The Church

Jack and Grace met through a mutual friend.

From day one, they seemed to be perfect for each other.

Grace was everything that Jack had always wanted.

She was beautiful and outgoing and caring,

always there when Jack needed her.

For the first...

I might get one of those other microphones, is that alright?

Grace was beautiful, outgoing and caring.

She was always there for whatever Jack needed her.

For the first five months, they were just inseparable.

Jack could hardly think of anything but Grace.

He didn't need to look further.

He told his friends.

He said, she's the one.

Now, almost three years have passed,

and Jack still enjoys the comfort and the familiarity of being with Grace.

But the spark's gone.

Grace's flaws are just a little bit more obvious.

He's not sure he finds her as attractive as he once did.

And he's beginning to resent all the time that she wants to spend with him.

One day, when she asks if they can define the nature of their relationship,

Jack blows up.

We're together, aren't we?

He says angrily.

Why is that not enough for you?

Obviously, Jack isn't ready for commitment.

He's not sure he ever will be,

nor ever wants to be.

I wonder if you've ever been in a relationship like that.

I wonder if you know of people who are in relationships like that.

I can think of a couple.

Let me say, if you are in a relationship like that,

that is not God's purpose for your life.

God wants you to be in a relationship

defined by both passion and commitment.

And the reality is,

there are millions of Jacks

walking around on the face of the earth today.

But before I go on any further,

let me just give you one more piece of information

that you should know.

Grace isn't a girl.

Grace is a church.

And this, unfortunately,

is the let's define the nature relationship talk.

The ethic of personal autonomy

shapes the minds,

the expectations,

and the worldviews of most Australians.

And regrettably,

this ethic has permeated

the Australian church.

There is little,

in fact,

it's not just the Australian church

in terms of the culture.

It's one of the things

that's happening with this pandemic

at the moment

as to why places like Singapore

and Hong Kong

can contain it so well.

But in the Western world,

it explodes.

In our minds,

there is little thought

given to our statement

from the Apostles' Creed today.

I believe in

one holy,

Catholic,

and apostolic church

and the communion of saints.

Now,

if you've just joined us

today,

then we're working our way

through the ancient statement

of Christian belief

called the Apostles' Creed.

And this short statement

captures the way

that Christians view God,

the world,

the life,

future.

It's our worldview,

if you like.

And so today,

I'm picking up

what Christians believe

about the church.

I've got three things

I want us to explore.

If you've got a phone

or an iPad

or a handout in front of you,

you'll see there

three main points.

What is the church?

What's the purpose

of the church?

And how to be

a purposeful church member?

So what's the first point?

What is the church?

The word church

in our New Testament

comes from the Greek word

ecclesia.

It's used just under 80 times

in the New Testament

and only on three occasions

in the New Testament

is the word ecclesia

not translated

into the English word church.

For instance,

in Acts 19,

an idol-making silversmith

named Demetrius

whips the whole city up

into a riot

because too many

of his customers

were turning from idolatry

to faith in the Lord Jesus

and therefore not buying

his produce.

And next thing you know,

there's this large crowd

that's gathered

and it says

in Acts 19,

32,

the assembly

was in confusion.

Some were shouting

one thing,

some another

and most people

didn't even know

why they were there.

So it seems like

a sensible kind of mob really.

The word assembly there

is the Greek word

ecclesia.

The word church

at its core

simply refers to

a crowd

of people

gathered together.

Sometimes in the New Testament,

churches used to

refer to the

gathering of Christians

around God

in heaven.

Theologians refer to this

as the invisible church.

Everyone

who knows Jesus

from every time

and

place,

those who are alive

and those who are dead

are gathered

spiritually

in God's presence,

united in Jesus,

magnifying God.

That's the invisible church.

And if you are in Jesus now,

if you're a Christian,

spiritually,

you're connected

to that universal church

currently gathering

in the throne room

around God.

That's the invisible church.

mostly,

however,

the words

in the New Testament

refer to the

local church

gathered in a particular

place,

like the church

that gathers

on the corner of

Fuller's Road

and View Street,

Chatswood.

