Churching Well Part 1

As we wrapped up our discussion on the Kingdom of God last week, we said that when Jesus came the first time, He inaugurated the Kingdom of God. He will consummate the Kingdom when He returns. His message was that the Kingdom of God had come, the rule and reign of God was available now to all who received the message of the Kingdom, the gospel, the Good News. When Jesus came, He went first to the people of Israel. The people of Israel, however, reject Jesus and the proclamation of the Kingdom. When the people of Israel reject the offer of the Kingdom of God that Jesus gave to them, their opportunity to be the people of God’s kingdom was taken from them.
Matthew 21:43 (NIV)
43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Those who receive the message of the Kingdom are the church. The church is the instrument of the Kingdom of God. The church is made up of those who are ruled by the King of the Kingdom and we are to produce the fruit of the kingdom of God. The church starts with the small group of followers that received the message of the Kingdom that Jesus gave them and who committed their lives to Jesus and the proclamation of the Good News and it continues on in those of us who believe and accept the message of the Kingdom in Jesus.
The church is the instrument of the Kingdom of God. We are to demonstrate life in the now and not yet of the Kingdom. We are not only to preach, we are also to do the things that Jesus did.
Jesus gave us the keys to the Kingdom as He placed them in the hands of Peter.
Matthew 16:13-19 (NIV)
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
As the church, we have been given the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Having the keys is not about controlling access as many people think, it is about having access to the Kingdom. We live in the tension of the Now and Not Yet of the Kingdom, but since the power of the age to come has broken into this present evil age in Christ, we have access in Christ to the Kingdom of God so that we have all we need to carry out our mission of partnering with God in reconciling the world to himself.
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 (NIV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
C.S. Lewis describes the church this way:

It is easy to think that the Church has a lot of different objects—education, building, missions, holding services. Just as it is easy to think the State has a lot of different objects—military, political, economic, and what not. But in a way things are much simpler than that. The State exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life. A husband and wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden—that is what the State is there for. And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc., are simply a waste of time. In the same way the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York, Simon & Schuster Touchstone, 1996), p. 171.

Jesus gives the church its mission in Matthew 28:18-20
Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and empower.
Luke 24:46-49 (NIV)
46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Acts 1:1-8 (NIV)
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit the church begins to take shape.
Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
We will unpack these verses and more in the weeks ahead. The church is ultimately about relationships. Relationship with God, relationship with the people of God, and relationship with those who do not yet know Jesus. These relationships are developed in the context of worship, discipleship, fellowship, and ministry.