NATURE OF THE CHURCH, PART 2.

There are a couple of rites in most churches that believers follow: one is water baptism as an initial rite: The mikvah or water immersion is one of the oldest institutions in the Jewish community along with the Lord’s seder. The mikveh(ritual bath for purification) are found in modern Israel, which is where Jewish people are immersed in water, symbolic of purification. So water immersion is not original with Jesus. With Jesus, He showed that a person should be baptized in water as He did Himself, where He was completely immersed by John the Baptist at the start of His ministry here on earth. It represents for a believer being dead to sin and coming out alive in the Spirit!

Water baptism is a sign of faith It indicates ‘something has happened’ to the person. When you are baptized you are being buried just as Jesus was buried, and raised just as Jesus rose again. “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk with newness of life.” Romans 6: 4. Acts 2: 38-39 shows that the release of the power of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is directly linked to baptism in water.! Just as Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit for ministry after His baptism so a believer is too , after he/she are baptized in water. JESUS’ COMMAND: “Go into all the world; Preach the gospel; Baptize in water ;Make disciples of men.” (Matthew 28: 18-20).
A continuous rite followed in most churches is the Lord’s Supper: The purpose of Jesus coming to earth was atonement ( to forgive sins by the shedding of His blood) and Redemption ( to pay for our ransom) and the Father was involved in it: “ For I have come down from Heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me.” ( John 6: 38). Here the great love of Father and Son is seen for all humanity! Jesus had a great conviction that His life and death constituted fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, specially seen in Isaiah 53: 12 and when He cites it at the Last Supper in Luke 22: 37 .In Isaiah 53, the connection between the Old Testament sacrifices and Christ’s death is revealed through prophecy. Isaiah has described the Person of the Messiah and indicated the nature and extent of the iniquity of sinners, and in Isaiah 53: 6 he refers to Christ’s sacrifice as “ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

At most churches the practice of the Lord’s Supper takes place once a month. Some pastors invite all present to partake of the Lord’s Supper. There are many views as to what happens during this time of partaking; I believe it is to remember the death of Our Lord, breaking His body and shedding His blood. As it says in 1 Corinthians 11:24-26 : “ And when He had given thanks He broke it and said, ‘ Take , eat: this is My body which is broken for you: do this in remembrance of Me. ‘ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘ This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” So the Lord’s directive at the Last Passover Supper He partook before His crucifixion was for us to remember by partaking of bread and wine as often as we could through all generations. As Erickson states: “ The Lord’s Supper, properly administered, is a means of inspiring the believer’s faith and love as he/she reflects again on the wonder of the Lord’s death and the fact that those who believe in Him will live everlastingly.” 1

So when a believer considers their involvement in the church they need to think that: the church is absolutely central to God’s purposes and part of God’s purpose for the church is meant to be a community that witnesses to the truth and life of God while the world is watching! It is the spiritual kingdom of God advancing, where Jesus is the King, and it will be complete one day at His return! “And Jesus answered him(Peter),‘…And I tell you, you are Peter, And on this rock I will build my church, And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, And whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ “ Matthew 16:17-19

NOTES
1 Millard J Erickson, Christian Theology, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,2006),1134.