The local church.

Us.

This is the church

visible.

never

in the New Testament

is the

word

ecclesia

used

to describe

a location,

a building,

or an institution,

or even

a collection

of local churches.

And so,

you could say,

well,

the church is just

a mob

on one level.

But,

the church

is not just

any mob

or crowd

gathered together.

The Greek word

ecclesia

is made from

two other

Greek words

and joined together.

These words

mean

to call

out.

The word

church

really refers

to those

called out

by God,

called out

by God,

joined

together

as his

people,

the followers

of his

son,

Jesus.

And

Matthew 18,

which Peter

read out to us,

is where we see

the foundation

of the church.

We see this

theology

starting there.

This is

what separates

this particular

gathering of people

from all other

gatherings of people.

Matthew 16,

13 to 19,

people,

Jesus

asks his

disciples,

who do

people say I am?

And they come up

with all sorts

of different

answers.

Jesus says,

well,

what about you?

And Peter

confesses the

identity

of who

Jesus is.

Peter says

that Jesus

is more than

a prophet,

he's more

than a teacher,

he is

the son

of the living

God,

the Messiah.

He is

the promised

seed of the

woman from

Genesis 3.

And Jesus

then responds

with an

announcement

that will

change the

course of

human history.

He says,

upon

Peter's

word,

not

Peter the

person,

but upon

his word,

his confession,

he will

build his

church,

his gathering.

Why is

Peter's

word not

Peter the

person?

Because the

whole context

tells you

it's about

who Jesus

is,

not who

Peter is,

it's about

the identity

of Jesus.

Who do

people say

I am?

And in the

very next

section,

Peter gets

it totally

wrong and

tries to

stop Jesus

from going

on the

cross in

the first

place.

So Peter

hasn't

fully

grasped it.

Upon

Peter's

confession,

he will

build his

church.

Where

Peter's

confession

of the

true

identity

of Jesus

Christ

is found,

the church

is found.

Where

this

confession

is

proclaimed,

you find

the communion

of saints.

Entrance

into God's

church,

church,

his crowd,

his mob

begins

with the

confession

that Jesus

Christ is

Lord,

Son of

the living

God.

All who

make that

confession,

by God's

grace,

become his

people and

unite themselves

to Christ

and his

body,

the church.

It's by

God's grace

because Peter's

confession

was gifted

to him

by God

himself,

as Jesus

said.

This all

means that

when a

church

fails to

hold to

this truth

and declare

this truth

and embody

this truth,

they forfeit

their status

as a

church of

Christ.

And they

become a

mob,

a crowd.

As

theologian

J.R.

Packer

puts it

in his

very short

book,

Affirming

the Apostles

Creed,

he says,

the church

is a

supernatural

society

of God's

redeemed

and baptized

people,

looking back

to Christ's

first coming

with gratitude

and on to

his second

coming with

hope.

That's the

first point,

that's what the

church is.

So what's the

purpose of

church?

Matthew

16

would also

suggest the

church has a

specific purpose.

It alludes to

it in the

second half of

verse 18

where we read,

the gates of

Hades will not

overcome it,

I will give you

the keys of

the kingdom of

heaven,

whatever you

bind on earth

you will be

bound in

heaven and

whatever you

loose on

earth will be

loosed in

heaven.

So Peter's

confession

insists that

the church be

built on the

truth of the

gospel,

but Jesus

also endows

his body

with an

insurmountable

power,

a power that

Satan himself

cannot

overturn

even by

death.

And this

authority is

given to the

church that

the church

might carry

out its

God-given

duties and

that is to

shine the

light of

the glory

of Jesus

Christ to

a lost

and dying

world.

That's his

purpose.

So let's

unpack that

purpose a

little bit.

We'll see,

and I want to

jump into

Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

1.

So if you've

got your

Bibles in

front of you,

you're going to

run through

some of

Ephesians to

see some of

what God's

intention is

for his

church.

