Thursday 013025
Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.
Since the beginning of this study, our vision has been that we are ONLY going to follow what is found in the Holy Bible, that pertains to us, and we realize that it’s ONLY from our own effort that we put into this study, that we’re going to take anything away for our own use.
The verses we are going to study tonight:
Romans 1:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 5:6; Hebrews 7:27, 9:28, 10:12; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 14:12.
In tonight’s lesson, we’re going to strengthen our understanding of a couple of words.
The first word we should begin with is the word ‘church.’
On google.com, it is written that in the Bible, the church is a group of people, not a building.
The word ‘church’ in Greek is ‘ekklesia’ which means ‘called out ones’ or ‘assembly.’
In layman’s terms, according to the Bible a church is essentially a gathering or assembly of believers in Jesus Christ, often referred to as the ‘Body of Christ,’ meaning all those that have accepted Jesus as their Savior are considered part of the church.
The word ‘church’ appears about 120 times in the N.T. but it does NOT appear at all in the O.T.
Since the Bible does not specifically demand that you attend a church, it’s really easy for us to just not go. A person may think, ‘I can worship anywhere.’ While that statement is true, when a person visits and attends a church regularly, I’ve said it’s like a person is getting their batteries recharged or they’re getting their cup filled to the top.
A ’church’ is a group of people that are bound together by a shared commitment to each other and to living out the Gospel.
The word ‘gospel’ is defined as ‘the Good News.’
The word ‘gospel’ is used 93 times in the Bible, exclusively in the N.T.
The word comes from the Greek word ‘euaggelion’ where the English word ‘evangelist’ comes from.
The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have been referred to as the four gospels that are found in the New Testament.
These writings were writings about the life and times of Jesus Christ.
These four gospels were intended to show how Jesus was the promised Messiah that had finally come, the same Messiah that was promised to the Jewish forefathers, centuries earlier.
The apostle Paul’s definition is a little bit different what the Gospel’s intentions were.
Paul tells people that he preached to, as well as us today, that the Gospel is God’s power to Salvation to everyone who believes.
Romans 1
vs16 ‘…For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek…’
vs17 ‘…For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: ‘But the righteous one will live by faith…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
Going back to the definition of gospel, the Good News was that Jesus Christ had finally come.
But actually, the Good News did not happen until Jesus, Himself had died. Jesus was used as the sacrifice that cleansed us ALL from our sins. Another words, the Good News didn’t happen until Jesus had died, buried and risen from the tomb.
There is only ONE Gospel found in the Bible that clearly states my above comment, and this ONE Gospel, was written by the apostle Paul.
1 Corinthians 15
vs1 ‘…Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand…’
vs2 ‘…by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain…’
vs3 ‘…For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…’
vs4 ‘…and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
This is the ONLY real Gospel that is found in the Bible.
It was from Jesus’ life being given up as a sacrifice to ALL mankind which resulted in man’s Salvation from his sins.
Romans 5:6 ‘…For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
Hebrews 7:27 ‘…who has no daily need, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because He did this once for all time when He offered up Himself…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
Hebrews 9:28 ‘…so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
Hebrews 10:12 ‘…but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
So, we have discussed the word ‘church’ and then the word ‘Gospel.’
Now let’s look at what can be found inside a church and look closer at what should be found.
Romans 12
vs3 ‘…God has been kind to me so that I can serve him. Because of that, I say this to every one of you: Do not think that you are better than you really are. Instead, think about yourself carefully. Decide how much God has helped you to trust him. Then you will know how to serve him well…’
vs4 ‘…Each part of our body works in a different way. But all the parts belong to our one body…’
vs5 ‘…In the same way, we are many people, but we all belong to Christ, like one body. We also belong to each other, like the different parts of one body belong to each other…’
vs6 ‘…God has been kind to us. He has given to each of us different gifts so that we can serve him. God helps some people to SPEAK his messages clearly. Those people should trust God to tell them what to say…’
vs7 ‘…God helps some people to SERVE others. They should do that well. God helps some people to be able to TEACH others. Those people should teach well…’
vs8 ‘…If God has helped you to make others strong, then you should do that. If God has helped you to share your things with others, do that seriously. If God has helped you to be a LEADer, do that carefully. If God has helped you to be kind to others, do that happily…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)
Speak, Serve, Teach and to Lead.
This is the basis of what we should find in our churches. There is not one individual any more important than the other. A church is a group of people, gathered to help celebrate Jesus together. A church should all speak to one another; a church should all serve one another; a church should all teach one another what has been written in the Word and a church should all lead each other upwards to Him.
A church is a celebration of Jesus. Not of a denomination with their own rules and regulations, where in the Word does it say we can do that. A church is not the property of an individual human being, that is no better than anyone else inside the building … if it wouldn’t have been for the life of Jesus, given up for us, we ALL would be going to hell.
1 Corinthians 12
vs4 ‘…The Holy Spirit helps us with different kinds of gifts. But it is the same Spirit who gives them…’
vs5 ‘…We serve the Lord in different ways, but all of us serve the same Lord…’
vs6 ‘…We do different kinds of work. But it is the same God who helps us all to work in different ways…’
vs7 ‘…God helps each of us with a gift from his Spirit. He does that so that we can help others…’
vs8 ‘…The Spirit helps some people to speak wise messages. Other people can speak messages that help people to know what is true. It is the same Spirit that helps them to do that…’
vs9 ‘…The same Spirit causes other people to trust God strongly. He gives to other people gifts to make sick people well…’
vs10 ‘…The same Spirit gives other people power to do miracles. Other people can speak messages from God. Some people can recognize whether spirits are good or bad. Some people can speak in different kinds of languages. And other people can explain what those languages mean…’
vs11 ‘…There is only one Holy Spirit. The same Spirit helps people to do all these different things. He decides which gifts he will give to each person…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)
The edification of the church is the work of God through the church’s ministry to build up the faith of its members and make the church spiritually beautiful. It involves activities that help people become more like Christ and can be individual or corporate.
In the Bible, the word for edification is ‘oikodomé,’ which appears in the New Testament about 20 times and translates to ‘the building of a house.’ It means to instruct and improve, especially in moral and religious knowledge. Edification is more than just encouragement and can include any activity that results in more Christlikeness.
1 Corinthians 14:12
‘…Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church…’ KJV (King James Version)
‘…So, you too, since you are eager to possess spiritual gifts, strive to excel for the edification of the church…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
‘…Since you are eager to have the gifts of the Spirit, you must try above everything else to make greater use of those which help to build up the church…’ GNT (Good News Translation)
‘…So, think about what is best for you. You really want the gifts that come from God’s Spirit. Most of all, you should want the gifts that will help the whole church to become stronger…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)
In the Biblical sense of the word, edification means to build up and strengthen one another – it means to help someone along in their walk with Christ – it means to promote spiritual growth and maturity. Simply put, edification means to help one another become more like Christ.
Keep your Bibles open and continue to study His Word that will keep you safe in this world that we live in.
I love y’all. Remember the day is coming when Jesus will finally be able to show us the real, true meaning of that word and show us just how much He loves each one of us.
Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen
InHIM. ><)))o>