Jesus, The Christ - summary

Mathew 16:16-18 are the verses we have been looking at as we try to come to a greater understanding of what 'church' is all about. Here are the verses:

Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

In this short passage of Scripture, we saw that Jesus was referred to as the Christ, and the Son of the living God. We also saw that Jesus promised that he would build his church. If we desire to grasp what the local church within the universal Church is all about, this seems to be a great place to dig in! We separated our study of this passage into these four questions:

1. What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ?
2. What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of the living God?
3. What does it mean that this is Jesus' church?
4. What does it mean that Jesus is the one building the church?

We spent some time digging into question number one, and we divided that into three sections by looking at this sentence:

Acknowledging Jesus 'the Christ' refers to the work that He accomplished as Savior of our souls; the power of this work is proclaimed throughout the Word of God, and can be described in this way: Jesus redeemed and reconciled us through His atonement for our sins.

I wanted to take the opportunity to look back at the past three sections before we move forward, so I have included short summaries of each one.

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Redemption

Christ, through His sacrifice, secured for us an eternal redemption. We were, from the fall of Adam and Eve, separated from God. Redemption, in the Greek, is defined this way:

    - ransom in full, that is, riddance, deliverance

    - to buy up, that is, ransom;  to rescue from loss (improve opportunity)

    - to ransom

    - a ransoming

We saw the word ransom come up in this definition of redeemed, and looked at its definition: 

    - a consideration paid or demanded for the release of someone or something from captivity

So, a ransom had to be paid, in order for us to be rescued from our condemned state. Not only were we, in our lost state, unable recognize our need for redemption, we were not capable of paying our own ransom. 

Jesus was and is the only one able to pay the ransom in full, and He did! He satisfied our debt before God, allowing us to enter into a relationship with Him free of charge, regardless of the depth of our debt! Jesus alone paid the ransom, and set us free from our bondage...we are eternally redeemed! 
  

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Reconciliation

The English definition of reconcile is this: to cause people or groups to become friendly again after an argument or disagreement, to restore to friendship or harmony. 

In light of that definition, we also looked at 
  

restore:  to put or bring back into existence or use, to bring back to or put back into a former or original state, to put again in possession of something 

  
harmony:  a pleasing combination or arrangement of different things, described by correspondence: a direct relationship to or with something or between two things. also described by accord: to bring into agreement, to reconcile.

We looked at reconciliation in the context of human relationships as described in the Bible. These passages were about restoring a relationship that used to be good, bringing it back into harmony. We noted that you cannot restore or reconcile something that never was...if a relationship never existed, it cannot be restored. 

Then, we moved on to reconciliation in the spiritual sense, what it means to be reconciled to God. When Jesus paid our ransom, and redeemed us, He made it possible for us to enter into a reconciled relationship with God. This relationship is restored to harmony...a harmony that existed between man and God before the fall!  

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Atonement

We have been redeemed by Christ, our ransom has been paid in full. Redemption means that our relationship with God has been reconciled, restored to harmony...we are no longer enemies of almighty God. However, redemption and reconciliation are not possible without atonement.

We looked at several Old Testament passages that talk about atonement, and the definition of atonement:  to expiate (to extinguish incurred guilt), to cover, to pardon

We also looked at the reason that blood was required as atonement for sin:  Hebrews 9:22 states: Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 

When we moved to the New Testament, the word atonement isn't used a lot, but the word propitiation is used several times. Propitiation means:  'an atoning victim' - meaning the one sacrificed for atonement...Jesus Christ.

In the Bible, atonement for sins means blood is shed. In the Old Testament, animals were sacrificed, they were the propitiation, the atoning victims. In the New Testament, Jesus was our propitiation, the sacrifice given for sin that redeemed us and reconciled us to God!

The entire post on atonement can be seen here: 
http://weaponoftruth.blogspot.com/2014/12/jesus-christ-atonement.html

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Now, how does this apply to the local church?  The local church is a body of believers, a flock following the true Shepherd. If we proclaim the name of Jesus, then we accept Him as the Christ. As we saw before, acknowledging Jesus the Christ refers to the work that He accomplished as Savior of our souls; the power of this work is proclaimed throughout the Word of God, and can be described in this way: Jesus redeemed and reconciled us through His atonement for our sins.

A local body must recognize as foundational doctrine that Jesus:

              1. paid our ransom for us, fully redeemed us.

              2. brought us into a restored relationship with God, fully reconciled.

              3. was our propitiation, that His atoning sacrifice was the final sacrifice,  
                         fully sufficient to cover our sins.

