Running Head: THE BIBLICAL PURPOSES OF THE CHURCH 1
Research Paper
The Biblical Purposes of the Church: A Place of Faith, Fellowship, and Fire
Liberty University
Abstract
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In the society in which we live, it seems as if the church is not a focal point anymore.
There is a major need to expose the faith, fellowship and fire of the church because if one can
understand the major benefits, people will turn back to the church and receive a mighty move
from God. There are major ramifications if straying from the church is an option. Help is in the
church with the pastor, counselor or just someone who want to be a blessing. Hope is in the
church for those who have lost hope. Fellowship is in the church for those who need to be loved.
Fire is in the church for those who need to be filled with the spirit of God. Everything that
anyone needs is in the church. I want to expound on the awesomeness of the church based on
biblical insight for it will provide clarity that the church is and forever will be the most important
safe haven one can go to without reservation.
Introduction
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There was a song that came out a few years ago that was composed by the Gospel Music
Workshop of America. The lyrics were, “First, giving honor to God, to the pastor, saints, and
friends. We thank the Lord for being here, and for bringing us safely over the highways. Pray for
us, pray with us, that the Lord might have His way…We come to have church in Jesus name.”
Because the life of the church is based upon scripture, it is designated as a place of faith
fellowship and fire. The church is and should always be a prominent place for all people. The
church. A place where parishioners go typically on Sunday’s and Wednesday’s to honor God. The
church. A place where one will hear the pastor preach, hear the choir sing, and connect with
others and talk about the goodness of the Lord. The church. Erickson (2013) notes that “The
church is one of the few visible forms of a corporate relationship among believers” (p. 949). In
Matthew 16:18 (KJV) Jesus said to Peter, I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this
rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Peter made a bold
declaration that Jesus was the Christ and that warranted Jesus to voice Matthew 16:18. No, the
church was not built on Peter, but the premise of the church was built on his declaration. Jesus
was not talking about a physical building when He was awed, but He was speaking of the people
being the church. Hanke (1981) stated that the bible contains no reference to a church building or
a denominational church. The ekklesia, the church mentioned in the NT, always referred to the
body of believers in the Lord as Christ, the Messiah (p. 64).
Visible vs. Invisible Church
The notion that “we’ are the church is based on the church being both visible and
invisible. In referencing Jesus saying to Peter that He will build His church, He is building it
based off of Peter’s belief about Him. This designates the invisible church or as Evans (1974)
says the names that are written in the Lamb’s book of Life (p. 183). We walk with the belief that
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Jesus is the Christ. The Visible church is the actual building, where there is a pastor/priest,
deacon’s, trustees, choir members, and parishioners are present. Evans (1974) says that the
visible church is composed of all those whose names are enrolled upon its roster (p.183). The
invisible church is an inner presence whereas the visible church is an outward presence. Even
though both weigh heavily in biblical context, the visible church is more spoken about. The
assembly, the gathering of believers under a roof. McDonough (1980) notes that among the
Greeks, the church is meant as an assembly of the people called out from their homes into some
public place for the purpose of deliberating (p. 13). Church is sacred in the sense that everything
else ought to cease and focus our total attention on the Lord. For the true believer knows that we
would have nothing if it were not for Him. Hanke (1981) noted that when Constantine made
Christianity a state religion in (A.D. 275-337), he declared that Sunday’s was an official rest day,
and forbade ordinary work. Let is fast forward to 2018. Things have truly changed. Sunday’s are
no longer a day to rest. It is filled with other things that take our minds off of Jesus. (Well, Chic-
Fil-a gets it, and that is why they are so popular.) The visible church is alive and well, but many
of the invisible church body has lost some of the focus based on the “rock” in which the
inception of the inward church began. This where we are now. What is the biblical purpose of the
church? The church remains to be a place of faith, a place of fellowship and a place of fire.
The Church: A Place of Faith
Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) reads now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen. When one puts their hope into something that is far-fetched believing that it will
come to pass, that is faith. Hanke (1981) describes faith as a similarity of the atomic structure of
matter. He says, “Many of the visible things can be made invisible when the respective elements
are separated from the substance., e.g., sodium and chloride are gases but when combined
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become salt; hydrogen and oxygen are invisible gases but in combination mane water” (p. 440).
Faith is the what your see even though it is not present. The church is a place of faith for it is the
place where we can take our hopes and mix it with God’s divine substance and expect the great
to come out of it. Faith is needed in all situations because it allows one to hold to the fact that
God is able. This is what we learn in the visible church; but it is also something that that we carry
in our invisible church. God is able. God is able to take nothing and turn it into something. This
is what He did when He created the heavens and the earth and because He did that, we can rest
on the fact that by faith, He can do it in various situations in the lives of His children.
