The Church, Part 2
April 22, 2007
Mike Larsen
Adult Sunday School
1 Timothy 3:15
Open your Bible to: 1 Timothy 3:15 “…that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Introduction: Last week we looked at 1 Timothy 3:15 and saw that the Church is the House and Household of God and the Church of the living God. It is of God and belongs to God. This week we will look at the rest of that verse and see that the church is the Pillar and ground of the truth.
I.
The
Pillar of the Truth
Paul’s next
descriptive name for the church – “pillar” (from the Greek stulos) – tells us
that it actually holds up the truth. If the pillar of a building is removed,
as Samson proved in his last act in the Philistine temple (Judg. 16:29-30), the
building will topple and the people inside will be injured or killed. The
implication of Paul’s words is that the truth would fall into disaster if the
church did not exist. Of course that fearful event will never occur, because
God has promised that His church will always endure (Matt. 16:18). “Upon
this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.”
A.
God has
ordained that both the truth and its “pillar” will stand forever (1 Peter 1:25; Eph 3:21).
We already discussed how the Word of God is preserved but so is the church
which is the pillar of the truth.
As Paul’s words were designed to help Timothy grasp the gravity of right
conduct in the church, so they are meant to convince us of the indispensable
role that the church plays in our individual lives. Our own relationship to
God and His truth is in mortal danger if church does not occupy its intended
place in our lives. So when we consider those who abandon the church as a
means of spiritual growth, it is highly unlikely that they are truly holding to
the truth or cultivating a meaningful relationship with God by themselves. In
light of 1 Timothy 3:15, it is much more likely that their faith has crumbled –
because they have torn away the pillar that holds up the truth.
B. How does the church function as a pillar of the truth? The following are some ways that the church has been designed to uphold the truth of God:
a. Revelation: God chose to reveal the truth of
the New Testament in and through the church. Paul wrote, “Unto me, who
am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of
Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship 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 might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According
to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ” (Eph. 3:8-11).
Jesus said he would send the Holy Spirit to lead the Apostles into all
truth and to foretell the future, etc.
1 Corinthians 12:28 says, “God hath set some in the
church, first apostles, secondarily prophets,…” and those are the men
whose mouths and pens brought us His inspired Word as we discussed in the
lessons on the inspiration and preservation of the Word of God. We should add,
however, that the apostles and prophets served only as the foundation for the
church (Eph. 2:20), and therefore that ministry of revelation is not
ongoing today. The faith was “once delivered unto the saints” in the
first century (Jude 3, Rev. 22:18-19), and therefore any church claiming
to add subsequent revelation to the Scriptures is a false church.
So God revealed His truth to and through His church. His truth is preserved in
the Bible. We have the truth!
b. Proclamation. Although the church
has finished its task of revealing the truth of God, it remains the instrument
He has chosen to proclaim that truth to the world.
The church does not dispense saving grace but it does dispense the means of
saving grace.
God employs but one means to impart faith to men. It is His Word, the Bible. “Faith
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).
It is the sacred duty of the church to proclaim that Word. The Holy Spirit
does the work in the heart of the sinner who hears the word as preached by the
church. Believers are born of God through the church by the preaching of the
Word!
Obviously most gospel proclamation takes place outside the gathering of the
church, but in Scripture it is always the church that initiates and sanctions
such evangelism. Acts 13:1-3 tells us that the church at Antioch
officially ordained Paul and Barnabas as missionaries, and Paul said later that
Titus “has also been chosen by the churches to travel with us” (2
Cor. 8:19). They did not just go off and do there own “Para church” thing
spreading the good news. No, they were attached to and sent from the local
church.
God has also designed the church to be the institution in which the Word is
proclaimed to believers. Acts 2:42 says that they continued
stedfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship..
Ephesians 4:11-12 tells us that the church has been given “pastors
and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the
building up of the body of Christ.”
c. Administration: The church also acts
as a pillar of the truth because only in it can God’s people enjoy the
structure and order He has devised for their worship and growth. God has never
provided instructions for how a para-church organization should function, let
alone for how people can worship and grow totally on their own. But He has
revealed an exhaustive plan regarding how the church should function for His
glory and the good of its members (1 Tim. 3:15). That plan includes guidelines
for baptism and the Lord’s Supper (which are ordinances of the church), giving,
leadership, worship, preaching, men’s and women’s roles, raising children, and
many other essential issues. The bottom line is that God has designed the
church to be the context in which we move from sinfulness to holiness.
