A STUDY OF THE CHURCH (11)
The Aspirations of the church

Victor M. Eskew

 

          An aspiration is defined as “a strongly desired aim or goal.”  Aspirations are essential if an individual or an organization is going to grow, develop, and succeed.  The aspirations of the church are divine in nature.  In other words, the goals of the church are God-given.  These aims are challenging, but they can be accomplished.

          One of the aims of the church is to take the gospel to the world.  We discussed this in a previous title.  Jesus said:  “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).  We will notconvert every person in the world, but our goal is to make sure every person in the world hears the gospel.  Faith can only come by hearing God’s Word (Rom. 10:17).  Without faith, man cannot respond in loving obedience to the truth (Jam. 2:17-28).  The church aspires to give every human being the opportunity to make a decision about following Jesus Christ. 

          Another aim of the church which has been mentioned is to keep the saved saved.  It is possible for a Christian to fall from grace regardless of the teachings of Calvinism to the contrary.  Paul warned the Corinthians:  “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).  If Christians cannot fall, this command is absolutely ludicrous.  It not only reflects poorly on the apostle Paul, but it also puts the Holy Spirit in a corner.  We are told that the Word inspired by the Spirit has affirmed Christians cannot fall from grace, but He warns them against falling.  Why?  Such a warning would be ridiculous if a person cannot fall.  The truth is that Christians can fall.  One of the aspirations of the church is to keep this from happening.  The church’s responsibility is to teach and train those in the body of Christ in such a way that they develop into mature, full-grown men and women of God.  The church fortifies her members so they can boldly stand against the wiles of the devil and the deceptive doctrines of false teachers.  She constantly warns her members about the works of the flesh, covetousness, selfishness, pride, the love of power, and idolatry.  The church wants to make certain that her members remain in a saved condition.  She knows that if a Christian is entangled in the world and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning (2 Pet. 2:20-22).

          The last aspiration of the church that we want to consider in this article is one that lies in the future.  The church wants to be prepared for the Lord’s return.  While on earth, Jesus exhorted His disciples to watch and be ready for His coming.  “Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (Matt. 24:42).  “Watch therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 25:12).  Jesus promised to come again.  His words are always faithful.  The amount of time that passes from the time a promise is made until it comes to fruition matters not (2 Pet. 3:8-9).  One day, Jesus will come again.  Peter plainly affirmed:  “But the day of the Lord will come…” (2 Pet.3:10).

          We want to be ready because we want to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:16-17).  We want to be ready so we will be clothed in our spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:42-44).  We want to be ready because we want to stand justified before the Lord in the day of judgment (Rom. 3:24).  We want to be ready because we want to hear the words:  “Well done, thou good and faithful servant…” (Matt. 25:21, 23).  We want to be ready because we want to enter into the marriage feast with the bridegroom (Matt. 25:10).  We want to be ready because we want to enter into the joy of the Lord (Matt. 25:21, 23).  We want to be ready because we want heaven to be our final abode (Col. 1:5).  We want to be ready because we want to experience eternal life (Tit. 1:2).

          The eternal reward is important to the church.  It weighs heavily on the mind of every child of God.  It was certainly on the mind of the apostle Paul while he was on the earth.  In Philippians 3:11, he expresses a desire to “attain unto the resurrection of the death.”  In that same chapter, he writes about “reaching forth unto those things that are before” (Phil. 3:13) and about his pressing “toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).  Paul endured an incredible amount of persecution.  One wonders how a human being could bear up under such pain and anguish.  Paul tells us his secret in 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:4.  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen:  for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.  For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:  if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.  For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”  The rewards that motivated Paul are found in several phrases:  “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,” “things which are not seen,” “a building of God, a house not made with hands,” “eternal in the heavens,” “our house which is from heaven,” and “that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”  Notice that all of these things are part of the Christian’s hope, or, that to which he aspires.

          Paul came to the close of his life with this same aspiration.  He wrote to Timothy telling him that his death would be soon.  “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand” (2 Tim. 4:6).  Paul was ready because of the faithful life he lived.”  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).  He was also ready because of which awaited him beyond death.  “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day…” (2 Tim. 4:8a).  Paul did not dread death.  For the apostle, “to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).  A crown, glory, a heavenly body, and “to be with Christ” (Phil.1:23) was much better than anything Paul had in this world. 

          The church of the twenty-first century should have the same aspirations as the church of the first century.  We should yearn to sow the seed of God’s Word throughout the world.  We should seek to establish every soul that is in Christ.  Too, we should be eagerly anticipating our home beyond the skies.  Let’s close with Peter’s words of encouragement found in 1 Peter 1:13.  “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”