This document discusses proper church attendance and conduct. It recommends preparing for church through Bible reading and prayer. Regarding attire, it advises dressing modestly and appropriately as if meeting an important person, avoiding immodesty. Church attendance is important and absences should be rare. The nature of the church is described using metaphors like the body of Christ, bride of Christ, and flock under the shepherd. Ministry in the church involves service to others.

1. ECCLESIOLOGY: DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH PART 3
DISCIPLESHIP LESSON NO. 16
International Bible Baptist Church, Bangkok, Thailand

2. FACTS ABOUT CHURCH
ATTENDANCE
I) How should we prepare for the
Lord’s Day?
We should prepare ourselves for
the Lords day by reading some
passage of Scripture, prayer,
developing an attitude of praise.
We should ask God to speak
through the sermon.
II) What should I wear on the
Lord’s Day? Deut. 15:21,Mal. 1:
8, 13,14
A) God expects the best in the OT.
Since God is the king of kings and
Lord of Lords, we should also dress
keeping this in mind.
> How would you dress if you are
going to meet the President of the
country or the King of Thailand?

3. 3) If we were going to meet a very
prestigious person, we would also
like to know what are his preferences
and what he does not prefer.
4) Remember that God is holy so in
our dressing, there should be no
unholiness or immodesty that can be
seen in us such as low necklines,
sleeveless, backless, see-through,
skirts that are above the knee, mid
rib, tube blouses, tight-fitting clothes
for ladies. Men should also try to
dress as if they have an
appointment with a very honorable
official.

4. 5) It matters to God what we wear.
Remember that we will be blessed by
our obedience even in this seemingly
insignificant matter and there are
consequences to disobedience. Are we
going to argue with God or take God at
His Word? I Timothy 2:9,10; I Peter
3:2-4. I Timothy 2: 9 and 10 tell us that
we should not dress to show that we
are richer or better off than other
people. The definition of modesty is
freedom from vanity or not boastful. It
is a synonym of decency which means
polite, moral, respectful, proper and
acceptable.

5. 6) When people look at us, do they tend
to appreciate us or are they ashamed of
us? Or are just being tolerant with us or
just bearing the shame of being with
us? Paul wrote this verse because pagan
women dressed immodestly and
indecently, they felt proud of
themselves. They wore costly clothes
and jewelry together with extravagant
hairstyles. They try to draw attention to
their beauty, the shapes of their body
and to their wealth. When we dress, we
should evaluate our motive why we
dressed that way. Is our dressing
influenced by the world or by the Word?

6. 7) Christian women are called to
adorn themselves with good
works. Why do people were shorts,
mini skirts, or spaghetti straps? It
is to draw attention from people
especially from men. Let not
Christian women spend more
money on clothes, shoes,
cosmetics, beauty products and do
nothing for their needy friends or
neighbors, sick people, or for the
needs of the church.

7. 8) In I Peter 3:2-4, Again an apostle speaks of a
Christian woman's "adornment" (her clothing,
jewelry, hairstyle, etc.). Peter seems to be
speaking against "looking good" in accordance
with the styles of that time. Rather, a Christian
woman's prime concern should be her heart and
her spirit, not her outward adornment.
A meek and quiet spirit is the type of adornment
to be truly valued, not the worldly and extravagant
styles of the pagan women. Simple, modest and
functional would seem sufficient for external
adornment. But we Christians should exercise
discernment because we live in a world where
people invest on their looks to improve their
chances of getting hired or getting the best job.
People go to skin clinics, undergo surgery (which
Is unacceptable for Christians), get skin
treatments, etc. Christians should pray to God for
wisdom and
discernment to
determine when
enough is
enough.

8. 9) The Bible also said that
women should not wear men’s
clothing and men should not
wear ladies’ clothing: Deut.
22:5
a) We know that this can pave
the way to homosexuality
which is very rampant and God
hates homosexuality
b) When ladies wear pants, it
can become too tight that it
reveals her shape which is sexy
but not godly. Again, it is
difficult to accept but God has
written it in the Bible and
obedience results in blessing
and disobedience in curses

9. 10) God created only two
genders as we all know in
Genesis and that is in the form
of Adam and Eve. Satan wants
to mess up also with this
matter so he is doing things to
blur the distinction between
male and female. Notice that
in the past, the jobs that only
men do, women currently are
doing also. Examples are being
an engineer, driver, soldier,
police, mechanic, etc.

10. 11) The role of men in the past was
being the bread winner and the
women were supposed to take care
and teacher of the children and do
the household chores. This is the
ideal set- up.
But because of economic reasons,
materialism, women would like also
to build their careers, the training of
up of children is passed on to the
nanny or the school in which the best
person to do that is the mother. The
sad part now is that the women have
more opportunities for employment
than men so it is a common situation
that the woman goes to work and the
father takes care of the kids.
Notice the reversal of roles in
comparison to God’s original
plan.
That is why we have a lot of
juvenile delinquents,
homosexuals, problem kids
because the mothers have
not time to teach their kids.