It's also important to know that Jesus alone was capable of these powerful works, and He alone accomplished them, they are complete for every child of God. This is what makes Jesus alone the Christ.  Adding or taking away from these finished works would deny Jesus as the Christ, because by definition, the Christ means: Savior or Messiah, referring to one who has set others free, in this case The only One able!

 

 

Jesus, The Christ - Atonement

In our effort to gain biblical understanding as to what a church based on and rooted in God's Word should look like, we are digging into Mathew 16:16-18. We saw in these verses that Jesus was proclaimed as 'the Christ', and that He was proclaimed as the 'Son of the Living God'. We also saw Jesus call the church His church, and that He is the one that will build it.

Here is a list of the four Truths we are looking at:

1. What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ?

2. What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of the living God?

3. What does it mean that this is Jesus' church?

4. What does it mean that Jesus is the one building the church?
We are systematically working our way through these Truths. To begin with, we looked at three things that make Jesus 'the Christ' - Christ meaning the Messiah, the Savior. Recognizing Jesus as 'the Christ' refers to the work that He accomplished as the Savior of our souls.  The power of this work is proclaimed throughout the Word of God, and can be described in this way: Jesus redeemed and reconciled us through His atonement for our sins.

We have looked at our redemption and our reconciliation - both of which were made possible through Jesus Christ. Now, we will look at how these things were made possible through Him, by the atonement for our sins. Without atonement, we would never be able to experience redemption or reconciliation, these rely on Jesus Christ's atoning work being sufficient!

It's clear that understanding and believing in spiritual redemption and reconciliation through Jesus Christ must be foundational doctrines of a church of God that recognizes Jesus as the Christ. The powerful, atoning work of Jesus also must be understood and held as doctrine, in order to truly acknowledge Jesus as the Christ.

------- Old Testament Shadow -------

The word 'atonement' is not used a lot in the New Testament, however we find it many times in the Old Testament. I would like to go the the Old Testament to gain an understanding of what is meant when the word atonement is used.

"Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through seven days shall you ordain them,  and every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement. Also you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall anoint it to consecrate it. Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy."  Exodus 29:35-37

The following passage is from Leviticus 5:6-18:


The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the LORD's offering to make atonement for your lives. You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the LORD, so as to make atonement for your lives."  Exodus 30:15,16

...he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation for the sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.  "But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation for the sin that he has committed two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 

He shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the sin offering. He shall wring its head from its neck but shall not sever it completely, and he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering. 
 
Then he shall offer the second for a burnt offering according to the rule. And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven. "But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for the sin that he has committed a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it and shall put no frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. 

And he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take a handful of it as its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, on the LORD's food offerings; it is a sin offering. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in any one of these things, and he shall be forgiven. And the remainder shall be for the priest, as in the grain offering." 

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the LORD, he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued in silver shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven. 

"If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the LORD's commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realizes his guilt, he shall bear his iniquity. He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for the mistake that he made unintentionally, and he shall be forgiven. 

The above passages from the Old Testament are a very small sampling of how much the idea of atonement is discussed, but I think they give us an better understanding of what is meant by atonement.

The word translated atonement means "to expiate (to extinguish incurred guilt), to cover, to pardon"

When we read these passages in the Old Testament that give instructions on sacrifices, in an attempt to have guilt for sin removed, to be pardoned from sin, we can see that dealing with sin is an absolute necessity in order for us to experience redemption and reconciliation. We also see that these sacrifices are commanded to be offered over and over, they are not a one time sacrifice for all sin.

Why sacrifices? Why so much blood? Hebrews 9:22 states: Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

--------- New Testament Fulfillment --------

With that in mind, let's move to the New Testament. Here, we don't see the word 'atonement' near as often, but the idea is described in very, very powerful ways that absolutely reveal Jesus as 'the Christ', the Savior of our souls.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.  Romans 5:11  - in the King James Version, reconciliation is translated atonement...very interesting!

 ---------- Propitiation --------

'Propitiation' is a word used in the New Testament when referring to 'an atoning victim' - meaning the one sacrificed for atonement...Jesus Christ.

whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. Romans 3:25

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 
1 John 2:2

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  1 John 4:10

It is clear, Jesus is the Christ, the One who went to the cross as the atoning sacrifice, the propitiation  for our sins!

 ---------- Atonement Described ----------

Let's look at Scripture that relays the idea of atonement through description...which gives us a greater understanding of the depth and power of Christ's atoning work!

