1. New Year's Eve Conference 2023 | What is the Church?

Thanksgiving, Greetings, and the Setting of the Talk

Thanks for the introduction.

Thanks so much, Jeff, for inviting me to be here with you this evening. Thanks, everybody, for coming on a holiday night and when you could be out celebrating or, I don't know, doing something. And coming here to hear more about God's word and about God himself and about, especially, such a wonderful subject, such a beautiful subject and one near and dear to God's heart, which is the church.

Please pray with me.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity we have. Thank you so much just for the beautiful work that you are doing and a people that you have called to yourself, whom you have called the church, who is the body, the bride, the beloved of Christ.

And we pray that your church would be edified and built up through our time together this evening. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. So I bring you greetings from your brothers and sisters at Covenant Presbyterian Church here down the road.

If you haven't been there yet, don't know where it is. So just taking Wilson out toward Lynchburg as you're leaving town, it's right there on the right, right where they're building that new development, putting in that new neighborhood.

We're right before you get there. So I bring you greetings from your brothers and sisters there. And I know what you're wondering. What is a Presbyterian minister doing, speaking in a Baptist church at a Baptist theology conference?

Well, I tell you, there's good precedent for it. Many of you have probably seen some of the conferences, debates, where John MacArthur and R .C. Sproul have been on there together. You also have seen Tim Keller and John Piper share the stage and share events as well.

So there's plenty of precedent and even going much further back than that as well because there's so much that we have in common, so much overlap that we have in our theological and denominational traditions.

And so it's a privilege for me to be here. Thanks again, Jeff, for inviting me. But just to give you, to fill that out a little bit more, I wanna tell you a little bit more about myself. I was actually born and raised in the PCA.

My dad's also a minister in the PCA. My parents are missionaries with Mission to the World, which is the mission branch, the mission organization of the PCA. And I was, so I grew up in a pastor's family, in a missionary family.

More about that in a little bit. But I also have other denominations in my roots. I have some mainline denominations going back there. My grandmother on my dad's side went to Methodist church, grew up Methodist church.

And my dad's grandfather on his father's side was actually a Methodist minister. On my mom's side, she actually grew up going to Lutheran church. Wasn't truly saved though until she met the Lord at a VBS at a PCA church in St. Louis as a young girl.

And then, but there's also Lutheran ministers in my family tree on that side as well. So there's PCA background, there's mainline background. But also, another reason why I am happy to be here is that when I was in college, I went to Covenant College up here outside Chattanooga.

And I met a beautiful Baptist girl there. And so Laura and I, as I said, it's just celebrated our 12th anniversary. But she grew up Baptist church, born and raised in the Southern Baptist denomination, excuse me, conference.

And so yeah, there's a lot of connection there. After I graduated from college in 2010, I actually didn't go straight to seminary, but I served with a mission organization called To Every Tribe, which is a small one, but it's Reformed Baptist.

And my wife and I were with that organization for about six years, going through training, raising support. I was the lone Presbyterian there for a long time. And so some of you said like, hey, I hope you don't feel, I was like, endangered or anything, but I feel right at home.

So I've been there. So been in these different kind of denominational contexts, spent time when we were in Mexico as missionaries, found a church there that we attended in Southern Mexico as missionaries.

That was a charismatic church that taught Reformed theology.

Figure that out.

So they taught the doctrines of grace and yet still maintain some of their charismatic practices.

And convictions.

And it was quite an eye-opener. It was just amazing to see the spirit at work in them and how this church was planting churches in their town. And we got to be a part of one of the churches. We went there as missionaries to plant churches, but it was this church that we partnered with that was planting with it, and we just got to go along with it.

But I've had other experiences abroad in the field. So as I said, my parents were missionaries. We lived in Mexico. We were on the U .S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, Juarez, Mexico. My wife and I served as missionaries in Oaxaca in Southern Mexico.

Also, as part of my missionary training, I got to go on a month-long trip to Papua New Guinea. And just as missionaries, a missionary kid, I've got to travel the U .S., visit a whole bunch of different churches all across the U .S. and the Southeast and the Out West, West Coast and the Midwest, all over the place.

And so I count myself to be very, very blessed to have seen firsthand and met a very broad picture, a very broad spectrum of the church, at least the church here in the U .S. and in Mexico. But also, my undergrad at Kona College was in history.

So I had the joy and privilege of getting to study church history. And that's the wonderful thing about studying the history of the church, is that not only do you see where your own denominations and traditions trace their roots back to, but you get to see how it goes even further than that.

