20/07/2022 Wednesday

BIBLE BASICS
Church: Introduction Review
Church: Its Roots
How did the first church begin?
Jesus laid the foundation of the first church
▰ Jesus laid the foundation for the first church during His ministry.
▻ He chose apostles who later became church leaders (Lu 6:13).
▻ He taught His apostles His doctrine (Mr 9:31).
▻ He gave them the baptism ordinance (Mt 28:19).
▻ He gave them the Lord’s Supper ordinance (Mt 26:26-30).
▻ He taught them about church discipline (Mt 18:15-17)
▻ He promised to give them the Holy Spirit to help them (Jn 14:16-17).
▰ Because Jesus was only laying the foundation, He never called His disciples and followers a church.
Jesus laid the foundation of the first church
▰ Jesus became the foundation of the church by atoning for sin.
▻ On the cross, Jesus paid the debt of sin for all mankind. By His resurrection, Jesus justified believers and gave them eternal life. By providing salvation, He IS
the foundation of the church. (1 Corinthians 3:11) “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
▻ Christ is the chief corner stone of the foundation. (Ephesians 2:20) “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being
the chief corner stone;”
Jesus laid the foundation of the first church
▻ Christ’s resurrection ended the Old Testament and opened the New Testament. (1 Corinthians 11:25) “After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had
supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”
▰ The first local church began on the Day of Pentecost.
Bible evidence that the church started on Pentecost
▰ While some good Baptist brethren teach that Christ started the church during His ministry, this view has several problems.
▻ Jesus’ words, “I will build my church” are in the future tense. He did not say, “I am building my church.”
▻ The Holy Spirit is vital to the church, and God did not send Him until Pentecost.
Bible evidence that the church started on Pentecost
▰ The local church did not begin in the Old Testament, yet Christ lived and died in the Old Testament and rose again to begin the New Testament.
▻ The church could not start before the cross.
▻ Christ, by His death and resurrection, was the mediator between the Old and New Testaments.
▻ (Hebrews 9:15) “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, …”
Bible evidence that the church started on Pentecost
▰ There are six distinct ways that God has dealt with His people since creation and another yet to come. We call these dispensations.
▻ Each contains a command, then a judgment, and finally God’s provision. The provision at the end of the Law was Christ’s atonement on the cross.
▻ The new dispensation of the church age had to follow the cross.
▻ A study of Bible dispensations shows that the ekklesia could not begin before Christ’s resurrection.
Dispensations Overview
Local churches are the focus from Pentecost onward
▰ The first mention of an established local church is just after Pentecost.
▻ (Acts 2:47) “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”
▻ From this point onward, local churches are the central focus of the New Testament.
Local churches are the focus from Pentecost onward
▰ The local church is God’s program for the church age dispensation.
▻ In the New Testament, every form of ministry operated through a local church.
▻ Churches sent out missionaries, ordained preachers, evangelised the lost, maintained church discipline, shared the Lord’s Supper, conducted baptisms, cared
for widows, collected aid for poor saints, met for prayer, etc.
A local church is to be like a spiritual home
▰ A biblical physical home is where a person eats, learns, is loved, fellowships, feels secure, learns to work, does family things together, and is
disciplined when in error.
▰ In many ways, a local church is a Christian’s spiritual home.
▻ It nourishes his soul with spiritual food.
▻ It teaches him how to live to the glory of God.
▻ It helps him feel loved by God and by fellow believers.
A local church is to be like a spiritual home
▻ It gives him fellowship with like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ.
▻ It protects him from doctrinal error.
▻ It gives him opportunities and shows him how to serve the Lord.
▻ It confronts him when he does wrong to restore him to fellowship.
Neglecting the local church is not biblical
▰ God ordained that the local church is to be the Christian’s home through which he serves the Lord.
▰ Sadly, today many Christians live as if the local church is unimportant.
▻ Many attend church, but they do not join.
▻ Others join but never get involved.
▻ A popular trend is to attend home Bible studies instead of attending church.
Neglecting the local church is not biblical
▻ Others watch or listen to sermons on media instead of attending church.
▻ Many give to religious organisations, but do not give their tithe and offerings to a local church.
▻ Others are involved in evangelism, kids clubs, radio/TV ministries, mission outreaches, etc. outside the guidance and protection of a local church. This is not the
plan God ordained in the Bible. We need to live by the Bible. All of your ministries and mine should be run through our local church, which is like our spiritual
home.
Church: Introduction Review
When did Christ lay the foundation for the first church?
During his earthly ministry
When does your pastor believe the church started?
On the Day of Pentecost
What do dispensations have to do with the start of the church?
The law ended at the Cross and the church began in the New Testament
How is a local church like a Christian’s spiritual home?
It nourishes, teaches, helps, protects, fellowship, service opportunities, corrects
Let’s Get Practical
▰ Why do you think Christ created a local church rather than some other means for the nurture and admonition of believers?