Beginning with two verses that give us great transition from the Old Testament sacrifice to the New Testament fulfillment:
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Hebrews 9:13,14
 
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Mathew 26:27,28

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Acts 20:28

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.  Romans 5:9

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Colossians 1:19,20

knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.  1 Peter 1:18,19

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.  1 John 1:7

and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood  Revelation 1:5

And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation  Revelation 5:9

I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  
Revelation 7:14

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.  Revelation 12:11

Wow! How can we even begin to grasp the depth of Christ's atoning work!  By His blood, He has purified our conscience, obtained us as His church (the body of Christ), ransomed us, justified and  cleansed us from our sin, we are forgiven, brought us into a relationship of peace with God, and washed our robes white as snow!

Thank you Father, for offering Your Son as propitiation for our sin, thank you for His willingness to go to the cross and finish His atoning work, that we might be so blessed to enter into a relationship with You, the Holy God!

 

---------- The Power of the Blood --------

What made it possible for Jesus to atone for our sins by the shedding of His blood? Many Christians have been brutally murdered for their faith without any ability to atone for any sin. To understand the power of Christ's shed blood, we need to look at what His blood being shed encompassed. When Christ's blood was poured out for our sins, it not only meant a physical death was taking place, but that God's wrath for our sin was being poured out in totality on a perfectly innocent sacrifice. 

I heard a sermon in which Paul Washer described the wrath that was poured out on Christ for our sin. Read through some Old Testament Scripture that describes what God will do to the nations that refuse Him as Lord...complete destruction in ways that seem almost unimaginable...this destruction is what Christ endured. 

Yet, I don't think that was the worst of it. Christ, who had been in perfect fellowship with God the Father for eternity past, experienced for the first time spiritual separation from His Father. This had to be the most crushing thing that Jesus experienced. Imagine, as a child, looking at your father as he crushes you because of what someone else did...then watching as he turns his back and walks away from you. We deserved it, Christ took it. What love, what unconditional love!!

Because Jesus, the only perfectly innocent sacrifice, took on the full wrath of God, His sacrifice was sufficient, His atoning work was complete. Remember looking at Hebrews 9:22 earlier:  Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 

Now, lets look at the verses that follow:  Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.  Hebrews 9:23-26

As the Church of God, and as local churches that make up the Body of Christ, we absolutely must recognize Jesus as 'the Christ'. We absolutely must recognize the work that He accomplished as the Savior of our souls, and the  power of His finished work as it redeemed and reconciled us through His atonement for our sins. 

We dare not, as the church, attempt to 'make better' what we have just looked at in the Word of God - for that would be impossible and an abomination before a Jealous, Holy God. Yet we do it all the time as we try to be 'good enough' to earn God's favor. We are a proud people, we are bent on accomplishing something of worth in this life...so we do 'good things' and convince ourselves that God will recognize them as 'good' and we can feel better about our sinfulness...this is ugly!

Christ redeemed us and reconciled us through His atoning work....apart from anything we have done, are doing, or will do. We are called to rest from our labor of attempting to obtain God's favor, rest in trust and faith that the atoning work of Christ was enough!

Jesus, The Christ - Reconciliation

We are continuing our study into the Truths that must be foundational to both the universal and local church as laid out in Mathew 16:16-18. In this post, we will continue digging in to what it means to accept Jesus as 'the Christ' - as Peter referred to Him in Mathew 16:16.


These are the four truths that must be foundational to the church, the highlighted one indicates the one we are currently looking at:

1. What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ?

2. What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of the living God?

3. What does it mean that this is Jesus' church?

4. What does it mean that Jesus is the one building the church?

In the last post, we looked at the Greek definition of the word Christ: anointed,  Messiah (which means one who is anticipated as, regarded as, or professes to be a savior or liberator). When Peter professed Jesus to be 'the Christ', he was regarding Jesus as the Anointed One that the Old Testament points to so many times. 

We also saw that acknowledging Jesus 'the Christ' refers to the work that He accomplished as Savior of our souls. The power of this work is proclaimed throughout the Word of God, and can be described in this way: Jesus redeemed and reconciled us through His atonement for our sins.

-----------  Reconciliation -----------

The last post was spent digging in to Jesus the Christ, Redeemer. In this post we will look at Jesus the Christ, and what it means to be reconciled through Him.

Let's start by looking at the English definition of reconcile: to cause people or groups to become friendly again after an argument or disagreement, to restore to friendship or harmony. 

     - there are two words used to define reconcile that I also want to look at a little closer: 

restore:  to put or bring back into existence or use, to bring back to or put back into a former or original state, to put again in possession of something 

harmony: a pleasing combination or arrangement of different things, described by correspondence: a direct relationship to or with something or between two things. also described by accord: to bring into agreement, to reconcile.

