Notes from November 30, 2008

Here are the notes from this morning's study. Have a great week.

Study Notes and Questions for November 30, 2008

1. We will cover what we believe the Church is
   
2. We will cover what we base our belief on
   
3. We will cover what we do based on this belief
   

Why do you come to Church here?


What we believe the Church is:
Headed by Christ
Fellowship
Building Each other Up
United
Evangelistic
Devoted to God’s Purpose
All are priests
Church is married to Christ / One with Christ
Disciplined to pure doctrine
Provides service to the community

What do we base this belief on?
Headed by Christ – Gal 3:28 and Ephesians 5:23-24
Fellowship – Luke 22:19 and Acts 12:5
Building Each other Up – Ephesians 4:12 and Galatians 6:10
United as One Body – 1 Cor 12:12 and 12:25-26
Evangelistic – Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8
All are priests – 1 Peter 2:5
Church is married to Christ / One with Christ – 2 Cor 11:2 and Ephesians 5:25-27
Disciplined to pure doctrine / Accountability – 1 Cor 5:7
Provide service – Acts 10:38
Joined together by God – Eph 1:22-23

Based on this – who should NOT be accepted into the CHURCH? What would you base your answer on?

In a prior class we described Christian Fellowship as the ‘gathering together to glorify God’ – our purpose is to Glorify Him.

What should we DO based on this?


One Body – Headed by Christ -
Read Ephesians 5:30 – Why does Christ care about the Church?

The reason why Christ cares for the church is made clear in verse 30. It is because Christians are living parts of His body. In Ephesians 4:25 (remember the start of last Sunday’s lesson) Paul has dealt with the relationship of the member to one another individually. Here he is concerned with their relationship as a whole. Earlier in the letter he has spoken about the church as a body whose head is Christ (1:22, 23; 4:12; 16). Here he stresses the closeness of the Christian’s communion with Christ as a part (mele) of Himself, just as the branches are part of the vine.

Do we see our church family as part of our own body?

Do we let our hand on our own body wither or do we take care of it?

How should we take care of our own body (our family and especially our spouse)? - What SPECIFIC things can you site about how you ensure the love for your family helps the family live?

Read Genesis 2:24

Paul introduces the verse from Genesis at this point to substantiate his argument from Scripture, as did Jesus himself. It had already been shaping his thought in this section.

“For this reason” (anti toutou) is not a preface to the quotation but part of it. When Adam recognized that Eve was part of himself (“bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” Gen 2:23), Genesis 24 adds: “Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife and they become one flesh”. The marriage tie takes precedence over every other human relationship and for this reason is to be regarded as inviolable. Nevertheless, what is basically a divine ordinance is graciously designed for mutual satisfaction and delight. “United” means closely joined (proskollesthesetai, literally, “will be glued”). It is because of this exalted biblical view of marital relations that the church has taken its stand on the indissolubility of the marital bond.

Why is it important that Christ would be the head of the church?

What would happen if Christ was not the head of the church? Who or where would we look for guidance – (systems of church government have been stood up as we look elsewhere for guidance)?