Living in the Church Part I

Living in the Local Church Part I

 

 

For our guests we are in a series going through the first letter that the apostle Paul wrote to a young pastor named Timothy. We are in chapter 3 and going to be reading verses 14-16 this morning. Before we read, let's pause and ask God for His blessing on His word and our hearts.

 

1 Timothy 3:14-16

 

I want to ask you something: what do you think of when you think of the church? How would you describe the perfect church? If you were shopping for a church, what would you consider most important to find in that church? What is the church about? Before we consider what Paul says the church is about, let's take a humorous look at what the church isn't about!

 

Me Church DVD

 

I have to admit I wouldn't mind the buff and the wax part. While few people would probably put it as bluntly as this ad does, there is a strong current that says the church is about me. Many churches scramble to please as many people as possible. There is a logical connection: if the church is about me, then it should revolve around my needs and my preferences.

 

But we find a very different picture of the church in 1Timothy. Paul is telling Timothy why he wrote this letter - all the instructions and teaching in the letter is to help them know how ought to conduct themselves in the church. But appropriate conduct is defined and directed in large part by our context. In other words, behavior that is appropriate at Healthworks wouldn't be appropriate in Applebee's. If someone started stretching out and doing sit-ups in the aisle of Applebee's it might be frowned upon. We act differently at a football game than we would at a funeral. Appropriate conduct is defined and directed by our context. So Paul says how we ought to behave in light of what the church is: The household of God...the church of the living God. Ultimately the church isn't about me or you. It doesn't belong to you or me. It's about God and it belongs to God. God calls the shots - or in more biblical language, He is Lord of the church. Jesus Christ is the head of the church.

 

Our manner of living

 

Pause a moment here: when Paul speaks of behavior and conduct, we may think in terms of rules: walk, don't run, talk softly, don't bring coffee into the sanctuary. Like parents telling children to behave - we might think Paul is saying, put on your best behavior because we're going to church.

 

Those definitions don't carry the full meaning. It's more than your "best behavior". Our manner of living is closer to the idea. How we are to live in local church is the idea - what life in local church should look like. Letter and instructions guide us how we are to live life in local church - in light of what the church is.

 

I.                  The household of God (vs 15)

 

Our manner of living in the household of God. One of the characteristics of the church is that it is a family - family of God. I remember a sweet old song from years past:

 

I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,

I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood!

Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,

I'm so glad I'm a part of the family,

The Family of God

 

This isn't a cliché; it is our spiritual status because through Jesus Christ we have been adopted as children of God. Listen to Paul's admonition in Romans 8:15-16

 

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" 15

 

Abba is an intimate Aramaic term for father. It is word abba Jesus used when he spoke to His Father. It's the intimate word for father - similar to our term, daddy. Our spirit of fear has been replaced by a spirit of adoption - we are God's children and He is our abba, our Father.

 

 16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God...

 

The Spirit of God not only regenerates us so that we might be children of God, but He also testifies to our hearts that we might know we are children of God. Every true Christian is a son or a daughter of God. They call God their Father.

 

That makes us brothers and sisters with each other. Our conduct ought to reflect the family nature of the church. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. That doesn't mean we have to use title "brother" or "sister". I realize that some churches have a tradition of calling one another "brother Bill" or Sister Susan". There's nothing wrong with that if that is tradition, but to me it seems artificial and it isn't necessary. The brotherly, sisterly ties go far deeper than titles - and in fact, titles can be a shallow substitute for pursuing the reality of family in the local church.

 

It also doesn't mean that if we are truly a family there will be nothing but peace and harmony, or that if there are problems and if we sin against one another, it's a sign that somehow the church isn't truly a family. How many families here have only peace and harmony 24/7? If they don't, does that mean they are not a family?

 

Many of us can relate to the guy that observed that Winston Churchill's immortal wartime words, "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills" sounded a lot like his family vacation!

 

Brothers and sisters do squabble and argue - in fact, they fight (often on beaches and in the streets)! It is regrettable and needs to be addressed, but when my children fight and argue, I don't take it as a sign that we have ceased to be a family. We are a family of sinners, so it is not all peace and harmony. Sinners sin.

 

Here's what it means: the atmosphere ought to be one of growing and sincere love. If you love Jesus and I love Jesus, we ought to love each other. And the shallowness and weakness of our love for one another reveals the shallowness and weakness of our love to and for Jesus - but it doesn't mean we aren't his, or that we aren't brothers and sisters. It means we need to grow and that's what doing life together in the church is meant to accomplish.

 

There is no such thing as "instant love". Love grows in soil of real life lived together. Of going through trials together. Sharing joys and mountaintops and valleys and sorrows and failures and fears with one another. Sinning against each other and genuinely forgiving one another from the heart. In that soil, love grows and deepens.

 

There is a touching illustration by Gregg Somerville. He shares how as the older brother he tormented his younger brother Gray. He rototilled the ground with his face in a wrestling match, he pulled his tooth out with pliers, he even got him drunk at a Christian camp. Amazing he still speaks with him. But he goes on to say I have a grievance of my own with Gray.

 

My relationship with Gray has almost ruined me as far as other friendships are concerned. With the exception of my wife, there's nobody I can talk to like I talk to Gray. There's nobody else with whom I'd walk for miles along the top of Droop Mountain, late at night, kicking gravel and grappling with the universe. It's unfair, but next to him my other friendships seem shallow.

 

And I think I know why. Our love grew in proportion to our conflict...Have you ever tried gluing two slick surfaces together? The bond is weak. If you first scratch or scuff those surfaces, though, you'll have a hard time pulling them apart. That's what happened with Gray and me.

