영어로 제공하는 오늘을 위한 복음: Question 13. What is the Church?

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https://youtu.be/QrbIzql9DNU

A Gospel for the 21st Century

Hi, I am a pastor of New Hope Church in Seoul. I am sharing my thoughts on the gospel with some Christians.

Today I propose it in the English version. I welcome your answer or proposal.

Question 13. What is the Church?

The church is understood as a place of worship to God, but the church is a community of people called by God rather than a place.

Christians believe that Abraham's covenant is accomplished through Jesus Christ. They recognize themselves as new creatures, like Adam, who was led to Eden, where they would be the blessing of the world.

And they understand themselves as the new Israel, who were appointed as the royal priests guiding the world to God.

So, the church sincerely serves God and prays and tries to be a blessing to the world. It is engaged with worship, evangelism, and charity.

The head of the church is Jesus Christ. This means that the church fully believes in Jesus Christ and fully follows his will.

God will make the world flourish through the church that serves Christ as her head.

The Bible story tells that this is the conviction, expectation, and hope of the church.

Let me explain some more…

Recently, professor Kim Hyung-seok, whose age is over one hundred, made a lecture to church leaders. In the lecture, he expressed concerns that pastors' thinking is confined to the church.

Professor Kim raised the issue in his lecture that Jesus did not worry about the church and talked about the Kingdom of God. He emphasized that the kingdom of God should come to the nation, the world, and history as well as to the church.

Professor Kim's questioning reveals a problem with our understanding of the church. In general, the church is defined as a group of people called by God, not as a chapel.

But if you ask some Christians why God called them, there will probably be various answers. Some of them may answer that God called them to bless, and others may answer that God called us to preach the gospel and to worship Him.

The Bible tells us many stories about God calling people. All the stories reveal that God called people to fulfill His will.

God's will can be called God's economy(oikonomia), which is like God's master plan to run the world.

What plans does God have for this world?

As we've talked about many times before, from creation, God blessed all creatures to be flourishing and the world to be filled with life. It is God's will and plan.

Therefore, the reason why God calls people is to fulfill God's plan for the flourishing of his world with life.

God’s purpose is to show them God's plan and to let them join in this great plan. For that reason, Abraham and Israel were called, and for the same reason, our Lord Jesus Christ called his disciples and built His church.

If the church understands God’s will to lead humans to the heavenly world is to misunderstand God's intention the most.

The church must understand God's intentions correctly. In other words, God's unwavering plan, from creation to re-creation, is to make His world a land full of life.

If the church understands this purpose of God, it can realize that its position is the manager of the world like Adam, who was made in the image of God on the day of creation.

For this reason, the apostle Paul reminded the Christians of their new identity in Jesus Christ as "new creatures" (2Cor 5:17). I mean, it's a newly-created being.

The church will also realize that its privilege is to join Abraham's blessing. In other words, Paul the Apostle said that just as God called Abraham and worked with him to bless all the nations, the church was called to join God's plans and inherit the new world God gives (Gal 3:29).

This position and identity of the church give the church a mission to be the light and salt of the world. And they remind us of the mission of being a blessing to the nations.

For this reason, the church should go beyond its own inner interests and always pursue a life that is a blessing to the world and try to do such a thing.

This enlightenment leads us to move from a life that backs the world to a life that embraces the world. It also drives us to make a Christian community whose concern is not its own safety but an ecclesia that seeks the well-being of the social community. So, the church will pray and act for the prosperity and peace of the country and the people.

The modern church of the 21st century has to go further from understanding itself as a community called out from the world to realize that its calling is ultimately for the world.

Only then will the church be able to properly realize its position and duty in this world and act as Christ's agent. Currently, we Christians should realize our situation, which is buried in the safety and anxiety of the church itself, and try to fill our thoughts with the vision of God's kingdom.

Today we thought about the nature and mission of the church.

Next Question 14. What kind of churches are there in the world?

God is with us today and working through us!

A Gospel for the 21st Century is continued...!

See you next time!

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