1 Timothy 3:14-16 - The Importance of the Church
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
According to Gallup - church membership was incredibly consistent from 1938-1998 ranging from 68-73%. However between 1998 and 2018 this number sharply declined to 50%. Gallup noted that this was partly due to an increasing proportion of individuals stating they have no religious preference. However, it was also obvious that those who did claim religious beliefs still did not go to church nearly as often as previous generations.
Moving forward, we saw COVID take a huge toll on church attendance. According to PEW research, Americans who attend a religious service at least once monthly is at an all-time low at 30% as of 2022.
What is the cause of this huge decrease in church membership and attendance? Why are even those who claim to be Christians not going to church now? Time would fail us to address all of the issues for this. Certainly a lack of true believers, progressive ideologies and indoctrination, postmodernism, family disintegration, among others have harmed church attendance in a mighty way.
But I think another missed reason for declining church attendance is an inadequate and incomplete view of the church. Most people, even Christians, do not understand the importance of the church. They do not understand Christ’s love for His church. And they do not understand the call and the cause of the church.
Today we are going to learn why the church is important and what the church must do in order to glorify Christ.
Let’s get into our short although important Scripture for today.
Read Full Scripture:
I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
Prayer
Theologian and Greek scholar William Mounce asserts that this Scriptural paragraph is the heart of the pastoral epistles. In light of all of the other instructions in these three letters from Paul making up the Pastoral Epistles (namely 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus), the overarching thesis is stated in this paragraph that we just read. The offices the church, the doctrine of the church, the behavior in the church - all of that matters because the church is the protector and presenter of the Gospel to a lost world.
With that understanding, today we are going to see how the church is to be a pillar in our world lifting up the Gospel and the truth of the Scriptures. Our first point is…
I. The Church Must Be a Pillar by Practice (14-15a)
I. The Church Must Be a Pillar by Practice (14-15a)
1 Timothy 3:14–15a (ESV)
I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God…
Paul expresses his desire to come to Timothy soon. If you recall, Timothy was Paul's adopted spiritual son. They had a very special relationship. At this point, Timothy was working as an elder in the Church of Ephesus. He was the lead elder/pastor there and was leading during a difficult time. The church had many issues with false teachers. Paul wanted to encourage him in person but was unable to do so at that point in time. So, he wrote these letters to Timothy as an encouragement to both Timothy and the church. And these letters are also written to us today to encourage us as we continue fighting similar battles.
During the first half of verse 15 we see why Paul writes these things. Paul writes these things so that the church members may know how to act and behave in the household of God. This has been a common theme of this letter so far.
Paul started off the letter by admonishing those who were being divisive and preaching things that were false. He then listed blatant sins that should not define the church. He went on to encourage the church to be full of thanksgiving and to be a church of prayer. He encouraged the church to not be quick to quarrel. He taught gender roles and taught how the church should be led and served by elders and deacons. Everything that he has written has been about the church. How the church should behave and act and be run.
The phrase household of God is restated as the church in the second half of verse 15. The Greek word for church is ekklesia (eck-lay-see-yah) which literally means assembly. It was used at times to refer to general assemblies, but it is used some 100 times in the New Testament to discuss the assembly of believers as local church gatherings. It refers to those called out. With this word being used so much in the New Testament, I hope that you are beginning to see the importance of the gathered body of believers.
Getting back to the phrase household of God, we see the church referred to as a family. If you wonder where the idea of church family came from - here it is. The church is behave and act like a godly family. The church is not a building or a gathering place. The local church is made up of a gathered group of believers.
By gathering together, the church is able to practice what they preach and help one another live in such a way as to not bring reproach upon Christ. Consider Proverbs 27:17
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
When we gather together, we are able to help one another walk in holiness. The actual Hebrew of Proverbs 27:17 can literally mean that we sharpen the face of one another. This refers to the countenance. This is what the world sees when we go to the store, go to work, go to school, etc. They see our countenance. Are we known as holy and set apart? Are we carrying ourselves as those who are known for holy lives? Are we known as those who practice what we preach?
As taught by Pastor Bryan Chapell: The way that we live in the midst of this world is openly evangelistic.
