Description of the Local Church

1. Fellowship
Discipleship
Evangelism
THE PREACHING OF THE
WORD
THE GLORY and PRAISE of GOD
RIVERS OF JOY BAPTIST CHURCH

2. I would define a local church like this:
a local church is a group of baptized believers who meet regularly to worship God through Jesus
Christ, to be exhorted from the Word of God, and to celebrate the Lord's Supper under the
guidance of duly appointed leaders.
According to this definition there are at least seven qualifications if a group wants to be a church in the
NT sense.
1) The people must give evidence that they are believers—that they trust Jesus as Savior and Lord. The
NT makes it clear that we are adopted into the family of God through faith (John 1:12, 13).
2) The people must be baptized. Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19 that the way to make disciples was
by "baptizing them . . . and teaching them." This was the uniform practice in the early church.
3) There must be a regular assembling. A group of people who only came together say once a year could
not rightly be called a local church because there are essential activities of the church which lose their
meaning when not done corporately. Therefore Hebrews 10:25 commands us not to neglect to meet
together.
4) Among these meetings there must be gatherings for worship. This follows inevitably from the ultimate
value placed on Jesus Christ who calls us together and from our relation to God through him. The church
is destined to live to the praise of God's glory (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14); therefore, it would contradict our
nature not to assemble for worship (Acts 2:47; Romans 15:6, 7).
5) Our meetings must include exhortation from the Word of God. We were born anew through the living
and abiding Word of God (1 Peter 1:23); and our life in Christ is preserved not by bread alone but by every
word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). The shepherds of the church are the provision
God has made for feeding his sheep. Therefore we strive not to be the church where the Word of God is
neglected.
6) Along with worship and exhortation we must celebrate the Lord's Supper in order to be the church. We
are commanded to "do this in remembrance" of Christ (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24). Neglecting this
ordinance might seem inconsequential at first, but I think a church will bleed to death through that
amputation.
7) Finally, all of this must take place with the guidance of duly appointed leaders. Paul appointed elders in
all the churches (Acts 14:23), he gave instruction about the qualifications of deacons and elders in 1
Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and he said that Christ had given pastor-teachers to the church to equip the saints
for ministry (Ephesians 4:1, 12). There have always been disagreements about what to call these leaders
and how to organize them. But that they must be present in a group in order for that group to be a church,
historic Christianity has always affirmed.
It seems to me that these seven things are the minimum of what it takes to make a local church:

3. Three Aims of Our Ministry to the Body
One was that the aim of our ministry is the upbuilding of the body. Verse 12: Christ gives
leaders to the church (like pastors and teachers) "for the equipping of the saints for the work of
service [or ministry], to the building up of the body of Christ." So the aim of our ministry is
building up the body. Not just the individual members of the body but the body as a whole.
Second, the aim of our ministry is the unity of faith and the unity of the knowledge of the Son of
God. Verse 13: " . . . until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son
of God." So our aim is to keep on building up the body until there is unity in our faith and unity
in our knowledge of Christ.
Third, the aim of ministry is that the body of Christ attain a corporate personality of Christ-
likeness. Verse 13b: (keep on building up the body) "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 fullness of Christ." In other words the aim of ministry is not just that individuals
be built up, but that the body of Christ attain to a mature man (not men, but man).
Christ is the head of the body and he is fully mature and complete. The church is his body, and
we are not fully mature and complete. The aim of ministry is to build the church and to cause it
to grow up into the kind of maturity that corresponds to Christ. The aim of ministry is corporate
likeness to Christ. A kind of corporate personality that is like Jesus
A Fourth Aim of Our Ministry
That this corporate likeness to Christ in verse 13 has definite implications for us as individuals. It results
in our not being gullible and unstable. Verse 14: "As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here
and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in
deceitful scheming."
When the whole body is building itself up in corporate likeness to the maturity of Christ, the effect is that
the members of the body in that process become discerning and perceptive and stable. They have their
faculties trained to see through the subtle, manipulative use of language that tricks people into affirming
things that are not true or right.
So one of the reasons why the saints minister to the body of Christ is so that every member would
become more astute and penetrating and perceptive and stable, and less gullible and credulous and
unthinking.
Your Discernment Is Tested Everywhere You Turn

