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The Church in God's Plan

• A study of the role of the Lords church in the
  plan of salvation, and how to identify it today
• ALL SCRIPTURE REFERENCES NEW AMERICAN STANDARD
  BIBLE

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Key Features of the Church

• Purposed by God

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• Ephesians 38-11
• 8 To me, the very least of all saints, this
  grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the
  unfathomable riches of Christ,
• 9 and to bring to light what is the
  administration of the mystery which for ages has
  been hidden in God who created all things

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10 so that the manifold wisdom of God
might now be made known through the church to
the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly
places. 11 This was in accordance with the
eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ
Jesus our Lord,
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Key Features of the Church

• Purposed by God
• Subject of prophecy

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In Old Testament Prophecy

• Isaiah 96-7 6 For a child will be born to us,
  a son will be given to us And the government
  will rest on His shoulders And His name will be
  called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal
  Father, Prince of Peace.

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7 There will be no end to the increase of
His government or of peace, On the throne of
David and over his kingdom, To establish it and
to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the
LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
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Prophecy to Mary

• Luke 130-33
• 30 The angel said to her, Do not be afraid,
  Mary for you have found favor with God.
• 31 And behold, you will conceive in your
  womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him
  Jesus.

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32 He will be great and will be called
the Son of the Most High and the
Lord God will give Him the throne of His father
David 33 and He will reign over the house of
Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.
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Key Features of the Church

• Purposed by God
• Subject of prophecy
• Promised by Christ

11

• Matthew 1618-1918 I also say to you that you
  are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My
  church and the gates of Hades will not
  overpower it.
• 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom
  of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall
  have been bound in heaven, and whatever you
  loose on earth shall have been loosed in
  heaven.

12
Promised Within Lifetime of Some of His Hearers

• Mark 911 And Jesus was saying to them, Truly
  I say to you, there are some of those who are
  standing here who will not taste death until
  they see the kingdom of God after it has come
  with power.

13
Key Features of the Church

• Purposed by God
• Subject of prophecy
• Promised by Christ
• Purchased by blood

14

• Acts 202828 Be on guard for yourselves and for
  all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has
  made you overseers, to shepherd the church of
  God which He purchased with His own blood.

15
Key Features of the Church

• Purposed by God
• Subject of prophecy
• Promised by Christ
• Purchased by blood
• Saved by Christ

16

• Ephesians 523-2523 For the husband is the head
  of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the
  church, He Himself being the Savior of the
  body.
• 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so
  also the wives ought to be to their husbands in
  everything.
• 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ
  also loved the church and gave Himself up for
  her,

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Key Features of the Church

• Purposed by God
• Subject of prophecy
• Promised by Christ
• Purchased by blood
• Saved by Christ
• Only one church built

18

• Ephesians 444 There is one body and one Spirit,
  just as also you were called in one hope of
  your calling

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How Can Man Say the Church is Not Important?

• Purposed by God
• Subject of prophecy
• Promised by Christ
• Purchased by His blood
• Saved by Christ
• Only one church built

It is the kingdom without end !
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We See the Beginning of the Church in Acts,
Chapter 2

• Will build My church still future, Matt.
  1618-19
• Kingdom would come with power, and within
  lifetime of some who heard the Lord, Mark 91

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Power Came in Jerusalem

• Acts 22-4
• 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise
  like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the
  whole house where they were sitting.
• 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire
  distributing themselves, and they rested on each
  one of them.
• 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
  and began to speak with other tongues, as the
  Spirit was giving them utterance.

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We See the Beginning of the Church in Acts,
Chapter 2

• Will build my church still future, Matt.
  1618-19
• Kingdom would come with power, and within
  lifetime of some who heard the Lord, Mark 91
• Repentance and remission of sins to be first
  preached in Jerusalem, Luke 2447

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Luke 2447 47 and that repentance for
forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His
name to all the nations, beginning from
Jerusalem.

• Acts 23838 Peter said to them, Repent, and
  each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
  Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you
  will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

24
We See the Beginning of the Church in Acts,
Chapter 2

• Will build my church still future, Matt.
  1618-19
• Kingdom would come with power, and within
  lifetime of some who heard the Lord, Mark 91
• Repentance and remission of sins first preached
  in Jerusalem, Luke 2447
• God added to their number (church, NKJV) those
  who were being saved, Acts 247

25
We See the Beginning of the Church in Acts,
Chapter 2

• God added to their number (church, KJV) those who
  were being saved, Acts 247
• After Acts 2, congregations of believers called
  the church.