 

Our bond could not be stronger: Christ. God uses ups and downs of life to deepen bond. And even our conflict and sin, when walked through with a desire to glorify God and love one another, can serve to scuff the surface of our relationships so that the bond in Christ grows even stronger. Family.

 

II.              The church of the living God (vs. 15)

 

This name emphasizes the "corporate" nature of the church - the church isn't an "I", it's a "we". We (together) are the called out ones, the ekklesia. We are a people. We're not used to thinking in such terms in America. We are so individualistic - we prize our independence and individualism. But stop and search your heart: doesn't something stir within when you think of belonging to a people? God did not create us to live our lives alone or seek to accomplish and achieve everything alone.

 

God relates to us individually, but also as a people. When Paul says the church of the living God, he is drawing from the Old Testament picture of God's presence being with His people.

 

Faith that is aware of His presence

 

Throughout the OT we see God's people energized and moving powerfully when they are filled with a sense of faith that God is with them. In fact, so often when God raised up a champion - whether it was Moses, or Gideon, or David, they imparted to the people a revitalized faith that the living God was among them. Gideon took 300 men and by God's supernatural intervention they routed the Midianites - suddenly as the Midianites were on the run, every Israelite was a warrior! Why? They saw and believed that God was with them. David killed Goliath (and we're going to touch on the Old Testament meaning of some of these stories next week), suddenly the cowering soldiers hiding in their tents were running and smiting the enemy right and left. What changed? They saw through their champion that God was with them.

 

Our champion is none other than Jesus who has defeated death, sin, and the devil on our behalf and he calls us to fight the good fight of faith knowing the victory has already been won!

 

God's presence is active in greater or lesser ways to bless His people. If there is hidden sin, disunity, or prayerlessness, His activity will probably be less. If there is obedience, faith, and prayer, there will probably be manifested a greater degree of His presence.

 

There are Sundays when we really feel Lord's sweet presence and power. There are other Sundays when we don't. But we are not talking about a subjective sense here, but an objective reality! We are the church of the living God and God's presence is with us because of what Jesus Christ our Champion accomplished on the cross - not because of our performance. God isn't fickle - the days we don't feel His presence He is still there.

 

It is vitally important as a people that we consistently lift eyes (and encourage one another to lift our eyes) to see the living God in our midst. God is speaking to all of us: when we are downcast, defeated, powerless against sin, discouraged, even despairing, all of that doesn't say as much about us as it does about our view of God. We are the church of the living God. God is with us. We need to lift our eyes and lift our faith to believe that.

 

III.          The foundation and the pillar of truth (vs 15)

 

The third description Paul gives of the church goes from highlighting its nature to highlighting its purpose and borrows from an architectural metaphor. The church which by nature is the household of God and the church of the living God is in its purpose the pillar and foundation of the truth.

 

The foundation is the bedrock a building sits on - it is the foundation that keeps it standing and stable even in storms and high winds. Pillars are that which not only support the roof but also thrust the roof up high so it can be seen from a distance.

 

In this imagery of foundation and pillar we see the twin duties of the church: to defend the truth and to declare the truth. We are a family, we are a people, we have a distinct mission and purpose and that mission and purpose are bound up with the truth. If we lose the truth we lose it all.

 

Guard and defend the truth

There is no doubt Paul is thinking of the attack that the Ephesian church has already gone through with certain teachers swerving away from the gospel. They are to guard the truth from all frontal attacks that would seek to destroy and subtle heresies that would erode away at the truth little by little. The church is to hold the truth steady in the midst of storms and attacks.

 

We need to stand for the truth - to guard and defend the truth against all attacks. This means there will be controversy and disagreement that is worth having. Piper writes:

 

"Some controversy is crucial for the sake of life-giving truth. Running from it is a sign of cowardice. But enjoying it is usually a sign of pride."

 

We are meant to defend what we love, and the church is called to love and defend the truth, for our very existence as the church depends on the safeguarding of the truth. If we lose the truth, we lose it all.

 

Declare the truth

 

Not only are we to defend the truth but we are to declare the truth to a lost and dying world (pillars). To thrust the truth high up so it can be seen from a distance. Our mission is to hold the truth up high so that it can be seen from a distance.

 

The Ephesian church would have a vivid idea of what Paul was talking about because in Ephesus there was a temple dedicated to goddess Diana that was considered one of the seven wonders of the world. Its roof was supported by 127 pillars that were 60ft in height and 6 feet in diameter. The same way that the temple was thrust high above other buildings, the church is to thrust truth of Jesus Christ high above all other teachings.

 

In verse 16 we see that the truth we are to hold high is just this: the Person of Jesus Christ. Our message and our mission is Jesus Christ. As said in earlier message, for Paul it is Christ, Christ, Christ. He never moves away from Him. Verse 16 is the pinnacle of this letter and contains treasure that we don't want to hurry through, so going to continue with this verse in two weeks.

 

 

Application questions:

 

1. Do you think of your Christianity mostly in individualistic terms or in corporate terms?

 

1. Ask bluntly: are you sold out for the church? Passionately, whole-heartedly, recklessly sold out for the church?

 

1.  
   • You might say, "no, I'm sold out for Jesus." Stop and think: Jesus was sold out for the church. Laid down his life - not for a bunch of individuals, but for His bride. His people. His beloved. Loves us individually (don't get me wrong) but Jesus lived and died and rose again and ascended and gave gifts to men to build his church. He's coming back for a bride without spot or blemish - his church.
   • Be honest: can we really be sold out for Jesus (committed) and neglect that which is most important to Him?