So Ephesians

Ephesians 1:8

1 verse

8, we

see, if

you like,

the end

of the

plan of

the gathered

church.

With all

wisdom and

understanding,

he made

known to

us the

mystery of

his will

according to

his good

pleasure,

which he

purposed in

Christ, to

be put into

effect when

the times

reach their

fulfillment.

Here it

is, to

bring unity

to all

things in

heaven and

on earth

under

Christ.

That's the

end of it

all.

That's the

goal.

That's where

everything is

going.

Everything

gathered

together

around

Jesus.

There's that

word gathering

again.

Gathered

together around

Jesus.

It's been

God's plan

all along.

In the

Garden of

Eating,

there's a

real sense

right at

the beginning

that things

are gathered

to God.

He has

made the

garden and

all is at

peace and

ordered and

everything is

in perfect

relationship

with God.

And then

the first

people make

the decision

to live

their way

and make

everything

about them.

And the

Bible calls

this attitude

and this

action sin.

And the

consequence of

sin is that

everything is

disordered.

There's no

more harmony.

There's no

more peace.

Relationship

is broken.

And where

there was

unity and

closeness,

now because

of sin,

there's

distance and

disunity.

God judges

sin by

scattering

his people.

Scattering

people from

himself.

And this is a

principle that

you'll see right

throughout the

entire Bible.

Bible, when

humanity sets

itself up

against God,

he scatters

them.

Whenever

humanity sets

itself up

against God,

he scatters

them.

When he

rescues them,

he brings

them to

himself.

He gathers

them to

himself.

In

Isaiah 11,

700 years

before Jesus,

Isaiah is

looking forward

to the day

when everything

is finally

ordered and

harmonious and

peaceful and

right relationship

like it was in

the beginning.

And he refers

to a particular

person who

will accomplish

God's grand

plan.

God's grand

and he calls

the Messiah,

a son of

King David.

And this is

what he says

in verse 12

of Isaiah 11.

He will

raise a banner

for the

nations and

gather the

exiles of

Israel.

He will

assemble the

scattered people

of Judea

from the

four quarters

of the

earth.

And a

little later

in Isaiah

Isaiah 56 · chapter mention

chapter 56,

God declares

that it's

not just

for his

people,

but this

promise is

expanded beyond

Israel.

When he says,

I will gather

still others

to them

besides those

already gathered.

And the

climax of

God's plan

is revealed

in Isaiah

66.

And I,

because of

what they

have planned

and done,

am about to

come and

gather the

people of

all nations

and languages

and they

will come

and see

my glory.

You see,

God's

plan

is to

gather

people from

all nations

and tribes

and languages

and people

groups and

cultures to

himself that

they might

see his

glory and

live

forever.

forever.

And what

Peter confesses

in Matthew

16 is

that Jesus

is the

one that

Isaiah

talked about.

Jesus is

the focal

point of

God's

gathering of

people that

they might

see the

glory of

God.

Jesus is

central to

God's plan

of bringing

people back

to each

other and

to their

creator.

And Ephesians

2, if you're

working with

through

Ephesians

with me,

is the

long-awaited

plan being

worked out

with Jesus

at the

heart of

it.

Verse 11,

we read,

therefore,

remember that

formally,

you who are

Gentiles by

birth and

called the

uncircumcised by

those who

call themselves

circumcision,

which is done

in the body

by human

hands,

remember that

at that

time you

were separated

from Christ,

excluded from

citizenship in

Israel, and

foreigners to

the covenants

of the promise

without hope

and without

God in the

world.

What Paul

does there in

Ephesians 2

is he highlights

this massive

division between

Jews and

Gentiles, but

also between

them and

God.

Deep, deep

hostility.

And then in

the very next

verse he shows

how that

hostility is

overcome.

Now in

Christ Jesus,

you who

once were

far away,

scattered from

God, have

been brought

near by the

blood of

Christ.

For he

himself is

our peace,

who has

made the

two groups

one,

destroyed the

barrier, the

dividing wall

of hostility,

by setting aside

in his flesh

the law with

its commandments

and regulations.