We can see that the word 'reconcile' carries quite a bit of depth on it's own. Understanding that God does all of this for us, through His Son, is crucial to acknowledging Jesus as the Christ. Through Jesus, we are reconciled to God, our relationship with God is restored, back to it's original state before the fall, a state in which we can live in harmony with God, not in opposition to Him! This Truth must be foundational to the church.

Let's see what God has said about reconciliation in His Word. 

----------- Earthly Examples -----------

To begin, I would like to look at some places that God talks about reconciliation as it applies to everyday living. I think this will help us continue to build an understanding of what it means for something or someone to be 'reconciled'. 

But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him. And the commanders of the Philistines said to him, "Send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here?  1 Sam 29:4
       - In this passage, David has escaped King Saul by fleeing to the land of the Philistines, specifically the city of Gath, and living in agreement there with Achish, the son of the King of Gath. After David has been in Gath for a little over a year, the Philistines gathered for war against Saul and Israel. Achish told David, since he had been living in his land, David was expected to go to war with the Philistines against Israel. The commanders of the Philistine army however, did not approve of this, and made their complaint in 1 Samuel 29:4. 
   - These commanders were aware that King Saul and David did not get along, their relationship was one of conflict and dissension. The commanders recognized that it would be a perfect opportunity for David to seek reconciliation to King Saul by turning against the Philistine army in battle. 
   - In this context, 'to reconcile' is being used to portray the idea of a relationship between two people being repaired or restored...a person to his earthly authority figure. 


And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?'   Acts 7:26 
       -  This verse is in the midst of Stephen's speech, as he works his way through explaining the true meaning of many things that happened in the Old Testament. This particular verse refers to when Moses came upon to two of his fellow men arguing, and he tried to reconcile them...he made the attempt to stop the arguing, in hopes that they would get along. Moses was trying to remove the conflict from the relationship. 


So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.   Mathew 5:23,24
       - The context here is recognizing an issue that has not been dealt with, that may come between a person and his brother. This is dangerous, as it can lead to fractured relationships, sinful thoughts, anger, jealousy, and much more, that Jesus commands us to seek reconciliation immediately, to seek to be in harmony with our brothers and sisters.


To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.  1 Corinthians 7:11
       - Here we see reconciled being used in the context of a husband and wife that have experienced a divorce. For a wife to be reconciled to her husband after divorce would be to seek him as her husband again, to dissolve the conflict, forgiveness to take place, and for two people to enter back into a relationship that has been restored.


So, we have seen several examples of how the Bible portrays this idea of reconciliation in everyday life - the overarching idea is a relationship being repaired. This is important to recognize - in these examples, reconciliation does not take place between two people or two parties who do not know each other. We see reconciliation taking place between two people or two parties who used to know each other and used to get along, but have allowed conflict and dissension to fracture their relationship in some way. Reconciliation is about removing the conflict and dissension in an attempt to again live in agreement with each other, to live in harmony.
   - we have seen restoration used to define reconciliation. This also gives the sense that something is being repaired. Restoration does not happen to something that did not previously exist. Just as one cannot restore a brand new house, a new relationship has nothing to restore...restoration is all about bringing something back to it's former state.

----------- Spiritually Complete -----------

Now that we have looked at the biblical idea of reconciliation between people, let's look at how God describes spiritual reconciliation in His Word!

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Romans 5:10
      - We were in opposition to God, our relationship with Him was one of conflict - we despised Him...but we were reconciled to Him, the relationship was restored, through the death of Christ!

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  2 Corinthians 5:18-20
       - Reconciliation is not simply a side note of salvation...reconciliation is at the center of the Gospel! The fact that we are sinful creatures who somehow can come into reconciliation with a perfectly Holy God cannot be true without God's amazing grace and mercy!

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.  Ephesians 2:14-16
       - Both Jews and Gentiles, Paul says, are reconciled to God, brought into a restored relationship with Him. This reconciliation takes place between us and God as an act of grace by God, and should extend from us to those around us.

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.  And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him  Col 1:19-22
     - Again we see, in our former state, we were alienated from God by our hostile mind and evil deeds...but by the death of Christ the debt was paid! We are reconciled to God - the relationship is one of harmony not conflict!

We have looked at several verses in which God displays the power of spiritual reconciliation. In these verses, there are few different Greek words that are used to describe reconciliation. I want to look at them in order to get the full depth of reconciliation.

apokatallassō - reconcile fully - from the word 'apo' (separation, departure, cessation, completion, 
                 reversal) and the word katallassō, which is one of the words translated 'to reconcile'

katallassō - to change mutually, that is, to compound a difference, reconcile.

katallagē -  exchange, that is, restoration to (the divine) favor: - atonement, reconciliation

As we can see from these definitions, and from the English definition we looked at earlier, the idea of reconciliation is the idea of being fully restored, to have the state of a relationship completely changed. What our relationship with God is (love and harmony) will look completely different than what it was (hostile, fully of conflict and enmity).

