Descriptive DesignationsNames or Designations?

1. God has given no “proper names” for his church to use today.

a. A “proper name” or “noun” is like “Ben” or “Jim” or “Brian” or “Shropshire.”b. “Church of Christ” is not even used in the New Testament as a “proper name.”c. Rather, it is a designation telling us that there is a group of people that belong to Christ.

d. “Wife of Ben” is not a proper name, but it describes a wife that belongs to me. “Joan” is her proper name.3. “Mayor of Honolulu” is not the proper name of anyone, but it identifies a person as the head of the government of the city and county of Honolulu; his proper name is Mufi Hanne- man.f. The New Testament uses such designations to describe the church, rather than using proper names.

2. A “designation” is descriptive; that is, it is de-scribing something about the designee.

a. I may say to you that I am a “preacher,” or a “man,” or a “husband,” or a “father,” etc.b. Each of these designations tells you something about me, but each is different from the other.c. I didn’t cease to be a preacher when I became a husband, or a father.d. Each designation describes a different aspect of my life.

3. In our lesson this morning we want to look at some of the designations used in the New Testament to describe the church, to see what they can tell us about the church.

Some Designations of the Church

“Church of Christ”1. “Church” is a group of people; “of Christ” tells

us to whom the group of people belongs.a. Matt. 16:18 – “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.”

b. Acts 20:28 – “Therefore take heed to your- selves and to al the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shep- herd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”2. “Church of Christ” describes a relationship

that the people in the church have with Jesus.a. 1 John 1:7 -- “But if we walk in the light as He in the light, we have fellowship with one an- other, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

b. 2 Jn. 9 – “Whosoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God, He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has (fellowship with) both the Father and the Son.”3. The church is a relationship of “the saved” to

the “Savior.”a. God adds the saved to the church, Acts 2:47 – “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”b. All saved people are in the church, which is the body of Christ, Eph. 1:22,23.

“The Kingdom of God”1. This phrase is used to show how the people

who are in it are governed.a. It is entered by the “new birth,” John 3:5 – ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’”b. God puts those who have been born again into the kingdom, Col. 1:13 – “He has deliver- ed us from the power of darkness and con- veyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”

2. Jesus is the “King” in the government of His people, 1 Tim. 6:15 – “Which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords.”

3. Saved people are “citizens” in the kingdom of God, Phil. 3:20 – “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

4. Saved people are to submit to the authority of their king, Eph. 1:22 – “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him be head over all things to the church.”

“Body of Christ”1. This designation tells us that saved people

have the same relationship to Christ as the members of a physical body have to its head.

2. The “body of Christ” is the church, Col. 1:18 – “And He is the head of the body, the church…”

a. Saved people are like the eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, stomach, etc. of the body of Christ, 1 Cor. 12:12 – “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.”

b. All members are equally important, 1 Cor. 12: 21,22 – “And the eye cannot say to the hand,

‘I have no need of you;’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.”

c. All the members of the body are to function together as one, 1 Cor. 12:25 – “That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.”

3. Each member of the body must do its part to fulfill the work of the body, Eph. 4:16 – “From whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

4. In a physical body, the head guides and di-rects the members of the body, so also in the body of Christ, Eph. 1:22,23 – “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

5. A person becomes a member of the body of Christ when he is baptized, 1 Cor. 12:13 – “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body– wheth-er Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free– and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”

Vines and BranchesJohn 15:1-6 – “I am the true vine, and My Father

is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have

spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”

1. Jesus is the vine; the saved are the branches.2. A branch must be connected to (“abide in”)

the vine in order to stay alive and bear fruit.

a. A person gets “into” (in connection with) Christ by being baptized, Gal. 3:27 – “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”b. 1 Cor. 15:22 – “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 3. The vine is the source of life and strength for

the branches, v. 4. 4. The branches (that is, “us”) must bear much

fruit if we are to remain connected to the vine.

“House of God”

1. 1 Tim. 3:15 – “But if I am delayed, I wrote so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

2. “House of God” is same as “Family of God.”3. This designation is used to show that saved

people are to love and serve God as children in a family love and serve their earthly father.

5. It is also used to show that the saved are to love and care for one another as the brothers and sisters in a family love and show concern for each other.

6. Rom. 12:10 – “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.”

7. 1 John 4:11 – “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

“Temple of God”1. 1 Cor. 3:16 – “Do you not know that you are

the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

2. Eph. 2:19-22 – “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apos-tles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

3. This designation is used to show that saved people are the dwelling place of God.

4. And, as a temple is a place where God is worshipped, it suggests that we are to be worshipers of God.

a. John 4:23 – “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: for the Father is

seeking such to worship Him.”b. John 4:24 – “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

5. Christians are “living stones” in the temple of God, 1 Pet. 2:3-5 – “If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiri-tual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

a. A Christian has tasted that the Lord is gracious.b. He then come to the Chief Cornerstone to find his place in the temple of God and to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God.

CONCLUSION1. Has God added you to the church so that you

have a relationship with Jesus?2. Have you been born of the water and the

Spirit to enter the Kingdom of God?3. Are you a member of the body of Christ be-

cause you have been baptized into Christ? 4. Are you spiritually alive and bearing fruit

because your are a branch that is connected to the vine (Jesus) by having been baptized into Christ?

5. Are you a child in the family of God as a result of your being born into God’s family?

6. Are you a “living stone” in the temple of God, who can offer spiritual sacrifices to Him?

7. You can become all of this by obeying the gospel of Christ today.

a. Believe that Jesus is God’s Son.b. Repent of your sins; live a new life.c. Confess your faith in Jesus as God’s Son.d. Be baptized in water for the remission of your sins.