THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH PART 5
Text- Ephesians 2:19-22
Introduction
This morning I am going to conclude my series of sermons that I have been preaching on the Holy Spirit.
Our text is found in Ephesians 2:19-22, and the title of my sermon is, "The Holy Spirit And The Church."
As we have seen these past 4 weeks, the Bible says many things about the Holy Spirit, yet in spite of all it says there is still much confusion about him.
This is especial true I believe concerning the work of the Holy Spirit in the Lord's churches.
One reason why there is so much confusion on this subject is because many people today have a misunderstanding of what a church is. So, before we get started with our study about the Holy Spirit, I’d first like to share with you a few things about the Church.
First of all, the Bible clearly teaches that all those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior are part of God’s family.
1 Peter 1:3 ...God... has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family. (LB)
When you were born physically, you became a part of the human family. When you're born spiritually, you became part of God's family. What is God's family?
1 Timothy 3:15b That family is the church of the living God, the support and foundation of the truth. (NCV)
When you’re born physically you become part of the human family but you don't become part of a local family until somebody makes the decision to take you home from the hospital. When you’re born again as a Christian you become part of God's family of believers but you need a local church family you can call home.
Ephesians 2:19-22 Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian. 20 What a foundation you stand on now: the apostles and the prophets; and the cornerstone of the building is Jesus Christ himself! 21 We who believe are carefully joined together with Christ as parts of a beautiful, constantly growing temple for God. 22 And you also are joined with him and with each other by the Spirit and are part of this dwelling place of God. (LB)
The Christian life isn’t just a matter of believing, it involves belonging to God's family. God doesn't want you to just be a church attender, He wants you to be a church member.
Colossians 3:15b ...this is your responsibility and privilege as members of his body. (LB) CIRCLE RESPONSIBILITY" AND "PRIVILEGE"
Those two words mark the difference between an attender and a member. It’s like the difference between living together and getting married. What is the difference? The difference is commitment. God doesn't want you to just go to a church, He wants you to be committed to a church family. How do I become a member of a church family?
Acts 2:41-42, 46 And those who believed Peter were baptized... 42 They joined with the other believers... 46 They worshiped together regularly at the Temple... met in small groups in homes for Communion... with great joy and thankfulness. (LB)
First you need to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you. Have you done that? Have you accepted Christ as your personal savior? After you’ve believed, you then need to be baptized. Baptism is the way we publicly identify ourselves that we are part of the family. It doesn't make you a Christian it shows that you are one. Have you been baptized? Then it says, they joined. Have you joined a church family? After they joined they made worshiping together a regular part of their life and they built relationships with other Christians in each other’s homes. Do you come to church each week? Are you in a small group?
How many of these steps have you taken? If you haven't accepted Jesus, been baptized and joined a church family what are you waiting on? You owe it to Jesus Christ who died for you to join a church where you can be committed to Him. How important is church? The Bible says Jesus died for the church. That's how important it is. I want to challenge you this morning to take that next step.
Today, far to many people seem to think that all there is to being a member of one of the Lord's churches is to have their names on the church roles or to come to church once or twice every couple of months, yet, as we can see from these verses, there is much more to being a member of one of the Lord's churches than this.
Now that we have a little bit better understanding of what a Church is and what our role is with that church, I’d like us to look at what the Bible says the work of the Holy Spirit is in the Church.