Rooted in Christ: What is the Church? | S1E3
This is the third episode in our series titled, "Rooted in Christ." Ethan and Dianne answer the following questions:
- What is the local church? What is it designed for
- What is the universal church?
- Why is there a huge barrier for people to go to church?
- What advice is there for the person hurt by the church?
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“What is the local church? . . . The corporate gathering of Believers together.”
“The [local] church is a place for the whole family.”
“We are united [in Christ] even though we are different portions [of the Body]. Church is not a building. The local church is a place where like-minded members of a Body meet together to bring glory to God.”
“The local church does not discriminate.”
“You that are members of the church have not found it perfect and I hope that you feel almost glad that you have not. If I had never joined a Church till I had found one that was perfect, I should never have joined one at all! And the moment I did join it, if I had found one, I should have spoiled it, for it would not have been a perfect Church after I had become a member of it. Still, imperfect as it is, it is the dearest place on earth to us.” – Charles Spurgeon
“There is dissension that happens within the church Body but we are working towards unity. People aren’t perfect . . . no matter where it is that you go, as long they’re sticking with sound doctrine and promoting Biblical principles then we should just expect to resolve things in a humble, loving manner and to be able to move forward.”
“We are called to good to everyone but especially to those who are of the household of faith. Because if we are all of one body in Christ, we need to show grace and leniency to them, especially when they screw up.”
“We may not have anything in common with the people we sit next to [at church] . . . but when we are there we have one thing in common and that’s Christ!”
On the Church universal: “It’s not even the global church that exists right now, it’s brothers and sisters in Christ from the past, present, and future. These principles that were written in Scripture—Scripture being timeless, inerrant, and applicable to every single generation for all time—it’s super cool that a church can be bonded together and held together by the same principles that the same early church was bonded to in Acts 1, 2, and the rest of the books of the Bible.”
“No matter where it is you go, no matter who you are, we are all throughout the world united in one factor and one factor only: it’s Christ. Whether male, female, Jew, or Gentile. No matter what race you are. There’s no distinction. We are all one.”
“If someone has hurt us, it is not just their job to apologize to us, but it’s our job to lovingly confront in a humble spirit . . . it hurts us [ourselves and the Church Body] when we hang onto bitter feelings.”
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
-
- 1 Corinthians 12:12-13
- 1 Corinthians 12:25
- Galatians 6:10
- Acts 1-8
- Acts 1:15
- Acts 5:33-39
- Acts 8:5
- Matthew 7:15
RESOURCES
- Another Awesome Spurgeon Quote on the Church:
“. . .the Church is faulty, but that is no excuse for your not joining it, if you are the Lord’s. Nor need your own faults keep you back, for the Church is not an institution for perfect people, but a sanctuary for sinners saved by Grace, who, though they are saved, are still sinners and need all the help they can derive from the sympathy and guidance of their fellow Believers.” – Charles Spurgeon (from his sermon “The Best Donation (No. 2,334)) - The Book of Acts
- Deeply Rooted Magazine Issue 14: The Church
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