p. 7 | The Church

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Mar 1, 1910

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 37, No. 9.

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The Church

1. What is the church called?

“The church, which is His [Christ’s] body.” Eph. 1:22, 23.

2. Of what is the church composed?

“Now ye [“brethren,” “saints”] are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” 1 Cor. 12:27.

“He [Christ, “the image of the invisible God”] is the head of the body, the church.” Col. 1:18.

3. Is there room for any other head?

“The head of every man is Christ.” 1 Cor. 11:3.

“And gave Him to be head OVER ALL THINGS to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.” Eph. 1:22, 23.

4. By what other term does He designate His church?

“Know ye not that ye [the “brethren,” the “saints”] are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” 1 Cor. 3:16.

5. How does God’s Spirit or presence dwell in the church?

By dwelling in each individual. “If a man love Me, he will keep My Word: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.” John 14:23.

“Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God?” 1 Cor. 6:19.

6. Whom did Christ represent to the world?

“No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” John 1:18.

“He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father. . . . The Father abiding in Me doeth His works.” John 14:9, 10.

7. Whom does the church represent?

“As Thou [Father] didst send Me [the Son] into the world, even so sent I them into the world.” John 17:18.

8. Out of what did He call them?

“Come ye out from among them [the unbelievers, the unrighteous, the idolaters], and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; and I will receive you, and I will be to you a Father, and ye shall be to Me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Cor. 6:17, 18.

9. What is the church to be in the absence of the “Light of the world” (John 8:12)?

“Ye are the light of the world.” Matt. 5:14.

“Children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as LIGHTS IN THE WORLD, holding forth the Word of life.” Phil. 2:15, 16.

NOTE.—The church as a whole represents Christ her head. Her great light is made up of the individual lights of her members, all lighted at the same Source, fed with the same oil.

10. That His church may glorify Him, what has He bestowed upon her?

“When He ascended on high, He . . . gave GIFTS unto men.” Eph. 4:8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11.

11. What gifts did He bestow?

“And He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” Eph. 4:11. See also Rom. 12:3-5; and especially 1 Cor. 12:28.

12. For what purpose are the gifts?

“For the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ.” Eph. 4:12.

13. When the work of the church is complete, what purpose of Christ in sacrifice will be fulfilled?

“That He might present the church to Himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Eph. 5:27.

NOTE.—This reading, if it filled this whole paper, would be inadequate to set forth the riches of His grace, the promises, the honor and power, which God has bestowed upon His church, from the earliest ages to the present time. Read the articles in this issue on the subject, and then yield to God’s plan that you may be a member of Christ’s body.