In this study we are going to look at the word church, along with other words and phrases describing the people of God. No one word or phrase is the exclusive name for God’s people. Scripture uses many ordinary, everyday phrases to illustrate our relationship to God. The key to all of them is to understand that, as we saw last time, God is the focus.

The most common is the word translated “church.” In Greek it is ekklesia and simply means "called out"; from ek “out” and kalein “to call.” It was regularly used in Jesus’ time of the called out assembly of citizens in a free city (Acts 19:39), and extensively (over 100 times in the NT) by early Christians as a reference to the people of God. It describes how we are called by the gospel (1 Thess. 1:12-13; 2 Thess. 2:12-14); out of darkness into light, from the power of Satan to the kingdom of Jesus (Acts 26:18; Col. 1:12-14). It really is no more complicated than that: God has called us out of the world into fellowship with Himself.

Another frequently used phrase for the people of God is kingdom. Sometimes it is “of Heaven,” others “of God” and in a few cases simply “kingdom,” but in each case it describes the relationship in terms of authority. Christians, as citizens in the Kingdom (Eph. 2:19; Col. 1:13), submit to the authority of Jesus, the King of Kings, (Rev. 19:16).

The people of God are also described as members of the body of Christ. In this figure we are described as hands or feet, ears or eyes, with the specific emphasis of unity (1 Cor. 12:12-27). Regardless of our particular talents we must remember we are part of the whole body working together as a unit (Rom. 12:1-8) directed by the head - Jesus (Eph. 1:22-23).

In 1 Pet. 2:5-7 we are called stones in the house of God. Alive in Christ, who is the living foundation, we are built up into a spiritual dwelling place where God is worshipped (Eph. 2:19-22).

Another fascinating illustration is found in John 15:1-6, where we are branches on the vine. An easily understood picture from farm life, Christ is the vine and the individual christians are the branches. It emphasizes bearing fruit in Jesus (Col. 1:9-10).

We are also described as children who have been adopted into God’s family through our elder brother, sharing in the same family spirit (Rom. 8:14-17; Heb. 2:10-14).

In every figure the commanding person is always Jesus. He is the means of our calling into His church. He is King, the head of His body, the foundation stone for His dwelling place and the life giving vine. We are nothing and nowhere if we are not in Him. Where are you?

James McClenny

Nothing in human history has ever attracted people like the uplifted Jesus. There have always been attractions that compete for the attention of humanity. Roman citizens turned out by the hundreds of thousands to praise Roman emperors as they returned from their military conquests, but the emperors came and went. Today, sports attract people like a magnet. Millions are caught up in the excitement of the World Cup, the World Series, the Super Bowl or Wimbledon. But it is not long until this year’s winner is soon forgotten.

After His triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem, some came and said, “We wish to see Jesus” (John 12:21). At this point, Jesus is focused on the cross which looms before Him. Jesus does not ask for deliverance from the cross because He knew “for this purpose I came to this hour” (John 12:27). He then says, “Father, glorify Your name” to which a voice from heaven replied, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again” (John 12:28). Jesus tells the crowd the voice “did not come because of Me, but for your sake” (12:30). In verse 32 He says, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”

Will we ever learn this lesson? That which makes Christianity real is not what we think, or say or do, but Jesus is what makes it real. Our responsibility resulting from this truth is to proclaim Him to the world. It is Jesus’ exalted truth, His perfect life, His matchless love which reaches out and takes hold of people. It is our duty to show the world the real Jesus Christ in word and deed.

When Lew Wallace, who wrote Ben Hur, began working on his novel he did not intend to write what he did. Wallace actually began his research project to destroy the “Jesus myth.” As an unbeliever his study was designed to show everyone the fallacy of faith in Jesus. But as he read there came a faith that he had never known. The “stubborn” facts of the existence of Jesus: the kind of man He was, the kind of teaching Jesus did eventually caused him to write a book he had never intended to author. Ben Hur is about the impact of Jesus upon a man of ancient Roman days; a story written as a tribute to the “real Jesus.”

