The essential marks of a Christian Church
Introduction
Looking at the High Priestly Prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ
Spoken audibly so the disciples in the Upper Room could be encouraged by it
Prayer audibly so it could be ultimately recorded for us
Intended for all believers thought the ages
Given for our instruction and our encouragement
Normally Jesus prays in private conversation with God the Father
We can gain blessing from it
Called the High Priestly Prayer as Jesus is called our High Priest in Hebrews
The Lord Jesus Christ is praying for us
The Holy Spirit is praying for us
This prayer is audible – because Jesus wants us to know what He is praying for
They are the essential marks of a New Testament Christian Church
They are timeless things – applicable to all the Lord’s people
Looking at 6 things
Joy (v13)
The disciples are contemplating the death of Jesus Christ
They are sad and fearful
We are not to live in a vale of tears – with joy only to come
God intends us to be joyful on earth and in every circumstance
Joy should characterise Christian assembly
My joy / Jesus’ joy
Not a worldly joy but the joy of the Lord
What filled Jesus with joy? – examples
These sources of joy apply to us too:
Plan of salvation
Apart to play in bringing this plan into effect
To be obedient oth will of God
A clear conscience
Fellowship with God the Father
John 15:11, 16:24, 17:13
A joyless Christian should be a contra-indication in terms
We are commanded to be joyful
Have you ever confessed the sin of joylessness
Holiness (v14-19)
Sanctification – being made holy by the Holy Spirit
Justification – is an instant thing
Sanctification – generally thought of as a continual process, though it is also an instant thing
Jesus sets Himself apart
Set apart for holy use – instant
Made holy – process
We are in the world, but we must not be spiritually of the world
Otherwise we will be contaminated by the worlds godless character
Holiness characterises God – we must be holy
Hebrews
Holiness is not about a long list of commands but being led
We are new creations with a citizenship in heaven
We do not belong to the sinful world
We are aliens and pilgrims
The world is in direct opposition to Jesus
God will direct and strengthen our holiness
In the world, not of the world
Truth (v17)
A good/short memory verse
The Holy Spirit sanctifies in the environment of the Truth
This Truth is the word of God
The Bible is our utterly reliable ultimate authority
There is the written word – the Bible
There is the living Word – Jesus
The Holy Spirit directed the construction of the Bible
We must not divide the work of the Holy Spirit from the written word of God
Eph 5:25-26
The Holy Spirit cannot be divided from the word of God [and vice versa]
Depart from the word and we depart from the environment in which the Holy Spirit operates
Mission (v18)
Jesus sends us into the world
As He was sent
We are here to complete the work of the Lord Jesus Christ
John 20:21-22
Breathing on them is a foretaste of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came in power
We need the sanctifying Holy Spirit so we can complete the mission of Jesus Christ
To complete the work of building His Church
This is a command – we are to reach the world with the gospel
We are not taken to glory when we are converted
We remain …
… because He wants to build His Church through us
We are to reach as many people as possible
We are to be driven with the same thought of Christ – the salvation of many souls
We all have a part to play – though we may do different things and have different gifts
We need each other for the task of mission
We are sent by God Almighty to bring the Gospel to the world
Unity (v20-23)
There is unity within the Godhead
It is the strongest expression of unity
v21, 23 – we are to be united
We must be united for missions
If we are not united in Jesus Christ then our mission will be ineffective
Jesus is not speaking about a structural unity
History of early church into the middle church
Structural unity merely bought the dark ages
Christians are diverse
The thing that brings together … are supernatural
Our unity with each other stems from our unity with Christ
Different churches have different personalities
It stems from the Godhead
Love (v25-26)
To be filled with the love of God
This is the greatest hallmark
It gives meaning to the other marks
The Church of Ephesus had left its first love
John 13:1 – the Upper Room Discourse begins with love
John 13:34-35 – the commandment to love
John 17:25-26 – love both ‘tops and tails’ the time in the Upper Room
The preeminence of love is seen in the other marks
Joy without love is selfish pleasure seeking
Holiness without love is self-righteousness
Truth without love leads to bitter orthodoxy
Mission without love is religious imperialism
Unity without love causes the church to fall down
When love is removed, the other marks fall down
Where love is present, all the others marks are present
Love for Christ leads to joy and holiness
Love for the word of God leads to truth
Love for the world leads to mission
Love for our brothers and sisters leads to unity
May God’s love be in us
Closing Prayer