The Divine Nature and Purpose of the Church
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The New Testament gives great space to this question of the nature of the Christian Church. You'll find that it's dealt with very extensively. This book of the Acts of the Apostle tells us about the origin foundation of the church and the development, and all the Epistles in a sense are nothing but treatises on the subject of the nature of the Christian church. [00:02:20]
The church is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets. He means their teaching, and this is the point at which we've got to start, all of us, and we must start again tonight. What has brought this church into being is this preaching. What our brother has been inducted to do is to preach. This is the first and the primary thing. [00:08:10]
We must have the message, we must have the truth. I'll tell you why in a moment, but we also must have the power of the Holy Spirit. The church doesn't merely declare a number of truths and facts in her own strength and power. If she does, she'll be useless. The thing that brings the church into being is the declaration of these truths in the demonstration of the spirit and of power. [00:10:00]
A Christian is a man obviously who has discovered a need. He's a man who's being convinced and convicted of his sin. You know, there seems to be a tendency today to think and to say that you shouldn't preach the law, you shouldn't preach to convict people of sin, that all you do is to invite them to come to Jesus and to accept what he offers. [00:14:09]
The early Christians were always together, they were always meeting. They did it daily. In other words, you see the picture which we have is this: not of a number of people who've got their names on a certain register, but whom you don't often see in the church building. People, you know, who have to be rounded up constantly by the pastor. [00:21:40]
The idea today is that a church is just a kind of club or a kind of society, and you must have your tennis club, perhaps your rugby team, your dance club, and all these various other entertainments, and the minister is a man who organizes this social life and activity. [00:24:31]
They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and of prayers. This is the church. There's nothing else in the world like a church. She's a unique creation of God, the spirit, and she shows that by her interest, by the things that bring them together and hold them together. [00:24:40]
The basis of it is this: Fellowship, fellowship, they said. This is the thing we need, they said. Don't talk about teaching, don't talk about doctrine, for that divides, and it doesn't matter what a man believes as long as we're all Christians and we're all together. [00:25:56]
Ignorance is the cause of all our troubles. Ignorance is a terrible thing. People, I say, are not interested in Christ and his salvation because they don't know God, because they don't know what it is to die and to stand in the judgment. It is ignorance. Ignorance is an appalling thing, and spiritual ignorance is the most appalling of all. [00:36:41]
The real explanation of why the masses of the people in this country are outside the Christian church today is simply the state and the condition of those of us who are inside. It is, you know, I'm not here to criticize great campaigns and efforts and things like that, all right, but I'm here to say this: they're really missing the point. [00:46:00]
When this church is filled with this kind of person, you'll find the others coming in. You won't have to spend a farthing on advertising, you won't have to buy any literature or anything. You let this place be filled with people who are overflowing with joy and praise and thanksgiving and gladness, people who have got a radiance in their faces. [00:50:29]
May we all be filled with this Spirit. May a double portion come upon his dear servant here and upon you good people, and may God grant that in his infinite wisdom and in his own holy providence that a fire shall be lit here in this way with this mighty Spirit of power upon this only truth. [00:53:01]
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The church is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets. He means their teaching, and this is the point at which we've got to start, all of us, and we must start again tonight. What has brought this church into being is this preaching. What our brother has been inducted to do is to preach. This is the first and the primary thing. [00:08:10]
We must have the message, we must have the truth. I'll tell you why in a moment, but we also must have the power of the Holy Spirit. The church doesn't merely declare a number of truths and facts in her own strength and power. If she does, she'll be useless. The thing that brings the church into being is the declaration of these truths in the demonstration of the spirit and of power. [00:10:00]
A Christian is a man obviously who has discovered a need. He's a man who's being convinced and convicted of his sin. You know, there seems to be a tendency today to think and to say that you shouldn't preach the law, you shouldn't preach to convict people of sin, that all you do is to invite them to come to Jesus and to accept what he offers. [00:14:09]
The early Christians were always together, they were always meeting. They did it daily. In other words, you see the picture which we have is this: not of a number of people who've got their names on a certain register, but whom you don't often see in the church building. People, you know, who have to be rounded up constantly by the pastor. [00:21:40]
The idea today is that a church is just a kind of club or a kind of society, and you must have your tennis club, perhaps your rugby team, your dance club, and all these various other entertainments, and the minister is a man who organizes this social life and activity. [00:24:31]
They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and of prayers. This is the church. There's nothing else in the world like a church. She's a unique creation of God, the spirit, and she shows that by her interest, by the things that bring them together and hold them together. [00:24:40]
The basis of it is this: Fellowship, fellowship, they said. This is the thing we need, they said. Don't talk about teaching, don't talk about doctrine, for that divides, and it doesn't matter what a man believes as long as we're all Christians and we're all together. [00:25:56]
Ignorance is the cause of all our troubles. Ignorance is a terrible thing. People, I say, are not interested in Christ and his salvation because they don't know God, because they don't know what it is to die and to stand in the judgment. It is ignorance. Ignorance is an appalling thing, and spiritual ignorance is the most appalling of all. [00:36:41]
The real explanation of why the masses of the people in this country are outside the Christian church today is simply the state and the condition of those of us who are inside. It is, you know, I'm not here to criticize great campaigns and efforts and things like that, all right, but I'm here to say this: they're really missing the point. [00:46:00]
When this church is filled with this kind of person, you'll find the others coming in. You won't have to spend a farthing on advertising, you won't have to buy any literature or anything. You let this place be filled with people who are overflowing with joy and praise and thanksgiving and gladness, people who have got a radiance in their faces. [00:50:29]
May we all be filled with this Spirit. May a double portion come upon his dear servant here and upon you good people, and may God grant that in his infinite wisdom and in his own holy providence that a fire shall be lit here in this way with this mighty Spirit of power upon this only truth. [00:53:01]
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