The Church
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Q2. Before the Son of God came down from heaven, (John 6:38), was there already a church?
Q4. Who formed and created Israel as the church in the wilderness?
Q5. In what name is the name God created, formed, and made in his glory?
Q6. How important is the name of the Lord God to Him?
Q7. To the people of Israel, is God the only "holy" and great Father?
Q8. Has Israel been faithful to God who created and transformed them into a nation?
Q9. In prophecy, how did that happen?
Q10. Did God neglect his people symbolized by the tabernacle, which had fallen and broken?
Q12. Did the Lord Jesus testify that he is the Speaker of his Father who sent him on the last days?
Q13. As Spokesman, did he speak of the building of the Father of his church?
Q14. As a witness, did Apostle Peter prove in his letter, that God built his church in Christ?
Q15. When God’s church was built in Christ, what is the name given by God’s will?
Q16. Is there A testimony that the church of God is Christ that is the Head?
Q17. Why is the name of the Son of God included in the name of the church of God?
Q19. According to the Scriptures, what is the full name of the church of God?
Q20. What is the divine purpose in building God's church?
Q21. What or who is the fullness of God's wisdom who has the right to identify as the church of God?
Q1. What is the Church?
A. The Church is a community of people who believes in God, who practices the teachings of Christ Jesus, whom God has appointed as its head.
“And he is the head of the body, the church;…” (Col. 1:18) (NIV)
“Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” (Col. 1:24) (NIV)
Q2. Before the Son of God came down from heaven, (Jn. 6:38), was there already a church?
A. There is already, Israel, the nation of God, when they were released from slavery in Egypt.
”This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:” (Acts 7:38) (KJV)
The people of the God of Israel were called “church in the wilderness”, after God brought them out Egypt where there are sinful people, where Israel became slaves for a long time. (Exo. 20:1-2) They are the people whom God released from the bondages of sin in the last days, through His Son Christ Jesus, and is also called church.
Q3. Who is the ruler and savior of the people of God who are the church of God in the desert, redeemed from the fallen Egyptian nation?
A. Moses was the chief and savior of the people of God, which is the church of God in the desert.
““This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.” (Acts 7:35) (NIV)
“25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” (Heb. 11:25-26) (NIV)
Q4. Who formed and created Israel as the church in the wilderness?
A. God created and formed Israel as the church in the wilderness.
“But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (Isa. 43:1) (NIV)
Q5. In what name is the name God created, formed, and made in his glory?
A. He is called by his name.
“everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (Isa. 43:7) (NIV)
Q6. How important is the name of the Lord God to Him?
A. The Lord God will not let His name be profaned.
““‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel.” (Ezek. 39:7) (NIV)
Explanation: - To the Lord, his name is "Holy." He will not let his holy name be blasphemed. Mankind also gives honor and importance to his own name, because he was created in the image and likeness of God. The sects who do not appreciate the name of the Lord, as they have established their own church that they have called to another name according to their will, neglect the Father's name.
Q7. To the people of Israel, is God the only "holy" and great Father?
A. Not only in Israel, but also with the Gentiles, for this is the will of God.
“My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.” (Mal. 1:11) (NIV)
Q8. Has Israel been faithful to God who created and transformed them into a nation?
A. They were not faithful but instead became rebellious against God.
“2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. 3 The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” 4 Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.” (Isa. 1:2-4) (NIV)
Explanation: Israel were not faithful people to God, which was the church of God, which Moses had propagated. The ox and the donkey were more faithful as they knew their master well. Israel, whom God has denied, the only people he trusted with the tabernacle of God, whose dwelling place of glory, which was not given to foreigners was not faithful. (Exo. 40:34-36) They overthrow their good relationship with the Creator. They killed the prophets sent to them. They have destroyed the altars which God has set over them. (Rom. 11:3) They abandoned the Lord. They despised the Holy One of Israel.
Q9. In prophecy, how did that happen?
A. The tabernacle of David that fell down will be rebuilt by God.
“11 “In that day “I will restore David’s fallen shelter— I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins— and will rebuild it as it used to be, 12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name,” declares the Lord, who will do these things.” (Amos 9:11-12) (NIV)
Explanation: - The tabernacle of David symbolized or represented Israel, with the divine system of life according to the law they received from God. The tabernacle that fell down was God's people which was the church of God of old, represented by the tabernacle of David in prophetic language. Their relationship with God was broken and damaged, because they worship other gods. (Acts 7:39-44)
Q10. Did God neglect his people symbolized by the tabernacle, which had fallen and broken?
A. God did not let it stay fallen and broken.
“16 “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, 17 that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’—18 things known from long ago. (Acts 15:16-18) (NIV)
Explanation: - The Lord did not abandon his people and let them remain in ruins and let his people (the church) be broken. He will build it again from the remaining people. In this rebuilding the Gentiles gained grace to be included in the people of God called in his name.
Q11. If Moses was the messenger of God speaking to Egypt and his people Israel, to bring the people out of Egypt, to establish the church in the wilderness (Exodus 3: 10-22), who was God's spokesman in the last days?