1 Timothy 2:1-4 shows the way we live our lives by praying for those in the world and living above reproach is one of the ways God uses to draw people to Himself. By living holy lives, our Gospel preaching is given more power and credibility and is more effective.
The church body is a great place to grow in holiness. We are able to be taught the Word of God and grow through the Scriptures. We are able to do life together in small groups and Bible studies as well as other times of fun and fellowship. The local church provides a place of accountability and growth to help us walk the walk.
Next we see that…
Scripture References: Proverbs 27:17, 1 Timothy 2:1-4
II. The Church Must Be a Pillar by Presence (15b)
II. The Church Must Be a Pillar by Presence (15b)
1 Timothy 3:15b (ESV)
… which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
After asserting how the church should behave and act and to be run, he makes a statement of what the church should be.
Before getting into what the church should be, I want to be sure that we do not miss the two amazing truths in this short phrase.
Our God is the Living God.
1. He is THE Living God
2. He is the LIVING God
First off He is THE living God meaning He is the only God. Deuteronomy 6:4 states:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
It is crystal clear that there is only one God. He does not share His glory with another. All glory and honor are to be for Him alone.
Next we see that He is LIVING. He is the living God. This means that He is a God not far off but a God Who is near (Jeremiah 23:23). He is a God who is active and at work in His creation. He did not just create everything and then walk away. He continues to be intimately and sovereignly involved in ruling over His creation.
Getting back to our verse we see the final phrase of what the church is to be.
1 Timothy 3:15b (ESV)
… which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
The church is to be a pillar and a buttress of the truth.
Before discussing the concepts of pillar and buttress, we need to understand the truth.
The truth here likely refers the Gospel and also to the divine revelation of the Scriptures.
Understanding what we are to be a pillar and buttress of, we can now break down these two terms.
Let’s start with the word pillar. Pillars were very common in Greek and Roman culture. Many of the statues and temples to the pagan gods had very tall pillars that were seated upon buttresses. Those who read this letter from Paul would have likely pictured some of those large pillars. In fact, the church of Ephesus where Timothy was serving had quite a large group of pillars. The great temple of Diana had some 127 pillars. It was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Each of these pillars acted a tribute to the king who donated it. They would be made of marble and could even be covered with gold and jewels at times. These pillars did two things. They supported the structure and they also lifted up the structure for all to see.
The church should be a pillar lifting up the truth of the Gospel.
The Gospel should be presented for the world to see as we lift up the good news of Jesus Christ and the truths of the Scriptures. The presence of the church should be seen and felt in the communities in which we live. They should see our love and compassion as we bring the wonderful message of Gospel freedom to them. Our communities should be better because we are there. This isn’t just because of social services - although our churches should be involved in helping those in need. Our communities should be better because people are hearing the good news of the Gospel and being set free from the oppression of sin and death. Our communities should be better because men and women and children are being given new life and are being restored to a right relationship with Christ.
I pray that we are that pillar CrossPointe.
I pray that our community is better because we are here - not because we are anything - but because the message that we bring is everything!
Next we see that…
The church should be a buttress of the truth.
We don’t use this word much in English but it refers to a steadfast foundation. The pillar must be set upon a solid foundation. The buttress is what stabilizes the building overall.
There are two things that we need to understand in regards to this foundation. First and foremost, the church must place its foundation on the Rock - namely Jesus Christ. This buttress must be placed upon Christ. If we are to defend the truth then we must be built upon the One who is the truth as we see in John 14:6.
Understanding this, we see that the church is to be a mainstay or foundation of the truth in our world. This means that the church is to hold the truth steady against the false teachings that are propagated in our world.
So putting these two ideas together, we see that the church needs to exalt Christ and preach the Gospel as we are a pillar holding up the truth for the world to see all the while the church acts as a foundation against heresy and false teaching as it is grounded in Christ.
We see that the church is an extremely important part of God's plan. It is the way that God had chosen to reach the world with the Gospel. It is through many assemblies - gathered groups of believers across the world - that God has charged with building His kingdom through preaching the Gospel and discipling new believers.
The visible presence of the church in our world is very important for the world to see and hear the Gospel message.
