Gospel Core

Facetsof the Gospel

Discipleship Seminars (DS) presents …DC2 – Essentials of Discipleship (EOD)

Seminar 5: The Church

GBC Vision: A disciple-making church that transforms lives with the gospel and love of Jesus Christ.

Personal Data Protection Act: This session is filmed and uploaded onto the Grace Baptist Church (GBC) website for private use by church members. By attending the class, you are giving us consent to film you.1

(1) A PASTORAL PICKLE

What will you say to a member who says, “Why should I bother going to church on Sunday, or going for Care Group? I am happy reading the Bible by myself.”

(2) THE CHURCH AS A FACET OF THE GOSPEL

2.1 Revision: The Gospel’s Core and its Facets

In the last session, we learned a simple way to remember the core of the gospel by using the four-fold framework of:

Fill in the boxes

However, we also learned that the whole of the gospel is greater than this core. Rather, the gospel story is built into the fabric of the whole of Scripture and all of Christian understanding is intimately tied to the gospel. It is like a multi-faceted diamond – we can gaze into each day and see surprising new implications for our living.

Today, as we consider the topic of “the Church”, we are going to relook at the gospel and consider:

1. a broader understanding of the gospel story

2. the role that the Church plays in this broad rendering of the gospel story

1 If you are not comfortable being recorded, please inform the videographer and he will omit you from the final video that will be uploaded.

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We will do so by studying the book of Ephesians. 2.2 Facet 1: God’s Cosmic Plan in the Gospel

A tendency when we use the God-Man-Christ-Response framework is that we tend to look at the gospel story as though God is only concerned about mankind, or perhaps even only about us as individuals. However, this is not the picture presented in Scripture.

Ephesians 1:3-14

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Notes

BIBLE READING SKILL Pronouns are words like “he”, “his”, “her”, “you”. They usually refer to someone/thing that has been introduced in the text earlier. They occur very often in Scripture and it is crucial that we identify correctly who they refer to.

Exercise. In the passage above, for each instance of the pronouns “he”, “him” or “his”, identify the person that the pronoun is referring to.

THINK! Using a pen, can you underline all the words in the passage above that indicate that God had a great plan from the very start (even before creation!)?

Observations

1. God has a great big plan to unite all ___________ in Jesus (Eph. 1:10, 20-23). The gospel story is more than a story of God saving mankind. It is about God redeeming His entire creation by bringing it under the lordship of the ___________ Jesus Christ.

20 [God] raised [Jesus] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Eph 1:20—2:1 ESV)

2. The particular role for every Christian in this big plan is to be ___________ as children (Eph. 1:5) as part of God’s family (i.e. the Church) under the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:10). This is with the ultimate goal of bringing ___________ to God (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14).

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Implications

3. God intended the Church to be formed as a result of His saving acts. The Church is a key intended result of the great plan of the gospel.

a. As Christians, we cannot accept the gospel while ___________ to be part of the Church. If we do so, we are rejecting the Lordship of Jesus and implicitly rejecting God’s purposes in the gospel.

b. BIG IDEA 1 Being part of the Church is not ___________. We do so in obedience to the gospel and as the proper response to God’s saving acts on our behalf.

KEY QUESTION 1 But what does it mean to be “part of the Church”? (To be answered in Section 2.3)

4. Ephesians 1:3-14 shows us two key tasks that the Church as a whole must be involved in:

a. The ministry of ___________ – bringing all things under the headship of Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:10). This includes (not exhaustive):

i. Disciplemaking through evangelism, as we bring the gospel to the nations.ii. Disciplemaking through teaching, as we teach the church to obey the gospel.iii. Preaching the gospel’s inclusiveness of all nations, ethnicities, classes, abilities etc.

b. The ministry of ___________ – to be to the praise of Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:12; 14). This includes (not exhaustive):

i. Praise through discipleship, as our good works shine forth bringing glory to Jesus.ii. Praise through corporate worship, as we come together to praise Jesus in congregational

worship for the gospel.

2.3 Facet 2: The Church – A Working Gospel, not a Gospel of Works

Ephesians 2:1-10

2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Notes

THINK! According to this text, what were the goals that God had in mind when He gave us the gift of salvation by faith?

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Implications

5. This text clearly shows us that:

a. The gospel is not a gospel of our ___________ – we did not and cannot do anything to merit our salvation (Eph. 2:9).

b. Rather, the gospel is a gospel of ___________ works – the Church is created as God’s workmanship (Eph 2:10a).

c. BIG IDEA 2 For us, the gospel is a ___________ gospel – we are saved for good works that God has prepared beforehand (Eph. 2:10b).

KEY QUESTION 2 If being “part of the Church” means that we must do good works, what do such good works consist of? (To be answered in Section 3)

(3) THE “WORK” OF COMMUNITY LIVING IN THE CHURCH

Paul elaborates in the second half of his letter on the “good works” that God has prepared for us beforehand:

Ephesians 4:1-16

4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Notes

Observations

6. All Christians are to walk in a “manner worthy of [our] calling”. This involves two responsibilities, which are really two sides of the same coin:

a. To work at maintaining the unity of the Spirit (i.e. togetherness) of the Church under the lordship of the one Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:3-5).

