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Eph. 1:3-5, 7; Rom. 4:25; 1 Pet. 1:3; Eph. 2:5-6; Acts 2:4; 10:44-451 Cor. 12:13; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 26:19; 2 Cor. 4:1; Phil. 3:13
I. Chosen and predestinated by the Father
II. The redemption of Christ through His blood
III. The resurrection and ascension of Christ
IV. The outpouring of the Spirit on the Body
V. Entering the church by believing and being baptized
VI. Having no exit from the church
VII. Being absolute for the building up of the church
А. Not disobedient to the heavenly vision
B. Not discouraged
C. Always pursuing the goal
In the last seven lessons, we covered the matter of how to build up the church in a general way. In the next five lessons, we will clarify our role in the church life so that we may participate in the building up of the church. People come to the church life from various backgrounds. Most of you were born of parents who are in the church. In this lesson, our burden is to reveal how we came into the church. We were not born into the church physically, nor were we invited by a friend, etc.
We were chosen before the foundation of the world to be in the church. We were redeemed by Christ on the cross to be in the church. We were raised with Christ and seated in the heavenlies together with Christ for the church. We were regenerated by the Spirit to be in the church. We were born of God to be in the church. We are now sons of God in the household of God. We are members of the Body of Christ to be in the church. We are in the church by life and because of life. We are in the church because of the work of the Triune God. We can never leave the church, nor can we ever be dismissed from the church. We were destined to be in the church. We are in the church. The church is our home for eternity. Hallelujah!
In lesson one, we pointed out that the church was in God’s eternal plan. Here, we state that not only is the church in God’s eternal plan, we also are in that plan. Our being here is not a matter of happenstance. Ephesians 1:3-5 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ, according as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blemish before Him, in love, having predestinated us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.’’ It is clear that the first blessing we receive from the Father is His choosing and predestinating of us to be His sons. We know that Ephesians is a book on the church. Chapter one ends with the revelation of the Head with the Body, the church, to be the fullness of the Head. We can therefore say that the Father’s choosing and predestinating of us to be sons is for the church. Because the church is made up of the many sons of the Father, we who were chosen and predestinated are the constituents of the church.
Ephesians 1:7 says, “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of offenses, according to the riches of His grace.’’ When man was created, God said that he was very good. He had no sin, yet he still needed God to come into him. But before God could come into him, man fell into sin and came under the curse of the law. Therefore, God must redeem us, forgive us, and cleanse us from our sins to prepare us to be building material for the church. He accomplished redemption, as a man, on the cross for all mankind, once and for all. When we believe into Him, we receive the forgiveness of sins.
After Christ was delivered because of our offenses, He was raised because of our justification (Rom. 4:25). We were regenerated unto a living hope through His resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3), and we were made alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:5). As a result, the eternal life of God came into us to make us divinely human. This qualifies us to be the constituents of the church. Furthermore, we were raised up together and seated together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6). All things are under our feet. We have the authority in heaven and earth to carry out God’s desire — to build up the church. Having obtained all these blessings from the Father, we can never be discouraged or down-trodden. Nobody can stop us, not even the devil himself, from accomplishing God’s purpose — the building up of the church.
The Triune God’s final accomplishment was the outpouring of the Spirit to form the one Body. This was done in two steps for two peoples. The Spirit was first poured out on the day of Pentecost for the Jewish believers (Acts 2). The Spirit was then poured out in the house of Cornelius for the gentile believers (Acts 10). Therefore, Paul said in 1 Corinthian 12:13, “For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks (representing the gentiles), whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit.’’ The baptism is our initiation into the Body and is once for all. To drink the Spirit is continuous, and is to be practiced by us constantly for eternity.
Our participation in the Father’s choosing and predestinating, the Son’s redemption, resurrection, and ascension, and the Spirit’s infilling and outpouring is for our entrance into the church. We had no choice in these matters, because we were not yet born. Nevertheless, we have been fully prepared to be members of the Body of Christ for the building up of His Body. The way we experienced all these things is by believing and being baptized after hearing the word of the truth, the gospel of our salvation. By believing, we receive the Spirit of reality, who brings us all the divine realities. By being baptized, we are put into the Spirit once and for all to remain in the Body. All these spiritual realities accomplished by the Triune God long ago have become real to us today. Our entrance into the church is due entirely to the Triune God. We entered the church by the Father’s choosing, the Son’s redemption, the Spirit’s regeneration, our believing, and our baptism. Our being in the church is eternal, of the Father, of the Son, of the Spirit, and of the eternal life. It is not of us or of anyone else. What can we say except, “Hallelujah!’’ We must thank Him for His mercy and grace.
After seeing how we entered the church, we can conclude that there is no exit from the church. Our entrance began from eternity past, before anything was, before we had done anything good or bad. It continued through Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and the Spirit’s outpouring. We experienced a rich entrance by believing and being baptized after hearing the gospel. Our entrance is eternal; it is according to the divine and uncreated life of God. It was not accidental, nor was it based on anyone’s decision. No one hired us or signed us up. Can we drop out from such a church? No, never! One day, heaven and earth will pass away, but we will still be in the church. There is no back door, no way to escape. No one can dismiss us from the church because we were born into the church, spiritually. If God is for us, who can be against us? There is no going out, whether by our choice, by somebody else’s choice, or by God’s choice.
Have you seen the vision of the church and the building up of the church? Do you know why you are in the church and how you entered in? If you see this vision, your spontaneous reaction will be to give yourselves absolutely to Christ for the building up of the church. You realize that there is nothing else to do in the universe but to build up the church.
Many people have seen this heavenly vision and have consecrated themselves for Christ and the church. Unfortunately, many of them have left this way. Do you wonder why? The apostle Paul said in Acts 26:19 that he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. This means it is possible to be disobedient. We need to pray for the Lord’s mercy to keep us obedient to the heavenly vision so that we will continue to be absolutely consecrated until the end. We believe the Lord will be faithful to answer our prayer.
Sometimes you may be discouraged by the condition of the church, or because the condition of the church does not match the heavenly vision. Some may say that after having been in the church life for ten years they still have not seen the fulfillment of God’s purpose, as revealed in the Bible. We should tell them that heaven and earth will pass away, but His Word will not pass away until everything is fulfilled (Matt. 24:35). God is building the masterpiece of the universe. It is less difficult to create the physical heaven and earth than it is to build the church. It requires more love, wisdom, time, and energy to build the church. The material He uses to build the church comes from the heap of collapse. All were evil sinners, full of filth and corruption. God needs to redeem man then transform him into the right material for His building. It takes time. This age, and most importantly, our life-time is for this work. Therefore, we should not lose heart because we have the New Testament ministry to encourage and supply us for the building up of the church (2 Cor. 4:1).
We must focus our attention on the goal — Christ and the church. Paul said in Philippians 3:13 that he forgot the things which are behind and stretched forward to the things which are before, that is, he pursued toward the goal — Christ and the church. We must have the same attitude as Paul. Do not say, “I am not like my brother Paul.’’ Paul said that he is a pattern for the believers to imitate (2 Thes. 3:9). We all should imitate him because he is an imitator of Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). Therefore, young brothers and sisters, set your whole heart, whole mind, and whole soul to love the Lord Jesus for the building up of His church. Pray like this, “Lord, You gave Yourself to me and to the church. You chose me, redeemed me, regenerated me, and baptized me into Your Body. Lord, I want to give my whole being, all that I am, have, and can do to You. I consecrate my whole life, my whole future to build up Your church. All that You have is mine, and all that I have is Yours. Your will becomes my will, and My will is Your will. Lord, build up the church through the saints and through me.’’