Attempting to grow in Christ outside of the church is like trying to learn to
swim without ever getting into the pool!
d. Protection: Finally, the church
upholds the truth by protecting it from error. It judges the teaching of false
prophets, declares them to be divisive, and renounces them if they persist in
their heresy (Rom. 16:17; Titus 3:9-11; 2 John 9-11). Notice we are not
to wish well a false prophet or a person pushing a false religion! We should
challenge and correct their lies. Anything less is aiding and abedding a person
who is out to destroy lives.
When a dispute arises between two brothers, the church is called to adjudicate
their case and determine who is right and wrong (1 Cor. 6:1-6). This protects
the church from having it’s reputation tarnished by unbelievers who would wish
to do harm to the church of God. It also protects the Truth by causing
believers to understand that the Word of God is the final authority over man.
And the church also protects the truth from the harmful influence of those who
live ungodly lifestyles. Jesus said that if such a person refuses to respond
to repeated confrontation, we should “tell it to the church; and if he refuses
to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a
tax-gatherer. Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt.
18:17-18; 1 Cor. 5: 2Thess. 3:6-15).
So the church protects the truth of God by taking action against ungodly
people in our midst. This protects against the world mocking God, His truth,
and His church.
Only the church is given the ability and authority by God to take that kind of
action against error and sin, and without it the truth is left unprotected to a
great degree. When the pillar is gone the truth is much more likely to be
misrepresented, compromised, and ignored.
II. The Ground of the Truth. (The Support of the Truth)
At first glance this description of the church seems identical to the last, but it does translate an entirely different Greek word (hedraioma) and communicates a significantly different shade of meaning. The ground here means the stable support or foundation. The Pillar props up, and proclaims the truth. It can do that because it has the complete backing and stability of the everlasting support and foundation of the truth.
Why did Paul choose this word in his attempt to help Timothy realize the primacy and importance of the local church? He wanted Timothy to know that the church is the one institution God has promised to preserve throughout all time. It will always endure, and even succeed, regardless of the many assaults and catastrophes that threaten it. Jesus affirmed this fact in the most definite terms when He said, “I will build my church; and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). And Ephesians 3:21 says that God will receive “glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.”
The truth that the church will always be built and blessed by God Himself provides a tremendous source of hope and confidence to us as Christians. It also presents a convincing argument for the idea that we should direct our energies and efforts primarily toward the edification and growth of the local church rather than organizations and institutions outside of it. God has promised to preserve and bless the church, but endeavors of Christians in those other arenas will not necessarily bear lasting fruit.
As America slides further into secularism and away from God we can rest assured that God’s glorious plan of building His spiritual kingdom will go on undaunted, regardless of whether America retains its religious liberty or not. I thank God I live in a free country where I have the freedom to worship God but God does not need America to have His church worship Him! His church will endure forever!
If we fight for the salvation of souls and the edification of God’s people (particularly in the context of the local church), our hope will never be shaken, because those blessed works will continue even if the culture around us takes a nose dive. Because the church acts as a permanent foundation for the truth of God, it will always remain an exciting and fulfilling place in which to serve Him.
The dwelling place and family of God
The body greatly beloved by each member of the Trinity.
The indispensable pillar holding up the truth of the Scriptures.
The incomparably stable, timeless foundation of our service for Christ.
What more could be said about the importance of the church
than What Paul communicated in these four vivid descriptions? It only remains
to ask ourselves whether the church is as important to us as it is to the Lord,
and how we can make sure that it holds the rightful place in our lives and
ministries.
Closing:
The Body of Christ
We make up the body of Christ and Jesus is our head. How can a person be in
the body but hate the body? How can a person say they love the head of the
body they claim to be part of, but hate the body itself? They would be hating part
of themselves right? No man ever hateth his own body Eph 5:29 (If
he hates the body he is not part of the body)
We are the bride of Christ right?
Has there ever been a woman who said, “I just love my husband so much. I love
the fact that he is my husband. I would not want it any other way than to have
him for my husband.” Then in the next sentence she says, “I hate the fact that
I am his wife?”
That is the same thing as a person claiming to be a Christian, a part of the bride
of Christ, and then saying they hate believers or the assembly of believers.
They say, “I love Jesus as my husband but I hate that I am His wife.”
That wife would be lying and so is the so called Christian.
We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the
brethren; He that loveth not his brother abides in death.