New Sermon Series - The Task of the Church

I started a new series of Sermons this week at the congregation that I preach for. In this series of sermons we will look at the life and work of the local Church in God's plan of redemption and rescue for this world. Sunday we began this series with pointing out that God chose the Church as his vehicle for bringing the message of salvation to the world and chose to make his manifold wisdom known to the world through the Church. The first sermon in this series focused on a topic that divides many Christians and that is the topic of baptism. An act that was meant to unify a broken and divided humanity in Christ has become a subject that has divided Christianity. When we say that baptism puts us into the Church it becomes very confusing as to what we mean. Does it mean a local denomination that one is placed in by baptism? Let us define what we mean by the term Church. To understand the Church we must repudiate the reduction that many people have tried by likening it to the Classical Greek Ekklesia. The term Ekklesia is where we get the English term Church. In the Classical Greek world the ekklesia was a body of land owning men that were called to an assembly to make decisions for a particular city state. This assembly was not open to slaves, women, or children. This term is a bad visual picture for the church in the NT because the earliest Christian assemblies were composed by many women, slaves, and people that did not own land. The idea of the Church in the NT is more like the idea of the Assembly of God in the OT known in Hebrew as the Qahal. The Qahal is a term used in the OT in Deut 9:10; 10:4; 18:16, et al, in regards to the Assembly of Israel. This assembly was the people of God that were gathered together to hear the reading the Law and assent to a covenant with God. These were truly God’s people formed by Covenant. If we understand this concept of the Qahal it makes sense of the act of baptism and what it means to be the Church. In the Exodus story the Israelites were lead out of Egypt and the came to the Red Sea. God miraclulously parted the Red Sea and they crossed over on dry land. At that moment on the shores of the Red Sea the people made a decision to be God’s people and never look back. Paul likens the crossing in I Corinthians 10:1-2 to baptism. Paul speaks as to how this going through the sea was like a baptism ‘INTO’ Moses. It was at this point that God lead them to Sinai and they became God’s ‘qahal’ or the Assembly of God. The Hebrew writer nails home this theme in Hebrews 12: 18-24 where he compares the two Mountains of Sinai and Zion. We, as Christians, are the new Assembly but now we assemble at Mount Zion. We are gathered there at this new Mount because of Jesus work on the Cross. We are brought into this assembly of God out of the slavery of sin through baptism. In Romans 6 Paul makes it clear that this is through immersion. That by the very act of baptism we reenact the very dying and rising of Christ. Romans 6 also draws the parallel with that Exodus event by pointing out that we are now free from slavery because of our burial in baptism. Because of our baptism we are now free from the slavery of sin and are now ‘IN CHRIST’. We are identified with Christ and not the old way of slavery. God’s kingdom is open to all that are willing to put down all personal agendas and completely rely on Him. Out of all the themes that Jesus uses in the NT to describe His kingdom one of the most common is the theme of God’s family. To understand this motif we must look at what Jesus said about becoming like a little child. Jesus made it clear in His teachings that one must humble themselves and become like a child to enter the Kingdom.Matthew 18: 1-41 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.Luke 10: 2121 At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.Children have an attitude of dependence and it is that attitude that Jesus hammers home to his Disciples. One must loose all of the selfish ambition and self reliance if they want to inhabit this Kingdom of God.One way that the Scripture coveys this point is by describing baptism as a type of new birth. In John 3 Nicodemus comes to Jesus and Jesus teaches him this truth about baptism. Nicodemus comes to Jesus and tells him that he knows that Jesus is a teacher that came from God. In this passage we see Jesus response to Nicodemus.John 3: 1-51 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." 3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" 5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.Jesus specifically tells Nicodemus that one must be born of water and Spirit before he can enter the Kingdom. He likens this birth of the water and spirit with being ‘born again’ or more specifically in the Greek being ‘born of above’. Many say that this passage is not talking about water baptism in this passage and that He is talking about ones natural birth and then a spiritual birth. They way that the ‘water’ of the passage refers to the amnionic fluid of a birth. The only problem with this proposal is that there is no ancient records that show that people used the expression, of ‘breaking water’ in regards to natural birth. This is a modern anachronism that is propping up a bias against water baptism. The context of this passage most naturally fits water baptism because just previously we learn that John was baptizing in water in John 1 and later in chapter 3 verse 23 we witness that John was baptizing in Aenon near Salim because there was much water there. The immediate context of this passage fits that Jesus conception of water in this passage would be Christian baptism.Also, the earliest Christians interpreted this passage to refer to water baptism. The point that Jesus is making is that one is to become like a child and enter into this kingdom through the new birth of baptism. All human power games, status, money, and selfishness have no place in this kingdom. Baptism becomes the great equalizer in which this fractured human family is grafted and adopted into the true family of God. The greatest example of a union of Heaven and Earth is in the person of Jesus Christ. John 1:14 tells us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He is the ultimate intersection of Heaven and Earth. But there are glimpses of Heaven and Earth coming together in other places. Baptism is on of those events when the veil between Heaven and Earth is rent. At the event of Jesus Baptism we see an event that is sign post of what is to come for those that baptized into the name of Jesus.Mark 1: 9-109 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11 and a voice came out of the heavens: In this passage we see term in the New Testament that is used in one other place in the NT. The term used for ‘heavens opening’ literally means that the heavens were rent open. It is the same term for the tearing of the veil in the Temple that separated man from the Holy of Holies in the Temple. The message is simple, that in the work of Jesus the dividing wall of Heaven and the blessings of Heaven have been torn open by Jesus.In our baptism we are connected with those blessings from the Heavenly realm. Acts 2:38 calls is forgiveness of sins.I Peter 3:21 calls is salvation.Colossians 2: 1212 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.RAISED UP WITH CHRIST IN BAPTISMThis idea of being raised up with Christ is not emphasized much when people speak of baptism but it is a Biblical concept. Ephesians 2: 4-74 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.Paul points out in this majestic passage that we are ALREADY in a sense raised up with Christ. In the same way the Hebrew writer says that all things are subject to Christ in Hebrews chapter 2 but it doesn’t seem that way at the present. It may not seem like it now but a transaction has taken place between Heaven and Earth in our baptism. We, through the work and grace of God, have been raised up with Christ as a signpost to the world what is to come.