Earlier, we saw that restoration is used to define reconciliation, and that restoration can only take place in a relationship that previously existed. This is important both as a warning and an encouragement.

Warning...if you are not a child of God, if you are not yet reconciled to God, don't attempt to convince yourself that your refusal to acknowledge God will cause Him not to exist. God is the center of everything, and our existence is defined by our relationship with God - either one of reconciliation or one of conflict - there are no other options. If you die today, your relationship with God will determine your eternity.

Encouragement...if you are a child of God, how great is our Father's faithfulness! In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve were in the original relationship with God - the relationship of love and harmony. When they ate the fruit and sinned, perfectly representing what each of us would have done, that relationship was fractured...it became one of hostility and conflict. Yet God did not turn His back, but in His perfect plan, had put in place a path of reconciliation, and brought it to completion through His Son - His love is so GREAT!


We can also be encouraged that when God does things, they are done perfectly. When we are redeemed, we are fully redeemed! When we are reconciled and restored, these are done fully and completely. As His children, our relationship with Him is one of full reconciliation and perfect harmony. This doesn't mean that we don't sin, that we don't hinder this relationship - but from God's perspective these divine acts are complete and perfect! We will experience them in their fulness when we shed this earthly body!


Understanding our reconciliation to God is foundational to the church. Becoming a child of God is more than making a decision to include God in our life, it's a powerful transformation of both an individual and a relationship! If, as individuals and as the church, we attempt to paint who we were before Christ in a light that doesn't seem so hostile to God, or if we live out the idea that accepting Christ is merely an addition to our life that doesn't completely change our inner being, then we totally destroy the power of this spiritual reconciliation that is a crucial part of the Gospel! 

Jesus, The Christ - Redeemer

In the last post, we looked at four Truths that are foundational to the Universal Church, and should be foundational to every bible-teaching local church.We are going to dig in to each one of these Truths individually (it will take more than one post for each one), exploring more in depth what they mean and how to apply them to the local church in a way that pursues the glory of God above all else.

All of this is the beginning of our journey into the question "What is church according to God's Word?" We are looking to the Word in an effort to discern what God's design is for the local church within the Universal Church, while recognizing what we as humans may have added or removed. It is important that we be fully aware of anything we are doing (or not doing), or any beliefs/ideas we may hold to, that may rob God of His glory. As always, the purpose of digging into God's Word is that He be most glorified! 

These are the four truths, the highlighted one indicates the one we are currently looking at:

1. What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ?

2. What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of the living God?

3. What does it mean that this is Jesus' church?

4. What does it mean that Jesus is the one building the church?

We looked briefly in the last post at what the word "Christ" means. In Greek, Christ means anointed,  Messiah (which means one who is anticipated as, regarded as, or professes to be a savior or liberator). When Peter professed Jesus to be 'the Christ', he was regarding Jesus as the Anointed One that the Old Testament points to so many times. 

Calling Jesus 'the Christ' refers to the work that He accomplished as Savior of our souls. The power of this work is proclaimed throughout the Word of God, and can be described in this way: Jesus redeemed and reconciled us through His atonement for our sins. 

We will look at each of these three terms in detail, because it's so important that we understand the redemptive, reconciling, and atoning power of Jesus as our Savior - and how all of this reinforces the foundational Truth that Jesus is 'the Christ'. Failure to clearly understand what these descriptions mean will prevent us from fully grasping the power of the work of Jesus as 'the Christ', which opens the door for possible deception to creep in, deception which can ultimately lead to false teaching and false doctrine.

However, we can be encouraged! Jesus promised us that He is building His church on the rock of Truth that He is the Christ! If we keep coming back to these Truths with an earnest desire to know who Jesus is, we can know that the gates of hell will not prevail against us! So let's dig in!

Jesus the Christ - Redeemer

What does it mean to redeem something? According to Websters dictionary, redeemed is defined as:
 - to make (something that is bad, unpleasant, etc.) better or more acceptable
 - to exchange (something, such as a coupon or lottery ticket) for money, an award, etc.

