What Does A Healthy Church Look Like?

Notes: The Head And The Body - Bob Hoekstra

-The Head of Jesus Christ is God the Father

-The Head of the Church is Jesus Christ - Colossians 1:18

-Jesus said he would build his Church-Matthew 16:18

-The Church is Jesus's body. The spiritual entity, not a religious institution. Growth of the body relies on the head-strategic, fundamental, intentional leadership of Christ through the Holy Spirit. 

-Use the physical visible realities of the body to relate to how Jesus leads the Church by the Spirit through decision, adjustment, information, maintenance, direction, coordination etc.

-Ephesians 1:22-the totality of Christ's headship = he has authority in every arena of the Church. 

-He is head over all leaders, gatherings, and meetings. Christ is in charge and has authority.

-Weak churches are a result of Christ not functioning as the head. 

- Every knee will bow to Jesus. Will leaders of the Church allow Jesus to be in charge of all things? It's design; it's growth; The Elders/Pastors (Plural) must be committed to the headship of Jesus over all things, and filled with the Spirit. 

-"The Waning Authority of Christ in the Church" by A.W. Tozer (pamphlet)

-The Church cannot be without Jesus being head of those commissioned leaders.

-Ephesians 4:15-Jesus is standard and expression of the church and growth, maturity to become more and more like him. This occurs by walking in truth in love. Relating with Grace produces church growth. Love is critical in dealing with church truth. Balancing love with truth. Balancing truth with love. Jesus is truth and love.

-Ephesians 4:16-Jesus is the source for the whole body. Everything must come from Christ for life and godliness. God wants to join us and knit us together. 

-Not just a religious gathering to just be scattered on a weekly basis. Build into each other's lives with sharing and caring. Not, each member only joined to the head and no other member. The arm is not connected to the head. It is connected to the shoulder. The finger is not connected to the head, it is connected to the hand, hand to wrist and wrist to forearm etc. The church must function as a body does, and it must have a head that rules and guides. 

-Members relating to members = a joint, and a joint supplies to every member through the head, by supporting movement, caretaking. If one member suffers all suffer. What is my part? What member am I? Am I a part of a Church ruled by Christ or man?

-Colossians 1:19-pay strict attention to, trust in and obey Christ in order to establish the ligaments of the body. Ligaments are what hold the joints in place. Ligaments are the strong love bonds between the members. "I love him and her." Love covers a multitude of sins. Joints popping out of socket is a result of no strong ligaments. 

-It is the will of God that the body grows. We need a growth that is from God according to the will of God. Man can add man to grow the size of the church, but there are 20 member churches that are spiritual power houses for God compared to weak churches made of thousands of members. What is the difference? Does Holy Spirit conviction lead the church? The church will grow quantitatively by Jesus Christ alone. Quantitative growth should not be a concern of those in authority of the church (Pastors/Elders). This is Christ's concern.

-Acts 2:47- is church growth founded on the priority and motive of quality and healthy growth. The Lord adds to his church. 

-Qualitative spiritual development is Acts 4:31 and spiritual power of life goes forth to the members when Pastors/Elders hold fast to the head of the church, Jesus Christ, through His Word. 

-Focus on quality not quantity. These are all unseen spiritual realities. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit to be the Church.

-Psalms 127:1-unless the Lord builds the house they labor in vain who build. Who causes the hammer to hammer? The Lord is the home builder. Jesus is not only Designer, but also Builder of the Church. 

-The Bible is the tool and foundation to design and build the church. 

-Matthew 7:24-27 = Foundations= How people respond to God's Word. Rock vs. Sand Foundations. 

-Jesus lived a perfect life with the storms following him all the way through. Same as Job. How do I build on the rock foundation? Even the foolish man heard the word of God, but he did not obey it or do it.  Let people leave if they will not listen to the quality of the Word. 

-Be a doer of the Word in order to get on the right foundation. Through faith, obey the Word. Be like Mary and the way she received the new she was going to conceive through the Holy Spirit. 

-There is a vertical element to living this life; to being the Church; to leading the Church. It is not merely horizontal. 

-The ability of the Word of God to become the unshakable foundation of our lives and marriages and churches is dependent upon receiving, believing and walking the Word of God out. 

-Ephesians 1:22-23 = The church is a living spiritual organism whose fullness is in Christ. Not tradition, itself, nor moderninity. The Fullness of Christ brings fullness of life to us. 

-Is the Church your's or Christ's? 

-There becomes Abundance in Life by raising a family up in the Church whose members and leaders ( all whom are servants) are allowing Jesus to be the Designer and Builder. 

-Don't add a little church to peoples lives. Be the Church and live life abundantly. The Church must exemplify the fullness of life Jesus Christ. 

-Families meeting at the meeting place all functioning together is a living organism. It's the Church. 

-Get to the fullness of Jesus who fills all in all. "This is not just another meeting to go to. This Church meeting is an extension of Jesus who is the head." This is a healthy perspective. 

-If the Church is not reflecting the Biblical model for the Church is Jesus the Head of that Church?

-What is the Biblical model Christ has established for Church Design and Growth? 

-Wisdom and guidance is Proverbs 3:5-6 and 7-10. Lean not on our own understanding! Jesus is the builder of the home. Rise up and walk into every situation with this confidence in the promise: And he shall direct my path.

-Relationships= Individual-friendship-marriage-family-church-community-nation.

-In Acts 20:32 there are two aspects of the grace of God. God's word can change lives through the unfolding of his grace. Aspect 1: it builds up and Aspect 2: it gives an inheritance. We are all familiar with #2, being changed by the undeserved inheritance of grace by being Born Again. We have undeserved forgiveness of our sins and we understand this most, but we do not understand and are more unfamiliar with #1: the grace of God that is able to build us up and grow us spiritually through his Word. Growth follows birth. It is a tragedy if spiritual growth and maturity does not happen after becoming Born Again. It is a tragedy if the Church is not founded, designed, and built by the Lord Jesus himself.