What is the Church? The people of God, on Mission.
On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
-Matthew 16:18
We finished our second week of our series “What is the church?” The previous week Nick kicked off the series reminding us of the distinction of the church being the people of God and not a mere building. The commonly used Greek word we translate as church, Ekklesia never referring to a building but to a gathering of people, and also to the idea of “the called out ones.” This is where we pick up the series this week, that we are called out and given a mission, adding to our definition of church from last week, giving us: The people of God filled with the Spirit of God who confess Jesus as Messiah, the Son of God, given a MISSION from God. We see this throughout the New Testament whether it’s in the Gospels or in the letters written by the Apostles to the early church.
One place in particular that is essential to understanding our calling as the church is the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20 where Jesus is reminding them of His ultimate authority, followed by giving them the command to go and make disciples. We see this reflected in our definition of the church, in that the people of God are empowered by the Spirit of God and sent out into the world. This command is specific to the Church, but the idea of God’s people being given a mission to proclaim the One True God to the world is consistent from the Old Testament into the New Testament and beyond. The shift from the OT the NT is we proclaim Jesus as the Messiah sent from the One True God, and in this instance the people of God are operating under the idea of going in order to accomplish the mission.
“The people of God filled with the Spirit of God who confess Jesus as Messiah, the Son of God, given a MISSION from God.”
That is why the building of the church can become a hindrance, even a lid, capping off the potential of what the people of God are called to accomplish outside themselves. It’s mostly unintentional, where the building can become a financial burden or even a geographic anchor that holds you back in some ways. It can also be a mental hindrance where we mentally separate sacred and secular activities and only actively think of things within the walls of the church building as sacred or ministry related, not allowing the Gospel to spill into everyday life like it’s intended to do. As a believer, every space you’re in becomes a sacred space and has the potential to be redeemed by the power of the cross of Jesus Christ when we have the right heart and mindset and allow the Spirit to work that way in and through us.
This makes me think back to us looking at Matthew 16:18 after Peter rightly confesses who Jesus is as the Son of the Living God and Jesus says “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” We need to realize the “gates of hell shall not prevail” means that the enemy is on the defensive and we are the ones on the offense. This is the case at all times, and when we align ourselves with the confession of Jesus being the Messiah, we are fighting from a position of victory, and the enemy is always lashing out from a position of defeat. So when we have this right mindset, we can always be ready for the Spirit to use us in any space through that position of victory we already have in Christ.
As Nick mentioned, Church has nothing to do with where we are, it has everything to do with who God has made you to be in Jesus. So who are we in Christ? The church is the bride of Christ. We are His ambassadors for the Kingdom. We are the body of Christ, called as a royal priesthood. And with this calling we are not called out away from the world, but called out to go to the world with the message of the Gospel.
So to wrap up some thoughts on what it looks like to be the people of God on mission, I want to share more of the quote that Nick shared this past Sunday from Charles Spurgeon:
My brethren, let me say, be ye like Christ at all times. Imitate him in public. Most of us live in some sort of publicity; many of us are called to work before our fellow-men every day. We are watched; our words are caught; our lives are examined—taken to pieces. The eagle-eyed, argus-eyed world observes everything we do, and sharp critics are upon us. Let us live the life of Christ in public. Let us take care that we exhibit our Master, and not ourselves—so that we can say, "It is no longer I that live, but Christ that liveth in me." Take heed that you carry this into the church too, you who are church-members. Be like Christ in the church. How many there are of you like Diotrephes, seeking pre-eminence? How many are trying to have some dignity and power over their fellow Christians, instead of remembering that it is the fundamental rule of all our churches, that there all men are equal—alike brethren, alike to be received as such. Carry out the spirit of Christ, then, in your churches, wherever ye are; let your fellow members say of you, "He has been with Jesus."