What Is A Church? – Sermon 28 April, 2013

What Is A Church

Ghandi once said: “I regard Jesus as a great teacher of humanity. I love your Christ but I hate Christians because Christians are unlike Christ”. For him, Jesus was the highest example of one who wished to give everything. Then he said: “Keep your Christianity to yourselves, but give us your Christ”.

So is it possible to be a Christian follower of Jesus and not be part of the Christian community? What does going to church? What is a church?

For some, the church is a denomination, for others it is a building. But the heart and the essence of the church is something beautiful and amazing. We should be ready to accept that it is not a matter of liking the church or going and joining the people there, the main issue is to love the church.

According to Ghandi Jesus was a great example for humanity; He did everything one can imagine. What about the church? “What is the church?”

1. The church is the people of God

The Christian faith involves a vertical relationship which is with God and a horizontal relationship which is with all people. Any church is part of a community which began with the call of Abraham and is continued through us. All of us are part of the Universal church which consists of all those who profess and have professed the name of Christ. By doing that they became the members of the church. Not by birth, but by new birth. To become part of that church, we repent and have faith, God gives the Holy Spirit and the Church baptises obeying to what Jesus has told. Baptism is a visible sign of what it means to be a Christian. It also signifies washing, cleansing, receiving the Holy Spirit and dying and rising with Christ. Being baptised means being into Jesus. What happens to Jesus happens to us. When Jesus died on the cross we died with Him; we were buried with Him. And when Jesus rose from the dead, we rose with Him and started a New Life. That makes us different from others. Statistics shows that everyday 10,000 men and women become Christian in the world.

Paul established many churches around Asia and Europe. Some were small and others were large and others bigger. The people of God should have confidence and joy leading them to have hope for the world.

2. The church is a family of God

We are a family, brothers and sisters. We can choose our friends but not our families. You are born into the family of God. If you look around you will see your brothers and sisters. In the case of family sometimes the members do not see each other for a length of time, but their relationship stays for ever. The history of the church tells us that there was division within the church. The church is divided on every issue. But Jesus prayed for the church to be one so that the world will believe. So it is up to the church to make people believe in God. Love unites the church, the big family, where the members need each other. One cannot be a Christian on his/her own. So the members should regularly come together for fellowship.

3. The church is the body of Christ

Jesus left behind the church to carry on what He had started. Jesus left behind a community to represent Him in the world. We, the church, should do things as Christ does. As the body the members are not the same; they are different and each has a unique contribution to bring. So the members should not be consumers but contributors, not attenders but members. The church needs us and we need the church.

4. The Church is a holy temple

God lives in us, because we are the temple. In the New Testament there were not any church building, but people still came together to pray, sing, read and hear the Word preached. But for people, the building matter much.

We are the temple where God wants to live. He wants to fill us and act through us.

5. The church is the Bride of Christ

Jesus loves the church. The heart of Christianity is love; Jesus has that love for us. He accepts us as His bride, who comes prepared and dressed up to the groom who waits anxiously with open arms.

The church belongs to Christ and is loved by Him.

We are the church. We are the people, the family, the body, the temple and the bride of Christ.

We want God to be merciful for us, to say that you are my people, my family, my body, my temple and my bride. In you is my Spirit.

What a privilege.

We are called to be that Church.

Krikor Youmshajekian