Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:14-15)
If the Gospels are any indication, Jesus didn’t have much to say about the Church – the word occurs only twice and both times in Matthew (16:18; 18:17). But that doesn’t mean he thought it was unimportant. In fact, Jesus made it plain that the Church was an integral part of His mission. He came to build it. In fact, it is the only thing Jesus ever said he was going to build.
New Testament writers advanced the understanding of the Church in a variety of ways: It is, as our text says, the “household of God” (or God’s family). It belongs to God (a point made explicitly seven times in the New Testament). It is called the “body of Christ” (Ephesians 1:22-23) and “God’s temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
So what’s the point?
There is no relationship with God apart from the family of God. There is no connection with God without belonging to God. There is no relationship with Christ without belonging to His body. There is no indwelling of God’s Spirit without God’s temple, and no temple without the Church. Altogether, the Church is an indispensable part of a relationship with God.
Mike Tune