A. His Son, Christ Jesus.
“1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,…” (Heb. 1:1-2) (NIV)
Q12. Did the Lord Jesus testify that he is the Speaker of his Father who sent him on the last days?
A. He testified because he said,
“49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” (Jn. 12:49-50) (NIV)
Q13. As Spokesman, did he speak of the building of the Father of his church?
A. He spoke of this and said,
“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Mat. 16:18) (NIV)
Explanation: - The Lord Jesus proved this to Peter, that his knowledge about him was revealed by the Father in heaven; that is, he is the Son of man, “Son of the living God”. (Mat. 16:15-17) Therefore, at that time the Father spoke to Peter. And God's proclamation continued with Peter through the mouth of his Son, his Speaker, Christ. At this stage, the heavenly Father told Peter, through his Son, Christ, the building of the Father of his church upon "the rock which is Christ," saying, "And I say also to you, Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. "
Clearly, then, that Peter was talking to the Father in heaven, by the mouth of Christ. The reference to "upon this rock" is Christ and not Peter. And the stone building of the church of the Father in heaven is Christ and not Peter.
In the end it is not Christ who built the church. Peter was not the church's founder. The evident manifestation of the Spirit of truth is (a) God built his church, (b) it was built on his Son, Christ Jesus, and (c) Peter is the revelation and witness of God’s church that was built on His Son, Christ Jesus.
Q14. As a witness, did Apostle Peter prove in his letter, that God built his church in Christ?
A. He proved it by saying,
“4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet. 2:4-5) (NIV)
Q15. When God’s church was built in Christ, what is the name given by God’s will?
A. “9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” (1 Cor. 15:9) (NIV)
Q16. Is there A testimony that the church of God is Christ that is the Head?
A. Yes. On the way to Damascus, Saul (Paul) persecuted the church.
“…“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “ (Acts 9:4-5) (NIV)
Explanation: - Notice the relationship of the Church of God on earth, in Christ Jesus in heaven. As the Head, he is hurt by the persecution of his body which is God's Church. That is why we are sure that there’s no other church headed by Christ but the Church of God, which is still here on earth.
Q17. Why is the name of the Son of God included in the name of the church of God?
A. For this is the will of the God the Father.
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) (NIV)
“…gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philip. 2:9-11) (NIV)
Q18. Does the Holy Scriptures assure you, that There is only one church headed by Christ that will be saved?
A. Scripture assures this, as it says:
“For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.” (Eph. 5:23) (NIV)
“4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; “(Eph. 4:4-5) (NIV)
Explanation: Just as Israel's only God's people, there is only one God's Church in which the Head is his Son, Jesus Christ. When God builds his Church in the desert, the appointed Leader is Moses, whose members are the Israelites, the objective is to have a generation manifest his power and glory throughout the earth. It identifies that God dwells in Israel. Therefore, Israel is the home of God by giving them the law and the statutes, which are not given to foreigners. Israel alone has the covenant, the promise and the hope of God. (Eph. 2:11-12)
Israel as the tabernacle or dwelling of God, has broken down and ruined being God's people, because of the lack of faith in God, that they have turned to worship another god. Because of this, their good relationship with God has been destroyed and became a guilty nation. (Isa. 1:4)
But because of God's love for all the people he created, he sent his only-begotten Son, so that he may rebuild his church. (Acts 15:16) This time the Gentiles will be members of the church when it was rebuilt. (Acts 15:15-18) And this was spoken by the Son when God built His church. (Mat. 16:18)
The Scriptures prove that the church that God has called on his name is the church of God. This is the church that was persecuted by Saul (Paul) before the Lord Jesus called him to be an apostle. Therefore, the church of God is the church called in his name and headed by Jesus Christ. As Head of the Church of God, this will be the salvation of Christ Jesus. (Eph. 5:23)
Q19. According to the Scriptures, what is the full name of the church of God?
A. Church of God (sanctified) in Christ Jesus.
“1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:” (1 Cor. 1:1-2) (NIV)
Q20. What is the divine purpose in building God's church?
A. To introduce the fullness of God's wisdom.
“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,” (Eph. 3:10) (NIV)
Q21. What or who is the fullness of God's wisdom who has the right to identify as the church of God?
A. The mystery of God that is Christ Jesus
“26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:26-27) (NIV)
“23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Cor. 1:23-24) (NIV)
Explanation: - Many people have built their own church. But they introduce a different Jesus, which is a great and evident proof that they are not of God. Only the true Church of God (sanctified) in Christ Jesus reveals who is the fullness of his wisdom. Who is he but Christ Jesus? Christ was placed by God to be the Head and Savior of the Church of God.
Q22. Is it written, that there are other churches, though not of God, that preach about a different Jesus?
A. There is, which is stated in 2 Corinthians 11:4.
“For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” (2 Cor. 11:4) (NIV)
Q23. If the true church of God endures, in the face of many persecutions, are they assured to enter the kingdom of God?
A. This is for sure.
“4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. “ (2 Thes. 1:4-5) (NIV)
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Rom. 8:18) (NIV)
“but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Mat. 24:13) (NIV)
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