There's even more to it. And it's not just in the West, but it's actually, you get to see outside of our own traditions and our own denominations and where those go back to. But even studying some Roman Catholic history and Eastern Orthodox history and seeing some of the roots and some of the great scholars and teachers and pastors who are at the origin of those movements as well.

And so, again, I count myself very fortunate, very blessed to have received just either through just direct experience or through education, a very broad picture, a very broad view of what it is when we talk about the church.

And it's not just that, but we also have seen, have we not, its highs and its lows, right? We, you know, when we look at the church throughout history or in the world today, we can go back to the early church, you know, and the dramatic growth and the amazing faith and persistence under persecution that we saw there.

We can look back to the Reformation and we can see the great boldness and courage and the grace of God showing itself as truth and theology and going back to God's word, came back to the forefront and men being able to, and churches being able to stand by their convictions and stand for the truth of God's word.

We can look back to the great awakenings and great pastors and theologians like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield and many others who taught the truth and we saw great revivals throughout the world.

We can look back at the great missions movements of the 1800s and the mid 1900s, going back to William Carey, the great Baptist missionary and Adonai Judson as well. We can look at the Jim Elliot and the Ecuador Five who were martyred in the jungles of Ecuador and the great modern mission movement that was birthed out of that.

And then you see the church as it is today in the global South and Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America and how the churches in those regions are actually rising to the forefront on the global stage to challenge the downfall in Western churches.

So we see wonderful stories highlighting the highs and the victories and the great accomplishments of the church throughout history and we can even look in our own neighborhoods and our own communities to see churches who have just cared for the poor, who have shared the gospel with neighbors, who have helped those who are struggling in their families and in their neighborhoods.

We see churches who, you know, speaking as a missionary kid and as someone who was a missionary for a time, churches that have supported missionaries and supported the work of the gospel being shared among the nations, churches who care for their pastors and support their elders and pastors as they lead them and shepherd them.

We see churches doing all of these wonderful things and we have seen so many glorious moments of just how beautiful and wonderful the church can be. But there's the other side of that too. We also see the tragic lows.

We see those historically in the great heresies of the early church, the violent schisms that divided and split the church. We see rampant corruption in every age of the church that rose and then brought it down to its knees.

We see a pattern of excess and hypocrisy and judgmentalism emerge time after time after time. We can look at the church in our own context, in our own society and acknowledge the reality of churches that have harbored, concealed and perpetuated child abuse and child abusers.

We see the reality of rampant spiritual and emotional abuse that has just racked so many churches and damaged the faith of so many and kept people from being able to just listen to and submit to the authority of pastors who care for them in a godly way because they've been so poorly treated.

We see churches putting political or social causes ahead of the gospel and ahead of God's word on every side, right? All sides do it. The whole gamut is there in our society today. And so we see that just as the church is capable of great beauty and glory, she is also capable of great sinfulness, of great harm.

And we see the darkness there as well, the highs and the lows. Why do I go into all that? All those personal experiences and all of that about what we know is happening in the church because the church is complicated.

And so the question that Jeff asked me to talk about is what is the church? The church is complicated. People are complicated.

And you know what?

The church is not a what, but a who. The church is a people. People are complicated. People have their ups and their downs, their positives and their negatives, their victories, their defeats, their victories and their sins and failures.

And so does the church. The church is the people of God. They are a people both visible and invisible.

What do I mean by that?

First of all, we make a distinction in the area of systematic theology, which is the deciphering of making a systematic theological structure for everything the Bible teaches on any given subject. And so one of the things you'll see in systematic theology is I'm talking about the church.

They make this distinction between the visible and invisible church. And I'm gonna quote both here from both the Westminster Confession of Faith, which is the Presbyterian theological standard, but also from the 1689, which there's a lot of overlap there a lot of commonality as we will see here.

So Westminster in chapter five, paragraph one says this, that the Catholic or universal church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect that have been are or shall be gathered into one under Christ, the head thereof, and is the spouse, the body and the fullness of him that fills all in all.

And I have the quote here in my notes, but since I saw one of these by the door, I'm gonna pull it up just so you know I'm reading it. From the 1689, I'm not making this up. This paragraph is essentially the same with one little addition that 1689 makes qualifying what it means to be invisible.

It says with respect to the internal work of the spirit and truth of grace. So there's agreement there, essentially. The invisible church, and it's invisible in the sense of we don't see it, God alone is the one who sees the true invisible church.

It will become apparent in the end when Christ returns, but it's invisible to us. What about the visible church? The visible church, according to Westminster 25 .2, says this, the visible church which is also Catholic or universal under the gospel consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion and of their children, and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.