4. Now the point of all this is not to make life hard for those who struggle against homosexual temptation. I
stand with you in that struggle, not against you. I count you among the most courageous people in our
society when you say, "Yes, this is how I feel, and I am against it. That is not my main identity. I will resist
those temptations and will not build my life on that reality."
How Does the Body Grow into Christlikeness?
Today's question is: How does this happen? How do we minister to each other so that the body
grows up into corporate Christlikeness? How do we minister so that unity of faith and
knowledge emerges? How do we minister so that babes become keen, perceptive, discerning
saints?
The answer I want to develop is found in verses 15 and 16. Verse 15 we will unfold this morning and we'll focus
on verse 16 tonight. Verse 15 gives the heart of the answer, and verse 16 spells it out in at least five ways.
Speak the Truth in Love
Verse 15 says, "Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even
Christ." The plain answer to how we grow into Christ—how we become corporately like Christ and take on the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ—is right here: we speak the truth in love. "Speaking the truth in
love, we grow . . . " Speaking the truth in love is HOW we build the body up.
Clearing Up a Misconception
Let me clear up a wrong idea here that I had for years about this phrase because I ignored the context. I used to
think that the phrase, "speak the truth in love," meant, "Tell it like it is, but gently." Like: if a student bombed a test
or if a man loses his job, you may have to do the tough work of telling them the truth, but you do it in love to soften
the blow. So the truth which is in view here, I thought, was just the hard facts of life that a person might need to
hear about in love.
Well, that is no doubt part of the meaning here (especially in view of Ephesians 4:25) but the context points in a
different direction, that is very crucial to see for the good of the church. The context is all about doctrinal truth—
truth about God and about his Son. Notice three evidences of this.
The Context Is All About Doctrinal Truth
First, the equippers of the saints in verse 11 are all truth agents: apostles (the authoritative, foundational
witnesses to the truth), the prophets (the charismatic speakers of truth that apply it with supernaturally guided
pointedness), the evangelists (who do the work of evangelism with the truth of the gospel in regions where
apostles have planted the church), the pastors and teachers (who take the truth and use it to feed and protect the
flock of God). Every one of these offices centers on the truth of God and Christ and the gospel. These people are
truth agents.

5. Second, verse 13 says that the goal of building up the body of Christ is to attain to the unity of the faith and the
knowledge of the Son of God. So the building begins with equippers who are all agents of truth, and the aim of the
building is unified knowledge, that is, unified grasp of truth.
Third, we have seen that verse 14 shows Paul's great concern is that as we grow into corporate Christlikeness,
we are not to be babes who are blown around by every wind of doctrine. So again the issue is stability in true
doctrine so that we will not be deceived by false doctrine.
Speaking Biblical Truth in Love
In view of these three points: (1) the body is built up through equippers who are all truth agents; (2) the aim of the
upbuilding is a unified vision of truth about the Son of God; and (3) the aim is also for individuals to be mature in
their ability to use truth to avoid error—in view of this context, "speaking the truth" in verse 15 must mean
"speaking truth about God and about Christ and about the gospel." In other words, it means speaking biblical
truth, spiritual truth, truth about life as God sees it.
So how do the saints minister to the body? Answer: by speaking truth about God and about Christ in love. Both
are crucial. Knowledge and love. Knowledge without love puffs up, Paul said (1 Corinthians 8:1). But love without
knowledge is confused and aimless, and disintegrates into sentimentality. That's why Paul prays in Philippians 1:9
"that your love might abound more and more in all knowledge and discernment." Love abounding in knowledge
and discernment is what builds the body of Christ.
One of the main reasons people come to Bethlehem is because we put a premium on speaking biblical truth. God
has honored it. May we never minimize it. But one of the reasons for this series of messages is that we are not as
strong in the other half—namely, speaking the truth to one another IN LOVE. We as leaders long to see God
bring this balance to us in such a way that the whole body grows into the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ.
Paul packs five practical ways to do this into verse 16, and that's what we look at tonight.
The point rather is simply to show you how tremendously relevant this passage is today. Everywhere you turn
your discernment is being tested—are you a babe being carried along by politicians who manipulate Scripture?
Are you a babe being shaped by posters that subtly endorse an immoral agenda? Are you a babe being formed
and guided by TV advertisers that plant assumptions and desires in your mind? Or are you growing up with the
body of Christ into the maturity and discernment and stability of Christ in the truth?

