January 15, 2012 AM Message Page 1 Dr. Don Gommesen “The Church of the Living God” 1 Timothy 3:14-15 INTRO: Last Sunday we asked the question: Why are we here? What are we aiming at as God’s church in this place? As we looked at these verses last time, we learned that we create an atmosphere of spiritual growth by seeking to continually be God’s family inn this place. Today we will look at that the second picture that Paul uses. He says we are also “the church of the living God.” We will look at this picture and try to understand it and what it means to us as we try to be God’s church in this place. I. God’s Church II. The Church of the living God I. God’s Church A. Our text says: “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God , which is the church of the living God , the pillar and support of the truth.” We encourage an atmosphere of spiritual growth by (1) making our being God’s family a priority. We also create an atmosphere of spiritual growth by (2) recognizing that we are “the church of the Living God, ” and living out the implications of that identity. B. This is my favorite description of the Lord’s church. We are indeed the church of the living God. Ekklesia is an interesting word. In secular Greek it meant the “town council” which consisted of all of the citizens of the Greek
Transcript
January 15, 2012 AM Message Page 1 Dr. Don Gommesen
“The Church of the Living God” 1 Timothy 3:14-15
INTRO:
Last Sunday we asked the question: Why are we here? What are we aiming at as God’s church in this place? As we looked at these verses last time, we learned that we create an atmosphere of spiritual growth by seeking to continually be God’s family inn this place. Today we will look at that the second picture that Paul uses. He says we are also
“the church of the living God.”
We will look at this picture and try to understand it and what it means to us as we try to be God’s church in this place. I. God’s Church II. The Church of the living God I. God’s Church
A. Our text says:
“I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”
We encourage an atmosphere of spiritual growth by (1) making our being
God’s family a priority. We also create an atmosphere of spiritual growth by
(2) recognizing that we are “the church of the Living God,” and living out the implications of that identity.
B. This is my favorite description of the Lord’s church. We are indeed the church of the living God. Ekklesia is an interesting word. In secular Greek it meant the “town council” which consisted of all of the citizens of the Greek
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City States. But because they did not have telephones, television, or even radio, the way that the citizens came out from the rest of the folks in the city was when a crier went through the town and “called them out!” When the
church was born, the writers of the New Testament adopted this word and redefined it to describe the church.
1. Who then is the church? (1) The church is made up of the people whom have been called out of darkness and into the light of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. (2) So then, the church is those who Jesus described as His sheep when He said,
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
2. In the organizational sense the church is the folks who have bound themselves together as a body, organized under the leadership of qualified officers, to worship the Lord and to accomplish His will in the church.
C. The Lord created His church to accomplish several functions.
1. One function is the function of reproducing itself. Matthew 28:19-20 says:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”
2. Another function of the church is to love the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Revelation 2:1-4 tells us:
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lamp stands, says this: ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for
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My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”
3. The last function we will look at leads nicely into point two. The church was created to help us worship God. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says,
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.”
The Greek word translated temple means the dwelling place of God. God is in the midst of His church and He is worship in the midst of the church.
II. The Church of the living God
A. The waning in 1 Corinthians 3 shows us how serious God is about His church. Paul tried to emphasize this here in out text when he described the church as the “church of the LIVING GOD.”
B. To grasp Paul’s point we need to think about how this phrase is used in the Bible.
1. It is used to describe our God in contrast to dead idols. Jeremiah writes in Jeremiah 10.10
“But the LORD is the true God; He is the LIVING GOD and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.”
The living God does not stand by and do nothing. No He is alive and powerful and He is active in the affairs of His people. He is angry at sin and judges it! Unlike dead idols who can do nothing!
2. Second, it is used to underline the fact that God is alive and not silent! This fact is the source of David’s confidence in the face of 9'9" Goliath. 1
Samuel 17:36
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“Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of THE LIVING GOD.”
This Living God was so real to David that the LORD was his weapon against Goliath
“Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’”
3. The Apostle Paul used this term in the New Testament to underline the reality that we can have a relationship with this Living God! 2 Corinthians 6:16
“And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’”
This is the God of the church! He is there. He is not silent nor is He inactive. He will deal with anyone who messes with His church.
What do we learn here? 1. First, God is uniquely interested in His Church. This is because those who are His church have been purchased at a great price. Paul talked to the Ephesian Elders at Miletus and said,
“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” Acts 20:28.
Christ died to save us so that we can be a part of His church. 2. God is in the midst of His church. We read in Matthew 18 that where two or three are gathered in His name Christ is right there in the midst. He is working in and through His church. Martin Luther wrote: “Of the living God. It has this title because it is His house. You see what a critical matter it is to hold the church in contempt or to neglect it. When one despises the church, he despises God.”
