Christ Loves The Church

Temple Baptist Church - 9-2-2018

Ephesians 5:22-33

Introduction: 

A.  I normally use these verses when people get married or need marital counseling but the underlying truth is that it is an analogy to Christ and His Church.

B.  I cannot over emphasize the importance of what we are doing this morning!  “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.”  In His absence, the Lord gave us three things—the Holy Spirit, the Bible, and the local church.

C.  The three of these things work together for our benefit and God’s glory.

D.  One of the main problems with the end-time church is that of priority and purpose.  When our purpose becomes confused, our priorities become wrong.  When our priorities are wrong, it leads to selfish living.  Selfishness leads to conflict.  Conflict leads to confusion.  Confusion leads to failure of purpose!

1.  The local church is not a Recreation Center for sinners.  A place where the sinner can come and feel comfortable and good about himself.  A place where he/she are not convicted of sinfulness and pointed to Christ.  A place where the sinner is placated and not preached to.

2.  The local church is not a fast food restaurant for the shallow saint.  It is a place of peaching that feeds their faith, not pumps their flesh.

3.  The local church is not a rest home for the carnal saint.  It is a place of preaching that convicts the soul and stirs their service.

4.  The local church is an assembly of the saints for worship, education, and edification! 

E.  There are seven things that I want to quickly mention concerning the Christ and His Church found in these verses:

1.  Christ is the Head of the Church.  Verse 23.

2.  Christ is the Saviour of the Church.  Verse 23.

3.  Christ is the Lover of the Church.  Verse 25.

4.  Christ is the Sacrifice of the Church.  Verse 25.

5.  Christ is the Owner of the Church.  Verse 27.

6.  Christ is the Caretaker of the Church.  Verse 29.

7.  Christ is the Union of the Church.  Verses 30-31

F.  I believe that the general forsaking of the local church in these days is one of the main signs of the “falling away.”  People who do not love the church do not love Christ!

G.  The local church is a thing of great value as well as a thing of great love.

1.  For the Lost Sinner, the church is a Rescue Mission.  I was saved in church and love the church because of it.  “When a congregation stops winning souls, it loses the primary
purpose for existence.”

a.  The Work Of The Saviour was to save the Sinner.  Luke 19:10  For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

b.  The Wisdom Of The Saint is to warn the sinner.  Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

c.  The Waste Of The Sinner is to either not hear or to reject God’s Word.  Matthew 9:37-38   Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;  Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

John 4:35  Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

d.  The Worth Of The Soul is the wealth of the world.  Matthew 16:26  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

1 Peter 1:18-19  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

2.  For the World, the church is a place of Reaching Out.  The Command To Go – Through Missions

a.  Where to Go – All The World.  Mark 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

b.  How to Go – Through Missions.  Acts 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

c.  Why to Go – To Preach And Teach.  Matthew 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

3.  For the Saint, the church is a place Edification.

a.  There Is Feeding.  1 Peter 5:2  Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

b.  There Is Feasting.  1 Peter 2:2  As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

Hebrews 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

4.  For The Weary Servant, the church is a place of Refreshment.

a.  There Is Encouragement.  Acts 14:21-22  And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Hebrews 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

b.  There Is Edification.  Jude 20  But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

Ephesians 4:11-12  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

5.  For the Sickly Saint, the church is a Rest Home:  A Place Of Recuperation.

a.  There is Reassurance For The Faint.  2 Corinthians 1:4  Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

b.  There is Restoration For The Fallen - Galatians 6:1  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

2 Corinthians 2:7  So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.