6. Lesson on Ephesians 4:16
Why Minister to the Body?
1. (v.12) for upbuilding
2. (v. 13) unified faith and knowledge
3. (v. 13) corporate personality of Christ-likeness
4. (v. 14) no longer babes
5. (3:10) glory of God's wisdom
We minister by speaking the truth in love (v. 15) [see also 2 Peter 3:17–18].
How Do We Minister? (From v. 16)
1. By relying on Christ as the source of growth ("from whom . . . ")
Christ gave gifts and grace to all (v. 7)
Christ gave equippers to the church (v. 11)
Christ is the model and aim (v. 13) to guide and as inspiration
"I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18)
The Lord produces love (1 Thessalonians 3:12; Galatians 5:22)
Christ wins obedience through word and deed (Romans 15:18)
2. "The whole body . . . makes the growth of the body"
The question seen from v. 12 is: do equippers minister or do the saints minister?
Saints (note the change in preposition, the "whole body," "each single part,"
v. 16d)
Do you feel responsible to speak the truth in love?
3. The body makes growth by connectedness ("joined and knit together through every joint for supply")

7. Joint: may be every place of connection (from part to part) not every bone
connection (elbow, shoulder, etc.) as we know it.
Point: growth happens through points of contact. Corporate building
happens through connectedness.
The supply is truth and love
4. "The working in measure of each individual part" (v.16d)
not just all; but every individual
in measure (v. 7): we do not have the same measure
see also Romans 12:3 as God measured a measure of faith.
5. Upbuilding of itself; through/from Christ, but we do make a difference (v. 16f)
6. Do it in love (v. 16g)
1 Corinthians 8:1—love builds up
2 Corinthians 12:19—we speak . . . and all, beloved, for your upbuilding
So the exhortation is this: speak the truth to one another in love, relying on Christ as the source, for he
makes the whole body grow. Do more than just pray . . . speak to one another, and encourage one
another.

8. We demonstrate God's wisdom to the world and to the hosts of heaven is by being the church Christ died
to create. I want to ask more specifically what that church looks like at the local level. Acts 2:36-47
A Biblical Definition of "Church"
First we need to make some observations about a biblical definition of the church. The word "church" in
the NT never refers to a building or a place. It always refers to a people: either the total number of
believers who have ever lived, or a local group of those believers. For example, in Ephesians 1:22, 23
Paul says that God, having raised Christ from the dead above all rule and authority, "put all things under
his feet and made him head over all things for the church which is his body, the fullness of him who fills
all in all." That is the universal church, the whole number of the redeemed who look to Christ as their life
and their authority. In this sense there could never be such a thing as churches. There is only one
church, "one body" (Ephesians 4:4).
But in the NT the word "church" also is used to refer to the group of believers in a particular city and in a
particular house. For example, Acts 11:22 refers to the "church in Jerusalem," 1 Corinthians 1:2 refers to
the "church of God which is at Corinth," 1 Thessalonians is addressed (in 1:1) "to the church of the
Thessalonians," and so on. 1 Corinthians 16:19 says, "The churches of Asia send greetings. Aquila and
Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord." In Colossians 4:15
Paul sends greetings "to Nympha and the church in her house." And Paul's letter to Philemon is also
addressed to "the church in your house." So there seem to be three levels at least where the word
"church" applies to God's people. One is the universal body of Christ including all believers of all times.
Another is a group of Christians associated because of their geographic togetherness in a city. And a
third would be a smaller segment of believers who gather in a home. These last two groups might be
identical in a city where there were so few Christians they could all meet in one home. But in a city with
thousands of Christians, like Jerusalem, small house churches must have developed quickly.
It seems to me, now, that there are two ways to talk about the local church: one way seeks to find the
minimum of what makes a group of people into a church; the other way seeks to find the maximum that
the local church should become by the power of God. Both of these questions are important.