There's a little bit more difference here in the 1689, so I'll read that whole paragraph. So this is 26 .2, it says this. All persons throughout the world professing the faith of the gospel and obedience unto God by Christ, according unto it, not destroying their own profession by any errors, averting the foundation or unholiness of conversation, conversion, are and may be called visible saints, and of such ought all particular congregations to be constituted.

So there's, as I said, some difference there, but again, agreement that there's a distinction between the invisible church, which is, according to both theological statements, is made up of the elect, the whole number of God's elect who are saved, past, present, and future.

Both agree that that is visible only to God and not to us. And although there is difference between Westminster and the 1689 on the issue of the invisible church, what we agree on is that it is real, it is the church that we actually see, and that it's made up of those who profess.

Faith in the gospel.

Or, in the words of Westminster, true religion. It is made up of those who make a profession, and of course Westminster, I have to say, as the Presbyterians, adds, and their children. So, the catch here is that we don't get to see that visible church, as I've already said.

We have to deal with the visible one, the complicated one. The one with the ups and the downs, the highs and the lows, the one that's made up of all these different traditions, all these different people, everyone who professes faith in Christ.

And in real life, the church that you attend, the visible church, is not so precise as our theological standards are, because people are complicated, right? People don't just break down so easy into these neat theological categories.

People you just assumed were safe, were automatically, were in great condition, they have to be among God's left, you find out later, had walked away from the faith. People who you had thought, like, no way, like, they're never gonna make it.

And yet, years later down the road, they're walking faithfully with the Lord and they've grown through that difficult period. People are complicated. Our categories, while helpful, are not always precise.

They don't fit the reality of what it's like to actually engage in pastoral ministry and life in the church. We have to deal with the church as it is, the visible church that we see. This people from every denomination, from every nation, from every tribe and tongue, throughout all of history, all their victories, all their failures, all their charms, all their flaws, all their good deeds, and also all of their sins, all of their history, for good or ill, and also all of their potential in the future for good or for ill.

We have to own it. Not how we wish it would be, but how it is. We don't get to see the invisible church. We can only see the visible one. But here's the good news. While that is complicated, the good news is that scripture is also complicated on this issue of the church, in the sense that it's not as precise as our systematic theologies either.

As I said, systematic theologies and these neat categories help us to understand scripture, but those are actually things that we place upon it to help us understand it and figure it out. Scripture does not use such neat categories always.

Rather, it uses metaphors. You heard them earlier in the Westminster in the 69. Both use this, and speaking of the church, they talk about the spouse, the bride, the body of Christ, the fullness of him.

These are metaphors. This is imagery. It's not neat little theological categories. And to get a good picture of this, now I want us to, if you would, open your Bibles and turn to Ephesians chapter five.

And all of that has kind of set up, now we're kind of getting into the word, all that has prepared us for what the Bible tells us when we say that the church is the bride and the body of Christ. So I'm gonna read Ephesians five, verses 25 through 33, and I realize this is probably not the first text people would go to when talking about what is the church or who is the church.

But as we will see, it has a lot to say about that. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by washing of water with the word, so that he might present her, so it might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.

Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Now, we're used to hearing that passage when we're talking about marriage and families, right? We're not really used to hearing that passage when we're talking about the church. But Paul actually explicitly says in verse 32, doesn't he?

He's actually talking more about the church than he is about marriage. It is primarily about Jesus and his church, his bride whom he loves, and secondarily then about marriage and how husbands and wives should relate to one another.

So what does he actually say then about Jesus and his church? How does he first of all identify the church? And then how does he talk about how Jesus shows his love for the church? So let's go back through this again and we'll highlight a couple of things.

First of all, verse 25, the very first thing that we know about the church, Christ loved the church. He loves her. She is his bride, his beloved. How much does he love her? Well, he gave himself up for her as she is.

As we are, Jesus gave himself up for us because he loves us, he loves you, he loves me. He loves his church so much he gave himself for her. How else does he love her? Verse 26, he goes on that he might sanctify her.

The meaning of that word is actually that he might make her holy. In other words, to set her apart, to distinguish her from all the other people in the world. These are all the peoples in the world and all of creation, I have called you and set you apart as my own.

I have sanctified you, I have separated you, you are holy to me. Notice the church does not sanctify herself, which is great news for us, is it not? He sanctifies her because he loves her. What else does he do?

He cleanses her by washing of water with the word. We are dirty, are we not? The church is full of filth and sin, is it not? But not when Jesus has washed her. He has cleansed us with his own blood so that we stand before the Father pure, unblemished and undefiled.

