God's Body-Building Program, Part 2

Today, Chuck Swindoll describes what happens when you become a Christian. When you trusted Christ Jesus as your Savior, many things happened to you, but these two significant things I'm going to tell you were automatic and immediate. First, within you, you became a new creation. Second, you were automatically and instantaneously placed into the family of God. The ancient landscape of Caesarea Philippi was widely known for its temples.

These structures were erected for the sole purpose of worshipping strange idols. It was in this godless setting that Jesus asked his disciples a defining question. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll opens the Bible to Matthew chapter 16. In this passage, Jesus was teaching his disciples about the church, all within view of these temples.

He posed this leading question, who do people say that I am? And their conversation led to a teachable moment regarding the family of God. All through the years, God's program has been like a crescendo mark on a musical score. From the point, which would be the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of God came, right up to the present day, it is ever expanding, ever enlarging.

And you could even put a little dotted line for the future, it will continue to enlarge. The church is larger today than it was yesterday. It will be larger tomorrow than it is today, because even this day, God is reaching into lives and bringing them into his family. Matthew chapter 16. Not only is the church developed late in history, as far as doctrine is concerned, it appears late in scripture. Never once in the Old Testament, and not until Christ is well under way in his ministry, does it appear in the scriptures. Matthew 16 is one of the earlier references to the word church. It appears at the end of a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples. The dialogue starts at verse 13 of Matthew 16. Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he began asking his disciples saying, who do people say that the Son of Man is? And they said some say John the Baptist, some Elijah and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Jesus said to them, plural, but who do you, who do y'all say that I am? Even though the question is addressed to all of them, Peter's response verse 16, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus' response is first a blessing, and then a promise, and then a prediction. The blessing is, blessed are you, Simon, son of John.

Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you. You've been talking to my Father. You got that in prayer, Peter. That came right from heaven. Blessed are you, Peter, for that insight.

You didn't get that information from other people, but from my Father who is in heaven. And upon this truth, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. The risk of being a little pedantic, let's just dissect that prediction, I will build my church. Note first, to whom the church belongs, Jesus. The church is not the work of the pastor. The church is not the work of a body of elders. The church is not the work of a body of seminaries. The church is not the work of a denomination. The church is not the work of the pope. The church is not the work of any person on earth. It is Christ's body. Those who are weak at this point are weak in their ecclesiology. If I may use today's terms, Christ is our boss. If I use the terms in the first century, Christ is our Lord, Kurios, and we are his servants. That has never changed those centuries of past. He holds the patent on the church. It was his genius that originated it.

He deposited it into the truth of heaven and he revealed it to Peter and he carried it out through the lives of the disciples and it's still going on. It's his church. That's why you will never, I seldom say never, you will never hear me call you my people. You're not my people.

That's ownership. Christ owns you. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

He is our Lord and we are his people. I will build. Look at the next one. The dictionary says to build means to form by uniting materials by gradual means into a composite whole to construct.

Another definition, to develop by a definite process. Now that's what's going on right now. It's been going on since the first century. It will never stop until Christ comes for his own and we've studied that in days past.

You remember that. We are called the bride. He is called the groom. He calls us the church. I will build my church. Since the beginning of the church, our Lord has been reaching down into the ranks of humanity, selecting, choosing, calling, drawing to himself people, men, women, boys, girls, teenagers, older folks, all different sizes, all different kinds. He continues to call them out from among and he places them where?

He places them in his family. Remember the little chorus, I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by his blood, joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod. I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God.

Every person who is in the family can sing that because we've all come the same way. That means the group is exclusive. In the right sense, it's exclusive. The only way you become a member of this body is to believe in Jesus Christ. Sincerity won't get you in. Church-going won't get you in. Paying your bills won't get you in.

Being a good leader in your community won't get you in. This group is reserved for believers in Christ. If you're a believer, you're in. If you're not, you're out.

It's exclusive. How permanent is it? Is it going to fade as time passes? Look at what he says, the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. At times like that, I wish I had a deep voice.

It seems like that fits the voice of many waters, doesn't it? Because it has such authority. If Christ were to open the gates of Hades and let all the evil powers pour out of that one source, it wouldn't hinder, it wouldn't interrupt, it wouldn't stop.

It would never destroy the church. It's a permanent building process that will never be shut down. Now then, what we really need is a definition. Having said all of those things, my definition will last about 25 minutes, so get ready.

No, not really. Here's the definition. A definition. The ever increasing body of born again believers. This is the church. The ever increasing body of born again believers who comprise the universal family of God over whom Christ reigns as Lord. That's the church. The ever increasing body of born again believers who comprise the universal family of God over whom Christ reigns as Lord. It's universal in scope, it's continually in process, it's exclusive in membership, and it's impervious to destruction.

I want to be a part of that kind of project. I had a wonderful conversation with an engineer several months ago who had decided in recent months to change his whole career. He got excited about God's world program. He was prompted by his particular local church, not yours, but another.