9. The question of minimum is important because if we don't know the minimum, we might find ourselves
settling into some fellowship as our church which in fact is not a church. This would be contrary to God's
plan for all his children to be a part of a local church (1 Corinthians 12:12–14).
The question of maximum is important because part of saving faith is wanting to be individually and
corporately all God wants us to be. Since we already have the minimum here at this church. I want to
focus on how we might progress toward the maximum life of a local church. But before that, I will outline
briefly the minimum of what makes a local church as I see it from the NT.
Minimum: Seven Qualifications
I would define a local church like this:
a local church is a group of baptized believers who meet regularly to worship God through Jesus
Christ, to be exhorted from the Word of God, and to celebrate the Lord's Supper under the
guidance of duly appointed leaders.
According to this definition there are at least seven qualifications if a group wants to be a church in the
NT sense.
1) The people must give evidence that they are believers—that they trust Jesus as Savior and Lord. The
NT makes it clear that we are adopted into the family of God through faith (John 1:12, 13).
2) The people must be baptized. Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19 that the way to make disciples was
by "baptizing them . . . and teaching them." This was the uniform practice in the early church.
3) There must be a regular assembling. A group of people who only came together say once a year could
not rightly be called a local church because there are essential activities of the church which lose their
meaning when not done corporately. Therefore Hebrews 10:25 commands us not to neglect to meet
together.
4) Among these meetings there must be gatherings for worship. This follows inevitably from the ultimate
value placed on Jesus Christ who calls us together and from our relation to God through him. The church
is destined to live to the praise of God's glory (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14); therefore, it would contradict our
nature not to assemble for worship (Acts 2:47; Romans 15:6, 7).
5) Our meetings must include exhortation from the Word of God. We were born anew through the living
and abiding Word of God (1 Peter 1:23); and our life in Christ is preserved not by bread alone but by every
word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). The shepherds of the church are the provision
God has made for feeding his sheep. Therefore we strive not to be the church where the Word of God is
neglected.
6) Along with worship and exhortation we must celebrate the Lord's Supper in order to be the church. We
are commanded to "do this in remembrance" of Christ (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24). Neglecting this