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Typical References to Church after Acts 2

• And great fear came upon all the church, Acts
  511
• Great persecution arose against the church in
  Jerusalem, Acts 81
• Saul began ravaging the church, Acts 8 3
• So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee
  and Samaria enjoyed peace, Acts 931

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Identifying Features of the Lords Church

• Its designation
• Its organization
• Its worship
• Its mission

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Individual Members Called Christians

• Acts 1126
• 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to
  Antioch. And for an entire year they met with
  the church and taught considerable numbers
  and the disciples were first called Christians
  in Antioch.
• Acts 262828 Agrippa replied to Paul, In a
  short time you will persuade me to become a
  Christian.

29

• 1 Peter 41616 but if anyone suffers as a
  Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to
  glorify God in this name.

The scriptures do not recognize varying kinds of
Christians as Baptist Christians, Methodist
Christians, etc. but solely Christians !
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Names Used to Designate the Collection of
Believers

• churches of Christ All the churches of Christ
  salute you Romans 1616
• church of God to the church of God which is at
  Corinth 1 Cor. 12

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• church of God the Holy Spirit has made you
  overseers to shepherd the church of God Acts
  2028
• church of the first-born to the general
  assembly and church of the first-born who are
  enrolled in heaven Heb. 1223

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Church Organization Recognized in Two Senses

• Universal
• Christ the only head
• Composed of baptized believers everywhere
• No earthly organization

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• Local
• Organized with elders (overseers) deacons, saints
• Composed of Christians in a geographic area
• No organization larger than the local church

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Universal

• Christ as head And He is head of the
  body, the church Col. 118
• All baptized believers By one Spirit we were
  all baptized into one body 1 Cor. 1215
• No earthly organization He is the one whom
  God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and
  Savior Acts 531

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Local

• Composed of elders, deacons, and saints to
  all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at
  Philippi, including the overseers and deacons
  Philippians 11
• Geographic areas churches at Ephesus,
  Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, etc. Revelation
  2-3
• Organization local only Shepherd the flock
  of God among you 1 Peter 52

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• The scriptures define what God expects when
  Christians gather for worship.
• To sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
• To offer prayers of praise, thanksgiving, and
  petitions to God
• Observe the Lords Supper in memory of Christ's
  death
• Give to the Lord as we have prospered
• Preach the word of His grace

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Singing
Colossians 316 16 Let the word of Christ
richly dwell within you, with all wisdom
teaching and admonishing one another with
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
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Ephesians 51919 speaking to one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
and making melody with your heart to the Lord
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Prayer
1 Corinthians 141515 What is the outcome then?
I will pray with the spirit and I will pray
with the mind also I will sing with the spirit
and I will sing with the mind also.
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Lords Supper
Acts 207 7 On the first day of the week,
when we were gathered together to break bread,
Paul began talking to them, intending to leave
the next day, and he prolonged his message
until midnight.
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Giving
1 Corinthians 161-2 1 Now concerning the
collection for the saints, as I directed the
churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2 On
the first day of every week each one of you is
to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so
that no collections be made when I come.
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Preaching
Acts 24242 They were continually devoting
themselves to the apostles teaching and to
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to
prayer.
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The Churchs Mission is Threefold

• Edification or building up of the church
• Evangelism or reaching out to the lost
• Benevolence or helping needy saints

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Edification
Ephesians 415-1615 but speaking the truth in
love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him
who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the
whole body, being fitted and held together by
what every joint supplies, according to the
proper working of each individual part, causes
the growth of the body for the building up of
itself in love.
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Evangelism
Matthew 2819-20 19 Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I
commanded you and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.
46
Benevolence
Acts 1127-30 27 Now at this time some prophets
came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of
them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate
by the Spirit that there would certainly be a
great famine all over the world. And this took
place in the reign of Claudius.
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29 And in the proportion that any of the
disciples had means, each of them determined to
send a contribution for the relief of the
brethren living in Judea. 30 And this they
did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul
to the elders.
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Summary

• The church was purposed by God, promised by
  Christ, and all the saved are in it.
• Christ is head of the one church He purchased
  with His blood.
• Church members individually are called
  Christians, collectively the church of Christ or
  church of God.
• Local body made up of saints, elders and deacons
  and there is no organization larger than the
  local church.

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• Worship is composed of singing, praying, eating
  the Lords supper, giving and teaching.
• Its mission is to build up its members, teach the
  gospel to others, and care for needy saints.
• Not authorized to provide social activities,
  entertainment, recreation, secular education,
  promote political agendas, nor serve as a
  universal benevolent institution.