Through the Church

…that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known…

Ephesians 3:10

Our secularized society has little use for the church. “Church” is seen by many as little more than a social organization, a club where older folks get together and visit, go through some strange rituals, and maybe help out a few needy persons. Even some who claim to believe in Jesus see the church as irrelevant, arguing that their faith is a personal matter to be lived out without involvement (read “interference”) from others. “Give me Jesus,” they say, “but you can keep your church.”

The same New Testament that tells us about Jesus also tells us about the church – his church. Jesus said that he would build his church (Matthew 16:18). In the Ephesian letter, Paul speaks repeatedly of the church, which is Christ’s body. The message is pretty clear – there is no association with Christ unless there is association with the church. Consider, for example this statement in Ephesians 5:29-30: “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.” The underlining points out the connection – anyone who is a member of Christ is a member of the church.

It must also be observed that the church is important to God. It was part of his design from the beginning (see Ephesians 3:11) because he intended the church to be the agency through which the world would learn about salvation. Did you see it in the passage quoted at the beginning of this article? “Through the church”, it says, the world will see “the manifold wisdom of God”. To be part of the church is to participate in revealing God’s nature and will to all mankind.

Who then could think that the church is unimportant? Perhaps the more significant question is this: What is your attitude toward the church that God designed and Jesus purchased?

Bobby Wheat