The Work of the Church! Eph 3:8-10 To me, who am less than the

least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery,

which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and

powers in the heavenly places.

Tonight we are ending our study of the New Testament church!

▪I wonder how often we give thought to the “purpose” of the New Testament church?▸What is our “mission?”▸What is out “work?”▪What has God called us to do/be doing as

the NT church?▪How many of us here today understand

what “work” is?▸Work = activity involving mental or physical

effort done in order to achieve a result

“I want to be a worker for the Lord!”Until I have to actually work!

▪2 Tim 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

▪Js 1:25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

▪Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

I. The Work of Edification!▪I need you, you need me and we all need

Jesus! We are in this together!▸Heb 10:24-25 And let us consider one

another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

▪We are always “better together!”▸Eccl. 4:9-12 Strength in numbers!

The necessity of edification!Eph. 4:11-16

▪Eph 4:11-12, 16 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.▪Edify = prepare one another for service!

II. The Work of Benevolence!▪The early church cared for it’s members!▸Act. 2:42-47 & 4:31-35▸I have often wondered if the effectiveness of the

church is not what it once was because we have stopped practicing this kind/degree of benevolence!

▪We are often command to do this!▸Gal 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let

us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.▸These are needs & not wants! (Cf. 2

Thess.3:10) “don’t work = don't eat!”

When someone has truly done all that they can and yet they still come up

short, we are to help them!▪This opened doors for the early church!▸Act 2:47 praising God and having favor

with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

▪It should be noted that helping physically was a means to helping spiritually! The focus is on heavenly things and not on worldly things!▪We have failed if we stop at the

physical!

III. The Work of Evangelism!▪Our first two points are really just a means

to an end! They are to help us get to here!▪Our central focus is to always be

evangelism!▪When our Lord was summarizing why He

came He states “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost!” (Lk.19:10)

▪All men are lost without Jesus!▸Act. 4:10-12

–There is only hope/salvation in Him!

Called to be the evangelistic church!Act 8:4 “Therefore those who were scattered

went everywhere preaching the word.”▪This can be done individually & collectively!▪Each Christian is equally responsible to be

involved in evangelism!▪Evangelism is the Lord’s marching orders to

the church! (Act. 1:18)▸Mt. 28:18-20▸Mk. 16:15-16

▪We must be actively preaching & teaching the gospel of Jesus! (Rom.1:16; 1 Cor. 15)

Conclusion:▪There is much work to be done, are we

will to get out and start doing it?▸Mt 9:37-38 Then He said to His disciples,

"The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. "Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

▪If you are here and not yet a member of the NT church, then today is the day!▪For us that are members, we have work

to do and Jesus & world is counting on us!