How Important Is Church?

This week in our Community Group, we read Ephesians 1, and verse 22 stopped me in my tracks. In a passage describing God’s eternal purposes and Christ’s supreme authority, Paul writes:
 
“And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head over everything for the church.”
 
Did you catch that? For the church.
 
Christ’s authority over every molecule in the universe (galaxies, governments, spiritual powers, the flow of history) is for the church. Not merely “for His glory,” not “for new creation” (though those are true), but specifically for the church.
 
If that feels shocking, it may be because we’ve underestimated what the Bible means by “the church.” The New Testament never refers to a building or an event. It speaks of a people, a redeemed family, the household of God, the community Christ died to create.
 
Tomorrow we’re stepping into the portion of the Apostles’ Creed that explores this beautiful, diverse, global family we call the church catholic. We’ll see that church isn’t something you attend, fund, or volunteer in. It’s a family you belong to. A people shaped by grace, sustained by the Spirit, and held together under the loving authority of Christ.
 
I can’t wait to unpack why the church is essential to Christian faith and how every believer is called to respond to that truth. (And yes, I mean the church universal, not just Arborway.)
 
If you’d like to take a next step toward belonging here at Arborway, join us afterward for our Exploring Membership class. Lunch is provided, and we’d love to have you. You can sign up below.