The Doctrine Of The Church Part 1 by Apostle Michael Orokpo: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Why Study the Doctrine of the Church?

Assumption is the lowest level of knowledge. Anything built on assumption will fail the moment it is challenged. This is the reason for this study — to press deep and get accurate understanding of what the church is, so that we can apply it to make existential impact.

There are ten reasons to study the subject of the church:

1. The church is central in God's eternal purpose

   Ephesians 3:10-11 — to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he proposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. God wants to use the church as the theater for showcasing his wisdom, his power, his glory and his purpose. If you don't understand the church, you cannot understand God's eternal purpose.

2. Christ died for the church

   Ephesians 5:25 — husbands, love your wives even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. Jesus did not only die to save you as an individual. He died so that the church could be born. When he died, the price for sin was paid and the devil could no longer lay hold on us. When he was buried, we were separated from the world. When he rose, he gave us the life of God. When he ascended, he took the position of authority. The moment these four things were achieved, the church was born.

   • If Jesus did not ascend, the church would be without authority.
   • If Jesus did not resurrect, the church would be dead.
   • If Jesus was not buried, the church would be mingled with the world system.

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   • If Jesus did not die, the church would be a puppet of the devil.

3. Our identity is hinged in the church

   Outside the church, we have no identity. 1 Corinthians 12:27 — now you are the body of Christ and members in particular. Ephesians 2:19 — you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God. I cannot say I am part of Christ if I am not part of the church, because the church is the body of Christ.

4. Purpose and functionality are defined within the church

   Ephesians 4:11-15 — he gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry. Outside the church I have no purpose in God and no functionality.

5. The church is the only place to find truth

   1 Timothy 3:15 — the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth. Fact fluctuates based on factors. Truth is constant in every environment under every situation. You can't get truth unless you are exposed to the church. This is why the world is confused — they don't know what to do, they don't even know who they are. Only in the church can you be told that sin leads to hell, that without Jesus there is no life, that when this body is removed there is still life — because there is bios, psuchē, and zōē.

6. God's power and glory are expressed in and through the church

   There is no other institution under heaven with the authority to express God's power and glory. Ephesians 3:20-21 — now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus through all ages. When you come here and touch the church, you touch power, you touch glory, you touch truth.

7. The church is God's family and kingdom community on the earth

   Ephesians 3:14-15 — of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. Hebrews 12:22-23 — you have come unto Mount Zion, unto the city of the living God, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn which is written in heaven. When you become part of the church, you have relatives from Zion. You can draw encouragement from those who have gone ahead. You are in the company of God the judge of all, spirit of just men made perfect. This is what church is — even after you leave a building, church has not ended.

   • When Paul was going to persecute the church in Damascus, Jesus struck him and said, Saul, why do you persecute me? Because anyone who touches the church touches Jesus himself.
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   Apostle Michael Orokpo
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8. Ministry only makes sense in alignment with the church

   Every five-fold minister must be in alignment with the church for ministry to be accurate. If you are discipled wrongly, your ministry will be wrong.

9. Error in the church results in error in life

   This is where your ideology is formed about God, about life, about meaning in time and in eternity. If we know what the church is, when anything foreign enters, we identify it immediately. The reason worship has become like a gig and the church has become indistinguishable from a club is that many don't know what the church is.

10. Outside the church, eternity has no meaning for us

    Revelation 19:7 — the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife has made herself ready. The civilization of eternity is actually the church. The church is our destination.

The Origin of the Church

The church is not man's idea or invention. The church is God's idea, God's strategy, and God's program. Matthew 16:18 — Jesus asked, who do you say I am? Peter said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus said, upon this rock — upon this revelation of me as Christ the Son of the living God — I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Three cardinal things mark the origin of the church:

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• It is Christ-centered — not built on a man, not built on a gift. Upon this revelation, I will build my church. If the emphasis anywhere is not Jesus, something is already wrong.
• It is Spirit-powered — flesh and blood has not revealed this to you. If everything is about human strategy and human intelligence, something is wrong.
• It is mission-oriented — the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. It constantly advances God's kingdom and disarms the power of the enemy.

The Identity of the Church

The word church comes from two Greek words: ek (out of) and kaleō (to call) — the called-out ones. There is also the root word kyriakón, meaning belonging to the Lord. So we are called out to belong to the Lord.

The first definition of the church is that it is a living organism. The building is not the church — the church meets in the building. The church is a living entity. As a living organism, the church operates in four dimensions:

1. We are his body — Ephesians 1:22-23 — his life is shared with us.
2. We are his bride — Ephesians 5:25 — there is a love relationship between us and Jesus. The proof of being the bride is submission to him.
3. We are his temple — 1 Corinthians 6:17-20 — he indwells us. You are not your own; you were bought with a price. You cannot commit your body to anything. Your body is his house.
4. We are the household of God — Ephesians 2:19 — we are one family. This relationship is stronger than biological relationship because biological relationship survives on blood, but church relationship is spirit — it is beyond time.

The second definition is that the church is an institution. As an institution, the emphasis is no longer only on life, but on order, governance, structure, and doctrine. A vision can never be immortalized unless it is institutionalized. There is an orderly way to behave in the house of God. 1 Timothy 3:15 — that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth.

The third definition is that the church is the universal body of Christ — the global invisible spiritual union of all believers across all times: past, present, and future. The name of a denomination only reveals the prophetic assignment given to that member of the body. We are not different — we are one. Whether Deeper Life, Redeemed, Dunamis, Methodist — each is a part of the body with a unique role. Universally we are all one.

The Authority Structure of the Church

There are three levels of authority:

• The Head — Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:18 — he is the head of the body, even the church. He expresses his leadership through the word and the spirit.
• The five-fold offices — Ephesians 4:11 — apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These exist for the perfecting of the saints, for continuity and discipleship.
• Ordained ministers — deacons and elders. Acts 6:1-3, Titus 1:5, 1 Timothy 3:1 — these bring internal order and governance so that the church can continue to spread.

When you find yourself in any denomination, submit to whoever is ordained to oversee you. They submit to the five-fold ministers that God raised. And the five-fold submit to Jesus through the word and the spirit. This is how the church continues to spread across the nations of the world.