Matthew 16, 1 Peter 2 - The Church W1

Over the next few weeks we are going to take a look at the Church. I have selected some passages of scripture that talk about the early church and some of the defining characteristics of the church. 

Before we look at a few verses I’d like to know:

What comes to your mind when you hear “The Church”?

Greek Terms 1577 ekklēsía(from 1537 /ek, "out from and to" and 2564 /kaléō, "to call") , people called out from the world and to God - Ecclesiology – The Study of the Church

2 Key sections of scripture that describe the foundation of the Church.

Matthew 16:13-19 

Peter in his letter to various congregations, talks about this ROCK in some detail.

1 Peter 2:1-12 

(2-4 is a reference to Isaiah 28:16 – and refers to the messiah.)

Jesus, Peter, and Isaiah all used the image of a stone or rock in building the church. Do you think of a Rock when you think of church (Solid, strong, heavy – or something fragile and frail?)

We are going to talk more about the purpose of the church later, but I don’t want to overlook one of the key purposes of the church that Peter mentions in V9.

 What is the purpose he identifies? so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light

Many of the things that distinguish the church are things that will allow us to proclaim His excellencies.

One of the defining characteristics that allow us to Proclaim His excellencies is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The church began on the day of Pentecost, (which we will talk about later) when people repented and were baptized in Jesus name, and received the Holy Spirit. On that day, the thing that united believers was the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 

This passage talks about how all these different people all formed one body.

This application of this passage should not be restricted to the believers at Corinth, where they were dealing with Jews and Greeks. It can also equally apply to the Universal Church, meaning all believers from Pentecost to the Rapture. We can also apply it to Fellowship Bible Church.

What are some of the differences we see among people in our church?

How have you seen the Holy Spirit work in this church to unify us into one body?

Does having a church with so many different kinds of people “proclaim His excellencies”?

Challenge: Think about how the Holy Spirit gives us something in-common with each other and unites us in the purpose of “proclaiming His Excellencies” – Expand that out to believers who are in other churches/denominations and look for ways to “Proclaim His Excellencies” in concert with other Christians.