These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:14-15)

Three Descriptions Of The Church

Two thousand years ago, the church of Christ was established on the Day of Pentecost by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus died for the church and is the only Head of the church. Before time began, God set in motion the scheme of redemption to save men through the church. The world says the church is not important. Men have corrupted the nature of the church beyond what God intended. The Bible clearly defines the church as the house of God, the church of the living God, and the pillar and ground of truth.

On the Day of Pentecost, the church was established, and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. The church is the house of God with God as Father, Jesus as the older brother, and the saints as brothers and sisters. There is a familial association in the house of God, with each member having a brotherly love for one another as a spiritual family. As the house of God, relationships are built with a common purpose and a common eternal goal. Members of the house of God share a deeper love for one another because they share the same Father. The world must see the church as a family united together in the love of God. Sibling rivalry is to be expected in the spiritual family, but through the teachings of the Holy Spirit, brethren seek the best in others and strive not to be divided with one another.

The importance of the church is seen when it is recognized as the church of the living God. Human wisdom and reasoning did not create the church as a stopgap or secondary purpose in the mind of God. The church was established in the mind of God before the world was created. Its design and purpose came from the will and purpose of God to show His glory to the world. To suggest the church is unimportant is to deny the will of God. The church of the New Testament is a powerful entity that represents the omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence of the Lord God Almighty. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present throughout time. Through the church, God is glorified and honored. Lessening the church to a fragment of importance blasphemes the nature of a Holy God.

Paul calls the church the pillar and ground of the truth. Embodied in the church is all truth. Through the church, the manifold wisdom of God is seen in its creation, propagation, design, and purpose. Nothing in the annals of human history or the greatest minds of the world could imagine anything as grand and powerful as the church. Truth is older than error, and God establishes His divine truth in the church. The body of Christ is the pillar of truth as the only edifice to hold the true word of God to a lost and dying world. Jesus established the church as the bastion of God’s will against the assaults of the devil. All truth begins with the church of Christ. His word is the only authority. As the foundation of truth, the church must uphold the word of God as the divine authority. Its mission is to carry truth to a lost world, light to a dark world, and hope to a hopeless world.

The church is the house of God, with the Father guiding His family through the Headship of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is His church, as the church of the living God. Truth comes from the church as the pillar and ground of all truth. The church is the most important thing man has ever known because only in the church will salvation be found. Those who are saved are in the church because God adds them to the church. When men refuse to honor the church of the living God, they deny themselves entrance to the ark of safety. In the days of the great flood, Noah built an ark for the saving of his household. Eight people were saved from the wrath of God because they believed in the ark of God, the ark of the living God, and the ark which was the pillar and ground of truth. There was only one ark, and all those not in the one ark perished. The church is the ark of God’s love. Only those in the church will be saved. That’s the pillar and ground of truth.