Titles of the Church (#4)

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

PDF copy

Today we are going to study another title of the church:

^NASB 1 Timothy 3:15 ¹⁵ but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. (1Ti 3:15 NASB)

Here Apostle Paul says that the purpose of his letter is to help Timothy know how to conduct himself in the household of God, the church of the living God Yahweh, the pillar and support of the truth.

Last time we studied the first part of this passage “The household of God”; please refer to the last sermon. Today we are going to study the second part: “The pillar and support of the truth”.

Biblical Meaning of Truth

First of all, what is truth? I am not talking about the dictionary definition of truth, but the biblical meaning of truth; how does the Bible define truth? The meaning of truth in the Bible is vast and deep; we need to look into both the Old and New Testaments.

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew; the original Hebrew word for truth is “אֱמֶת ” (emeth). The New Testament was written in Greek; the original Greek word for truth is “ ἀλήθεια ” (alētheia).

Titles of the Church (#3)

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

PDF copy

Today we are going to study another title of the church.

^NASB Ephesians 2:19 ¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household (Eph 2:19 NASB)

In this passage Apostle Paul tells the Ephesian church that they are “of God’s household.”  What does God’s household mean?

God’s Household means God’s family

First let’s look at the word “household” in English dictionaries:

• Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “household” as the people in a family or other group that are living together in one house
• Oxford English dictionary defines “household” as a house and its occupants regarded as a unit

According to English dictionaries, people who live in a household may or may not be of the same family. In other words, so long as they live in the same house, they are called a household. But the New Testament was written in Greek, in which the original Greek word for “household” is οἰκεῖος (oikeĩos). Greek-English dictionaries define “oikeĩos” as members of a family. Therefore “household” in this passage means family or kinship; they are not just people living in the same house.

In this passage, Ephesians 2:19, Paul is saying to the Ephesian church that they are of God’s household, which means God’s family, with each Christian being a member of God’s family.

Titles of The Church (#2)

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

PDF copy

The original meaning of the word “church”

Today we continue to study the titles of the church. First let’s look at the meaning of the word “church” :

^NASB Acts 5:11 ¹¹ And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things. (Act 5:11 NASB)

The original Greek word for “church” in this passage is “ἐκκλησία” (ekklēsia); it consists of two words: “ἐκ” (ek) which means “out of,” and “καλέω” (kaleō) which means “to call”. The original meaning of the word “church” (ekklēsia) is a group of people being called out. Indeed the Lord Jesus said that he chose us out of the world:

^NASB John 15:19 “¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. (Joh 15:19 NASB)

When we talk about the church, we are not talking about the church building, but are talking about a group of people who are called out (or chosen out) of this world by the Lord Jesus.

Titles of The Church (#1)

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

PDF copy

Today I want to talk about “Titles of the Church”; it doesn’t mean that I have finished the series of messages on “The Titles of Christians”. Indeed, there are so many meaningful and important titles of Christians in the Bible, so from time to time I will still talk about “The Titles of Christians”.

The Church is the body of Christ

First of all the word “church” does not mean church buildings nor the local churches; it refers to the spiritual church that includes all the Christians. The title that we are going to study today is: The body of Christ.

^NASB 1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you [plural] are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. (1Co 12:27 NASB)

The word “you” in the original Greek language is plural; it refers to all the Christians in the church. The verse says that Christians form the body of Christ, which means that Christ is the head of the church, and each individual Christian is a member of that body.

^NASB Romans 12:5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (Rom 12:5 NASB)

Here this passage says that we Christians are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. It means each individual belongs to one another. Not only do we belong to Christ, we also belong to one another.

This point is important. Nowadays many Christians like to emphasize a “personal relationship” with Jesus Christ. It is true that each Christian needs to know Jesus Christ personally, but too much emphasis on the “personal relationship” with Christ gives people the impression that all we need is to have a personal relationship with Christ and we can just ignore all the Christians. No, that is not what the Bible teaches. We are one body in Christ, but we are also connected to individual members of the body.