The three parts of the church’s foundation give us something to build on. What part do the apostles play in the foundation of the church?
Category: Church
The foundation of the church is made up of three parts. The most important part is Jesus, the cornerstone of the church.
The germ of any great idea, machination or agenda is necessity; without a need the scheme is frivolous and the greater the need, the more highly esteemed the solution to the need is. Mickey Mantle was a hero of sorts in his day and he satisfied millions of peoples’ entertainment ‘needs’, but Dr. Jonas Salk was THE hero of the day and Mantle’s flame was very dim to the blaze of Salk’s stardom. The reason is simple: people valued the polio vaccine even more than they did Mantle’s baseball exploits.
Not too many years ago, while walking through a college campus, I saw a group of individuals holding up placards encouraging individuals to, “Love Christ, not the Church.” The church is seen as unforgiving, unloving, and un-Christlike. Scandals reverberate through various organizations claiming to be the church. Venomous words of hatred spew out of those claiming to speak in the name of Christ. It is understandable why many would be skeptical of those who claim to be the church. Consider a few passages of scripture which detail God’s design for the church, God’s feelings towards the church, and our responsibilities to the church.
Ephesians 5:22-33 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so letthe wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
All too often, it seems the passage above is reserved exclusively for Bible studies geared toward marriage enrichment, or for wedding ceremonies.
In its 6,000 years the world has seen many revolutions, but no revolution can compare to what has been accomplished in the world by Christ and his Church. Christianity is the greatest revolution the world has ever seen. In Acts 17, Paul and Silas passed through Thessalonica in Macedonia preaching the gospel of Jesus. As was often the case, the righteous accepted their teachings and the rest rejected them. When the Jews chased them out of the city they chastised them, saying in Acts 17:6: “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too…” So how were Christians turning the world upside down? This article considers one important example – how the Church changed the world for women. Treatment of Women in Ancient Cultures
Of all the gifts of God, the Lord’s promise of liberty must be among the greatest. In Christ’s Kingdom there is liberty, a special kind of freedom not enjoyed by those outside of his body. What is this liberty? The Bible explains.
I grew up in what would be considered as an evangelical church by men’s reasoning. We attended as often as the doors were opened. At age 12 I prayed what they called the “Sinner’s Prayer” and I was convinced I was “saved” at that point. I then was baptized many months later when they had a number of others ready for baptism. I was baptized into the evangelical congregation as a “sign of my salvation”. I was completely pleased with my spiritual life for several years. However that changed. In 1978 I met a nice young lady whom I wanted to get to know better. (As a side note we married 1 year later and I have been blessed by her these past 32 years.) I was plainly told by her parents that IF I wanted to be with her on Sundays I had to attend church assemblies, for that was where she would be. I wanted to be with her, so I attended the assemblies of the Pond Creek church of Christ. At first I was more concerned with her than I was with the church.
The impulse to discover and worship something greater than ourselves is embedded in the human nature. It’s apparent in this psalm that King David was inclined in this way, and so also is the rest of the human race. Essentially every culture of every age has had at its core some kind of religious tradition whereby they venerate the supernatural powers of the universe. These religious rituals are all very different and the objects of their worship hardly ever the same, yet there is undeniably a common compulsion to seek and serve the supernal.