Day 149: How Will We Get There? (The Means of The Church)
Today, we come to some simple conclusions about the Mission and Vision that Christ has set for The Church. We are simply called to make disciples/students of Jesus and to lead them to spiritual maturity.
How will we get there? [Intention and Means]
WORDwork:
Hebrews 10:23–25
And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy. 24 And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, 25 not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near.
What does this author of Hebrews encourage his audience to do in this passage?
Philippians 2:12–16
So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out yall’s salvation with “fear and trembling” 13 for God is empowering in you both the desire and the empowerment for His good pleasure.
4 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure—children of God without blemish—though you live in a crooked and mislead generation, in which you shine as lights in the world 16 by holding on to the word of life so that on the day of Christ I will have a reason to boast that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. {Our “Southern” Translation}
What does Paul say the Philippians have “always” done?
What does he encourage them to continue to do?
What is God doing in them?
What will be the outcome if the Philippians listen to Paul?
There is a difference between simply hearing and listening. There is a huge difference between hearing and doing. James instructs us to “…be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). Now we get into one of the more sticky areas of faith: are we truly following our Master as He leads us.
All through history, from the very beginning, we have been tempted to simply hear the Word of the Lord and not act on it. In the context of our present discussion, once we have seen the VISION and understand our MISSION we reach the critical point and question: “Will we intend to do what Father God calls to?”
In the passages from Hebrews and Philippians, there is the assumption that the people who are being addressed will intend—want—to do the things that they are encouraged to do. Intention to act is critical. But if we never intend to do what is asked of us, there is no use talking about means—how will we do what we have been called to do.
But if we intend to follow Christ as He leads us, then there are things we can do to cooperate with Him in His work. In the Hebrews passage, the author says, “let us hold unwaveringly to the hope we confess…let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works…” Again, here is the assumption that his audience will want to do these things.
The Philippians passage is very instructive. First, Paul commends the church at Philippi for there obedience: hearing and doing the Word. So, this group has already shown that they are willing and intend to do what the Lord instructs. Then Paul develops some very important ideas that touches on intention and means. Let’s break the first part of it down into four main observations and points to remember:
We work together | We obey, we submit to God. The “you” in this passage is plural, so we have translated it as “yall” to make the point. We are never alone in our growth. We work with other brothers and sisters and together with Father God in Christ through the Holy Spirit.
We work “out” not “for” | We are not working “for” salvation—we already have this secure in Christ. We are working “out”—realizing (making real) all the benefits and responsibilities of the salvation that we already have.
God is giving us both desire and power | Father God is giving—“empowering” or “working”—in us the two main things that we need: desire/will and the power to do what is pleasing to Him. If you look at other translations of verse 13, they will read something like, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure…” The term that is translated “work” here means “to cause something to be.” In our translation, we have used the term “empowering” which may be over translating this term, but it gets the point across: Father God is working in us and that is what enables/empowers us to do what is pleasing to Him. Father God is also causing/enabling/empowering our desire. This is a massive idea that we have touched on in the past as we have talked about His grace. The main point here is that Father God’s work in us gives us all that we need to be pleasing to Him!
God is pleased to do this all for us | Finally God is pleased to empower us and give us the desire to be pleasing to him.
In the second part of that passage, Paul goes on to exhort them and us to do things without grumbling and complaining so that we will be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish. This ties back into our discussions about our identity IN Christ. As we are growing spiritually mature, we are learning to live out more and more of who we are in Christ. We are also learning to follow our Master Jesus as He leads us in humility and selflessness.
So what are the means that Father God has given us to accomplish our Mission as the Church? We will spend the rest of this study answering that questions. We have, in fact, been given a great number of means and motivations to do the work that the Lord has entrusted to us. As we will see, most of these means revolve around the Holy Spirit, His gifts to Christ’s people, and the people that have been called and equipped to accomplish Christ’s mission.
So, What is the Mission of the Church?
So now that we have briefly discussed the Purpose, Goals, Intention and Means that are revealed about the Church, we can clarify the definition and mission of the Church. In terms of our purpose, two observations are important:
Make Disciples | It is clear that we have been entrusted with the task of “making disciples from all nations.” As this mandate is developed in the New Testament, a second goal is developed and expanded:
Grow Disciples to Spiritual Maturity | As we have seen in so many of the passages throughout MilktoMeat, neither Jesus nor the Apostles were satisfied with men and women simply hearing the truth of the Gospel. That is important. But for those who have trusted Jesus through the Gospel, we are called to grow in Christ to become like Him, our Master Teacher. This is growing in spiritual maturity.
With those two points in mind, you can see that the Mission of the Church is to take the Message of Christ to all the people groups of the world, call people to faith in Christ, and then grow them to maturity in Christ. As the Church, the Body of Christ, you and I have been called into this mission. As we will see, we each have a unique and significant role to play based on who we are and how we have been gifted.
How has this weeks session helped you understand the Vision and Mission of the Church?
At this point, pray, asking, “Father, how do I fit into your plans and purposes and the mission you have entrusted to the Church?” Set you mind to be aware of answers you will hear as you continue through this study and talk with other brothers and sisters in Christ.
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
