Bible Study Course
Church
Welcome to the third booklet in the Bible Doctrine I Series. This study is written to be used with the KING JAMES BIBLE, otherwise your answers are not going to be correct. Please get your Bible, and begin another exciting study in God’s Word, that just might change your life!
“... and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)
Chapter 1 I. What Is A Church?
A. In a positional sense, every person in this age or time who has trusted Jesus Christ as his/her personal Savior, is a part or member of Christ’s Body, the Church.
Note: The church is not a building — it is people. People who have trusted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
1. I Corinthians 3:9 says, “ye are God’s husbandry, YE are God’s ________________.”
2. Verse 16 of that same chapter says, “Know ye not that YE are the ____________ of God?”
3. Acts 7:48 tells us that, “the most High dwelleth not in temples made with __________.”
So in the truest sense, the church is made upof people — not bricks and mortar.
4. We become a part or member of the church the moment we are saved, according to I Corinthians 12:13. This verse tells us that, “by one Spirit are we all baptized into ______ body.”
5. In Colossians 1:24, this body, CHRIST’S BODY, is said to be the ___________.
6. According to verse 18 of that same chapter, Jesus is said to be the ________ of that body, the church.
7. Ephesians 2:19 says, “ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but ____________________________ with the saints, and of the household of God.”
Illustration: If you were born in the United States of America, you did not need to apply for citizenship or membership in this country — you were granted that the moment you were born.
Even so, the moment you were born again, you became a citizen of heaven, and a member of Christ’s body, the church.
8. There is no racial discrimination with God as is seen in I Corinthians 12:13. He will save all who will accept Him, and will bring them into the church, whether they be “Jew or ______________.”
B. In a practical sense, the church is made up of local congregations of baptized believers.Note: Gentiles are all people other than Jews — God’s chosen people, the descendants of Jacob.
Illustration: While it is true that a baby becomes a citizen of this country the moment that he is born here, he really does not appreciate that fact until he gets old enough to communicate with other citizens.
Even so it is with the Christian. It is true that the moment he gets saved he is a member of the body of Christ, the church, but he will never fully appreciate that fact until he communicates with other Christians locally.
Note: For practical purposes, the body of Christ, the church, must meet together to benefit each other.
1. Hebrews 10:25 says that we are not to forsake the ____________________ of ourselves together.
Note: The word church means, “a called out assembly.” It comes from the Greek word, ekklesia.
Please notice in that verse that there was a problem
— some Christians were not assembling together.
Note: Some people today feel that it is acceptable to just stay home and watch church on television on Sunday morning. Is that acceptable to God?
1. That is not acceptable, because it is disobeying God’s command to “assemble together.”
2. That is not acceptable, because, as we shall see later on, it is impossible to observe the church ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper through the television set.
3. That is not acceptable, because it makes spiritual gifts unable to be of any use or benefit to the church.
It may be that you feel you have nothing special to
contribute to a local church in your area, but that is not true.
Note: Please read I Corinthians 12:12-27, and fill in the following blanks.
a. Verse 12 says that the body is one, but it has ________ members.
b. Verse 21 states that no member can say to another, “I have no ________ of you.”
c. In fact, verse 22 says that those members which seem to be more feeble are __________________.
d. Verse 26 says that if one member suffers, then ______ the members suffer with it.
e. On the other hand, that same verse goes on to say that if one member is honored, then all the members ______________ with it.
Illustration: The church is likened unto our bodies, which happen to have many different parts. But all of those parts are important.
Yes, people see your face more than they see your toes, but the body would have no balance without the toes.
Is there any part of the body more important that the other? Maybe the brain? But what good would a brain be if there were no parts of the body to direct and get into motion?
The heart plays an important role, but it is never normally seen by a person.
You may feel that you are of no value to a local church because you cannot teach a Sunday School class or sing in the choir, but what if everyone was a Sunday School teacher? Who would there be in the class to listen? If everyone sang in the choir, who would there be in the pews to listen?
There is a church somewhere that needs you!
2. Romans 16:5 shows that the early church did not always have a building in which to meet, so they met in ____________.
Seeming the early church sometimes met in homes,is it okay to just hold a Bible study in your home
every Sunday morning and call that church?
REVIEW:a. No, because Acts 14:23 instructs that ____________ (pastors) should be ordained (and present) in every church.
b. Philippians 1:1 also shows that there is another position of leadership in the church besides that of bishops (pastors), and that is ______________.
The qualifications for these two positions are given in I Timothy 3:1-13. An informal Bible study in your home cannot be called a “local church.” A church may meet in your home, but there would need to be ordained leaders in charge.
1. The church is not a building — it is ____________.
2. We become a part or member of the church the moment we are __________.
3. __________ is said to be the head of the body, the church.
4. There is no ____________ discrimination with God — He will save all who accept Him, and He will bring them into the church.
5. For practical purposes, the church must ________ together to benefit each other.
6. Hebrews 10:25 says that we are not to forsake the ____________________ of ourselves together for church.
7. The word church means, “a ____________ out assembly.”
8. What verse tells you that it is not acceptable for you to just stay home on Sunday morning and watch church on television? _________________
9. No member of the church can say to another, “I have no ________ of you.”
10. Those members of the church which seem to be more feeble are __________________.
11. The early church did not always have a building in which to meet, so they sometimes met in ____________.
12. A Bible study in your home cannot be considered as church unless there are ________________ leaders present and in charge.
Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Final Test Liberty Bible Course Directory