July 27, 2025

                                 The Work Of The Church

INTRODUCTION 

     1. Having considered the organization and worship of

      "The Church Jesus Built", what about the work of the church...? 

        a. What does the Lord intend for His church to do in 

             this world? 

       b. Are we free to involve the church in whatever work we 

            deem suitable? 

     2. In asking such questions, we should continue to note the 

          distinction between the church universal and the 

          church local... 

       a. The church universal has no earthly organization in which 

          to do its work; what work it does is done as individuals who 

          live and work in the world 

       b. The church local has organization as we have seen, and as 

          such is capable of some sort of corporate (as opposed to 

          individual) work -- It is the work of the church local that I am 

          addressing in this study 

     3. The work of the church can be gleaned in some respects 

         from what is revealed about the organization and worship of

         the church... 

      a. For the Lord organized His church to effectively carry out 

          its work 

      b. And the worship ordained would certainly complement the 

          church in its work -- Look at the organization and worship of 

          the church, and that begins to tell one what the work of the 

          church is! 

[With that in mind, and turning now to the Scriptures, let me first stress that the work of the church includes...] 

I. EDIFICATION (PREPARING THE SAINTS FOR SERVICE) 

     A. IMPLIED BY ITS ORGANIZATION AND WORSHIP... 

         1. The local church when completely organized will have 

             bishops (elders, pastors) 

          a. Their function is to feed and oversee the flock

                 - Ac 20:28; 1Pe 5:1-2 

          b. As they carry out their responsibilities, the church will be 

             built up (edified) 

         2. The activities of their worship are designed to edify 

           a. E.g., singing designed to exhort and admonish, as well as 

               praise God - Ep 5:19; Col 3:16 

           b. E.g., preaching and teaching which certainly edifies 

               the church 

      B. EXPLICITLY STATED IN THE SCRIPTURES... 

         1. Speaking of the gifts which Christ gave His church - Ep 4:11 

         2. Such gifts (including that of evangelists, pastors and 

             teachers) are designed: 

           a. For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry 

           b. For the edifying of the body of Christ - Ep 4:12  

         3. As each person in the church does their part, the end 

             result will be the "growth of the body for the edifying of 

             itself in love" - Ep 4:15-16 

[When one looks at how the local church is organized, what it is called to do in worship, and the purpose of the gifts that Christ gave His church, I believe it is fair to say that the primary work of the local church is edification, i.e., the spiritual development of its members! But clearly there is more. The work of the local church certainly includes...] 

II. BENEVOLENCE (PROVIDING FOR NEEDY SAINTS) 

      A. THE EARLY CHURCH CARED FOR ITS MEMBERS... 

         1. We see it in the church at Jerusalem for its own - Ac 4:32-37 

         2. We see it in the church at Antioch for their brethren in 

              Judea - Ac 11:27-30 

         3. We see in the churches of Macedonia and Achaia for their brethren in Jerusalem - Ro 15:25-26 

      B. ITS ORGANIZATION AND WORSHIP ACCOMMODATED 

           SUCH WORK... 

         1. Deacons were appointed - cf. Php 1:1; 1 Tim 3:8-13 

          a. They served the congregation 

          b. If the seven selected in Acts 6 were prototypes of the work of deacons, they would certainly serve in providing assistance for widows and other needy members - Ac 6:1-6 

         2. The collection for needy saints was made a part of the 

             weekly assembly - 1Co 16:1-2 

      C. THERE WERE LIMITATIONS TO ITS BENEVOLENCE... 

          1. In Paul's instructions to Timothy - 1Ti 5:9-16 

            a. Widows with believing family members were not to 

                 be supported 

            b. Their own families should support them, that "the 

                church not be burdened" 

          2. Examples of church benevolence are limited to 

               needy saints 

            a. In every case of church benevolence, i.e., where money 

                was taken from the church treasury, the recipients were 

                believers in need - cf. Ro 15:25-26; 1Co 16:1-2; 2Co 8:1-4; 9:1 

           b. Of course, individually Christians are expected to be "good Samaritans" and help those in the world as they have opportunity and ability -- This implies that the local church was not intended to be a social agency to cure all the social ills in the world. It has neither the organization nor resources to do so! 

[The work of benevolence, while important, appears to take a back seat to the primary work of the church, which was edification. But there is another work of the church, which is a natural outgrowth of equipping the saints for ministry...]