Pannenburg, Dulles, & Braaten (1969) states that Thomistic theology affirmed that faith went
beyond the scope of reason. Thus the impression gained ground that faith was a leap which, if
not wild and irrational, it at least went beyond the evidence (p. 37).
An important aspect of faith is that of its works. James 2:17 (KJV) references that if you do not
work your faith, then it is dead. Whatever it is that that you are hoping for will be non-existent if
you do not work towards it. Musser & Price (1992) says, “It is adequate to speak of faith not
without works than to speak of faith and works. The former points to faith as the encompassing
reality rather than faith as that to which something else must be added” (p. 197). No results will
come if faith is not active. Whatever it is that an individual desires, or hopes for will not come to
pass if activity is not generated towards the desire. Many in the church have faith, but the work
ethic towards fruition is not evident. This “talk the talk” mentality keeps the church stagnant. It is
when the “walk the walk” is put into action then things begin to happen.
Theological Implications of Faith for Pastoral Counseling
A pastor without faith is danger for the parishioner; and a pastor that counsels without faith
cannot be true in expressing who God truly is. So, the pastor that counsels must have faith. Curry
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(2013) notes that for the counselees, the pastoral counseling session is one of the few arenas in
which authentic hope and healing may occur in the local church (p. 10). The pastoral counselor
must understand that people come into the church with serious issues, and utilizing the platform
(pulpit) can be a great opportunity to counsel during preaching moments so impact can take
place.
The Church: A Place of Fellowship
Fellowship is a great joy! It is a moment where God’s presence is evident. Matthew 18:20
(NIV) states that where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. In church, Bible
studies, prayer meetings, life groups, with colleagues or family, God enters the atmosphere. It is
how God meets our desires. The poorest thing we could do is to try to reproduce the peripheral
activities of the New Testament church without going through the core alterations, led by the
Spirit. Real fellowship requires at the least: repentance, discernment, security, stewardship,
grace, love and of course the fruit of the Holy Spirit. All this is possible, but only in Jesus.
Richardson (1986) states, “For it is in relationship with each other that we become what God
would have us to be” (p. 29). The Greek word, "koinonia," was utilized to portray enterprises,
work organizations, accomplices in a law office, and the most cozy of marriage connections.
From the utilization of the word, we can reason that fellowship is a word signifying a
relationship that is subject to in excess of one person. It is an associated relationship. Owen
(2017) notes that each reliable church partner will undoubtedly join himself to some such single
gathering that shows the notes and characteristics of a genuine church. Fellowship isn't simply
doing anything together. It is just doing God's will together. Obviously, our fellowship with
others is just on a par with our association with Christ, our solidarity. What's more, we can just
partake with Him in doing God's will, for that is all He ever does! Therefore, we should stop
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considering Christian fellowship as principally doing things, for example, having chicken
dinners or watching football or playing ball with different partners. These have their place
however; they are just fellowship to the degree that rest, exercise, and eating are taking the
necessary steps of the Lord. Fellowship includes effectively doing God's will. The things we
typically consider as fellowship are positively not the essential importance of the word.
Richardson (1986) mentions that fellowship not just being in church on Sunday’s only. He says
that true fellowship is breathing in life of the church (p. 32) Ephesians 3:8-11 we see that God
has an unceasing arrangement. The church has a section in achieving that arrangement. The
expression "through the church" in verse 10 demonstrates that the church is to be God's
instrument in achieving His arrangement. The motivation behind the church as expressed in
verse 10 is to show to the world the complex or in Greek, the many-faceted astuteness of God.
So at that point, the reason for the church is to hold God up to the world and show each brilliant
part of His being for all to see. What is essential to see here is that no individual working alone
would ever satisfy this arrangement of demonstrating each flawlessness of God for all have
trespassed and missed the mark regarding the brilliance of God. So you see, the specific idea of
God's arrangement requires the Godly limits of numerous people included to demonstrate His
excellence to the world. Richardson (1986) says, when we start being the church, the church
starts being its own advertiser (p. 34). You may state that God's arrangement must be contrasted
not with a performance but rather to an ensemble. Its excellence is difficult to catch in one note
regardless of how boisterous. Just by a full ensemble playing together can the lovely amicability
be completely caught. What's more, this is the thing that the Church is, God's ensemble! So as to
completely show God, every individual must have his impact as well as must play it together.
