Part 2 – Purpose of the Church Christ’s Church Part 2 – Purpose of the Church

Christ’s Church – Purpose Luke 19:1-10 records Jesus’ interaction with a tax-gatherer named Zaccheus After approaching the tree which Zaccheus had climbed, Jesus told him to come down, saying, “for today I must stay at your house” (Luke 19:5) Some of the crowd couldn’t believe that Jesus would eat with such a sinner Christ’s Church – Purpose

Christ’s Church – Purpose Jesus responded that salvation had come to Zaccheus’ house, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) Jesus came to seek and save the lost That is why He died – see 1 Corinthians 15:3,4 Jesus was put to death, so He has left this mission to us Christ’s Church – Purpose

Christ’s Church – Purpose Jesus said in John 14:12, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father” The works that Jesus came to do were to seek and to save the lost Those who believe in Jesus can do even greater works than Christ did! Christ’s Church – Purpose

Christ’s Church – Purpose Jesus had only 3 ½ years for His earthly ministry The Christian may have 50 or more Thus He gave a commission to His apostles, which applies to all of us Read Matthew 28:19-20 Christ’s Church – Purpose

Christ’s Church – Purpose In one short set of instructions Jesus gave us the program that will work for any Christian in any culture Go Make disciples Immerse them into the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit Continue to teach them Christ’s Church – Purpose

Christ’s Church – Purpose If every Christian will set himself to carrying out the Lord’s instructions, the church will accomplish its task of seeking and saving the lost The final words of the Great Commission make it clear that this mission is for every disciple, not just for the apostles “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” Christ’s Church – Purpose

Christ’s Church – Purpose Jesus obviously anticipated that His marching orders would be carried out after the death of the apostles by all the disciples of Christ As the apostle Paul said, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1) The responsibility for evangelism is right where it belongs – on us Christ’s Church – Purpose

Christ’s Church – Purpose When it comes to carrying out the work of seeking and saving the lost, the Christian finds that he needs help God has supplied this help in church leadership – read Ephesians 4:11-16 The work of the church leadership is to equip the saints for the work of service The purpose of equipping the saints is so that the body might be built up Christ’s Church – Purpose

Christ’s Church – Purpose There are two ways in which the body can be built up The first kind of building is in internal strength Just as a building can be strengthened by reinforcing walls, so the church can be internally strengthened by edifying the saints The second way in which the body can be built up is by an increase in numbers Without this increase, the body loses its enthusiasm and its sense of direction Without this increase, the body dies for lack of “replacement cells” Christ’s Church – Purpose

Christ’s Church – Purpose The emphasis is on seeking and saving the lost, causing the “growth of the body” Summary Jesus came to seek and save the lost Upon His physical death, He left the church to carry on His work It is the function of the church leadership to provide the edification for the body to carry out its appointed task Christ’s Church – Purpose

Part 3 – Organization of the Church Christ’s Church Part 3 – Organization of the Church