In reality it is the same story as the woman at the well in Samaria (John 4). She came to draw water, and after meeting Jesus she went home to invite others to “Come out and see a man who told me all things whatsoever I did” (4:29). They came out to see Jesus and many believed in Him (4:39). It is the story of a woman of ill repute, Mary Magdalene, who became a pure disciple of the Lord. What is the attraction? It is the uplifted Christ. Nothing or no one has ever attracted people like Jesus Christ.

Bill Feist

It seems the “Wisconsin based Freedom From Religion Foundation” launched an ad campaign in Chicago this month. They had signs made and posted them on 75 Chicago busses “touting the benefits of sleeping in on Sundays.” The reason a group from Wisconsin targeted Chicago, Illinois was due to the belief that “There are more free-thinkers in Chicago” than they have in their “membership” in Wisconsin. “We have to reach them, provide an alternative to religion and let them know we’re here. Many of us reject the idea of blind faith.”

This is just another attack of “naturalism,” the view which ascribes everything to natural causes. This belief system denies that God is responsible for the universe, the Bible, prophecy or the resurrection of Christ. The naturalistic view of “God” and the world is an impersonal one. It contends that lifeless, mindless matter gave rise to life, that life gave rise to mind, consciousness, morality and that man’s mind imagined “God.” (The “Indiana Bus Campaign and American Humanist Association” spring of 2009’s campaign about the origin of religion plastered Chicago’s busses with “a provocative twist on Genesis: ‘In the beginning man created God.’”)

“So when the Wisconsin based Freedom From Religion Foundation launched an ad campaign this month touting the benefits of sleeping in on Sundays to honor the day of rest (emphasis mine BF), they came to the city where they knew they would be welcome.” I wonder where they get the idea of a “day of rest?” Could it have been from God (Gen. 2:2-3)?

Bill Feist

The Hebrew writer said that Jesus “…endured the cross, despising the shame…” (12:2). We are sometimes puzzled by this statement about the “shame of the cross.” Since Jesus died on the cross and stained it with His precious blood this instrument of torture has been sanctified and glorified in our thinking. Crosses are seen on church buildings, embossed on hymn books, carved into church furniture, worn on necklaces and engraved on tombstones. The cross to us has become a symbol of glory, not one of disgrace and shame. Jesus sacrifice, His victory over death and the hope He has brought to us are all summed up and symbolized in that in that ugly instrument of torture. This has caused countless Christians to sing, “And I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain.”

Such was not always the case however because of the shame attached to the cross with its humiliation and disgrace. “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Gal. 3:13) the Old Testament revealed. When Paul wrote this to the Galatians he knew they would not miss his point. Jesus blood removed the stain and stigma of this “curse.”

Of all the ways a criminal might die this was the most dreadful. In crucifixion the condemned rarely ever died in a day or two and sometimes it took five or six days for the terrible ordeal to end. No wonder Pilate ‘marveled” that Jesus died so quickly (Mk. 15:44). In crucifixion the tissues of the body became inflamed and brought an agony no words can describe. The sufferer was also the object of every kind of jeering derision the populace might hurl upon him (Mk. 14:29-32). All of this was a part of the “shame of the cross.”

In the crucifixion of Christ there was a great deal more than all this. Here the innocent was suffering and enduring the most painful of all deaths at the hands of those whose penalty He was paying. The guilty were executing a just and righteous sentence for evil, except for the fact that they were slaying the innocent for the guilty. They were the ones deserving of death and they were inflicting their own punishment upon another, the Son of God. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed,” Isaiah wrote (53:5) of the suffering Savior. By Jesus death all men can be delivered from the bondage of sin. It was for us that Jesus died. It was for us that He “endured the cross, despising the shame” and redeemed us with His precious blood (I Pet. 1:18-19).

Yes, the cross is a glorious symbol of our freedom from sin. It became such by the precious blood of One who was willing to die there for our redemption. In doing so, the “shame of the cross” has become the hope and salvation for all.