 - to buy back (something, such as a stock or bond)

We see the words redeem, redeemed, and redemption show up a lot in God's Word, both in the Old and New Testament. In Psalms, David talks a lot about redemption in the context of being set free from his enemies. Some examples: 

Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!  Psalm 44:26

Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies! Psalm 69:18

Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to your promise! Psalm 119:154

David also refers to redemption as it applies to being set free from affliction and hardship:

But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity,  2 Samuel 4:9

And the king swore, saying, "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, 1 Kings 1:29

The word that is translated redeem in the verses above is defined this way in the original language: 

to sever, that is, ransom; generally to release, preserve. to rescue. 

The context here is about making something that is unpleasant (or almost unbearable in this case), better or more acceptable. God rescues David (and us) from many dire situations (including condemnation), preserving David (and us) as His children - releasing us from the bondage of sin. This is only possible because Jesus, the Christ, paid the ransom.

 

In Leviticus, the idea of redemption is primarily about a piece of property being bought and returned to the original owner. Take a look:

And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land."If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold.  If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property.

The word redeemer is translated as 'next of kin' in the King James Version, which sheds more light on this passage. The redemption taking place in this passage is by close relation to the original owner. The relatives of the original owner are purchasing his property back for him if he is unable to purchase it back on his own.

We can take away from this Leviticus passage on redemption the idea of buying something back. In Adam and Eve, we were originally a part of God's family. After the fall, we could no longer be in relationship with God.  God's Son, Jesus the Christ, the Redeemer, paid the full price and purchased us.

In the next several verses, we will look at how this transaction or purchase is alluded to in the Old Testament, and how it actually plays out in full power in the New Testament.

---------------- Old Testament promises  ----------------

Say therefore to the people of Israel, 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.  Exodus 6:6

O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.  Psalm 130:7,8

He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name!  Psalm 111:9

Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.  Micah 4:10

For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.  Micah 6:4

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.  Deuteronomy 15:15

----------  New Testament rescue  ----------

In those beautiful verses on redemption in the Old Testament, the underlying theme is rescuing a people from their affliction - be it slavery, sin, hardship, enemies. All of these verses point to a spiritual rescue that we see fulfilled in these New Testament verses:

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus  Romans 3:23,24

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption  1 Cor. 1:30

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"  Gal 3:13

 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.  Gal 4:4,5

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace  Ephesians 1:7

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:14

who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.  Titus 2:14

and the verse that sums it all up: 

He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 
 Hebrews 9:12

There are several Greek words in the New Testament that are used in the verses above to convey this idea of spiritual redemption. These are the translations of those words:

ransom in full, that is, riddance, deliverance

to buy up, that is, ransom;  to rescue from loss (improve opportunity)

to ransom

a ransoming

We can see in these verses that the underlying theme here in the New Testament is the idea of a ransom being paid. Websters Dictionary defines ransom:

a consideration paid or demanded for the release of someone or something from captivity 

This is a very important reminder that the relationship we have entered into with a Holy God did not come free, it came at a very very high price...a ransom that we could not afford. Let's go back to our original definition of redeemed:

 - to make (something that is bad, unpleasant, etc.) better or more acceptable

 - to exchange (something, such as a coupon or lottery ticket) for money, an award, etc.

 - to buy back (something, such as a stock or bond)

While we have seen an emphasis on rescue and ransom, the multiple aspects of redemption we see above are displayed throughout God's Word, including (but definitely not limited to) the verses we looked at. 

How does all of this fit into the context of Christ's church? If we, as the Church, accept Jesus as 'the Christ', then we must accept Jesus as 'the Redeemer' - this is not an option but rather a foundation block that must be in place. Accepting Jesus as 'the Redeemer' means that, individually and as a church, we recognize that Jesus alone set us free spiritually from our bondage to sin by paying the ransom in full.

Any church rooted in Christ must acknowledge that salvation rests solely and completely on this this rescue, this purchase, this deliverance, this great exchange -
 this ransom paid in full. 

Mathew 16:18

"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."  Mathew 16:18

Mathew 16:18 is the first time we see the word 'church' in the New Testament. I want to take a little time and look in detail at this verse and those surrounding it, they provide crucial details about the foundation of the church. 

Here is the passage I would like to look at, including verse 18: 

Mat 6:13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
Mat 16:14  And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
Mat 16:15  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Mat 16:16  Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Mat 16:17  And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Mat 16:18  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Let's start by looking at verses 13 - 16. Jesus asked his disciples who people thought he was. They reply by giving some different names that they have heard people refer to Jesus as, none of them accurate. Jesus then asks his disciples who they think he is, Peter replies with the words that echo to this day, words that carry more power than any earthly army, more authority than any earthly king: 

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" 

'Christ' means Savior or Messiah, referring to one who has set others free, in this case The One! 

These are the foundational words of the gospel that Paul says in Romans is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Believes what? That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God! As God's children, and co-heirs with Christ, we cannot move past these words without letting them sink in, without looking at how they tie in to the foundation of the church. 

