a member of the Gentile church. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (Jn. 8: 36 ESV).
This freedom is all because God loves us and has designed a way for our relationships with Him to be restored.
Making the Connections
In this crazy time we are living through right now, it has become obvious that the church is more than a building. It is more the family.
When the church doors were shuttered at the beginning of this pandemic, I bet there were a few who thought/hoped the church would just go away quietly. It didn’t.
The church is more than a building because worship is more than five songs, a three-point sermon, passing the collection plate, and announcements.
Does the church need to do a better job of being less judgmental? Yes. Does it have to condone others breaking God’s laws and commandments? No.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
We’ve been asking these questions all along so we can prepare for when we are asked. Here is the worksheet again. What would you say about only members of God’s church being those He has adopted?
- What does the Scriptures say?
- What do I believe?
- Why do I believe the same/differently than the Scriptures?
- What are the talking points when witnessing to a non-believer?
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
How Do We Apply This?
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Father. You are Sovereign God. Lord, we want to live for You here in this world. It is hard, Lord. Strengthen us. Help us to grow so that we will be prepared for our lives with You for eternity. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
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