We were at a conference together. He had made a big decision regarding his future. He was going to move into another whole realm, and I asked him, why would he do it? He said, well, to tell you the truth, I had to face the fact that everything I was building was going to be burnt up. Every project I was involved in had a termination point, but this one was eternal. He said, it just turned my whole mentality around.

I'm not saying God leads everyone that way, I'm saying he led him that way when he got that perspective. You see, when you begin to realize, this is why I started like I did, when you begin to realize it isn't just a pretty good show for a nickel, but it's a passion for living. It revolutionizes your whole frame of reference. Your world suddenly changes from this tiny little tube called today, and where I live, to his world. And you're a part of it. It's ever growing, ever increasing.

Let me show you the growth. Acts chapter 2. Let's go from Matthew 16 over to Acts chapter 2, verse 41. We've now moved in time from Jesus' prediction to the point where the church begins. This is the day of Pentecost. His spirit has come, he has ignited that small body of people in that upper room, and they've come pouring down into the streets of Jerusalem, and Peter has become their spokesman, and this is the result. Verse 41, so then those who had received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. That's the first little body of people. Three thousand souls. Here they were out in the streets of Jerusalem.

I love the thought of this. They have no church building, they have no pastor, they have no constitution. Probably the reason they got along so well, they never had a constitution. They had no board members, they had no direction, they had no understanding of what the future held for them, but they had Christ. They had the enthusiasm of Christ's presence in their lives. He was now bringing their inner beings to a boil as they heard the message of Christ's love and forgiveness and his resurrection following the cross, they believed and they're baptized. And here they are, verse 42, continually devoting themselves to teaching and to koinonia, that's the word for fellowship, sharing things in common, sharing lives, caring for one another. They took the bread and broke it together and they were involved in prayer. These are the essentials of a church. Teaching, fellowship, the ordinances and prayer. Previous verse mentions they were baptized.

Well that's quite a sheep dip, isn't it? For three thousand souls. Can you imagine that community when these people were in the river being baptized, one after another after another. They have no hymnal, they have no direction, and they're standing there getting dry wondering, what do we do next? They fellowship, they are taught, they are breaking bread, and they pray. Before long they begin to take movement.

The momentum grows. Look at chapter 5, verse 12. At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people. Verse 13, none of the rest dared to associate with them, however the people held them in high esteem. Verse 14, all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women were constantly added to their number.

That's growth. Look at verse 7 of chapter 6. Next chapter, verse 7. The word of God kept on spreading and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem. And a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. Look at that breakthrough. All these months the priests have been standing back with their hat in their hand thinking, what's happening to these folks?

What's this momentum? What's this change that's come over them? And they begin to listen.

And then they get involved. And then of all things these formal religious leaders tear away the masks of religion and they turn their lives over to Christ. And even the ranks of the priests are invaded with believers. Again, we can hardly appreciate that today but in those days that was a wonder. That was amazing. Yet again in chapter 11, verse 19, it now spreads beyond Jerusalem because of persecution.

11, 19. Then those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also preaching the Lord Jesus. Let me interrupt our thought here for just a moment. We've all seen televised pictures of volcanoes that have erupted. And this molten lava pours over the lip of this volcano and runs as bright red as a poinsettia right down into the valleys and crevices of the world around them. And wherever it goes, it makes an impact. Wherever it goes, there's this smoldering, smoking, as it were, living stuff moving and changing and pushing.

I think of that when I think of this. And the persecution was Stephen stoning. It looked at the moment like a terrible tragedy but it forced the church out of itself and into the ranks of humanity. That's the heartbeat of church. It's not something we keep to ourselves, it's something we release. Sometime it requires persecution to burst our own little balloon and to send us outside our own world.

And here's an example. Here are some people who decide that the Greeks need to hear also so they preach the Lord Jesus to them. Verse 21, and the hand of the Lord was with him. A large number who believe turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem and so they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. Look at 23, when he had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. Look at this last sentence, considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.

And it's still going on. If I had time I'd read to you from chapter 19 and on into the 20s you'd see it again and again. This spreading flame. When you trusted Christ Jesus as your savior, many things happened to you but these two significant things I'm going to tell you were automatic and immediate. First, something happened within you and second, something happened to you. Within you, 2 Corinthians 5.17, you became a new creation, a new creature. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, all things have become new. You have new motivation, new interests. Your mind is no longer blinded to the truth of scripture. Your interests shift from yourself and often from a body of people who aren't doing you any good at all to the things of God and a new group of people come on the horizon of your life. You begin to be more vulnerable, more open, more willing to confess the wrong of your life. You keep short accounts with God from whom you were running all the other years of your life.

Why? You're a new creature. It happened to you down inside, down within your life. Second, you were automatically and instantaneously placed into the family of God.