After Peter makes this profession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus commends him for what he has said. "Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah!"

Peter could have let this build him up, Jesus Christ had just personally given him very encouraging words because of what he had said. Peter could have thought to himself that he was doing ok in the eyes of Jesus. Then Jesus says this: "For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."

There are some important points to look at in what Jesus says here. He uses the word 'for' - connecting this to his previous comment about Peter being blessed. Peter was blessed, not because he was smart enough or wise enough to put the puzzle pieces together concerning who Jesus was - Peter was blessed (very fortunate) because God the Father had revealed this Truth about Christ to Peter.

Another point we can learn from what Jesus says here. The fact that God had revealed the Truth about Jesus to Peter, not flesh and blood, explains why there were so many other ideas about who Jesus was coming from the people around them. The reason some said John the Baptist, some said Elijah, and others said Jeremiah or one of the other prophets was because those people were leaning on their own reasoning, their own intelligence to put the puzzle pieces together. God had not revealed the truth to them concerning His Son. 

The fact that Jesus said this Truth was revealed by His Father, who is in Heaven, also reminds us that this is not to be looked at from an earthly perspective. We struggle with this every day - the life we are living as children of God, saved by the blood of His Son, is a life revolving around a God who views everything from a completely different perspective - a heavenly and eternal perspective. We need to keep this in mind continuously as we discern how we are commanded to live and act - especially in the context of how we come together as 'church."

After saying these things to Peter, Jesus goes on to talk about the church: (keep in mind the word church refers to a called out group of people) "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Just like Peter put into words earlier the very Truth about Jesus that lives in the heart of every believer, Jesus puts into words the foundational truth about the church. We cannot miss this - Jesus said: I will build My church. Whose church is it? Jesus Christ's. Who is building it? Jesus Christ. We have no grounds to use our personal preferences to gauge a church, we have no grounds to use our personal preferences to lift up or condemn a church. The Universal Church, including the local church, belongs to Jesus Christ. 

We also dare not think that anything we have put into place, any program, activity, outreach, evangelistic effort - none of this has the power to grow Christ's church. Christ is the one that builds His church. Christ is the one that grows His Body. We should recognize here that the church is all about Christ, not about us. We are blessed to be called to be a part of it. 

Jesus referenced Peter as a rock (the Greek word for 'Peter' is similar to the Greek word for 'rock'). Jesus also says that he will build his church on a rock. The question becomes, what is the rock? This is important, because it's what the church is built on, according to Jesus himself. Looking elsewhere in Scripture, Jesus is referred to as the Rock, or the Cornerstone (Romans 9:33, 1 Cor. 10:4). We also see the apostles referred to as the foundation (Eph 2:20) and we see all believers referred to as stones (1 Peter 2:5). So what is the rock that Jesus was referring to here, that He is building His church upon?  

Looking at what Jesus said following His comments about the rock will shed some light on this question. Jesus said that 'the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' (meaning His church). If Peter himself was the foundational rock of the church, if the apostles were the foundational rock referred to by Christ, or if all believers are the rock, could Jesus guarantee the gates of hell shall not prevail against this church? Would it still be His church? 

The only way Jesus could guarantee the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church, is if He is THE foundational rock, THE cornerstone that all else is built upon. What Peter said earlier about Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, was the Truth that revealed Jesus as the Rock. Faith in Jesus as the Christ, as the Son of the Living God, is the faith that binds all true believers together as the Church. This bind of faith in Jesus is a bind that even the gates of hell cannot prevail against!

So, how does all of this play out on the local church level? The same foundation must apply: Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the Son of the living God. This is Jesus' church. Jesus is the one building it. We have to acknowledge these truths, they must infused at the core of the local church - they are the first litmus test. Any church not holding to these basic truths are not a part of Jesus' church. If the local church holds to these core truths, the gates of hell will not prevail against it! 

Since these are the foundational truths, we will look more in detail at each of these four points in the next posts, including how these truths should be applied within the local church.

1. What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ?

2. What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of the living God?

3. What does it mean that this is Jesus' church?

4. What does it mean that Jesus is the one building the church?

Question and Response part 6 (final response)

This is the sixth (and final) response I am sharing to the four questions I sent out to several different people. Take some time to read the response, thinking about why you agree or disagree. Come with an open mind, allowing the responses to stretch you, especially if you disagree, and make sure to weigh everything against the Word of God.

1. What is the purpose/role of the local church within the universal Church (the Body of Christ)?

"The purpose of the local church is to be a help to their congregation in living their lives for Christ. They are not totally responsible for the lives of each member as they may do as they please, but are responsible for warning and disciplining according to the bible."