I have had many people ask me if they need to go to church in order to be a Christian. I think this is the wrong question. I think this is a question that a true believer should never ask. As believers, our concern is not to be what we can get away with or how far we can go before we are in sin - but instead, we should be concerned with how holy we can be and how well we can obey and glorify Christ.
Hebrews 10:25 asserts that we should be meeting together regularly in the local church. So, we know that not being a part of a local church is disobedience to God and sinful at best, and at worst it might be a mark of not being a true believer. We are one body with many parts as we have mentioned many times recently. We discussed last week how if one part of the body is not doing its work, the entire body suffers.
As I considered this question, I started thinking about my oldest daughter, Liseth. We were blessed to adopt her around 3 years ago now. She is a blessing and a joy to us as parents. But the question of whether or not we have to go to church as a believer would be like Liseth asking me if she can be a part of our family but refuse to acknowledge her siblings. Do you see how unhealthy this would be? It would be bad for our family, it would be bad for her brothers and sister, and it would be bad for her!
The reason we are able to experience being a true family is because we are together.
In a similar way, those who are adopted sons and daughters of Christ need to be a part of the family of God - or household of God as we have seen mentioned.
Another Biblical understanding of the importance of the church is the fact that the church is called the bride of Christ multiple times (Consider Ephesians 5:25-27, Revelation 19:7-9, 2 Corinthians 11:2, Revelation 21:2). Christ speaks of coming back for His bride. If Christ loves the church and refers to her as His bride, we should love the church as well, and we should want to be a part of the church because that is who Christ is coming back for!
I hope that this clears up this unfortunate question asked by so many today.
So far we have seen that the church must be a pillar by practice and presence and finally…
Scripture References: Deuteronomy 6:4, Jeremiah 23:23, John 14:6, Hebrews 10:25, [Church as Bride: Ephesians 5:25-27, Revelation 19:7-9, 2 Corinthians 11:2, Revelation 21:2]
III. The Church Must Be a Pillar by Proclamation (16)
III. The Church Must Be a Pillar by Proclamation (16)
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
Verse 16 starts off with, “Great indeed, we confess.” This confession is the proclamation of the Gospel. We must be a pillar in this world proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We see that we are to confess the mystery of godliness - namely the Gospel which is the only way one may become godly. We can only become like Christ if we place our faith and trust in Him and repent of our sins. This is a very similar phrase that we saw last week when we discussed the mystery of the truth. We are going to see the mystery revealed again. When the New Testament speaks of a mystery, it often means the Gospel. As we discussed last week, it's called a mystery because it was not fully seen in the Old Testament but was fully revealed in Jesus Christ.
Paul then explains this mystery that has been revealed in great detail through this beautiful hymn that follows. I want us to break down the 6 stanzas of this hymn so that we can even more clearly see the beauty of the Gospel.
1. Jesus was manifested in the flesh.
This word manifested means to be revealed. The mystery of salvation was revealed through the Person of Jesus Christ. This speaks of the incarnation of Christ. We celebrated Christmas almost 3 months ago. This line of the hymn speaks of the incarnation of Jesus Christ taking on human flesh. He humbled himself and was born and laid in a manger. We see this concept eloquently stated in Philippians 2:7:
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Next we see that…
2. He was vindicated by the Spirit.
This word vindicated here means to be proven right. The Holy Spirit affirmed the deity of Christ during the beginning and end of His earthly ministry.
The Holy Spirit’s Confirmation of Christ:
A) Christ’s Baptism (Matthew 3:13-17)
B) The Resurrection (Romans 8:11)
C) Pentecost and Even the Lives of Believers Today (Acts 2:1-41, Galatians 5:22-23, John 16:13-14)
A) Consider Christ’s baptism when the Holy Spirit descended upon him. The Holy Spirit along with the Father helped testify that Christ was and is the Son of God (Matthew 3:13-17).
B) Consider the resurrection of Christ as mentioned in Romans 8:11 where we see the Holy Spirit taking place in Christ’s resurrection.
C) Consider the falling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that confirmed the victory of Christ over sin (Acts 2:1-41). The Holy Spirit continues to confirm Christ’s deity even to this day through the gifts of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and the Holy Spirit leading believers in the truth (John 16:13-14).
