The Church: The People of God We Love and Build Up

Today’s reading concludes Section III: The Church – The People of God We Love and Build Up. Read here.

The mission of the church is to make disciples of Christ.

The church, therefore, is called to declare and display Christ together. The Great Commission summons all believers everywhere to participate in our Lord’s will to make disciples of all peoples, by baptising those who believe in the gospel message and teaching them true obedience to Jesus Christ. In the power of his Word and Spirit, God sends us out into the world as a holy people to bear witness to the gospel before a watching world. We do this through our Christ-filled presence, our Christ-centred proclamation, and our Christlike practice. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Jesus urged his disciples to see the powerful influence of their presence in the world by describing them as “the salt of the earth” that must maintain its integrity and so never lose its potency. The apostle Paul explained how the gospel-inspired Christian is the very “aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” This makes the presence of a Christian individual or community in any society—in families, neighbourhoods, schools, the workplace, or the public square—a cause for hope, as God uses his redeemed people to signal his favour and make known his nearness to a world long alienated from him. (Matt 1:23; 5:13; 2 Cor 2:15-16)

The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Therefore, the faithful proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ is essential to the witness of the church, and for this task, the Lord has poured out the Holy Spirit to empower the members of the church for evangelism. By his Word and through his Spirit, the church displays God’s saving power of the gospel and sends heralds to declare his gospel where Christ is not known. Through daily witness at home and at work, God continues to gather to himself people from every tribe and tongue, saving them through the atoning blood of Jesus and joining them as members of the body of Christ. (Rom 10:17)

The church also witnesses through its Christlike practice. Just as the world hears Christ in gospel proclamation, it can also see Christ through our love for one another and our neighbours, through how we care for his creation and do excellent work in our daily callings. Just as faith comes by hearing, faith is always accompanied by works. These works promote the common good, prioritise care for the poor and most vulnerable, and advance the cause of justice following the example of our Lord. (Matt 5:16; John 13:35; Eph 2:8-10; Luke 4:18-19)

Until that final day when Christ will come again, the church as the bride gathers in anticipation of her bridegroom’s return, when the saints of past generations will also be raised to life. We therefore wait, longing for the consummation of the church’s hope, when God himself will dwell with us, when we will know the Lord God Almighty—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—and offer him eternal worship, giving glory to God “in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Rev 21:3; Eph 3:21)