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Each One Teach One Discipleship Lessons
Part Four:
FAITH THAT BUILDS UP
Participating in the Church of God
LESSON THIRTEEN:
ONE NATION UNDER GOD
Exodus 19:5-6
“’Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my
treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you [Moses] are to speak to the Israelites.”
***** The Israelites coming out of Egypt were actually a “family” (descended from Jacob) of slaves. The
only thing they had that qualified them as a “nation” by the definition above was a common language. As
slaves, they had no independent “economic life.” Wandering in the wilderness, they had no territory. After
400 years in Egypt, they had evidently adapted to the Egyptian culture. Yet God promised to make them a
“kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” They were given instructions that would create a distinctive, holy
culture and a bountiful economic life. And they were on their way to their own “territory,” the Promised
Land of Palestine. If they fulfilled their part of the covenant, the Lord would make them an “example” for the
whole world. They would be a holy, “priesthood nation” to intercede for all of mankind.
But the rest of the Old Testament is the tragic story of the failure of the Israelite nation to reap the blessings
of the covenant, their failure to become that “priesthood nation.”
Was the world to be left with no example?
I Peter 2:9-10
But you [Christians] are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging
to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his
wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had
not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
***** Jesus Christ is your personal Savior. But many Christians don’t seem to realize the implications of Peter’s
comment above. When you are baptized into the “Body of Christ” you are not an “only child,” or a single brother
or sister for Jesus. You become part of a vast family. Christians are not physically related to one another as the
Israelites were. As Peter put it, we once were not a “people” (that is, a genetically related, unified nation-family.)
But through the Blood of Jesus, we are now a “people,” a nation-family. And the Lord’s intent is that we
become, through the new covenant, that holy, “priesthood nation” that is to be the “example” for the world.
What is our modern word for that “nation”? It is the Church!
Nation:
A stable, historically-developed community of people with a territory,
economic life, distinctive culture, and language in common.
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Many Christians are confused about what “the Church” really is, and what its role in their life should be. They
think Church is a place you go, or a physical organization–like a club–that you join. When individuals answer
an “altar call” at a mass evangelistic meeting, they are often advised at the end of the service by the evangelist to
“go to the church of your choice” next week. And so, many take that advice literally. They set about to “choose”
a “church” to go to, the same way they would choose a new car or a bank. They go “shopping” for a church!
And some never stop “shopping”:
Yuppies of Bible Times
We don’t, like, have One Religion or anything,
but we do enjoy the Philistine Fellowship Suppers.
And we’ve been to the festivities at harvest time over
at the Baal Temple, although I must say the icons at the
Asherah Grove are more impressive at that time of year.
And, of course, our kids have really enjoyed the
activities at the Molech Shrine since they hired that new
youth director.
Unfortunately, it’s not just “Yuppies”–in Old Testament times or now–who shop around. It seems many
Christians of all segments of society want to check out where they can hear the best “praise music,” enjoy the
prettiest pulpit and pew decor, park the most conveniently, farm out their kids to the “hippest” youth directors.
They want to go where they are offered the “best deal” in programs, and the least inconvenience. They want a
schedule that will fit around their personal “life-style.” They want the biggest return on the least investment of
time, with minimal personal and emotional involvement.
***** It is time for the people of the Lord to stop shopping for a place to go! Early in the first century, all of the
Christians in one locality were considered “the church,”or, in Greek terms, the ekklesia –assembly of “called-out
ones”–in that area. They would have been divided into congregations based on living near enough to one another
to gather regularly. Sadly, it was not long before they became “divided” by other considerations– arguments
about who was in charge, arguments about details of doctrine, probably even arguments over whose home to
meet in:
I Cor 1:10-12
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you ____________ with one
another so that there may be no _______________________ among you and that you may be perfectly
united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are
________________ among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I
follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas {That is, Peter}”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
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The problem started early in the church. But over the past 2,000 years, men have carved up the family of God
even more, into artificial divisions we call “denominations.” The Church has become a “nation divided
against itself.”
***** In the night he was betrayed, Jesus prayed to the Father:
John 17:22-23
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be _______ as we are ________: I in
them and you in me. May they be brought to __________________________________ to let the
world know that you sent me and have loved them, even as you have loved me.
***** At the very beginning of the Church, described early in the book of Acts, Jesus’ prayer was answered
for a short time:
Acts 4:32
All the believers were _______ in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was
his own, but they ____________________________________________.
***** That kind of sharing and caring is the ideal in a family. Other scriptures also refer to the relationships
in the church as being those of a family:
I Timothy 3:14-15
Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed,
you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in
______________________________________, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and
foundation of the truth.
I Timothy 5:1-2
Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your ________________. Treat
younger men as ___________________, older women as __________________, and younger
women as _________________, with absolute purity.
We need to get back to the concept that the Church is a family: not the kind of “dysfunctional,” dis-united
family that is common in our society today, but a loving, unified family. Then that family can truly become
the “priesthood nation” the Lord intended.
The Church is not a “place to go once a week.” It is not an “activity center” to meet the social needs of
various age groups. It is not even a collection of people who have agreed to gather together to do group
“religious acts.” The goal of the people in any fellowship that is a part of “The Church” should be to allow
Christ to join them together as a family–the kind of family that will be the example that the world needs to
see, a part of the “priesthood nation”–ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE.
REVIEW:
1. The Church is to be a “royal priesthood,” a “holy nation.”
2. The Church is to be united under God.
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3. The Church is to be a family.
4. A Church fellowship group is a part of the larger family.
5. Fellowship meetings should be family get-togethers.
6. The world needs to see the Family of God in love and unity.
MEMORY VERSES:
LESSON THIRTEEN MEMORY VERSE:
I Pet 2:9
But you [Christians] are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
A people belonging to God,
That you may declare the praises of him
Who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Previous Memory Verses: Now that we are once again in a new four-lesson section, the memory verses from
the previous twelve lessons will no longer be included on the review pages. But you are encouraged to continue
to occasionally review them on your own to keep them fresh in your mind.
QUESTIONS:
1. Have you ever “shopped” for a “church”? What did you look for?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. What was causing the divisions in Corinth that Paul warned against?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
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3. Why do you think there is so much “shopping around” for churches?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. Acts 4 makes the early church sound “communist.” What do you think was the difference between their
way and Russian communism?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5. What is the role of a “priest”?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
6. Write I Pet. 2:9 from memory:
But you are a chosen _____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
7. Fill in the blanks in these scripture quotes from past lessons:
… he that has the _______ has life
… without __________ it is impossible to please God
… the _________ of God, which transcends all understanding, will
guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus
… set an ________________ for the believers in speech, in life, in
love, in faith, and in purity