Why Is The Church So Important?
by Chris Simmons
Those who attended our recent gospel meeting were blessed to hear some excellent lessons throughout the week about the history of the church. One might wonder, why spend so much time studying the history of the Lord’s church? Why pay so much attention to God’s original pattern for the church and to the departures that the wisdom of men have created? Why is the church so important? God’s word reveals some answers as to why the Church is so important.
The church is important because of how long it had been in God’s plans. We are rightfully impressed when we note someone who plans for something their entire life until it is brought to fruition. How much more should we be impressed by the fact that the church was in God’s plans before the creation of all things? Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:8-12 that it was his job to preach “the unfathomable riches of Christ…in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It was part of God’s “eternal purpose” to show forth His wisdom by redeeming man through the church. The church was not an afterthought nor was it God’s contingency plan as so many who espouse premillennial views and doctrines falsely advocate. Old Testament prophecies also reveal God’s planning for the church. We read of God’s promise to David of the establishment of His kingdom and His throne forever (II Samuel 7:13-16). We read of God’s prophesy through Isaiah of “the mountain of the house of the Lord” that “all nations will stream to” (Isaiah 2:2-4). We also read of God’s prophecy to Daniel that “to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14). The preceding verse explains that God’s plan for that eternal kingdom would come to fruition when the “Son of Man…came up to the ancient of days,” that is, when Jesus ascended to the right hand of the throne of God (cf Eph. 1:20-23). Peter proclaimed and established in the first gospel sermon in Acts 2 that this had indeed taken place (Acts 2:24, 32-36) and those who “received his (Peter’s) word were baptized” and were added to the church that God had planned before the creation of all things. Such passages illustrate the divine planning that went into the establishment of the church.
The church is important because of the price that was paid for it. We understand that important things have an important price. There is a reason that a diamond wedding ring costs more than a high school graduation ring. The purpose for the ring is more important and the precious stone are more important. The Lord’s church is so very important because the price that was paid for it was the life of the Son of God. As Paul discussed the sobering responsibility the elders of the church in Ephesus bore, he reminded them of the value of what had been entrusted to them. “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). The “new song” in Revelation 5:9-10 sings of this purchase price, “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth’” (Revelation 5:9-10). How is it that some men could ever suggest that we just need to preach about Jesus and not preach about the church that He gave His life for? His death upon the cross enabled Jesus to become the very “corner stone” for the church to be built upon (Ephesians 2:20; I Corinthians 3:11). To the extent then that we neglect the Church, we neglect the One who gave His life for it.
The church is important because of the destiny it will one day enjoy. The kingdom is the church and Paul tells us that the destiny of the church is to be delivered back to the Father in heaven. “Then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power” (I Corinthians 15:24). As an example, we understand that the man’s spirit is more important than his body because of the destiny of each – the spirit returning to God and the body returning to the dust of the earth (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Only those who are “in Christ,” in the Church, will enjoy the destiny of being with God forever (cf I Thessalonians 4:14-18). The church that God planned for before the creation of the world, and the church that Jesus so loved that He was willing to die for is that church that will one day be delivered back to our Father in heaven with all the redeemed of all time.
Understanding how important the church is, isn’t it vital that we understand the history of the church from the beginning (cf Acts 11:15) and what the “precepts of men” (Matthew 15:9) have done to alter God’s divine pattern for the church (cf Hebrews 8:5)?