IPC Messenger 2017 August 2017

IPC Messenger A W eekly P ublication of T he I ndependent P resbyterian C hurch O ffi c e 912-2 3 6 - 3 3 46 | F a x 912- 236-3676 | E-Mail [email protected] | Website www. ipcsav.org Volume 17 • No 31 August 2017 Jesus and the Church H ow many times does Jesus mention the church? I’ve asked that question in a number of forums (Reformed University Fellowship, Sunday School, Drug Court Bible Study, Sunday morning pulpit, etc.), and gotten answers ranging from 36 to 6. Surprise is the typical response when I reveal that Jesus in the whole of His earthly ministry mentions the church, the ekklesia, only twice. Initially this seems to confirm the bias of those who say they admire Jesus but have little regard for the church. The church, they say, is man’s invention. Jesus said little about the church. He didn’t intend to found a church. We’ve built an ecclesiastical mountain out of an exegetical molehill, they insist. We follow Jesus, they claim, but have discarded the millstone that the church has become around His message. What should we say about this? Simply that Jesus’ words about the church must be weighed, not merely counted. Essential Jesus says two things. Matthew 16:18 – “I will build my church” Matthew 18:17 – “tell it to the church.” Take them in order. What does Jesus promise to build? His church. Anything else? No. He promises to build no other earthly institution. He attaches His personal pronoun, “my,” to no other earthly entity. He sums up His entire mission as church building. This is His chief concern. What is Jesus doing, incarnation and post-incarnation? Building His church. Let’s move to the second reference. What does Jesus want us to tell to the church? He speaks of the problem of a sinning “brother” who refuses to heed admonition, who refuses to repent. His obstinacy must be revealed to the church which must act to disassociate him: “Let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector” (Mt 18:17). What is implied by this second reference to the ekklesia? It must be that the church that Jesus envisions has 1) standards of belief and conduct; 2) membership respecting which one may be included or excluded; 3) a process of discipline; 4) a form of government; 5) meetings at which a matter may be told; 6) officers who facilitate the whole. Jesus speaks in these two passages of the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Mt 16:19) and the power of binding and loosing (Mt 16:19 and Mt 18:18). The church that Jesus envisions has concrete existence, bricks and mortar, one might say. It is an organization. It is an institution. Its members are committed to each other, to the Triune God whose church it is, and to the church itself as something greater than the sum of its parts. The church that Jesus builds is not merely an ad hoc gathering of believers at a coffee shop to pray and share Scripture verses. Such meetings are self-selecting, Continued Page 2 IPC Messenger CONTENTS 2 Music Ministry 2 Children’s Ministry 3 Moral Concerns 4 Student Ministries 5 College and Career Ministry 6 Family Corner 8 Congregational Growth and Care 10 Announcements and Events SUBSCRIBE!