You didn't feel any different, you didn't hear something, you didn't see something, but that happened to you the moment you believed. First Corinthians chapter 12 is where I want to spend the balance of our time because that develops the whole theology of the church as far as my emphases are concerned. Sometimes I have people say, do I have to join a church to become a Christian? My answer is no, but God always joins you to his. He always joins you to his church. You don't have to join some local church. That comes later on as he leads you. He wants you to be, but you don't have to be a member of a local church to become a Christian.

But you do have to be a member of the universal church before you can say you are a Christian. That happens when you believe. I remember when my mother died, my father called me and spoke in sort of staccato fashion and very briefly said to me that he thought my mom was dead.

He said sis is on her way, can you come? And of course I jumped in my car and by the time I got there they had already covered my mother up on the sofa. She died a very quick death and it was no pain at all and looking back it was a beautiful way to go. Seemed premature to us at the time of course. Anyway, I said to them, have you called the doctor?

And they said, no we haven't. We didn't really know what to do so we got on the phone and called her physician and he said now Charles there are some vital signs you need to look for. Let's make absolutely certain while the paramedics are on their way that she is in fact dead. So he gave me three or four or five signs to check and we did all of them and they all proved that she was gone.

When the paramedics got there I stepped back and they did the very same thing, much more professionally but they did the same thing and it was clear she was gone. Now when I think about a body and vital signs I remember that in my past. I want to apply those vital signs to the church body, to the family because I use that illustration because Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians 12. I want you to think of the family of God as an enormous body that reaches around the world, made up of millions of tiny members organs part of the body.

If you think that way you'll have no trouble understanding his analogy in this passage. I want to show you six vital signs of a healthy universal church. Verse 12, 1 Corinthians 12, there's the presence of unity and harmony. The presence of unity and harmony. Even as the body is one and yet has many members and all the members of the body though they are many are one body so also is Christ.

First time I read that verse I thought it sounded like a tongue twister. I remember distinctly as a young Christian wondering what that was all about and then I was told to change the word member to organ like the organs of the body. Let me do that for you. You'll see how much clearer. Even as the body is one and yet has many organs and all the organs of the body though they are many form one body so is Christ's body.

That's the idea. The point I want you to see is the harmony and the unity of the body. Many, many, many members but one body.

Secondly another sign of good health is the absence of favoritism and status. Verse 13, for by one spirit were we all baptized into one body. See that happened when we were saved. We were identified with the body of Christ by one spirit.

Whether we were Jews or Greeks, whether we were slaves or free, we were all made to drink of one spirit. You're listening to Insight for Living and we're midway through a message from Chuck Swindoll. Referring to the local church, Chuck titled his talk God's Bodybuilding Program. It's just one part of a larger classic series from Chuck titled Growing Deep in the Christian Life. To learn more, visit us online at insightworld.org. As your next step in growing deep in the Christian life, I want to tell you about a brand new resource that will challenge your outlook.

It's a brief book, easy to read in one evening and it's called Life is 10% What Happens to You and 90% How You React. If you're a long time listener to Insight for Living, that title might sound familiar to you. That's because it's one of the most highly quoted statements that Chuck has ever made. While Chuck popularized the quote, the wisdom isn't original to him. It's rooted in scripture and described in his new seven chapter book. He's written on topics such as freeing yourself from drama and overcoming envy and another one on how to have a joyful and prosperous life.

To purchase a copy, go to insight.org slash store or call us. If you're listening in the United States, call 800-772-8888. Chuck's teaching on your radio station is made possible in part by those who give generously and we're also grateful to our station partners who provide a platform each day. It's a collaborative effort between Insight for Living Ministries, your radio station, and the people in our listening family who faithfully support us. As we continue a new year together, our focus on God's word will not change. In fact, we're declaring 2023 another year in which we're fully engaged in Bible study together. As God leads you to give and support this worthy effort, we invite your financial partnership. You can go online to insight.org or you can call us. If you're listening in the United States, call 800-772-8888. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Take it from Chuck's window. There's nothing quite like the beauty of the great frontier. Wide open skies, pristine glaciers with various shades of blue and turquoise mingled within them, towering pine trees, and all manner of wildlife. I'll tell you, Alaska is truly a masterpiece of God's creation. I've been to a lot of places and seen a lot of things, but honestly, nothing compares to the beauty in Alaska.

God is awesome. Come with us on the Insight for Living Ministries cruise to Alaska, July 1st through July 8th, 2023. When I'm in Alaska, I feel like I'm in an amazing painting created by God. Let yourself get lost in the majestic beauty. Spend quality time with those you love. Allow God to refresh your soul as you reflect on His word and His goodness in your life. To learn more, go to insight.org slash events or call this number 1-888-447-0444.

The tour to Alaska is paid for and made possible by only those who choose to attend. I'm Bill Meyer. Join us next time when Chuck's wind all continues his helpful message on God's bodybuilding program right here on Insight for Living. The preceding message, God's Bodybuilding Program, was copyrighted in 1985, 1987, 2005, 2011, and 2022, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2022 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.