| Based upon faith that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, Jesus said, “I will build My church.” Matt. 16:18 Yet a time is coming …. God is spirit and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:23, 24 Jesus is the cornerstone. Luke 20:17 The purity and fellowship of the church. Matt. 18:17 Jesus said, “I am the vine, and you are the branches. …. Apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them in also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” John 10:16 “Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.” Luke 14: 23, 24. “People will come from the east and west and north and south, and will take their places in the kingdom of God.” Luke 13:29. |
About 3,000 were added to their number. Acts 2:41
“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” 2:47 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer. 2:42 “And all the believers were one in heart and mind.” 4:32 The church was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.9:31 Paul preached the kingdom of God (the will of God, 20:27) for 2 years and 3 months at Ephesus. 19:8. The apostles appointed elders in every church. 14:23 See 20:28, 32. “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. 11:26 Each gave according to his ability to help their brothers. 11:29 “So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” 13:3 “… And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” 4:31. See 8:4 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. 20:7 Road to Rome: “There we found some brothers.” 28:14 |
The Apostle Paul said, “I have laid a foundation, … each one should be careful how he builds.” I Cor. 3:10
“To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons. Phil. 1:1 “We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received reconciliation.” Rom. 5:11 “…So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one “From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work.” Eph. 4:16. See I Tim. 1:3; 3:15; 5:17; Rev. 2:1-7 Church in Rome: To call people from among the Gentiles to the obedience of faith. Rom. 1:5; 16:26 “You who are not my people, they will be called sons of the living God.” Rom. 9:26 Note our choices of functions and roles in the body of Christ where we can offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. Rom. 12:1, 4-8 “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” I Pet. 4:10 Love one another deeply from the heart. For you have been born again of an imperishable seed through the living and enduring word of God. I Pet. 1:22, 23 |
The principle of reading the content in Acts between the Gospels and the letters is being illustrated in this chart. Please note the following instructions.
The church of God in Christ Jesus (I Thess. 2:14).
Please note the headings above the three columns. Again, we want to hear what Jesus said first about what He, as king and priest, planned to do in Acts (column 1). After understanding His thoughts we will see what He did and how He did it in Acts (column 2). Then we want to read from the letters to learn how what Jesus taught (Gospels) and did (Acts) was worked out in the churches (Letters, column 3).
This chart is designed to help Christians teach our neighbors about the church Jesus built.
Column one: These scriptures help us understand Jesus’ concept of the church He planned to build at a future time.
Column two: He did build His church as we can see by the scriptures from Acts.
Column three: The letters to the churches fill out our view of the church Jesus is building today or the one He desires. His church
is being “added to” by each church’s evangelism programs. A healthy church is successful in two fields.
One, each individual member contributes to help keep the body of Christ healthy (I Cor. 12:12, 13; Eph. 4:14-16). The body is made up of members who find a way to function under the will of the head, Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:22, 23).
We find a way to give back to the body the strength we have gained from being in the body (I Pet. 4:10). Members keep the body strong (Rom. 15:14). We have “production capability.” II Pet. 1:8.
Two, we serve our king by working His strategies for seeking and saving the lost. Since we have been reconciled to God (Rom. 5:11), we have been given the ministry of reconciliation (II Cor. 5:18-21; Matt. 28:18-20; III John 3-8). This is production. For a church to be productive we need to first enhance the production capabilities of the body of Christ (II Cor. 10:15). A sick goose will not be capable of producing golden eggs.