10. ordinance might seem inconsequential at first, but I think a church will bleed to death through that
amputation.
7) Finally, all of this must take place with the guidance of duly appointed leaders. Paul appointed elders in
all the churches (Acts 14:23), he gave instruction about the qualifications of deacons and elders in 1
Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and he said that Christ had given pastor-teachers to the church to equip the saints
for ministry (Ephesians 4:1, 12). There have always been disagreements about what to call these leaders
and how to organize them. But that they must be present in a group in order for that group to be a church,
historic Christianity has always affirmed.
It seems to me that these seven things are the minimum of what it takes to make a local church:
a local church is a group of baptized believers who meet regularly to worship God through Jesus
Christ, to be exhorted from the Word of God, and to celebrate the Lord's Supper, under the
guidance of duly appointed leaders.
With this definition we should be able to determine what groups are and are not churches. For example,
Campus Crusade meetings, Inter-Varsity chapters, Navigator groups, Bible Study Fellowships, Young Life
and Youth for Christ clubs—these are not local churches. And the reason this is important to see is so
that no Christian will content himself with participation in any of these groups (or others like them) while
neglecting the regular life of the local church. They have tremendous value while working alongside and
in harmony with the churches, but they can never replace the local church.
But now here we are as Rivers of Joy Baptist Church with the minimum qualifications in order. We are a
church. But now what? The answer to that surely is that God is not interested in merely finding minimum
standards; he calls us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. He is interested in maximum
church not minimum church.
 Maximum church means maximum fulfillment of the goals God has for the church. So we
shouldn't stop with the question, "What makes a local church?" We must go on to ask, "What
makes a maximum local church?" What should we be doing with all our heart so that the world
and the cosmos will see the glorious wisdom and power of God on display in our church?
Maximum: Zealous for Good Deeds
The answer I want to give to that question is the one the NT gives most often. But it is one that in my own
past has not received an emphasis proportionate to its biblical importance. And I think only in the past
decade has the evangelical church begun to resurrect this biblical theme after a century of partial neglect.
The most common NT answer to the question,
"What makes a maximum local church?"
 is good deeds: doing good things for other people. Keep in mind that the question now is not,

11. What is the ultimate goal of the church?
 The ultimate goal of the church is to live in such a way that God's wisdom (and all the other
aspects of his glory) will be displayed to the world and to the hosts of heaven. The church's
job is to live so that people can see that God is real. The question now is: What does that life
look like? And the answer again and again in the NT is that it looks like good deeds.
Jesus said, for example, in Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your
good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven." Are there any deeds that you have planned into
your life which you think it would be reasonable for people to look at and then conclude that because of
your deeds God deserves their praise? Or is your life made up only of deeds which don't take any power
beyond human nature? According to Jesus the good deeds of his disciples are the window in this world
through which people come to see and adore the glory of God. Therefore, if maximum church means
maximum glory for God, then maximum church must also mean maximum good deeds.
Other texts in the NT are in perfect harmony with Jesus' command. According to
Ephesians 2:10, the church is "God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus for good deeds." God made us to
do good deeds. We exist as Christians for that purpose. And this is not at all in conflict with the first
chapter of Ephesians, which says that we exist "for the praise of God's glory," because Jesus showed us
that it is precisely the good deeds of his disciples which convince people that our heavenly Father is
glorious.
In Titus 2:14 Paul teaches that Jesus "gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for
himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds." How could he have put it any stronger?
Jesus Christ died to make us "zealous for good deeds."
Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him. He was able to feel that the
pain was worth it because he could foresee the joy that would come from it. Part of that joy for Jesus
today is looking down and seeing local churches zealous, eager, hungry to do good deeds. When a local
church is busy thinking up creative ways to do good to people, then Jesus has not died in vain and the
wisdom of God is being displayed.
Churches are dying today because they are not doing anything which the world should look at and say:
"There is evidence that God is real and that he is glorious." Many churches have forgotten why they exist:
namely, to do good deeds in the name of Jesus so that people will be moved to give God glory (Matthew
5:16).
 And when a church forgets that it exists for others and for God, it becomes in-grown and self-
satisfied and can go on year after year like a social club with a religious veneer.
But its life is ebbing away, and people are no longer saying: "Look at all their good deeds and the humble
spirit of love in which they are done; their God must be a glorious God of encouragement

