Titles of The Church (#6)

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

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Today we study another title of the Church, this is the 6^th title we are studying.

^NASB 1 Peter 2:5 ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1Pe 2:5 NASB)

Here Apostle Peter is telling us that Christians are living stones, and that we are being built up as a spiritual house to offer up spiritual sacrifices to Yahweh God.

Since we have studied Christians as living stones in an earlier sermon called “Titles of Christians (#10) Living Stones,” please refer to that sermon. Today I will not repeat the part about living stones, but will only focus on the Church as the spiritual house.        

We Cannot Isolate Ourselves from Other Christians and Live by Ourselves

This title “the spiritual house” tells us that we cannot isolate ourselves from other Christians and live by ourselves. Here Apostle Peter compares Christians to stones that build up a spiritual house, but one stone by itself is not enough to build up a house, no matter how big and wonderful that stone is. Just one stone is not sufficient. We need many stones to build a house.

There is no room for individualism. Today many Christians don’t want to relate to other Christians; they say they don’t need to go to Church, for they can worship God and meditate on the Word of God at home; that is not Christianity in the Bible. Our concern is not only for our own salvation. Even though salvation is important, that’s not our only concern. We are baptized into one body. As living stones, we are being built up together as a spiritual house of Yahweh God.

Titles of the Church (#5)

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

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Today we are going to study another title of the church, this is the 5^th one. The purpose of these studies is not to accumulate more and more biblical knowledge so that we feel good about ourselves. We study these titles so that by the grace of Yahweh God we would fulfill the meaning of these titles in our lives.

The Church is the Israel of God

^ESV Galatians 6:16 ¹⁶ And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. (Gal 6:16 ESV)

This is a greeting from Paul to the Galatian Church; he says that “peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” He is calling the Galatian church the Israel of God!

The people of Israel are the Jews, but in Paul’s churches, many or most of the Christians were not Jews. Indeed, Galatians 2:9 specifically says that Paul and Barnabas went to preach to the Gentiles:

^ESV Galatians 2:9 ⁹ and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. (Gal 2:9 ESV)

The term “circumcised” here refers to the Jews, because circumcision is the sign of the covenant between Yahweh God and Abraham. This verse says that James, Cephas (Peter) and John went to the Jews, whereas Paul and Barnabas went to the Gentiles. That’s why many or most of the Christians in Paul’s churches were Gentiles, they were not Jews. Then why did he call the Galatian church the Israel of God?

In order to answer this question, we have to look into the meaning of circumcision.

Titles of the Church (#4)

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

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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

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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

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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

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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.