Week 22 of 52
The Church
One body, many members, built on Christ and gathered for His purposes.
Built on 1 Corinthians 12. Paul's extended picture of the church as one body with many members, none dispensable and none self-sufficient.
The church appears in the New Testament almost as soon as Jesus ascends, not as an afterthought but as the very thing he said he would build (Matthew 16:18). It is described with a cluster of images: a body, a building, a family, a bride, a flock, a temple. Each one corrects a different misunderstanding of what it means to belong to Christ together rather than alone.
This week reads across Acts, the epistles and Christ's own words to see what the church actually is, what holds it together, what its gatherings are for, and what its failures look like when they appear. The aim is not admiration for an institution but a clearer grasp of what it means to belong to this body.
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Seven days
Each day is its own devotional
Day 1
I Will Build My Church
The church is Christ's project, not ours.
Matthew 16:18
Day 2
One Body, Many Members
Difference within the church is by design.
1 Corinthians 12:12
Day 3
They Continued Steadfastly
What the earliest church actually did together.
Acts 2:42
Day 4
Building on the Right Foundation
How the church is built matters as much as that it is built.
1 Corinthians 3:11
Day 5
Watch Over the Flock
The church needs shepherds, and shepherds are warned.
Acts 20:28
Day 6
The Lampstands of Revelation
Christ walks among his churches and sees them clearly.
Revelation 2:5
Day 7
A Kingdom of Priests
The church's purpose is worship carried into the world.
1 Peter 2:9