Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• The privileges of being part of the Church of Christ
• We are the Holy Bride - A Holy Temple
• We know there are divisions and schisms within the church
• The real people of the Church are united and can never be divided
• Thinking of the Ephesians as strangers and aliens of the Gospel
• Pagan people
• Knew nothing about the God of Israel
• They came into fellowship with the Jews
• Jesus has broken down the curtain of separation
• One new Church was born
• Reconciled in the Blood of Christ
• 2:19-22
• You Belong (v19)
• You Have a Solid Foundation (v20)
• The Church as something Glorious (v21-22)

You Belong (v19)

• It is terrible to be pushed out and rejected
• This was the case with the Jews and the Gentiles
• There was terrible enmity between them
• This was abolished in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
• No longer strangers but citizens and saints
• Part of a Kingdom
• Citizenship of the kingdom of heaven
• No longer a stranger or a foreigner
• Part of a Family
• Members of the household
• An elder Father and part of the brethren
• Remember what you were - and what you are now
• Outsiders:
• Foreigners - just visitors
• Strangers - an alien
• These two types are applicable today
• Have people taken up residence in the church but are not born again?
• Jew and Gentile have equal rights before God
• Both can draw near to God
• v18
• v22
• All the promises given to the Jews are now applicable to the Gentiles
• No distinctions between Jew and Gentile
• All one in Christ
• All fellow Citizens
• Nobody superior and nobody inferior
• All belong to the Church of Christ
• Is the Church precious to you?
• Do you feel you belong?
• Personal example
• Speaking the same language - discussing spiritual things, understanding biblical terms
• Part of a new kingdom and family
• Speaking to those around you whoever they are
• Part of this wonderful body

You Have a Solid Foundation (v20)

• So many people do not have a solid foundation
• They are being blown around by books, counselors, family, religion
• The Church of Jesus Christ is built on a solid foundation - on the eternal truth of the gospel
• Built on the foundations of the apostles and the prophets
• We know the apostles
• Who are the prophets?
• Not the Old Testament Prophets
• The New Testament Prophets
• 3:4-5
• 4:11
• The early church had apostles and prophets
• They carried the authority and revelation of God
• What is the eccumenical movement?
• An attempt to join churches together - not on the basis of the Bible
• You cannot join a church that preaches salvation by works
• You cannot lay a second foundation
• The Mormons are trying to lay another foundation
• We have the truth of God written down for us
• We have the Old and New Testaments
• We have the full revelation of God
• We understand who Jesus Christ is
• What is the churches statement of faith?
• What is it basic tenets?
• Does it preach the gospel of Jesus Christ?
• Church is not a social club
• Stop moving around
• 'Stop dating the church'
• Example of young couple - that is not the church of Jesus Christ
• The church of Jesus Christ is built on a solid foundation
• Jesus Christ is the Chief Cornerstone
• Example from Stuart Olliet
• There is no other name under heaven wherewhich we must be saved
• He is the truth and the life
• No-one can come to the Father except through Him
• The Church of Christ will withstand all the attacks of Satan
• He Keeps His people
• He strengthens His people
• He builds up His Church

The Church as something Glorious (v21-22)

• The Church is still being built
• Believers are the stones that are being added
• Perfectly fitted together
• Example of Tom and Alice
• Psalm 48:1-3
• If this was true of the physical Jerusalem, how much more true is it of the Church of Jesus Christ
• We have a dwelling place in the Spirit, a Temple of the Holy Spirit (2:21)
• Do we believe that Jesus Christ by His Holy Spirit is here in Tabor?
• Psalm 48:12-13
• Auntie Bessie was like one of these bulwarks
• We need to pray that God would make us a pillar in the Church
• Brotherhood
• Example of different Muslims
• Example of the Russian Submarine
• The Church of Christ is always unified
• We must preserve this unity
• The devil seeks to sow discord
• Let us grow together as living stones
• Example of preacher from London
• Do you belong?
• Do you belong in the Church?
• Do you love the Church?
• Do you stand upon the word of God?
• Are you part of the worldwide universal church