And we're used to thinking about that in ourselves to assure ourselves of our salvation when we get down on ourselves about our sin and our struggles, right? But we then don't, we forget about that with respect to the church, with respect to our brothers and sisters' sins, with our respect to other denominations' shortcomings.

Jesus has cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. To what end? Where is this going? Verse 27, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor. It is no coincidence that the Bible ends in the book of Revelation with a glorious wedding.

Come on.

As Jesus, the Son of God, the bridegroom, ushers in a new heavens and a new earth that is a new home for his bride to be. And he welcomes her in. And she comes adorned in raiment as a bride comes for her wedding.

That is where the church is headed.

All the church, as Blemish says,.

As much as she may be now, as much growing as she needs to do, as much purification and cleansing as she may need, that's where she's going. Jesus will present the church to himself in splendor before the Father one day.

He gave himself for her. And how does he help her along on this road to get to that point? Because it will take some time until we get there. We're told in verse 29 that Jesus, you know, we're told, care for your wives as you would for your own body men mentioned.

People should take care of their own bodies. No one hates their own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ does the church. Christ nourishes the church. Christ cherishes the church. He feeds her with his own body and his own blood.

He is near to her by the power of his own spirit. He speaks tenderly and softly to her in his word. He sustains her on the journey. And not only that, but we see in verse 31 the words of the marriage, the central words of the marriage ceremony from Genesis chapter two, man shall leave his father and mother, hold fast to his wife, the two shall become one flesh.

And he goes on, this mystery is profound. I'm saying it refers to Christ and the church, meaning that that one flesh relationship is not just between man and wife, but it is the unity of Christ and his church.

He has so united himself to his church. It's as if it's a marriage relationship where the two have become one flesh. Jesus is one with his church and we are one with him. All the blessings that we have, all the blessings we will one day enjoy, all the sustenance we need is drawn from our union with Christ.

We are in him. So brothers and sisters, who is the church? She is the body and the bride of Christ whom he loves dearly and gave himself for, whom he is purifying and sanctifying and cleansing, whom he will present to himself one day in glory, whom he nourishes and cherishes and to whom he has bound himself.

So closely to the church is.

Brothers and sisters, although she may not look like it, you wouldn't think it most times just by looking at her,.

But that's who she is.

The Church as the Body and Bride of Christ

Theologian, going back to our systematic theology, Louis Burkhoff says in his systematic theology says this, that the church consists of those who are partakers of Christ and of the blessings of salvation that are in him.

The church consists of those, my specified people, who are partakers of Christ. In other words, who are united to him, who have experienced the blessings of salvation, adoption, sanctification, all of these blessings that come from being united to Christ and partaking of his divine nature, that's who the church is.

The church are those whom Jesus loves, those for whom he gave up his life. And Jesus has promised, did he not? He said, I will build my church. Because we can look around at the church and we can say like, oh my gosh, how is this gonna work out?

Pastors do this all the time. Every pastor does. How is this gonna work out? I have no idea. You know, and it's not just our own congregations, we can look at other denominations, right? And be like, oh my gosh, right?

We can look at the context we're living in and just say like, this is falling apart. How are we gonna survive? How is this gonna hold together? But Jesus said, I will build my church. He takes care of her because he loves her.

And that's my concluding thought for us brothers and sisters is do you love her as Jesus loves her? Who is the church for you? Who is your church? Take a look around you. It's okay, you have my permission.

Look at your church. Those people you go to church with and sit next to every Sunday, they are your church. They are a part of the visible body and bride of Christ. They are God's people whom he loves and he died for.

Who he will present himself to himself blameless and spotless one day. Take a good look in the mirror too. Do you profess to be a Christian? Do you believe that Jesus died for you? You are a part of the church.

All those things we said about how much Jesus loves.

The church, that's how much he loves you. That's how much he cares for you.

Take a look at your children if you have them. I have to say that as a Presbyterian, because again, according to our standards, they are a part of the visible church. These are the people that Jesus loves and gave his life for.

Can you love them as he did?

Do you love the church as he loves her?

Because if you don't and if you won't, then all of this is, what's it really for? Love the church, brothers and sisters.

Because Jesus loves her so much.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the glorious work that you are doing in your church and for your church and to your church. We thank you so much just for the time that we have to meditate upon these truths and to be reminded again of how much you love us and how much you love your people and all that you have given for them, all that you are doing for them and all that you will one day do.

And we pray this and we ask that you would work into us such a love that may reflect your own.

Toward your church.

We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.