3. He was seen by angels.
Angels played an integral part in the life of Christ on earth. They foretold of the birth of Christ to Mary and to Joseph (Luke 1:26-38 and Matthew 1:18-24). We see the heavenly host of angels singing praise to God upon the birth of Jesus Christ in Luke 2:13-14.
Angels came and attended Christ after His temptation by the devil in the wilderness (Matthew 4:11). In Gethsemane, as He sweat drops of blood, an angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him (Luke 22:43). Angels witnessed the resurrection and sat by His empty tomb (Luke 24:4,23). Angels spoke words of comfort to the disciples as Christ ascended into heaven (Acts 1:10-11). Angels continue serving and adoring Christ as seen in Revelation 5:12 and will return with Him as we see in 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
As we see here, the angels exist for one thing alone - to glorify and magnify God.
4. He was proclaimed among the nations.
The apostles were already spreading the good news of the Gospel while Paul was writting this letter. The church had already begun to grow tremendously. The commission was great. Believers were to take the Gospel into all the nations. That remains our charge even today. May we continue to proclaim the Gospel among the nations as a pillar of truth so that His name and renown are known from sea to sea and coast to coast.
5. He was believed on in the world.
At the very first public Gospel preaching after Christ’s ascension into heaven there were 3,000 people saved (Acts 2:41)! The Gospel message did not return void. Christ was believed on in the world. Many people came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.
Praise the Lord, many people continue coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ even today. Although Christianity is declining in the United States, it is growing in many other areas. And even in our nation, people come to a saving knowledge every day. God is not done saving lost souls, and we should not be done preaching the Gospel to the lost.
And lastly, we see that…
6. He has been taken up in glory.
After Christ’s resurrection, He eventually ascended into heaven in a beautiful way (Acts 1:9).
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
After completing His work through the cross, He is now in heaven glorified.
Listen to Hebrews 1:3:
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
He has defeated death and the grave. And when He returns it will be in all of His glory and splendor. Oh, how we should look forward to that day!
Scripture References: Philippians 2:7, Matthew 3:13-17, Romans 8:11, Acts 2:1-41, Galatians 5:22-23, John 14:13-14, [Angels in Christ’s earthly ministry: Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-24, Luke 2:13-14, Matthew 4:11, Luke 22:43; Luke 24:4,23; Acts 1:10-11, Revelation 5:12, 1 Thessalonians 4:16], Acts 1:9, Hebrews 1:3
Conclusion
I pray that today’s message has reminded you about the importance of Christ’s local church. We are all part of the universal church - absolutely. But Christ has chosen to use gathered assemblies of believers across the world to preach the Gospel and proclaim the truth of His Word.
Understanding the importance of the church, I want you to ask yourself a couple of important questions:
1. Do I value Christ’s church the way that I should?
Do I show that I value His church through my attendance, involvement, giving, and sharing of my talents? If someone looked at my life, would they see that Christ was number one in my life and that His church was a definitive priority as well?
2. Am I living out the mission of the church in my community as a pillar and buttress of the truth?
Does my life testify to the truth of the Gospel? Do my life’s decisions and behavior bring honor to Christ and His church or reproach? Am I sharing the truth of the Gospel with those in my community?
3. Do I speak well of Christ’s church?
This isn’t about making much of CrossPointe. Our only goal here is to make much of Christ. However, I oftentimes hear people blast their church fellowship even to unbelievers.
This brings shame upon the cause of Christ. We should never slander the bride of Christ. And to do this to unbelievers is to be a stumbling block for them.
Yes, there are some churches that are not true churches - meaning they preach a different Gospel and are not a part of the true bride of Christ. We should speak truth about those false churches, and we should certainly not attend a false church.
However, we want to be careful in labeling a church a false church just because they don’t agree on every doctrine with us. We must speak well of Christ’s bride and encourage others to be a part of a local fellowship of believers. Being a part of the local body of Christ is of the utmost importance for the spiritual growth of a believer.
May all true believers be a part of a fellowship that, although imperfect because it is made up of sinners, is a fellowship seeking to be a pillar and buttress of the truth and a place of godly fellowship and discipleship of the saints.