Another important detail we should notice is that Scripture does not say that the giants originated from the unions described in Genesis 6; rather, the giants already existed at that time . We have small groups, Bible studies, entire ministries dedicated to teaching and equipping believers. The church is a body under the control of the Head, and what a tragedy it is when the human body refuses to respond to the direction of the head. John 3:30. The church is a temple for the exclusive habitation and use of a Person who dwells within, who has the right to do with that habitation as He wills. Think of the figures the apostle uses for the church in this letter: The church is an army under the command of a King, and an army that will not obey its leader is useless as a fighting force. What does he mean? Church begins, “We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things.” The only reason we exist, the onlyreason the worldwide church exists, is to magnify God’s worth. “Now, a good part of the New Testament was not written in his boyhood: Some of the Catholic epistles were not writt… We can never understand this body that exists in human society unless we view it as more than an organization. It’s our cinematic crusade film, A Rush of Hope. The Catholics are wrong, therefore, in their assumption that the Bible is authoritative only because of the Catholic Church. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief” (verses 2, 3 NLT). In the Bible we find the words of Jesus to a sick church that wasn’t fulfilling its purpose. It means that she or he, like 99.99% of the rest of the world at the time, made no impact on the archaeological record.” Welcome to Man in the Mirror’s Men’s Bible Study, where we always have room for one more guy! Shall we become nothing more than another political action group or succumb to the fallacy that change, any kind of change, represents progress? It is a spiritual organism with a history going right back to Jesus Christ and the apostles. While it is generally agreed that the ‘church age’ does exist, it is not agreed upon as to its exact nature. But a problem was developing that only Jesus could see: they were not fulfilling their purpose. The Bible tells us why and for how long the ministry gifts were given to the Church. In the eyes of the world the church is weak, ineffective, out of touch, the enemy of progress—and the list goes on. It is possible to be in the church and not really believe. 1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. At the same time, the Orthodox Church does not accept the notion that everyone can properly interpret the Bible … 1 Corinthians 3:9 ESV / 10 helpful votes. This is a revolutionary age. I say this because when we ask a believer: why does the church exist? You don’t have to be crippled by your past. We can pray eloquently. Let's begin by considering a few Scriptures that discuss church division. If you are right with the Lord, then you will be full of courage at Christ’s return. The church, they say, belongs in the vanguard of the struggle for social justice and the reason Christianity is shunned by the world is because Christians will not dirty their hands or risk their reputations. Peter responds by declaring, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). What the apostle desires is that we heed our calling; that we renew our commitment to the Lord, who is behind all things, to become individually responsible to tell this radical, revolutionary, life—transforming good news throughout society; that we should invade commercial and industrial life, education and learning, the arts and family life, morals and government with this tremendous, unequaled message. The church was created to bring pleasure to God and bring glory to his name. We will send you a copy when you donate to Harvest Ministries today. For permission to use this content, please review RayStedman.org/permissions. Will you help reach the lost? One of the realities about the church of today is that there are a large number of believers that are very confused. Apostles were men who were appointed by Christ through a personal appearing (e.g. Answer: Scripture says there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). They say they are doing fine when, in reality, they are dying. Don’t give up now.”. The Apostle [Paul] requires the aid of Tradition (2 Thess. My Life’s Purpose in Scripture Arranged and Paraphrased by Kevin Hamm From the New American Standard Version.