Therefore, in God's orchestra—His arrangement, the score is the Bible, which uncovers His Son,
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Jesus Christ. The instruments are our profound blessings and normal capacities. What's more, the
imperative means we use to perform is association, our co-investment in achieving His
motivation. It is just as we cooperate thusly that it is conceivable to achieve God's arrangement.
This is the reason fellowship is vital to the church.
Theological Implications of Fellowship for Pastoral Counseling
The pastoral counselor should warrant fellowship as it exemplifies the word of God. Matthew
18:20 (NIV) states that where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. So, if it is
the counselor one on one with the counselee, or the pastor counseling through the preached
word, in both instances, God is invited to dwell during the moment. Curry (2013) states that
people turn to the church in times of existential angst (environmental challenges), despair, and
spiritual crises because they are looking for God to help and/or heal them (p. 8).
The Church: A Place of Fire
Jeremiah 20:9 (NIV) displays how difficult it is to keep the goodness of the Lord locked
up inside. Jeremiah says that His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. This
depiction is truly evidence that it is difficult to keep His love for us quiet. It is also in Acts 2
where it is proclaimed to be the establishment of the church. Many were sitting together on the
day of Pentecost and all of a sudden, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from
heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues
of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. Hartley (2014) notes that if you need fire,
you should request it. God cherishes to come to where He is welcomed. At first glance, church is
our specialty. It is the assembling of Christ devotees with the goal for us to adore God, cherish
one another and love our neighbors for the good of Jesus. Houses of worship come in different
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shapes and sizes, however regardless of how we cut it; our social occasion is our push to connect
with God and His kin. Fire, then again, is the thing that God does. It is the activity of the
imperceptible God to show His extraordinary power in substantial ways that we as a whole can
get it. Answers to petition, physical healings, spared relational unions, liberation from
wickedness fortresses, sensational transformations and changed lives are overall instances of fire.
Richardson (1986) notes that all scripture supports the notion that God is the originator – that
power is possessed by God and God is the One who distributes power in the universe (p. 3). This
is the thing that happens when God goes to the church. There is no doubt that fire is to show the
nearness of Christ. The fire in the church is the thing that happens when what we do and what
God does merges. It is church the manner in which God planned where we turn out to be
considerably more aware of His quality among us than we are aware of those with whom we
accumulate. Fire is the thing that separates the congregation from all social activity focus. Any
association on earth can indicate what individuals can do; just the congregation can demonstrate
what Christ can do. Thus, at whatever point God is going to send the fire of His show nearness,
He generally readies His sheep ahead of time. As in Acts 2, word went out that something was
going to happen so believers went to the upper room, and they experienced God’s fire as the
Holy Spirit filled the room. It was from that moment which Evans (1974) noted to empower the
believer for life and service (p. 117).
Theological Implications of Fire for Pastoral Counseling
The pastoral counselor needs the fire to glorify the Holy Spirit for it is the center of our lives.
The fire in this context is vision. Lambert (2016) notes that to do counseling, the one thing the
counselor must do is articulate some vision of reality that understands the dilemma of the
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counselee and offers a response to that dilemma (p. 16). If this sort of fire is ignited, the future of
the counselee is brighter.
Conclusion
In doing this study about the church as it pertains to faith, fellowship and fire, it can
make one draw closer to it. The church is and will always be relevant for the believer. In
producing this paper, one can believe these three aspects based on the context of the church will
show that where we live, how we live, and why we live needs to amplify the one who continues
to live for us. This study come full-circle to the pastor for it should be the foundation of their
approach to mounting the sacred desk on Sunday mornings. The opportunity to counsel while
preaching can be a pre-cursor to lives being changed during the preached moment. People come
into church with issues, some big and some small, and the preacher/pastor ought not miss the
moment to engage in some sort of way to their need. There is no reason for someone to go to
church just to say that they did; but the moment should be an experience. Having faith that a shift
will take place, being in the company of great fellowship, and having the fire of God dwelling in
the atmosphere of the church warrants for a mighty move of God to transpire.
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References
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Hartley, III, F. A. (2014). Church on fire. Fort Washington, PA.: CLC Publications.
Lambert, H. (2016). A theology of biblical counseling. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
McDonough, R. M. (1980, January 3). A church on a mission: An intentional response to the
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Musser, D. W., & Price, J. L. (1992). Handbook of chrisian theology. Nashville, TN.: Abingdon
Press.
Owen, J. (2017). Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth.Duties of christian fellowship.
Pannenburg, W., Dulles, A. S., & Braaten, C. (1969). Spirit, faith, and church. Philadelphia PA:
The Westminister Press.
Richardson, W. F. (1986). The power of the pew. Nashville TN: Townsend Press.