His purpose

was to create

in himself

one new

humanity out

of the two,

thus making

peace, and

in one body

to reconcile

both of them

to God

through the

cross by

which he

put to

death their

hostility.

Sin and

death and

hostility between

Jews and

Gentiles is

finally dealt

with by the

Messiah, the

son of the

living God,

Jesus on a

cross 2,000

years ago.

Jesus is the

one who

gathers these

diverse groups

of people

together into

one new

humanity in

relationship with

their creator

God.

God's purpose in

all of this?

What is the

idea?

What's his

plan?

Ephesians 3,

10, read

out to us by

Tom.

His intent

was that now

through the

church, that's

us, that word

there, Ecclesia,

is talking about

us, local

gathering,

God's

God's

manifold

wisdom of

God should

be made

known to

the rulers

and the

authorities in

the heavenly

realms according

to his

eternal purpose

that he

accomplished in

Christ Jesus

our Lord.

God's great

and glorious

plan is to

bring a very

diverse group of

people together

and to himself

in such a

way that his

greatness and

his glory is

made known

everywhere

including the

heavenly realms.

There is a

sense where

God calls

over the

rulers and

the authorities

of the heavenly

realms, gets

them to look

over the

balcony of

heaven if

such a place

exists and

says look

at that,

look at

that.

See

St.

Paul's

Chatswood?

That is

what I've

been working

on for

all of

history.

My son

Jesus has

made that

possible.

United

Nations

can't do

it.

He's the

one who's

brought down

those dividing

walls of

hostility and

brought diverse

people together

and he

turns to

Satan,

hey,

enemy,

get over

here.

He says,

see that?

You cannot

prevail against

that.

You cannot

stop that.

My son is

building his

church out of

every tribe and

language and

peoples.

people.

And so let

me just

say,

as a

society of

individualistic

thinkers where

personal autonomy

rules and a

highest value,

this is very

important for us

to grasp.

Before

church

has

anything to

do with

you and

me,

before

church is

about us

serving one

another or

even before

church is

about us

learning more

about God,

it is about

him and his

glory.

It's why we

start with

singing and

singing in such

a way that we

actually believe

it.

this is so

fundamental for

us to grasp.

It's critical

even.

Before church

is about me

or about you

or about us,

it is about

God.

It is about

his design,

his plan for

all of time

and eternity.

A

multi-ethnic,

multi-generational,

socially,

socio-economically

diverse gathering

of people,

declaring that

Jesus is

Lord and

King for

the glory

of God

is the

reason

St.

Paul's

Chatswood

exists.

And it's

about more

and more

people being

added for

that purpose,

for the

glory of

God.

And all

of our

resources are

to be deployed

in that

direction.

this

building,

you've got

to get

this deep

down into

your souls.

This

building is

not a

church.

This

building is

a tool.

It is

nothing more

than a

tool.

It's a

resource to

help the

church,

us,

to pursue

its mission

for the

glory of

God.

God,

this

building is

not even

our

clubhouse

where we

gather.

It's not

about us

having a

nice place

for us to

gather and

facilities and

room to

spread out and

kick back and

enjoy.

It's our

mission

headquarters to

see God's

reason for

us gathering

fulfilled.

Okay.

number

three,

how to be a

purposeful church

member.

So how do we

as individuals

be members of

a church on

purpose?

Firstly,

let me say,

you don't

become a

member of

God's church

by completing

a membership

course or

going to a

Welcome Sunday

event.

Although I'm

not suggesting

you don't

go at

all.

you don't

become a

member of

a church

by sitting

in a pew

for a very

long time

either.

Longevity's

got nothing to

do with your

membership of

a church.

You become a

member of

God's church

by doing

what we saw

in Matthew

16,

by repenting

of living

independent of

God, by

putting your

trust in the

Lord,

Jesus Christ

declaring that

he is the

son of the

living God

and receiving

the Holy Spirit

who unites you

with God and

all other

Christians from

time and

eternity.

