The Spiritual Care of the Church
"Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." (Acts 20:28)
Whatever God creates and gives to us should be well cared for by us. God made everything to reflect His glory and even added a built in repair system and a reproducing capability so that what God chose to make would continue throughout time.
Even when God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, the command that was given to him was to “tend and keep the garden” and to "be fruitful and multiply". The Lord now has a purpose to BUILD HIS CHURCH and this requires all those who are His redeemed children to multiply disciples and to 'tend and keep' His body here on earth.
When Paul gathered the elders together from the church in Ephesus, he left them with heartfelt words intended to encourage them, warn them, and challenge them to take their God appointed stewardship seriously. Every local church is to be overseen by spiritually mature elders who are called to lead the way in spiritual feeding and caring for the flock they are called to shepherd.
The qualifications of an elder primarily consists of having godly character, as shown in 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1 and 1 Peter 5:1-4, but they were also to have the ability to teach God's Word. Paul says that this must involve giving the "whole counsel of God" so that nothing is left out or added in. Therefore, whether you are called to be an elder or not, EVERY BELIEVER SHOULD ASPIRE to have these same qualities and THE SAME CARE FOR THE CHURCH they are a part of.
Paul encouraged all the churches to work together with the same goal, as he says, "Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you . . . . Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern" (Phil. 3:15,17 )
Paul emphasizes that our ministry starts with taking heed to ourselves and making sure that our personal holiness comes before our tending to the flock of God. When it comes to remaining innocent of all men, we must not only feed others the whole counsel of God's Word but to watch out for others who would lead God's people astray.
The church belongs to Jesus since every member of the body of Christ was purchased with His precious blood. This should always remind us of how valuable each person is to God and why we are to do all we possibly can to sincerely care for the spiritual state of each believer.
Every believer in every church should have the SAME CARE for each other as 1 Corinthians 12:24-26 says: "But God composed the body…that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Paul spent at least two years in Ephesus instructing and investing in the disciples there in the school of Tyrannus, which was long hours of teaching during their siesta times when the temperature was most hot around 11:00 am to 4:00 pm each day.
As we deny ourselves and sacrificially and sincerely love one another, we will learn the truth of Jesus' words that "It is more blessed to give than to receive." The Apostle John would later add, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God…Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." (1John 4:7, 11).
Jesus would later address this same church and commend them for their good works but also let them know that they had left their first love (Rev. 2:4).
Have you left your first love? Do you seek to love others in the way that Christ loves you?
Are you affectionately longing to see people grow in the Lord like this?
ACTS IN ACTION CHALLENGE POINTS
Whatever God creates and gives to us should be well cared for by us. God made everything to reflect His glory and even added a built in repair system and a reproducing capability so that what God chose to make would continue throughout time.
Even when God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, the command that was given to him was to “tend and keep the garden” and to "be fruitful and multiply". The Lord now has a purpose to BUILD HIS CHURCH and this requires all those who are His redeemed children to multiply disciples and to 'tend and keep' His body here on earth.
When Paul gathered the elders together from the church in Ephesus, he left them with heartfelt words intended to encourage them, warn them, and challenge them to take their God appointed stewardship seriously. Every local church is to be overseen by spiritually mature elders who are called to lead the way in spiritual feeding and caring for the flock they are called to shepherd.
The qualifications of an elder primarily consists of having godly character, as shown in 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1 and 1 Peter 5:1-4, but they were also to have the ability to teach God's Word. Paul says that this must involve giving the "whole counsel of God" so that nothing is left out or added in. Therefore, whether you are called to be an elder or not, EVERY BELIEVER SHOULD ASPIRE to have these same qualities and THE SAME CARE FOR THE CHURCH they are a part of.
Paul encouraged all the churches to work together with the same goal, as he says, "Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you . . . . Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern" (Phil. 3:15,17 )
Paul emphasizes that our ministry starts with taking heed to ourselves and making sure that our personal holiness comes before our tending to the flock of God. When it comes to remaining innocent of all men, we must not only feed others the whole counsel of God's Word but to watch out for others who would lead God's people astray.
The church belongs to Jesus since every member of the body of Christ was purchased with His precious blood. This should always remind us of how valuable each person is to God and why we are to do all we possibly can to sincerely care for the spiritual state of each believer.
Every believer in every church should have the SAME CARE for each other as 1 Corinthians 12:24-26 says: "But God composed the body…that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Paul spent at least two years in Ephesus instructing and investing in the disciples there in the school of Tyrannus, which was long hours of teaching during their siesta times when the temperature was most hot around 11:00 am to 4:00 pm each day.
As we deny ourselves and sacrificially and sincerely love one another, we will learn the truth of Jesus' words that "It is more blessed to give than to receive." The Apostle John would later add, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God…Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." (1John 4:7, 11).
Jesus would later address this same church and commend them for their good works but also let them know that they had left their first love (Rev. 2:4).
Have you left your first love? Do you seek to love others in the way that Christ loves you?
Are you affectionately longing to see people grow in the Lord like this?
ACTS IN ACTION CHALLENGE POINTS
- ASK: “If the church lived like me, would it be healthy?”
- PRAY that you may care for others as Christ cares for you.
- RESOLVE to always speak the whole truth in love to all.
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