11. 12) There is a church in Indiana
where girls do not really wear
pants even if the temperature is
below zero. They would like to
please God rather than
themselves or others.
III) When should I absent
myself from church?
A) Heb. 10:25 say we should not
forsake …. When we absent
ourselves from the service,
sometimes we say that maybe
God will understand but
actually we heap up more
curses in our lives and forfeit
the blessings. So as much as
possible we must be in church
no matter what.

12.  Example: One pastor said
that the only Sunday that
he was not at church was
when a tree fell across the
road to his church and so
there was really no way to
go to church.
B) Is it okay to be late in
church?
No, because God demands
the best and being late is not
our best. If we want God’s
blessings we have to take
worship seriously.
Some Christians find it easy to find
excuses for not coming to church.
But they do not realize that the
reason why their prayers are not
being answered is because of their
neglect of church attendance. The
blessing of God depends upon our
obedience toward His Word.

13. THE NATURE OF THE CHURCH
INTRODUCTION: The church is a
multi-faceted organism
1) Children of God: I John3:10
2) Body of Christ: I Cor. 12:2
3) Temple/Building: I Cor. 3:1
a) Jesus is the cornerstone of
the building: Eph. 2:20
b) We are the stones or the
living stones: I Peter 2:6
c) This building is being fit
together into a dwelling of God:
Eph. 2:19

14. 4) Bride of Christ: Eph. 5:22
a)The NT describes the deep love of
the Bridegroom(Christ) for His bride
( the Church)
Eph. 5:25
b) The Bride is called to reciprocate
His love: Matt.6:24
c) Christ is perfecting His Bride for
the ultimate “marriage” to come.
Eph 5: 26-27
5) Flock/Good Shepherd:
John 10: 14-16; 27-30
 Jesus cares for, provides pasture,
knows, leads, guards His flock;
searches for lost sheep; goes before
them; prepares the way
> Just as the sheep are totally
dependent on the Shepherd, the
church is to be totally dependent on
God

15. 6) Vine and branches
(John 15:1-10)
 God is the vine and we are the
branches
 In this organic union, the branch
depends on the vine for its life
 Life flows from the vine to the
branch
 Fruit characterizes a healthy life
 Branches which bear fruit will be
pruned to bear more fruit
 A branch cut off from the vine
cannot do anything and cannot
bear fruit
> Every branch that does not bear
fruit is cut off

16. MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH
1) Foundation: All members
of the church are ministers
a) In the OT, ministry was
delegated only to a selected
group: the Levites but in the
NT ministry is for all:
I Cor. 12:11
2) The nature of Ministry
a) Jesus’ example:
servanthood: Mark 10:42-45
b) Early church: one of service
 doulos: slave/servant:
Romans 1:1

17. > leitourgos: Priestly service to
God: Romans 15:27
 diakonia: deacon: describes
the service of a table waiter
Acts 6: 1-3
3) General Types of Ministries
a) Apostles: hand-picked by
God. The equivalent today is
missionary. Both words
come from the Greek word:
“send”
b) Prophet: Ephesians 4:11
A person who speaks under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit; can
expound about future events
based on the Scriptures

18. c) Evangelist ( Eph. 4:11)
> One whose single focus is
preaching the gospel with the
intent of making converts:
Acts 21:8
d) Pastor (Eph. 4:11)
 Elder, pastor, overseer,
bishop are synonymous
 One charged with the
guidance, shepherding
and instruction of local
congregations
> They assume long-term
personal responsibility for
the spiritual warfare of a
group of believers

19.  They function as a
shepherd to the flock
 They function under
the Chief Shepherd
( Jesus Christ)
 They should not
minister for gain or to
lord it over others
( 1 Peter 5:1-5)
 There are many
qualifications for this
office ( 1 Tim. 3;2-7,
Titus 1: 5, John 10:1-18

20. Qualifications:
Blameless, husband of one
wife, vigilant, sober, of good
behavior, given to
hospitality, apt to teach, not
given to wine, no striker, not
greedy of filthy lucre, but
patient, not a brawler, not
covetous, one who rules well
his own house, having his
children in subjection with
all gravity, not a novice, have
good report
> They should be treated
with double honor: I
Tim.5:17

21.  God will bless us if we
treat the pastor well
I Kings 17: 10-16
e) Teacher: I Cor. 12:28,29
> One who is charged with
instructing the church in
the known truths of the
Bible
 Sunday School teachers,
Altar counselors, disciplers
> This office is sometimes
combined with that of
pastor