That's how you

become a

member of his

church.

And that is

the fundamental

first step.

There will be

people, just to

emphasize this

point, there

will be people

in heaven who

have not done

a pathways,

a course,

who have

never been

to a

Welcome

Sunday

event, but

there won't

be anyone

in heaven who

hasn't repented

of their sins

and trusted in

Jesus Christ as

son of the

living God.

Not a single

one.

And potentially

you're here

today and

this is the

fundamental first

step that you

need to take.

and if that

is you, then

come to the

Welcome

Center.

We would

love to

speak to

you.

Secondly, and

this is going to

sound somewhat

ironic, being a

purposeful church

member means that

you gather because

that's what you've

been called to do.

You've been called

to gather.

together.

Because you are

spiritually gathered

by God.

One of the core

values that helps

us think about the

sort of gathering

that we are and

inspire to be is

our core value of

treasuring Jesus

together.

It says this,

having been led

individually by the

Spirit of God to

receive Christ Jesus

Lord, Savior and

supreme treasure of

our lives, we now

most solemnly and

joyfully enter into

covenant with one

another as one body

in Christ.

We believe the

people whom Jesus

has called into

relationship with

himself are his

church and not an

institution or a

building.

In an age of

individualism, we

value vigilance and

accountability.

In treasuring Jesus

together.

In Ephesians, Paul

spends extensive

time on what God's

new humanity, his

gathering, his

church looks like in

their life together.

And our value of

treasuring Jesus

together is a value

that tries to capture

some of that in terms

of the quality of who

we are as God's

people.

It's about our life

together.

It's about our

relationships.

It's about our

togetherness as a

dynamic spiritual

community under the

lordship of Jesus.

It says things like

this as a church, we

are committed to

making corporate

worship a weekly

priority, unless of

course I shut them

all down.

In the Bible, to

magnify God always

requires the regular

gathering of God's

people.

And so, if or maybe

when that decision is

made for us not to

gather, that is not the

normal pattern for us.

That will never be the

normal pattern for us.

It will be out of love

for our community.

And we're working on

specific ways where we

can still gather, even

if it's via a screen, in

order to declare the

praises of God as his

people and to hear from

him.

So I want to ask you,

first of all, have you

ever calculated how many

gatherings you miss in a

year?

Ever done that?

Regular attendance now for

churches has become

somewhere between 30 and

40 percent

attendance

across a year.

Now, I don't need a rule

here.

And I'm not looking to

implement a rule here

because you'll just go to

the next church that

doesn't have that rule.

The only way for there to

be radical change is

radical change in the

heart.

What we need to see is the

greatness and the

gracious plan of a great

and a gracious God.

We need to see that all of

history is about God's

glory and the church of

Jesus Christ is central to

that.

We need to see what it

cost him to gather us

together and to gather us

to himself.

Frankly, nothing else will

motivate us.

Second point, under point

three, is to build

supernatural community.

Treasuring Jesus

together not only says that

we value being together,

but how we value being

together.

We're committed to

gathering in small

groups, remembering one

another in prayer and a

aiding one another in

sickness and distress and

cultivating sympathy,

Christian sympathy and joy

and being slow to take

offense and always seeking

reconciliation and mindful

of the need and of the

fact that command of our

Savior to secure it

without delay.

We want to be a church

that's welcoming of people

of every blackout.

We don't want to have

cliquishness in our groups.

We want to purge our lives

of sin that cause division.

We want to pursue

increasingly visible and

authentic practical ways of

loving each other and our

community.

But frankly, the best thing to

do is to look at what the

New Testament says about our

supernatural life together.

John 13, a new commandment I

give you.

This is Jesus.

Love one another as I have

loved you so that you must love

one another.

By all this, by this, all people

will know that you are my

disciples if you love one

another.

Romans 12, be devoted to one

another in brotherly love.

James, do not slander one

another.

Don't grumble against one

another.

Confess your sins to each

other.

Pray for one another.

And that's just a snapshot.