Bill Feist

The Hubble telescope was first carried into space on a shuttle mission in 1990. To NASA’s chagrin they discovered it was out of focus, and in 1993 replaced a mirror to make it work properly so we can appreciate the sharply focused images. But focus is important in more areas of life than telescopes. All who must wear glasses appreciate its value. In sports or work we find that those who focus on the goal tend to succeed. And in God’s church it is no different.

Recently we started a series on 21st century church problems, noting that these problems arise from within three broad categories: Focus, Form and Function. Everything starts with focus, “the central point of attraction, attention or activity,” because it is the key. We can get the form and function right, but focus on the wrong thing. If we get the form and/or function wrong it is because our focus is off. No matter what direction we face there are problems for the church if our focus isn't sharp and on point.

Since all problems start with the wrong focus, what is the proper focus of the church? One word is the answer: God. Unless we accept God as the central point of focus for the church problems will always arise.

When Jesus asks the disciples “who do men say that I the Son of Man am?” in Matthew 16:13 – 20 the exchange with Peter is instructive about the focus of the church. Peter’s answer identifies Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, and Jesus agrees with him, saying that on that Rock He will build His Church.

Notice that the church began with the deity of Jesus - God in flesh. He was the rock upon which the church would be built. The idea of Jesus as the foundation rock runs throughout the Bible starting in Exodus 17:1-7 (cf. 1 Cor. 10:1-4). 900 years later Daniel revealed Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a rock cut out without hands that grew into a great mountain filling the whole earth as the Kingdom of God (Dan. 2: 34-35, 44). In Matthew 7:24-25 Jesus said the wise man would build his house on the rock of His word. See also 1 Cor. 3:10-11 and Eph. 2:19-22.

Peter builds on the rock theme in 1 Peter 2:4-10, introducing a phrase that further explains the focus of the church. That phrase is “the people of God.” Looking back to a messianic passage in Hosea 1- 3, Peter is talking about people who previously did not belong to God, were scattered across the world and outside God’s mercy, but now belong to Him, brought together in mercy through Jesus Christ. The idea of God’s people flows through scripture starting in Ex. 3:7-10, going through God’s promise to David (2 Sam. 7:5-16), through the prophets (Is. 2:2-4, Jer. 31:31-34) to the very end of time (Rev.21:3). God is the focus of His people.

In 1 Pet. 2:9 they are called “His own special people,” indicating ownership and bringing us back to the promise of Jesus, “on this rock I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18). As the people of God, built on The Rock, bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus, He is our focus.

“But, wait,” some will say, “Since Jesus died on the cross to save us, doesn’t that make us the focus?” That is a very good question, and the answer is found there in 1 Peter. “But you are a chosen generation, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may PROCLAIM THE PRAISES OF HIM who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Later Peter says “that in all things GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the dominion for ever and ever” (I Peter 4:11). Finally, the celebratory song of salvation in Ephesians 1 shines its light on the glory of the God who saved us by reminding us three times that it is all “TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY.” It really doesn't look like the spotlight is on us, so let’s stay focused on Him.

James McClenny

Isaiah 10:15a - “Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it?” In the Old Testament, it was not uncommon for the LORD to use other nations to punish His people. In 722 B.C., God lost patience with the northern kingdom of Israel and sent the Assyrians to destroy them. The Assyrians were simply a tool used to bring destruction on God’s people, yet they became prideful saying, “By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this...like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants” (Isaiah 10:13).

The Assyrians were the axe God used to chop down the Israelites, and yet the axe boasted as if it swung itself. The saw bragged as if it moved on its own accord. As Christians, we are to be zealous for good works (Titus 2:14), but we must remember we are simply God’s tools. Axes and saws are useless without someone to wield them, and we are only useful in God’s kingdom because He is wielding us “to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:12). Thus, even for our part in this life our confidence must be rooted in God and not ourselves. Let him who boasts, boast in the Axe Wielder (cf. 1 Cor. 1:31).

Brian Messerli