
This Is Us
In 3-D
August 27, 2023
Chris Seidman, Lead Minister, The Branch
Church - a gathering of people who’ve answered the call to come to Jesus, spend time with Jesus, be filled with Jesus, and follow Jesus, so that they might be Jesus to people, and call people to Jesus.
Church in Three Dimensions
- Universal
Genesis 12:3 (NIV)
“… all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Galatians 3:7-9, 29 (NIV)
Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses … .
Hebrews 12:22-23 (NIV)
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect … .
C.S. Lewis Screwtape Letters
“My Dear Wormwood, I note with grave displeasure that your patient has become a Christian … .”
“In the meantime, we must make the best of the situation. There is no need to despair; hundreds of these adult converts have been reclaimed after a brief sojourn in the Enemy’s camp and are now with us. All the habits of the patient, both mental and bodily, are still in our favor.
“One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately it is quite invisible to these humans. All your patient sees is the half-finished, sham Gothic erection on the new building estate.”
Church in Three Dimensions
- Regional
Acts 9:31 (NIV)
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened.
2 Chronicles 30:18a (NIV)
Although most of the many people … had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written.
Hezekiah 30:18b-20 (NIV)
But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets their heart on seeking God – the Lord, the God of their ancestors – even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.”
And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed all the people.
Acts 15:8-9 (NIV)
God, who knows the heart … purified their hearts by faith.
Church in Three Dimensions
- Local
1 Corinthians 16:19 (NIV)
The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.
Galatians 1:2 (NIV)
To the churches in Galatia … .
Colossians 4:15 (NIV)
Give my greetings to … Nympha and the church in her house.
Ephesians 2:19-22 (NIV)
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Why Is It Important to Recognize The Church in 3-D?
- The universal and regional dimensions remind us that the body of Christ is so much bigger than The Branch.
Mark 9:38-41 (NIV)
“Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.”
1 Kings 19:18 (NIV)
“Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel – all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”