Essentials #7 – Study Questions
Essentials – What We Believe – Week #7
The Church : Acts 2:42-47
INTRODUCTION:
Sociologists have observed an interesting trend in America in recent years—the growing number of “unchurched believers.” It used to be considered natural that if you claimed to be a Christian, you would be a part of a church. In fact, for most of Christian history it was believed that membership in a church was an essential part of Christian life. Already in the mid third century, the church father Cyprian declared “There is no salvation outside the church.” The “unchurched” were assumed to be “unbelievers.” But no more. More and more people who express some allegiance to Jesus view the church as simply an optional extra, a mere helpful tool, or perhaps even a detriment to spiritual life. In one poll, when asked, “Do you think that a person can be a good Christian if he or she doesn’t attend church?”, 88% of those who don’t attend church said yes, but so did 70% of those who do.
A number of reasons may account for this shift in opinion. Americans are independent by nature; increasingly they separate spirituality from real life in the world; and, because of well-publicized scandals, many have grown cynical about “organized religion.” But this “believing without belonging,” this “faith without fellowship,” bears little resemblance to what we see displayed in the pages of the New Testament. More than that, it reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the gospel message itself.
From the beginning, when God declared that it was not good for man to be alone (Gen. 2:18), the divine design for human life included social relationships—a community that in some way reflected the triune love found within the Trinity. Sin ruptured the relationship not only of man with God, but also between human beings. The image of God in the world was defaced.
But God in his grace has purposed to restore his fallen creation and to redeem a people for himself. In Jesus Christ God has acted to rescue sinful human beings from his wrath and to reconcile them to himself. This work of Christ in his cross and resurrection is now applied to us by the Holy Spirit, who unites us with Christ so that what is true of him becomes true of us. And in uniting us with Christ, the Spirit also creates a new community we call the church. The church, as those saved by God’s grace and united with Christ by God’s Spirit, becomes the embodiment of the gospel in the world.
God’s gospel creates the church. We can say this, first, on the basis of what happened historically. When Jesus began his public ministry, he chose twelve disciples to accompany him as the nucleus of a new community (cf. Matt. 4:18-22). When Peter first declared that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus commended him and then announced the consequence of this confession: “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). Jesus easily moved from Peter’s Spirit-inspired recognition of who he was to the promise of the building of a new community.
The two go together. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the crowds in Jerusalem and 3,000 people responded in repentance and faith and were baptized that day. They did not go home to become followers of Jesus privately and independently, but “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42,47). Saving faith entails a new community. The account of the ministry of Paul in Acts (and the witness of his letters) reinforces this connection. During his first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas went back to each of the cities in which they had preached, “strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith” (Acts 14:22), and they “appointed elders for them in each church” (Acts 14:23). In his ministry of the gospel, Paul did not just make converts, he integrated those converts into new communities he called churches. From the beginning, God’s gospel created a new social solidarity (cf. Gal. 3:28).
The new community created by the gospel is evident historically, but it is also grounded theologically, and as such, contributes to a discussion of the nature of the church.[1]
Article #7 – “We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.”
GETTING STARTED – As you begin your group time, take time to answer this question together, what were your first impressions of church, both positive and negative? How has your understanding of church matured as you have followed Jesus?
IN THE WORD – Let’s dig back into the passage. It is important to strengthen our muscles in reading God’s Word. On Sunday, we walked through the passage in the sermon. Hopefully, that helped you to see the landmarks of the passage with fresh eyes. Now, with your group, go back through it and see what God is saying to you specifically.
First, before you read the passage, take a moment to ask God’s Spirit to quiet your mind and heart and to illuminate the text to you. Second, read the passage aloud to the group. Then, follow the simple method below. (O.P.A)
Observe: Make 8-10 observations from the passage. Pay close attention to observe and note repeated words and phrases, names, places, and themes.
Principles: From your list of observations, what patterns or big ideas do you see emerging? Can you distill it down into 2-4 big idea truths?
Apply: Moving from your list of principles, it is time to apply God’s Word. Remember, we believe that God’s Word is living and active and that it can change the way we live Monday- Friday. What is one tangible way to apply a truth from your list above?
Note: Another way to approach your time together is to talk through the following questions about the article of faith we are studying that week.
- How would you answer the question, “What is the purpose of the Church?”
- What is core to this article of faith? That is, what is something that, if you took it away or changed it, it would significantly alter the article of faith about the Church?
- What is clarified for you in this article of faith about the Church?
- What is confusing for you in this article of faith? Take time as a group to chat through and offer perspectives on the things that are confusing. The beauty of a group is that often, when we study together, we help sharpen and clarify what is confusing for one another.
- How does this article on the Church apply to my everyday life? That is, how does it change my outlook and approach to my Monday-Saturday life?
[1] EFCA. Evangelical Convictions, 2nd Edition (pp. 195-197). Free Church Publications. Kindle Edition.