The book of Revelation is a church epistle. It was directed to the seven churches in Asia. It begins by addressing itself to the church in 1:4, and it ends with an exhortation to the church in 22:16. From start to finish, Jesus is using this book to teach the church how to do spiritual warfare. The church is the sole institution through which this spiritual warfare is carried out.
Many people in our day have an indifferent, negative, or even hostile attitude towards the church, while claiming to be Christians – that is, followers of Christ.
Are such attitudes compatible with being a Christian? As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must have the same attitude towards the church, and the same commitment to it, that He has. Therefore, we must ask the question: What does Christ think of His church? Three passages make the answer to that question clear:
- Christ Loves His Church. Eph 5:25 says “… Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.”
- Christ Is Building His Church. In Matt 16:18, Jesus says “… I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
- Christ Indwells His Church. In Matt 18:20, Jesus says of His church “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Therefore, if we believe that Christ loves His church, is building His church, and indwells His church, then that will define our attitude toward the church as well: we will love Christ’s church, we will seek to build up Christ’s church, and we will be in the midst of Christ’s church whenever it gathers for its stated meetings.
Christ’s work and mission is centered on His church. Therefore, as disciples of Christ, we must center our lives on that which Christ centered His life on. A Christ centered Christian is a church centered Christian, because that is where Christ centers His love, His work, and His presence.
It says of the Lord Jesus in John 2:17, “…The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” May we too be consumed with zeal for “…the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”