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b. To work at ministry to build up the Church towards the unity of the faith (i.e. likemindedness) through growing to maturity in Christlikeness (Eph. 4:12-13; 15-16).

7. BIG IDEA 3 The “apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers” of the church are meant to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11-12).

Question 1: Are you expecting your elders and pastors to do the work of ministry?

Ans: You shouldn’t – that is your role. You are to do the work of ___________. (Your leaders can lead the way by example, but that is not their primary vocation according to Ephesians!)

Question 2: Are you one of those listed above? Are you so caught up with doing ministry yourself that you are not equipping the saints for the work of ministry?

Ans: You shouldn’t – that is not your primary role. You are to do the work of ___________ and ___________. (You can do direct ministry work to show a good example, but that is not your primary vocation according to Ephesians!)

Self-Reflection: If you are a lay person, have you been more concerned with critiquing your leaders than doing what you should do. Or vice versa if you are a ministry leader?

Today’s Big Ideas

1 Since God saved every Christian to be part of the church …

2 … in order to do good works in the church,

3 … all GBC members must actively seek to do the work of ministry in the church.

NCC Question 48 (Summary)

Q: What is the Church?

A:

God ___________ and preserves for himself a community elected for eternal life and united by faith,

who love, follow, learn from, and worship God ___________. God sends out this community to

___________ the gospel and prefigure Christ’s kingdom by the ___________ of their life together and

their love for one another.

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(4) APPLICATION: CARE GROUPS IN GBC

4.1 What are Care Groups (CGs)?

a. Small groups of GBC members (group size anywhere between 6-20+ people).

b. Usually meeting fortnightly at a GBC member’s home.

c. Core activities include (i) teaching, (ii) prayer and (iii) mutual caring (i.e. pastoring one another).

d. Led by Care Group leaders (CGLs), who are equipped in two main platforms:

- “CLOBS” (Centralised Leaders of Bible Study) training sessions, where CGLs are taught how to use the teaching materials provided by the CG Ministry team. Run fortnightly (10 am – 12 noon) on Saturdays.

- “Pre-CLOBS” training sessions, where CGLs are taught how to read and teach the Bible better. A six-month programme run fortnightly (8.45 am – 9.45 am) on Saturdays.

4.2 Why Join a Care Group (CG)?

As we saw earlier in Ephesians, God has saved every Christian to do “good works” and to walk in a “manner worthy of [our] calling”, namely:

# What we learned from Ephesians Why Join a Care Group?

1 To work at ministry in order to attain the unity of the faith through growing to maturity in Christlikeness (Eph. 4:12-13; 15-16).

Care Groups provides each GBC member:

a ___________ community to do the good work of ministering other GBC members (as well as evangelism);

a ___________ community in order to grow to maturity in Christlikeness.

2 To work at maintaining the spiritual unity of the Church under the lordship of the one Lord, Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:3-5).

Care Groups provides each GBC member:

a ___________ community to promote Church unity under the lordship of Jesus Christ;

an ___________ community where correction, rebuke and teaching can take place.

Care Group (CG) Emphasis Sunday

The Care Group Ministry will be holding a CG Emphasis Sunday on 30 Aug 2015 at the lobby area of the church.

We hope to present information and increase awareness about existing CGs through this event and encourage people to join a CG before the church moves off-site, so that we can continue to promote the unity and growth of the church.

Please support us by praying for us (use what was taught today!), by bringing GBC members who are not yet in CGs to come, and by being present to share about your CG.

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(5) DISCIPLESHIP THROUGHOUT THE WEEK

The devotions below are meant to (1) help you consolidate your learning in this session, and (2) provide further reading on the topic covered.

Devotion Text for Study Guidance

1 Ephesians 1 – 3 In one sitting, read through Ephesians 1 – 3. Do you agree with the presentation of God’s Big Plan in today’s session?

2 Ephesians 4 – 6 In one sitting, read through Ephesians 4 – 6. How do these chapters link with God’s Big Plan presented in the first three chapters?

3 Genesis 1:26-31Genesis 12:1-3

How does God’s Big Plan in Ephesians relate to God’s instructions to Adam and God’s promise to Abraham?

4 Jonah 1-2 What is Jonah’s overall message? How does Jonah related to God’s Big Plan in Ephesians? Like Jonah, do we resist God’s call to bring the message to those we are not comfortable with?5 Jonah 3-4

Access to Notes/Videos. All notes are available online at: http://english.gracebaptistchurch.sg/ds. Access is for GBC members & DS attendees only. You can request the password from any DS team member or through the email below.

Contact Us. If you have any queries, please contact us at discipleshipseminars@gmail.com.

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