12. It seems to me that this church does have a heart for good deeds that bring glory to God. What we need is
to press on in the same direction toward maximum good deeds.
I've been thinking a lot lately about the future of this church And then the question rises:
What is greatness? Jesus answers: "Whoever would be great among you must be your servant" (Mark
10:44).
 If we want to be a great local church we must be a servant church: a church with maximum
good deeds for the people with the greatest needs. "Good deeds for real needs in the name of
Jesus"—if we live by that motto, we will be a great church, and there will be ample reason for
people to look at our work and give glory to our Father in heaven.
Now to keep ourselves moving in that direction, let's get a clearer picture of what the NT means by good
deeds. In Acts 9:36 Luke tells us that there "was a disciple named Tabitha (or Dorcas) . . . She was full of
good deeds and acts of mercy." Tabitha got sick and died. When Peter came to see her it says in verse
39, "All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing coats and garments which Dorcas made
while she was with them." It seems that Dorcas was part of a group of widows who spent their time
making clothes and probably distributing them to the needy (since these deeds are called acts of mercy).
In 1 Timothy 5:9ff. Paul describes a support system that the church in Ephesus had for such widows. In
order to be enrolled in this group, Paul says (v. 10): "She must be well attested for her good deeds as one
who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the feet of the saints, relieved the afflicted, and
devoted herself to doing good in every way."
So "good deeds" are acts by which people's needs are met, especially the pressing rudimentary needs of
clothing and aid in distress. This is the focus again in Titus 3:14 where it says, "Let our people learn to
apply themselves to good deeds in order to meet urgent needs, that they not be unfruitful" (cf. Colossians
1:10).
When a church devotes itself to maximize its good deeds, it should have a special burden to meet the
most pressing needs, which means it will be especially concerned with the poorest and most
disadvantaged people. Where do the time, the effort, the skill, and the money come from to make such
good deeds happen? It comes from those of us who are better off. 1 Timothy 6:17, 18 says, "As for the
rich in this world, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches but on God . .
. They are to do good, to be rich in good deeds, eager to share, generous . . . "
Let Us Do Good to All Men
We are coming out of an era in American church life in which it has been possible for evangelical
Christians to give a tithe to the church and then devote themselves financially to building the good life
and all the while keep a clear conscience. It was an era in which for conservative evangelicals ethics
meant primarily the avoidance of certain sins rather than the pursuit of good deeds. It was an era in which

13. well-fed, well-clothed, well-housed, well-entertained evangelicals were able to maintain a distance and a
communications blackout between themselves and the misery and destitution of our cities and many
third world countries. But that era is ending. It is ending whether we want it to or not. The main reason it's
ending is that the world has shrunk and will continue to shrink through worldwide media systems and
sophisticated assistance channels, until we can no longer convince ourselves with impunity that the
urban masses and starving Ugandans are not our neighbors whom Jesus told us to love as much as we
love ourselves (to seek the good life for others with as much zeal as we seek it for ourselves).
That era of isolation and comfort is ending, also, because some of its cherished biblical defenses are
crumbling at the foundations. For example, I actually heard argued on the floor of the Baptist General
Conference annual meeting two years ago that the resolution to simplify our lifestyles so that we could
give more to alleviate world hunger was unbiblical because when 1 John 3:17 says, "If anyone has the
world's goods and sees his brothers in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide
in him?" it means that we should be so concerned only for Christians because that's what "brother"
means. Arguments like that are crumbling at the foundations because they are wrong. Galatians 6:10
says: "As we have opportunity let us do good to all men, especially to those of the household of faith." 1
Thessalonians 5:15 says, "See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one
another and to all." Romans 12:20 says, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him
drink." And Jesus said, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you."
The era of comfortable isolation for us American evangelicals is ending, because its justification is
crumbling and because the misery and destitution of the world is coming too close now to ignore. And as
it approaches, local churches in whom the Spirit of God dwells will feel themselves drawn to some fairly
radical reorientations of lifestyle, reorientations calculated to maximize good deeds for all men and
especially for those of the household of faith. And I am optimistic that Bethlehem with its manifest
compassion for refugees and for missions and with so many people who really are zealous for good
deeds—that Bethlehem will move ahead with the Spirit in these years, whichever way he blows. God
willing we will not be content with minimum church. We will become a great church, a great servant
church, filled with maximum good deeds in the name of Jesus. That's the local church we have to be if we
want to display the wisdom and power of God to the principalities and powers. That's what we have to be
in our new era if we want to hear a credible witness that moves people to glorify our Father in heaven.