SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/22/2024 8:40 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 “Intro to Matthew 28:16-20”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
28:16-20
Message of the verses: “16 But the eleven disciples
proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they
saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them,
saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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.’”
I begin this SD by once again quote from John MacArthur’s
commentary and what he is talking about here is about the church and its
functions, something that all believers should know.
“If
the average evangelical congregation were surveyed concerning the primary
purpose of the church, it is likely that many diverse answers would be
given. Several purposes, however, would
probably be prominent. A large number
would rank fellowship first, the opportunity to associate and interact with
fellowship first, the opportunity to associate and interact with fellow
Christians who share similar beliefs and values. They highly value the fact that the church
provides activities and programs for the whole family and is a place where
relationships are nurtured and shared and where inspiration is provided through
good preaching and beautiful music. A
favorite verse for such church members is likely to be, ‘By this all men will
know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another’ (John 13:35).
At a level perhaps a step higher, some Christians
would consider sound biblical teaching to the church’s principal function,
expounding Scripture and strengthening believers in knowledge of and obedience
to God’s revealed truth. That emphasis
would include helping believers discover and minister their spiritual gifts in
various forms of leadership and service.
Like fellowship, that too is a basic function of the church, because God
‘gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some
as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of
service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the
unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to
the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ’ (Eph.
4:11-13).
Adding
a more elevated level, some members would consider praise of God to be the
supreme purpose of the church. They
emphasize the church as a praising community that exalts the Lord in adoration,
homage, and reverence. Praise is clearly
a central purpose of God’s people, just as it has always been and will always
be a central activity of heaven, where both saints and angels will eternally
sing praises to God. ‘Worthy art Thou,
our Lord and our God,’ sing the twenty-four elders lying prostrate before God’s
throne, ‘to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou didst create all
things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created’ (Rev. 4:10-11;
cf. 5:8-14).” Let us look now at
Revelation 4:8-14 “8 When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and
the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and
golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang
a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its
seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and
tongue and people and nation. 10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and
priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth." 11 Then I looked,
and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures
and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of
thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and
blessing." 13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth
and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,
"To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and
honor and glory and dominion forever and ever." 14 And the four living
creatures kept saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and worshiped.”
“Paul declares that God has ‘predestined us to
adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind
intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace…to the end that
we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory’
(Eph. 1:5-6, 12; cf. v.14).” “14 who is
given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s
own possession, to the praise of His glory.” “Later in that same epistle he exults, ‘To
Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever
and ever’ (3:21).
Perhaps you have figured out exactly what the
purpose of the church is for that is what we have been looking at, and yet so
far we have not expressed exactly what that mission of the church is. I will continue this SD with just two more
paragraphs from MacArthur’s commentary on the introduction to these very last
verses in the gospel of Matthew in which he will reveal what the mission of the
church is and then Lord willing will continue to quote from this introduction
in the next SD, but probably will not finish this introduction for a few more
days.
“Jesus
came into the world to manifest God’s glory, the ‘glory as of the only begotten
from the Father’ (John 1:14), as ‘the radiance of His glory and the exact representation
of His nature’ (Heb. 1:3). Just as their
Lord, Jesus Christ, came into the world with the supreme purpose of glorifying
His Father, so those who belong to Christ have that same purpose. We are to praise, honor, and glorify our God
in every dimension of life.
“All
of those emphases are thoroughly biblical and should characterize every body of
believers. But neither separately nor
together do they represent the central purpose and mission of the church in the
world. The supreme
purpose and motive of every individual believer and every body of believers is
to glorify God.” (Italics added)
So
there you have it, as believers we’re to glorify God in everything that we do
and the perfect example comes from the life or our Lord Jesus Christ while He
was on planet earth.
10/22/2024 9:43 AM
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