What is obvious from the New

Testament is the prominence of

loving, Christ-exalting, other

person-centered personal

relationship in the local

church.

There is no such thing as

isolated, individually sick,

meet-my-needs consumer

Christianity in the Bible at

all.

Not even a glimpse of it.

You can't even play exegetical

gymnastics and come to any form

of conclusion on that.

Anywhere.

What we are seeking to do at

St. Paul's is build a gospel-

centered community.

Another way of putting that is

we are seeking to build a

supernatural community, not a

natural community.

A natural community is where

people feel connected because of

demographic closeness and

connectedness.

They gravitate to each other and

they find a sense of belonging

because they've got similarities

and irrespective of whether the

gospel is true or not, you can do

that.

Now, that's not a bad thing.

All of my friends that I've got, I

share common interests with them.

Not a bad thing to have those

connections and affinities here at

St. Paul's.

But I want us to caution about

thinking that somehow that that is

the total sum of gospel community.

At the end of the day, you can have

natural community without Jesus.

The heavenly realms look on and see

the wisdom of God when they gaze upon

supernatural community.

Gospel community.

And so we seek diversity.

We seek shared discomfort in all of our

corporate gatherings.

This is the kind of community that

could really only exist when Jesus

is Lord of all.

And we have the indwelling power of

the Holy Spirit to drive us away from

self-centeredness.

It's when people who would not

gravitate to each other or people

groups who have open hostility towards

one another are drawn together in

peace and love because of the work of

Jesus Christ in their hearts.

Thirdly, having said that,

about that, third thing about being a

purposeful church member is to

purposely fracture community.

Bear with me here.

It is great to be part of a gospel

community that God is growing.

And one of the painful realities of God

growing a community is that we have to

keep fracturing in order to make space

for others who are being welcomed in.

We should see that as a joy.

In the same way, I remember having one

child and not sure how I was going to

work with two children.

And then you discover the joy of having

two and then a third.

And not sure how.

It resulted in all kinds of different

changes.

But the joy of welcoming more people in.

And so we've got to be a church

that's building deep relationships,

but also seeing that deep relationships

in themselves are not the goal.

People being connected to their God

is the goal.

And therefore, we need to fracture some

of those relationships to allow room for

more to come in.

There are a few metaphors that the Bible

uses to describe the intimate way that

Jesus views his church.

He calls it his family, his body, his bride.

He loves his church and he gave himself

over to death for it.

He looks forward to the day when his bride,

in all its perfection, will be presented to

him and be with him forever.

And as I said at the beginning,

today is one of those commitment

conversations.

If you're a Christian,

you have a crucial part in God's plan

for eternity.

Your life, and I think this is what I want

to get hopefully in showing you how the Bible,

all the Bible views the idea of gathering

as his people.

I want you to get this picture.

Your life is so much bigger than a good job,

an understanding spouse,

non-delinquent kids or even having kids,

good friends and active social life.

It is so much bigger than beautiful gardens

and nice holidays and fashionable clothes.

If you're a Christian,

you are part of something immense

that will never end.

Something that began before you were born

and continued long after you die.

God is rescuing fallen,

scattered humanity

and gathering to him himself

and progressively shaping them

into the likeness of his much-loved son,

Jesus.

He gathers you to himself

so that you may take part in his glory

and find your joy in his glory.

The church matters because God chose it

to show and tell the universe

his wisdom and love.

And this message is our world's only hope.

And so we must fight the toxicity

and the poison of modern church culture

that says that you can walk this Christian life

without the church.

It is not true.

Individualism not only betrays the church,

it betrays the gospel,

it takes glory from God,

it insinuates that the glorious good news

of the Lord Jesus Christ

is only about saving people,

it's only a gospel of sin management,

there is such a bigger story.

God is creating an eternal people.

God's design throughout history

from beginning to end

is about him creating an eternal people

from every tribe, tongue, language and group.

one people are people for his pleasure.

So let me ask you,

if I ask you to tell your story

of your journey to

and growth in

faith in the Lord Jesus,

how central

is the church to that story?

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.