A Real New Testament Church

1)     Jesus Christ is the Lord of the church.

Unfortunately; in our democratic, pluralistic, naturalist, post Christian society; it is easy to miss the mark that Jesus Christ is the final authority in the church and He reins supreme. No human institution, authority, religious figure, or any other created being; whether seen or unseen can claim this authority. Jesus Christ alone is the supreme leader of the church.

Colossians 1:18

¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the pre-eminence.

2)     Jesus Christ is the son of God

Jesus means Saviour, Christ means Anointed one, and Lord means sovereign ruler. He is Jesus because He saves his people from their sin. He is Christ because he has been appointed by God as King and Priest. He is Lord because He is God and is the sovereign ruler of the universe.

-John MacArthur, New Testament Commentary, Romans 1-8, pg 17, 18

Any lesser view of Jesus Christ as only a prophet, teacher, moral man, miracle worker, historical figure, revolutionary, angelic creation or spiritual emanation from God falls short of the majesty of God the Son.

Colossians 1:15-20 

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or ^[a]principalities or ^[b]powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. ¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.¹⁹ For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰ and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

Romans 1:4 

⁴ and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

3)     The Church is God’s children by adoption for those who have believed on Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Any other gauge used to identify who the church is false. The church is not merely a social club but rather a group of people who call Jesus Christ Lord and Savior as evidenced by faith, repentance, and obedience.

John 1:12, 13

¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the ^[e]right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

1 Timothy 3:15-16 

¹⁵ but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ^[a]ground of the truth. ¹⁶ And without controversy great is the ^[b]mystery of godliness:

God^[c] was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.

4)     The Bible is the only communication of the church and the final authority of the church. No tradition, extra biblical knowledge, other religious texts, self proclaimed guru or prophet, or philosophy is to be used as a governing standard for the New Testament church.

2 Timothy 3:16. 17

¹⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for ^[a]instruction in righteousness,

Mathew 4:4

⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

5)     The Church must be separate from the ways of the world. The church must be a holy people (set apart for God) and not imitate the sinful ways of the world. (cosmos) Separation does not imply avoidance; it implies keeping ourselves unpolluted from the world.

John 15:18-25 

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ He who hates Me hates My Father also. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵ But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’

6)     The church’s message to the sinful world is the Gospel. (From the ancient Greek Evangelion) The Gospel is God’s message to the sinful world and humanities only hope of salvation.

The essential message of the Gospel is:

1)     Christ died for our sins

2)     Christ was buried

3)     Christ resurrected bodily from the dead

4)     Christ appeared to many witnesses after his resurrection

1 Corinthians 2:1-4

2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the ^[a]testimony of God. ² For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. ³ I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. ⁴ And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of ^[b]human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Romans 1:16

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel ^[a]of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

7.) The Gospel is the only message that can save humankind from God’s Judgement of sin (hell)

1 Corinthians 1:18 

¹⁸ For the ^[a]message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Romans 10:8-11 

⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

8)   The church is in conflict with the Kingdom of darkness. The Bible teaches that the world lies in the lap of the evil one (1 john 5:19) and its philosophies are contrary to the word of God.

Mathew 16:23

²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are ^[a]an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Jude 3:4

³ Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

9)     Humility and Submission are necessary within the framework of the church. The world clamours for the number one spot but in God’s kingdom: the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

Matthew 16:24-26 

²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

10)  The church is looking forwards to the second coming of Christ. No other event should be of higher anticipation within the household of God then the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation 22:20 

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!