2. What role (good or bad) do denominations play within the universal Church?

"Denominations probably cause more problems than they do good. Not that there is  no good in them as they give the option to people to attend a church which has the same spiritual conviction as theirs. As there are many denominations it would be hard to comment on them but they need to be based on the Word of God but we know people interpret things differently"
  
3. What authority does the local church have within the universal Church?

"While no church has the authority to judge one's soul for eternity it does have the authority to discipline members again according to the Word of God. This is to help a wayward member to correct their lives before getting into sin and to the point that they would have a very hard time correcting their lives and getting out of sinful situations." 

4. Given the many different ideas, doctrines, beliefs, etc. that separate local churches, how do we encourage unity within the Body of Christ? 

"I feel to help with the unity in the Body of Christ we need to be tolerant of other faiths realizing that the way we believe for us and no local church is going to save us by its name. Any person which lives their life according to the Word of God wil be saved no matter which local church they attend. Until we get to that point we will have problems with the Unity in the Body of Christ. This is not to say that a person should just go to any denomination as they should read the Word and truly see how God directs their interpretation and attend a church accordingly. God may expect more from some as He brought forth in His Word, just as he had plans for the Apostle Paul different than for some of the other apostles but we should all live according to what the Bible teaches. (Repentance, conversion, baptism and a sin free life). We know we will make mistakes as we are in a mortal shell but we must rely on the Holy Spirit to direct us and keep us from yielding to temptations."



In closing: 

I hope these question and response posts have stretched your spiritual muscles. I pray they drove you to the Word of God, to gain a clearer understanding of what the purpose of the local church is. Maybe you even answered these questions yourself. 

Moving forward, we will begin to build the local church from the ground up, according to Scripture. We will look at this from different angles, including how the local church was addressed, what it was commanded to do, how it was designed, what struggles the first churches dealt with, etc. 

We will attempt to expose what we have added by focusing strictly on the what the Bible says about the local church. This isn't to say everything we now include as a part of 'church' is wrong, but instead we want to ensure that we have a solid foundation for the local church - the Word of God, so that we can make sure we don't use things outside of the Word of God to determine the validity of a local church body. 

This entire study is to be for God's glory, using His Word as our weapon of Truth in the midst of what can be a confusing battle against a very cunning adversary. The Truth will set us free! 

Question and Response part 5

This is the fifth response I am sharing to the four questions I sent out to several different people. Take some time to read the response, thinking about why you agree or disagree. Come with an open mind, allowing the responses to stretch you, especially if you disagree, and make sure to weigh everything against the Word of God.

1. What is the purpose/role of the local church within the universal Church (the Body of Christ)?

"The purpose or role of the local Church within the Universal Church is to gather together as a group of believers to worship God.  I kind of look at it like a sub-group to the Universal Church.  A group or congregation in an area coming together with organization to worship God.  The outcome of this gathering together is ultimately Growing the Universal Church or the Body of Christ. The local church in my mind isn't always a building with a steeple, pews and an alter.  To me it is more of a gathering of people who love God and want to glorify him and grow closer to him by serving others with love.  It is our human flesh being used by God doing his work on earth.  We are the Body!!"

2. What role (good or bad) do denominations play within the universal Church?

"Denominations within the Universal Church can be different from what God's plan is for us.  Christ is the Head of the Universal Church and I have never read in scripture about denominations.  Each denomination has rules or practices that are man made. Each denomination has traditions that contradict with the practices of other denominations which clearly constitutes religious division and confusion. "Which way is the right way". These practices or traditions separate or divide the Universal church.  Jesus doesn't want division he wants unity; as he is with The Father and The Spirit.  Many followers of Christ have bought into their denominational division and are following Man made laws and traditions instead of following Christ."

3. What authority does the local church have within the universal Church?

"I don't believe the local church has much authority within the Universal Church.  I may be wrong but anytime man is in charge or involved there will be mistakes, it is what we are "Sinners".  God's Word is the truth and He has all authority."

4. Given the many different ideas, doctrines, beliefs, etc. that separate local churches, how do we encourage unity within the Body of Christ? 

"This is a tough question and something that I am passionate about.  Personally being involved with several gatherings of all denominations within our communities in a neutral location to worship together is a struggle.  Not sure I have an answer but have always felt that having a well known Speaker, Author or Music Artist be a part or the draw to get people in, then have a teaching on the power and strength of Unity.  Prayer is probably the biggest thing we can do.  He will answer the prayers and make known the avenues and steps needed because He does want unity in the Body of Christ."