1443. The Church an Organism

The Church an Organism

Eph_4:11-19

The Church, a Systematized Organism (Eph_2:22).

The Church, a Localized Organism (Rev_1:11).

The Church, a Centralized Organism (Col_1:18).

The Church, a Specialized Organism (Mat_28:19).

The Church, a Temporalized Organism (1Co_11:26).

The Church, a Functionized Organism (Act_13:2).

The Church, an Immortalized Organism (Rom_8:18).

Christ loved His Church, and bought it with His own Blood. When Israel was set aside, God could not be left without a witness among men, therefore He formed His Church, and committed unto the Church the task of making Himself known.

Several things may be said about the Church:

1. It is the medium through which the Lord would preach the Gospel to the uttermost part of the earth. When Christ fed the multitude with the loaves and the fishes, He gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. The position of the disciples is the same as that of the Church; the Church stands between Christ and the hungry people. It is not any one specific body or organization that God has chosen; it is the Church as a whole.

2. It is a building in which the Lord dwells in the Spirit. Of old God dwelt in the midst of the cherubim. God does not dwell now in buildings made with hands–in church buildings; but the Church, a body of baptized believers, is builded for the habitation of God in the Spirit.

3. It is the Bride of Christ's glory. We are not of those who quibble on "who is the Bride of Christ"–we are perfectly willing to grant that Old Testament saints may be spoken of as related to the Bride, but we also rejoice in the fact that the marriage bond is a type of the great mystery, and when the Spirit speaks thereof, He speaks of Christ and His Church.

We believe that this lesson upon the Church, an organism, is greatly needed, and we trust that it will prove truly helpful.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR